The Antitower

>Customer is angry that we disabled his card

>calm him down because it is a security measure

>We had to block his card because he spent 5k on Genshin Impact at 4AM and almost drained his entire bank account

>The instant we unblock his card he spends 200 more dollars on Genshin Impact

really made it seem like we’re fucked and there’s no way to do anything to make video games better for people

like we’re all just fucked forever

They are intentionally going after people who have these types of behaviors and exploiting it, and creating it in people who didn’t have it before by making the games look absolutely fucking amazing and giving them just enough to make them want more.

“Lilo and Stitch” 2002

Deleted Scene

I desperately need to understand

WHY

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY

Was this scene cut from the movie??!!

Fucking christ, do you know what this would have done? What this would have meant to SO MANY people??  The truth of this is devastating. And to think it almost found it’s way into a DISNEY film??

The inclusion of this scene alone would have made it the greatest animated feature the company ever produced. Easily. And if you think that’s hyperbolic clearly you don’t understand.

My eldest cat is almost 15, she has had NO health problems for a cat her age, her paws are perfect she has had no pain in them. Same with my other two babies.

My vet did stitches and we used the special litter. Contrary to what you’d be led to believe declawing is a common surgical procedure done under anesthesia and if done correctly, there will not be any lasting effects. It is just like any other surgery: there are some risks from the anesthesia and blood loss, but most of the times and if done by a competent veterinarian, there are no lasting effects from the surgery. Contrary to some opinions, declawing is not likely to drastically change their behavior or personality, nor does it necessarily predispose him to future behavioral problems. On the other hand, it creates a more rewarding experience between cat and owner because you don’t have to scold kitty all the time for clawing inappropriately.

Another pro-declawing is when rough-housing between kitty and another pet results in a scratched cornea and the risk of the other pet (my dog) losing an eye. The choice for the owner then becomes either to declaw or give up a cherished and loved pet, so it is pretty obvious here what the most humane choice would be. A person that decides to declaw his/her cat should not be vilified, instead encouraged to give the cat a home and love as long as the cat lives. 

If you check the internet, you can find one of those sites about the “horrors” of declawing a cat. They have pictures of an actual surgery of declawing a black cat. I have two things to say… Despite many warnings of how graphic the pictures are, there is not much blood to see. This proves that the declawing surgery is not as bloody as described, and even when the pictures where taken by an anti-declaw vet tech which most likely attempted to make the surgery look a gory as possible. Second, I can see where all the horror stories come from. This surgery was done very poorly. Using a nail clipper to remove the claws is a procedure that is not done very often anymore. It can leave bone splinters behind and the possibility of nail regrowth. The procedure done most often involves an incision behind the claw and continuing against the bony structure until the last digit falls away from the paw using a scalpel (called disarticulation method). This method does not break any bone and insures that no bone splinters are left behind and that there is no possibility of nail regrowth.  You can see  that the claw is removed carefully and would only remove the claw along with the distal phalanx (the bone where the claw is attached to) as shown on the picture below. In the pictures presented in the anti-declaw website part of the middle phalanx is being crushed.

The above is an image of what actually declawing looks like.

Declawing is also recommended to be done to cats before they turn 2 years of age and to be done the same time as spay/neuter. Some vets also put an anesthetic block in their paws so they won’t feel pain when they wake up. And they heal very quickly! It is recommended also by vets that you only remove their front claws because the back ones are important in their grooming and god forbid if they did get outside.

So yes, declaw your kitty @lepetitselkie just make sure you research your vet first to find out what kind of procedure they do. Just like with any surgical choice the doctor is key.

Okay, so there’s two different topics to dig into here: the science and the ethics. Let’s start with the science, because that’s easier to break down while I try to stop raging internally.

Here’s a much more detailed image of what the inside of a cat’s paw actually looks like, because the one embedded above leaves out some rather important details.

Okay, so what you’re looking at here is the cross-section of a toe with the claw retracted. Cats walk digitigrade, meaning that their weight is borne entirely on the toes rather than on the internal bones of the foot. The last bone that the claw is attached to is called the distal phalanx (plural: phalanges). You’ll notice that there are two tendons and an elastic ligament attached to it. For a cat to be declawed, that bone must be removed, which means all three of those connective tissues must be severed.  That’s going to impair mobility even after it heals (tendons work because of their attachments) and that’s incredibly painful.

