#equator appliances

[diamondsandcigarette01]

pink washer and dryer by equator

[equatorappliancesusa]

Conserving Water with Your Appliances

With the economy becoming less “consumer friendly,” a frugal lifestyle is needed to maintain not only our bare necessities but to ensure we are living a quality life in general. With that being said, daily essentials like water and energy consumption can either cost you a lot of money or by being mindful of our day-to-day use you can keep those simoleons in your pocket.

This mindfulness can go a long way with not only helping you save but also ensuring that we keep the Earth green and safe for everyone. Appliances like the dishwasher and washer machine believe it or not, consume a lot of water. After you read these brief tips, we hope that you will start to think about how you can easily prevent the overconsumption of water.

Full Loads of Laundry and Dishes

When doing the dishes or laundry ensure if loads are not full, be sure to set to the appropriate-sized cycle to reduce the usage of water. Additionally, load your dishwasher efficiently to ensure you have the maximum space.

Avoid Pre-washing Dishes

This one can be a hard one, especially if you were brought up to always wash dishes before inserting them into a dish washer. However, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pre-rinsing dishes can cost you 20 gallons of water before you even use your dishwasher. Compare that to Equator’s WBT 2440 dishwasher which only uses 3.4 gallons!

Reliable and built to clean your dishes efficiently, check out our WBT 2440 today!

Use Refrigerator to Defrost Frozen Foods

This assist in eliminating the use of water when it comes to bringing your food to the appropriate temperature to cook. According to the EPA, running water in your kitchen sink can cost you 2.2 gallons of water in a matter of minutes.

Purchase Water Saving Appliances

Is it time for you to start shopping for a new clothes washer or dishwasher? Equator’s innovative, advanced, and green combo washer-dry and dishwashers not only are great at preserving water consumption but are also excellent at providing energy efficiency. Shop with Equator Advanced Appliances today to experience advanced appliances that are environment and economically conscious.

[shunin-gumis]

L4mps Main Story Translation

Designs of Happiness A01

Title: ep.1 Well-being by myself

Characters: Nagi

Summary: One night, an interesting radio show could be heard at the Flower Laundry...

JP Proofreading: aca @463ce6 on twt EN Proofreading: jes @arcanecrayonn on twt

No matter how hard I try, a worthless person like me could never trace after the path to "happiness" that everyone else gets to experience.

As the gentle loneliness of the night envelops me, I drift between fleeting moments of happiness, barely holding on to see the next day.

-It was one of those days.

Location - Flower Laundry

Voice from the Radio: Coming to you live from HAMA Studio no.3-

Arisa: It's Arisa and~

Teresa: Teresa's~

Arisa and Teresa: Intelli-radio: Aristotle~*

Nagi: Sonia, could you turn up the volume?

Sonia: Okay~

Teresa: The rain sure isn't letting up huh?

Arisa: True~ It's quiet but it's perfect for getting some me-time in, whether it's to study or get some reading done.

Arisa: As we were talking about before the commercial break, forgive us if we go on too long on the mechanisms of achieving Happiness, just blame it on this lovely night we're having~

Sonia: ...

Sonia: Nagi-shan, you've been working on your bike all this time, but you made sure to eat dinner, yesh?

Nagi: Eh? ... Ah.

Nagi: Now that you mention it, I might be really hungry right now.

Sonia: Geez~

Sonia: You're still in the middle of work, so I'll get you shumthing you can eat with one hand.

Nagi: Thank you, Sonia. If you weren't around, I'm sure I would've ended up a mummy by now.

Nagi: "A mummy was discovered in the middle of the city!" Could Flower Laundry possibly be the next new hot spot...

Sonia: Don't say shumthing so ominous. It's exactly to prevent unfortunate people like you from ending up in such sad situations that helper robots like me were created.

Sonia: Pleash wash your hands and wait there.

Nagi: When did it get so late...

Nagi: I should get the bike back in the garage for now...

Arisa: While countries and corporations were competing between themselves for economic growth, the end result was that most of our environment was destroyed, and resources dried up in the blink of an eye.

Arisa: Did humanity manage to achieve true prosperity after this? Was it worth the cost? The answer is a resounding "No". Although the country's GDP* has increased four, or even five-fold, the happiness-index has flatlined for the past 100 years or so.

Teresa: Wait, really? A 100 years ago, people couldn't even have their clothes dry automatically, right? They also had to wash the dishes by hand... No way, that reminds me, they even had to vacuum the dust off the floor themselves or something right..?

Arisa: I think they'd still be using brooms about a 100 years ago?

Teresa: No way~ That's way too retro for me! I can't imagine life without all the smart appliances we have now. I mean, a world with no food-printers? Yikes.

Sonia: Here you go, "fresh" off the food-printer...

Nagi: Right on time.

Sonia: On time?

Nagi: I was just talking to myself. Thanks for the meal.

Arisa: Okay, I get how much you love your smart appliances, but do all these materialistic things truly fill your heart? Does it really let you sleep better at night?

Teresa: Hmm, you do have a point. The more convenient things get, the more it feels like the world is telling me to be time and cost-efficient, but before I even realize it, I'm already doom-scrolling on dazzle*...

Arisa: "More convenience! More income!" Such concepts are shoved in our faces constantly... How about trying to remove ourselves from this endless equation? There's quite a few factions amongst the younger generation who never expected much from society nor themselves...

Teresa: Sorry, that's just not for me. Chasing after your dreams, working towards your goals: those are the things that make life worth living. Growing as you compete with others is part of it too. And then when you finally get your hands on the things you've always wanted with your own effort... It doesn't get better than that.

Arisa: That's right. That's why people have come up with a strategy guide-

Arisa: The era of learning the Psychology of Happiness is upon us!

Teresa: The Psychology of Happiness?

Nagi: What's that?

Sonia: Oh! There's a response on the shop's PeChat*, hm...

Sonia: Nagi-shan, we just got an order. The customer will be coming by in ten minutes to pick it up.

Sonia: They're requesting a bouquet that can cheer up their girlfriend who's feeling down about making a mistake at work.

Nagi: ―

Sonia: Nagi-shaaan.

Nagi: Ah, sorry. Can you ask them what her favorite color is?

Sonia: I already did. Apparently, she likes the color blue!

Nagi: Blue... Blue, huh.

Nagi: I think we can use the nemophila we just got in earlier today. Add in some large calla lilies and sky-blue baby's breath...

Nagi: Maybe some delphiniums and blue stars could work as accents...

Sonia: And what about the ribbon?

Arisa: To explain, the Psychology of Happiness is the study that aims to help anyone, of all ages and gender, understand how to engineer and replicate the mechanism of happiness in their own lives.

Nagi: Replicate... happiness?

Sonia: Nagi-shaan, are you listening?

Nagi: I'm listening. Could you bring out the thin, light blue ribbon from the back?

Sonia: Got it. I'll leave the card here too.

Nagi: Okay, thank-

Teresa: Wait, some people find it easier to be happy because it's hereditary!?

Nagi: What!?

Sonia: Huh!?

Sonia: Geez, don't scare me like that. What's got you sho worked up?

Arisa: That's right. 48% is already determined by our DNA.

Nagi: .....

Sonia: Nagi-shan?

Arisa: Just like how some people might find a dish spicier than others, some can experience happiness easier than their peers as well. This is a hereditary factor, determined by our genes from the moment we're born.

Teresa: No way! So what you're telling me is that half of the happiness we can experience in life was already decided while we were in our mothers' womb!?

Nagi: ......

