#tool users

[respect-the-locals]

🐙 Daily Cephalopod Fact: 🐙

Coconut Octopus: This species has been reported to show bipedal locomotion, or "stilt-walking". This involves rolling two legs to walk while the other six legs are used to mimic the appearance of a floating coconut. They have also been bserved using tools for concealment and defense by gathering available debris to create a shelter. Researchers have filmed this species collecting coconut half-shells from the sea floor, that had been discarded by humans. They were then carried up to 66 ft and arranged around the body of the octopus to form a spherical hiding place similar to a clam-shell.

[cryscal-learns]

I love this fact unreservedly.

no fucking way

[lotus-pear]

free will is drawing ur two favorite characters together and making them gay

[southpauz]

Here are my brush settings btw

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[10yrratiolover]

giving my thoughts and ideas on Ratio's character stories

I wouldn't call this much of an analysis but we'll see how it goes

Starting out with his first character story, most of it is Professor Rond's recommendation letter.

I'd like to start by sharing my thoughts about Ratio and Rond first before actually getting into dissecting the letter itself.

So, firstly, I'd like to mention that (to my knowledge) we have never heard of or from Ratio's parents. I find that ironic considering what a big shot he is, I doubt that his parents would ever willingly shut up about their son.

Reading that Rond had a 'significant influence on Ratio's upbringing' particularly stands out to me because, at least at the time of the original letter being written, Ratio was in secondary school (Grade 9-12, though some of the wording in the letter lead me to believe he was likely on the lower end of that range).

Now, a high school teacher having a 'significant influence' on someone's upbringing isn't necessarily uncommon, nor are old teachers proud of their past students becoming extremely successful. However these points, alongside the fact that Ratio's parents are nowhere to be seen in canon, lead me to believe that there was some sort of familial relationship between them, especially seeing Rond's reaction to being asked about Ratio as well as how he had kept the original letter.

Moving on to the actual letter.

Grade skipping is a pretty common practice where I'm from, as it allows learning at the appropriate/needed level (ignoring the fact that the school system is in shambles).

However, the way this is phrased is as if Rond were trying to convince him to be able to skip grades. If he were in grade 11 or 12 I feel like it would not have been phrased this way, which is what leads me to believe he was likely younger, possibly fresh out of middle school.

The highlight on creativity is just because it makes me smile honestly, also it ties into one of my earlier posts about how I think Ratio would adore the subject of art.

I would like to return to my point of Rond being a potential parental figure to Ratio, seeing as he seems to know his daily routine well enough to confidently write about it in his letter of recommendation.

On to his second character story, which is mostly online posts in a thread-like format.

It wasn't until his eighth doctoral degree that he was awarded with First Class Honors, also since he is the first person to receive such in two amber eras it means he was likely the only one on stage at that time.

It also states that at the time he was already a prominent figure in society, which doesn't surprise me given the accomplishments listed by Rond in the letter despite him being in high school at the time it was written. However, he would most likely be an adult by the time he finished his eighth doctorate.

No real comment on this I found it funny that they put etc instead of continuing to list fields.

I also just find these funny and wanted to share them, but the disagreement on the last comment shows how much people admire him. I feel like that's a topic that's rather watered down in the fandom, but people genuinely admire Ratio a lot and there's plenty of reason for them to.

full-time university teachers tend to teach about 5 courses per academic year, meaning Ratio has been teaching for about 10 years.

Moving onto the third story, which is a statement from a former assistant of his about his desire to join the genius society.

I find this to be an interesting point, it seems like joining the Genius Society would be an obvious next step for a man with so many accomplishments but it's stated not once, but twice that he has never spoken about the subject (to the public at least).

I am a believer in the theory that Ratio hasn't been allowed into the Genius Society due to his humanity/compassion and his desire to spread knowledge to everyone, and I feel like this specification that he's never spoken about the topic could add to this theory.

This paragraph never fails to break my heart, but I do want to talk about the mention of an anti-planetary weapon. I feel like this Anti-planetary weapon that he spent years perfecting was a final attempt at proving to Nous that he wasn't too compassionate or too humane to receive their gaze. I remember reading about this idea more in detail elsewhere and if I can find the analyzation then I'll link it here.

