#while i mainly use US dynamics because they’re stupid and extreme versions of issues that exist elsewhere

[catenary-chad]

I’ve made blanket statements about “rail freight is a profitable business and passenger service is usually a money pit” but there’s some pretty interesting nuance relevant to Stex that becomes more significant in Europe.  

Longer distance bulk freight is a profitable business.  It made up 80% of BR’s freight revenue and was its only profitable freight segment.  This is “trainload freight” that’s a long line of all the same thing (grain, oil, stone, etc).  A lot of longer distance bulk loads in continental Europe are handled by barge vs train.  

Car/Wagonload freight is unprofitable in Europe and low-profit in the US, and economically undesirable to large rail companies because of that.  The Freight (and Components!)  in Stex fit this since they’re a mixed group, though I think that was done because a line of identical characters would be boring.  

It has a much harder time competing with road transport because logistics of getting things in and out of rail yards and general clunkiness of rail freight makes it much more time-consuming over short distances.  Roads are also uncritically fully government funded and trucking companies pay low access fees to use them vs higher access fees on rails. In Europe it’s even more slanted towards roads with cheap trucking labor and antiquated buffer and chain couplings adding a ton of time/labor to adding/removing cars, these are finally planned to be phased out by 2030 to make rail freight more competitive.  

Passenger-freight prioritization is an issue pretty much worldwide, to different degrees and in different ways.  Yes, passenger trains do dominate the rails in most of Europe, yes they’re higher priority and cleaner/better maintained…. because they have live cargo with higher standards and even perishable goods don’t mind being an hour late, humans do!  There’s just a greater need to move large quantities of people (who handle the clunky transfer and last-mile moves themselves) and more benefit to getting a ton of small individual passenger vehicles off the roads vs a smaller number of trucks.  

It’s apples to oranges to compare coaches more in line with intercity/long distance luxury to carload/wagonload freight.  Intercity passenger trains can be profitable in a system where infrastructure maintenance costs aren’t considered.  But they’re better compared to longer-distance trainload freight in terms of being a faster direct train with fewer stops, which is financially sustainable even in fully private systems.  Regional and local passenger trains are a fairer comparison and those are far less profitable. The old US long distance luxury trains the coaches are visually based on were absolute money pits mainly run for PR reasons.  Belmond’s trains are probably their closest modern equivalents, and seem to be far more stable but ultimately they’re a niche luxury market vs essential service.   

Modernization is also the furthest thing from a threat to rail freight and if anything, notorious choo choo killers Dr. Richard Beeching and Al Perlman often have their major freight improvements looked over.  See also the buffer and chain coupler situation (I take psychic damage remembering that fact as an American).  It’s arguably more of an issue in Europe with the far smaller advantages of rail freight, any reduction in labor cost and turnaround time is VERY valuable.  Small freight lines in the US get away with some ridiculously antiquated equipment (Iowa Traction lol) but that’s an even weirder separate rabbit hole.  Electrification is an incredibly positive thing for rail freight since it allows a major increase in speeds, increasing capacity in congested non-electrified areas.  That’s mostly a factor in the UK though, since continental Europe is much more electrified and just struggles with lack of physical tracks (though this is also a UK problem and a main reason for HS2).  Battery and hydrogen power just aren’t energy dense enough to viable for freight usage and English-language media constantly undersells how absurdly OP electric trains are.  It’s not like electric cars, they are so much lighter and more powerful than combustion alternatives that they were desired for capacity/power reasons before global warming was even a thought.  

In short: passenger/freight just doesn’t make sense as a class thing and the comparison canon makes isn’t even a fair one.  It obscures the actual issues facing rail freight (lack of capacity and struggle to modernize).  I don’t even think the intercity vs carload combo was even picked for that deep of reasons, unit trains and lower-end passenger trains are just less fun and popular as toys and onstage characters. Mine trains and subways are an extreme example, they’re almost nonexistent as models despite being otherwise well-preserved and publicly recognized. 

Trucker Caboose is a timeless and international villain (and cabooses are very much still used on occasion, though I can’t speak for how recognizable they are internationally).  Weirdly enough this is a situation where steam engines would be a solid villain too, representing refusal to improve practices and infrastructure (one was used to protest this in Germany recently lol).  