Sonia: Are you okay now? The customer will be dropping by soon.

Nagi: ...! Right, I need to get this done quickly...

Sonia: I'll go ahead and cut the flower stems under water.*

Nagi: Thank you. Could you also get the blue gift-wrapping paper-

Sonia: I've already spread it out for you!

Customer: Um... I'd put in an order just earlier.

Nagi: ...Ah.

Nagi: Sorry, could you please wait for just a moment? There's just the finishing touches left.

Teresa: So, what about the remaining 52%? Don't tell me it's influenced by the environment we were born and raised in.

Arisa: Not at all, the influence from your environment makes up only about 10% of it. As for the remaining 42%...

Teresa: ... Is it based on our actions?

Arisa: Correct! This means that, out of 100% achievable happiness level, about 42% of it is within our control.

Nagi: Wow. I've never thought about it that way.

Customer: Huh?

Nagi: No, if I think about it, is that really possible?

Arisa: Just as how the right diet is different for each person, once you figure out the method, anyone can achieve happiness. How it comes to bear fruit for you, is up to you yourself.

Nagi: If half of it is determined by fate, and the other half is uncertain... Could it really be that simple? Then maybe it's also possible for me to.... No, it's probably just a waste of time in my case. I shouldn't get my hopes up. Just thinking about it is making me depressed.

Customer: Erm... Are you alright? You've been muttering to yourself for some time now...

Nagi: Ah... Sorry about that. Don't mind me.

Customer: Right...

Nagi: Thank you for waiting. This is the completed bouquet. Is it to your liking?

Customer: Wow...! It's beautiful... It's just how I'd imagined it, I'm sure my girlfriend will be happy with it.

Nagi: I'm glad to hear that- Ah.

Nagi: That's right, I almost forgot... Excuse me, would you mind handing the bouquet back to me? There's one last thing I need to do.

Nagi: Mu....

Customer: Mu?

Nagi: Mu.....nn!

Customer: Um, what exactly are you doing...?

Nagi: I've instilled some energy* into it. In other words...

Nagi: It's something like a good luck charm. When your girlfriend receives this bouquet, she'll be so happy that she'd be skipping along the pavement.

Customer: To the point of skipping...

Nagi: Oh but, even without my little charm, I'm sure she would be plenty happy just knowing she has someone who would get her a bouquet when she's feeling down.

Nagi: In any case, I hope the two of you can skip along merrily.

Customer: I-I see... Thank you...

Nagi: Thank you for your patronage.

Sonia: Thank you very mush!

Teresa: Whaat, is it time for us to go already? Too bad, I really wanted to talk some more~

Sonia: Phew... I'm glad we finished it in time.

Nagi: Yeah, it's all thanks to your help Sonia.

Sonia: It's a piece of cake!

Arisa: Arisa and Teresa, your guides for psychology, signing out!

Nagi: Anyways, good job. Let's do our usual thing.

Arisa: Let's meet again when the fountain of knowledge wells up again!

Sonia: A high-five right? 3, 2, 1..!

Arisa and Teresa: See you again!

Play Ivory MV

Notes:

Sonia has a bit of a lisp so I changed a few words to match her speech

Intelli in Intelli-radio is short for Intelligentsia

dazzle is a social media site in the 18trip universe

PeChat is a messaging app in 18trip universe

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.

Cutting flower stems under water prevents air bubbles from going up the stem and helps in keeping the cut flowers fresh for longer.

'Muuun’ is the sound he makes when he’s instilling his happiness energy/thoughts(念) into the flowers, literally.

Flower Language:

Flower Language is important to Nagi's character and a way for him to communicate his thoughts, so I'll always note it down whenever any are mentioned.

Nemophila Lovely, Wish for success, I forgive you, Clear heart

Calla Lily Gorgeous beauty, Purity, Gracefulness of a young maiden

Blue Baby's breath Gratitude, Luck, Innocence, Kindness

Delphinium You spread happiness, Clear and bright, Generous, Precious

Bluestars (Amsonia) Trust in one another, Abundant love

Fun fact: The flower passed around in Ivory is a Delphinium! Meaning Nagi spreads happiness, which is what he does by sharing his happiness 'energy' but also that he brings joy to those around him by simply being himself.

Next -> | Masterlist

[1d1195]

The Balcony Extra I

You can read the rest here: The Balcony

~2.2k words

This is the last update from the last round of voting. I'll have a new round of voting posted soon. I have some really fun ideas for the next set :)

Warnings: vomit/sick (it's not described, more so mentioned. But just to be sure.) I promise it's really not going to continue to be a theme with my writing. I just didn't know what to do with them tbh. I hope you enjoy--particularly this sweet anon who thought about them two years after I first wrote about them 😭💕

It was overwhelming and Harry swallowed watching as she mopped up his mess. He wanted to scoop her up and put tuck her into bed like the day he burst into the very apartment they were in now protecting her from her ex.

The balcony was still their favorite spot. Now that Harry had moved into her apartment officially, they only had one. There was something about having two, the will-they-won��t-they kind of vibe. When they shared Chinese food across the slatted posts or when she straddled the rail to get back into her place when Harry got home late. There were so many pieces that felt like they were missing now that they only had one. They put plants on tall tables (even a small lemon tree) to make a wall for their new neighbors.

They were squished when they were out there, two little seats and their space heater along with all the plants made for very little room. It was cozy and they loved it, but it was different. Working from home was different. Everything was different. Good. Perfect, even. But different.

It had been three years of their routines and schedules. Interrupted by weekend getaways, work trips, girl’s nights out, and family holidays. The sex was incredible as that very first time. She still did chores in an oversized shirt that barely covered her underwear. So, chores took twice as long when Harry noticed because he reminisced and thought back to the days when he was falling for her from afar (even if afar was just one little half wall between them).

Harry returned from the office and found her laptop open on the island while she continued cooking. She had been fighting a stomach bug, so it was good to see her cooking. Soup by the looks of it. Something so as not to upset her further.

“Hey kitten,” he called gently putting his keys on the table by the door and slipping his shoes off.

“Hi, Harry,” she sounded so sweet, so smiley. It was his favorite way to be greeted. “Sorry, guys, it’s dinner time,” she told her laptop. Harry blushed, feeling bad he interrupted her call unbeknownst to him and that he called her kitten in front of her students. “Check out the notes on Blackboard.”

Sorry! He mouthed.

She shook her head easily with a smile. She said her final goodbyes to the people on screen. Once her laptop was shut, he felt relief that he could freely chat with her. “I had extra office hours because I’ve been sick and out for the count,” she explained and turned back to the stove. “I told them I had to make something to eat at the same time or I would die so they also got my cooking show in addition to math help.”

Harry looked at the face of their fridge with a dry erase marker filling the silvery complexion with complicated equations that he didn’t understand. He snorted and she smiled shyly. “Sorry, I’ll clean it.”

“Don’t,” he shook his head. “S’cute,” he assured her. It was. The way her brain worked, even thinking to draw on the fridge was adorable. It was so cute Harry wanted nothing more than to frame the door of the appliance and put it in the living room. He put his lunch Tupperware in the sink and turned back to her stirring the soup. “Y’okay?” He asked.

“Yup, only threw up once since this morning,” she sighed and shook her head. “I hope you don’t get sick.”

Harry didn’t even feel an inkling of feeling unwell. They had eaten the same foods for the last few days, so food poisoning didn’t seem suspicious either. “I think I’ll be alright,” he cupped her face and pressed his lips on her forehead. She didn’t feel warm or clammy. “Y’feel cool,” he murmured turning to the fridge and filled his water bottle from the spout.

