#discussed density

[archi-playground]

"Stealth Density", "Disguised Density", "Gentle Density"

How Architects tactfully design and pitch infill housing that responds to context and the politics of upzoning.

[annelidist]

grit gate is the worst story dungeon i think

[lettertoanoldpoet]

society if people started basing their political beliefs on actual feminist theory instead of instagram infographics

[todaysbird]

do you have any cool rare corvids

i've tried so hard to answer this question and it just gets deleted every time, Tumblr please let the birds post

NOTE: rarity is subjective. I'm American, so a lot of these birds I've never seen, but that doesn't mean their populations are low or they're hard to find. I took rare to mean infrequently discussed/looked over in this case.

There's 100+ species of beautiful corvids, but hopefully this handful serves as a good sampler :)

Albino ravens of Vancouver, B.C.; there's a high population density of albino birds here, and birds carrying the genes keep having more albino babies!

Pied raven, a now-extinct color morph of the Common Raven

Magpie-jays!!! There's two species, white throated and black throated (this one is black throated), and these guys are total jesters. Masters of silliness. They also live in matriarchal flocks!

Javan green magpie! there's lots of colorful magpies (greens and blues!!), but I mentioned this fella specifically because they're sadly Critically Endangered at this time.

PIAPIAC!!! This African species of corvid resembles a lot of crows, but with a smooth, shiny beak & vibrant eyes that can be purple to bright pink!

Black-collared Jay - a handsome fella, not to be confused with his close relative, the White-collared Jay

the Unicolored Jay - pretty common in their range in Mexico, but a handsome feller nonetheless

TUFTED JAY!!! very silly head

[delta-orionis]

How Big are Iterators?

One thing Rain World does very well is portraying a sense of scale when it comes to iterators. They're massive superstructures large enough to have entire cities built on their roofs, and their processes are literally so powerful that they alter the natural environment around them.

I think in-game they're kind of meant to be unknowably huge, especially since the player character is literally a small animal who can't possibly fathom an iterator's entire extent. Despite this, I decided to try and figure out exactly how big they are.

Just a warning, this post is a bit long. I really fell down a rabbit hole here.

In-Game Clues

Five Pebbles and Looks to the Moon are the only iterators that the player can explore, but they're so huge that it's impossible to see exactly how big they are from so close. The only glimpse we get is from atop the big tree in Outer Expanse, where Five Pebbles' superstructure can be seen in the distance.

He's so big that his entire can doesn't even fit on the screen.

(Ditto, minus the clouds)

With nothing else close by to compare him to, it's almost impossible to tell exactly how big he is from this image.

However, we can see the entirety of other iterator cans in the distance from atop The Wall.

Here's what they look like not obscured by clouds:

The Speculation Zone

I made some assumptions about iterators to make my calculations easier.

An iterator's can (the large rectangular section) is 2 times as wide as it is tall.

Their legs are 1/2 the height of their can.

Their can is half obscured by a relatively uniform cloud layer.

These assumptions might not be entirely accurate, but they make the math easier.

Cloud Layer Height

At first I was tempted to try and estimate iterator height based on the cloud layer surrounding them, but I made the mistake of assuming the cloud layer is made up of rain-bearing nimbostratus clouds (which can reach up to 5km in height). This would make them literally taller than Mt. Everest. Iterators are big, but I don't think they're that big. I think it's safer to assume that the cloud layer is made up of low-lying stratus clouds that form a thick fog.

The way iterator rain functions could be an entirely different discussion, but I personally think it's caused by a sudden expulsion of large quantities of hot water vapor which very quickly condenses into rain clouds. A topic for another time, maybe. The takeaway is that I think the weather created by iterators doesn't have a clear analogue to real life weather, and it's misguided to assume that they function the same way.

Skyscraper Height

One thing that iterators have that can be compared to real life, however, is cities.

The largest buildings in these cities can be seen at a distance.

This in-game iterator sprite is 122 pixels tall, and the tallest building visible is 20 pixels tall. This means the top of this iterator's can is 5.6 times as tall as the tallest building on its roof.

We can compare these skyscrapers to the largest buildings on Earth. This requires some additional assumptions:

While the civilization that built the iterators is likely able to create skyscrapers much taller than the ones humans have created, I'm going to assume that the ones visible here are comparable in size.

I'm also going to assume that these skyscrapers are residential buildings, built to fit a high population density on top of an iterator. The tallest buildings on Earth tend to have very tall antenna spires which add to their overall height but are not inhabitable. Residential skyscrapers tend to be significantly shorter, so I'm going to use them as a comparison rather than the tallest skyscrapers on Earth in general.

According to Wikipedia, the current tallest residential skyscrapers range from about 300 meters to 475 meters tall. I'm going to assume the one in-game is 400 meters tall, as a nice even number.

5.6(400m) = 2240m

This would make an iterator's height, from ground level to the top of their can, about 2240 meters (2.24 kilometers, 1.4 miles).

Here's a diagram comparing that to the heights of some of the tallest free-standing manmade structures:

And here's a size comparison between a typical iterator can and Mount Everest:

Smaller than a mountain, but still huge.

Conclusions

Based on these estimates, I think typical iterator cans are about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) in height.

This would make iterators significantly taller than anything created by humans, but I personally think an advanced society like the one that created the iterators would have no problem creating a structure this tall. (They canonically created thousands of iterators, after all.)

This estimate is also much shorter than my misguided original calculation, which made them taller than an entire mountain. While I do think iterators are meant to be unfathomably huge, I don't think there would be enough material on the planet to feasibly create thousands of identical mountain-sized superstructures. The player is also able to ascend from the ground to the top of Five Pebbles in just a few cycles (if they're quick), and I think it's much more feasible for an animal like a slugcat to be able to ascend a height of ~2km in a couple of days than to climb up an entire mountain. But again, this is pure speculation.

I made a ton of assumptions and rounded a bunch of numbers, so I could be completely wrong. There's probably other ways you could try to estimate an iterator's height that I haven't explored here. Let me know what you think; I love hearing about other people's ideas and theories.

Thank you for reading!

[got-no-skill]

OK, y'know what, no, I was just going to leave this be and not reblog it, but you had to say, "population density," which does. not. fucking. matter. in regards to the broader point that we should build more.

The biggest reason I am screaming at anyone who will listen to invest in our rail network is climate change. Rail transportation is so much better for the environment than planes or cars, because

It uses several orders of magnitude less fuel than cars or planes to carry the same amount, and

It can be powered by electricity, from wires above or the rails below, and electricity can be derived from renewable (or at least carbon neutral) sources, and even in situations where they are not, it is far easier to regulate a few thousand smokestacks than several million tailpipes.

Speaking of things trains do better than road vehicles, semi-trucks are responsible for the vast majority of wear and tear on the road network (thank you, square-cube law), and if we invested in our rail network, not even necessarily the passenger rail network, just rail at all, we could divert some traffic from roads to rails and dramatically decrease the amount of funding needed to maintain them (and some more toothed regulations regarding the size and weight of vehicles on US highways might help, but that's another rant.)