Here’s an image of a cat’s paw actually bearing weight. Notice how, because cats walk digitigrade, literally all of it’s weight is on the distal phalanx? Cats walk with all of their weight on the bone that declawing removes. Look at the position of the middle phalanx - it’s perpendicular to the ground and not in an orientation to bear weight comfortably in the slightest. When you declaw a cat, that’s the bone they’re left to put all their weight on and it’s understandably uncomfortable. It’s possible to help cats adjust by leaving part of the distal phalanx in the paw, but that a) means cutting the bone in half and having it heal and b) risks claw regrowth out of the bone and through the extant soft tissues.

At one teaching hospital, between 50%-80% of cats had post-surgery complications. Numbers from other studies vary - the ones cited on the declawing wikipedia article provide a decent sample range, and the complication rates were: 24%, 53%, 1.4%, 82.5%, 51.5%, 80%. All over the place. Reported medical complications include: pain, hemorrhage, laceration of paw pads, swelling, reluctance to bear weight on affected limb, neuropraxia (transient motor paralysis), radial nerve damage, lameness, infection, abscess, tissue necrosis, wound dehiscence, incomplete healing, protrusion of 2nd (middle) phalanx, claw regrowth, scurs (growth of deformed claw segments), retention of flexor process of third phalanx, chronic draining tracts, self-mutilation, dermatitis, lethargy, palmigrade stance (walking on wrists), chronic intermittent lameness, chronic pain syndrome, flexor tendon contracture, and cystitis (stress-associated bladder inflammation).

Long-term lameness is common, but also understudied. One review of related studies reported long-term lameness in 1% of cats, but another with a different sample size and source found that 13.6% of cats showed at least mild lameness long after healing (source).

Chronic pain in declawed cats is incredibly hard to assess. It hasn’t been well studied, cats are cryptic (quiet) when in pain, and most owners are notoriously bad at accurately identifying or reporting behavior in cats that indicates pain. That doesn’t meant that we have evidence that most declawed cats aren’t in pain - there’s just literally no data. We do know that there are frequently observed avoidance/pain behaviors such as walking oddly, not stepping on litter or similar surfaces, paw shaking, and paw biting that correlate highly with cats who have been declawed. Claw growth and arthritis from being declawed are obviously painful chronically.

Okay, so there’s your science. Now let’s talk ethics. In fact, here’s an anecdote for you.

My father’s toenails destroy bedding like little demons. No matter what he does, how much he clips them, how short they are, his toenails will inevitably shred the bottoms of sheets pretty quickly. It’s annoying as hell and my mother keeps mending the sheets or buying new ones when it gets too bad. Now, tell me, should she have the last joints of his toes amputated because it’s an inconvenience she doesn’t want to deal with? Of course not. She knew when she married my father that it would be something that came with the territory and she accepts that fact. Sounds stupid, right?

Voluntary onychectomy is, when simply put, the amputation of a cat’s weight-bearing digits for the convenience of the owner. Most people cite the reasons they declaw cats as behavior problems (scratching furniture) or aggression towards humans. Both of these problems are entirely resolvable through management and/or appropriate training with a little bit of effort on the part of the owner(s).

When you declaw a cat, not only do you put it through an entirely unnecessary, painful, and potentially traumatizing procedure, you forever remove from it the ability to engage in all of it’s natural behaviors. The simplest natural behavior is just walking on it’s feet correctly. Evolution creates certain physical structures for their specific efficacy and when you lop off your cat’s toes for your own convenience you forever force it to walk in a way that is unnatural for it. You also remove it’s ability to scratch, climb and stretch.

I do not believe that people should be allowed to have pets if they are not prepared to handle what comes with them. Scratching and using their claws for communication are natural behavior for a cat and therefore should be assumed as part of the price to pay for the luxury of cohabitating with one. If you’ve accidentially encouraged claws-out aggressive play or if you’re pushing your cat so far past it’s comfort zone that it keeps scratching you, that problem is entirely on you. If you’re declawing your cat because you prioritize the state of your furniture over the cat then you don’t deserve the luxury of getting to own a cat. If you need to mutilate an animal to make it fit into your life, don’t get the goddamn animal.