Ironically, Greaseball is a far less effective villain in the context of European freight, American freight diesel locomotives like the EMD Class 66 were very positively received in Europe.  On the business end that is, they were physically unpleasant for actual employees. He’s almost a kind of crappy superhero- while relatively dirty, inefficient and “stupid” vs other diesel manufacturers, EMD engines are notoriously reliable and maintainable and even smaller models like the SD40 are very powerful by European standards.  Making him the “biggest and the strongest” makes more sense with him as something like a Class 66, though he would not be competitive speed wise (compared to a 50s-era EMD E9 that’s relatively weak but would be competitive on rugged, curvy tracks the Nationals couldn’t use their full speed on).   I think I get why Europeans seem to skew towards him being a less malicious himbo, that’s the actual role an American diesel engine would have there vs symbol of hegemony (see my Greaseball post on how he gets even worse than the workshop when played true to US reality)

[bloodfcst-a]

Hey, y’all. Tumblr’s been setting off my anxiety in the last few days, thus the reason I’ve been away. I’ll give you a full explanation under the cut for those who are interested (though I’d really appreciate it if you all read it anyway), and provide some contact information for places you can find me.

Discord: conjure. ☆#6443 Twitch: ninabeanxo Twitter: mishtadelet

I’ve been kind of quiet on Discord lately & I’m the most active on Twitter. I also announce when I’m streaming on Twitter, so... yeah. Sorry about this.

I want to be here. I really do. But there’s something about the summers on Tumblr that are really hard on me. I also think people’s attitudes change & idk why, but people seem to treat me pretty rudely? I try so hard to be approachable, to be kind and positive and supportive, but the amount that people try to take advantage of me or are just plain rude to me is?? So wild. So for those reasons, I’ve just kind of been isolating myself lately, and I may seem a little distant/less approachable/not talking much about myself because tbh... some of y’all are just haphazardly setting off my anxiety / panic attacks and I seriously can’t do it. I already have PTSD, so it’s a fucking nightmare lmao.

There is no gentle way of saying this, but it really needs to be stated. Please respect my triggers, or I will not talk to you. Please respect if I ask you not to mention something or someone to me.

and this is a really big one....

Please respect my boundaries.

If I have mentioned to you that I am not vibing with someone, do not send me media of them / that includes them, do not ask me about ships with them, do not tag me in posts of / with them, and please stop asking me about group verses / affiliated servers. In my time on tumblr, I’ve dealt with theft, bullying, emotional abuse, sexual harassment & solicitation. I’m constantly asking myself ‘ Why me? ’ but more than that, I’m really trying to avoid further situations from happening. I haven’t found an answer. I’m guessing it’s ‘cause I’m soft / nice? idk. Stop ruining a good thing. Y’all are gonna make me bitter, dang. 

When I made this blog, I was explicit that I do not want to be in mainstream FF fandom. When I promo this blog, I even say primarily fandomless & canon-divergent. There is way too much messiness in the fandom, extremely toxic people & tendencies there, and I just don’t like fandom discussion. Regardless of my reasons, the point is that I’m not interested, so please stop trying to entice me to go back. It’s so blatantly rude & shows you think your interests & wishes are more important than my comfort level, and I don’t appreciate that sentiment in the slightest.

That being said, I know Yufi reads differently. That’s why I put so much work into her metas. I even have two tags for all the content. At some point I’ll even have a less minimalistic blog & with more links so it’s super accessible ( in the off chances searching for the ‘  meta ’ and ‘ kisaragi ‘ tags don’t work ). But in the meantime... ask questions. Read. Join a stream. I’ve literally streamed games & movies for folks privately & occasionally stream now. I actually started a new file of VII not too long ago and just got Yuffie, so I could literally have a gameplay stream where we go through canon together. I’m like... nearly begging. Don’t make assumptions.

Again, there are so many resources. There’s wikis, there’s the tags, there’s the inbox ( just ask! ), there’s streams, there’s gameplay & commentary videos, there’s stuff. If you are confused or unsure, I would much rather you reach out. This is regardless of how long I’ve known you, ‘cause some of us have known me for a while and still don’t know anything about me or my portrayal or how to interact, in- or out-of-character.

On the topic of assumptions (because it really is that important, so many issues stem from assumptions & you continuously making the wrong assumptions will leave me less inclined to speak with you, nevermind interact), let’s address some.