Also, I feel like deep down he always knew that he wouldn't be accepted into the Genius Society, but this day, as Margaret states, was the day he finally realized it, or, fully swallowed that pill.

I find these comments to be interesting as well since they specify the narrow-mindedness of the society however, there is this comment from the Data Bank;

This comment I admittedly stumbled across when looking for something else, but I feel like it perfectly encapsulates Ratio's entire dilemma with the Genius Society, maybe not to Ratio himself but it certainly applies to everyone who comments on his achievements being worthy of Nous' approval.

I am also quite curious about who exactly wrote the 'Decoding Dr. Ratio' that we have read from in all of his character stories. They seem to have a lot of connections for someone who would typically be seen as just another paparazzi or media interviewer, I'm surprised the people listed in his stories would agree to an interview.

Onto his final story, which is about his personality and methods of sharing knowledge.

I mentioned this comment in my character notes post but I find it extremely charming that Ratio remains the same and refuses to change himself or his personality to satisfy those around him.

It is also commented in his second character story by a previous professor of his that his honesty and straightforwardness were a 'Breath of fresh air' at the University.

I love the implication that either; nobody in the entire room had any questions (unlikely), or that they were simply too scared to ask them.

I also find the comment that 'Whenever someone agrees with me, I feel like I must be wrong.' Perhaps he's gotten used to being the only one thinking the way he is or the possibility that people only agree with him so they sound intelligent themselves and weren't truly listening or understanding.

I find these comments interesting as well, a majority of the fandom mischaracterizes Ratio as mean or rude although he literally explains his viewpoints where anyone can access it (which does honestly prove his point about how knowledge is not for everyone.)

[muffinlance]

In light of the recent FanFiction.net scare, for anyone looking to do bulk downloads of their favorites/bookmarks/fics in general, two excellent resources:

ao3downloader: works with Python. Does what it says on the tin.

FanFicFare: works with Calibre. Can download from many sites, including AO3 and FF. My bad, FF is NOT supported. Lots of other sites are, though. Anyone got one that DOES work on FF?

Edit: I am again emphasizing the BULK in bulk downloads. AO3 obviously has an excellent single-fic download option. This is for if you want to automate that. For all your fics. ...Bulk download.

[superstarcadet]

"It's dark and lonely. Where did I go wrong?" Day Two of @byler-week! Now it's Mike's turn for the standard, but not-so-standard (but just equally as devastating) angst. Will it get better tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out!

Today's Prompts were: Light, Paranormal, Communicating, Green/Purple Color Scheme

Part One

[olive-pup]

I've been told thirst traps are a good way to get more followers on the internet. I hope I'm doing this right

[sophiamoment]

Had a dream that Tool released a new song about someone leaving them a hate comment on Twitter and the entire song was just them listing the Twitter user’s home address, phone number, and the day their grandma died. The song was called Twitter User btw

[bogkeep]

okay i am fully aware that the correct thing to do is to ignore the message, but someone was dedicated enough to circumvent the fact that i've got anon asks disabled just to let me know i'm full of myself. unfortunately for them i have no plans to stop and this is my house. however, as a reward for making me aware that it's possible to send submissions anonymously, i will offer up one (1) tumblr hot tip!

if unfollowing and blocking someone doesn't do it for you, add them to your content filter!

go to account settings -> content you see -> filtered post content, add new -> write their url

this will filter every post they're in, every post reblogged from their account, and any other mention of their blog! for some reason it doesn't filter replies to asks they've sent, but if you're lucky that won't be too much of a problem. be free! enjoy life! don't come knocking again!

[toxiccaves]

I made a couple brushes for Sai2!

The first two are an attempt to recreate CSP's default chalk and charcoal brushes, and the third one is a recreation of the splatoon style square brush.

By default the splatoon one is textureless, but almost any texture will look nice when doing the hair coloring. Adjust the density to your liking.

Sai 2's fancier brush engine may run a little slow on older computers, so if anyone can let me know if these are laggy for you, I'd appreciate it! But I think they should be ok 🤔..

Here's the drive link!

