#have a hundred years to make things accessible its not that hard

[thedisablednaturalist]

Went out Saturday for date night with my beloved~ I decided to be snail themed to match my new @mayakern skirt!

@accessfashion

#chronic disability #fibromyalgia #chronic pain #wheelchair #disability #spoonie #accessible fashion #wheelchair fashion #mobility device users #my face #snails #bugblr #i love lavender can u tell #we tried going to a historical small town but it was not accessible AT ALL #like...gravel roads everywhere and no sidewalks AND we had to cross train tracks at one point #at least some of the buildings had ramps but..how do you get to those ramps?? #i love historical areas but come on yall #have a hundred years to make things accessible its not that hard #if u cant tell my earrings are strawberry snails #wrenfea.txt

[suibiansubs]

Announcing: The Closure of Suibian Subs

It's never truly easy to make these type of announcements... but what would I know, I've never had to make one like this before:

I am announcing the permanent closure of Suibian Subs. The public discord server and translation work will cease.

As for our downloads, we are still deciding whether to offer them on our tumblr - which will stay open - or if there is a better solution going forward.

Please note that this doesn't mean everyone should race to upload MDZS audio drama to Youtube!! We still do not appreciate our wishes being broken.

However, if you have a friend who's downloaded the audio drama, you can have them share with you privately either online or in person. Do not upload it for the public anywhere.

Treasure Chest subs is currently working on MDZS audio drama subs. Please find their information to get access to their downloads, and respect their rules.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support these 6-7 years.

If you're truly wondering, this closing is not about the server hack. It's 10% server hack and 90% member interest. The server being hacked is what really brought things into perspective for us. That is:

It's just time.

A little note from kittykat2010 down below:

From kittykat2010:

It's kind of hard to believe this all happened because I was impatient. LOL

I was impatient and decided to try MTL translating the MDZS audio drama, myself. We all know how well that would've worked. Luckily, the first person to contact me was iarrod before I released anything

"Since 2018, Suibian Subs has been providing quality subtitles, especially known for subtitling the MDZS audio drama, for fans to enjoy worldwide."

I never really thought it would be of such significance to hundreds of people. It was simply a passion project between iarrod and I. Then we added a bunch of other members: Gwyn, askcj1, Yen, and several more that have left over the years... and the rest is history.

Yes, people come and go, life changes, they need to take a break, then a "break" turns into leaving. Sometimes personalities clash and drama ensues. And the group either recovers from these types of changes or struggles to come back to its full glory.

I will certainly miss the camaraderie among us, the random chats, the streams, etc. It was all a fun time in my life that I will look back on and cherish.

Thank you especially to all of the team members, translators and subbing team, for sticking around, enjoying the good times and not-so-good times. Thank you iarrod for helping me out when I was so damn impatient - ha!.

Thank you to those members who have left for your work and dedication to the server.

Thank you fans!!!

Those who have donated (when we had donations for the MDZS audio drama team), those who have thanked us for our work, and those who haven't. Those who have told everyone that the MDZS audio drama is the best adaption of the novel and the best/only place to watch is through Suibian Subs.

Again, thank you everyone. Suibian Subs and its fans will truly be missed.

#suibiansubs #suibian subs #suibian subs closing

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've ever broken

From the moment I started using computers, I wanted to help other people use them. I was everyone’s tech support for years, which prepared me for the decade or so when I was a CIO-for-hire. In the early days of the internet, I spent endless hours helping my BBS friends find their way onto the net.

Helping other people use technology requires humility: you have to want to help them realize their goals, which may be totally unlike your own. You have to listen carefully and take care not to make assumptions about how they “should” use tech. You may be a tech expert, but they are experts on themselves.

This is a balancing act, because it’s possible to be too deferential to someone else’s needs. As much as other people know about how they want technology to work, if you’re their guide, you have to help them understand how technology will fail.

For example, using the same memorable, short password for all your services works well, but it fails horribly. When one of those passwords leak, identity thieves can take over all of your friend’s accounts. They may think, “Oh, no one would bother with my account, I’ve got nothing of value,” so you have to help them understand how opportunistic attacks work.

Yes, they might never be individually targeted, but they might be targeted collectively, say, to have their social media accounts hijacked to spread malware to their contacts.

Paying attention to how things work without thinking about how they fail is a recipe for disaster. It’s the reasoning that has people plow their savings into speculative assets that are going up and up, without any theory of when that bubble might pop and leave them ruined.

It’s hard to learn about failure without experiencing it, so those of us who have lived through failures have a duty to help the people we care about understand those calamities without living through them themselves.

That’s why, for two decades, I’ve always bought my hardware with an eye to how it fails every bit as much as how it works. Back when I was a Mac user — and supporting hundreds of other Mac users — I bought two Powerbooks at a time.

I knew from hard experience that Applecare service depots were completely unpredictable and that once you mailed off your computer for service, it might disappear into the organization’s bowels for weeks or even (in one memorable case), months.

I knew that I would eventually break my laptop, and so I kept a second one in sync with it through regular system-to-system transfers. When my primary system died, I’d wipe it (if I could!) and return it to Apple and switch to the backup and hope the main system came back to me before I broke the backup system.

This wasn’t just expensive — it was very technologically challenging. The proliferation of DRM and other “anti-piracy” measures on the Mac increasingly caused key processes to fail if you simply copied a dead system’s drive into a good one.

Then, in 2006, I switched operating systems to Ubuntu, a user-centric, easy-to-use flavor of GNU/Linux. Ubuntu was originally developed with the idea that its users would include Sub-Saharan African classrooms, where network access was spotty and where technical experts might be far from users.

To fulfill this design requirement, the Ubuntu team focused themselves on working well, but also failing gracefully, with the idea that users might have to troubleshoot their own technological problems.

One advantage of Ubuntu: it would run on lots of different hardware, including IBM’s Thinkpads. The Thinkpads were legendarily rugged, but even more importantly, Thinkpad owners could opt into a far more reliable service regime that Applecare.

For about $150/year, IBM offered a next-day, on-site, worldwide hardware replacement warranty. That meant that if your laptop broke, IBM would dispatch a technician with parts to wherever you were, anywhere in the world, and fix your computer, within a day or so.

This was a remnant of the IBM Global Services business, created to supply tech support to people who bought million-dollar mainframes, and laptop users could ride on its coattails. It worked beautifully — I’ll never forget the day an IBM technician showed up at my Mumbai hotel while I was there researching a novel and fixed my laptop on the hotel-room desk.

This service was made possible in part by the Thinkpad’s hardware design. Unlike the Powerbook, Thinkpads were easy to take apart. Early on in my Thinkpad years, I realized I could save a lot of money by buying my own hard-drives and RAM separately and installing them myself, which took one screwdriver and about five minutes.

The keyboards were also beautifully simple to replace, which was great because I’m a thumpy typist and I would inevitably wear out at least one keyboard. The first Thinkpad keyboard swap I did took less than a minute, and I performed it one-handed, while holding my infant daughter in my other hand, and didn’t even need to read the documentation!

But then IBM sold the business to Lenovo and it started to go downhill. Keyboard replacements got harder, the hardware itself became far less reliable, and they started to move proprietary blobs onto their motherboards that made installing Ubuntu into a major technical challenge.

Then, in 2021, I heard about a new kind of computer: the Framework, which was designed to be maintained by its users, even if they weren’t very technical.

https://frame.work/

The Framework was small and light — about the same size as a Macbook — and very powerful, but you could field-strip it in 15 minutes with a single screwdriver, which shipped with the laptop.

I pre-ordered a Framework as soon as I heard about it, and got mine as part of the first batch of systems. I ordered mine as a kit — disassembled, requiring that I install the drive, RAM and wifi card, as well as the amazing, snap-fit modular expansion ports. It was a breeze to set up, even if I did struggle a little with the wifi card antenna connectors (they subsequently posted a video that made this step a lot easier):

https://twitter.com/frameworkputer/status/1433320060429373440

The Framework works beautifully, but it fails even better. Not long after I got my Framework, I had a hip replacement; as if in sympathy, my Framework’s hinges also needed replacing (a hazard of buying the first batch of a new system is that you get to help the manufacturer spot problems in their parts).

My Framework “failed” — it needed a new hinge — but it failed so well. Framework shipped me a new part, and I swapped my computer’s hinges, one day after my hip replacement. I couldn’t sit up more than 40 degrees, I was high af on painkillers, and I managed the swap in under 15 minutes. That’s graceful failure.

https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Hinge+Replacement+Guide/104

After a few weeks’ use, I was convinced. I published my review, calling the Framework “the most exciting laptop I’ve ever used.”

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/21/monica-byrne/#think-different

That was more than a year ago. In the intervening time, I’ve got to discover just how much punishment my Framework can take (I’ve been back out on the road with various book publicity events and speaking engagements) and also where its limits are. I’ve replaced the screen and the keyboard, and I’ve even upgraded the processor:

https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Mainboard+Replacement+Guide/79

I’m loving this computer so. damn. much. But as of this morning, I love it even more. On Thursday, I was in Edinburgh for the UK launch of “Chokepoint Capitalism,” my latest book, which I co-authored with Rebecca Giblin.

As I was getting out of a cab for a launch-day podcast appearance, I dropped my Framework from a height of five feet, right onto the pavement. I had been working on the laptop right until the moment the cab arrived because touring is nuts. I’ve got about 150% more commitments than I normally do, and I basically start working every day at 5AM and keep going until I drop at midnight, every single day.

As rugged as my Framework is, that drop did for it. It got an ugly dent in the input cover assembly and — far, far worse — I cracked my screen. The whole left third of my screen was black, and the rest of it was crazed with artefacts and lines.

This is a catastrophe. I don’t have any time for downtime. Just today, I’ve got two columns due, a conference appearance and a radio interview, which all require my laptop. I got in touch with Framework and explained my dire straits and they helpfully expedited shipping of a new $179 screen.

Yesterday, my laptop screen stopped working altogether. I was in Oxford all day, and finished my last book event at about 9PM. I got back to my hotel in London at 11:30, and my display was waiting for me at the front desk. I staggered bleary-eyed to my room, sat down at the desk, and, in about fifteen minutes flat, I swapped out the old screen and put in the new one.

https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Display+Replacement+Guide/86

That is a fucking astoundingly graceful failure mode.

Entropy is an unavoidable fact of life. “Just don’t drop your laptop” is great advice, but it’s easier said than done, especially when you’re racing from one commitment to the next without a spare moment in between.

Framework has designed a small, powerful, lightweight machine — it works well. But they’ve also designs a computer that, when you drop it, you can fix yourself. That attention to graceful failure saved my ass.

If you hear me today on CBC Sunday Magazine, or tune into my Aaron Swartz Day talk, or read my columns at Medium and Locus, that’s all down to this graceful failure mode. Framework’s computers aren’t just the most exciting laptops I’ve ever used — they’re the most exciting laptops I’ve ever broken.

[Image ID: A disassembled Framework laptop; a man's hand reaches into the shot with a replacement screen.]

#pluralistic

[statementlou]

my post yesterday about why I don't really care if Louis Tomlinson supports starbucks shocked me by actually circulating and getting notes and obviously I like validation and appreciation.... but I feel kind of weird about my big contribution to the topic being something that might come off as discouraging attempts to help Palestine. Feeling powerless in the face of such injustice is horrible and scary and traumatizing and while there are certain things that I do not think make much difference (like boycotting irrelevant targets), that's NOT how I feel about the situation in general! We CAN make a difference and help the Palestinian people! It can feel impossible to fight against all that power and propaganda and military might- but it has been done successfully over and over, colonialism has been destroyed in one place after another a hundred times in the last century, apartheid regimes have fallen, occupations have ended, because over and over, always, even all the military might in the literal world is less powerful than a united front of the PEOPLE. As Ursula K LeGuin said, "We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings", and as Louis Tomlinson said "The power and magic comes from the people, you guys. Don't undermine your role in all of this" and "get off the 'gram and into the streets"!

Under the cut are things you can do that I believe actually directly impact the Palestinian people and the Israeli government, including some easy ones, and the key to a successful movement is to have every type of contribution, to have NUMBERS. However- it is also necessary to have people willing to do the actual work of fighting injustice, not just changing their consumer habits or yelling at people online. I strongly encourage people to explore becoming physically involved in activist work, and not to see it as yet another tiring obligation but rather as a way to help yourself feel less overwhelmed and exhausted. Feeling powerless and defenseless is a trauma that follows us into every corner of our lives, but standing up and working for change can not only save lives, but is good for your own mental health as well, I promise.