The other thing population density ignores is the real reason we don't have more rail: we don't control the network.

Here's that map of the US rail network again, this time color-coded for ownership:

Granted this is from 2006 and thus a bit out of date, but it illustrates the problem: the US has nearly 140,000 miles of rail, but Amtrak uses only 21,400 miles of it and controls (owns and/or operates) 755 miles.

The reason for this is multi-layered and all of them are bullshit. First, unlike in other countries where rail service is treated as a public good that doesn't have to make a profit, because it's America and public anything is for evil gay communist socialists, Amtrak is structured like a for-profit company that the government props up because it has never turned a profit because public goods are inherently things that are necessary and good but cannot be done profitably in a private context. This means that Amtrak will just cut lines to small communities because they aren't profitable, which are often the best way in or out of a lot of these places.

Another part of this discussion goes back to how the rail network is owned by freight rail companies: ostensibly these companies are supposed to give Amtrak priority, but there's no enforcement mechanism when they don't comply, so they just don't. Moreover, even if the Class Is were run by altruistic people who gave a wet fart about Amtrak and passenger rail in the US, the way they're operating trains makes this impossible at times. Google Precision Scheduled Railroading and click on any of the hundreds of articles from reputable publications about this issue. For the lazy, I'll give you a run-down of a work day in the life of a railroader in the US: you're called up at some random time, could be noon, could be 3:24 AM, and told to report to work in two hours. You show up to a train already on the tracks, and sit in it for eight hours doing nothing because you're waiting on a different train to pass and both trains are so unfathomably long that they occupy each other's right-of-way and have to somehow navigate around/through each other. Then a company car comes to pick you up and drops off the next group of hopeless workers who might get to do something on their shift. Repeat at least six days a week, probably seven when they call you on your day off. And Amtrak is just sitting there, masturbating unable to do anything because their right-of-way is blocked by both of those trains, too.

If that description gave you the idea that freight railroads in the US are ghoulish corporate entities that put profit above literally everything else, you're correct! This is the secret third reason Amtrak's service is so limited relative to our rail network size: our rail network is "maintained" by companies who are interested in spending the barest possible minimum amount on maintenence of right-of-way or rolling stock (see this video for some sterling examples:

So a lot of our rail network is just straight-up unsafe to use.

Getting back to why we should build more, we aren't asking for Europe- or China-style service, we just want service! We don't need 300 KPH service from Kokomo to Cucamonga, but being able to get between Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and St. Louis in a reasonable amount of time shouldn't be unreasonable.

If my half-awake ranting hasn't alienated you and you're interested in the real reasons our rail system is broken, I strongly encourage you to watch Alan Fisher's videos on our rail network; I've linked his channel below:

Passenger trains in US vs Europe (image is making the rounds among U.S. transit advocates today)

[transit-fag]

Tumblr is wonderful because you can have someone yell at you for posting a map of population densities because you didn't discuss the historical causes of it

[matan4il]

It's astounding to me that people can refer to the military campaign in Gaza in the terms that they do.

You wanna talk proportionality? Let's! Here's something to give you some proportions.

Over the course of just two days, on Mar 9 and 10, 1945, the Tokyo bombing led to an estimated 80,000 to 130,000 civilians dead. After just two days!

And we still don't call that a genocide, because we have a basic understanding that this term refers to the intention of one nation to completely destroy another, while the Americans were not set on killing every last Japanese. We can discuss whether such intense bombing of civilians was right, but there is no doubt that the goal wasn't a destruction of the entire Japanese nation.

According to Hamas' figure as reported on Nov 15, meaning after 40 days of fighting, the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is 11,500.

When looking at this comparison, take into account that the population density of Tokyo in 1940 was about 1,337 people per square mile. The population density of Gaza City is (as reported by NBC on Oct 10) 15,000 people per square mile. So we can assume that if an army had indiscriminately bombed Gaza City the way Tokyo was, over the course of just two days, the death toll would have been even higher than the actual WWII one.

Hamas, as a genocidal terrorist organization, is NOT reliable in giving us the casualties, so its figure is likely inflated. It also doesn't distinguish civilians from terrorists (who are legitimate targets in this war), and it doesn't say how many Gazans were killed by Palestinian terrorists (whether due to the over 1,000 rockets that malfunctioned and fell inside Gaza, due to Hamas shooting civilians trying to evacuate to the south or due to terror tunnels collapsing because of the fighting, and killing the civilians who were living above).

And still!

Even if we accept Hamas' figure as is, and we pretend like every single one of the people killed is a civilian, meaning we decide that somehow the IDF has not managed to kill a single terrorist in 40 days of fighting (even though it has identified and published the names of some of the highest ranking Hamas terrorists it managed to eliminate, as well as terrorists identified as having participated in the Oct 7 massacre, and even though Hamas confirmed at least one), and we ignore the fatalities caused by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) themselves, this does not amount to a genocide. It does not even amount to indiscriminate bombing.

Just to make it clear, this isn't meant to say that the death of civilians in Gaza isn't regrettable. Of course it is! This post is just meant to point out that many of the people talking about this online seem to NOT have any kind of clue what indiscriminate bombing, let alone a genocide, actually looks like.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

the girl next door 7

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such as age gap, manipulation, chronic illness, noncon/dubcon, coercion, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: A new neighbour moves in and upends your already disarrayed life.

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself.

This lewk but silverfox

Your body is stiff. You blame your late-night drawing session hunched over the folding table. You feel it in your neck and shoulder. You sit up and groan, rubbing your muscles as you try to loosen the knots. You roll your arms as you stand up, yawning as you rub your eyes. 

A dewy breeze flows in. The air feels like rain but the density has yet to break. You remember vaguely in the middle of the night cracking the window to cool off, your room stagnant and stale. 

You near the window in your baggy shirt, dampened slightly with your sweat. It’s caught under your chest as you bulge against the fabric. You pull it free as you stand in front of the pane and blanch as you see movement on the other side. Shoot. 

Your eyes meet Steve’s as he closes the window across from yours. He can feel the approaching storm too. He smiles and gives a two-fingered wave. You lift your hand weakly, barely extending your fingers before you tug shut the curtains. How much did he see? How much could he see? 

You go out to get the day started. The overhead light of kitchen blares yellow across the space and you put the coffee pot on to brew. As you wait, you tidy the table, once more cluttered with your mother’s forgotten distractions. The crossword book, several pens, a home magazine, and several wrappers. 

You slow the pour of coffee into your mug as you hear your mom’s bedroom door. You stare at the doorway until she appears. She limps to the table and sits heavily. You put the cup before her and grab another for yourself. She mutters and leans her head in her hand. She was home late last night. 

You go to grab her inhaler from the bathroom. Once more, it’s missing. You return and find it on the counter hidden beside a used plate. It's only then you notice the blackened frozen fries on the cookie sheet. What the heck? 