I have said this a million times and I will say it again:  If you want a pet whose welfare you are willing to sacrifice for your own ease of care, you are not responsible enough to own any living creature. As sentient beings who make the conscious choice to take on the care and welfare of a living creature (or six), it’s an ethical imperative that we provide the highest quality of welfare possible even no matter what the expense or time investment required.

It’s entirely possible, as we’ve shown numerous times on this blog, to use planning and appropriate management to eliminate the irritations that come with a cat having and using claws. Cats can be trained to play without hurting, humans can learn to read cat body language, claws can be clipped or dremeled as an entirely positive experience, and soft-caps can be applied. All it takes is time, dedication and forethought.

So, @fat-and-nerdygirl, it is for all of the above that I am appalled that you are actively advocating for unnecessary declawing procedures. This girl does not appear to have any of the severe medical conditions that would make it vaguely acceptable to consider declawing for her safety. It’s simply that her cats are being cats - that’s the only problem. You’re advocating she put her pet through an unnecessary surgery for basically no reason when she’s already found a much more appropriate solution and is implementing it correctly.

More importantly, I am pissed that you are spreading misinformation while advocating for accurate research. Many of your ‘facts’ are flat out wrong. Nail-clipper declaws are still incredibly common, awfully enough. Declaws do not always heal fast - most studies report lameness still present after 8 days and sometimes even up until two weeks after surgery. Just because a voluntary procedure is common does not mean it is good for the animals or ethically okay.

Now, look, I understand. You have four cats who have been declawed and at the moment they don’t appear to be having any issues. It sounds like you did do your research to find someone to do the surgery whose skills and techniques would provide the highest rate of success for your cats. I’m not going to attack your choice to declaw them because at this point it would be moot and I don’t know what your reasons were for making the choice at the time you did. I understand how, after putting four animals through that procedure, it can be incredibly hard to hear newer research come out that indicates that declawing isn’t great for them and questions the ethics of doing so. That’s rough on any pet owner, wondering if you made the right choice for the animals whose care you’re entrusted with. That’s enough to cause anyone to defend their choices more heavily - it’s a pretty common type of cognitive dissonance. But please, please stop spreading misinformation and backing it up with phony requests for ‘better research’ and misleading diagrams. I’m glad your cats are doing well post-surgery, and I sincerely hope they reach the ends of their lives without any complications surfacing.

Not all cats will be as lucky as your four cats.

Some cats will be declawed and forever live walking on bones that were never meant to be in contact with the ground or support weight that way. Some cats will develop claw shards or infections or arthritis. Some cat owners will be devastated to find out that they caused their babies to suffer by choosing what has been touted by peers as a ‘simple, safe, elective surgery’.

Giveaway

I had promised to do a giveaway at 1k followers, but had hit medical bills and pushed it aside until I hit 1.5k. I'm just shy (1455) and figure now is as good a time as any. And since many are short money for bills and food during a pandemic, I'm changing things up.

1st: $30 cash (Paypal)

2nd: $20 cash (Paypal)

3rd: $12 equivalent item of choice from Mog Station

Rules:

1)Must be a follower, new followers welcome, of course!

2)Reblog with a pic of at least one of your OCs.

Will be ending this Apr 3 12 PM CST, so there is a little more than a week to enter. Thank you for following me!

The Starlit Café is celebrating its grand opening in February! We here at the Starlit Café seeks to provide a family friendly environment that is both casual and refined, where those from all walks of life may gather to enjoy one of our unique tea blends or a bite to eat, and a bit of conversation among friendly company.

To kick off our grand opening, we will be having a Charity Dating event in honor of Valentione’s Day! All coin and proceeds from the event will go towards the café’s expenses with a 35% cut going to the lucky date! This is meant to be a fun and social evening for all involved. A more detailed reading of the event and its rules of engagement can be found here!

So join us on Saturday, February the Fifteenth (15th) at 7:00 PM CST in the Goblet, Ward 1, Plot 56 in the café downstairs. We look forward to seeing you there!