She shook her head returning to stir the soothing mixture on the stove. “It’s so weird. I don’t feel sick until I’m actively sick, you know?” She shrugged. “Oh, well.”

It was hard to believe that two heavily educated people didn’t figure it out sooner. But the moment it popped into his head Harry gasped. He dropped his bottle, and the ice and water covered his socked feet. “Shit,” he whispered.

“I got it!” She hurried to the closet with their cleaning supplies. Harry picked up the ice cubes and tossed them into the sink. When she returned with the mop, Harry was staring at her. Like he had never seen her before. It wasn’t earthshattering for her. This moment. The moment he realized. It didn’t matter. He would have it for himself. This perfect, beautiful girl that he was so lucky to know...

So lucky to live with and be with and to have her worry about him.

It was overwhelming and Harry swallowed watching as she mopped up his mess. He wanted to scoop her up and put tuck her into bed like the day he burst into the very apartment they were in now protecting her from her ex.

He tried to refill the bottle, but he nearly overfilled it again, his hand getting wet. “You sure you’re not getting sick?” She asked dragging the mop over his feet playfully at the second, minor spill. He shook his head, swallowed.

“No, sorry. Distracted.”

“I got dinner covered, you can go lounge if you want,” she smiled sweetly. “I was laying down most of the day. I feel like a bum. I was thinking about going to the gym after I eat just to feel productive.”

Harry shook his head. He didn’t want her lifting anything, didn’t want her running on the treadmill, or stepping on the stepper. “Y’don’t need to, kitten. M’jus...” he trailed off. He didn’t know if he was right, it was an assumption. “Jus’ a little tired. But y’should sit,” he suggested. “Y’don’t feel well.”

She shrugged. “I feel alright now. I feel lazy.” Harry didn’t want to tell her that growing another human inside her was the least lazy thing she could do. As far as he was concerned, she could do nothing for the next nine months. His eyes dropped to her stomach briefly, like it would suddenly round with the baby he suspected was forming. She didn’t notice.

He was adamant. “Y’not lazy,” he assured her. “Why don’t—”

“Here taste this,” she held a spoonful of the soup out. “Does it need more salt?” She asked. With his gaze locked on her eyes, he let her feed him.

“S’good,” he promised.

She tilted her head at him. Her eyebrows pinching together. “You sure you’re okay?” She repeated.

He nodded. Trying to remember everything about the moment. She didn’t know, he did. It was surreal. There was going to be a little one that looked like him, looked like her. They were going to be parents and she didn’t even know. “M’okay.”

She shrugged and grabbed two bowls out of the cabinet and then returned the broom to the closet. Harry grabbed the edges of the island counter and took a deep breath. They would have to abandon the apartment. The balcony. It was going to be hard, but it would be so worth it.

How did she not know?

When she returned, she ladled soup into the bowls and handed Harry his before she situated herself on the stool behind the sink. “Do we have any plans this weekend?”

Making a baby registry? Telling his mum? Finding a house and decorating a nursery? ���Nothing comes t’mind, kitten,” he murmured sitting beside her.

“Louis was wondering. He wants to go out and drink or something.”

“Uh...” he swallowed. “M’not really in a drinking mood.”

“You’re not in a drinking mood?” She repeated. “You know you’re not going to be in a drinking mood three days from now?” She asked. “Harry,” she rolled her eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He took a deep breath and turned to her. “Do y’think y’might be pregnant?” He asked.

She dropped her spoon back into her soup and spun to face him as well. Their knees bumped together. “Am I what?”

“Well...y’don’t feel well. But only when y’actively don’t feel well. Then...I don’t remember y’having bad cramps since June,” he reminded her. It was over two months ago. “I don’t feel sick,” he told her.

He watched her pretty face and now wild eyes process all Harry’s logical assumptions. She jumped from the stool and ran to the bathroom slamming the door shut. He followed her immediately. Knocked gently. “Kitten?” He asked nervously. “Are y’okay?”

She didn’t answer.

“Kitten?” He repeated knocking again. He hadn’t anticipated a negative reaction. She wanted kids. They both did. They talked about it many times over. “Baby?” He hummed. “Can y’tell me if y’okay? Need something?”

“I just...” she sounded scared. “I just need a minute.”

“Okay, okay,” he nodded; nerves made sense. “Are you alright?”

She didn’t respond for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Can you open the door?” His voice started to hitch, worry plaguing him immediately. Poor thing.

“I’m peeing on a stick, Harry. Please just...” she sighed. Frustration was heavy in her tone. He was surprised she already had a pregnancy test there. He would have to ask about that later.

“Kitten,” he gently tried the door, but it was locked. “What’s—”

“Harry, I just need a minute!”

He stepped back from the door and leaned against the opposite wall. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited silently. He heard her sigh repeatedly. The shuffle of her perhaps pacing the small bathroom floor. The sound of the toilet flushing. More moments that he would memorize for eternity.

The three minutes felt like hours. He wanted to see her, wanted to know what was wrong. A timer went off from inside the bathroom. He pushed off the wall and she opened the door holding the plastic stick out to him. “I can’t look.”

“Kitten,” he frowned grabbing it from her and sticking it in his pants pocket without looking. “What’s wrong?” Harry was still in his suit pants. No jacket. The sleeves rolled to his elbows. He was so pretty. It was unfair. She kept her eyes at his feet. Still damp from his water spill.

“You have to look,” she whispered.

“I will, but y’have t’tell me what’s wrong, kitten. Y’making me nervous.”

“We’d have to move,” tears welled in her eyes.

“So?”

“So?” She sniffed. “This is where we fell in love. It’s where we had sex for the first time. That balcony is more important to me than the entire square footage of this place in total.”

“Kitten,” he frowned.

“Don’t you care—”

“Baby,” he shook his head. Before she could finish her question, he pulled her toward him. He was gentle as he squeezed her, fearful of the baby being squished between them. “Of course I care ‘bout that.”

“Then—”

“Kitten,” he tutted. “We’ll get a house with a balcony. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll make sure y’have whatever y’want. Y’can’t be sad ‘bout that.”

She sniffled more, only solidifying Harry’s assumption without even looking at the test in his pocket. “But this is...” she sniffled. “I love it here.”

“I love it too, kitten. But we need more room if we have a baby. A lot of babies.”

She frowned, pulled from him slightly. He wiped his thumbs below her eyes to rid her of the wet tears that soaked her cheeks. “You must think I’m ridiculous,” she pressed her forehead against his body again. He wrapped his arms around her again.

“No more than usual,” he chuckled into her hair and reached for the test in his pocket. He looked at it over her shoulder and smirked. Returned it back to his pocket.

“What’s it say?” She mumbled into his shirt.

“I love you,” he kissed the top of her head.

“It definitely doesn’t say that.”

“Y’don’t think your pee could love me?”

“Harry!” she pinched his sides at his silliness.

“Say it back, first.”

“It’s going to be really unfair that you knew I was pregnant before I did,” she grumbled.

He pushed her away again just far enough to meet her gaze. He smiled at her, that lazy smile he had about him that made her blood warm throughout her body. She forgot why she was grumpy with him. Even if it wasn’t that serious. She already knew what the test said in the pit of her stomach. The swing of her mood flipping like a switch. His expression was soft. Like he was holding a crystal vase from the seventeen hundreds and if he looked at it too hard it would break.  “Say it,” he whispered.

