Notes of the Cosmic Detective

Just me blogging. Pro Jedi Order. Pro Timeless Child. Pro Kataang. Pro Maiko. Pro MCU for the most part more to add when I feel like it .

[bumiofomashu-yap]

Going down the Carpathia and Titanic rabbit hole again.

If you didn’t know, on the night the Titanic sank, it sent out many distress signals. One of the ships that received them was the RMS Carpathia.

The Carpathia was asleep. Her wireless operator, Harold Cottam, had ended his shift and shouldn’t have been listening in. Luckily, he was. He caught a message from Boston, MA stating there was traffic on the wireless for the Titanic. He decided to be helpful and reach out to tell them. He received a distress signal back, and rushed to tell the bridge. They were skeptical, and didn’t really believe him. This is the Titanic, you know? Largest ship, marketed as unsinkable, etc. He rushed the message to the captain since he wasn’t being taken seriously, and woke him up. The captain, Arthur Henry Rostron, after being convinced of its legitimacy, rushed to answer the call.

The Carpathia was 58.22 nautical miles away (107.82km), with a top speed of 14 knots. This put the expected time of arrival 4 hours out.

They arrived in three hours. The top speed reached was about 17 knots. They’d turned the heating and hot water off to make as much steam as possible, and doctors were set to wait for the influx of injured. He sent out a message to the Titanic, telling them they’d be there in 4 hours, and left the airways clear for her distress signals. Going faster than possible in the ship, and dodging the very same ice that had brought the Titanic to heel in the first place, they made it to the site of the Titanic after she had sunk, and saved as many as they could.

To put the speed and effort into perspective, the odds of them reaching the Titanic when they did is like a normal everyday sedan winning an f1 race. The engine was tearing itself apart. Fourteen knots was do or die, last resort speeds. The engineers were covering gauges and physically holding valves closed to keep the pressure needed.

Even the passengers assisted, handing out clothes, food, and warm drinks as the survivors were rescued. The Carpathia decided to bring the survivors to New York City, the original destination. They were speeding there at their original top speed of fourteen knots, and the Carpathia was never able to reach that speed again.

They knew they were going to fail. They knew that they wouldn’t make it in time. The fact that they pushed so hard for so long, nearly breaking the laws of physics to help other people in need has always been amazing to me. There’s something so incredibly remarkable about the sheer desperation they had to help those survivors.

[transattacks]

not seeing a lot of people on here talking about ICE murdering another man yesterday. His name was Lorenzo Salgado Arajou. He was a Mexican man living in Huston Texas. He was killed at age 52 and lived the past 35 years here in the USA, and was in the process of obtaining a work permit. He was shot and killed during a traffic stop that ICE claims was part of a targeted operation, and claimed he was “weaponizing his vehicle”- the same claim ICE agents made when they shot and murdered Renee Good.

During the stop, Lorenzo had 3 coworkers with him in his truck who have all been taken into ICE custody.

His family described Lorenzo as a hardworking family man who didn’t deserve to be killed. All he wanted was to provide for his wife and see his sons become great people. His eldest son recognized his father by his cries and pleas when trying to identify who the victim was.

The Salgado Araujo family has set up a gofundme to help with funeral and legal costs, and to help keep their family supported since Lorenzo was the sole provider.

Donate to In Loving Memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52 Years Old, organized by LULAC Institute, Inc.

On the morning of July 7, 2026, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was ta… LULAC Institute, Inc. needs your support for In Loving Memory of Lorenzo Salg

[curoopeez]

I don't want my cellphone to have AI I want it to have 3 days of battery time. I don't want my computer to have AI preinstalled I want it to have seven usb ports and high ram at affordable price. I don't want my games to have AI built levels I want them to be so optimized I could run them on a nokia.

[pantserspen]

How to Fix Underwriting

1. Slow down at emotionally important moments.

Big emotions need space to land. If a scene feels rushed, pause the plot briefly to show how the moment affects the character.

2. Add reactions, not explanations.

Instead of explaining what a character feels, show it through physical responses, hesitation, or small actions that reveal emotion naturally.

3. Ground every scene in the senses.

If a scene feels thin, add one or two sensory details—sound, texture, smell, or temperature—to make the moment feel lived-in.

4. Let thoughts interrupt action.

A line of internal thought can deepen a scene without slowing it too much. Thoughts show stakes, fear, longing, or conflict beneath the action.

5. Expand consequences, not events.

You don’t need more things to happen—you need to show what matters. Focus on how events change relationships, decisions, or self-perception.