Any questions can be directed to the proprietor  Arthas Rice@Balmung or you can contact Arthas on discord ( Cipher 15#5555 )

the fact that most of the rest of the time he’s going around with his doublet unlaced to show his cute embroidered undershirt (i looked up if it had a specific name in tudor fashion and like it does it’s called a chemise which im used to meaning ‘women’s underwear’ for most of modern fashion history, and chemises don’t often have embroidery and embellishments because like, they’re not meant to be seen, altho it’s not uncommon for wealthier people)

he’s essentially wearing the equivalent of the unbottoned shirt to show a cute lacy bralette underneath

Categories:

艸 Major Arcana - Significant moments in your character’s history

･ω･ Court Cards - Significant people in your character’s lifestory

★ Pentacles - The material world and everything tangible within

ー☆* Wands - The spark of life; creation, passion, the emergence of something new

◥█̆̈◤ Cups - Emotions, feelings, secrets, past, future

━━╋⊂ Swords - The sharpness of mind, mental states, thoughts, opinions

Major Arcana:

0. The Fool - when you first created your character, what did you originally envision for them?

I. The Magician - have you followed through on your original vision for your character? Are they as they were when you first began?

II. The High Priestess - has your character ever ignored their conscience?

III. The Empress - what is the most important thing your character has ever made?

IV. The Emperor - has your character ever broken the law?

V. The Hierophant - what is the most important lesson your character has learned or still needs to learn?

VI. The Lovers - have your character’s heart and mind ever been at odds with one another?

VII. The Chariot - what is the most important message your character has responded to and/or ignored?

VIII. Strength - is there a moment your character has ever had to fight for something or someone?

IX. The Hermit - has your character ever isolated themselves knowingly?

X. Wheel of Fortune - has your character ever endured abject misfortune? Have they ever experienced euphoric bliss?

XI. Justice - has your character ever knowingly wronged someone?

XII. The Hanged Man - what is the most signficant thing your character has had to sacrifice?

XIII. Death - what kind of transformation(s) has your character gone through? If multiple, which is the most significant?

XIV. Temperance - when, if ever, has your character had to compromise?

XV. The Devil - has your character ever been addicted to a certain behavior or substance?

XVI. The Tower - what is the most traumatic thing your character has had to endure?

XVII. The Star - how did your character develop from their past trauma?

XVIII. The Moon - what is the most significant secret your character has discovered?

XIX. The Sun - what was the most significant “truth” your character has had to reveal?

XX. Judgment - what moment in your character’s life history matured them the most? Their “coming of age” so to speak.

XXI. The World - what is the greatest achievement your character has accomplished?

Court Cards

Page of Pentacles - the most reliable and practical youth your character knows.

Knight of Pentacles - the most stubborn adult your character knows.

Queen of Pentacles - the most organized/chill woman your character knows.

King of Pentacles - the most business oriented man your character knows.

Page of Wands - the most adventurous and eager youth your character knows.

Knight of Wands - the adult with the shortest attention span your character knows.

Queen of Wands - the sexiest woman your character knows.

King of Wands - the most romantic man your character knows.

Page of Cups - the most creative and sensitive youth your character knows.

Knight of Cups - the adult most pre-occupied with finding love your character knows.

Queen of Cups - the most deceitful woman your character knows.

King of Cups - the most mature man your character knows.

Page of Swords - the most thoughtful/intellectual youth your character knows.

Knight of Swords - the most impatient adult your character knows.

Queen of Swords - the most independent woman your character knows.

King of Swords - the most analytical man your character knows.

Pentacles

★ Ace of Pentacles - how has your character grown since their conception?

★ Two of Pentacles - has your character ever ‘dropped the ball’ on something important?

★ Three of Pentacles - does your character work well in teams?

★ Four of Pentacles - is your character financially stable?

★ Five of Pentacles - has your character ever endured poverty?

★ Six of Pentacles - does your character accept help from others?

★ Seven of Pentacles - what tests your character’s patience more than anything?

★ Eight of Pentacles - does your character have a craft that they work on?

★ Nine of Pentacles - is your character luxurious or ascetic?

★ Ten of Pentacles - in what aspect of your character’s life are they the most rich? Emotionally, physically, spiritually?

Wands

ー☆* Ace of Wands - from where do you derive inspiration for your character?