It was like she wasn’t in control of her own voice or movements. Not that she didn’t want to say it. She did. All the time. So, it was easy to whisper, “I love you.”

For the third time he pulled her back to him and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll have t’see if we can find a baby swing for the balcony.”

--

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If you like this, check out my masterlist for more of my writing.

[the-ivy-family]

"would i be okay to stay?"...

@arkhambird

Harley looked at the man. The first thing she noticed was all the damned scars.

She'd run out to grab vegan Thai food. Ivy wouldn't mind if she came home with a new family member, right?

"Sure, kid, come on."

Harley led him to an old broken down lab covered over with vines. She shouldered open the heavy metal door, and held it open with her heel for him. The lab was empty except the vines criss crossing across the floor.

"Baby! I'm home!"

The vines shifted, revealing a door on the ground. Harley lifted it and looked back at Jason. "Watch your step on the way down."

Down stairs was a long hallway, branching off into rooms that had probably been used for less-than-legal experiments at one point. Vines grew along the walls. An open area had been converted into a kitchen, with mismatched counters and appliances. A child in a pink dress knelt on a stool at an old steel table, pushing a needle in and out of a piece of embroidery.

Posion Ivy sat across from her, working through equations on a piece of paper.

"I brought a guest!" Harley announced, causing the other residents to look up, "this is-" she looked at Jason "Sorry. What's your name?"

[canonicallyobserving911]

My thoughts on how bad season 7 ended up being can be summed up in one sentence and it's based on a quote I heard from a former employment director. He used to tell us all the time, "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail!" And I think that's what happened to season 7 of 9-1-1 since they were still writing while the main cast was filming the remaining episodes.

After TM's most recent interview, in which he admitted he doesn't plan seasons out beforehand, I felt justified in my analysis but the question is has it always been like this? IMO, the answer is NO! And that's because it wasn't like this for seasons 2 and 3. They were planned out and the continuity was there which made everything better than the mess that was season 7.

Honestly, I don't understand how anyone can run a multi-million-dollar business or a TV Show (I do get it because some people aren't organized but usually, they don't stay in a leadership role for long) and be as unorganized as the showrunners have been for the last few seasons of 9-1-1. It literally costs between 9 and 10 million dollars per episode to produce it but nothing they've been doing lately has lived up to those high costs. Please understand this is not about the cast, crew or the directors because they don't have control over the scripts. They have a WRITING TEAM which means TM didn't have to spend 40 straight hours while he was lying in a hospital bed writing the first 3 episodes. He chose to do that and since the writers returned to work in October of 2023, what were they doing that whole time because they were already promoting the cruise ship disaster at the end of November?

An example of how ridiculous it is for TM to not have a plan can be equated to a construction company. People who build homes and buildings have to plan in advance before they start or else it'll end badly. They can't just start building a home or a business without a blueprint because if they do, the bathtub could end up in the kitchen and the garage might not have a driveway. Builders have to order supplies and materials like drywall, tools, windows, appliances etc., far in advance so they'll have the things they need when they get to a particular step in the building process. Therefore, how can anyone handling multiple storylines for the main cast of a popular TV show like 9-1-1 go into a season without an overall plan? They shouldn't and if they continue down that path, IMO upcoming seasons will end up being even worse.

It doesn't make any sense at all to me and hopefully, season 8 won't be a repeat of seasons 5, 6 and 7.

House M.D. is one of my favorite shows of all time because Gregory House was a brilliant doctor and even though he was a complete jerk sometimes, I liked it because the creators and the showrunners knew when it was time to end it. After 8 seasons, they decided to call it quits so they could go out on top. Any good show worth it's weight knows when they're running out of good stories and they know when to end it. It happened with the Sopranos too. They ended it after season 6 because Tony Soprano had already done the things he needed to do in therapy and his families (personal and mob) were personified. They couldn't take the show anywhere else, so they ended it.

Please understand, if you've never seen a TV show stay on and keep airing episodes past its prime (Grey's Anatomy and Law & Order SVU are two examples but there are others) you have no idea what it could be like. Viewers end up hate watching them and hopefully that won't happen with 9-1-1 but if they don't do something soon, like let the characters grow professionally and show them moving on from their previous mistakes and pasts (looking at the "Vertigo" storyline because Eddie should be allowed to move on from Shannon since it's been six years) it could end up being their fate too.

Even though I've never watched Grey's, I have watched SVU and for the past few days, I've been rewatching season 14 when Rafael Barba (my favorite A.D.A.) arrived on the show and I instantly noticed a stark difference between it and the most recent seasons. It's so good and its way better than the trash they're producing right now. Olivia Benson is the SVU captain but they've been centering all the episodes around her character (like season 6 was all about Buck) but it's time for her to be promoted to chief so Detective Joe Velasco and Detective Terry Bruno can be in charge of SVU. They're the future of the show but if they keep sidelining them, who knows if they'll get a 27th season. It's so boring now and I wish they'd bring Barba back but I digress.

I don't watch a lot of TV because most of it is reality, news and game shows (I don't like those but for those who do, no shade) but I do watch 9-1-1 and I'd hate to leave it in the dust like I did CSI and Chicago P.D. but I will once it's no longer entertaining.

I still haven't decided if I'll watch season 8 (I'm 95% sure I'll treat it like I did season 5, watch the episodes weeks after they air, so I won't get pissed off or I won't watch them at all like I did 5x7 since Eddie wasn't in it) but I refuse to sit through another season like the cluster "F" that season 7 was. I don't want to see another doppelgänger or anymore LIs that are used to delay CANON Buddie.

I needed to get this out of my mind and write it so I can move on.

It's ok to have an opposing opinion but if you do, post it on your own blog and don't reblog this because if you do, I will block you.

[virgin-martyr]

More often than not, the kitchen has been designated as a feminine space. Kitchen appliances, in turn, are often seen as extensions of the female body to which a range of temperatures and climatic conditions (ice cold, frigid, smoking hot, wet, dry, etc.) are disproportionately attributed. The colloquial expression for pregnancy “to have a bun in the oven,” though not complimentary insofar as it equates a pregnant woman with a household appliance, provides a telling example of a long-standing link between procreation, gestation, and kitchen technology. The phrase imagines the womb as an oven and, by the same logic, the oven as a womb, similar to “The Gingerbread Man” and other folktales of high-carb homunculi cooked up by women in the kitchen. Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981), “a fairytale for grown-ups” according to the director, falls within that tradition, although instead of a bun in the oven, the story features a body in the refrigerator, and instead of piping-hot runaway baked goods, the woman of the house prepares a tentacular, glutinous golem through a miscarriage of groceries and bodily secretions expelled in the tunnels of the Berlin U-Bahn during an ecstatic trance. The aberrant offspring of a body in crisis disrupts a marriage, an affair, and two kitchens. When considered in relation to perishable food distribution, refrigerator-related household duties, and the desire of a woman to say “I” for herself, the miscarriage-birth emerges as an abject expression of identities both human and nonhuman, of a woman who runs hot and cold, and of refrigerators and their unspeakable contents.

Marc Oliver, excerpt from Household Horror: Cinematic Fear and the Secret Life of Everyday Objects

[murfeelee]

MDZS INSP Set Pt1

This is the very first batch of uploads from my TS3 gameplay inspired by Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed!

EA Books Default Replacement

First up is yet another EA Book Default Replacement, this time using Chinese & Japanese themed book textures. Browse here & here for the swatches/in-game pics. The list of replacements is under the cut.