I can't make you an exhaustive list of resources, only tell you some tactics that I believe are actually useful. I'm not an expert or whatever, but I have been actively involved in social justice advocacy, activism, and direct action for over 20 years and am drawing on that history of both things that worked and were great and things that were not from my personal experiences. Thank you to @captainrayzizuniverse for helping me (but she didn't see the post any stupid things said by mistake are entirely on me), and especially for pointing out a big (typical white person) slip up, which was to almost forget the very first item on this list: Listen to, support, and amplify Palestinian voices!!! The whole starbucks issue wouldn't even exist if people just went by this single important guideline and did the things Palestinians were asking for rather than making up other things to do instead. In life altogether, and speaking as a disabled person god does this come up a lot: if you want to help someone, start by asking them what they need and then do that even if it isn't what you think they should want. Don't fucking wing it!! Join local groups organizing for Palestine: the people united are powerful, but only if they are united and working in large groups! Join a group! This is hard because... how? who? And I can't answer that for everyone but I can tell you that in the US JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace) is doing a huge amount of very accessible recruiting, you can just join (you don't need to be Jewish) and get involved straightaway in the great actions they're putting on. PYM (Palestinian Youth Movement) is not open to everyone to join but you should definitely follow them on SM to keep up on actions and maybe find ways to support. If you're a student I bet there is some kind of group at your school?

Go to protests: protest works, period. The general politician rule of thumb is that anyone who bothers to actually go out and march represents 10-100 voters. When they look at the numbers (like- '500-1000 people protested the most recent bill you signed') they do this math and they worry. But also honestly if it's something you can manage- it's good for you. It helps. Even if you just go alone and don't talk to anyone, being in a crowd of hundreds of people feeling the same things you are, caring as much as you do, it helps. If you can, yell along to the chants as loud as you can. Get fired up and use that energy to keep going and not despair!

Call and write officials: if you live in the US or UK this is HUGE. What I said above about how they count people at protests as standing for more people who didn't bother but agree? Same with phone calls for sure, it REALLY pressures them. Many orgs make this really easy- I get emails all the time with links to send a letter in a single click or click to call and all you have to do is read the script, get on some lists I guess? But many sites also have this feature, JVP does for example

Support BDS: the Palestinian led BDS have been doing the work of isolating and chipping away at Israel for 19 years and like I said, the actions of the masses only work if we are united behind a few strategic targets rather than all over the place; they have made this possible. It's good to avoid buying from the companies they target; even better to work on the big divestment campaigns. For example, student groups pressuring the big universities to divest from BDS targets echo the successful University divestment efforts that helped end apartheid in South Africa.

Send money: money helps, immediately and concretely, and again if we are many, each person doesn't have to do a lot. Do what you can spare, it all adds up. This has been painful with Gaza for sure, with millions donating but aid being blocked. I don't have The Answer but here's a group I found that actually seems to be getting aid in, and here's a spread sheet of gofundmes- note that people who have foreign passports do not have to pay the horrible border crossing fees, so you may wish to focus on funding those who don't have that privilege. this could maybe be better and there was some other stuff I wanted to say about doing activism to tie up the "activism as self care" thing from above and also bringing it back around to talk about Louis more but I'm tired and I'm hungry right now and this is a lot already. So. Bye lol sorry. send me asks if any of that is something you care about or want to hear

#yes the first Louis quote is kind of just me being silly I know he was referring to live music... but also he SAID IT #and those words have power regardless of the context and I believe it is an ethos he believes in #and the second thing is literally something he posted from an actual protest. my guy!! 🥰 #palestine #blah blah blah #starbucks discourse

[hanasnx]

can you share some of thosr anakin-related-content-you-consumed on ur anakin fixation era cz im fixating on anakin aswell rn and i want to study him!! please, idk where to start 🙇🏻‍♀️

supercut of star wars I - III reddit link with instructions to receive them via google docs

i've seen both tpm and aotc supercuts but i have yet to finish the rots supercut because of it being so long. there are also deleted scenes on youtube that were not included in the supercuts linked here:

star wars episodes I and II extended edition - unused deleted scenes youtube video

revenge of the sith 4 hour supercut - unused deleted scenes youtube video

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for some reason, no sweat. the same channel listed in the above links has a bunch of videos on their channel of all "restored deleted scenes" that you can watch individually. of course, that is without the "siege of mandalore" that's included in the rots supercut. but that's just the bits you would see from season 7 of the clone wars spliced in, so you wouldn't be missing anything.

star wars: episode I - the phantom menace

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for whatever reason, start here. one of my favorite star wars movies. features young anakin, about nine years old, and how comes to live with the jedi, how he meets padme, and where he comes from.

star wars: episode II - attack of the clones

we follow older anakin, about nineteen years old, where he reunites with padme and they fall in love. the cracks of the dark side's influences are beginning to show.

star wars: clone wars

this is the mini-series released in 2003-2005 to depict anakin's journy throughout the beginning of the clone wars to prepare audiences for star wars: revenge of the sith coming out in 2005. it has since been de-canonized and replaced with the clone series that comes out in 2008. it is still worth the watch. anakin's voice actor is supremely talented and sounds a lot like hayden christensen. albiet he is dramatic, as it is a kid's show, i still very much enjoy his characterization. it's actually pretty funny too, it did get me to laugh a couple times. chapter 24-25 i believe is where anakin undergoes a sort of spiritual awakening, and the ending always makes me cry.

star wars: the clone wars movie

it was honestly boring to me, but i still watched it for much needed context on the show.

star wars: the clone wars

as i’ve said before, i don’t really care for tcw!anakin, but this was still a fun and enjoyable watch. it wasn’t completely worthless to me, i did learn some more things about anakin that applied to hayden’s rendition.

unreleased star wars: the clone wars arc - crystal crisis on utapau (full) youtube video

i didn’t finish it but from what i’ve seen so far it’s pretty funny.

anakin & obi-wan | let my people go youtube video edit

one of my favorite edits to one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies. i think about it a lot, especially during the “this was my home.” lyric. hammering in the betrayal of brothers that grew up alongside one another, and if you resonate with that song and movie it provides another layer of context. it’s deliciously painful. when anakin’s side of “you who i called brother,” cuts through and interrupts the melody, impatient to speak about his perspective using ramses’ narrative to do it, it’s acutely accurate to anakin’s character in my eyes.

clone wars: battle of the heroes - a star wars fan animation youtube video

i haven’t seen this yet but i’ve been waiting to enjoy it to its fullest. the creator worked very hard on it for a long time, so it’s worth the link.

star wars episode III: revenge of the sith novel by matthew stover

i have not read this, but i’ve seen hundreds of excerpts over the course of this hyperfixation on tumblr. it’s widely accepted even though it’s decanonized, and offers insight into anakin’s head that you can’t access with just watching the movie. i thoroughly enjoy and reblog the excerpts i come across, but since i’m not a reader i haven’t picked it up to complete it myself.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith

the third installment in the prequel series, and where shit goes down. twenty-three year old anakin grapples with his desires overcoming his sense of obligations, warping his own ideals to fit into selfish purposes. you see how he betrays the republic, his wife, his brother, and himself, all for power.

star wars episode III revenge of the sith (xbox) no commentary walkthrough full game [1080p60fps] youtube video

i haven’t gotten to watch this yet but i’d like to soon, i’ve seen bits and pieces and i believe there are alternate endings that prove interesting. if you like gameplay movies i think you should give it a shot, but if not, go ahead and skip this one.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith - making the game youtube video

it’s short and sweet. about hayden’s view of the character anakin and how he acts in combat.

star wars: tales of the jedi

s1e5 where we receive insight as to how anakin trains his padawan.

vader: complete canon comic series 1-25 in chronological order youtube video

i loved this so much. so many good moments that i ate the fuck up. we follow vader in his first year of becoming the sith lord, grappling with identity, past, and recognition. we also get insight into the very sensitive time of jedi eradication, i learned a lot. my favorite parts are when vader has to fight without a saber against clones, make his own red saber by retrieving one from a surviving jedi, and the arc that includes jocasta nu.

star wars the force unleashed- full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

star wars the force unleashed 2 - full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

both of these i've been meaning to watch, but i haven't been in the mood. i figured i'd link them in case you were interested in more gameplay movies.

star wars rebels

i didn't finish this, but i did watch a lot of the vader content and the scarce anakin content. i'll watch anything that mentions him tbh.

star wars jedi: fallen order - full game - no commentary youtube video

i played this game and loved it. the ending is the money shot tbh.

star wars: obi-wan kenobi

this was probably the first sw show i watched after i got back into darth vader in august 2022. reawakened a lot for me, i really enjoyed vader's part in this story. reva is also one of my favorites, and i thought her being a mirror image to anakin in this situation was clever, i thought her backstory was unique and refreshing. but what really shines for me is vader's contribution as both an extension of the emperor and a vessel for his own selfish desires. there are parts where i can see he's more machine than man. there are also some anakin parts as well! which i didn't enjoy as much, funnily enough.

rogue one: a star wars story

i haven't seen this one in years, but i do remember darth vader's appearances being both funny and badass.

star wars: episode IV - a new hope

star wars: episode V - the empire strikes back

it took me a long time to come around on this one. now it's one of my favorites. especially because we start to get the first glimpses within the original trilogy of vader's humanity, and his ability to demonstrate faint loyalty to his blood.

star wars: episode VI - return of the jedi

fave sw movie tbh since childhood. you can't get better than the ending. vader's sacrifice is everything to me.

lego star wars: the skywalker saga

i had played this game back in may 2022 when i visited my sister. she and i used to play lego games together when we were kids, and one of my first video games ever was lego star wars: the video game from 2005 which she introduced me to. it holds a special place in my heart, and i really liked playing skywalker saga even though at this point i hadn't cared about star wars in years. when i got back home i couldn't stop thinking about the saga game so i bought it myself, and then played it so obsessively i didn't do anything else. it got me back in the mood for darth vader so i watched obi-wan kenobi, and one thing leads to another now here i am with a smut blog about anakin skywalker's entire life and his every iteration. i loved the game, i think you should play it even though it's just lego versions of everything, it's still really fun.

star wars: ahsoka

you see him in this and the cinematography is breathtaking at times, but i didn't care for it. i only cared about the glimpses of anakin/vader's appearances even if they didn't contribute anything to the story for me.

anakin skywalker vs palpatine full fight scene (hd) - star wars episode IX [alternative ending] youtube video

this is a fan edit! i think about it a lot even though i haven't seen the sequels.

the life of anakin skywalker: darth vader (star wars) youtube video

i haven't finished this, but from what i've seen it's taught me things even i didn't know. i really appreciated the facts that aren't even on wookiepedia.

any books on it i've only seen the excerpts here on tumblr, i haven't read any because i'm not a big reader but i've seen some great posts that i reblog. so don't sleep on the books/comics

great ask

#indy shoots the shit #thanks for the msg!! #anon #star wars #darth vader #anakin skywalker #ch: anakin #ch: vader #sw #tcw #the clone wars #timeline #youtube recommendations #tpm #aotc #rots #anh #anidala #esb #rotj #hayden christensen #matt lanter

[thedarkdisgrace]

Here is my thread from twitter i wrote about my theory about Fyodor’s ability not working on ability users. I wanted to get this posted here before we learn even more about it than in the next chapter probably lol I’m probably wrong given how old Fyodor is there’s probably plenty we don’t know and haven’t seen yet. But I still think this is interesting to talk about :) (Also I had more images to add but I will have to wait till i have access to my PC to add more cause the mobile app won’t let me)

—

So what if Fyodor can’t use his ability on ability users? We haven’t really seen him use it on other gifted, we’ve seen him shoot/manipulate gifted but not use Crime & Punishment on them.

People he did use it on were normal people and the people who have touched him & lived are all ability users.

—

If Fyodor has used C&P on an ability user, please let me know but I can’t find a particular instance he does.

Either way, his ability is probably something he either is consciously controlling or the ability itself is selective in some way with normal people because this kid touches him with a cloth.

—

Meanwhile this agent has gloves on but Fyodor still kills him with C&P. So, clothes/cloth isn’t the difference on its own.

Like i said, it’s gotta either be he *does* have control in some capacity or Crime & Punishment is selective on its own, regardless if it affects gifted or not.

But even if it is selective or controlled why never use it on the gifted?

The people he claims to want gone the most? It would also make sense why he really wants the book to write ability users out of the world. If his ability doesn’t work on them, maybe that’s why he see them as sinners.

