#i would do alt text but i don't know what I'm doing with that . so. uhm. srry ig

[elderwisp]

HEYHEYHEY WISP!!! as always i freaking love yer visuals and the effort you put on your edits so i gotta ask this fun Q for ya:

show us your first ever edit of all yer OCs vs their last edit !!!

FLO i would like u to know i sat and looked at this message for thirty minutes and YELLED. omgg this is about to be so rough HAH. i opened up my cloud storage and broke out into HIVES OH GOD ok but i will do it! I'll also add the dates in the alt text :D

Atlas: Glad to know he has those silly ears- Also, these are a decade apart? OMG

The rest under the cut bc Tumblr said no to condensing the photos on desktop U_U

Frances: Frances had a pretty cool design! Also I remember it took me hours on learning how to add that drop shadow in photoshop BAHAH

Kai: Kai spawned later on after I wanted to expand Taryn's family. In his most recent update, I did reference his TS3 model a bunch!

Taryn: JUMPSCARE! Taryn went through a lot of changes, actually in revisiting her folder, I got the perfect ideas for her tattoos! So I guess that's a plus but yeah, when I was a kid, the time I joined simblr, I thought every sim needed to be stark white. That was a thousand percent not it at all and I'm glad I grew from that

Icarus: Icarus was one of the newer additions, so I really tried to stick to how he looked in TS3 just a bit more elevated! Although his personality is where the shift really happened

Dan: Dan was born because I felt like Atlas needed a friend. Man I do love their friendship many years later!

Theo: Aaannd Theo is the latest edition so there is no TS3 counterpart! Theo spawned in after I spent some time in CAS and I was like,,, They're really cool *plops into Tessellate*

Gabriel: Gabriel was originally an angel in an old supernatural RP I was apart of. He had these like cool black wings in my mind and YEAH! haha but I loved him sm I was like, he's joining the crew. Fun fact, he was also another contender for Frances' romance options. I have thought about it a lot lately, and although I wouldn't pursue it, the thought does sound nice :")

Ares: Ares is older than any of these goobers by a longshot. He was the child of a main character in a youtube series I did as a teenager,, ahh de nostalgia of those summers,,, anyways he looked rough those genetics were NOT working with him sksks

Gum: Gum was named after Gum in JSR and I wanted to play around with a super bubbly character however as time proceeded, I do like the alternative fashion with the contrast of the bubbly pink hair <3

Syx: Syx is such a cool cat through and through

Rowan: Ok I'm gonna be so honest with you, for this one, I COULD NOT I COULD NOT DO THAT TO HIM AND SHOW YOU GUYS HIS oldest picture. I'll describe it to you, the year is 2015, he looks like a posh douchebag standing next to Taryn- It's literally seeping with male manipulator SO i'll give you his first appearance on this blog when he went by "Unnamed"

(HE LOOKS LIKE MAXXIE FROM SKIN HAHAHA)

Ok you know what? After going through this I was pretty impressed with the growth. It's also pretty neat to see that I've always had an experimental phase with editing. Idk I just think we all experience a lot of different emotions and when I think of art and editing, I never want to feel like I'm doing the same thing twice. I've always enjoyed that fluidity in creation and I don't think it'll ever stop. Under the cut I've included some of my very first edits with TS4 and now that's pretty shocking in comparison to now! Also thank you for this question I had a lot of fun putting it together and being vulnerable for some parts! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)♡

+ earliest ts4 edits below ↓

[pocketramblr]

Inspired by this post: give Bruce a star sapphire ring

I've never met anyone who cared as deeply for his fellow man as Bruce Wayne

[crowyobroyo]

when was the last time i posted art, huh?

this thing is literally the size of my thumb so i think it's pretty damn good lol

[necronomeconomicism]

Ok gotta talk about it.

As a Jewish historian, I fucking hate Israel in ways most probably will never be able to comprehend. I'm going to try and explain it anyways. The central creation myth of Israel is that it is Jewish, and then consequently, that Israel is a part of Jewishness. Its easy to simply state this is false, but fully comprehending this and putting it into practice in thought and deed seems rare to me.

The evil at the heart of this violence predates the recent acceleration of genocide. Israel is a colony, and more than that, an antisemitic fraud itself. After WW2, when Israel was being founded, the Jews of Europe generally did not wave goodbye to their neighbors and head to the promised land. Many were expelled from their homes. Zionism itself, as an action, was a false choice at the time. A mere excuse to place an ally in the middle east, and an excuse to complete the expulsion and destruction of the European Jew. The Zionist Jew is more than complicit in this, they actively seek the destruction and assimilation of all other Jews.

Many fail to realize, and largely because of Israel, that Jews are not inherently white, Ashkenazi, European-descended people. Our faith and culture has an immense variety that is spread all across the globe. Jewishness, in population and volume of culture, exists more so outside of Israel than within it. Israel is for a very specific kind of Jew. The kind that lets Yiddish die, that attaches themselves to European things, that makes themselves and their practices as white as possible.

And they have the nerve, the fucking belligerent GALL, to frame themselves as the necessary saviors of our people. To the Zionist, questioning Israel is to question Jewishness itself. They bake adoration for the colonial machine into their very prayers, and push them on us even as children. To *not* oppress, to *not* kill, to *not* genocide, is to invite death. This is the core of fascistic thought, of course. "Kill them before they kill us." And they KNOW this too, they really do. The truth of that irony does not matter, because as is true for all fascists, the truth itself does not matter to them. They wanted this, they wanted this even before the British saw it in their best interest to give them the land. Any excuse to RETVRN, as the neo-nazis say of Rome, or the German Empire, or whatever the fuck stupid country they want to poorly animate the corpse of. Some select Zionists even *sided with the fucking Nazis* in agreement they should abandon Europe to colonize Palestine. (Haavara Agreement)

My people have proved time and time and time again you don't need a nation state to have an enduring culture. We have protected ourselves for thousands of years without the help of these spiteful, doom-saying maniacs. I was going to post something like this on Passover, but that would be hypocritical. The state of Israel doesn't actually have shit to do with Jewishness. Hear Israel (the state and supporters, Israel the icon) I should outlive it long enough to bury it. (old yiddish curse)

Free Palestine. Donate what you can, they need it right now.

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Alt Rock to the Rescue

[Inspired by this art]

"...Alright, I might have an idea," John Constantine, who was seemingly busy texting someone for the past ten - or twenty, no one really counted - minutes, puts his phone away and snaps his head up.

The room falls silent. Superman blinks in surprise, Diana frowns slightly, and Batman's mouth is pressed into a thin, stubborn line. Flash recovers first.

"You have an idea?" He huffs a short, disbelieving laugh, "No offense, but I'm not sure a magic trick can help us against, you know, an alien fleet." He gestures to one of the screens on the wall, where said fleet is approaching Earth on live.

The rest of the Leaguers present don't exactly agree with him, at least not verbally, but the mood in the room shifts from tense, anxious alarm to an almost palpable annoyance. To be honest, no one was even sure why or how John Constantine of all people ended up in the meeting. It's not like JLD could actually help with an ongoing, massive invasion that was about to happen in less than three- Correction, less than two and a half hours. Besides, it's John Constantine. The man that never shows up unless outright bullied into submission.

The magician winces briefly and starts rummaging through his pockets under the weight of everyone's attention.

"I said I might," he amends gruffly, getting a cigarette out of one of his pockets and sticking it in his mouth but not lighting it. Seems like it wasn't what he was looking for, though, because after that, the man keeps going through the various places on his coat, patting himself down. "I know someone who can deal with it. Granted, I already owe him a great deal, but he won't say no," he pauses and grimaces, "At least I hope he won't."

"I do not think it would be wise to call upon gods in our situation," Diana tries carefully, but John pays her little mind.

"Or demons," Green Arrow adds, crossing his arms on his chest, "I'm not selling my soul to get rid of some rocket ships or whatever they are."

Now, that makes the magician bark a laugh. Or, maybe it's the piece of lime green paper - a sticky note, actually - that he finally finds in the depths of his pockets.

"Oh, your soul's gonna stay where it is."

"Constantine-" Batman starts, but John cuts him off instantly.

"Mine will stay wherever it is as well," he reassures the man, "It's not that kind of entity." And with that, he promptly sets the green note on fire - green fire - and uses it as a lighter for his cigarette.