File Dump Part 1

This file dump includes 18 Buy Mode objects:

EA Chinese Tomb Chest as Toy Chest (basegame)

Silfantasy Chinese Sword as Hoverboard (ITF EP)

Tera Bag as Bag of Understanding (WA EP)

Radish as Edible Morsel (WA EP)

Emperor's Smile as Drinkable UNI EP Alcohol (Arsil Custom Beverages mod + UNI EP REQ)

TS4 to TS3 Jennisims Lotus Seed Pod as Edible Morsel (WA EP)

TS2 to TS3 Jizaikagi Irori Edit as Firepit PLAIN

TeeSangBoy Chinese Couch Redone as Decor Bedframe

TS2 to TS3 Asian Ornate End Table

TeeSangBoy Coffee Table TINY

EA Zen Bath Stool Emptied as Coffee Table

TS2 to TS3 Bamboo Copse

Bamboo Wall Stickers

MTCakestore Chinese Books (Stackable)

ShinoKCR Couch Cushion as Scroll Bundle (Stackable)

TS4 to TS3 Chinese Decor Man 1, 2, 3

Pinwheel ACCs

This miniset includes 3 CAS objects:

ATS3 Pinwheel as ACC for Kids, Toddlers & Adults

And that's that for now!

Enjoy, and Happy Lunar New Year 2023! 🐇🐰

Download folder (zip files): Mediafire | SimFileShare

Descriptions & pics under the cut:

EA Books Default Replacement

There are A LOT of books in TS3, so I tried to match Chinese & Japanese books to TS3′s particular genres:

Athletic & Sports: Armor, Book of 5 Rings (Musashi Miyamoto) | PhysEd & Military: Art of War (Sun Tzu) | Martial Arts: Daoist exercise chart | Riding: Yabusame scroll

Charisma 1-3: Genji no Kokagami (Murasaki Shikibu)

Cooking: Lvl 1 (52 Sick Prescriptions), Lvl 2 (Materia Dietetica), Lvl 3 (Herbal Food + Materia Dietetica)

Fishing 1-3: Materia Medica fish & reptiles (Bencao Gangmu)

Gardening: Lvl 1 (E-hon (Utagawa Hiroshige)), Lvl 2 (Court Records of Japanese Gardens), Lvl 3 (Compendium of Model Gardens (Tsukiyama & Yokei))

Generic: Butler (Book of Rites) | China (WA EP) () | Generic 1-3 (Analects (Confucius))

Handy 1-3: Scroll of Mudras

Kids: Children/Toddler Pictures & Comics (UNI EP) (Journey to the West) | Toddler Fun (Japanese Folk Toys) | Toddler Numbers (CHN/JPN numbers) | Toddler Words (Hiragana chart)

Learning: Non-fiction (Nihon Shoki) | AcadTech/Sci (Chinese alchemy) | Math (Third order equation (Shu shu jiu zhang) | Science (Chinese alchemy, ) | AcadFineArts (Analects) | AcadComm (Shuowen Jiezi) | Social (Genji no Kokagami (Murasaki Shikibu)) | Medical/Prenatal (Chinese Pharmacopoeia) | Historical (Book of Documents)

Logic: Lvl 1 (Analects (Confucius)), Lvl 2 (Book of Documents), Lvl 3 () | Poetry (Book of Songs) | AcadBusiness (Art of War (Sun Tzu))

Magic/Spellcraft (SN EP): Lvl 1 (Iching), Lvl 2 (Onmyodo (Abe no Seimei)), Lvl 3 (Iching hexagram)

Masterpiece (Book of Songs) | Photography/Street Art (E-hon (Utagawa Hiroshige))

Music: Lvl 1 (Qinxue Congshu), Lvl 2 (Qinxue Rumen), Lvl 3 (Book of Songs)

Recipe: Lvl 1 (52 Sick Prescriptions), Lvl 2 (Materia Dietetica), Lvl 3 (Herbal Food + Materia Dietetica)

Recreation: English (Bushido (Inazo Notobe)) | Fiction (Tamamo-no-mae (Katsushika Hokusai)) | Fantasy/Humor/Horror (Kyōsai Hyakki Gadan (Kawanabe Kyōsai)) | Biography (Heike Monogatari) | Romance (Genji no Kokagami) | Drama () | SciFi (Kaguya) | Mystery (Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (Toriyama Sekien))

Y'all can scroll through most of the replacements/swatches here & here.

File Dump Part 1

EA Chinese Tomb Chest as Toy Chest (basegame)

Silfantasy Chinese Sword as Hoverboard (ITF EP)

Tera Bag as Bag of Understanding (WA EP), recolorable, found under Misc Decor IIRC.

Radish as Edible Morsel (WA EP), recolorable; found under Misc Appliances & Plants.

TS4 to TS3 Jennisims Lotus Seed Pod as Edible Morsel (WA EP), recolorable; found under Misc Appliances & Plants.

Emperor's Smile as Drinkable UNI EP Alcohol (Arsil Custom Beverages mod + UNI EP REQ), recolorable; found under Misc Appliances.

TS2 to TS3 Jizaikagi Irori Edit as Firepit PLAIN is yet another version of my two Jizaikagi Irori (here & here), this time without the hanging rack/shelf.

TeeSangBoy Chinese Couch Redone as Decor Bedframe, to be used with functional mattresses (I used these by Sketchbookpixels).

TS2 to TS3 Asian Ornate End Table, TSB Coffee Table TINY, EA Zen Bath Stool Emptied as Coffee Table all recolorable & self explanatory.

TS2 to TS3 Bamboo Copse recolorable, found under Plants & Lawn Deco. Bamboo Wall Stickers recolorable, under Wall Art.

MTCakestore Chinese Books (Stackable) & ShinoKCR Couch Cushion as Scroll Bundle (Stackable) under Misc Deco, fully recolorable.

TS4 to TS3 Chinese Decor Man 1, 2, 3 non-recolorable, but includes rainbow of color variations. Found under Sculptures.

ATS3 Pinwheels as ACCs

Recolorable, unisex for toddlers, children, and teen-elders. Found under Bracelets.

And that's that for now!

Enjoy, and Happy Lunar New Year 2023! 🐇🐰

Download folder (zip files): Mediafire | SimFileShare

[idnull]

@miidnighters sent: [ TAKE ] for MORGAN to find JP has "borrowed" a sweatshirt which is oversized on her!

their relationship hasn't really changed a lot since they introduced sex into the equation, which is just fine for jp. she likes morgan and she wouldn't mind exploring more, but this is comfortable for her; she's been having casual sex since she lost her virginity.

the biggest change has been that she sometimes stays the night now. not often enough that she keeps things at his place, but she does keep a clean pair of panties and a toothbrush in her purse when she visits the gallery. which is most days, because her job doesn't schedule her and she hates being bored. plus, it's easier to do her homework when he's keeping her accountable.

jp slides out of morgan's bed after playing on her phone for a while and heads for the kitchen, but not before she's pulled on a sweater he's left laying out. she feels lucky to have grown to her diminutive size as a trans woman every time she puts on a man's top and it hits mid-thighs at the shortest. that's really the only thought she has about the whole thing, though, as she pulls open his fridge to start perusing what's available, sleepily rubbing at her eye with the hand not on the appliance's door. she nearly jumps out of her skin when morgan appears beside her and comments on her attire.

"i know you'd prefer if i was just naked, but i thought i'd show some modesty," she jokes, poking him in the stomach. "i could've asked. you were asleep, though."