If Fyodor has an ability he believes is a blessing or something that’s “holy”, something bestowed upon him by god then him believing ability users are sin/sinners because that “holy” ability doesn’t work on them could make sense. It’s why he wants the book to completely erase them.

But also, a different extension of this is maybe Fyodor views the book as holy because of its power. Maybe someone say, stole the book to create ability users. Fyodor would want to correct that “sin”. And maybe his ability doesn’t work on anything made by the book, thus why it doesn’t work on ability users.

But that aside, either explanation could also explain Fyodor’s fascination with Dazai (aside with his intellect), Dazai’s a walking contradiction.

The ability user who cannot be unaffected by abilities. Fyodor may even see it as Dazai can’t be touched by their “sin” and maybe is tied to the book in some way. Of course such a thing would grab his attention.

It could also explain Fyodor’s reverence for Sigma, a being created by the book. He seems to hold the book in high regard & even Ranpo himself says the book was created by smth “greater”.

If Fyodor sees the book as a tool from god, he would think highly Sigma being born from it. Similar in the way he may view Dazai

I don’t believe Fyodor did anything to Sigma. (Addition to this repost: I still believe this. I still think it’s just information overload. That’s why he’s not waking up with skk. We were told about this for a reason and given Fyodor is old af it makes sense he as SO MUCH information to go through)

As Ango explained, you can pass out from too much information & Atsushi passed out from a small amount.

Sigma requested to know *everything*. I think Fyodor knew what he knows would fry Sigma’s brain. That said, I think Sigma will wake up.

(Again, addition to this repost: now that we know it’s like hundreds of years of information of course that would be hard for his brian to process)

(I will add to this next bit because we have more information from chapter 113.)

Whatever Sigma learned, he knew he had to tell the agency right away. He obviously knows more than just how Fyodor’s ability works but i’m sure he thinks the agency needs to know something *specific* he learned about Fyodor and/or his plans & ability.

(Addition: It’s interesting Sigma said this given he’s only *just now* going through Fyodor’s memories and seeing how old actually Fyodor is. I wonder if that is what he wants to tell them or if it’s *how* Fyodor is so old that he feels must be shared with the agency. I feel it’s definitely Sigma wants to tell them that he knows *how* Fyodor is that old. As he says “I know *what* Dostoyevsky really is. Not who, *what* he is. Interesting.)

—

Back to the main point, assuming his ability wasn’t used on Sigma (it wasn’t), Fyodor hasn’t used his ability to kill ability users.

He shot Dazai’s accomplice, he “shot” Katai as well. He manipulated Ace into killing himself. He wanted these people dead, why not use his ability?

Chuuya & Nikolai touched him without anything happening. Of course like I said, Fyodor can either control his ability or it’s selective on its own. So he could’ve chosen *not* to use it on Chuuya & Nikolai or for some reason his ability just didn’t care about them.

But still, why hasn’t he used it on other gifted? Like the first 3 i listed, he wanted dead right? He also choses to manipulate gifted like Mushitaro or mutilates them like Ivan & we’re not sure if he touched them or not. If he himself did the surgery on Ivan he had to have touched him.

Even with Shibusawa, Fyodor cuts his throat. He doesn’t try to use crime & punishment. Of course, Shibusawa was “dead” already so it could be a different case.

He also never went up against Natsume directly in untold origins, although in the novel Fyodor is only eluded to and we never see. But maybe Natsume is “that man” Fyodor refers to. (Though now it could be Bram given 113?).

You could also throw in Fyodor stabbing Mori instead of using his ability on him in there. But in this case Fyodor’s objective was to pit the ADA & PM against each other so they would take each other out. Though there’s an argument he still could have done that & kill Mori here.

But let’s just assume he didn’t want Mori dead because of his plan to pit the two organizations against each other. So, I won’t touch more on Mori other than he must’ve touched Mori when he stabbed him, but since Fyodor seems to have some control over C&P let’s also say he just didn’t activate it here.

No one knows how Fyodor’s ability works aside Fyodor himself (Sigma might know now, we’ll probably know in a chapter coming up).

Even Dazai, which is why Dazai hasn’t wanted to give him the opportunity to touch him. He’s see what we have, people touching him & dying. So until Dazai knows for sure how his ability works, why risk touching him.

That’s why Dazai was hoping Sigma would help (assuming we believe Dazai when he says he doesn’t know how Fyodor’s ability works).

Sigma should now know both Fyodor’s plans & his ability & i’m sure he’s going to wake up and tell skk. Then Dazai will know.

But what if Fyodor was secretive about his ability because it doesn’t actually work against gifted? He wants ability users gone & it only benefits him for people to believe he can kill anyone with a touch. So why wouldn’t he play into that assumption?

We also haven’t seen too much of his interaction with other DOA members (Addition: aside we now know Fyodor and Bram go way back and Bram may even know more about Fyodor's ability, but he might not). We've only seen Nikolai & Sigma & we only see Sigma touch him once, to get information & Nikolai holding his hands. Nikolai admitted he doesn’t know about Fyodor’s ability either, hence saving Sigma to help.

I believe Fyodor would want to use his ability on gifted if he could, like Ace or Katai etc. People he knew he wanted dead and wouldn’t serve another purpose. But he doesn’t seem to use it. (Again if we have seen him somewhere use it on an ability user please let me know). But since he doesn’t seem to use it on gifted, maybe he just *can’t*.

He could just be choosing not to for all those instances for one reason or another & it does work on gifted and we just haven’t seen it yet. We just don’t really know but I’m sure we will soon.

This is just a fun theory, one that will probably be proven wrong to be honest haha so take it as you will. Everyone has their own interpretations and we will find out in canon soon enough.

#bsd spoilers #bsd analysis #fyodor dostoevsky #bsd fyodor #chuuya nakahara #dazai osamu #soukoku #bsd sigma #bsd manga

[blueisquitetired]

Employees of the Celestic Railway Network

(A faeU piece!)

Wondering why there hasn’t been much art on my account lately? It’s because of this! I was working on it for five months straight!!!!!

But it’s done now! Woo!

If you like this picture please please reblog it. I don’t normally ask, but this took me hundreds of hours so I would appreciate the support.

Anyway, character info and world building under the cut-

Warden Gaeric, Warden of the Icicle Line

Species: Human 

Of all of the creatures in the grand realm of Hisui, humans are debatably the strangest of all. Beings that are not pokémon nor fae, but something else entirely. Humans have almost no natural magic, yet are able to live and thrive anyway thanks to their natural adaptability. Their bodies naturally absorb and convert the energies of local pokémon, fae, and environments in order to better match them, and they learn things at a rate not seen in any other creature. Despite their lack of magic, they are able to grow and thrive in almost any environment, and many have made Hisui their home.

While Warden Gaeric might boast larger than life strength and power, he’s still as human as they come, not even bothering to practice simple spell casting. He doesn’t need magic to do what he does, and he takes a certain amount of pride in that fact. Hard work has gotten him this far, and he doesn’t see it letting him down anytime soon. 

(Although there is a running theory that he is blessed with the human oddity dubbed “Main Character Syndrome” or “Plot Armor”. Such claims cannot be proven though, as it isn’t a widely understood phenomenon, so it remains as just a theory)

Warden Melli, Warden of the Zap Line

Species: Human

Warden Melli immigrated to Hisui as a young adult, and has since never gone back, seeing no reason to return to the mortal coil. His skill with a needle and thread impressed Subway Boss Adaman so much that he was originally hired to mend and charm uniforms- but was quickly promoted to warden when Lord Electrode was taken by his dramatics. Nowadays, his embroidery skill is mostly used for protection spells and charm making, something he is extremely proficient at. Unfortunately, despite being a master spell caster in his own right, the temperamental nature of the medium causes him to disvalue his own skill, viewing it as “not real magic.”

Despite that though, he still is responsible for most of the charms sewn into the uniforms of his fellow human wardens.

Warden Palina, Warden of the Flame Line

Species: Selkie

Selkies are a subspecies of the poké pelt line of fae, a fae type that is mostly known for its ability to switch between the form of a humanoid and a pokémon- but only if they have access to their magic hide. A poké pelt whose skin has been stolen will find themselves unable to transform and unable to do most magic. This has caused most of their myths and legends to revolve around a malicious third party stealing their pelt and hiding it away somewhere.

The Selkie sub species in particular are known to transform into certain water types- specifically pokémon such as dewgong and spheal.

Palina is one of the more senior wardens, despite being a relatively short lived race. (Only living for around 100-200 years- similar to a human) Her long wardenship is due to the fact that she has served two separate lords. A rare thing indeed, as most new nobles will choose a new warden upon their ascension.

Of course, she isn’t one to brag about such a thing, and is much more likely to sing praises for her lover and husband- Warden Iscan. Famously, the two met when she got caught in Warden’s Iscan’s net- back when he was living in Galar and had never had any real encounter with the fae. Still, despite that, the two hit it off, falling in love and marrying. The couple are known for being annoyingly lovey dovey, Palina going so far as to let Iscan carry her pelt for her while at work as a sign of trust and love.

Warden Iscan, Warden of the Splash Line

Species: Human

Warden Iscan may have spent his entire life in Galar if not for his meeting with his future wife- an event that changed his life forever. Formally a fisherman from Hulbury, Iscan’s secret love for trains and general disinterest in fishing in general made moving to Hisui with his new love an easy choice to make. A choice made even easier when Lord Bascilegion chose him as his warden.

He builds and collects model trains in his free time, storing most of them in the unused Splash Apartment.

Warden Sabi, Warden of the Sky Line

Species: Delphi*

The Delphi are an extremely long-lived race (living for several millennia, and likely unable to die of old age) with the ability to see into the future. Not much is known about the delphi as they tend to keep to themselves- but considering their strong magic and fantastic abilities, that’s probably for the best.

For all intents and purposes, Warden Sabi is basically a baby. Barely 100 years old, with an expectant life span in the thousands, it’s a miracle her family let her leave their house- much less hold a job. Yet hold a job she does, even if her actual job description is nebulous at best. She enjoys getting up to mischief and practicing her fledgling future sight powers- mostly in the form of little “prophecy of the week” cards that she hands out. 

Still, she shouldn’t be underestimated, and her advice should be heeded. The future might not be set in stone, but she can see the changes in the tide of time far clearer than anyone else.

*(While most of the species of fae seen in FaeU are modified versions of actual myths and legends, Delphi are an original creation. Many fae have the nebulous ability of “seeing the future” but I couldn’t find any specific species that fit what I was looking for. Thus, the Delphi were created.)

(The name is in reference to the Oracle of Delphi from Greek mythology)

Warden Mai, Warden of the Mind Line

Species: Satyr

Satyr are a species of humanoid fae adorned with horns and hooves- known for their culture of singing, drinking, mischief, and general merriment. This has given them a reputation of being cheats, thieves, and layabouts, something that causes many to inherently distrust them.

They are also closely linked with nature and song, and can be powerful spell casters with enough practice- but their inherent abilities leave much to be desired.

Warden Mai used to be quite the rebel when she was younger. Sick of the expectations and pressures of her peers and parents, Mai ran away from home as a teenager. Unfortunately, her rash temperament and attitude made it hard for her to hold a job for longer than a year at a time. Thankfully, with the support and guidance of the former Lord Wyrdeer she ended up finding herself and mellowing out quite a bit, now being a well adjusted adult.

She plays guitar in a band and does some spell casting recreationally- but refuses to play the flute or seriously learn magic. Apparently, her mother’s intense pan flute lessons were one of the factors that originally drove her to running away. Because of this, she plays her Celestic flute like a train whistle and gleefully cackles any time she startles someone with it.

Warden Arezu, Warden of the Meadow Line

Species: Pixie

When most humans think of fae, their minds usually fall to pixies- a common race of small winged faerie. Their curiosity and mischief often leads them to wander into the mortal coil for brief periods of time, leading to millions of sightings and thousands of myths and legends. 

Coming in at on average six inches tall, pixies aren’t a very powerful race naturally, and tend to stay in groups. If you see a pixie on their own, there's a good chance a group of them is hiding nearby, often egging the singular pixie on.

Some powerful, practiced pixies may leave their communities to live among other fae- but these pixies tend to learn growth magic early on in order to increase their size. Increasing in size is often uncomfortable and makes it harder to fly, but being taken more seriously by others, and more easily interacting with the world around them is a trade off many pixies find favorable.

While the Celestic railways can be ridden by fae and humans of any sort, its passengers by in large consist mostly of city fae- a type of fae that has grown accustomed to iron and smog, making their homes in large communities and towns in a similar vein as humans. Which is what makes it all the more impressive that Warden Arezu is not a city fae.