“Ugh, that man,” she croaks, letting it roll into a laugh, “he convinced me to have a little wine after the milkshake.” You put her inhaler in front of her. She raises her head and scowls. She rubs the furrow between her brows. “And then another. And another.” 

You don’t even remember her getting home. You were up until one in the morning drawing. She must have been much later. How hadn’t you heard her make all this mess? 

You sip your coffee around cleaning up. You wash the glass from the milkshake Steve brought over and set it aside. Your mother hacks and clears her throat. 

“Mm, he’s too nice,” she mutters, “told him you didn’t need that. Too much sugar. You don’t even like strawberry.” 

You hide your frown. You like strawberry. You’re not sure why she thinks otherwise. She’s never really asked. 

“I’ll bring the glass back--” 

“You remember your manners,” she girds before she hums into her coffee cup. She gulps through her wet lips noisily. “I don’t need you ruining this.” 

“I will, mom.” 

“Ugh,” she stands up with a groan, “I need my chair.” 

Her hand trembles and the cup with it. She spills a little over the sides but doesn’t pay attention to it. You dump the tray of burnt fries and put it in the sink. You just cleaned this place top to bottom. You don’t think you’re that messy but it’s always a disaster. 

You clean the rest of the dishes and put them away. Your mom hollers for more coffee and you bring the pot with you to refill her cup. She leans it on her chest and closes her eyes. 

“I’m going to take the glass back now, I guess.” 

“Mph, do whatever,” she utters irritably. 

You trod back to your room and change into real clothes; straight-legged jeans and a stripped jersey tee. You just want to get this over with. It’s so awkward. You would rather your mom just take it back the next time she goes over but she’s in rough shape. It must be the alcohol. She’s not really supposed to have any. 

You grab the glass and put on your shoes. As you come out, there’s a speckling of rain falling from the sky. You go up the walk and around the sidewalk, coming back down the pavement squares to Steve’s porch. You stop and look up at his front door. You climb the steps and drag your feet to the door. 

You tap the bell. It’s one of those ones with the camera built-in. You feel overly conscious as you stand before the lens. The door opens before you can prepare yourself. 

“Hey, sweetie,” Steve greets, “how are you?” 

“Erm. Okay. Here.” 

You hold out the glass. He doesn’t take it. He leans on the doorframe and smile. 

“Crummy day, huh? Supposed to thunderstorm soon,” he comments, “too bad, I was really wanting to get that pool going.” 

“Mm, yeah,” you keep the glass raised before you. 

“Oh well, guess I’ll have to figure out what to do all pent up. Maybe a movie night? With all this moving, I’m way behind.” 

You look at his chest, staring at the short-sleeved button up with chagrin. What is he talking about? Why is he talking so much? 

“You got any suggestions? You youngins always know what’s hip,” he shakes his head and laughs, “sorry, I sound old, don’t I?” 

“No,” you answer dully. 

“No what? No suggestions or no I don’t sound old?” He challenges. 

Your eyes go round and you look him in the face. “I don’t know.” 

“I’m teasing--” 

“Here,” you wiggle the glass at him. 

He takes it, his fingers brushing against yours. You let it go and recoil. You bare your teeth strangely and back away, “thanks, er. Bye.” 

You turn and cringe at the grey sky. You trudge off the porch and cut across the lawn, too mortified not to trod over his grass. You clamber up the front steps and quickly shut yourself inside the house. You hiss at yourself as you press your back to the door. 

“Don’t slam the goddamn door,” your mother sneers, “Jesus. No wonder this place is falling apart.” 

🏠

It’s one of those days where you’re just sad. You can’t pinpoint why. It’s just a vague malaise that won’t leave. Even as the sun beams and deepens to a soft evening hue, you can’t see a light among the dark. 

You don’t know how long you’ve been like that. Under your covers, crying for no good reason. It just hurts to be. You keep your arm folded over your pounding head. You just want to sleep and yet you can’t cross the barrier into unconscious. 

You give up and roll onto your back, pulling the blanket to your waist. You exhale and stare up at the ceiling. You’re head swims from the deluge of tears. You sop them up with the sheet and sit up. Your head is full and throbbing. 

You get up, bleary-eyed, and muddle your way through reality. You pull open your door and find the bathroom on instinct alone. You shut yourself in and blow your nose. The effort has you even more dizzy. You shake your head, trying to clear out the fog, and turn on the cold water. You throw it across your face, holding a wet palm to your forehead to try to ease the tension. 

Your ears tickle with a strange noise. A low drone. Like bass on the front television. Now and again, your mom will amp up the TV but it’s unexpectedly loud. You twist off the faucet and stand straight. You dry off and head back into the hall, peering down at the shifting light glaring from the living room doorway. 

“Woahhh,” the voice catches you unaware as someone collides with you from behind in the dim hallway. You stumble and turn to face Steve as popcorn scatters onto the floor, tumbling over the brim of the bowl. The smell tugs at your stomach, “sorry sweetie, I didn’t see you there.” 

You look at his silhouette, unable to make out any of his features. You didn’t even know he was there. Your mother didn’t even warn you. You suspect that may have been purposeful. 

“Sweetie?” 

“Sorry,” you back up, “didn’t mean... to get in the way.” 

You turn and shuffle back to your room. He follows, “your mom said you weren’t feeling good. Hope you get better soon, but if you’re interested, we’re watching a movie.” 

Your bedroom door is wide open. If you’d known, you would’ve been sure to shut it tight. 

“No, thank you,” you grab the handle and slowly shift the door behind you. 

“No problem,” he calls after you, “offer stands if you change your mind.” 

You click the door shut gently and stay on the other side, listening for his footsteps. He lingers, a bit too long, and it’s only as he walks away that you go back to your bed. There’s something strange about him. Or maybe it’s just you. 

[sirfrogsworth]

No one hates Apple correctly.

This is a ridiculous accusation because I guess they are expecting Apple to... violate the laws of physics?

We have achieved very good energy density. And that allows for the miniaturization involved in creating something like wireless earbuds. But there is no such thing as an infinite battery. And any longer lasting design would have to use more expensive parts or be much bigger.

Also the current lifespan of pretty much all earbuds of this size is about 3 years. This has been mapped out. It isn't a secret. You can google it and it pops up in big bold letters.

The better statistic is actually charge cycles. Years is really dicey because it depends on usage.

If you want something that lasts longer, get headphones. But a short lifespan is the price you pay for such a small product. Perhaps Apple should be more upfront about the limitations of miniaturization, but they aren't actually trying to scam you or hide this information. It's not like they can make a cold fusion battery and are choosing not to.

Apple is actually one of the best at making technology products that last a long time... with one big caveat... as long as they don't need repairs. (Which is why they *actually* suck.)

They keep getting accused of planned obsolescence when they have been supporting their smartphones for pretty much as long as the hardware can run the software. Only last year have companies like Samsung and Google made similar promises.

