#pr-b

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

I love Joltik so much I think it's the cutest bug pokemon ever, however would they make a good pet?

[I’m back at last! Did anything big happen while I was away in the pokémon world? Hmmm… Anyway, let’s get right into it!) Joltiks are, unfortunately, a bit of a mixed bag. They are, as you said, pretty cute, and their needs are simple. Unfortunately, “simple” doesn’t always preclude “costly”. But, overall, this is a pretty solid pick for an Electric-type pet.

Starting with their size, these critters are pretty tiny. Space is absolutely not an issue with a joltik, which is a huge plus. Their habitat needs aren’t really fleshed out in the pokédex, so I think it’s safe to assume that most owners would be able to provide them with the environment they need to be comfortable. As far as their personality goes, there isn’t really any data that indicates that they’re particularly anti-social in any way, but at the same time there isn’t anything marking them as cuddly or personable. This isn’t a problem for some pet-owners, especially those who are fond of insects and like to form a special, less conventional bond with a pet. Joltik might not have the broadest appeal at face-value, but they’ve got a place in the pet landscape so far.

The problems come in when it comes to this species’ diet. Joltiks feed on electricity, which they store in a special pouch to use for energy and self-defense (White, Black2/White2, Sword). There are two primary ways that joltiks acquire this electricity, both of which come at a cost. The first is by latching on to “large-bodied” pokémon to feed on their latent static electricity (White). I’m going to go ahead and assume that humans could serve this purpose as well, since “big-bodied” is relative, and joltiks are known in some regions to feed on the electricity from pokémon as small as yampers (Shield). Now, it isn’t immediately clear if this is painful or harmful to the host. There’s every possibility that you could safely allow your joltik to feed off of your static electricity without it being an issue, but I’m not willing to say that that is broadly without health risk. The siphoning of energy may react poorly with some health conditions, and the pokémon’s own electric energy may result in paralysis, given their move set.

Let’s say you want to find an alternative way to feed your joltik, that doesn’t require feeding on other living things’ electricity. Well, you’re in luck! Wild joltiks living in cities have adapted to absorb electricity directly from power outlets (Black)! As with the other feeding method, this comes at a cost, however: in this case financially. While joltiks are small, they are capable of storing some pretty high amounts of energy, enough to allow them to use moves like Electroweb, Thunder Wave, and Electro Ball. Using a power outlet to feed your pet would definitely increase your electricity costs. If you own more than one joltik, it could really spiral out of control if you’re not careful.

That’s the thing: caring for a joltik as a pet isn’t unreadable, as long as you’re careful. Could allowing them to feed on your electricity harm you? Maybe not, so long as you are cognizant of its effect on you. Could allowing them to feed off an outlet get too expensive? Maybe if you provide them unlimited, unrestricted access. Are these pokémon dangerous? Well, considering that joltiks can’t generate electricity on their own, the power of their Electric-Type moves is really dependent on how much energy you provide them with.

While a joltik might not be everyone’s cup of tea, a conscientious owner could easily care for one, despite the potential costs. Plus, on top of all that, I bet they’re really soft. That’s a huge bonus.

[starry-bi-sky]

Blood Blossom Au: Baby's First Commissioner Meeting :)

TL:DR This Post: Danny (orphan) gets poisoned with blood blossom extract by Vlad. He runs away from him and ends up under the care of one Pre-Robin Battinson Batman! Starry is loudly pushing her batdad agenda.

(Also known as "Late At Night, When The Nightingale Sings" on my ao3!)

This was a fun rough idea I've been sitting on for weeks, thinking about how Commissioner Gordon and Nightingale's first meeting might go.

---------------

Commissioner Gordon likes to think that he's adjusting to the new normal of Gotham very well, -- the new normal being grown men running around dressed like bats, in military-grade strength body armor, committing acts of vigilantism, -- and slowly, little by little, he was no longer being surprised when this new normal pops up out of the shadows like the world's most terrifying daisy. His shaving lifespan thanks him for it.

....

The kid is a surprise though.

Granted, he seemed to be a surprise to the Bat too.

There's been a string of murders lately, -- which, in Gotham, is kind of like saying there's been another storm during monsoon season. And there's just been another; in some dilapidated building down in south Gotham, with the broken, boarded-up windows and mildew-crawling walls to match. The victim is a man in his thirties, multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, left in the center of the room for the blood to pool out around him.