Most of Warden Arezu’s life was spent in a small pixie community deep in a hidden woodland. She was curious and social, and eventually her limited social circle and never changing circumstances drove her to explore the world as a whole, eventually leading her to the Celestic Rail Network. While she isn’t a train fan by any stretch of the imagination, she still thoroughly enjoys how the rails bring in fae from all corners of Hisui, each with stories to tell and fashion to share.

Eventually, she dreams of opening a hair salon, but for now, wardenship suits her just fine.

Warden Calaba, Warden of the Earth Line

Species: Human

Warden Calaba is old- older than any human has any right to be. How old remains a mystery, one that most doubt she will ever indulge. But with that age comes knowledge, years of healing and potion brewing knowledge that far outstrips what anyone would expect of a human like her. 

Still, she is long overdue to retire, and Subway Boss Irida and Adaman have been gently trying to encourage her too for years now. She refuses though, stating that she will man her post until she is able to impart her knowledge onto another being, or when Sinnoh tears her soul from her body. Considering she has scared off every apprentice she has ever taken, most are betting that it will be the latter.

Warden Lian, Warden of the Insect Line

Species: Human

Lian has lived on the Celestic Rails most of his life. No one was surprised when the current Lord Klevor chose him as his warden, as he has been the station darling since he was a toddler. Still, he takes his work seriously, doing his best to fulfill his duties and be the best warden anyone could ask for.

In his free time, Warden Lian enjoys collecting and perusing rocks- especially ones of the magical variety. He dreams of one day using them to become a spell caster, but his young age and lack of mentor has made the adults around him implore him to wait a few years. For now, he researches, collects, and dreams.

Subway Boss Adaman, Conductor of Time

Species: High Fae (Formally a dryad)

High Fae are less so fae and more so demigods, fae who’s power far surpasses any natural being. There are very few high fae in existence, and each one is fundamentally unique. Some high fae are born that way, but many are elevated from their lowly status by major legendaries or other such beings.

Dryads are a common nature fae, most well known for their unique connection to foliage. Each dryad is born from a certain plant, (usually trees) and will live for as long as that plant does. If the plant withers and dies, so will they, leaving them as extremely fragile beings. Dryads will often conceal the location of their linked plant for safety reasons.

Subway Boss Adaman was born as an unremarkable fir dryad a very, very, long time ago- when Hisui was untamed and dangerous, without a respite to be seen. He spent most of his early years living a fairly uneventful life, (as uneventful as life could be back then) save for his regular interactions with a local frost sprite, one which quickly grew into a fierce rivalry. Said rivalry slowly transformed from begrudging respect to close friends- overtime becoming an extraordinarily deep bond.

Of course, the two's lives changed forever when, on a stint to the mortal realm, they came across a train station. Adaman was blown away by its consistent and accurate timing and wished to bring that stability to Hisui. He eventually ended up pitching the idea to Dialga- who absolutely adored the plan and granted Adaman the powers of a high fae. (Specifically, power over time)

Nowadays, Adaman runs half of the Celestic Rail Network with his partner Irida, keeping the time in the railway stable and making sure the trains run according to schedule. (There are many rumors of what became of his original fir tree, as his relationship on it is no doubt different than it was from before he became high fae. Subway Boss Adaman has never commented on it though, so rumors will continue to speculate) 

Subway Boss Irida, Conductor of Space

Species: High Fae (Formally a frost sprite)

Nature sprites, not to be confused with pixies, are common fae found often in strong natural settings. It’s said when an aspect of nature’s magic coalesces en mass, it forms a sprite of that aspect. These are, in some ways, the most common type of fae, as the sprite genus covers millions of subspecies. They come in all forms and fashions, but by and large are relatively weak, only having mild magic relating to the aspect of nature that they are composed of.

Frost sprites are, unsurprisingly, sprites born from the essence of frost.

Subway Boss Irida was never long for the world- but she kept going anyway. Despite her relatively low life expectancy and naturally weak magic, she managed to live long past her years by moving with the seasons and living in a perpetual winter. Inevitably, she settled in a mountainous fir tree forest where it was snowy year round- and inevitably met a local dryad. 

Of course, her life changed forever when she and the dryad visited the mortal plane and beheld a train line for the first time. Irida was blown away by its ability to cross vast spaces safely and efficiently and wished to bring that stability to Hisui. She eventually brought the idea to Palkia- who eagerly signed off on the plan and gave her the power of a high fae. (Specifically, power over space)

Nowadays, Irida runs half of the Celestic Rail Network with her partner Adaman, keeping the space the railways run through stable and making sure the trains are able to reach where they are headed. (There are many rumors of the exact nature of her and Adaman’s relationship, as the two are close enough to be lovers if they so desired.  Unfortunately, neither party are willing to comment on the matter, so rumors will continue to speculate) 

#blue’s art #submas fae au #blue’s writing #warden gaeric #warden melli #warden palina #warden iscan #warden sabi #warden mai #warden arezu #warden calaba #warden lian #pokemon irida #adaman pokemon #submas au #It's a submas AU it counts!!!!!!! #this took forever #and is the best thing I've ever drawn so far

[directdogman]

Hey DogMan, random question but do you still like the Dsaf games and the fans keeping the series alive?

I wrote out 6 different incarnations of this answer and I had to delete them all because they either sounded more bitter than I was intending or sounded too optimistic to be honest. This is my best draft. I promise it ends on a very positive note, if it seems negative at first. Also, I know this is long, but this is very important for me to state. Just give it a chance.

The truth of the matter is: 

I work on Dialtown now. Statistically, almost everyone who plays DSaF does not try Dialtown out, which I know because I have access to both my GJ and Steam site-analytics. The reason why: because Dialtown is not Five Nights at Freddy's related, pretty simple. DSaF's success has literally nothing to do with any of the positive qualities of my own work: it's because it's a fangame of a very famous series that some big youtubers promoted years ago. That statement is true of most FNaF fangames and I’m 100% at peace with that fact. The series doesn't really need to be 'kept alive'. It gets hundreds of downloads a day (despite being over for years) and has every single day since I started DT development. I get nothing from DSaF. GJ doesn't even give me ad revenue anymore. I just host the games bc people would download them from dodgy sites and get viruses otherwise. It’s the right thing to do. There's DT ads all over the DSaF page, so, y’know, DSaF fans know where to find me. The fact they don't follow through shows that these fans aren’t interested in DT. They're uninterested because they know Dialtown isn’t another FNaF fangame, y'know? Therefore, it's a lil odd when I get questions about whether or not I'm happy whether or not the series is still alive because it doesn't have a whole lot to do with me, these people don't like my work, they like FNaF. These are Scott Cawthon's fans, not mine. I'm still very much attached to some of the characters I made, though telling DSaF fans that my original (non-FNaF related) DSaF characters appear in DT did not attract them to DT. I like the story I told in DSaF, but telling fans that DT's story has similar themes but is WAY better executed did not attract them to DT. DSaF's success is specifically and totally... just because it's a FNaF game on GJ that people have heard of and ultimately, the same thing largely happens to other game devs when they move on from making fangames. I’m not in any way unlucky in this aspect, this is very normal. It’s very important for me to say: I'm not a victim or anything, quite the opposite! Dialtown has done better than I ever thought it would as an independent product and it's really neat to say that DT achieved (mild) fandom status, even though the DSaF fandom broadly ignored it and most youtubers in my circles refused to touch it because it wasn't Five Nights at Freddy's related and therefore: easy clickbait. I have so many DT fans that never touched or even heard of DSaF, and that's really special to me. It shows that the game succeeded on its own merits, and that it isn't just riding on DSaF's or even FNaF’s coattails. I love the Dialtown fandom. The amount of fantastic fanart I get is astounding, just look at what I share here and on Twitter! I have intelligent, empathetic and very supportive fans and I couldn't be HAPPIER with my current fanbase! I even get MONEY for doing DT, which is such a really nice bonus. DSaF was just something I did for free, kinda... thanklessly. The fandom was honestly really hard to handle at times, very volatile and the amount of fucking crazy people that felt entitled to vast amounts of my time was just... ho boy. I never got paid a cent to deal with any of that (save for me having a lil Patreon tipjar during 3′s development which didn’t net me a whole lot either), I just... did it out of the kindness of my heart, and in the end, it seemed pretty unappreciated, seeing how that fanbase talks about me on other sites now. I’m not really sure how ostracizing a developer for content in a game that someone still follows/actively promotes, when the developer doesn’t stand by that content and has humbly apologized for it, but the game timelessly displays it forever makes a whole lot of sense, but hey, what do I know, right? I’m so so glad to say: I've never had to delete DT fanfics that display minors in NSFW situations! Not as much for DSaF. I've never received a graphic (or any sort of) death-threat from a Dialtown fan. Ditto. When I mess up, my fandom helps me correct my errors and improve myself without insisting I intentionally did something wrong as soon as they have a possible argument to make. I remember when I launched DSaF 3 and one of my artists included a very commonly used word (big internet meme at the time) that I found out was offensive later. Some DSaF fans instantly made out that I’d intentionally said something offensive and wanted to go scorched earth without even approaching me to ask first. Being seen as a human by my fanbase is so so important to me and I’m really happy to learn from and acknowledge my mistakes if people are willing to let me do so. I’m a human and I’m always up for learning how to be a better one. I don’t want to do anyone intentional harm, so if you ever see stuff in my writing that can be more sensitive to delicate social issues/marginalized groups, please (politely) let me know. I love-love-love my current fanbase, no other way to put it. So, this isn't a sad story, but a happy one. There's content in DSaF that I outright HATE now, and DT is entirely free of it! DSaF had some ignorant (not intentionally hurtful, mind you) jokes in it (being a meme game from the last decade), and DT is free of that content as I've now learned better. I'm happy with how things have turned out. Of course, I get that not everyone can move on from things, people on the internet like conflict, they like ostracizing others and taking other people down a peg. It’s not really about about protecting anyone or anything like that, more so just angry people wanting to bully others but wanting to phrase it like they’re doing a good deed because they can’t bear to be spoken to the way they speak to others. So, they exclusively target people they can blame for saying something ignorant in the past and will go digging for something to throw at a person they want to see others target, often finding quotes from times when people were en-masse way less socially conscious and before someone’s views evolved. It’s different being a public figure on the internet because your social evolution is public and locked in time. To become more socially aware/sensitive, you have to first have been less socially aware and finding someone that is openly and very supportive towards marginalized groups said something ignorant without realizing that they’ve apologized + corrected isn’t really as big a thing as people think it is. Likewise: Telling someone to kill themselves, no matter what they’ve done, does not make the world a better place under any circumstances and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are not looking out for your best interests. We live in a very radical and angry age where people are looking for someone to blame for how bad things have gotten. Be kind. The world needs it. But to circle back, DSaF is not a part of my life anymore and while the idea of going back to it one day and 'fixing' it (even still now!) is very appealing because it was my first big thing that people played and it’d be cool to do it again, but better and show off my new skills: my main priority right now are my loyal DT fans, who don't just follow my work because it's popular, but because they genuinely like it. They like my characters, my stories, it's not just a FNaF thing. I'm so, SO grateful for my current fanbase, y'all have no idea, and if you’re a DT fan reading this, remember: that includes YOU. I really hope this helped clarify my exact position on things. I'm very very okay with how things have turned out, don’t get me wrong. I simply couldn't ask for a cooler fandom and better friends than I have now and I don’t wanna go back to how things were before.

#dsaf #dayshift at freddy's #dialtown

[washipink]

A Beginner’s Guide to Tokusatsu

Hey, I know some of you are probably wondering about all these hero shows I’m constantly posting about. Maybe you want to try watching them too, but don’t know where to start? Well, look no further. I’m here to go over some accessible, and legal, means of checking out some of my favorite things!

for the OTHER means, you’ll have to DM me or send me an ask. I’m not getting my favorite sites shut down. You know the drill.

This guide will mainly focus on the big 3 Toku franchises, Toei’s Kamen Rider and Super Sentai as well as Tsuburaya’s Ultraman.

What Is Tokusatsu?

Tokusatsu is a genre of Japanese shows and movies that literally translates to “Special Effects”. Usually using a combination of monster or hero suits, practical effects like explosions, and light CGI.

That’s a REALLY wide net, so we’re just gonna focus on 3 shows today.

Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman. Thanks to @urotandersentai​ for drawing this neat little guide to the Visual Design of each of these 3 shows.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some individual seasons of these shows. Each one has a link to where you can watch it!