[aydaptic]

I’ve seen people say that Gavin is a bad person because he wanted to “rough up” Carlos Ortiz’ android, Shaolin Being and him saying “after all, it’s not human” is “proof” that he would harm a human if he could get away with it.

This argument is so stupid to me because 1. Hank and Chris are both present when he says that and both of them say nothing. They don’t defend the android, they don’t chastise him, they say nothing. Does that mean that both Hank and Chris would assault a human if they could get away with it?

And 2. I think people are reading way to into it to again, try and justify their reasons for hating Gavin. Gavin says “after all, it’s not human”. In this point in the game, androids are not seen as living beings. They’re not human, they’re machines. Yes, the point of dbh is to sympathise with the androids but realistically, they are just machines. Machines that have been stated, even by Connor, to not feel pain.

Gavin hates androids, androids are machines and they don’t feel pain. Him saying “we could try roughing it up” is not some subtle way of saying “Gavin would assault any human being if given the chance”. It’s him saying “this is a machine, it killed a person, it’s withholding information, I don’t like them anyway so I say we do what we need to get information out of this object”

In the world of dbh, no matter how one may feel about androids, whether they be treated as human or not, it’s been stated over and over again that they were designed to be machines. No different than an appliance or an automated machine at a supermarket so honestly someone saying that they would hurt an android shouldn’t be indicative of some deep desire to hurt a human.

Thank you!

This is spot-on, so I don't really have anything to add to this. I'm relieved to see there are ppl (like you) on Tumblr who are capable of some rational thought. Gav haters are reaching so far up their own ass*s to try to justify their own bigotry -- subjective views that they parade as objective facts -- and they miserably fail at it.

Like you said... the way a person treats something they believe to be a simple tool doesn't equate to how they would treat a thinking, living, breathing human being. I've kicked my vacuum cleaner when its cable got stuck to loosen it. By their flawed logic, I must be an ab*ser.

I can guarantee that everyone making that up-on-their-high-horse moral statement would gladly punch what they believed to be a m*rderer -- or just a human they hate -- if it wasn't for the consequences. It's normal. They're either too deluded to see it or too fake to admit it. If there was a queue to legally punch a r*pist, and suffer no consequences, they would be vibrating with glee (as they rightfully should.) It's pure hypocrisy on their part.

In the eyes of Gav, Chris, and Hank, Shaolin Being was simply a defective machine and a murderer. Anyone incapable of seeing that needs to develop way more empathy bc they severely lack it.

Just the past 24 hours, I've had 2 ppl attack me personally before deleting their replies. Most likely bc they're afraid they'll get a Tumblr ban for their hateful speech. That and them just being incapable of backing up their absurd claims when I give counter-arguments. Genuinely, I can't help but pity these ppl. Why?

They in their insecurity are desperate to convince me differently so that I can 'validate' their flawed opinions.

They're incapable of controlling their emotions.

They're incapable of restraint as they don't think before posting.

They're incapable of having their flawed views questioned.

They're incapable of admitting when they're wrong.

They're incapable of common sense.

They're incapable of accepting different opinions than their own.

They only pick and choose what benefits them and avoid everything else.

They make assumptions based on nothing.

They always assume the worst.

They don't practice what they preach.

They're brainwashed by the media to think that a rude comment and/or justified physical force by a cop is "police br*tality" and "s*xual as*ault."

They haven't done actual research in the fields they comment on.

They either over-simplify or over-complicate everything.

They can only think in extremes and don't know what balance is.

They resort to name-calling and attacking the individual bc they themselves don't have any good counter-arguments.

I can only hope that they'll mentally grow up to be more mature. The state of so many ppl on social media nowadays is downright sad.

[hezzabeth]

Part 3

Summer 3056,

The deep rainforests of Valles Marineris: Mars

In the real world, adventures are offered, littered with thousands of dull little moments.

The stretches of time where nothing much happens. Hours of exhaustion. Weeks of frustration. Moments of failure. Thankfully, this is a story. In a story, we can skip ahead to the good parts.

A sticky foul summer night. Heat from the equator of Mars crept upwards in damp waves. The trees, covered in dew, blocked most of the light from the two moons. Branches were weighed down heavily with strange mutant fruits and flowers. The rainforest of Valles Marineris was a deep and secret place. In the distant past, terraforming scientists from Earth had planted the trees. They were trying to tinker with the planet's atmosphere, and they were only eighty percent successful. Valles Marineris was now thirty thousand kilometers of suffocating and bewildering rainforest. Urban legends whispered it was full of mythical tigers and snakes. This was despite the fact nobody had seen any tigers or snakes in almost five hundred years. The only people who lived in the rainforest were the Jaṅgala upajāti. As far as Revati knew, they had been living in the canyon for over eight hundred years. The only people who visited the canyon were hikers and nature tourists. Even the appliances had avoided trying to invade the place. Which was why the glowing light Revati could see from above was so strange.

Time had passed. Revati was aware of this when she occasionally saw herself in the mirror. Her face was thinner now. Her once long wavy hair was now half shorn off from an accident involving a killer baby doll .Pimples had vanished from her forehead. The scar across her left cheek from when she hit her face on the concrete wall in the medieval Faire was thick and white.

"How many hair dryers can you sense?" Revati asked the woman standing next to her. Despite the oppressive humidity that was causing Revati’s hair to spring up in curls, the woman was covered in a massive cloak. It was a cloak designed to hide the fact that the woman wasn’t a woman at all.

"Three," the android replied, her voice slightly muffled from her mesh mask. During their first month traveling together, they realized that hiding the android's true nature was probably for the best. That was after Revati got stabbed in the leg by raiders, and the android almost lost one of her hands.

"Four! For an operation this big? Normally there would at least be sixty," Revati hissed back.

"I don't know what to tell you! There are only four signals coming from that base! Now hurry up before the DNA trail turns cold," hissed the Android.

The Android. It had been four years of searching, four years of near misses, and the Android still insisted on being nameless. Technically, the mind inhabiting the droid was called Princess Sakshi Menel.

Revati carefully descended further down the valley walls heading towards the light. The android was shuffling above her like an alien spider, its limbs peeking out of the cloak. Names; it had once told her were for the living.

With a small hop, Revati landed on the ground a hundred or so meters away from the light. The practical military-grade boots took most of the shock. Even Revati’s clothes had changed. Gone were the mishmash outfits made from all park costumes.

Now she wore abandoned outfits stolen from the long-ago dead. A frayed deep red kurti, with a scarf as a makeshift belt worn over baggy utility pants. The pockets were bulging with healing patches, bits of string, tape, and half-eaten food.

OKThe only jewelry Revati wore was the precious necklace and the bangle. The bangle that now read 800 credits. Strapped to Revati’s back was her weapon. The android landed with an elegant swish before standing up, the cloak settling around her shoulders.

They both nodded to each other. It was a well-known wordless nod that belonged to those who were forced to constantly work together. Revati pulled her weapon off her back. It was a long mace with a solar flare orb castled to the end. It had cost two thousand credits.

The light was coming from a brand new building. A brand glossy red building made from mowed-down native trees. If Bridgadeiro had been there, he would have burst into tears, Revati thought. Bridgadeiro was always a soft touch when it came to dead trees. The light was spilling from the front of the building. A hair dryer was standing guard, a small slim purple metallic hair dryer floating a foot and a half off the ground.

"Oh please! Can’t you just leave us alone? We let the children go! You killed my parents!" The hair dryer screamed as Revati approached, holding the weapon.

"Let the children go? Wait, are you telling me this is an illegal power camp? In the jungle?" Revati hissed as she got closer to the hair dryer. Up close, it looked almost pathetic.