The place is already secured when he arrives, the building swarmed with officers and the forensic detectives. The Bat emerges shortly after he does -- or, he might've been here the whole time, hiding someplace dark and shadowy. For his own sanity, Gordon doesn't think about it too hard.

The kid is a surprise, and he appears like a bolt of lightning.

He shows up in the middle of a conversation Gordon is having with the Bat.

A whistle, sharp and loud, slicing through the air, meant for open air rather than a confined space. Gordon's ears pierce and protest the sound, and the solemn, murmured chatter floating through the room abruptly cuts off like the swing of a gavel. As he turns towards the sound -- as they all do -- he swears, up and down, that he sees Batman's shoulders jump, just slightly.

At the source, perched on the window, is a boy. A boy in a gray-blue scarf and an oversized black hoodie, one that hangs off his frame and has ace bandages wrapped around the wrists in some attempt to cinch the sleeves. The hood is up, big like the rest of it, and threatens to swallow the upper half of the boy's face whole in the fabric. What upper half Gordon can see, is smeared with some kind of opaque, black face paint. He's holding onto the side of the frame with one hand, on his hip is a grappling hook. A familiar grappling hook.

Gordon has multiple questions, and his officers tense up.

Martinez puffs up, brows furrowing as his face shapes into a frown. Shoulders rolling back. "You can't be here, kid--"

The reaction is immediate, like a spark to gunpowder, the boy yanks his fingers from his mouth and his mouth twists into a scowl. Head snapping over to Officer Martinez, his hood manages to stay on but Gordon swears that as he bares his teeth, the glint makes them look sharper than they should be. His voice is rasp and quiet and harsh; snappish in its hissing; "Put a fuckin sock in it, Martinez. I'm not stayin."

Martinez reels back, and the boy immediately veers his attention off him. Like a switch, his demeanor drops. Despite half his face being covered, his mouth twists into a cringing, apologetic smile. Slanted and off-beat, embarrassed. It'd be disarming if this wasn't Gotham, and if he didn't just hiss at Martinez like he was about to bite his head off.

"Sorry." He whispers, voice deceptively polite and softer now. Gordon has to strain his ears to hear him. "I was looking for him."

He points his finger towards-- Gordon? No, Gordon follows the direction, and finds himself looking at -- the Bat.

The Bat, who always looks stiff as a pole, now looks even stiffer. Somehow. Well, the explains the grappling hook attached to the boy's waist.

"What are you doing here?" The Bat says, gruff and unable to completely smother the stumble of surprise in his tone.

The boy still holds a sheepish smile, and slips off the window ledge. His feet hit the creaky boards with a near-silent thud, the Batman finds his feet and rapidly begins crossing the room.

Gordon notes the slight tremble in the boy's legs as he straightens. He adjusts his scarf, which droops close to his knees now that he's standing, and slings a backpack -- how long has had that? -- off his shoulders. When the Bat reaches his side, he does as he always does, and looms over the boy like a spectre. A threatening mass of shadows cloaked in all-consuming black. Standing next to him, the boy looks teeny in comparison.

The Bat is a man who terrifies even the most hardened criminals, Gordon has seen grown men shiver in fear at the mention of his name. And yet when the boy looks up at him, he doesn't even flinch.

Instead, his sheepish smile melts away like ice under the sun, holding only traces of his previous embarrassment. It remains as a shadow on his face, a small upturn at the corners of his mouth. The boy pushes his hood back just enough to reveal glinting, ice-flint eyes surrounded in tar-black face paint. He holds the backpack up with one arm. "You forgot this."

[tea-tuesday]

07/01/2024

a month left and i'm not panicking (i am)...! sorry to juxtapose beautiful flowers with a cursed picture of memorizing crim at like 3 am lmao. hope everyone's having a lovely summer and good luck to those who are also studying over the summer ! summer study squad🌞📚, let's go!!! may we be blessed with good grades, passing scores, and a stress-free autumn🙏

[bumbleboyart]

movie night

[honeyed-lemonade]

frankly I think as a fandom we’ve been blowing things out of proportion on the regular far too much

[sinigangrobot]

Timtober #2: Dress

[elthedevil]

Most recent drawling of mr bitches facecard vs first time i drew him evarrrr (on le green paper)

[batsplat]

about 2007 motegi, i’ve really thought a lot… when valentino congratulated casey on his title, he specifically mentioned his championship t-shirt. from my observation there wasn’t anything particularly special about it, it might just be valentino’s joke

but casey really cared about valentino’s actions… he not only wanted valentino’s verbal congratulations but also asked just like why didn’t you come shake my hand!!! i should get the same treatment as nicky!!!😠