The next moment after the note is reduced to ash, there's a shift in the air in front of him, and, before any of the heroes have a split second to react, there are two people floating in the middle of the room, backs pressed to each other.

Two teenagers, to be exact. A girl and a boy, both of them so pale that their skin looks gray, and both dressed in grunge, like they just came from a rock concert. Yet, that's where the 'normal' parts of their looks end - the boy's hair is so white it looks blinding, and moves in the air slowly, undeterred by gravity, and the girl's hair is neon blue, her ponytail flickering up like a flaming torch.

The boy nearly topples over as the girl leans her back on him harder and kicks her feet up slightly. The movement is awkward, like both of them were taken by surprise by the sudden relocation, and maybe the guess about the rock concert was not so far from reality; there are drumsticks in the boy's hands, and the girl is holding an electric guitar in her hands.

"The fuck?.." The boy asks no one in particular, as the girl makes an annoyed groan and straightens up, still floating in the air. Her guitar makes an aborted sound. Meanwhile, the boy's eyes land on Constantine, and his whole face scrunches in disgust, "John, for the love of Ancients, I was in the middle of something."

The girl takes a look around while her friend is busy expressing his annoyance and elbows him in the side, "Oi, look, it's the whole Comic Con in the flesh here."

Green Arrow sputters. Flash makes a wordless but very offended sound. The floating boy looks around, taking stock of faces in the room, and the disgust on his face morphs into exasperation.

He turns back to Constantine, "Really? I thought I told you I want no part in your furry parade."

"Alien invasion," the magician decidedly doesn't address any of that, instead pointing his finger to the screen behind him. "Thought you ought to know," he adds, a bit of sarcasm bleeding into his tone.

"Ooh, is it my turn to be your world saving buddy, Phantom?" The girl perks up, turning around and draping herself over the boy's shoulders with a giddy laugh. Her guitar shifts to hang in the air on her side all by itself.

The boy - Phantom - rolls his eyes. Bright green, glowing eyes that definitely don't belong to a human being.

"If I had a nickel every time I had to save the world, I'd probably be able to buy myself my own guitar," he grumbles and looks back to Constantine. "Do I, like, have to? Right now? You know, I don't get paid for this bullshit, and the studio we rented for rehearsal has an hourly rate, so if we can postpone this for about an hour and a half, that'd be real nice."

"The fleet is only two hours away from Earth," Batman supplies suddenly, and, when both floating kids turn to look at him, adds, "I can pay for your next rehearsal. Or a few of them." Evidently, Phantom's comment about nickels struck a nerve. Or, maybe, the man just likes throwing money at any teenager he encounters. Who knows.

The boy blinks, taken aback by the proposition. But the girl grins, sharp and wicked, and shoves her drummer - if the drumsticks are to tell - in the side again.

"Hey, free studio. Better than the last time."

That snaps Phantom out of his stupor, and he groans, "Don't remind me." With a weary sigh, he runs a hand through his hair and leans back in the air, almost like reclining on it. "Okay, fine, sure. Do you want them, like, away from Earth- um, this is Earth, right?" He turns to Superman, surprisingly, looking for confirmation, and the man nods, thrown off guard. The boy nods back and continues, "Or you want them blasted into oblivion, or what?"

"Whatever suits your mood, kid," John waves his hand at the screen as if making a welcoming gesture, "But all the aliens gotta go."

Unexpectedly, that makes the girl's grin even wider, and she reaches for her guitar, floating around Phantom and looking him in the face. The look she gives him speaks of mischief, and the boy seems to understand what she's implying before she as much as opens her mouth.

"Ember, no," he pounts a drumstick at her.

"Ember, yes," she wiggles her eyebrows, "Come on, your wail is boring as fuck as it is, why not spice it up?"

"I'm not wailing," Phantom scrunches his nose, "My throat will hurt for weeks."

Ember runs her fingers over the strings of her guitar, and it makes a comparatively quiet, vibrating sound. A few cords shoot out of the bottom of her instrument, like ones used to plug an electric guitar to an amp. She raises her eyebrows, still looking at Phantom, a silent conversation between them.

Then, the boy huffs and rolls his eyes, twirling a drumstick in his fingers.

"Fine."

The cords fly at him like snakes, aiming at his neck. None of the Leaguers watching the encounter get to say even a word as the metal pins insert themselves into the boy's neck, acting like some twisted kind of collar. Phantom doesn't even flinch.

Ember's guitar, on the other hand, reacts to the connection quite violently: it makes a high-pitched sound all on its own and then changes color from black and blue to white and green, with lightning bolts instead of flames for design. The girl's ponytail flares up higher as she softly murmurs in delight.

Then, she turns to the people around them and smirks, "Which way is the evil alien fleet?"

Flash wordlessly points his finger to the right and up. The girl nods in satisfaction, turning in the air so her guitar is facing that way.

"You might want to cover your ears," Phantom advises, a sly smile on his face and a glimmer of anticipation to his eyes. John Constantine follows that direction immediately, and, taking his move as the best course of action, the other heroes follow as well. Except Batman, who only narrows his eyes and looks at both teens in the air apprehensively. Phantom shrugs, "Or don't, I don't hold any responsibility for your shattered eardrums."

"Pick up where we left off, then," Ember tells him, and the boy blinks:

"Wait, I thought you'd just-"

[For some wholesome experience, put your headphones in and listen to 'KULT' by Jisaiah, grandson, and Steve Aoki]

But the girl has already started a tune, nodding her head to the rhythm of it and slowly picking up the pace. Phantom huffs, but doesn't protest any further, floating up as much as the cords allow him and spinning a drumstick in his hand.

"Maybe I should join a cult

At least they'll tell me it's not my fault

That the world's a fucking circus

That my life feels fucking worthless," he spits the words out with a sneer, slowly rotating in the air until he is hanging upside down. His eyes are closed, and his voice becomes more and more staticky with every new sound. The volume of Ember's guitar gets up, higher and higher, until the walls and the floor of the room around them start to vibrate.

Then, Ember's voice joins Phantom's, and the boy brings his drumsticks down on thin air, mimicking the moves. Only, even with the actual drums not there, the air around him ripples like they are, and they all can hear the beat.

"Maybe I should join a cult

At least they'll tell me it's not my fault

When it all comes crashing down

We'll see who's laughing," both kids pause, just for a beat, and Ember uses that split second to spin the volume knob to the max before strumming her guitar in one wide, sharp move.

"NOW!"

The sound wave is not only palpable, it's visible. A wave of toxic green ripples through the air, knocking everyone present - sans the two kids in the air - to the ground, and goes beyond. The screens on the walls flicker and turn off, sending sparks in the air, and the comms give off loud, screeching noises, and-

The following silence feels almost deafening.

Batman, unsurprisingly, is the first one to stand back on his feet and see a few of the screens come back online.

Just in time to see that same green wave of... sound? energy? power?.. decimate the entire fleet like a wet cloth over a chalkboard. One moment, the spaceships were there, and the next they are gone, wiped out of existence.

Ember laughs, leaning back and almost doing a backflip in the air.

"That was nice, dipshit!" She shoves Phantom in the shoulder, and the boy snorts, plucking the cords out of his skin and grinning.

"Yeah," he agrees with a smile, not even looking at the screens around, "Maybe we should try rehearsing in space next time. Sing to the stars and all that crap."

"Sing to the stars?" Ember raises her eyebrows mockingly as the rest of the heroes scramble to their feet, bemoaning their ringing ears. "Na-ah," she clicks her tongue and turns to Batman, "You still up for paying for our studio?"

The man just grunts in a semblance of affirmation.

"Sweet," the girl grins and offers Phantom a hand for a high five, which he returns instantly. "Cheers to the world being saved once again!"

The boy just rolls his eyes and turns to Constantine, "Next time, be a dear and text me before summoning, or I'm going to sell your soul to Morpheus, and who knows what he'll do with you."

John Constantine grimaces. "I did," he offers grudgingly.

But both unearthly teenagers are already gone without a trace.

[Edit: I want everyone to know there's ART now!!!]

[Edit 2: There's more art!!!]