"It’s not like the children were real people! They’re not appliances," squeaked the hair dryer and then it made a beeping sound.

"Wait! You’re not the bringer of annihilation," the hair dryer squeaked, sounding relieved.

"The bringer of what?" Revati had to ask.

"She who stalks the currents! Who tears us apart with a mere glance!" Cried the hair dryer with a quiver.

"Oh her; no, that’s not me… that’s my sister," Revati replied before stunning the hair dryer with her weapon. The weapon squeaked and crumpled with a small sigh.

"Three more to go," the android remarked as Revati stepped over the hair dryer. Illegal power camps had become quite common all over the planet. Usually, they were set up in rural neutral areas where appliances normally didn’t have access to power. Revati found herself walking around a rather sophisticated one. Exercise bikes and walking machines had been installed next to large floating screens.

Medical equipment, including intravenous water devices, had been placed next to each of the machines. There were piles of black crystal sand lying all over the place. A little girl, no older than five or six, was sitting next to one of the piles, building a castle with it.

"Don't touch that! That sand is incredibly dangerous," Revati snapped, and the little girl burst into tears.

"Oh, don't cry; I'm not an evil monster! I'm just trying to stop you from getting your hand blown off," snapped Revati, and the little girl sniffed, wiping her tears.

"I can't understand you," the little girl said in fluent Bengali. Of course, she couldn't. The Jaṅgala upajāti only ever interacted with outsiders when tourists came to visit their one main town. Most Jaṅgala upajāti never installed universal translators, used teleporters, or communication bracelets.

"Please forgive my companion; she doesn't mean to be frightening; she's just terrible with small children," the Android said in Bengali.

"Hey... alright fine, but to be fair the only children I interacted with used to chew the walls and pee on lampposts," Revati pointed out. In fact, until Revati left Olde Landon, she assumed all small children behaved that way. She was sure it was her mother who must have taught her how to be a civilized human being.

"Are you with the glowing goddess? You look like her," The little girl asked, wiping her nose.

Glowing Goddess. Everyone who encountered Dityaa seemed incapable of describing her like a normal person.

"Did the glowing goddess help you, little one?" The android asked.

"Yes, we were all very tired... she flew in and turned all the machines into sand, then flew away," the little girl remarked. Revati's eyes trailed towards the girl's feet. They were bruised and swollen with bloody toenails.

"And what happened to everyone else?" The android asked, gesturing around the room.

"My friends ran away, my brother went to get help for my sore feet," the little girl shrugged.

Revati immediately reached into her pockets, pulling out two medibandages. "You're going to waste those on her? They were expensive," the Android remarked, now speaking Hindi.

"Her feet are messed up! For someone who's excellent at pretending to be polite, you have zero compassion," Revati pointed out as she slapped the bandages on the girl's feet.

There was a rustling sound from behind one of the larger screens. "Ēkhānē thākuna," Revati said, exhausting the little Bengali she knew. Her cerebrolingua universal translator was excellent but it technically didn’t teach her new languages. It just helped others with the installed software understand her.

Powering up her mace again, Revati slowly walked towards the screen, peering behind it. Another hair dryer was lying on the ground, hot hair billowing out of its mouth. It twitched feebly, small sparks erupting from its base.

"I suppose you're here to finish me off," growled the hair dryer, sounding like a cranky old man screaming at the clouds.

"That depends; what can you tell me about the goddess?" Revati asked, leaning down.

"The goddess? Don't you mean the Amped predator? The electric assassin?" The hair dryer asked, its voice wheezy and soft.

"Yes, her; you're dying, but if you tell me exactly what happened, I might be kind enough to switch you off and dump you near a major city's repair station," Revati lied.

"The predator did what she always does, she flew in and destroyed! She flew away, I was left to tell the story," The hair dryer said.

"How long ago?" Revati asked, and the hair dryer wheezed a gust of cold air.

"Four hours ago," he groaned, and then suddenly the electric lights in his base died.

Four hours. Damn. If it had been less than an hour, they might have stood a chance at catching her.

"Well," the Android asked.

"She's long gone," Revati admitted as she carried over the dead hair dryer. Revati pulled a small screwdriver out of one of her pants pockets and opened the side panel.

"Then we will return to camp and wait for the her DNA signal again," the android said as the little girl stood up, jumping up and down.

"Really? Last time you made me wait, it took weeks! She seems fine; she's running around the planet acting like some sort of superhero," Revati pointed out.

The little girl pointed one of her healed toes and then giggling with delight ran out of the building into the jungle.

"You swore an oath," the android said, its eyes changing from green to a deep red.

"I swore I would help you find Dityaa when we thought she was kidnapped! That was three years ago," Revati snapped back as she scrabbled at the hair dryer's insides.

"Perdita has not been given her true destiny yet! She is more than a floating gun," the android pointed out as Revati successfully pulled out a small bright orange piece of plastic.

"Here, a new rust-eating cartridge! Happy Apple day," Revati said, throwing the cartridge at the android's feet.

[sun-stone-r-ain]

Platonic Love is not 2nd Place

I just read this fic that I really liked and I want MORE. I'm not sure what aspect of the fic was my favorite, but one prominent feature was non-sexual intimacy. The Temeraire fic is the one driving me crazy with longing for more. The others also focus on non-sexual realtionships (aka Friendship).

Title: Understanding

Author: WerewolvesAreReal

Fandoms: Temeraire - Naomi Novik

Author Summery: Laurence knows as soon as he meets the Admiral's eyes.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49140079

My Notes: "Laurence presented nearly fifteen years ago. How can he still be learning about what he is?" Maybe this line is the one. This is like. Laurence has been alone and afraid for so long. And now he finally has someone to learn from. Jesus. And Lenton is so supportive. I want Laurence to vocalize their relationship, his questions. I want him to be openly affectionate. God. I need more of this.

***

Title: None So Blind

Author: prettybirdy979

Fandoms: Daredevil (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Author Summery:

They say when you assume you make an ass of you and me.

Matt wishes that the Avenger's assumptions about his seeming inability to read the written word did something as benign as making an ass of him and them. Being called illiterate shouldn't hurt, not when he knows he's not, and it's not like he can tell them the truth.

Not that the truth would make much difference. He's just going to have to grin and bear it.

If he can.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6256720/chapters/14336380

My Notes: I suppose this is more about ableism than the power of friendship. For more impact, first watch Zoe Bee's youtube video "The Adults Who Can't Read" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxMsgVgeu_M&ab_channel=ZoeBee

***

Title: Tony Stark: Appliance Whisperer

Author: Alex51324

Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Author Summery: After Tony over-reacts to some SHIELD agents breaking a microwave oven, Steve begins to wonder if there's something the team should know.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167543

My Notes: Tony has a secret, and his friend figures it out. I think the tag WAFF for Warm and Fluffy Feelings would be suitable here.

***

Title: Gravity of Empire

Author: NonBindaryStars

Fandoms: Temeraire - Naomi Novik

Relationship: Tenzing/Laurence

Author Summery:

“The captain was clearly one of those Englishmen who, having acquired a taste for the exotic during his travels and being a gentleman of means, wielded his power over the natives to affect the trappings of a status he had not earned...

...For his own part, Tharkay had long since ceased to draw from the poisoned well the British called love.”