I do not write a hyper-sexualized muse. I know this is fanon because of her choice in clothes... however, clothes are a fashion choice, and do not reflect a person’s... existence? I don’t know if it’s the masculinity or the rape culture or what but... what she’s wearing does not mean she deserves any hypersexual treatment... and also as an extension, myself ( bc this happens way too frequently-- please stop seeing my muse and then approaching me about your personal sexual fantasies. It is extremely uncomfortable, as someone who is sex-neutral & demiromantic, to be randomly selected to talk about sex? with me personally? via my muse? Or about my muse when we have zero chemistry? Why do y’all think this is okay??). When I do choose to write sexual / nsfw content, it’s always after conversations ( plural!! ) with my writing partner & after I feel comfortable with the topic and with them. But even if I had her hoein’ it up on the dash, that doesn’t mean to make assumptions about her character (bc maybe there’s character motivations I need to write a meta for & it’s part of her background) or me (the mun is not the muse!! say it with me!!).

I do not write a kleptomanic. Again, this is entirely fanon, because Yuffie says in literally everything she’s mentioned in that she does not steal without a purpose-- and the highest purpose is that she’s stealing items that would restore the power and glory of Wutai or for her personal safety. However, I very rarely write theft... I try really hard to steer clear of the topic because I’m aware that it’s like the #1 thing she’s reduced to. She’s a thief class, yes, but that is not the only dimension to her. I could go on, but I think that’s enough.

Just because our characters share canon does not mean they’re going to have chemistry. I am canon-divergent. But not only that... Yuffie just doesn’t vibe with most people as a canon fact. She is an outsider to like... 99% of people, exclusion being Godo ( Wutai ) & the Turks & the WRO. She doesn’t even claim herself as a member of AVALANCHE. Not only this, but the dynamic she has with one Reeve or Cloud does not represent every duplicate-- that comes with plotting and with chemistry. We will have to plot & work together to figure out exactly how our versions of characters mesh. This is a collaborative hobby.... so the collaborating shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. 

If you come guns-a-blazin’ without clearly having read anything about my portrayal, with completely inaccurate characterizations & just assume because we’re friendly out-of-character I’m gonna be pleased with it.... you’re dead wrong. I’m actually just... a very kind and nice person. I may just gently offer you some suggestions or corrections. But if you repeatedly come with your assumptions &  pre-conceived notions and it’s clear you’re not paying literally any attention to me or my ideas about my portrayal...  I’ll probably just recommend you to another duplicate. I know one who stole a ton of my content & former friends, so you’ll be in good hands. 

If you’re here, I assume that you want to write with me, not the idea of me. I’m a person with feelings & interests too, y’know ?? I feel like somehow that’s easy to forget with me for some reason, given how often people feel inclined to overstep my boundaries & act so disrespectful to me. Which is... fucking wild, honestly !! I’ve even had a person deadass say to my face “ I didn’t think/know you’d want to be treated with appreciation and respect. ” What the actual fuck does that mean? What kind of dominant abuser mentality ??????? Y’all on this site stress me out!!

The last two weeks have been legit stupid stressful on me, and I’ve had some interpersonal changes with folks in the last month (mainly in private) all regarding these subjects. About people here feeling entitled to be rude to me & finding all sorts of justifications for it (I’ve heard everything from “my grandma was sick” to “work’s hard”-- what’s that gotta do with you curb stomping me & my ideas/feelings, and telling me my emotions aren’t relevant in comparison to yours? It doesn’t). And it’s just been weighing down on me a lot. I don’t usually go on main here to discuss issues like this, but because it’s been OVERWHELMING in the last few weeks (and also, bc being nice to everyone is kinda common sense ? and idk why folks here seem to think I’m excluded from the ‘everyone’???), it just seemed like now, while I’m isolating a bit in an attempt to focus on some self-healing, would be a great time to discuss things.

I know this was a long post... but there’s been a lot of injustices done to me on here & in life, so....... if it burdens you to read all this, imagine how shitty it feels to have to experience it. Yeah. It’s rough, pals.

I don’t know how to really end this post godhsaohof. I’m hoping this will kind of open someone’s eyes & like... maybe things will change. I’ve stated before, but I have chronic illness so I really can’t handle stress or, for lack of a better term, a lot of bullshit tbh. If you wouldn’t say it to someone with a dying illness or cancer or a soft sweet grandma, don’t say it to me. Because that’s literally me! I’ve got an illness I’m dying from & I’ve had cancer & I’m soft and sweet! tl;dr, stop being so mean to me dang. I didn’t do anything to deserve this.