6. Strengthen setting where emotion peaks.

The environment should echo or contrast the emotion of the scene. Setting is not decoration—it’s emotional reinforcement.

7. Add specific details instead of general ones.

Underwriting often relies on vague language. Swap “they argued” for one sharp line of dialogue or a specific breaking point.

8. Let dialogue breathe.

Short dialogue exchanges without pauses can feel flat. Add beats—silence, gestures, interruptions—to give the conversation weight.

9. Show transitions between scenes.

If scenes jump too quickly, readers feel disoriented. A brief transition helps establish time, mood, and emotional continuity.

10. Clarify stakes early in the scene.

If readers don’t know what can be lost, scenes feel empty. Make sure the character wants something specific and fears losing it.

11. Use the “what are they feeling right now?” check.

After each major beat, ask what emotion is dominant in that moment. If it’s missing on the page, the scene is likely underwritten.

12. Expand scenes that feel “too clean.”

If a scene resolves too neatly or quickly, it probably needs more tension. Messy emotions and unresolved feelings add depth.

[astrodidact]

[intheheartofman]

[wonderwanda]

I reblogged this yesterday, but I want to reblog it again. Diabetic ketoacidosis turns your blood acidic and will essentially burn you from the inside out.

The stories you hear of people dying from rationing, this is what happens to their body.

Affordable insulin isn’t just a right, it’s a necessity.

No one should have to die like that when it’s preventable with access to proper medication.

[mkthedingus]

First two to die in the apocalypse btw

[nikkoliferous]

So anyways, when are we going to stop collectively pretending that Loki put the idea of going to Jotunheim into Thor’s head?

Thor already wanted to invade Jotunheim. He proposed as much in the Vault and immediately got shot down. That was well before Loki ever said two words to him. Which is why literally all it took to convince him to defy Odin was for Loki to essentially say, “yeah, you’ve got a point.” If Thor is that easy to sway, thank god Loki stopped delayed his coronation because holy shit. Low impulse control and a violent streak are a dangerous combination for anyone, let alone the most powerful person in the Nine Realms—which is what Thor was about to become.

[iamanartichoke]

@nikkoliferous How could you hide all these truth bombs in the tags?

#sorry i just grow really tired of this ‘loki convinced thor to confront laufey’ narrative#no THOR convinced thor to confront laufey#i know it’s not readily apparent sometimes but thor does have his own brain#he’s capable of making his own decisions#loki at no point even suggests going to jotunheim#thor does suggest it—entirely of his own accord#and yet somehow it’s STILL loki’s fault that they go#the logic astounds me#furthermore#if thor wasn’t ready to be king#and no one else was willing to do anything about it#then loki was right to act on his convictions#and if thor is that easy to goad into pursuing the worst possible course of action#which i remind you he initially came up with ON HIS OWN#you certainly can’t make the argument that he *was* ready to be king#there’s no logic by which you can argue that going to jotunheim is a good idea when thor proposes it#but a bad idea when loki ‘proposes’ it#that means if you genuinely believe loki did convince thor to go to jotunheim#you’re almost by default affirming that loki did the right thing by disrupting the coronation in the first place#-insert regina george ‘so you agree?’ meme here- lol#ok ok i’m done#this has just been weighing on me for several days now#and that idiotic ‘12 times loki backstabbed people’ graphic just reminded me of it all over again#loki meta#loki#thor critical#thor (2011)#mcu#topic: loki’s motivations

[nikkoliferous]

#loki meta#loki pokey artichokey#literally what happened:#loki: ‘you’ll have your special day eventually’#thor: ‘i wanted it NOW’#loki: :/#thor: 'the jotuns have a lot of goddamn nerve coming into MY kindgdom and ruining MY coronation. i hate them and they should pay’#loki: 'well you can’t do anything about it. father won’t allow it’#thor:#loki:#thor: 'you’re absolutely right loki we need to go to jotunheim to confront these monsters’#loki: 'i did not even remotely say that’#thor: 'it is decided! we leave at once!’#loki: tf???#also even if you agree that loki meant to pressure thor into going to jotunheim#if all it takes to get thor to do a Really Fucking Dumb Thing is#a smidgen of reverse psychology#ie loki being like 'oh no. stop. don’t.’ a la willy wonka#then is that really the kind of person who is ready#to rule an entire kingdom?#apparently so if you ask the w4 and heimdall and everyone else who committed treason to get thor back from banishment#but that’s another argument#anyway#tag rambles