Please remember that at the end of the day, the best way to pick a show to watch is “Whatever looks coolest to you”. As such, I’ve included pictures!!!

Super Sentai

You might be saying, “This looks like Power Rangers!” And you’d be right!

Super Sentai, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Productions, is kinda like Power Rangers’ Dad. PR has been using suits and even fight footage from Super Sentai to tell its own stories for 30 years. All this time, though, Sentai has been creating lovable and memorable casts of colorful heroes.

Generally, Super Sentai is about a team of heroes in colorful costumes that fight monsters every week to protect people.

There’s tons of shows in this series that are available FOR FREE.

CHOUJIN SENTAI JETMAN (1991)

The Earth is under siege from the Dimensional War Party Vyram. A special squadron is selected for an experiment to turn them into Super Humans with the powers of Birds, the Birdman Squadron Jetman. Vyram interferes with the experiment and kills all but one of the Jetman recruits. Instead, civilians are transformed and tasked with defending the Earth. The surviving recruit, Ryu Tendo, must convince 4 normal people with drastically different backgrounds to fight with him.

Jetman has the typical monster of the week format for Super Sentai, but when the team isn’t battling monsters, there’s some serious drama going on. The five of them are all drastically different individuals. It can make it hard to work as a team. Especially when it comes Black Condor. Dude’s a loose canon and an absolute bastard of a man.

KYORYU SENTAI ZYURANGER (1992)

“From hundreds of millions of years ago, in the age of the dinosaurs, five warriors revive in the present time!”

When the Evil Witch Bandora awakens from her slumber, intent on terrorizing the Children of Earth, Five warriors from Dinosaur Times are unsealed to undo her schemes!

This one is where the suits for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came from, which might tempt you to watch it first. I kinda recommend against that, though. It’s a fine show but I personally found it a bit boring. The characterization of the main cast didn’t stick out as much compared to other Sentai.

GOSEI SENTAI DAIRANGER (1993)

I haven’t seen this one, but it’s focused on martial arts and one of their mechs is a cool dragon? so uhhh? Check them out? Their theme song fucks

NINJA SENTAI KAKURANGER (1994)

Ok listen I didn’t watch this one either. HOWEVER, I know that it’s about the descendants of 5 legendary ninja who have been fighting yokai for 400 years.

CHOURIKI SENTAI OHRANGER (1995)

This is the last sentai in the “I didn’t watch it” category. uhhh, watch it if the suits look cool. Sorry.

GEKISOU SENTAI CARRANGER (1996)

Five Mechanics use the power of Car Magic to protect the earth from the Universal Reckless Driving Tribe and teach children about Traffic Safety. This one’s a tad bit goofier compared to some of the others, but it’s a good time.

Also There’s a Yoda.

DENJI SENTAI MEGARANGER (1997)

Five High School Students are friends and pals! Together they investigate the mysterious goings on of a technologically advanced evil empire. They literally surf the net in order to bring peace to their city and the world!

SEIJUU SENTAI GINGAMAN (1998)

The warriors of Ginga Forest, the Gingamen, have protected nature for 132 Generations. This series follows the 133rd Generation of Gingamen, who battle alongside Starbeasts to stop the resurrection of the Demon Beast Ditanix!

KYUKYU SENTAI GOGOFIVE (1999)

This time, the rangers are an experienced team of rescue workers given super human power! They fight back Literal Demons From Hell that endanger the public. There’s a lot of focus specifically on rescuing civilians in this one, so if you’re an especially big fan of watching heroes... SAVE people, this is a great choice.

MIRAI SENTAI TIMERANGER (2000)

In the 30th Century, a gang of super criminals escapes to the year 2000. They are tracked down by the Future Sentai Timeranger, agents of the Time Defense Force. There, they encounter the Great(s) Grandfather of their departed leader and must convince him to fight alongside them for the sake of humanity.

HYAKUJU SENTAI GAORANGER (2001)

Veterinarian Kakeru Shishi can hear the hearts of every animal! He swiftly becomes enraptured in the adventures of the Gaorangers, who battle living embodiment of pollution. Also they live on a flying turtle! How cool is that?

NINPUU SENTAI HURRICANNEGER (2002)

What if there was a polycule of ninjas SO BAD at being Ninjas, they showed up to Ninja Class Late and were the only survivors of an attack on their school? These guys are the silliest little slackers, but they’ve got hearts of gold. Check them out? For me? :)

KAMEN RIDER

If Super Sentai is Power Rangers’ Dad, Kamen Rider is Power Rangers’ Uncle.

Kamen Rider was ALSO created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

Usually focused in on a smaller cast of heroes. A common theme in Rider is that the heroes are created by their villains and choose to rebel against them for the greater good, or will use the villain’s own powers against them.

Most Riders have a signature attack where they leap into the air and do a flying kick. These get INCREDIBLY flashy over the years.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot less Kamen Rider legally available than there are of the other two shows here. Don’t fret, it’s Easy Enough To Find Anyway.

As for the shows I can link you to, there’s

KAMEN RIDER (1971)

This is the original series.

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider.

Being such an old show, the effects can be dated and cheesy. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but if you stick with it, I’m sure you’ll love it. You can watch most of the show in almost any order. The only really confusing part is that eventually, Hongo tags out with fellow escaped cyborg Ichimonji Hayato as Kamen Rider. (This was due to a real world injury to Hongo’s actor during filming. Don’t worry, he’s still kicking and he comes back later in the show!)

It’s also the longest Kamen Rider show, so I don’t fault you if you decide not to watch ALL of it. Even I haven’t yet.

If reading is more your thing, it’s based on a manga that you can find a DELIGHTFULLY well crafted omnibus of here

KAMEN RIDER KUUGA (2000)

Kuuga was the first season of Rider after about a 5 year break on TV. It’s something of a return to form.

It follows Yusuke Godai, a world traveler with 2000 skills, visiting his home town for the first time in years. He finds himself in the middle of an ancient civilization’s ritualistic murder game. Donning the mantle of Kuuga, Godai fights to protect the smiles of the city. He has a wonderful supporting cast around him including Detective Ichijou, who he goes on to share a rather homoerotic bond with.

Kuuga was my first Rider Series and to this day, it represents the Bread and Butter of Kamen Rider to me. This one’s a bit of a slow-paced Drama, but its focus is on what it means to help others. Every episode, I felt like I was actively being encouraged to be a better person. Godai’s got this infectious positivity that can’t help but make you grin.

KAMEN RIDER RYUKI (2002)

Ryuki takes a rather different direction from the other shows on this list. Instead of being about a single hero battling monsters, it’s about Plucky Young Journalist Shinji Kido being wrapped up in an all-out war between Kamen Riders. Donning the mask of Ryuki, he seeks to put an end to the bloodshed. The other Kamen Riders aren’t nearly as cooperative, though.

Don’t think that this plot means these characters don’t get tons of humanizing moments though. They’re all delightful to watch in action and you’ll end up truly questioning who will win? Is it possible to end the Riders’ battle? Will Shinji have to take a life after all?

I cannot recommend Ryuki enough. A lot of the Rider series from the early 2000s are Dramas that feature super heroes and Ryuki takes that drama up to a 10. (Plus, if you wanna ask where to find it, there’s plentiful side content for this show.)

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE (2019)

In the far-flung year of 2019, Hiden Intelligence has revolutionized AI technology. The company manufactures Robot Assistants called Humagears. People in all walks of life and profession benefit from their aid. Unfortunately, something is causing Humagears to go berserk and attack humans.

With the death of Hiden Intelligence’s president, Failed Comedian Aruto Hiden inherits the company. He’s given the Zero-One Driver, which allows him to fight the corrupted Humagears as Kamen Rider Zero-One. With this new power in hand, Aruto seeks a way forward where Humankind and AI can exist in harmony.

Come to think of it, this one’s kinda topical. “AI” is a subject we really aren’t gonna be getting rid of any time soon. This show is one of the more recent rider productions you can find legally and it SHOWS. Every suit is sleek and clean, the visuals are striking and flashy. If nothing else, Zero-One LOOKS incredible.

KAMEN RIDER GEATS (2022)

Kamen Riders compete in a game called the Desire Grand Prix. By fighting monsters and saving people for points, the winner can have their greatest desire granted. Ukiyo Ace, the titular Kamen Rider Geats, looks to unravel the mysteries behind the Grand Prix and reunite with his long-lost mother.

Things get a bit more complicated than that, but I think you should see it for yourself. I can’t recommend Geats enough. its visual style is a direct evolution of Zero One’s sleekness and flashiness. It’s main 4 characters are some of my favorites in recent years.

SHIN KAMEN RIDER (2023) (Paid)

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider. 

Wait, that sounds really familiar. That’s because this is the latest in a series of Tokusatsu Reimaginings by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. This is a new take on the story of Kamen Rider 1971, modernized complete with sleeker suits and stunning music all wrapped up in a 2-hour movie. It also has plenty of Easter Eggs for those of us who are fans of the 1971 series or the Manga it’s based on!

Be warned, this one’s gorier than the other stuff on the list. It’s mostly exaggerated blood splatters, though. I hate that kind of stuff and I’m able to rewatch this movie.

KAMEN RIDER AMAZONS (2016) (Paid)

Amazons is another adult reimagining of a classic Kamen Rider show, but it’s so far removed you don’t really need to know much about the original to enjoy it.

Amazons follows a group of exterminators who have been tasked with eradicating escaped cannibalistic experiments called, well, Amazons. The catch is that they work together with 2 Amazons, Momoru the Mole Amazon, and Haruka, the titular Kamen Rider Amazons. Both of them are tasked with asking themselves ethical questions. Is it so wrong for Amazons to exist? Is it possible to avoid eating people? If it isn’t, then is it WRONG to eat people to survive?

ULTRAMAN

Ok, look, I’m gonna have to make a separate post covering all the free Ultraman stuff there is. Theres SO MUCH OF IT available that I don’t know where to start. We’re about to hit the image limit. If that post is done, it will be linked HERE.

But for a basic idea, there’s tons of stuff on Tubi and the official Ultraman Youtube Channel posts new episodes of the currently airing show.

#Tokusatsu #Kamen Rider #Super Sentai #Beginners Guide #Feel Free To Reblog This #I'm gonna pin it and updating it over time

[kyra45]

Hello Reddit transfers! Here's some scam spotting tips

Hi! I'm Key (Or Jess), and I'm here to give you some tips to spotting scams. Think of my blog as a subreddit but with several posts a day that often show a scam post or give scam information. All this info is done as a hobby so I'll give you a rundown on the basics of how pet donation scams work here. If you like my hard work, feel free to throw me pocket change or check out my Ko-Fi where I take art commissions. Or just say thanks!

If you share a popular/trending text post, you may get an ask from a blog who wants you to share their pinned pet post. They'll ask you to answer the ask privately but urge you their pet is very ill and needs aid quickly. Commonly, this pet is a cat. But on occasion it's a dog. The ask will tell you their not a bot/etc and are just a person, promise!

If you check the blog, turn timestamps on under dashboard settings. By doing so, you'll get to see the date their pinned post was made. Usually, these posts are only a few hours old or even a few days old so always take caution if you see it's a post that isn't very old. This isn't always a red flag for a scam post, but it's advised to pay attention since you'll see these kind of things often enough since the scammer barely changes up their pattern.

Scrolling the account should also show you how many posts the blog has made. Often, you'll only find roughly 100 posts that are always made within minutes of the other. These posts come from a trending tag of the day generally and are rarely tagged since their just shared all at once and then nothing else. You will usually also see the archive has been turned off since the blog is set to only dashboard view and only accessible to logged in users. This measure isn't always a sign of a scammer, as users can have real reasons for this! But it's a common tactic for scam accounts.

The post tells you the cat/dog is suffering from some medical condition and claims the op will get paid in a few weeks but they need the money before then and they promise they'll pay you back when they reach their goal. Not all users who make posts like that are scam accounts and many of them are real people who will return the help once they can. The op will also tell you to send money by friends and family because they need it quickly and don't want it held up. Usually they'll have a link that will tell you to send them funds there.

However, you may notice some things are off in the post itself. While the op asks for USD, their pay link says their in the Philippines which is not USD and would require conversion rates to apply. Not all PH-based bloggers are scammers and some are disappointed that some people are. Its sadly a well known thing here that this scammer is from there but no one knows who they really are as every name used is stolen off a private aid group. Another thing to do is check the notes and see how many reblogs are directly from the op. Usually you'll find several.