(vaguely following on from this and this post) oh I remember the shirt, it's actually one of my favourite bits of niche valentino/casey lore!! valentino isn't JUST being a facetious dickhead here, his name is literally on casey's 2007 championship shirt as one of casey's heroes:

isn't this crazy?? I've never been able to find a great source for the actual list of names, so god knows how exclusive this club was... apparently casey also had the names of his ducati crew on there, which is a nice touch tbh. but he had valentino's name on that shirt!! given how by this point he was already mad at valentino for switching up towards him, it's such a funny choice to make. literally nobody would have questioned his exclusion! you're competing against the guy! idk, I love it when casey does something just a little unexpected like that, really makes you want to poke at the guy to figure out what his deal is. and pleasingly, we do also have an actual clip of valentino commenting on the shirt:

Yes, like I say before, it's a great pleasure that one of my fans wins the world championship - so I think half is also mine!

look at his smirk. insufferable. just a fantastic dynamic they've got going on, isn't it

but I did NOT know about casey complaining about not getting a cooldown lap handshake. and. lol?? casey?? come on. some dignity, please. I can't believe they actually got valentino to respond to that. reminds me of a similar-ish 'controversy' from 2010 about how jorge was accused of deliberately ignoring future teammate ben spies coming to congratulate him on the cooldown lap, as like... a form of sophisticated mind games ig. at least there it wasn't actually spies complaining. you can tell that even casey upon reflection probably decided this wasn't a legitimate grievance by how he's not brought it up again since... valentino did have a pretty nightmarish motegi race for annoying tyre-related reasons, so was understandably not in a great mood, and he was not in fact the defending champion... so like. I checked the footage and reckon valentino probably could have worked a little harder to get over to casey, but also this is obviously an extremely petty thing to complain about

and while we're talking petty, the ghostwriter of casey's autobiography thinks that casey was also pissed at valentino at the next race in phillip island for *checks notes* having a special helmet design at casey's home race? incredible scenes

literally started off the infamous phillip island streak with a spite win. your regular reminder that casey says in his autobiography that he doesn't use his rivals to motivate himself

estoril, the race before motegi, was also the race where they had their little table football date [ed.: originally thought it was at motegi itself rip. nope, table football was at the first matchpoint race]

so late 2007 is when casey really starts going in on how valentino had cooled off towards him AND talking about not liking valentino's tone in the press, that valentino wasn't as complimentary of him as he'd been at the start of the season... which might be true, but casey wasn't exactly a shrinking violet either when answering questions about valentino. as an example, this is how he's talking about valentino in july of 2007:

"This rule is not good and we need more tyres," Rossi said earlier in the week, "The problem is for the show because, at the end, it is the tyre that decides the race." "At the beginning of the season, Valentino and the others were all for the new tyre rules," Stoner points out, "but, as soon as they don't win, the rule is crap. I've had my bad races this year, especially in Germany, and I'm not complaining about the tyre rule. "They can moan and whinge about it as much as they want, but it shows that [Michelin] has had such an advantage in the past. This season, they cannot bring a tyre in just for the race [and] it's a matter of relying on the company that supports you to do a good job."

"moan and whinge" steady on casey

valentino over the years has talked about this rivalry far less than casey has... which includes not being all that interested in diagnosing when things soured interpersonally between the two of them - beyond saying a couple times in 2010-12 during the pettiest phase of the feud that casey hadn't gotten over laguna. mostly this isn't that big a problem because valentino's side of the rivalry is so much more straightforward, but it's still obviously not ideal. it's that relative scarcity which makes the following interview answer from 2009 one of my other favourite tidbits:

"He bases his sentences on the results. Even at the beginning of 2007 he was giving me a lot of compliments, then, after winning the World Championship, he started with heavy criticism."