[verdantmeadows]

Alt text is an accessibility tool for many people, primarily those who are blind or visually disabled. It is not appropriate to ever use it as a punchline for a joke to tell a joke. Doing so takes away its reliability and trustworthiness. There are people who are INCAPABLE OF SEEING AN IMAGE OR FULLY SEEING AN IMAGE OTHERWISE. Using alt text to tell jokes HURTS THESE PEOPLE.

This post has like 8,000 notes. I'm so disappointed in how many people think this okay, but even more sad that many people don't understand how this is harmful or what alt text is even for. Please don't propagate or encourage these jokes. You are misusing and actively harming an accessibility tool. If you didn't know that this is what it was for, now you do know! Please do your part and don't spread such things.

Personal edit: I'd like to clarify that if you didn't know this, I don't want you to feel attacked or anything like that. It's okay you didn't know, but now that you do, you can do your best moving on! I said I was sad because I'm a visually impaired person and it can be sad that people don't know these things. I would have phrased this post a bit more objectively if I had known people would see it! It was just meant to be a personal expression of my feelings. I made this post as a visually impaired person myself who uses a screenreader.

Informational edit: This is ableist/bad because it ruins the integrity of the tool and makes people misunderstand what alt text is for. If people do this, it makes people falsely learn what alt text is and use it for notes, captions, or jokes. Misusing alt text ruins the integrity of the tool because it makes it so one cannot consistently rely on alt text to be accurate. It is also ableist because alt text literally just tells someone what an image is/says, so if someone cannot see the image, they don't necessarily have a way of knowing that the alt text is inaccurate, or they might be able to tell that it's a joke/caption, but then still have no idea what the actual image is/says.

[andy-lup]

Crab off! --gives your Loop a mouth-- because in this family not eating Bonnie's food is a crime.

So, remember this comic I did the other day? At first it was just gonna be a random Odile looping au comic, but then I said "what if the family DOES interact with Loop in the fic I'm writing?" And this happened.

A little explanation (cause I don't know when will I finish this fic so I may as well tell the story in comics or something):

We apply the 'teams' here (beauty alliance and opposite sides of the age spectrum alliance). That means (since act 4) Mirabelle knows Isabeau is looping, Isabeau knows Mirabelle is looping; Odile knows Bonnie is looping and Bonnie knows Odile is looping; but no one knows EVERYONE is looping (I will assume this makes sense).

Why hasn't Loop say anything about this to the other family members? Because.

Why hadn't they told Siffrin that the rest of the party is looping? Because Siffrin knows already but he's in negation, to put it simple (and because something something they know Siffrin would mcblinding lose it and they don't want that)

I'm also gonna add the little fact that Loop's mask only works with Siffrin, and it slips a bit TOO often with the rest of the family.

Are you seeing the possible drama??? Do you see my vision???

Anyways, full and alt text under cut, I'm going to sleep or finish that hollow knight skin, whatever comes first BYE

Alt text:

First page:

- First panel shows Bonnie bringing Loop a plate of dumplings. Loops is sitting at the favor tree (they're wearing Odile's coat from the previous comic)

Bonnie: "Star head!"

Loop: "don't call me that kid."

Bonnie: "I bring you. Dumplings."

- Second panel shows Loop with a sad expression holding one of the dumplings

Loop: "Aww Bon-bon...

thank you but... I don't think I can eat anything at all" (whispering: "I don't have a mouth")

A text pointing at Loop says "trying not to burst into tears"

- Thirth panel shows Bonnie holding the plate of dumplings

Bonnie: "Yes you can!"

Loop: "wha-? No I'm pretty sure I-"

Bonnie: (interrupts) "You just have to ask for it!"

"To the universe or something"

"Is what the king said!"

- Forth panel:

Bonnie: "If Frin can ask for a country you can ask to eat!"

- Fifth panel:

Loop: -sigh- "Alright"

"I'll try"

- Sixth panel shows Loop somehow having a mouth under the light of their face and eating the dumpling.

- Seventh panel is Loop's surprised reaction.

Second page:

-First panel is both Loop and Bonnie surprised

Loop (thinking): "you can eat."

-Second panel:

Bonnie: "So? How is it?"

Loop (thinking): "you can eat!!! You can taste!!!"

A text pointing at Loop says "trying REALLY hard not to cry"

Thirth panel:

Bonnie: "uh... Loop?"

Loop: "thank you snack leader for this delicious meal"

A text pointing at Loop says "failure"

-Forth panel is Loop and Bonnie sitting at the favor three. Loop is cleaning their tears and Bonnie is sitting next to them about to fall asleep.

[u3pxx]

ah, dungeon food... delicious in dungeon!

1 | 2 | 3 | one out of three dungeon meshi illustrations i did for a class! 🍲🐲

id in alt text | like this art? it's a print, here! | like what i do? support me on ko-fi!

hi there! this is actually the first illustration i finished out of the three but i decided to post the falin one first because it seemed fitting when the dragon episode came out pftt

and since a while has passed, i'm very happy to say that i got a high grade for the mock covers i did! which i'm really happy for since ngl, the venn diagram of "drawings for school that i got a high grade for" and "drawings for school that i'm actually proud of" is very, very small lmao

to save time, i had to forgo coloring in the lines for this drawing which gives it a fair amount of contrast, while i still enjoy looking at it, i wonder what it would look like if i softened it with colored lineart.

i used a different pen for inking this and i was actually surprised at how quick i was! if you don't know, i love doing lineart but i usually am terribly slow at it, inking this one was a pretty fast ordeal!

i streamed this over on the klapollomb server as i was drawing it and i just distinctly remember that after the flats stage and onto shading it: i paused, pen in my hand, looking at the screen with a blank look before i typed into voice chat in all caps, "I FORGOT HOW I RENDER" ASKSKSK

it's been a while since i've actually drawn anything digital that's like, a fullass piece, so yeah 😭 i can forget sometimes. i've been doing trad art for school for like 2 years straight now so the moment i got the opportunity to do digital art i went all out lol

[bonefall]

[ID: Ask from @storiesandsquirrels, transcribed in alt text]

also: link to Cow Lore

There's one major misconception here I've gotta correct before answering earnestly; Holsteins do need Super Duper Food. This is one of their major problems as a breed, you need to give them high quality feed for high quantity, low quality milk.

But! That said! These are valid questions that deserve real responses. In spite of the quick correction, I actually want to answer them as you phrased them because I think it would be more illuminating. I'm going to try and summarize them as I go along;

Question 1: "Why wouldn't we want to use The Most Efficient Cow?"

The simplest answer is disease. My ""prediction"" came true, and bird flu has mutated to spread extremely easily through the infected udders of Holsteins. No one has died of bovine-contracted HPAI yet, but with Brainworm Bobby and his love of raw milk in charge of the CDC...

well. my last prediction was prophetic. let's hope this one's not.

Minmaxing a breed for one specific purpose always means intensive inbreeding. Like I mentioned, 9 million Holsteins are genetically equivalent to 60 individuals. A more genetically diverse population is one that will be better at preventing disease outbreaks, and reducing their severity when they do.

And what even is the Most Efficient Milk Cow? If you're only selecting for pure milk production to drive down its cost, you get a breed of cattle that lacks every other important trait that would make it good livestock;

They get sick more often, due to inbreeding depression and lack of physical fitness, requiring more antibiotics and veterinary care.

They are bad parents who will need more human intervention to birth and raise calves

They won't be good grazers, meaning they need a specific food grown for them, increasing how much "functional" land is actually dedicated to cattle husbandry.

Their carcass won't yield as much meat, so more cattle have to be raised and slaughtered to meet demand.

Their bodies will burn out much quicker than a healthier animal, meaning you need to replace your livestock more often.

When it comes to living beings, "efficiency" is "fragility." It's not a stable system to begin with.

Even with the pure logic aside, just, step back here and look at the situation with a heart. We'd be making unhealthy, short-lived animals lacking critical instincts to lead good social lives. AND we probably haven't even fixed the "less land" problem, just shifted the land off-site.

For what? For more milk? We have SO MUCH milk we don't even know what to do with it!

Question 2: "Isn't an overabundance of cheap milk a good thing?"

no.

Under the infinite genius of Capitalism, thousands of gallons of milk just gets poured into the sewer daily because there's too much of it. Transporting it to a processor would cost more than it's worth, sometimes the processors turn milk away because they don't want to overproduce products, and even the US government can't subsidize every last drop; it still has 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in various caves and warehouses across the country.