But Apple refuses to do even the simplest things to make their devices more repairable. And in many cases they actually create hurdles for repairs like pairing parts together so you can't replace them from a donor device.

They have also been very bad at transparency. There is the classic story of Apple slowing down phones. And everybody thought they were trying to force people to buy new ones. In reality, they were actually trying to keep those devices from bricking. The batteries in the phones were too degraded to handle some of the newer software. And since they didn't want the bad press of phones suddenly dying, they slowed down phones. They were actually making the phones last *longer* but for some reason this gets used to make the opposite point.

All that was required was a battery swap. And they could have just told people, "Hey, we can either slow down your phone or you can get a new battery." But they tried to keep it quiet and so everyone drew the wrong conclusions.

They got rightfully sued for this, but it started this idea that they don't make long lasting products when they absolutely do—just within the limitations of physics.

So their sin was never planned obsolescence. It was repairability and transparency. Their closed ecosystem is also an issue, but that is a much more complicated discussion.

[highonmarvel]

Polaroids

Bucky Barnes: You find out your boyfriend’s into photography. 18+!

content warnings here!

You had dated Bucky for a few weeks now, but you had never been to his place.

“Bucky?” you call as you rap your knuckles against the wood, pressing your ear to the door to hear for his approaching footsteps, but after a few moments, they don’t sound. You try your luck at pushing down on the door handle, to find it’s unlocked.

“Bucky?” you call again, peeping your head into his home. The lights are on, and he said he would be home around this time—he would’ve called you if he changed things—so you guess he’s just busy with something else.

You call his name again as you close the door behind you and take a few steps in. The front door opens right into the living room, where some pictures are scattered on the far wall. You tilt your head at them as you drop your bag, taking slow steps to study the art.

You gasp at what you see; dozens of photos of you, that you have no idea how he got. Polaroids of you leaving work, buying groceries, having lunch, cleaning your home, even sleeping cover the wall in such density you can hardly see the white paint that lies beneath it. Everyday activities you can think of you do unconsciously, he has got to have at least five of them, all on different days.

You take a step back and squeal as your back hits something, but a cold, metal hand is over your mouth before you can scream and an arm is snaked around your waist before you can run. Holding you tight against him, Bucky kisses your temple, and then leans down to press his lips to the shell of your ear.

“You’re captivating,” he says, voice low and words spoken slowly and deliberately, falling as near-whispers to your ears, “But I can’t help but feel like you get a little shy around me, sometimes, and I don’t like that, when you act coy. So I do this,” he moves his hand from your mouth and gestures to his collage in front of you, “So I can learn about you.”

That’s how he knew all those things. Bucky had bought you a stack of novels, four of which you had been eyeing and one of which you hadn’t but had ended up adoring, but you’d never told him the kinds of books you liked, in fact, you couldn’t remember ever discussing reading with him, or ever reading in front of him, not once could you recall even holding a book in his presence. You were drawn to Bucky because he’s a great listener, but how could he know what to look out for if you’d never said it? You brushed it off, guessed that maybe the shows you watched together hinted at your taste in literature, maybe he had seen some books when he had been over to your place, or maybe just the way you spoke about life taught him what you’d look for, but still, four out of five? It seemed way too much to just be organic.

Other ways were more subtle, how he’d know just the right question to ask to get you to continue your story, how he had noted when you walked on the right side of the stairs, you tended to trip because they were slightly uneven (something you had never taken note of despite years of living in your flat), how, whenever you ate ice cream at your place, he knew exactly which spoon to give you, among others, all little things you didn’t think much of—he’s a good listener, that or he just got lucky—but, no, it was too good to be true.

“I’ve seen it all, but the one thing I’ve never seen…”

He holds you tighter still against him as his left hand reaches into his pocket. He raises it back and you hear the skint of a knife as a cold blade floats just a hair away from your throat.

“… is you bleed.”

You take in a sharp breath of air as you clutch his wrists, your right hand circling his hold around your waist and your left grasping at his vibranium hand to try to pull it away, but it doesn’t even seem he feels your efforts, let alone is affected by them.

He presses the tip of the knife against your chin, just enough to make you raise it so he can plant a soft kiss to your neck. He twists the knife and traces the flat of it along your jaw, then down the side of your neck, across your shoulder. He turns the blade to slice through the thin strap of your top, letting the string fall aside. He flips the knife closed and tucks it back into his pocket.

Slowly, he turns you to face him, your terrified gaze meeting his curious blue eyes. He studies you for a moment, then plants a kiss to your forehead and reaches to the coffee table to grab a camera. He takes a few steps back and raises it to his eye, squinting as he points the lens your way. You’re paralysed in the moment, just as you’re frozen in all the photographs behind you.

There’s a flash and a slip slides out of the slot at the front. He pulls it out and holds it between two fingers, shaking it a few times to reveal the picture. He smiles lovingly at it, like adoring the sweetest art, before flipping it to show you. Your petrified stare looks back at you, paralysed in time as you are, a few tears staining your cheeks that you hadn’t even realised had spilt.

He sets the equipment and polaroid aside before taking a step towards you; you take a step back and he stops moving, holding his hands up, palms exposed, to shoulder-level, like trying to appear friendly to a wild animal.

“Calm down,” he coos, taking very slow and small step towards you as you begin to tremble slightly. Despite his careful movements, he’s near right up against you before you realise it. He places his hands on your shoulders and moves to stand behind you, and you can do nothing but let him steer you to an armchair, your body in shock and refusing to respond.

He kneels down in front of you and smiles, brilliant white teeth nearly setting you at ease before he once again pulls out his knife and spreads your legs slightly.

He ghosts the blade over your exposed thigh, never touching, but so close you can feel the coolness radiating onto your increasingly warm skin. You grip the armrests, body growing rigid as you strain to feel for when he’ll cut you. When he does, the knife is so sharp it doesn’t even hurt as he draws a line from the middle of your inner thigh to just before your knee. You watch in horror as crimson drips and runs down to the leather of the chair, running slowly but enough to form a very small pool.

“You know you’re soaked right now,” he murmurs, maybe more to himself to you, and you snap your head away from your blood to him, but he’s focused on your crotch. He slowly turns the knife to run the handle down your slit, and you writhe and whimper at the single motion. Everything you’ve done since you’ve arrived—first your inaction and now your unconscious response to him—proves, your body could never deny him.

“Bucky…” you breathe, his name nearly coming out as a whine, maybe a plea, but for what, you aren’t sure. Bucky, though, doesn’t seem to have that problem.

He leans down and presses a kiss to your bleeding thigh before looking up at you with red lips, “I can help you out, alright?” he promises, dipping his head to leave another kiss as he slowly runs the handle of his knife up and down over your slit, still above your shorts, and you grind against it, needing more, “Just let me take some pictures…”

✪

[taglist; @cjand10]

[evidence-based-activism]

IOC Study on Transgender Athletes Severely Flawed

So, to a certain extent, the question of "should transwomen be able to compete female sports?" is an ideological question (i.e., "should identity supersede reality?").