@iamanartichoke um, excuse me, but you literally do not have any room to complain about people hiding things in the tags 🤣

[junflower123]

[fvlter]

I was gunna put this in the tags but it’s a lot. When i first started going through the process of getting a diagnosis, i was labelled with ODD. I immediately took issue with this, it seemed like an unfair diagnosis based entirely on the session the psychiatrist had with my parents (which mostly consisted of “my child is being really difficult on purpose”), and Hoo Boy when i tell you ODD immediately strips you of your ability to call out anyone on anything, that would be an understatement. I couldn’t even disagree or bring up my concerns about the validity of MY OWN DIAGNOSIS without it being labelled as oppositional defiance. Whenever i displayed any negative emotion the “treatments” did so much more harm than good. When you label someone as ‘defiant’ (ugh), when that word is put on their medical record, that person is never allowed to complain about anything again. Knowing that POC are disproportionately affected with this diagnosis makes me feel sick, i can only imagine what’s being swept under the rug as someone just being “defiant to authority”, not even just in the medical field but as justification for police brutality and mass incarceration. When i say medical racism kills people, this is what i mean.

[noodle-the-queen]

this is so fucking important. reblog.

[earhartsease]

[bonchobrick]

prompt idea where bad guys kidnap Captain Marvel and put him under a truth serum live on television. JL are desperately searching for Marvel's location while watching, fearing Marvel's livelyhood will be put at stake! but then...

Villain approaches Marvel with a smirk, "Tell me big red cheese, where do you live!"

Captain Marvel, "Oh dude im homeless!"

And literally like the interogation ends as quickly as it started because WHAT

--

villain: "wait so you... where do you sleep...?"

billy: "Outside, nice ol' comfy concrete."

villain: "Dont you have like.. a job?"

billy: "Does heroism count?"

villain: "....No."

the villain doesn't even continue cause he feels bad like damn end of broadcast dude.

[currentlyjaywalking]

Billy stared down the camera lens. This was fine, this was so totally fine and he wasn’t even a little bit screwed.

The overhead speaker crackled to life, “The serum should be in full effect now. Just to be sure, what is your name?”

“Captain Marvel,” Billy answered immediately, reflexively, and worst of all— despite his attempts otherwise— truthfully. No this was still fine, there was still a way around this because despite the truth serum running through him he was still able to say Cap’s name instead of Billy’s. Saying he was Billy in this form would kind of be a lie anyway, right? So any other information about Billy should be easy to keep secret too, right?

Right. Totally fine. Not screwed.

“Good, good. Now I know the obvious question to ask, but what can I say? I savor a big finale. Gotta give the whole world time to tune in before I go for the kill, so to speak. Let’s narrow things down a little though, what does the good old Captain do for a day job?”

“Umm, this?” Heroics is Cap’s day job, and night job, and every time before, after, and in-between job.

“I don’t believe this counts, I’ll ask again. What is your job, outside of heroics, Captain?”

“I don’t have one then.” Billy might, but that was clearly a direct question to Marvel.

“You don’t—, you must be wealthy then to not work, is that right?” Billy couldn’t help the bit of laughter at that.

“Ha! No, not even a little.”

The voice faltered, “So you’re telling me that you— the world’s mightiest mortal— are flat broke?”

“Yes.”

“How do you afford a place to live?” More laughter, this must be some kind of side-effect.

“I don’t!”

“You… don’t. You don’t? What do you mean you don’t? You have to live somewhere, where do you live Captain?”

“Fawcett.”

“I meant something a little more specific than that.”

“There’s this one abandoned subway tunnel in Fawcett I stay at a lot. I wouldn’t call it living there, exactly.”

“Your base of operations, perhaps? I’m asking for your home here, not your HQ. Where do you live?”

“Fawcett.”

“Where in Fawcett do you live? An address?”

“None?”

“Are you fighting my serum? This shouldn’t be possible.”

“I’m not. I just don’t have a home address, I’m homeless.”

“You— you’re— sorry, homeless?!”

“Yes. Is that a question? Yes, I’m homeless. Can I go now?”

“No! No, you cannot ‘go now’— let me get this straight. You have no job and no place to live.”

“Well, not exactly.” Darn it, Billy was included in that “you”.

“Not exactly? You just told me— how are you fighting my serum?”

“I’m not! It’s just that I have a job.”

“Not heroics.”

“No, I know we established that.”

“Did you just get hired in the past twenty seconds? You already said you don’t have a job.”