The price of milk cannot get any lower because it's already being sold below the cost it takes to produce it, and yet, we're still here literally pouring it down the drain.

[photo from bill ulrich who photographed a farmer dumping milk back during the pandemic. this isn't even a recent photo. this happens every time there's a milk surplus. im using this photo because i like the farmer's cunty little pose. look at him. "just ain't right"core.]

And milk being dumped into the sewer is more than just wasteful. It's a biohazard.

Milk doesn't stop rotting when it's dumped. If you live downstream of a milkhouse, improper milk disposal reeks.

It's full of nutrients, too, which causes diatoms, cyanobacteria, and other types of algae to go into overdrive-- causing a Harmful Algal Bloom event in the water, or HAB.

HABs are horrific. There's HUNDREDS of different types. They can suck up oxygen and create "dead zones" which kills all aquatic life, they can poison the water supply for an entire town, and some can even cause toxic fumes that make it hard to breathe on land.

Now, listen, I don't want to scare you into never dumping out rotten milk or anything! It's that on an industrial scale, it's REALLY REALLY bad if a farm overproduces milk-- especially crummy milk that can't be made into decent cheese or other dairy products.

In fact, if we did produce milk on a smaller scale, it would be better for everyone! Unless you're a Milk Guzzling Fiend like I am, you probably wouldn't need to buy a whole gallon at a time. In countries like Italy, it's sold fresh and in smaller containers, and you're just expected to pick it up as you need it.

This is why milkmen used to exist, and still do in places that are cool; they'd deliver your supply fresh from the creamery. Less waste, less stress! The "subscription model" is actually sooooooooooo much better for milk production, since it helps to stagger out those "surges and drops" of demand that leads to milk dumps.

Question 3: "If the cow eats less, doesn't that mean less land for pasture, which is a good thing?"

There's a lot to unpack within this sentiment. It's actually based on a couple of common assumptions on a few levels, which are incorrect in fascinating ways. Challenging this means opening up your worldview on how complex keeping livestock actually is!

I'll start with the simpler part;

You could cut fresh pasture out of the equation entirely and shove a cow into a concrete pen with a food box-- but are you counting the land growing the fodder?

When you grow corn the way that we do on industrial farms in the US, it's unbelievably destructive. Unending oceans of monoculture. Fogged with pesticide, pumped full of fertilizer which causes HABs like dumped milk does, sprayed with thousands of gallons of wasted water.

When you look at this image, I need you to understand you are looking at a dead zone. Like a suburban lawn, just because it's green doesn't mean it's good. Nothing grows here but corn and pests of corn, which gets poisoned and dies without returning any of that energy to the ecosystem.

This is usually what is being given to "grain-fed cattle," either when they're sent to a feedlot to hit their slaughter weight, or when they're lactating so they need the extra nutrition. It's also so nasty it's inedible to human beings.

Now, a lot of cattle farmers will just supplement their cow's diet, doing a mix of pasture feeding (much cheaper) and grain feeding (quicker gains). But the facts on this are clear; pasture-kept cattle result in LESS emissions and need LESS total space than cows in confinement.

In fact, there were a LOT of benefits!

Overall gas emissions from the cows dropped by 8%

Ammonia pollution was down by 30%

Not needing to run farm equipment for fodder planting and harvest reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 10%

Rotated crop fields didn't sequester carbon; but the newly converted perennial grasslands store as much as 3,400 pounds per acre.

The outside cows did produce less milk volume, but the milk they did produce was higher quality. So, looking at all the benefits here, it's clear that pasture is actually something that should be embraced for ecological reasons, not rejected.

In FACT, it should be EMPHASIZED. Because, this is the mind-blowing part,

Pasture can ALSO be an ecosystem.

In fact, I'm a Warrior Cats guy who once did a deep dive on moorlands just so I could write WindClan better. There are entire biomes that only exist because of grazing, and British lowland heath is one of them!

Keeping cattle in a sustainable, ecologically sound way is going to look different depending on where in the world you're doing it. So many earnest, good-willed people have bought into the lie that humans are a problem, and that everything "associated" with us becomes a barren wasteland as if we are tainted. YOU are not the problem! The problem is, and always has been, exploitation. Unsustainable relationships with the land we're part of.

Indigenous people in Europe, Asia, and Africa have been keeping cattle for thousands of years. In North America, cattle can be used to maintain ecosystems that have been badly affected by the colonial eradication of the American Bison. In South America, Brazil specifically has been making incredible advances with highly efficient integrated crop-livestock-forestry farming.

Generally, pastures here in the US are not as intensely managed as an equivalent crop field. Some people fertilize them, or water them mid-summer, but absolutely not to the same extent as industrial corn farms. Cattle are typically rotated between pastures, allowing each to re-grow before they come back to graze again.

Obviously, yes, overgrazing can be an issue. Not every open space should be converted into a pasture, and the destruction of other environments to turn into cow land is a problem. But that is an issue of bad land stewardship, not the mere practice of keeping livestock.

Bottom line, though? Cattle who can graze and survive outside are better for the environment than cattle that can't.

...but hey, you know what Holsteins happen to be really bad at?

EVERYTHING. GRAZING.

They are notoriously terrible grazers. They can't do megan THEEEEE thing that cows are known for. Fragile frames, a lack of fat to keep them warm outside, increased demand for food, distaste for any rough forage, horrible mothering instincts, the list goes on. Holsteins are a NIGHTMARE to try and keep outside all year round compared to other breeds.

(especially heritage breeds, like the Milking Devon, Florida Cracker, or Texas Longhorn. Between these three, you'd be totally covered in 80% of American climates.)

I've already explained why it's not actually very good or important that we minmax milk volume, but even if that was actually something we should value, there are so many downsides that they would absolutely not be the dominant cow breed in a truly "efficient" system.

"Less cows means less cow food and cow land" is sound logic, but Holsteins are not the right cow for that job.

Question 4: "How could this be done in a way that doesn't increase cost of living?"

I'm not sure how to answer this question, simply because I'm not Bonestar, Leader of AmericaClan. Wish I was. I would rule tyrannically.

It's worth noting that Brazil is the second largest producer of beef in the entire world, AND the number one largest exporter of it, AND only puts 30% of its land to total agricultural use. The USA dedicates over 50%. And also Brazil is net reducing its amount of agricultural land while increasing output.

It seems clear to me that the USA actually has a massive food waste and resource distribution problem, to the point where the price we pay for stuff is actually wildly disconnected from the actual value of the goods and labor.

I think the way that us Americans tend to frame our conversations on these topics as "growth" vs "cuts" instead of asking how to minimize waste by making existing systems more efficient prevents us from solving problems. We're also just... really culturally resistant to the idea of anything being more "expensive," even if it ends up costing us a lot more money in waste or mismanagement later.

Penny wise and dollar foolish ass country.

Question 5: "What can we personally do about this?"

I mean, I wasn't making a call to action in Cow Lore, I was just explaining to one of my regulars why I don't like Holsteins LMAO. Since you're asking though...

I don't think we can change the wider trend in the dairy industry without actual government intervention and regulation, though, and that's very unlikely in the current political environment. they just sent random dudes to Ausalvador-Birkenau and when the Supreme Court said "bring this specific person back" they said "nuh uh." fellas I don't think we're getting better dairy regulations in the foreseeable future.

So I think the most productive thing to do is focusing on supporting small farms and heritage breeds. Get involved in your community garden or heritage society if you have one.

Not only is that generally a very rewarding thing, but it will be helpful to you in case The Situation Gets Worse. Knowing your neighbors and having real human connection is your best defense against economic recession.

Supporting the locals is always a great thing to do, which can be as simple as going to farmer's markets. You don't need to buy fancy food every day to make an impact on your community-- it can be a treat sometimes!

You could also subscribe to the Livestock Conservancy's free newsletter, where they talk about the work they're doing and upcoming events. If you're a knitter, crocheter, or any other kind of fiber artist, you could even join in on a challenge they're running where you make items out of rare wool for prizes!

Should you end up liking the work they do, you can become a member for 4$ a month, or go to one of their educational events.

Even just talking about the problem can do a lot! Did you know the Highland Cow was actually critically endangered in the USA within the past 10 years? It was the work of the Livestock Conservancy, plus a surge in their popularity, that helped to bring their numbers up. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

All that said, remember, you can't solve every problem. It's a big world and there's a lot of them. Being made aware of an issue doesn't mean you have to drop what you were previously doing-- just care a lot about something that you want to improve, and let that guide you.