That being said, there's a recent report [1], funded by the IOC, that is being used to "prove" that transwomen do not have a biological advantage over non-trans women. This report is severely flawed and does not actually lend support to the idea that transwomen have no biological advantage in sports over female people.

(I will mimic the language used in the report (e.g., using "ciswomen").)

Significant differences noted by the report that do NOT support transwomen's inclusion in women's sports:

Transwomen were substantially taller than ciswomen

Transwomen had more lean/fat-free mass than ciswomen

Transwomen had better lung function than ciswomen, as measured by forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and peak expiratory flow. (See the next section for a discussion on the ratio.)

Transwomen had greater hand grip strength (a proxy for overall strength measurement)

Transwomen had higher absolute peak power (lower extremity) compared to ciswomen. (See next section for a discussion on the relative measure.)

Transwomen had the same "absolute strength" as cismen

The data showing no significant difference between transwomen and ciswomen has substantial flaws:

The sample size was too small to reliably determine differences in bone mineral density

For lung function only the FEV1:FVC ratio was lower for transwomen, but the values are generally within the normal range for both groups. The impact of this difference is therefore questionable, as the transwomen have greater absolute values on each measurement and the ratio is not showing any abnormalities. In addition, the effect size (size of the difference) is much smaller than the effect size of the absolute differences described above. The conclusion here is simply that the participants do not have any obstructive respiratory diseases, and the transwomen have greater absolute lung function. (Although there are better tests for this.) There is also one outlier in the transwomen group that is likely driving this relationship in the ratio; unfortunately they do not perform the expected control analyses to demonstrate the retention of results without the outlier. [2]

The researchers decided to examine power in the lower extremities relative to lean/fat-free mass, which yielded a lower result for transwomen compared to ciswomen. However, this methodology make absolutely no sense. We have already established that transwomen have significantly greater lean/fat-free mass, and this paper is interested in determining equitably in sport performance. In general, sports aren't divided out by mass (and certainly not by lean mass), therefore we are interested in absolute differences, not in differences adjusted by some other factor. (Particularly not when that factor is established to be significantly different between transwomen and ciswomen!)

The same criticism applies to their analysis of cardiac function. But even more importantly, "the most crucial variable influencing VO2_max was not assessed in the present study" which is a significant oversight given the stated goals of this paper.

There are numerous other limitation and issues with this report:

This study is of "cross-sectional design, making it challenging to establish causation or examine if the performance of athletes changes as a result of undergoing GAHT"

"The athlete training intensity was self-reported. Therefore, the results may suffer from selection and recall bias." [emphasis mine] -> In other words, these results may be "comparing apples and oranges" with varying rates of fitness impacting the results.

"The athletes participating in the present study represented a variety of different sports, and this would have undoubtedly impacted the results of the study as different sports stress different training and sports modalities." [emphasis mine] -> This is a significant limitation, as comparing the strength of a ciswoman weight lifter to a transwomen distance runner (or vice versa) is meaningless. It's true that measures of fitness tend to correlate, but comparing across sport disciplines for highly competitive sports (where they are focusing on improving specific characteristics) distorts the results. (They explicitly note this: "Exercise type, intensity and duration all have an impact on physiological responses and overall laboratory performance metrics.")

"Social media recruitment leaves this study open to sample bias"

"The gender-affirming treatment of the transgender athletes was not controlled"

"The participants were not screened by a clinician before participation, and any medical conditions were self-reported"

The transwomen in this study all suppressed testosterone to ciswomen's levels and increased oestradiol above ciswomen's levels. This is a limitation because this degree of success in hormone suppression is uncommon, meaning that even these these poorly-supportive results are likely inapplicable to the majority of transwomen. [3]

There is a significant conflict of interest: this study was funded by the IOC after they had already changed the rules to remove the "hormone suppression" requirement [4]

All in all, this study is a classic case of researchers misrepresenting their data in the study's abstract. The data they actually collected shows that transwomen on hormone suppression maintain significant advantages over ciswomen. Further, the flaws in the study limit the applicability of their results.

---

In addition, there are other studies that contradict this result:

This review [3] discusses numerous sources describing "the inherent male physiological advantages that lead to superior athletic performance and then addresses how estrogen therapy fails to create a female-like physiology in the male"

This review [5] found "the performance gap between males and females becomes significant at puberty and often amounts to 10–50% depending on sport" and that "longitudinal studies examining the effects of testosterone suppression on muscle mass and strength in transgender women consistently show very modest changes, where the loss of lean body mass, muscle area and strength typically amounts to approximately 5% after 12 months of treatment. Thus, the muscular advantage enjoyed by transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed."

This study [6] found that transwomen "generally maintained their strength level" during "gender-affirming therapy".

This study [7] found that all physical advantages were present after one year and that some are retained even after years on hormone suppression. They also specifically hypothesized that "gender dysphoria could stimulate the opposite behaviour [differences in exercise habits] in transwomen, decreasing push-up performance and explaining why transwomen performed fewer push-ups than [cismen] prior to starting oestrogen." This motivation difference likely won't apply to elite athletes, which further supports the idea that transwomen athletes should not be competing with female athletes.

As this position statement [8] indicates we know that there are substantial differences in athletic performance for male and female people.* However, there is little high-quality, definitive evidence concerning the effects of hormone suppression/replacement on people's athletic performance. The current state of evidence suggests that hormone suppression/replacement fails to bridge the physiological gap between male and female people, but we need further higher-quality evidence to definitively prove this.

(That being said, the burden of proof here is on the people attempting to initiate a change; that is equitably between transwomen and female people should be (have been) established prior to eliminating biological sex-separation.)

*Before anyone jumps on this: this is not a moral difference. There is absolutely no reason why running faster or lifting heavier things would make someone "better". The biological difference in performance exists, but it does not in anyway suggest superiority of men over women. Beyond that, it is unsurprising that men outperform women on traditional sports given that sports were designed by and for men. In sports that cater to women's physiological advantages (e.g., endurance, flexibility), women outperform men. [9]

---

So, given all this, what would we actually need to make determine transwomen's relative advantage over female people?

The "perfect" study would involve (at least) these elements:

Random selection from the desired population(s) of transwomen (e.g., top-ranked athletes in a specific sport, non-athletic, etc.) with matched (for population) non-trans female and non-trans male controls

Observation (not self-report) of activity level prior to, during, and following a standardized treatment (hormone suppression/replacement) initiation

Continual measurement of various physical and athletic performance, preferably with a range of laboratory (e.g., spirometry, body measurements) and naturalistic (e.g., actual sports competitions) tasks along with monitoring the treatment and clinical/health issues in all participants (again, not via self-report)

Large enough sample sizes to allow for sufficiently powered tests of all groups/differences of interest

A double-blinded assessment approach (or "placebo" controlled) such that both the researcher assessing the participants and the participants do not know what is being evaluated until the study is complete. For example, you may tell one half the transwomen participants that you are tracking the long term health effects of the intervention (hormone therapy), while you tell the other half that you are assessing differences in athletic performance as a result of the intervention. This will allow for the evaluation of demand characteristics like the ones impacting [7].