“No, I said Cap doesn’t have a job. I have a job.”

“But you are Captain Marvel.”

“Yes.”

“So you don’t have a job.”

“No.”

“This is unbelievable, next you’re going to tell me Who is on first, aren’t you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it. I don’t know who’s on first.”

“No, Who is the name— it doesn’t matter. What is your job then, Captain?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You just said—! You just said that you did! What is your job?”

“I work in radio.”

“So you have a job in radio?”

“Yes. That’s what I just said.”

“But you also just said— so are you actually homeless?”

“Yes, I’m actually homeless, why would you ask me that?”

“Oh sorry! Maybe it’s because you’re employed by Schroedinger’s cat!”

“I’m not, I’ve only met the guy once.”

“What?”

“The cat, I only met him once. He’s not my boss.”

“I can’t deal with this. I can’t do it. Forget the dramatics, forget the viewership, what is your real name?”

“Captain Marvel.”

“Not that one. What is the name of the person who has the job?”

“I’m not sure, there are a lot of people with jobs?”

“Your name!”

“Captain Marvel.”

“The you that has the job, that name! What is the name that is written on the checks at your radio job?!”

“My boss doesn’t write me checks? I don’t have a bank account.”

“The name! When you’re not Captain Marvel— what is that name?!”

Billy opened his mouth to speak when a huge crash sounded from the speakers. A moment later he heard Batman’s voice on the other end.

“Excellent job stalling while we traced the signal, Captain.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“We’re discussing your housing situation later.”

Billy sighed, “I expected as much.”

[bonchobrick]

prompt idea where bad guys kidnap Captain Marvel and put him under a truth serum live on television. JL are desperately searching for Marvel's location while watching, fearing Marvel's livelyhood will be put at stake! but then...

Villain approaches Marvel with a smirk, "Tell me big red cheese, where do you live!"

Captain Marvel, "Oh dude im homeless!"

And literally like the interogation ends as quickly as it started because WHAT

--

villain: "wait so you... where do you sleep...?"

billy: "Outside, nice ol' comfy concrete."

villain: "Dont you have like.. a job?"

billy: "Does heroism count?"

villain: "....No."

the villain doesn't even continue cause he feels bad like damn end of broadcast dude.

[kalajorn]

Villain: Tell me you're at least getting enough food. You look like you're getting enough food.

Billy: I'm almost always hungry, but that's okay I'm used to it! I think the last time I was full was when I found half a pizza in a dumpster a couple weeks ago. It wasn't even moldy!

There are several GoFundMe's to get Captain Marvel a house and food by the end of the broadcast.

The villain lets Marvel go, but not before he gets the hero some fast food, then goes somewhere to rethink his life.

[sluglover666]

Hot take, but even if you ARE punching up (instead of punching sideways at a group that is in the same boat as you), there's a limit to what you can say without sounding like a violent facist but woke this time.

Making fun of a group of people that are privileged over you is one thing, but wishing non-cartoonish violence and death on them ("they should fall off a cliff" vs. "they should be wiped out"), wishing sexual violence on them, dehumanising them, claiming that they're less capable of creating art or living meaningful lives, saying that their relationships are inherently shallow and fake - these things are fucked up. I understand venting and saying extreme things when in pain, but when you find yourself regularly posting about wanting certain people tortured and killed, you need to examine that.

When the only thing stopping you from completely dehumanising someone is your own judgement regarding their privilege level relative to yours, you are not a safe person to be around.

[darkladynyara]

[emfrots]

"convince your followers that their Oppressor Class (whether real or imagined) is less deserving of human rights" is the oldest and most reliable trick in the book to incite mass violence, and you're not immune to it because you're a Good Person with Correct Opinions. you will continue to be a potential breeding ground for fascist thought until you stop dehumanizing people in any context, regardless of whether they deserve it or not, or how serious you are. there can be no acceptable targets.

[standwithdaanes]

Rwandan genocide - Wikipedia

The Rwandan Genocide: From Colonial Roots to a Contested Future - Explaining History Podcast

In the spring of 1994, the small African nation of Rwanda was engulfed in a maelstrom of violence that saw at least 800,000 Tutsi and modera

I always think of the Rwandan Genocide when it comes to this. Thank you for bringing it up.