If you want to, it is suggested to ask the op if they can provide you proof they own the cat/dog if your unsure of the legitimacy of their claim. For example, ask them to write their url on a piece of paper and take a picture of it on top of the pet they supposedly own or even post a short video of them calling the pet and holding the paper in sight. Usually this results in the op likely blocking you.

It's suggested to warn anyone sharing these scam posts and reporting scam accounts under Phishing as it's usually the fastest way to deal with them on a daily basis. This scammer has been doing this for years and even brags about how they get away with it since they make hundreds of dollars doing it and ruin the reputation of the names they steal.

These scammers are also stealing content from private facebook groups and reposting them here without the owner being aware of it. The scam accounts are saving pictures and passing them off as their pet. Watermark your vet bill and pet pics in your aid posts if you want to deter scammers from stealing it for future uses. If you are in a fb group that posts vet bill help, please inform them a scammer is going around taking their posts and reusing it for fraudulent reasons. I have seen cases where some scammers even used pictures off Reddit to use for scams.

#scam #psa #pet donation scam #longpost #how to spot a scam blog

[dirtbra1n]

hihihi tashiro anon here guess who got access to the second years novel :)

do you ever think about how tashiros a natural charmer? to the point kuresawa talks about being hesitant about intruding him to his girlfriend even though he has full trust on him? how him being on a all boys school almost seems like a missed opportunity?

now add this to the way how tashiro struggles with emotions, i think he would be quite obvious when hes involved in anything romance related. only when its his own tho, that boy is way too observant of his surroundings and his friends despite looking like he doesnt think most of the time (which is another interesting point, tashiros own pov reveals another side of his character to you, i think)

i dont know honestly,, i was just thinking about how theres multiple instances of tashiro asking romance related questions to his friends to understand it better, only to get more confused at the explanation. if hanzawa to tashiro ever become real, it probably would have quite a different tone than the other two thanks to our main characters

hihihi tashiro anon CONGRATULATIONS ON THE SECOND YEARS NOVEL sorry I’m late I wanted to finish writing tashiro post before replying to you. as a sort of Gift. but it’s getting long so Here we are

I THINK ABOUT IT. SO MUCH. this is a personal realization I’m having right now that tashiro in his own right has so much magnetism…. so charming so easy to like…… SUCH A GOOD GUY, ALSO…!!!! I actually get really emotional thinking about kuresawa’s narration. just every instance of it. because he really does like and care about his friends and he talks about them in such. AN ENDEARING DEVASTATING WAY……….. but the way he talks about tashiro specifically is such a big beautiful Window (kuresawa’s eyes) to tashiro (and his minute details)

so when you think about That, and think about the night trip they were all on, and tashiro’s first love being Sorry I went back to start rereading this bit and I’m feeling kinda weepy suddenly. kuresawa using a soft tone of voice with miyano and making a concerted effort not to say anything too mean out loud. tashiro shirahama back-and-forth. shirahama fussy about his appearance and working hard at playing stylist. I understood—Tashiro was such a straight shooter with his kind words that you could get a little bashful. also while I’m here Suddenly laser focused in on I wonder if [Shirahama] had a crushing story of first love, too, even if he wouldn’t fess up to it. ha ha. anyway

TASHIRO’S FIRST LOVE no hold on I’m getting distracted again tashiro’s ears perking up when he hears ‘ping-pong’ Auh. whys this guy so cute. and unknowingly passionate Agony! BUT TASHIRO’S FIRST LOVE, THOUGH, GOD. “probably a teacher in elementary school or something” <- non-answer that he came to after thinking about it for-ever. My type is whoever I have a thing for at that particular moment.

I’m just really trying to get at tashiro’s facets lately. he’s so much. a hundred different angles to look at him from.

thinking about hanzawa to tashiro from the outside is so so so much fun. malleable enough to be fruitful in anyone’s hands. as efficient at trapping people as like. a bog pit or something. forces people to really think about and poke and prod at two guys who’ve got a lot more going on than a lot of people give them credit for. tashiro would have been so popular romantically if he was at a coed school but he didn’t go to one. is always asking questions. who could possibly be a better companion in weird love for hanzawa masato than tashiro gonzaburou, who’s also just. so weird about love.

I’d still kill to see harusono’s hanzawa to tashiro. the potential it has for being weird and strangely visceral. Please. please……

#delightful as always to see you tashiro anon…… #askbox #i want to see harusono’s romantic horror chops again…….. so so so so so good……….. Man #this might be all over the place by the way. i was on the train Sorry about that

[thougts-of-xena]

• Wakanda forever, Líik'ik Talokan and Glory to Ukraine •

[ ukrainian girl's perspective of the latest mcu movie ]

I watched [ Black Panter: Wakanda forever ] recently, and I can clearly tell - it's gonna be my favorite movie of the long long time. It's an amazing, really good action movie, one of the most epic I've seen. I loved it so much to see beautiful cultures, and all honor to Chadwick Boseman's memory made me very emotional every time. Like those silent moments whole audience was silent too, almost holding their breath.

And the most important for me was character of Namor, his arc and whole point about colonization. This period of time, colonization of America and erasing cultures hurted me so deep as an autistic child with history as an interest, and now I can relate so much with all this stories as an adult woman of the nation fighting for independence [ and survival basically ].

In our National Day of Dignity and Freedom want to talk with you about it. Why it is so important for me personally, and maybe for many conscious people of our nation as well.

Not for trying to compare who suffered more through the history. It never was, and never will be my goal, this would be awful thing to do. But to share history of my people and explain why this movie and character affected me so much.

For short - though Namor despites human kind in general I hope he might be pleased to see our "let's burn colonizators to the ground" resistance after hundreds of years of oppression, when old 'mighty' Europe only saying they're conserned and "let's just calm down and talk everybody". Heaven knows we tried everything, we tried to talk so many times. Russians do not want to talk with us - they want to make us assimilated part of their country, or they want us dead. And we just want to be left alone and live our lives.

For a bit longer story - just look at this monstrosity of a country. Is this normal for country to be THAT enormously big?

You can say: - Maybe. And I will say: - Only if all subjects having equal rights, impact and independence inside the union.

But things never in the history of russian expansion was like that,  and im going explain it, and hope you will get it why  I have used word "colonizators" earlier.

I really wanted to write a whole proper article or essay about this, but I'm without electricity for most of the time lately. "Thanks" to russian missiles damaging our power plants. And it become really hard for me to engage in deeper research, to translate and put in here sources that wasn't originally in english.

So instead it will be more little history lesson with knowledge from my head, and little documentaries from other intelligent people, which I recommend you to watch to illustrate my point. Videos was made by ukrainan creators, so yu can trust them, english subs that can be turned manually if you open them on YouTube, I'm still not sure how this works here.

I'll mostly use history of my country as an example since i know it better, I feel I have no right to talk about other nations at their behalf.

So Muskovy [ USSSR and modern Russia ] is like adopted offspring of the Golden Horde.

Golden Horde expanfion, you can spot something similar already

It expands only to consume resources, erasing native people of that lands. Do you think small swampy peace of land it originally was had all that gas, oil and wood they're bragging about nowadays?

Do you think there wasn't native people in that land who was exterminated, exiled or assimilated so russians can use resources this nation had? They didn't even had a clear access to big water.

Muskovy was a small part of Kyevan Rus' on a distant swampy land, but it wanted more influence in the world, a clear access to the big water - Black Sea that we had, since they didn't have it and felt like they missing up whole worldwide trading and invasive wars party.

To do so they tried to get all the land for themselves. Kyevan Rus' then was successful and strong country of its time but had an internal issues [ muskovy as one of them ] and was struggling with every neighbor wanted to get a part of its territory.

Interesting story for another time, let's focuse on a russian part of it.

So Muskovy put their eyes on not only territories of modern Crimea, wich was their own country that days  - Crimean Khanat, but all modern Odesa-Mykolaiv-Kherson-Mariupol lands. But they can't get there easily, they need to concuer all the land, wich is not bad itself as it has a lot of coal, forest ant great agricultural potential.

But my people don't wanted to give it up so easily, wanting our territories back, wanting a safespace for our culture and history, so fighted with their lifes. This leads to more than 300 years of  [ - give me your land! - no. ] and after becoming an Empire strong enough to overpower us [ - give us our independence back! - no. ] cycles of merciless wars.

And than Russian Empire coming up with a time proved strategy. I don't know did they make it by themselves or sneaked a peak of it by older empire-sisters but they're using it til now,  evolving from Russian Empire to USSR to Russian federation like some wicked Pokémon.

And here's coming the interesting part with the videos I prepared for you,  grab some snacks and let's go.

The first one is about how russia tried to erase our language

This one about them them trying to erase our culture and replace it with a fucking joke.

And the last one is about creating an image of our people as angry, stupid and degraded, with THEM as superior nation above us, mostly in our heads.

They knew what they were doing and did that on purpose. They wanted make us ashamed of our culture, to separated us from who we are and mash into a faceless "brotherhood nations" with recourses to use.

Unfortunately - it worked, and worked very well as whole nation has an inferiority complex now, simpy denying ourselves. Feeling like its better to be associated with them, to blend in what they are calling culture, than discover our own one, that was appropriated, stolen or forgotten for generations, almost fighting for not to be lost forever.

So-called "big brother of ours" enslaved our people with serfdom, suppressin our attempts to embrace our heritage, to gain independence, causing artificial hunger Holodomor in 1932-33 also known as Terror-famine in Ukraine, or by repressions like Executed Renaissance. Our culture is still alive and kicking, but you can see there was not big room for blooming.

Those who they couldn't execute - they calling heritage of their own. For example Treasure Island animation, dr. Livesey from it internet loved so much not so long ago - it's actually ukrainian made.

They simply called russain everyone talented or famous from so-called union. They made sure it's almost impossible for you to pursue your ambitions as a scientist, artist or musician anywhere but Russia, so if you work in Russia you will be seen as and caled russian, no matter where you from.

No matter wich culture certain traditional attires [ vyshivanka or papakha ] dish [ borsh or chebureki ] or other heritage  like giorgian dance woman lezghinka russians calling their beryozka now, came from - it all claimed by them as their general [ stolen ] russian culture.

They did it not only to us. I told I wouldn't be speaking of other nations but just take a look what was done to Crimean tatars.

If you thought I made up my point about them wanting access to the sea VERY BAD

You may search on YouTube or TikTok how russians treating their neighbor "former soviet union" countries [ like Republic of Kazakhstan or Georgia ] when visiting them.

Like "you should be grateful we bring civilization to your land" and "your native name is to hard for me to pronounce, I'll just call you Masha, Natasha, Ivan etc." Ask people of other Caucasian regiongs about how they was and still treated till now, ask belorusians about their language [ spoiler - it is dying ].

Its so unfair, that now we are screaming at the top of our lungs to be heard, for people to see us the nations of our own, to just let us be and cherish our culture.

But our voices are suppressed by voices of our oppressors telling us to calm down and listen to them since they know the better way for us to live and solve problems THEY CAUSED. With no regrets or reflexia.

And world prefers to listen to them, praising them, insted of listen to people who was offended, if not to say violated, by them. Not only us, many other nations,.

After all i said this story may sound familiar to black people, indigenous people of America, people of other colonized countrie - because IT IS.

Or you may say to me:

- I'ts just white's business, mind it on your own.

Ok, though its not very correct statement, but I'll take it for now. Let me show you this video, then - Russia is literally colonizing African countries right now for their woods. They won't stop. They simply don't want to, still thinking imperial way.

             •••• ••••   •••• ••••   •••• ••••

Thank you for reading all of this to the end.

My point here was not to make this movie and other people's trauma about my people, to take it away from you. This is YOUR history and YOUR experience.

I'm writing this not to impose ourself in your place, not to say that we can completely 100% clearly understand what are you feeling. I just wanted to share what are going through, to show why this movie in general and Namor in particular is so important and precious to me as.

I feel like he was right all along, just like us wanting nothing other than protect his land and people. Time is now for Ukraine and someone has to end this monster, burn those russian world | peace* they bringing everywhere they go, and we'll not hasitate.

* in russian there's one world for this term, basically it means "coercion some country to peace by violence and propaganda for expantion through the world"

I think it's really important to point some serious issues in movies like that. You may not like the movie, or actors or else, I respect that, but it's social commentary, it's impact you can't overestimate.

I believe some nations should be pointed at this on and on and on like "yes, YOUR nation did it. Yes. Yes it did. It's part of your history and responsibility is not going anywhere. Your way of thinking now is a part of the problem! Take it, rethink it and work it out,  like a mature nation should".