[these-posts-arent-real]

Oh StarClan... your dash has turned into warrior cats again.

#sorry <3 #this one has parts that are based off of that #one post rhats like "if there were cat-people #do you think calico tboys would try to dye over their patches"

2 notes

🔁 🍲 ex-thundrclan-kipper Follow reblogged

🍲 ex-thundrclan-kipper Follow

Me & Night (my mate)!!!

🏞 trouttail-prefers-bass Follow

:O Kip's mate has finally been revealed!!! And his name is Night? Cooool.

🍲 ex-thundrclan-kipper Follow

Yeah haha. Technically his full name is Night Hunter, Bringer of Darkness, but it feels so weirdly formal calling him that, so I usually stick to just Night.

#life #kittypet #collar tw #cw collars #id in alt text

8,504 notes

🛤 carnation-stem-02 Follow

I find it really funny when I see cats on here vaguepost about big blogs. Like cmon mouse-brain everyone here knows who you're talking about. Just say their name.

#this is about that one mommy blogger shitting on kipper the kittypet #btw #in case some of you couldnt tell #would be funny if it wasnt so stupid

12 notes

🔁 🐍xviper-the-fagx reblogged

🥬 rxttencatmint Follow

Hahaaaaa.... my mother found out ive been slowly dyeing my ginger patches black...

🪺 robbbinpaw Follow

Why would you do that??? Being a tortie is so cool, I wish I had ginger patches! They're so pretty, why do you want to get rid of them???

🥬 rxttencatmint Follow

Uhm. Gender dysphoria??

Like. I know cis male tortoiseshells exist but they're so rare that most cats take one look at me and go "oh, tortie, must be a girl" and that hurts.

🪺 robbbinpaw Follow

OH STARCLAN im so sorry Rot i wasnt even thinking about you being trans, I probably sounded really insensitive... I do understand what you're saying now.

Didn't even ask, how did your mom take it? Does she know why?

🥬 rxttencatmint Follow

You're fine <3 I get it. And no, she uh.. has no clue why I did it, she thinks I'm in my "emo phase" or something.

🐍 xviper-the-fagx

Uhh unrelated but what do you use to dye your fur?? Asking for... science...

#"science" meaning i am also a tortie tboy #well technically i'm calico but ykwim

46 notes

🔁 🦋 lalala-bluegaze Follow reblogged

🦢 gentlesong-momof17 Follow

I can't be the only one here who thinks it's unfair to allow kittypets on this site. Posting pictures of themselves and their mates inside of the twolegplace, influencing the young kits on this site to abandon their Clans... surely everyone else sees the problem with this as well.

This is Clanblr, not "Kittypetblr". This was specifically made as a space for Clan cats to connect, not for kittypets to push their lifestyle on us.

They're going to convince our kits to abandon their home and their belief in StarClan just for a more secure life.

#EXACTLY #I only recently found out ex-tc Kipper was a kittypet #it was so upsetting to me because i've always loved his wood-scratch art #to find out he's a clan-abandoner was so saddening

2,447 notes

🔁 🐍xviper-the-fagx reblogged

🌻 l1llyst3m Follow

The recent drama surrounding Kipper the Kittypet is sad and I hate that he's being bashed just for existing, but it's also incredibly stupid. I believe the cat who wrote the original post said something like, "it's CLANblr, not KITTYPETblr," and then something about belief in StarClan and I just... do you even realize how many Clanblr mods are non-Clan and/or don't believe in StarClan?

To name a few, @s-t-a-r-burning is former WindClan now rogue & openly an atheist, @theshadowhaseyes has been a kittypet his whole life, and @ssuunnrraayy-p has made zir entire blog about how ze travels from one Clan to another & doesnt consider zimself a Clan cat. Those are all mods. "It's clanblr no-" shut up. Just shut up.

245 notes

🧷 name-lists-by-theme

Theme: Water

as always, these work as either part of your name, but they are intended as the first part!

-Abyss

-Bay

-Bog

-Cove

-Creek

-Current

-Dew

-Fog

-Lagoon

-Lake

-Marsh

-Mist

-Pond

-Pool

-Puddle

-Rain

-Shallow

-Sleet

-Spray

-Splash

-Storm

-Stream

-Torrent

Keep reading

383 notes

🐱 berrrrry-o Follow

I think a lot of cats put way too much emphasis on the parts of the warrior code that dont matter, and forget the parts that do, like "feed elders and kits first" and "never neglect a kit in pain or danger"... I feel like those are significantly more important than "a warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet," but maybe that's just me.

#berry yaps #I'm irritated by the kittypet drama going on on this site

16 notes

🔁 🛤 carnation-stem-02 Follow reblogged

🔲 sag3-chas3s-squirr3ls-deactivated

I feel like we don't talk enough about how SkyClan got chased out of their own territory during a time of crisis rather than all of the Clans trying to make room for everyone...

I mean, seriously. I know it's taught to all SkyClan apprentices, but I've talked to some of my friends from other Clans and they just. Didn't know that. They were never taught that the other Clans allowed SkyClan to be chased out due to territory loss.

🔲 sstep-xoxo-deactivated

:/ im pretty sure the whole thing about skclan being kicked out of their territory is just a conspiracy theory

🔲 sag3-chas3s-squirr3ls-deactivated

Imagine trying to tell a cat that they don't know their own Clan's history 💀

#ohh i finally found it again #that 1 fucker trying to say that skyclan's history is a "conspiracy theory"

20,056 notes

🌱 dirtdigger-23 Follow

:/ I do not like being stuck on the wrong site.

[romanarose]

What: An event to highlight disability visibility in the Pedro Pascal and Oscar isaac fandom! Writings or art MUST include some disability. In the header, I have chosen 4 characters with canon disabilities, but you can write for anyone! For examples:

Marcus Acacius losing eyesight Llewyn with a reader with a reader with epilepsy Javier Pena x Steven Murphy and Steve has cancer

Fics and art can be NSFW, friends, romantic, canon characters only, x reader, solo fics, ETC. If you want to explore a bonus chapter within a series you already wrote, that works, but,

MUST BE NEW CONTENT!

Who: Anyone who wants to make art or write a fic!

Where: Tumblr, but if you want to post on ao3 and send a link that works!

When: Through the month of May!

Why: It's important for all of us to look at the beautiful diversity of this fandom! There have been many discussions around race and gender/sexuality biases especially in the PPCU recently, and I want to not derail, but rather add to this conversation.

Rules: I'll try to keep it simple

Not a dead dove event: While dark content can be discussed or shown and I am not a dark hater, please no dead dove, non con etc. Not for this event.

Minor characters are allowed, but obviously no NSFW minors. You want to have Marc and reader in their teens, thats fine! but not smut.

No minors!: I am aware I cannot stop nor do I wish to stop minors from reading, but interacting with this event is strictly 18+

Non-disabled people can write, and disabled folk can write for disabilities they do not have, but do research: Reach out to friends who have a disability you want to write about. Watch youtube videos. Read book and blog posts. I'll link some resources at the bottom!

TRY not to fall into trope or harmful traps. Again, I'll link tropes in the bottom, try our best!

Try to end light. This is about the beauty of diversity. Like with my pride event, I'm not naive to hardships the disability community faces and we can explore that, but lets not let that be the main focus.

Readmore: Use the READMORE option! I'll reblog all fics but ONLY if theres a readmore

Add alt text to any pictures. I have literally done this maybe twice and that's my fault. it takes a minute, I have no excuses, but its very important for people who use aids online.

And this isn't a rule but a few notes. try to avoid the inspiration porn shit. If you don't know what it is, look it up and if you're still not clear you can ask me! Also, I recognize major depressive disorder , PTSD, anxiety ETC can be disabilities, these are things that are depicted a fair amount in fics already. If you choose to write to draw with these disabilities, that is okay! I'm still more than happy to include your work! I just want to gently encourage people to think of other disabilites we can try to include so others feel welcomed!

And as always with my events, I want to encourage you to think beyond the standard x fem reader. It's all wonderful and beautiful, but if you wanted to write reflecting your experience as a black disabled woman or a trans disabled man or writing about Santi's experience being queer and disabled I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT ALL!!