isn't it lovely that casey thinks valentino switched up his tone towards him because casey started winning, and valentino thinks casey switched up his tone towards valentino because casey started winning... just nicely mirror each other, don't they. such good foils

so taking all these pieces of evidence together... you get a really nice sense of how casey by end of 2007 was all over the place wrt valentino. he misses valentino being as friendly to him as in years past!! he liked valentino congratulating him by rubbing his head in qatar 2007 :) enough to mention that parc fermé interaction THREE TIMES in his autobiography!! doesn't appreciate not getting his hand held after sealing the title :( is increasingly surly that whole year about how nobody is giving him enough credit for his successes :/ is building on a reputation already established in 2006 for being rather an outspoken character when it comes to complaining about everyone in complaining range... but also has an issue with valentino being rude about him in the press :| but still puts valentino on his championship shirt on his list of heroes <3 like... buddy. what is going on here

part of what's going on ofc is that casey takes offence incredibly easily and valentino can be a pretty offensive character. now, again, I really don't think valentino was doing that much in 2007, but obviously my standard for 'valentino being reasonably respectful to rivals' is probably rather different to 2007!casey's standards. it's the malice casey reads into valentino's actions that I reckon is mostly misplaced... like yeah sure valentino distances himself from championship rivals, but. y'know. that's pretty normal behaviour. the fun thing about 2007 is that knowing valentino's entire feud history, you're sort of primed to read it as valentino being the aggressor... but if anything, casey is generally openly ruder towards valentino than vice versa. now obviously, valentino at this stage is a lot better at the subtler, under the radar nastiness that must be infuriating to be subjected to... but y'know, at the end of the day valentino still isn't openly attacking casey. and when discussing this rivalry, it's crucial to acknowledge what an extremely prickly character casey is - that's what makes it so enjoyable!! even better, he's an extremely prickly character who is very ready to make enemies but is ALSO kind of weird about valentino rossi specifically

and yes, having a valentino rossi complex is basically part of the job description if you're a motogp rider of a certain age. still, always important to acknowledge that all of valentino's feuds with younger riders involved guys who were already A Bit Weird about valentino going into the rivalry, which inevitably affected how those respective rivalries ended up laying out. what's so fun about it is that all three of them express it in completely different ways - from jorge's somewhat deranged level of dedication to analysing valentino's every breath, to marc's overenthusiastic commitment towards imitating valentino and beating him and also throwing himself at him at every opportunity, to casey's rather more repressed approach where he's simultaneously extremely sensitive to any possible offence on valentino's part while also kind of wishing they could be friends...? or something? I don't even know what casey's after! doesn't help that he's subsequently retconned this period where he like... kinda looked up to valentino, sure, and respected him and all that - but certainly no mention of putting valentino on championship celebration shirts. so we still have quite a limited amount of evidence at our disposal, but I would gently suggest that casey's cool, composed 'didn't even care who I was beating' rhetoric doesn't quite match up to reality. and casey thinks that valentino got more critical of casey because he was losing and valentino thinks casey got more critical of valentino because he was winning... and the thing is, they're both going to be somewhat right!! attacking rivals from a position of strength is actually kinda part of both of their preferred MO's - it's a similarity between them that plays into how casey at times gets to play the valentino role in this rivalry. so yeah, casey will have almost certainly gotten even mouthier once he could get away with it. but equally, even though valentino wasn't escalating hostilities by his standards, even just his natural process of distancing himself a little from his direct title rivals and getting a tad snarky about them in the press wasn't exactly being well received by casey. and thus they can both say with some justification that the other rider was a lot friendlier towards them at start of the year, and both will have reacted to this in a way that helped further gradually ramp up the level of hostility. lovely stuff

still, you do have to come back to how imbalanced this rivalry was wrt how emotionally invested the pair of them were. having a firm grasp of their dynamic in 2007 is key to understanding how the whole thing subsequently played out, in part casey was less guarded and just a little more likely to let a few things slip... valentino wants to beat this challenging new rival, but I reckon he's mostly being sincere in that his main frustration in 2007 is feeling like he's not even able to fight casey at all for bike/tyre reasons. it's a rivalry he generally enjoyed when they were actually going at it! a comfort zone rivalry that really isn't all that emotionally messy from his side. even if he'll maybe still imply casey's compliments of him were never sincere, seeing how they dried up over the course of 2007... or perhaps joke about casey putting his name on his championship winning shirt, how at least he's losing to a fan... something fun about how valentino is always aware of that idolisation dynamic and is capable of playing with it, just a little. even with casey

whereas for casey, this isn't a game. casey really enjoyed valentino being nice to him and is ever so sensitive towards valentino pulling back. casey thinks valentino isn't giving him the credit he is owed and escalates his rhetoric in response. casey puts valentino's name on his championship winning shirt and then complains valentino didn't hold his hand. poor casey... it'd all be easier if he just didn't care, but that's the one thing he could never quite manage