I believe that we can overcome this trauma, educate people [ though some of them may use the Clockwork orange therapy instead ], and in some time make world a better place without all this shit.

I've seen [ Wakanda forever ] two times at theaters already and I'm planning to go for it again. I want it to make a good income, I want corporations see at least financial benefit of educating people, of making an empathy gap smaller.

I want them to seek profit in making a good culture and history representation, to give voice for this people to talk to a wider group of people - its freaking Marvel, after all. To educate and unite those who suffering with generational and colonial trauma.

For example after "Encanto" someone might catch themselves wondering - who was those people that attacked Abuelas village and why would they do that?

Like "The Woman King" left me shaken . Movie may not be 100% historically accurate, as I'm aware, but it was good as the work of art, it showed culture, tradition, and the tragedy. It really drove me to this culture, I hope many people as well wanted to know more, and more.

Simple wandering who K'uk'ulkan may originally be, what a meaning his figure may originally have, may lead people to more serious research. To study, to respect and adore as this cultures in the way they deserve to. Like my childish adoration is booming and blooming now, bringing me so much joy, im eager to learn and resurch. I just hope books from my childhood aren't burned to ashes in occupied town where I left them.

And I'm only waiting for my salary to try to buy some books end explore world of Black Panter more. Same for comics in general - I was torn from pop-culture growing up, trying regaining this loss in past few years, taking friendly recommendations here, indigenous, POC or queer stories\creators is a priority.

I'm open for discussion, since my mind is a mess after this movie. I have so many thoughts, I love it - the movie and thinking thoughts -  very much.

We can also discuss how amazing it is to see celebration of any other than white european cultures on the big screen, how beautiful it is to see people of color on the leading roles, and black people in position of power through the plot. To show them as good and proud people, who know their worth, and will not tolerate any disrespect towards them. [ and how pleasing it is to see so pissed off people those empathy ends when starts conversation about the minority they can't associate themselves with. It's not about or for you, wolrd is changing, adjust a little, baby boy ]

We can discuss the messages from Black Panter movies that someone with the real power do not use it to cause harm, but the weak ones always seeking power to abuse the others. The message about loss and grief. Like now I have deeper understanding of our national motto "heroes never die".

Or we can share our love to Namor. As my sister told me after the movie - despite our shared thalassophobia we'd love be one of Talokan people. To have place then you'll be safe and secure, to have fatherly caring figure of K'uk'ulkan that always by your side protecting you, making sure that all will be well. Aqua papi? Aqua papa, por favor, gracias. And please - his little wooden house - isn't it adorable? Does his mother inspired him to make it? Does that mean his heart still have some little room for something from the surface? I don't need sleep, I need answers.

You can offer your theme to talk about, but if you coming to start some rude shit here - I'll not hesitate to block you immediately. Same goes for those who didn't like the movie as much as I did, I respect that, just chill out and pass by.

For the ones who read this to the very end - exclusive announcement. On my art acc I'll definitely draw my beloved feather serpent god, not once nor twice, since now it's a comfort character of mine and im going to embrace my urge for historicall, cultural and mythological studies as much as i can. But with some time pass. I have the ideas, now I need to gain some stability, mental at least. I'd love to share love for him with you, feel free to be my guest.

#Youtube #wakanda forever #mcu namor #namor was right #colonization #urkainian history #ukrainian tumblr #український tumblr #укртумбочка #marvel #black panther #day of dignity and freedom #russian colonialism #just my thoughts and feeling chill out ffs

[spaceobloquy]

A Starter Guide to Armored Core Roleplay

Hey, buddy. I'll try and fill you in as quick as I can. The first thing you should know about Armored Core as a franchise is that there appear to be four big continuities:

the Armored Core 1 and 2 series, consisting of Armored Core, Project Phantasma, and Master of Arena on Earth, eventually leading to Armored Core 2 on Mars and Another Age back on Earth

the Armored Core 3 series, consisting of Armored Core 3, Silent Line, Nexus, Ninebreaker, Formula Front, and Last Raven, all taking place on Earth

the Armored Core 4 and 5 series, consisting of Armored Core 4, For Answer, then much later in time Armored Core V, and Verdict Day, all taking place on Earth

the Armored Core 6 series, so far just consisting of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, taking place on the exoplanet Rubicon 3

All of these are valid for roleplay, and all possess interesting characters, settings, and lore. Today I'll be talking about the Armored Core 6 series though, because Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon just came out recently, is far and away the most easily accessible of the games, and it possesses the most compelling characters in the franchise's history. Its unique nature as the only interstellar entry in the series also provides much more freedom when it comes to roleplay. There's a lot of free real estate.

So, let's say you just got done playing Armored Core VI, or saw some footage and vibed with it. You found you really liked a character and want to muse them, or you want to adapt a muse from some other fandom for a verse/AU, or you want to make an original character in the setting, or anything in between. Where do you begin?

Let me help you out, buddy.

The first thing I'd recommend is: ignore the endings. They're all bad. I don't mean that they're poorly written, I mean that they're all bad outcomes for the setting and for all the characters involved. Just handwave it. Imagine a fourth ending that muddled through and preserves an uneasy status quo. Did your favorite character die in the endings, or sometime before? No they didn't. Just rewrite it. Armored Cores canonically have ejector seats. Keep it kinda vague so you can easily operate with anybody else, but otherwise, don't sweat it.

The second thing I'd recommend is: let your imagination run wild. I'm running a service on my main blog where I'll come up with a verse/AU for existing muses, to include AC designs with rough paintjobs (you can view these in this tag) but if you already have an idea, just do it. There really are no hard rules; just write.

Alright, I said I'll keep it brief, so I'm going to give you some CliffsNotes on the setting without all the supporting evidence and homework:

Human space in Armored Core VI probably comprises somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 exosolar planets at a minimum. This suggests somewhere between 300 and 1,000 star systems, or more. The only places mentioned explicitly by name are Rubicon 3, and the Jupiter colonies. There was also a "Four Island Disturbance" but that could mean anything, really. You're free to make up whatever you want.

There is FTL travel of some kind, and it's both pretty ubiquitous and fairly fast. There's a lot of interstellar commerce going on, and human space is pretty well linked up considering there is a unified and universally recognized currency in the form of COAM. The setting features some kind of stasis, although whether this is merely general purpose or used predominantly for interstellar travel is unclear. It doesn't seem to be particularly tricky to use.

Human augmentation with genetic engineering or cybernetics to some extent doesn't seem particularly rare, although those properly addressed as "augmented humans" probably number in the tens to hundreds of thousands at most, and mostly seem to be military personnel or mercenaries. Augmentation surgery was quite dangerous until about 30 or so years before Armored Core VI begins. It's quite safe at present, but expensive. There may or may not be human longevity technology, it doesn't matter too much. AI is very much a thing, though somewhat uncommon at small scales. City to continent scale megastructures and space engineering are quite feasible.

Armored Core VI takes place in the indeterminate future, but isn't so far in the future that Earth-based ethnicities and nationalities have completely died out. Using existing cultures, mashing up existing cultures, or inventing new cultures are all perfectly fine.

The only known thing approaching a government entity in Armored Core VI is the Planetary Closure Administration (PCA) which is basically a police force for the Rubicon star system. They were most likely originally set up by corporations and planetary governments. Planetary level is likely the largest size governments come in within the setting, possibly a few planets and moons; there are likely not immense or substantial empires or federations. Armored Core games are traditionally dominated by megacorporations, but state actors likely still exist.

While Armored Core VI features two major corporations (Balam Industries and Arquebus Corporation), as well as several smaller ones and subsidiaries, there is no reason to believe there aren't more that specialize in other things or subcontract their work to these. You're again free to make up whatever you want.

You're probably generally okay with using Halo or Aliens as sources of inspiration in terms of the scale of things, although remember that there are probably no big overarching interstellar governments.

Armored Cores (ACs) are the main high-end form of mechanized warfare, which goes by the name 'Core Theory' and involves close-range, heavy firepower, high mobility assaults using them. These were developed from less sophisticated machines called Muscle Tracers (MTs) which comprise the bulk of armed forces, although other vehicles like aircraft and ground vehicles still exist, and infantry combat still takes place as well.

I think that's a good place to end for a starter guide. If you have particular questions, ask in a reply and I'll try and answer. But really, if you like mecha, sky's the limit. You ready to climb The Wall?

#Mecha RP #Armored Core RP #Armored Core Roleplay #Armored Core VI #Armored Core 6 #Out Of Character #PSA

[jjkyaoi]

Multigender is a term for anyone who experiences more than one gender identity. It can be used as a gender identity in its own right, or can be an umbrella term for other identities which fit this description. Or at least, that’s how the wiki describes it.

When some people think of the term multigender they think of genderfluid, and really, I can’t blame them. Amongst the small, vastly underrepresented multigenders, genderfluid is the one that’s most known. Although, with the way it’s represented, I could argue that people don’t know jack about how being genderfluid works, but hey, that’s not what I’ve decided to complain about.

Not to sound like companies in June, but it’s a spectrum. There’s hundreds of identities—not just amongst the multigender label, but that’s what I’m focusing on—that aren’t represented amongst the media, and it’s because they aren’t simple. They aren’t understandable enough as trans, or nonbinary, or gay or bisexual, and it’s not like those are widely understood either. Peoples reaction to multigender folks is usually an instinctual, “that’s not real”, and sure, to people who don’t experience the things that multigender people do, it does sound far fetched. It doesn’t make sense. Trust me, buddy, not making sense is my whole fucking existence at this point.

I’m a little something called abrogender.

Abrogender is a gender identity with two definitions: A form of genderfluidity that changes more erratically and in a less defined way. A gender that is so intricate, and changes so quickly, that it is nearly impossible to nail down. Again, at least that’s what the wiki says.

With “micro labels” like these, it’s easy for people to say, “well, that’s just genderfluid” and yeah, it’s similar, but you can’t make that call. You don’t know what I experience and how it differs, and sure, to some people the “millions of labels under the LGBTQ+ identity” are annoying and hard to understand, but they’re there for a reason, because it isn’t as simple as labeling myself as genderfluid as it is for most people, which is another reason why you won’t see bigender, pangender, genderfaun/genderfaunet etc people being represented in media because the media doesn’t know how to represent us, or they take something as complicated as our identities—something they can’t make sense of in a blink of an eye, and call it not real.

Can you imagine how fucking frustrating that is?

I can’t describe to people who are comfortable with their gender, in the body they were born with, the type of feeling that looking in the mirror and seeing the wrong thing is. It’s hard to describe it if you haven’t experienced it, as much of this will be, but I remember I was getting more and more uncomfortable, for reasons I didn’t understand—I didn’t have access to all these millions of different labels as a kid.

I never really felt connected to being a girl. You know, it wasn’t instinctive revulsion, I didn’t “feel trapped in my body” most days, like some trans representation will have you believe. I’m not Kalvin Garrah, I’m not going to say you have to have dysphoria to be trans. I didn’t feel connected to any gender, really, but I didn’t feel without one either. If somebody were to assume I was a boy, I wouldn’t get offended, because sure! It’s not like I wasn’t a boy. Most people don’t experience that shit.

And then quarantine hit. I was on the internet more than I ever had been, because it’s not like there was much else to do, and I was allowed access to things I barely understood before. AKA, I was dipping my toes into the trans label.

Demigirl was what I started with, because at the time it felt accurate. A label where you still identify as a girl but also somewhere outside the binary? That’s exactly what I thought it was. This isn’t me shaming demigirls, you guys are so hot, sexy etc, it just wouldn’t be that simple for me. And then, as the years went on, I felt more and more disconnected from being a girl, and I picked up nonbinary like a golden star and stuck it to my shirt for a couple years, without fully reading the contract that came with it. Again, at the time, that’s what I thought it was. The idea of being a boy wouldn’t come to me for a couple years, but once I started doubting my gender again I sort of.. hid from it? The last couple weeks of identifying as nonbinary weren’t honest, and it was more so me clinging to the surface level of the trans identity just so I wouldn’t have to come out a second time. I slapped transmasc onto the nonbinary label and was hoping to god I wouldn’t fuck around and find out.

And then.. after a while, I allowed myself to look further. Bigender, and then trigender, and then pangender—none of them stuck.

One thing I did know, was that now that I was allowing myself to identify as such, I loved being a boy. I loved it. I wanted to have a flat chest, and a big, bushy beard, and for people to look at me in the store and call me sir, and to be somebody’s husband in the future—I wanted all of it. And with this, I strayed further and further away from being a girl, if that was even possible, and adopted the trans man label in 2022.