There are likely even more factors I have not currently thought of. Of course, completing the "perfect" study would likely be almost impossible. It would certainly be impossible to do for every population of interest (e.g., Olympic weight-lifters, adolescent track and field athletes, sedentary office workers) at the same time.

That being said, a study that fails to include all of these factors (particularly the blinded approach, matching of control participants, and sample size) is not going to meet the standard of evidence needed to make decisions of this magnitude (i.e., choosing to change the priority from biological categorization to ideological categorization). In reality, we would likely need many studies that individually evaluate each group of interest (e.g., transwomen olympic-level weight-lifters vs female olympic-level weight-lifters), each applying as many of the ideal study characteristics as possible.

In conclusion, the IOC has failed to perform their stated duty to regulate and ensure fair competition in sports. There is no current evidence suggesting that transwomen have lost their male-advantage in sports, much less any evidence suggesting they are at a disadvantage.

References below the cut:

Hamilton, B., Brown, A., Montagner-Moraes, S., Comeras-Chueca, C., Bush, P. G., Guppy, F. M., & Pitsiladis, Y. P. (2024). Strength, power and aerobic capacity of transgender athletes: a cross-sectional study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 58(11), 586-597.

Al-Ashkar, F., Mehra, R., & Mazzone, P. J. (2003). Interpreting pulmonary function tests: recognize the pattern, and the diagnosis will follow. Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine, 70(10), 866-881.

Heather, A. K. (2022). Transwoman elite athletes: their extra percentage relative to female physiology. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9103.

“International Olympic Committee Issues New Guidelines on Transgender Athletes.” NBC News, 3 Jan. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/international-olympic-committee-issues-new-guidelines-transgender-athl-rcna5775.

Hilton, E. N., & Lundberg, T. R. (2021). Transgender women in the female category of sport: perspectives on testosterone suppression and performance advantage. Sports Medicine, 51, 199-214.

Wiik, A., Lundberg, T. R., Rullman, E., Andersson, D. P., Holmberg, M., Mandić, M., ... & Gustafsson, T. (2020). Muscle strength, size, and composition following 12 months of gender-affirming treatment in transgender individuals. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(3), e805-e813.

Roberts, T. A., Smalley, J., & Ahrendt, D. (2021). Effect of gender affirming hormones on athletic performance in transwomen and transmen: implications for sporting organisations and legislators. British journal of sports medicine, 55(11), 577-583.

Pitsiladis, Yannis MMedSci, PhD, FACSM; Harper, Joanna MS; Betancurt, Jonathan Ospina; Martinez-Patino, Maria-Jose; Parisi, Attilio MD; Wang, Guan; Pigozzi, Fabio MD, PhD. Beyond Fairness: The Biology of Inclusion for Transgender and Intersex Athletes. Current Sports Medicine Reports 15(6):p 386-388, 11/12 2016. | DOI: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000314

Ro, Christine. The sports where women outperform men. (2024). From https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240731-the-sports-where-women-outperform-men

[koimethehorizon]

Fionna and Cake theory: Simon the Artist

Nothing like a good old creative panic attack.

Fionna and Cake good. Haven’t been excited about a show like this in a long time, though it being a part of Adventure Time does help quite a bit. I was holding on to some cautious optimism for the show when it was announced as yet another big IP series covering the multiverse (still waiting to groan at THAT scene where Prismo has to explain to us about there being infinite universes), but as usual, Adventure Time’s crew continues to surprise me with its creativity, humor, and thematic resonance.

The most striking part about Fionna and Cake so far is just how deliberately the show wants us to differentiate it from the original Adventure Time.

We’re getting shots where Simon pops an artery from his arm, a theme song that explicitly talks about suicidal ideation, discussions of rent and financial problems, and curses no longer disguised with AT’s usual dialogue. Adventure Time has always had violence, thematic density, and juvenile rating pushers, but they were always reserved at small points. Meanwhile, these are factors that are just casually shown and discussed in Fionna and Cake every 3 minutes or so. This is not an all-ages miniseries, it’s for young adults. (hint: this will be relevant later)

Let’s get right into it. This is much less a speculative lore theory and more on what thematic direction the story may be going.

Before we do, let’s get this out of the way first. This theory assumes that the current Fionna and Cake world is all a part of Simon’s head and not merely a separate multiverse, which… I’m certain is fact for the following reasons.

The immediately obvious piece is that Fionna and Cake was always the Ice King’s fanfiction. Now if you’re versed in AT’s continuity you’re probably going to be asking about the red light in Fionna and Cake + Fionna and… I’ve no answer for it unfortunately. It’ll probably be relevant later in the series and possibly age this post like milk but for now, we’re not here to focus on the how, but the why.

Second is that the intro and the ending of Ep 2 literally show Fionna’s world spilling right out of Simon’s head like an animated world out of a frozen brain. If that isn’t clear enough-

Didn't realize this until writing, but these glasses are just plastic made to look like Betty's

There’s no other explanation for this other than that this world is artificial or influenced by Simon in some sense. Fionna even specifies that the statue went under renovation 12 years ago, but nobody seems to know who it is. Considering how Finn looks in the episode, it’s likely that it’s been that long since Betty’s sacrifice in the finale.

With that out of the way, here it goes.

The reason Fionna and Cake exist in the first place is because the creators found Natasha Allegri’s genderswap designs charming and wanted an in-universe reason to use them the Ice King wanted to create trashy, wish fulfillment through art. It was a phase.

Definitely changed that image for publishing.

Simon can argue if they’re good or bad but it’s undeniably his art. It’s not just a portfolio he left behind in a closet, it’s an experience that was shared with a larger audience.

And even if wasn’t liked at first, the citizens of Ooo seemed to have come around to it. And some of them love it!

Whether Simon likes it or not, he has a fan base that is so endeared to the story he made all those years ago that they demand he makes more. Why let a good story, loved by many, go to rest when you still have some life and creativity left in you?

Can't move on in more ways than one.

Except, the problem is that Simon isn’t Ice King anymore. He’s aged out of it.

His real passion is history, he's an adult who who finds passion in the mundane and antiques from the past. And frankly, there isn’t much room for wish-fulfillment and fantasy anymore. Simon has responsibilities. He has a job and a daughter in a world that is moving faster than he can process.

And where Ice King wrote about looking for love, Simon has already had it.

And lost it. His mind isn’t focused on the rosiness of finding new love, it’s grieving the one he already thought was the one.

Wasn't he supposed to be good with kids?

Despite his new life experiences, all his peers seem to want from him is to make more of what they’re familiar with.