[thealogie]

thea i've seen some people saying that neil's statements + police's statement reported in the tortoise article are not trustworthy because the tortoise is the only source we have on those and there haven't been any corroborating statements made to other news outlets yet. but am i right in assuming that this is a ridiculous claim and that they probably did directly reach out to neil and his team to get their response as per standard practice? i can't imagine they would invite a libel case like this (in fact, the wording of the original article makes me think they were covering all their bases to avoid this in the first place). would love your thoughts on this because it's so frustrating that people keep repeating this point that makes no sense to me

you simply cannot lie about police records and misattribute quotes to people. to knowingly fabricate things about people opens you up a number of legal claims and astronomical damages. and i assure you that if that was indeed happening, we would immediately have a press release by neil gaiman's lawyers saying "we're shocked and appalled at these lies and we're gonna see you in court!"

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

growlithe and/or arcanine please

[We haven’t covered either, so let’s start with the little guy] At last, we have a 2025 candidate that isn’t a straightforward “no”! Growlithes are so, so close to winning a “just a dog” ranking, I swear! It’s that pesky Fire-Typing that knocks the down, but not too too far! In fact, I’d go so far as to say that a Growlithe would be an excellent choice as a first Fire-Type option for pet owners who are interested in the type. Overall, a Growlithe would make a pretty good pet.

As you read through this post, you’re going to notice that “just a dog” energy right up until we get to their moves. At just two feet tall and at a very reasonable weight, growlithes are the ideal size for a house pet. Unlike many Fire-Type pokémon, these critters don’t have any physical features that could cause you passive harm if you come into contact with them, like open flame or magma, so handling them would be no different from, well, a dog.

The similarities don’t end with their appearance. These pokémon have a well-established history of acting as companions to humans, going way back into prehistory, according to recent research (Ultra Moon). They’re friendly, brave, trustworthy, intelligent, and profoundly loyal (Yellow, Gold, Silver, Sun). Wild growlithes can be a little more rough and defensive, but they acclimate to living with humans easily (Ultra Sun). Growlithes are very territorial, but in a distinctly dog-like way: when strangers come near your home, a Growlithe with bark at them, and occasionally bite if they get close enough, viciously to scare them away (Red/Blue). I would place this biting behavior in the concern category, but growlithes are known to be exceptionally easy to train. According to the pokédex, growlithes “will remain motionless until [they are] given an order by [their] trainer” (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum). Discouraging biting behavior should be a breeze, so long as you are willing to put in the time to train your ever-receptive growlithe.

It would be foolish, of course, to ignore how dangerous a poorly-trained growlithe could be. As Fire-Type pokémon, growlithes have no shortage of moves that could easily cause immense harm to a person or home, such as Flame Wheel or Flamethrower. However, given their preference for biting rather than scorching intruders, as evidenced by the pokédex, and they’re eagerness to listen to their trainers, the threat of a growlithe actually harming a person is very low. But, as I often say, we can’t ignore the possibility of an accident. Hence, the B ranking, rather than an A.

Overall, a growlithe would make a great pet option for anybody willing to put in the time to train them, and who is willing to put up with them barking at mailmen. One more note, which I’ll put down here because I don’t really have anywhere else to work it in, is that growlithe owners are really gonna want to growlithe-proof their kitchen! Growlithes have an exceptional sense of smell, and have a perfect memory of anything they’ve ever smelled, so they’re going to be able to track down treats and snacks wherever you try and hide them. Take care to get some child-locks, or something of the sort!

[tea-tuesday]

06/13/2024

i'm trying to strike a balance between complaining and uh... not complaining but it's so hard😭 civil procedure has come back to bite me in the ass. it was my lowest grade in law school and one of the densest/most abstract subjects i've encountered, so i am absolutely terrified and shaking in my boots. i'm staying positive, however, and will not let it crush my spirit !!!

[dreamertrilogys]

Oh I didn’t learn enough sex ed for this Catholic school kys fr

[b-rainlet]

Can't wait for people to be offended by the existence of Joker 2

[hypnothesis-au]

TARTAR, WASA. HAVE EITHER OF YOU EVER BURNED DOWN A CANDLE SHOP. IF SO WHAT DID IT SMELL LIKE.

"It would smell like the most ever, I would imagine." - O

"Arson is generally frowned upon in most social circles. It's also illegal. We've done no such thing (that you can prove, anyways.)" - T

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

fyi there was a big meltdown on g*yl*r twitter today over whether or not it was in poor taste to post a snotty tweet about celebs visiting hospitals as PR the day that taylor went to hang out on a pediatric cancer ward in the city where travis lives