Most people would think; well, you’re a trans man. You’re not multigender. And that’s what I thought. I really did think so, I thought my gender crisis was over, I felt content, and I didn’t think much into it because it’s not like I could be wrong again, right?

Well. Some fucking god must have had it ought for me, because after a happy year of identifying as a trans man, in early 2023, I had yet another patented moment of wait.

I have been relatively open about my gender struggles here. Relatively is an understatement, I’m sure you can find a post about each label I identified as at the time I identified as it if you just search it on my account, so you can imagine how frustrating this was. I was finally content with being a trans man, and that year was really, really good. My friends were all insanely supportive, were using my correct pronouns and everything, and then I would have to do the walk of shame to tell them, again, that yeah.. I wasn’t right about this, guys :/

Out of everything, the number one thing I was worried about was annoying people. Amongst my own thoughts of faking it, of trying to be different, I really did think my close friends would get tired of me constantly saying something else. I wanted so badly to just be normal, to be simple, to be like the thousands of cis people in the world who are born with the gender they’re assigned as and don’t have a moment of questioning it—of feeling unsure, but at the same time whenever I thought about being just a girl for the rest of my life I got this sick, awful feeling in my stomach. But just being a man didn’t feel right, either.

So, what? What was I?

I still don’t know. If you assume I’m a girl, you won’t be wrong, but you won’t be entirely right, either. If you assume I’m a man, you won’t be wrong, but you won’t be right either. If you assume I’m neither, something that exists outside the binary, you won’t be wrong and you won’t be right.

I tried to be content with just being me. With saying, I don’t need a label, I am who I am! But that wasn’t true. I wanted so badly to have a label, something to explain this, something to prove that there wasn’t something wrong with me—that I wasn’t alone. That I wasn’t faking it after all.

Abrogender is the closest definition to what I’m feeling.

The definition isn’t in my own words, so it isn’t exactly what I’m feeling—hell if I’ll ever be able to explain that to people without sounding insane—but when I found that label I breathed out the biggest fucking sigh of relief. It’s the closest thing to unlabeled as I can allow myself to have, but at the same time it’s still a label. It’s still a sign that people feel how I feel, enough for there to be a definition for it. After years of switching, of nothing sticking, of feeling crazy, like I was making the whole thing up and trying to stick to one thing just to please other people, I finally, finally could breathe. And it’s not something I can explain to somebody who never has to doubt any of these things to begin with. I’m not going to force myself to tone down what I am just so it appeals to a mass of people who wouldn’t have loved me anyways. I’m not going to do that. I was miserable doing that.

So, if you think it’s not real, what I feel and how I identify, and if you think the millions of people who identify as multigender, or some label on the LGBT spectrum that isn’t easy for you to grasp are all faking it, just know that you have the privilege of never feeling a stranger in your own body, in your own mind. You have the privilege of getting up and getting ready in the morning and loving your body, never feeling like an imposter, like you have to put on a performance to please. Of course you couldn’t understand what we go through, and you know what? I am happy for you.

There's a part of me that’s bitter, that’s envious, because I’ve wanted that experience for myself for years. I can't tell you how much. But I’m learning to let things like that go. If you’re one of the millions of people who are truly, entirely happy with how you identify, then I’m happy for you.

If you asked me why I posted this, I would tell you don’t fucking know. Is it because I wanted people to understand the complexities of gender, of the vast labels and how they’re overlooked, as a person who has a lesser known label? Yeah, sure. Is it also because I wanted to just talk my shit for no apparent reason? Yes.

If you’re doubting your own gender like I was, if you feel like you’re faking it, like you’re an imposter to yourself and the people around you, I promise you that it’s going to make sense eventually. It might not be this year, or the next, but you’ll find something that’ll work. You’ll have that moment of finally being able to breathe, of that euphoria of finally not feeling alienated for something you can’t control anymore—no matter how long it takes, it will happen. And you’ll find people who’ll understand, who won’t get upset with you for being confused. There’s millions of people on this earth, and no matter how much your brain tries to convince you, there is always a group of people, no matter how small, no matter how unrepresented, that feel the same. I feel the same.

#max talks #HEYO!! #this was sitting in my google docs for months and i decided to post it finally #maybe one day i’ll stop talking about my gender #but today is not that day!! #and it might not be for years!!! #balls to the wall!! #lgbt #gay #trans #transition #transmasc #abrogender #nonbinary #multigender #genderfluid #if this doesn’t get any notes that’ll be embarassing #long post #really long post #gender fuckery is basically my brand at this point #is this even anything

[pcttrailsidereader]

The Ever-Changing Length of the PCT

The most recent edition of the PCT's "Trail Dirt" tackled the mystery of the PCT length . . . it has been a topic that has been a curiosity also explored on this website -- https://pcttrailsidereader.com/post/618834872879939586/it-looks-authoritative-and-permanent-but-the The midpoint looks so official but as this article explains, the length of the trail is constantly changing . . . hence moving the midpoint. However, the marker stays put.

Easy, 2,650 Miles, right? Well… not quite.

By Galen Keily

The question of the PCT’s length comes up often, with guidebooks, phone apps, and other sources across the internet offering varying figures. In recent years, PCTA has come a long way in better tracking and calculating distance. While we regularly reference the rounded figure of 2,650 miles as shorthand for the trail’s length, our current best estimate places it at approximately 2655.8 miles. It’s complicated because the length actually varies year by year, and homing in on highly accurate mileage for a trail that spans thousands of miles can pose significant challenges. We know that trail mileage matters a lot to PCT trail users. Read on to discover some of the complexities involved in determining the true length of the PCT.

Northern Terminus, Photo by: Ryan Weidert

It Moves!

Sometimes, the trail gains a mile or two, or sometimes, the trail shaves off miles (you’re welcome thru-hikers!) You might be thinking… how does this happen, isn’t the trail already on the ground? While true, PCTA, alongside managing agencies and dedicated trail crews, continually refines and optimizes the trail’s route. These efforts range from minor adjustments to larger-scale relocation projects aimed at enhancing the overall trail experience. For instance, routine maintenance often involves realigning sections of the trail to improve sustainability, such as adding switchbacks or adjusting trail tread within the existing corridor. These alterations might end up making the trail a bit longer or shorter, typically on the order of hundreds of feet. Pretty small potatoes when looking at a trail that crosses thousands of miles. Other times, the PCT undergoes bigger relocation projects based on a process called Optimal Location Reviews (OLR). These relocations can be significant and can take years to complete. These projects aim to relocate the PCT to a location better suited to providing a natural setting, scenic beauty, and safe public access, among other things. As a result of these projects, the trail’s length may fluctuate by several miles. But they also end up making the trail safer and more enjoyable for all.

The Sierra Buttes Relocation – Old decommissioned PCT shown in dashed black line, current PCT in maroon.

What’s so hard about miles?

Calculating distance across such a large geographic extent is challenging. Even minor inaccuracies that are repeated hundreds of thousands of times compound errors, resulting in significant discrepancies in overall mileage. For example, if each point in our PCT dataset were off by 1ft, the margin of error would be over 200 miles. Additionally, the translation from a three-dimensional Earth to a two-dimensional map necessitates “projecting” data in GIS (Graphical Informational System) software, which can introduce different types of accuracy loss. However, advancements in technology offer us promising avenues for improvement, such as using LiDAR (laser scans of the earth) to more precisely capture and map changes to the trail.

A little bit about the data

PCTA’s current iteration of PCT mapping data is built upon data that was donated to the organization from the Halfmile Project. You may have heard of Halfmile, he and his team are kind of a big deal. The resulting data from this project’s multi-year effort was the best, most accurate data for the PCT of its time. Volunteers in the project mapped thousands of miles of trail with survey-grade custom and commercial GPS units and spent tremendous amounts of time analyzing, processing, and curating the results.

Halfmile, using his iPhone to control the Long Distance Geo Logger. The blue GPS unit is in the lower black side pocket of his pack. You can see coiled cable right above it.

Building on this legacy, PCTA now builds upon that same highly accurate data from Halfmile, revised to account for re-routes and trail reconstruction that have happened since PCTA assumed control of the data. We maintain our PCT Centerline (the line data for the trail’s location) and Mile Markers (points every tenth or half mile), with new versions released on an annual basis, usually in January. The data is displayed on our Interactive Map and made available on our PCT Data webpage, freely available for download in a variety of formats. By fostering an environment of transparency and accessibility, we empower trail users, app developers, and agency partners alike to utilize this standardized dataset, facilitating seamless communication and navigation along the trail.

Graceland takes an emotional moment at the Northern Terminus after an adventure of a lifetime. Photo by: James Townsend

Conclusions

As we continue to monitor changes, refine our modeling of the PCT, and offer it to users in new ways, we realize that our data remains imperfect. Digitally representing the complexities of the natural world always is. Despite this, the Association’s renewed prioritization of data management, built upon the invaluable foundation set by the Halfmile project, marks significant progress in this work. We recognize that our path toward data accuracy is ongoing and that we’re by no means at the finish line (approx. 2,655.8 ), but we’re always improving, collaborating, and working to celebrate the intricacies of the PCT in this unique aspect of our work.

Author: Galen Keily

#midpoint #2650 miles #length of PCT #trail re-routes

[gender-void-partially-stars]

could you explain (as briefly or detailedly as you feel like, i'm just curious) what makes a flag better than another flag other than just a general like or dislike for the design? like how does one design an effective and "correct" flag? what makes some flags bad? i've been in so many different art and design classes and whatnot and have never learned about this but it interests me!!

oh my god absolutely. buckle up lol

so the main purpose of a flag in general is to symbolise something, in this case a country. a good flag should be something people can rally around. the most important factor there is if people actually like the flag (its not a hideous eyesore). but beyond that, there are a couple general rules that help flags stay unique and accessible so everyone in that country/state/organization/etc. that it represents will be happy with it.

First you have to think about where flags most commonly are: on flagpoles. a flag should not be designed to be seen from five feet away, it should be designed to be seen from hundreds of feet away. in that vein, it has to be simple.

heres the flag of panama and kentucky for comparison. panama’s flag is simple and neat, while kentucky’s flag has lots of little details that are hard to make out even on a phone screen

Secondly, you are not going to be seeing a flag on a flagpole straight on like these images. they will be fluttering in the breeze (AT BEST) and a portion of the flag will be obscured. you know what that means? NO TEXT. you cannot read shit if that flag is flying in the wind, even if you’re on the right side of it so the text isnt backwards. if the wind isnt blowing then youre out of luck

on the left is the german flag, which even if you didnt know was the german flag, you can still tell what it looks like. three stripes, black red yellow. on the right is the flag of illinois, which is trying to tell you its the flag of illinois but you cant tell because that text on the bottom is unreadable.

thirdly, for the purposes of being a good rallying icon, its good to use symbolism representative of what the flag is for

i dont really have a bad example here because this is subjective but on the left is the flag of new mexico. the red sun symbol is a puebloan symbol representing the native peoples who lived in whats now new mexico for thousands of years and the yellow background is for spain, who owned the land before the us took it. on the right is the flag of chicago, with two blue stripes represent lake michigan and the chicago river, and the red stars represent four major historical events

a lot of people will also say that you should only use two or three colors in a good flag but i think you can make more work, even though it might be harder

indonesia’s flag, on the left, is a flag with two colors that i would say isnt great (its almost identical to the flag of monaco, which existed already at the time indonesia chose theirs) and on the right is the flag of south africa, which is a flag with lots of colors that i would consider to be a good flag

all of that is to say, if you want to make a good flag, model it off an existing country flag. those are generally the best flags out there because they have the most pressure to be a good flag. most people who live in a country they’re proud to live in love their flags (theres a reason the us flag is so strongly associated with extreme patriotism!). The same cant be said of most states, as a lot of state flags have detailed designs and text, and especially cant be said of cities. i showed the chicago flag earlier because its one of the few city flags in the us that gets actual usage outside the government. chicagoans are proud of their flag as they should be and if youve been to chicago, youve seen the flag. they put that thing everywhere, from backpacks to water bottles. now to top it all off here are some of my personal favorite flags from around the world

left: the flag of barbados (i love the color scheme and the trident is a perfect stylized symbol) middle: the flag of yabucoa, puerto rico (a rare flag that uses purple, as well as having a pretty unique design) right: the flag of maryland, usa (a controversial pick, but its distinctive and marylanders wear it with pride (often literally))

#insomsniac