PS: If they act weird i think I forgot to set angle control to None instead of Auto!

[the0retically]

I love my cane, I love my knee and wrist braces, I love my surgery scars, I love my sunglasses and noise cancelling headphones, and I love the aids I have that help make the day to day pain a little easier to manage

[struck-by-the-rain]

ive been on r/krita to look stuff up and saw thissss on the top posts of all time,,, like howw are these the same level of bad? the furry splash art is cute and you won't survive the winter!!! redditors have some whimsy in your hearts challenge!!!

[d8tl55c]

scene of programmer021 throwing together the code for the first TCOs: "what if i just give them 100% in all stats lmao."

releases one into a sandbox*

sandbox bricked irretrievably within 3 minutes

ho-ly shit.

..... that's hilarious.

they try like ten more times, each with the same outcome. the little worm is good at what it does, scary good, and programmer is grateful that they went the extra mile with the sandbox layer of protection from it.

at a safe distance, the TCOs are brilliant sparring partners.

*(basically a mini computer running inside of (but held separately from) another computer) (used to test new features without risking a whole system)

it looks at them.

on the twelfth go, they've learned enough of its tricks to have more of a chance. both of them take a moment after a long scuffle to catch their breaths. the stick figure gasps on the floor - it's amazing! so lifelike! and programmer is celebrating this little victory for the field of recreational AI right up until

TCO #12 turns its hollow face out through the screen, looking at them.

programmer is unsettled.

can it see them?

their webcam is off.

surely it's impossible?

right?

and yet, it seems to see them regardless, because not only does it react to their reaction (little twitches eerily realistic, how did their program know to do those things), it capitalizes on their shock. it springs to its feet while they're still open-mouthed and reaches the walls of the sandbox window (which programmer had been herding them away from at all costs), crashing against the side, rebounding, and hitting them again and again.

programmer flails to reconnect to their Cursor (you know when you forget where it is and have to wave it around before you can use it again? like that, but with even more panic, confusion, and imminent peril).

there are cracks in a multitude of funny colors forming at the edge of the sandbox instance. pieces of the window dent out of its normal bounding box. The Chosen One adapts instantly, focusing its hits toward the weak points.

WTF! this has gone way too far.

programmer's Cursor swoops around from out of nowhere and catches the TCO by the base of its head. it tries to breathe fire and only manages strangled puffs of smoke. its legs kick the air. where once it was so elegant and poised it twists and writhes-

programmer drops it.

they feel cold.

their Cursor retreats outside the walls of the sandbox PC, clicking into the main system's File Explorer. already open is the folder with this sandbox, its partition of storage, and setup files inside.

they click it. press Delete on their keyboard.

the TCO tries to stand. it pushes through a dizzy spell, one hand holding the spot under its head that must be its neck, and sprints toward the breach it was working on.

a confirmation pane appears, from the process responsible for running the sandbox.

its arms are strong, but the more TCO_12 struggles the more it's clear that this wall would need way more firepower and concerted effort... and time... to break. it's out of time. it realizes this.

are you sure you want to end this process? ALL data will be lost.

programmer sees when it loses hope, because it abandons the wall. it abandons the whole game: the pride and dignity it fought with, the play-pretend that it held any real power here. it turns outward again, toward the screen. small hands slam against the barrier between them, knock-knocking faster, faster, please please please, its legs shake and give out but it keeps knocking, on its knees, please please please please PLEASE

the sandbox is deleted.

the window that displayed it freezes, lighting up too-bright and desaturated.

a snapshot of the TCO is frozen in place, begging for...

begging for what? it was never meant to know anything. to want anything. how did it know there was anything outside its reality to want?

or was it simply afraid to die?

Windows catches up, and sweeps the frozen program away.

programmer021 is left alone with the spot where TCO_12 used to be.

their friends want to play with their latest stick figures. they were supposed to update today.

programmer numbly uploads the most recent release build they have. killer and BEAST were fun to work on. they'll warn everyone not to touch TCO until.... until programmer works out how to... until ever, and if one of them does, it'll be their own fault.

[autodiscipline]

Full & Ryutaro for Vicious magazine, 1999.09

you can read their interview together in english here