In particular, from that second link:

As we have already seen in this series of articles, Rwanda’s ethnic division between Hutu (around 85 %) and Tutsi (around 14 %) had deep roots in colonial rule. Under Belgian administration, identity cards fixed ethnicity as a rigid category, and the Tutsi minority was favoured for education and government work. After independence in 1962, this hierarchy inverted, and Hutu elites consolidated control. [...] When RTLM launched in July 1993, it combined pop-culture style with extremist ideology. This hybrid made hatred sound normal, even entertaining. Music, jokes, gossip, and death threats co-existed in the same broadcast. [...] RTLM’s language fused entertainment with ideology. It mocked Tutsis as arrogant “cockroaches” (inyenzi), accused them of conspiring to enslave Hutus, and encouraged listeners to “work” to eliminate them—a euphemism for killing. Humour, music, and familiarity disguised the lethal message.

[brainscrems]

“Anything goes as long as it’s punching up” is also the central tenet of antisemitism. Leftists think Jews are the ultrawhite ruling class, worst of the worst of whiteness, and conservatives think we’re a race secretly controlling the world and pretending to be white as a plot to bring down the white race. People who believe the latter are in charge of the US government rn. The nature of antisemitism is that we serve as a misdirect for the people with real power. Whatever issues you care about, people in power will find a way to blame the Jews. I cannot remember the exact quote or who it’s from, but I will paraphrase it anyways. Depending on who you ask we’re communists, capitalists, nationalists, rootless cosmopolitans, white, least white, liberals, conservatives, fascists, anarchists, or whatever other “existential and powerful” threat one may believe exists. But what we never are to these people is human. We’re the monsters who hurt them and so it’s okay to hurt us. The truth doesn’t matter, of course, because they aren’t actually afraid of us. We’re just a safer and easier target, and the lie that hurting us is dangerous and makes a change is easier than the hard truths and dangers one must face to fight real power. As Jean-Paul Sartre said, “If the Jew did not exist, the antisemite would invent him.” Because it is not about the truth, but having a comforting lie that you can make positive change through abusing the vulnerable.

[phoukanamedpookie]

Remember Audre Lorde, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."

Are you dismantling the system or just taking it over?

[vampireautism]

there is an IMAGE in my HEAD and i cannot DRAW IT. hatred and rage.

[flowerflamestars]

there is a CONVERSATION in my HEAD and I cannot WRITE IT. rage and hatred

[ocean-stuck]

there is a VIDEO in my HEAD And i cannot ANIMATE IT. hage and ratred

[y2kbugs-moved]

There is a GAME in my HEAD and I cannot CODE IT. Ratred and hage.

[unscharf-an-den-raendern]

there is a SONG in my HEAD and I cannot COMPOSE IT. haged and rate.

[gender-luster]

there is a MOVIE in my HEAD and i cannot FILM IT. raged and hate

[yahooo-official]

there is a CRAFT in my HEAD and i cannot BUILD IT. snage and snatred

[the-haiku-bot]

there is a CRAFT in

my HEAD and i cannot BUILD

IT. snage and snatred

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[mysticaltora8276]

I just realized something. Sutekh could’ve worked better in reality war…. Hear me out. There’s that hole under other whatever world where supposedly legends become bigger than the actual thing it’s representing right? So why not that? Would’ve made sense and it would’ve not cheapen the ending of the pyramids of Mars….. why is it that I a casual maybe not casual but why is it a fan who has very little experience with screenwriting and writing professionally and becoming up with better ideas and then the actual freaking former show-runner?

[sfa-dailies]

Leading with confidence and comfort.

startrek / 22 January 2026

[mysticaltora8276]

I have no problems with this position, but that can’t be comfortable on that chair. You know if you’re going to do that I would personally modify the chair to where it doesn’t look like it’s going to cut off circulation or very sharp things and places that I don’t want to poking in.

[electronicdinosaurgladiator]

I think it fully depends on if the edges are padded or not. I totally have sat this way on multiple chairs and it’s a great position to crack my back unless ☝️it has a metal edge than fuck that chair

[mysticaltora8276]

I think it has a metal edge that’s why I’m saying that looks uncomfortable to me personally

[sfa-dailies]

Leading with confidence and comfort.

startrek / 22 January 2026

[mysticaltora8276]

I have no problems with this position, but that can’t be comfortable on that chair. You know if you’re going to do that I would personally modify the chair to where it doesn’t look like it’s going to cut off circulation or very sharp things and places that I don’t want to poking in.

[praetyger]

All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened? All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe.

She's been dead for half the lifetime of the universe. If you tried to change that, you could fracture Time itself. Doctor, Lord President, are you really going to take that risk?