A story made from wants and wishes that he doesn’t even have anymore.

A story that was literally made by someone else at a different time. It’s a fiction he cannot connect to anymore, art that he’s embarrassed by. Yet also jealous of. Because at one point, the body Simon used to be in understood what exactly was missing from his life and could express that easily.

Seeing it again is like experiencing a retrospection of a cringey loser you don’t want to imagine having ever been. It’s not you anymore, and you don’t want to be reminded of that.

Because despite him having a new creative passion, no one seems to care about that. All they want is Fionna and Cake. And what is more lonely than other people misunderstanding what you’re trying to express?

If I failed to make it clear somehow, my theory is that: Simon’s relationship with Fionna and Cake is a metaphor for creators growing out of their art. And this new Fionna and Cake world is still comfort art born out of Simon’s current desires and perceptions.

The snippet subtitles this “child holding a phone”. I guess I’m wrong. Essay over.

Episode 1 and 2 both have direct parallels with each other. They’re both about a protagonist who are feeling displaced from their world, living a phase of losing a significant other, leaving a thankless job, wearing a mask of stability in front of the people they care for, seeking a guru at the heart of the forest, and concluding that they no longer belong in their current world.

But more importantly, Fionna and Cake (the characters, the world, and the show) are no longer for an all-ages crowd. Fionna and Cake now feature young adults, curses, gore, alcohol, partial nudity, financial issues, morning routines, mid-life crisis, and overt suicidal ideation. These are the feelings that Simon relates to and possibly desires to express through art. Thus, his story and our new miniseries have warped that way.

Am I overthinking this? No. How dare you assume that.

Is equating the unconscious writings of his dementia-ridden self to Simon as his younger self seem a bit odd? ….Kinda. Again, it’s not the how but the why that matters in this case. I'm NOT crazy, I have proof that there is some acknowledgment of this directly in the show.

Rewatch the bar scene and apply this reading of the episode to what Simon says there:

“Your old stuff, Fionna and Cake, honest to glob my man, is an inspiration to me.”

“My old stuff, I don’t really want to talk about my old stuff…”

“Why not? You should be proud! You wrote an entire extended universe in a fugue state if you think about it.”

"Simon cringes"

If you have ever shared art with a group of people in the past, you’ve had this conversation.

Not likely, not possibly, no perhapses. You HAVE.

And Fionna and Cake being an epilogue to a massive award-winning, near-decade-spanning, cultural sensation 5 years after it ended, might result in its creators feeling very retrospective about what audiences want from them now.

And how difficult it’s going to be to tell new experiences and tones from what’s come before. Also, come on. “Extended Universe?” That doesn’t sound like Fionna and Cake. That sounds a lot like something else.

Again, seems bad with this kid.

One of the more profound shots in the main trailer for the show features the inconspicuously Finn-like kid crouching at her Fionna and Cake book in Simon’s trash. I believe this character is going to have a major role in two ways. Convincing Simon to be proud of what he’s accomplished and/or embracing that Simon wants to move away from his original work in order to create something new, or perhaps more likely, reinvent Fionna and Cake into what Simon relates to now.

We’ll just have to see what Simon thinks of his new Fionna next week.

PS. Talking as a fan now, WHAT IS UP WITH THE 1000+ TREEHOUSE IN THE INTRO?!!! ARE WE REVISITING THIS TIMELINE AGAIN?

SOMEONE TELL ME NOW!!!

[isupposethisisagoodusername]

I know that it's very popular but I don't really like much the idea of Damian being murderous and super serious with his family and a sweetheart with Jon and maybe friends.

I find it stupid.

I do smile and think it's cute when I see Damian being cute with him, but the idea of him being the biggest and baddest assassin ever when not around him just, doesn't make sense to me?

I think Damian hugs his family and gives them gifts and can be a sweetheart with them.

He'll cling onto Bruce and be carried around like a small child because he probably adores the affection

He'll laugh at Dick's shitty jokes because he knows it's sort of Dick's crappy way of showing affection and Damian pays back by laughing

Sure, he won't flat out laugh a lot in the beginning until he's very comfortable with him, maybe a not frown, then a little twist of lips, then a small smile and soon enough he's giggling like a kid who really admires his older brother and will laugh at whichever stupid shit he does (me fr fr, I'm usually acid and don't laugh a lot but I swear to god, my brother makes a funny face I am dying with laughter)

He bonds with Jason and they sit on rooftops late at night, talking about the League and Talia and Bruce and getting used to it and they sit in the library and read together and Jason presents Damian his favourite books and Damian gives him animal themed bookmarks that he drew himself and Jason picks one for each favourite book and they both adore it.

With Tim I think it'd be a bit slower but once the breaking point is reached they'll be thick and through. They'd probably bond over some smart people thing or discussing theories or smart people things, maybe attack strategies or languages (though languages sort of are Bruce's thing) or homework or skating.

Sometimes Damian can't sleep and he doesn't want someone worried (Dick or Bruce) over just some insomnia and he'll knock on Tim's door and they don't need to say anything because Tim can see it, he sees it on the mirror every day, how could he not recognize it?

So he opens the door and lets him in, Damian sits on the bed and Tim grabs the extra pillow that has the density Damian likes but Tim can't stand. The pets come in after a bit but by then they're already both asleep.

I don't know how to write Steph, Cass or Duke or nobody else, so please add to this with bonding with them and Damian.

Tim will be some days playing videogames and he'll tell Damian about his favourite ones and the kid probably adores animal crossing and Minecraft. And every time they fight they'll meet in the Minecraft world when they're ready to make up and they'll make up.

With Alfred it'll be more subtle, it'll start with Alfred learning Damian's favourite dishes from home and Damian will absolutely learn how to cook to give him food too. He'll give him hand painted aprons, cup holders so the towels and table cloths don't get wet or stained (yes they're animal themed let the boy be autistic & obsessed I am projecting fuck off) and he'll absolutely paint Alfred pictures of Thomas & Martha, and pictures of the current Waynes and he hangs both together.

I can add more, I certainly can but my bus is almost at my stop.

So heading over to Jon.

With Jon he'll start out careful and demon brat-y because that's how he is with strangers.

He'll eventually warm up to him, laugh at his shitty jokes that probably remind him of Dick in the beginning until he realises that isn't the affection show, that's a way to try to get Damian to smile which probably pisses him off in the beginning but he does warm up to it.

What he realizes is the affection show is physical touch and quality time so Damian endures that because he himself ends up growing affectionate towards him and he appreciates it and then he ends up enjoying the physical touch and quality time too.

I personally see Damian as a gift giver & menacingly gets rid of your troubles (acts of service).

So he'll give Bruce gifts, he'll give him things to collect and trinkets and things he made himself.

He'll give Dick art and things Dick wanted to buy or whatever.

He'll give Jason books and bookmarks and probably weaponry.