Events tend to not have a lot of art, so I'd really love to see artists participate too!

HOW: SEND ME THE LINK ASKS OR DMS! asks in preferred so I can keep track. Do to internet safety, I wont look at anonymous links. If you have to be on anon bc you use a sideblog (looking at you, Haru!) then tag me in your fic or post, I'll open up a dm with you on that blog and you can send it there. I''ve had issues in the past trying to keep things organized so this is best for me! Everything will be reblogged, and then put into a masterlist!

I will be posting the masterlist on my new blog, @cosmic-kid-in-motion. I wanted to start the event here where I actually have followers, but the final product will be on my new blog, transferring things over.

I am so excited to see what you all come up with!!!!

Disability Visibility Project: An online page talking about disability issues. The sight is ran by Ali Wong. She also has a book of essays from different people called Disability Visibility, I HIGHLY REC. We read this book and used this site heavility in my intro to disability class, its why I named the event this!

Ableist tropes in media

Youtuber who is a friend of mine, Andy

Deaf awareness by same youtuber

Another youtuber I like

Disabled palistinian comedian

If anyone has other links they recommend im all ears!

I also open for any questions, and if any other disabled tumblrinas wanna open up for questions, comment below! You totally dont have to, but a wider range is always great! I have a few physical and mental disabilites and like I mentioned, I took a class. Im also good friends with the tuber i linked above and he's done a lot of disability advocacy and I've learned a lot from him, So I feel confident but if theres another I dont know I'll open it up! Any input or ideas are welcome!!!

Im so excited to see what everyone comes up with!

[kiwinatorwaffles]

two aroaces try to figure out dates 28 injured 3 dead

(image description in alt text and under cut)

Image description:

The first page of a three-paged comic. Panel 1: Edgeworth crosses his arms with an uncertain expression, saying, "miss maya, i hope you don't mind me requesting your help on such a short notice. Panel 2: Edgeworth lifts his hand to his chin, saying "i want to show wright appreciation by inviting him to a date, but i have no idea what to do. i was wondering if you had any advice or ideas from the perspective of someone who also doesn't experience romantic attraction. Panel 3: Maya grins and says, "oh yea, totes! i can help! lemme quickly just--" Panel 4: Maya pulls out her phone, scrolling through her Ao3 page titled "mayoinnaise." She says uncertainly, "um…. date ideas right… erm…. ok gimme a sec…."

The second page of a three-paged comic. Panel 1: Maya and Edgeworth have a back-and-forth conversation, starting with Maya's speech bubble. "how about going to the countryside and horseback riding and having a picnic?" "horseback…? the countryside is hours away…" "okay um… just a picnic then?" "i'm allergic to pollen." "sounds like you're just allergic to dates. "apologies…" Panel 2: Maya says, "wait i have a great idea!! you should get drinks and watch something on tv until he gets mega drunk and starts crying at you because you're so beautiful!!" Below Maya's speech bubble is a little bubble titled "Maya vision:" where Phoenix is blushing with his tie around his head, saying "miles i love you" with a bunch of "u's" stretching out. Panel 3: Edgeworth, unamused, says "…you know maybe i should've gone to larry". Panel 4: Offended, Maya replies, "hey!" in all caps and bolded italic text. "do you think LARRY would have better advice? he'd be all like," Her speech bubble cuts off here, switching to one that mimics Larry, indicated by a small Larry head beside the speech bubble and text saying "Larry voice". It reads, "edgey boy you should take him to your place and fuck him raw!" Panel 5: Edgeworth, looking sick, replies, "…good point. now excuse me while i go throw up."

The last page of a three-paged comic. Panel 1: Maya scrolling desperately with a speech bubble consisting entirely of ellipses. Text on the corner of the panel reads, "(on her 7th ao3 page)". Panel 2: Maya suddenly exclaims "dinner!" in italicized all-caps. "nothing bad ever happens with dinner!" Panel 3: Edgeworth closes his eyes and presses a finger against his temple, saying, "last time we had a dinner 'date,' wright ate his salad with a butter knife…" Dejected, Maya replies, "right. that time. post cancelled no dinner i guess". Panel 4: Maya looks back at her phone with one hand up in defeat and says, "man, i'm sorry… pretty much all i write is homoeroticism and angst! maybe we should ask larry…" Edgeworth's speech bubble reassures her, "i appreciate the help regardless…" Panel 5: A context box in the top-left of the panel reads, "meanwhile, phoenix:" Phoenix sits on the couch outside the office with a confused expression, thinking "wtf are they talking about". There is text in the bottom left corner that reads "(they kicked him out of the office)".

End ID.

[cr-aspec-fest]

CR Aspec Fest - Info & FAQs!

The Critical Role Aspec Fest is a month-long fanwork fest (with a prompt for each week) celebrating aromantic-spectrum and asexual-spectrum experiences!

Schedule and Prompts

WEEK 1 (Feb 1st-7th): Aro-spec

WEEK 2 (Feb 8th-14th): Ace-spec

WEEK 3 (Feb 15th-21st): Unconventional relationships

WEEK 4 (Feb 22nd-28th): Free week! Whatever your heart desires.

FAQs

(if something isn't answered here, please feel free to send an ask or message!)

Can I make something about a character being demisexual or demiromantic or (insert other label)? Can I make something about a character who's straight?

Absolutely - please do! Aspec is a very broad umbrella term, and this event is all about celebrating a variety of experiences that aren't well-represented in media. If it feels right to you, go for it. I'm not going to exclude any works from the fest just because they aren't relatable to me.

What types of fanworks can I make for the fest?

Anything! Be that fanfiction, fanart, meta, gifsets, edits etc. - everything is welcome! If you're writing fanfiction, you're encouraged to post to the AO3 collection here.

Which Critical Role characters can I make fanworks about?

Do I have to make a fanwork for every week to take part?

Nope! The more the merrier, but we're doing this for fun, not to stress!

Anyone in anything they've streamed - so the main campaigns, EXUs, Candela Obscura, Daggerheart or other oneshots!

Do I need to be aspec to join?

Definitely not, as long as you're coming in with the mindset of being respectful of our experiences. For one, I'm aromantic but not ace-spec - so making works about ace-spec experiences is naturally going to be more difficult for me, but entirely doable with a little bit of research! I think it's a great way to learn about others.

Why February? Why a whole month?

Yes, there are plenty of aspec weeks hosted in other fandoms, which are great and the inspiration for this event! But personally, I am both slow and busy, so making just one thing per week is much more achievable for me. I chose February because Aromantic Awareness Week is the week after Valentine's day, and this fest was originally going to take place during that time. I'm also unaware of any other fandom events happening in February (although please let me know otherwise, just for my own interest!). The fact that February splits so nicely into 4 whole weeks is an added bonus!

Edit: There is another CR fandom event this month - @vexlethuary!

Would you like people to share around the existence of this fest?

(Okay, maybe this one's a bit of a cheat.) Yes please! Even if you don't plan on taking part, getting eyes on the existence of this event would be wonderful. This is the first fandom event I've ever hosted, and I don't have a huge platform among fic writers, who are likely the largest contingent of nerds (lovingly) who'd be interested in taking part in an event like this.

Other Rules

Please don't bash any ships or headcanons you don't like! Part of the fun of fandom is seeing the broad range of possible interpretations, and I'd always rather foster a sense of community rather than opposition.

Suggestive, NSFW and whump content is fully allowed, but must be tagged correctly for whatever platform you're posting on. When reblogging suggestive or NSFW content, I'll use the tag #CRAspecFestNSFW, so filter that if you'd like.

Fanworks should be focused on aspec experiences or characters, but other topics or characters can totally be included, and these experiences don't have to be super clear or well-labelled in-text (gods know that real-life experiences are often opaque and confusing) - it's your intention that matters. This is up to your discretion, really. As with the rule of thumb for AO3 tagging - if someone was viewing this for aspec content, would they be disappointed? If so, you can always rework it, or post it outside of this fest.

Please consider adding alt text to any images you post - here's a useful guide if you're not sure what to write.

This account will be reblogging every fanwork made for the fest - just remember to tag us, and use the #CRAspecFest tag! If you don't have a tumblr account and want a post about your work to be included, send a message.