Tharkay and Laurence’s story from Tharkay’s perspective, from Black Powder War through Tongue of Serpents.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099333?view_full_work=true

My Notes: This fic is about racism. And colonialism. Read the authors notes in this fic. Here's a quote:

"Tharkay understands what the real outcome of that equation is because he LIVED IT - his ENTIRE family and community cast him out rather than openly claim him when it became inconvenient, remember???...And these were people who LOVED HIM. That’s the fucked up part - they REALLY, REALLY DID LOVE HIM - but their love is a POISONED. WELL. because of the unacknowledged gaps in their thinking. It’s so fucking insidious that nobody will admit it when it’s pointed out - it scatters like cockroaches when you shine a light on it. Please, please, please believe me: when it comes to BIPOC people with white friends, trusted colleagues, family members -- the love is REAL, and that’s what hurts. Not even LOVE is enough to make most people do the hard and uncomfortable work to think about their own biases, to empathize with your experience."

***

Title: Ásgarðrian Galdr

Author: Valerie_Vancollie

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Norse Religion and Lore, Marvel

Author Summary:

What if Loki was able to warn his past self, so he did not lose control during his regency and was able to act as he normally would? What if he had been able to remain calm and in control of himself, and the situation?

"How?" Loki demanded.

"Betrayal," his future self stated simply, rage clear in every syllable. "But you must control your reaction and come to see me, or you will repeat my mistakes and we will miss an opportunity to take control and alter things in our favor."

It would have changed everything.

My Notes: This is my new head-cannon for how Loki gets his happily ever after. Odin and Frigga are imperfect, not malicious. Thor is also imperfect. Different characters have different beliefs about what other characters believe, leading to misunderstandings. There is non-sexual intimacy. Loki is a regent King who Gets the Job Done.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29072913/chapters/71363868

[kamari3]

I'm not good at PSAs but here we go (edited):

The latest USA Bill, colloquially known as the TikTok Ban Bill [S. 686 : the RESTRICT Act] is beyond orwellian.

The official Congress page is [HERE]. You can read it yourself and watch for updates.

The bill as of this posting would (just to list off a few things):

make it legal to spy on all of your web communications (including private texts, those sent through any app, email, blog, etc.)

make it illegal to use a VPN to bypass bans, with punishments of 20 years jailtime and fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars

make it illegal to speak to persons under the jurisdiction of "foreign adversaries" (so any non-americans on the Official Xenophobia List, which is subject to change at a moments notice, but already includes China, Korea, Venezuela, and Russia)

make it illegal to use appliances or electronic parts that were manufactured in the territories of "foreign adversaries" (so you all know those "Made in China" tags? that stuff could send you to jail now)

all of these rules would be overseen and enforced by a president-appointed Secretary of Communication, who would meet with their own chosen cabinet (minions) and make decisions behind closed doors without any notice or warning or input by voters/citizens

If I read even a fraction if this right, the bill rips apart online rights to privacy and free speech (as well as falsely equating free exchange of information and goods with literal treason). It

I'm not a fan of censorship on the best of days, but this is beyond horrifying.

The ResistBot Petition against Bill 686:

Tell your friends to text SIGN PKDTPS to 50409 or share: <https://resist.bot/petitions/PKDTPS>

[theseaeveryday]

16/03

second order differential equations / washing electrical appliances <3

[equatorappliancesusa]

Keeping Air Pure in Your Home, what is a HEPA Filter?

Do you like pure air at home? I’m sure the answer was yes! With our world rapidly changing with businesses thriving from homes and online learning, there has been a lot of activity going on within our abodes for the past three years. With that being considered, you want to ensure that you are breathing in the best air. Air purifiers work hard at reducing allergens and providing more comfortability in your space.

When used correctly, the air purifier can additionally, help at minimizing airborne contaminants that may include viruses in a home or closed space. Although extremely helpful, a portable air purifier will not purify the air 100%. Therefore, to ensure to it performs at its best abilities, it should be produced with a HEPA filter which is proven to remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles according to the EPA.

HEPA filters are tested to use air particles that are only 0.3 microns! This is the most complex size for a HEPA filter to pick up. According to research done by NASA, HEPA filters are much more capable of catching smaller-sized particles that can be just as small as the size of viruses.

The Functions of a HEPA Filter and How it Works

A HEPA filter is not your typical air filter that you would install into your home. These filters are much more intricate as they are mechanical air filters that are considerably thick to ensure particles are captured. The mechanical pleats create a mat of fibers that are arranged at random. The dense, random arrangement of fibers in the HEPA filter assist in catching a range of particle sizes. As air flows through the air filter, they are caught by three mechanisms which include: interception, impaction, and diffusion.

Diffusion takes place in a HEPA filter when the gas molecules are less than 0.1 microns combine and are prevented from passing through the filter. This delay will then assist in the next two mechanisms to transpire for those smaller more difficult particles to catch. Interception involves particles moving up and down the air stick to a fiber. Lastly, impaction takes place when the larger air particles are embedded directly into the fibers.

 

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Temperatures can get as low as 61°F and as high as 89.6°F and can reach up to 800 square feet. Additionally, the PAC 162 has Wi-Fi and remote capabilities, easy-to-read LED display, sleep mode, dual-hoses and so much more for your convenience. Lastly, the PAC 162 is produced with a HEPA filter to ensure your space receives pure clean air. This unit is ETL certified for your safety and backed by a 1-year warranty. Shop with Equator today and add some innovative, green, and safe appliances to your home or business.

[snugglyporos]

So this is all just... entirely false?

'AI' doesn't use a huge amount of water. What uses a huge amount of water are the giant datacenters that are required to process billions of queries a second. In truth, you can do everything that ChatGPT and DallE and Midjourney can do on your home system.

To put it in perspective: I can run Stable Diffusion on my home PC, using an Nvidia 1080. My entire system has a 750 watt power supply. Even if I spent 24 hours a day generating things, which no one does, the amount of power it would take would not in fact change my electric bill (which is around $50-70 a month and that's with appliances and a roommate with his own gaming pcs).

In fact, you can generate images with a gpu that has as little as 4gb vram, and maybe lower. Which means you could do it, entirely on your home system, without actually using much power.

That goes for training things as well. Training models and the like is usually a question of time, not power. More power makes it faster, but in general you don't need anything beyond what you would get from a normal gaming PC.

Now, text generation is a bit different. Text generation requires around 12-16gb vram, but that's because it's more complex than image generation. Furthermore, the big issue with text generation is that by and large it's a bullshit generator, devoid of context. But even still, it doesn't require massive amounts of power to do it.

What takes power is running millions of queries from all over the world, because in order to have say, Google, use chatgpt, you need to have that plugged into the Google datacenters. But saying that it's generative AI that makes internet datacenters use power is is a bit like saying that it's your muffler that makes car exhaust.

The thing about the internet is that it requires enormous amounts of power to function. People think of the internet like it's still 1995, but in reality the thing that needs all that power is the ability for you to check the internet on your phone from anywhere on earth. Because in order for that to happen, there needs to be infrastructure and that takes power.

Unlike crypto, which involves turning a hundred gpus into a supercomputer to solve massive equations for no conceivable purpose, generative AI is not actually doing anything that amazing or powerful under the hood, and doesn't require that much power. In fact, you can probably run stable diffusion locally on your average tablet these days.

TLDR: dall-e is not consuming massive amounts of power. The infrastructure required to connect to a sprawling network and then predict things based on that network does. In other words, google searching. The more you want computers to do for you, the more power it's going to take. It doesn't SEEM like it would take that much more power to go from looking at web pages yourself to having chatgpt look at them and then guess what it should say instead, but it does. But that's not because the tech is consuming it itself.