He'll give Tim tech things and alien stuff he probably stole and when Tim gets sick he'll absolutely do all his homework and Wayne stuff

He'll give Alfred aprons, cup holders, mittens, seasonings, books, ties, tea sets, and anything Alfred lets on that he likes and paintings of people Damian knows he loves.

He'll make animal themed things, paper weights, bookmarks, decorations, computer set up decorations, he'll paint their jackets (Jason probably came up with that once he saw a cool jacket and asked Damian if he could paint something similar).

He'll gift Jon flowers and also pet themed shit because yes and other useless shit Jon probably appreciates.

He will also do things to help them out.

Maybe one day Bruce gets down to the cave and finds the whole place organized and the reports he had spent weeks delaying are all done and the ones he has to read has resumes on top and there's fresh coffee ready and there's a new cup holder under his favourite mug.

Jason goes to the library or his apartment or his room and finds a brand new hand painted wooden shelf with his books meticulously organized the same way he'd organize them and there's shelf nook thingies (those decorations themed to book worlds) of his favourite books and he knows damn well Damian did those and there's a note on the bookshelf telling him to pull a specific book that Jason wouldn't really read and he pulls it and there it is, hidden, all his criminal stuff which was previously shoved into the closet.

Dick will find a book with animal jokes on his desk and maybe new kitchen utensils and a cook book and a new coffee maker on his apartment and the place is suddenly cleaned up and a set of new cup holders

Tim will find info on people he's been tracking or whatever, if he's sick all his homework is done and set into a neat pile, Damian will absolutely clean everything up and organize it and Tim also gets a new coffee maker and new cup holder

Alfred he can't really help much so he'll help by setting the plates together after dinner and helping remove the table cloth, he'll clean any dirt he sees before Alfred does.

With Jon he'll help him do his own homework because Jon is probably more interested in knowing how to do it rather than having it done and so, Damian will help with it and teach him tricks and things to do

And don't fool yourself for one moment thinking he doesn't give them all nicknames.

Sure, Jon's beloved.

Alfred's is grandfather in Arabic don't let him find out he already knows

Alfred's is probably grandpa in Arabic or something he doesn't call Ra's by. Don't let him find out. He already knows

Tim will probably be spleen because Damian will absolutely make fun of him for it, but correct me if I'm wrong, I saw it on a Tumblr post I have no real sources, but I think Arabs give nicknames that are like organs or something? So Damian will nickname him spleen either in English or another language first sort of as bullying sort of you're important to me and then it'll turn out a caring nickname

Jason I don't really know which would be but probably some nickname Talia could've given him while he was in the League and Damian copied or something like that.

Dick I don't know either, maybe something to do with Robin and maybe the circus but I don't know.

I know both of them are nicknames probably in the same style as Tim's.

Bruce's dad in Arabic because I'm clichê, let me be.

Alfred's is probably grandpa in Arabic or something similar since he won't call him the same thing as he calls Ra's, and don't let either find out. Alfred already knows

I know it's very characteristic for him to call them by last names but understand my boy was not comfortable and familiar with them yet.

I'm sick and tired of people seeing Damian as murder child instead of child because that's what he is

Jason wasn't the angry Robin, Dick was, so maybe Damian can be not murder Robin. I'm sick of that shit

Let the child be soft. He soft. He squishy. He animal lover. He artist. Yeah, sure, he's a trained assassin, he's super smart and well trained but have you considered that I don't give a fuck about cannon

Also Talia and Ra's and the assassins were darlings with him fucking fight me I'll punch whoever wrote them otherwise

He spends holidays with the other Al Ghuls however the hell holidays work for the total amount of Damian's relatives

Let my boy be soft and squishy and child because he may be totally Jon's boyfriend but he wasn't tamed by Jon.

His family loves him and he loves them back.

[savaralyn2]

Regarding the topic of monsters outside dungeons, there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that they are not outlandish or exceptional, but also not super common. For example (some spoilers below):

There is a notable amount of culture, beliefs etc surrounding monsters (they exist in suitable numbers to have implications for the lives of people semi-regularly).

Senshi discusses the taste difference of monsters in the dungeon and outside (seeming to suggest that various monsters exist both in dungeons and in the outside world).

Melini has monsters along its border in such numbers that they present a kind of unintentional defense against outside aggressions (seemingly because Laios' influence pushes them out of Melini itself, but they have no reason to wander farther than that), seeming to indicate that monsters can survive in the outside world rather decently, and exist in non-trivial numbers. Laios also notes that monsters, specifically, seem to be able to survive in environments unlivable for normal animals (for example in a salted wasteland with no sources of food).

There's other stuff too, but that comes to mind quickly. My rough estimation would be that a normal person in a settled area might not expect to see monsters with regularity, but most people likely have encountered a monster, or know about someone in their sphere who did (and in certain places this is likely much more common).

Sometimes in fan circles, there's a kind of assumption that the supernatural elements in DunMeshi are almost solely in the dungeons, but there's plenty of magic and supernatural elements depicted as part of the various cultures that clearly aren't just for dungeons (for example, a trained mage might become a graveyard keeper due to the restless dead, and the Eastern Archipelago has magic systems, despite explicitly being very poor in dungeons and monsters).

I would also, like you, assume it has to do with mana density between areas, in large parts. Since dungeons are what tends to generate mana (due to the ecosystem inside it allowing a lot of mana sprites to spawn and all that, essentially), we may assume that a dungeon "leaks" mana into the world. Natural dungeons likely form when a suitably sheltered location attracts monsters that form an ecosystem inside, stabilizing into a kind of new mana sprite breeding ground.

Good takes, honestly.

Only thing I'd say is that modern Melini may be something of an outlier due to the fact that the dungeon implosion flooding basically that whole area with magic power would presumably having a lasting effect (as we see with the fact that Yaad and the GK residents are still alive a year past the end of the manga), even if it slowly ebbs back to normal over time. Laios's monster repelling aura keeps monsters out of the kingdom/main city itself, but them gathering around the outskirts definitely shows that the land steeped with magic is drawing them in like a magnet anyways. I'd guess once enough time passes the country won't really NEED Laios's power to keep monsters away since the magic will have reached a point where the monsters go back to regular numbers along with the regular magic levels.

[transit-fag]

Urban Design Concept of the Day

The 15 Minute City Concept

The 15 Minute City is the concept that everything a person needs including housing, grocery stores, restaurants, schools, clinics, parks and shopping should be within a 15 minute walk or bike ride of people's homes. This is to be accomplished by implementing mixed use zoning and greater housing density. The 15 minute city concept is promoted as areas that are 15 minute cities are shown to healthier for the people who live in them, have strong communities, and are better for the environment as walking and cycling are better for you than automobiles. The concept while frequently discussed as a goal to reach does already exist in places like Centercity Philadelphia, the Loop and Near Northside of Chicago, Manhatten and the downtown and Capitol Hill neighborhoods of Seattle as well as many European cities. It has been proposed and risen to prominence as an alternative to the current suburban model of development