There'll be more posts on this account with ideas for how to approach the prompts, plus reminders at the start of each week, tagged #CRAspecFestPosts. All submission reblogs will be tagged #CRAspecFestWorks (and #CRAspecFestNSFW if applicable).

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom POLL: Help! Bridgette Landgraab Needs Style

This budding young fashionista and social butterfly needs a wardrobe to wow everyone around her - and with her privilege, Ash's other little sister will be able to rock any style she wants!

Problem is, I don't even know where to begin! So today's post is to get opinions on how to do this fashion-forward sim justice. So far she hasn't shown any Landgraab tendencies other than adherence to fashion - what she utterly lacks in physical attributes from her mother might be because she's destined to inherit Miko's good trait, instead! We can always hope!

Polished and preppy seem very Landgraab, but Miko Ojo is her mother, and that's more of a fashion wildcard! Should I mix and match? I've left the hair she aged up with for now, but I'm open to any thoughts or suggestions to change it all up! (If you read the alt-text for all the outfits you can laugh at me trying to describe fashion lolol.)

Also, should I leave her choices regarding the styles that don't win up to fate or make her dislike them all?? Which would be more fun? I love having more traits even if I don't know how to make fashionable sims, and this can be a learning experience for my CAS-lazy self!

Preppy & Polished

Three more lookbooks and the poll below the cut...

Hipster/Boho

Country/Outdoorsy

Rocker & Streetwear

She did age up with more yellow-blonde highlights that I'll absolutely be utilizing when she isn't five, but for now it's the orange blonde inherited from her father!

Guess who's back tomorrow guys? Heather and Conrad and Lavender and the pets!! Thanks for helping me do right by Miss Bridgette Landgraab until then!

[luli-lads]

World Underneath — Fractal Library Q&A: Breakdown and Theories

This story raised so many questions for me... I felt the need to do an analysis. So, let's go! (Long post ahead)

Preface

It's important to note that when Infold released this update, it came with a corresponding social media post, of which I will just show the part relating to this story:

As you can see, it's stated that this story is related to Zayne. It's important to keep this in mind as he himself isn't mentioned by name in it.

Although, we still could've known it was about him by a few things, it's good to have certain confirmation.

Also, it's helpful to have read The Foreseer's myth, Master of Fate's myth and Dawnbreaker's anecdote before continuing, because although I will give reminders about key elements, the full picture is lost if you don't know what I'm talking about.

What is the Fractal Library?

It's not actually a library in the strict sense, because it doesn't necessarily have books. Let's explore this.

I think the concept of 'fractal' wasn't explained neatly enough in the story, so let me provide more on that. Taking this definition from google:

A fractal is a shape that when you take the shape apart into pieces, the pieces are the same or similar to the whole.

You know a good example of a fractal? A snowflake. (Yeah... Yeah.) Snowflakes have this shape -> ❄️. And guess what it looks like when you put it under a microscope. You get many tiny ❄️ put together. A meta-shape.

Now, back to the library itself. It's not clear what the things in the library are, because they're almost Schrodinger's books in the sense that sometimes they are books, and sometimes they're not. As the administrator tells a kid,

"A lot of the things here aren't what you'd call books, but let's call them 'books' for the sake of convenience. [...] When you want to read them, they'll take on a form that's easy for you to understand. Books are the ideal medium. But if you prefer cartoons, that works too."

Sorry, admin, but I don't think 'books' is the best term for them. They're more like windows. Windows to a different universe, a parallel universe, that can appear as books.

So, what's fractal about these 'books'? As they explain, every book is an entire universe. Except, all the books are the same universe, with slight changes. If you put every book together, you'd get every single possibility that could occur in the universe; what if you took the train? what if you went by foot? what if you didn't go at all? Each its own universe. Stories growing upon themselves with each little decision, like fractals, stories inside stories.

Do you recall any other books in the game that let you experience a parallel universe in a non-book-restricted way? That's right, the books in the Tower of Thorns. They teleported MC inside them and let her experience the contents for herself.

And this is just the beginning of the connections with The Foreseer.

I can't imagine how big the Library must be, to contain all of that (except I can, and we have pictures).

Read the image's alt text <3

Who is the Library's administrator?

That is, the person telling us all of the information about it in the story. I have a wild theory about this one.

First, we can deduce that this person might be on the older side (older, not meaning 'old') since they've gone through more than 6 jobs "over the years" before settling as the administrator. They also used to travel a lot.

Much like Zayne, they also like sweets. This could be a mere coincidence, but it's strange that they pointed that out. I think it was done as a way to further emphasize their connection to Zayne. However, their personality is much more cheerful and open.

I would have to get feedback from people who can read this in other languages, but there is no mention to their gender.

Right. So, putting all of this together, who do I think it is?

Jas. Or, at least, the version of Jas in the current timeline.

If you remember, in the Foreseer's myth there's a sentient ice cluster named Jas, who mainly stays in the library to help her and Zayne reach the higher rows of books by lifting them in ice platforms.

When MC asks about its origin, Zayne confirms that he didn't create it. Jas simply exists.

So Jas is its own entity that simply looks after the library inside the Tower of Thorns (among other things). And the administrator is their own person that simply looks after the Fractal Library.

This one is more speculation than anything, but it would be nice to see Jas again, wouldn't it?

Who is the person on the other side of the telephone?

Some of you are going to get stupidly giddy about my theory here.

We have to note a few things:

— They have impeccable timing, calling every day at 10 AM, and as described by the admin,

"No one manages time as precisely as that caller."

— They're not the owner of the place, but they gave the administrator their position and they seem to look after it.

— They write books. Let's assume the ones in the library.

— They're the one who gave the administrator the order to wait for a specific man to walk in, who would be the owner.

— They have strange powers(?) (I don't know what else to call them), because first of all, how did they know to ring the Library at the right time when the administrator walked in if it was abandoned? And the admin said,

"I approached the counter and answered the phone as if beckoned by an unseen force."

Not only that, but the fact that they can write these 'books' at all??

— They're trying to create a specific 'book'. At the end of the story we hear the admin say into the phone,

"...By the way, how did that new book of yours turn out? When can I read it? Oh... It failed again?"

What does 'it failed' mean? Can't you just write whatever you want if it's your 'book'? Admin also stated earlier,

"If these stories are someone's reality, if their worlds truly exist or once did... Could they have been just experimental playgrounds for some god's whim? Bits and pieces thrown together without a second thought, proportions guided by mood, one failure after another."

We can also guess with this that the admin doesn't know the true nature of the person on the other side of the phone, even if they know they write books.

— They're impatient for the owner to arrive, we can tell by the constant checking in on the matter despite the fact that it will apparently happen on a specific date.

So, putting all these pieces together.

A creator of worlds. A god. Not an all-powerful god, since their worlds keep failing. They're waiting for the owner of the Library, that is, the owner of these books. The owner of these universes. The protagonist in these universes. Zayne (why it's him, further down).

Oh golly gee, what kind of god could have an interest in Zayne, we all put our hands to our heads in unison as realization dawns, that's right baby, Astra.

Listen, take this with a BIG grain of salt, okay? Plus, in this story, if that were Astra, he seems... Nice? It could be a different god altogether! Maybe Astra's opposite, even.

I'll leave this idea here, and we can move on to the next question.

Who's the true owner of the library?

As I said before, it's clearly Zayne, but I'll explain why.

Before anything, let me say that I don't think Zayne knows he is the owner. It's a Matrix situation, Neo isn't the chosen one until Trinity falls in love with him, Zayne isn't the owner of the Library until he steps through its doors. He isn't aware of its existence BUT he might know the admin because they said:

"When the moment arrives, I'm sure he'll come looking for me. [...] And if he doesn't show up, well, we know exactly where to find him, right?"

It's unclear.

Also that last line might be a reference to the fact that they're acutely aware that the stories are about him, so they know where the most probable place to find him is, based on all the existing universes.

So, onto why it's him.

The admin says,

I know an atheist will step through these doors one day. That person is the library's true owner.

God is a reoccurring theme in Zayne's lore. Starting with The Foreseer, who is directly affected by Astra (we could also mention Dawnbreaker here, since he's connected directly by the jasmine flower), Master of Fate, who is a God himself though doesn't really act like one, and finally main!timeline Zayne, where the theming is a bit more subtle.

— The Foreseer: He's not an atheist because he doesn't have a choice (💀) however, let me go a little deeper into his relationship with Astra. He's very vague about his feelings towards the God, but every word is measured as to not offend Him. Although, it also seems like, since he already has the God's favor, he doesn't need to praise him or regard him in a positive light necessarily. A kind of learned helplessness. There is one instance of explicit emotion towards Him...

"Astra's will has presented itself, and the Foreseer's indifferent facade reveals a hint of indignation as he too is imprisoned by the prophecy."

— Master of Fate: As a God himself, he also doesn't have much of a choice in his beliefs XD. However, he doesn't really care about his godhood (in the sense that, he just acts like a normal person and treats humans as equals).

— Dawnbreaker: I couldn't find any mentions of any god in his anecdote. (If I missed any, feel free to correct me). Still, since he's one of the characters in the stories mentioned by the admin, we can count him out.

— Dr. Zayne: If my memory doesn't fail me, quite a few people around Zayne have brought up the existence of a God. Yet he himself hasn't really shown an opinion. Carter asks him directly if he believes in God, and he ignores the question and instead calls Carter crazy.

Now, with Zayne's logical and methodical approach to anything, I don't think he even questions the existence of a god altogether because for him, it's always just been people. People helping and people harming. Things around him, tangible things. He might let himself play around with concepts like fate just because he's in love with MC, but at the end of the day, he's a man who blames things on people (positively and negatively speaking). And that stems from the fact that he carries every mistake he's ever made with him, as things that are his fault. No one else's. So from his point of view, it must be true for everyone else as well. No higher power. People die, people live, that's on him, that's his job.

Dr. Zayne is the only one who they could be referring to as 'an atheist'. But not only that! Since I already established the connection between the Library and The Foreseer's library, I believe there's a narrative order: Zayne enters the library and is designated its owner -> The person behind the phone makes themselves known -> ??? -> Zayne gains Astra's favor and becomes his emissary (gaining immortality) -> Time passes, Earth becomes Philos, the Library turns into the Tower of Thorns -> The Foreseer's myth.

Thus Dr. Zayne ends up as The Foreseer, memories of his past long forgotten by centuries of ice, loneliness, torture, and Astra's meddling.

It would also explain why Astra can't be a character in one of the 'books', and is interfering directly with Zayne in The Foreseer's myth — He got tired of trying to write a successful universe and instead attempted to force a narrative himself, punishing Zayne if he walked out of the path He wanted. Fate.

What are the books about?

Like I said earlier, they're universes. But let's look into them.

The administrator says one thing about them: They're all science fiction. So, the events in them aren't what's happening in the current world. But we know it's the present time since the admin says they're in Linkon City.

The admin also recounts a story they read in those books. It's strange, because they seem like two separate stories, but they say it's only one. I don't know how to interpret this incongruence entirely. A summary:

A world where they look into your genetics at birth and determine your whole life based on them, on what's most efficient. But a man bioengineered a baby with 'perfect' genes, who did whatever he wanted because he could, even if it was wrong. This caused an imbalance in society and a rebellion against the system, the rebels on the losing side. The story ends there, weirdly abruptly?

A dying world. It's better if I paraphrase the beginning:

Everyone but "him" had fallen victim to a virus that stripped away the human form and humanity. It turned people into an energy that would perish along with the planet.

"He" spent his life killing these infected individuals, until there were none left. He was the only living person remaining. Only when the world died, so did he.

I wonder why the admin put these two stories together as one. Obviously the second one is reminiscent of Dawnbreaker's anecdote. Perhaps his end. But the first one...? I hesitate to say it could be one of Zayne's future myths, but is it that far-fetched? After all, these stories seem to be all about Zayne (the "owner"), so why not? It's a failed attempt, there's no real reason why Zayne couldn't have ended up being the bad guy of the story.

Then again... What would be the successful attempt? Maybe it's not even a 'happy ending'. We don't know what the 'writer' is trying to achieve.

I'm gonna be honest here, I was really surprised when the admin let a child come in to read them, considering they're all 'failed attempts', I can't imagine a happy kids book in there 😭

Don't get me wrong, there's the possibility that not all the books are about Zayne. I'm only saying that since Infold made it clear that this World Underneath chapter was about him, and since he's the owner of these worlds, it would make sense if all the stories had to do with him. It seems like we'll get more lore about this place in the future, seeing as the last part is titled 'To Be Continued' so we'll have to wait and see.

Remaining questions...

This weird line:

"I'm in Linkon City now, so I have to stick to the schedule here."

Made me think,

— Is the admin normally somewhere else?

— Is the Library... a moving thing? A travelling library, going from place to place?

— Is the admin used to a different passage of time?

If Astra isn't the 'writer' of those books, and is, in fact, a character in them, who is the writer? A higher level god? They wrote Zayne as a God in Master of Fate, which means they have the power to create gods.

And why the fixation on Zayne? Can Zayne do something for this writer that they can't do themselves? Because, as we've stated, they aren't all-powerful.

It also raises the question, why are they so certain that there's a 'successful version'? How do they know the others are 'failed'? Simply because they're unhappy endings? Maybe I'm thinking too much about this. But if they know they can 'write' a successful world, are they simply a Laplace's Demon entertaining themselves?

There's also the fact that it was highlighted that they're very timely. In the admin's words,

"No one manages time as precisely as that caller."

Could it be a time god instead of a fate god? Just, who are they?

Another thing that's nagging me is that every chapter except the last is supposed to be a Q&A in the Library's guestbook. So, as a text that's supposed to be read by anyone, it would be normal for the admin to lie or hide some things. We can only truly judge their character in the last part. There's a part that further reinforces my belief of unreliable narrating:

P.S. Dear readers, I hope you'll spare some time in this ever-changing world to read, explore times and places beyond your experience, and discover all that lies hidden within the pages.

It might be a reach on my part, but it almost seems like a nudge? A wink?

The whole conversation at the start of the final chapter was odd.

"We'll know the truth soon enough." -> About what? About whether Zayne will arrive on that specific date?

[Talking about books.] "The one I'm working on now is long, so there's still hope." -> Is the admin a writer as well? Or do they simply review the writer's work in search of that 'successful attempt'?

At the end of the story, the admin talks to us directly. This specific line stood out to me:

"I might not meet all your expectations, [...]"

Does that mean we should have expectations? Should we know something about the admin already? If they're not Jas, are they not a new character?

To conclude

They didn't say this in the guestbook Q&A. This was a direct fourth wall break. Why say this to us?

Edit: Added some theories about the kid that walks into the library here.

Okay. Whew. I think that's all I wanted to say.

Excuse my ramblings, I've read this story a lot of times for this analysis and I keep coming up with borderline nonsensical theories. Feel absolutely free to ignore these or make your own.

I've probably read TOO much into it. I just got excited!!! I'm not sure what exactly about this story pulled me so strongly, but damn, I can't wait to know more!

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think, if you want! <3

But that's just a theory, a hampter theory ;)

[eobe]

The rains of Tantiss 🌧️ Some wet hair Sergeant Hunter mood 🪶💧

I already showed this piece in a reblog some time ago, because it was funny to see that I'm not the only one saving unusual frames of the series and I loved it 🤩 And then I forgot to do the post I originally planned 😂

I don't know why, but everything what I start today is just too exhausting without any reason. I don't like it, but it is like it is 😌

Those days are absolutely necessary, because even if we sometimes feel like it, we aren't clankers 🤖 That would be too easy and even more boring, right?

Why necessary? Because regeneration needs time, if we like or not 🌱 And I really don't like and I DO complain but that's great, too. Naahrrg!!! And if we don't listen to the body, body says no one day. It's that easy 😊

So I drown in caf (and decaf) today 🫖 ☕️ and tinker on my new masterlist concept. My current one got too huge.

My personal ALT text mission (1 additional ALT text for a previous artwork with each new art posting!):

Echo & Crosshair chess game on detail

Taglist: @eclec-tech @lonewolflupe @bixlasagna @returnofthepineapple @sunshinesdaydream @covert1ntrovert @general-ida-raven @vrycurious @dystopicjumpsuit @chaicilatte @groguandthebadbatch @justanotherdikutsimp @ladylucksrogue

you already know it, but it’s wet hair Hunter 🫠 @clonethirstingisreal hehe 🥰