ー☆* Two of Wands - has your character ever had to make a tough decision between two choices?

ー☆* Three of Wands - do you have any long-term plans for your character?

ー☆* Four of Wands - what was the most recent celebration your character took part in?

ー☆* Five of Wands - what was the most recent conflict your character was involved in?

ー☆* Six of Wands - is your character considered a role model for anyone they know?

ー☆* Seven of Wands - has your character ever had to make a stand for something they believe in?

ー☆* Eight of Wands - how quickly has your character ever resolved an issue?

ー☆* Nine of Wands - what was the most recent instance of your character keeping their guard up?

ー☆* Ten of Wands - what is the heaviest burden your character has had to shoulder?

Cups

◥█̆̈◤ Ace of Cups - has your character made any new friends lately? New love interests?

◥█̆̈◤ Two of Cups - what was the most recent instance of someone showing your character a lot of emotional support?

◥█̆̈◤ Three of Cups - when was the last time your character partied with their friends?

◥█̆̈◤ Four of Cups - how indecisive is your character?

◥█̆̈◤ Five of Cups - when did your character experience the most significant feeling of loss in their life history?

◥█̆̈◤ Six of Cups - describe your character’s childhood in as little or great detail as you prefer.

◥█̆̈◤ Seven of Cups - how does your character view dreams?

◥█̆̈◤ Eight of Cups - has your character ever had to cut their losses and move on from a bad situation?

◥█̆̈◤ Nine of Cups - when was the last time your character felt on top of the world?

◥█̆̈◤ Ten of Cups - what family memories does your character hold dear?

Swords

━━╋⊂ Ace of Swords - what is the most recent problem your character has had to solve?

━━╋⊂ Two of Swords - has there ever been a time your character has ignored their emotions in favor of logic?

━━╋⊂ Three of Swords - what was the worst betrayal of trust your character has ever experienced?

━━╋⊂ Four of Swords - has your character ever taken a vacation?

━━╋⊂ Five of Swords - what is the harshest thing your character has ever said?

━━╋⊂ Six of Swords - how does your character deal with pain? Emotional, physical and/or mental pain.

━━╋⊂ Seven of Swords - what is the worst instance of your character being manipulative?

━━╋⊂ Eight of Swords - who is your character’s harshest critic?

━━╋⊂ Nine of Swords - what is the worst nightmare your character has ever endured?

                                     H  O  L  Y        S  H  I  T

Hi, hello! I don’t even know where to begin honestly. 600 is a lot of people and I’m clueless as to how to properly express how awesome it is that all of you follow me and enjoy the aesthetics, as well as Az being mostly unpleasant. Seriously, this is rad. You’re all amazing and delightful and it’s obviously time for another giveaway.

You can like and/or reblog all you like, but I’m only counting one. Just don’t spam your followers!

FIRST PRIZE

Whatever you’d like off the mog station adding up to $30, though if you’re a dollar or two over, I’m willing to be lenient. This will go to 2 randomly selected people.

SECOND PRIZE

Whatever you’d like off the mog station adding up to $20, though if you’re a dollar or two over, I’m willing to be lenient. This will go to 2 randomly selected people.

THIRD PRIZE

Whatever you’d like off the mog station adding up to $10, though if you’re a dollar or two over, I’m willing to be lenient. This will go to 2 randomly selected people.

Did I just copy/paste all that? Yes. And I was gonna just end it after the vibrant crying dolphin, but I do wanna thank some people for being delightful.

This Calls For a Raffleeeeee!

Seriously, thank you all so much for following and giving me such much support/advice/suggestions with the language barrier i have!

I made over the years some Friends through this platform i always think off, even when we do not write with each other on a daily base @toxiccreed​ , @taioshiro​ , @fracturedfantasia​ and many many more. Thank you for enduring all my shitposts and crazy things i write!

Also thank you to those, who love my scaled little bleps!

Now, lets see what i offer this time!

1. Prize: A Mog Station mount of your Choice!

2. Prize: A Stormblood Story Boost! (Cause we all love SB, do we? ..)

3. Prize: A Job Boost of your Choice!

4. Prize: A Mog Station Glamor Outfit of your Choice

Depending on the amount of people, i might add one or two prizes on top! So make sure to reblog this post, to allow everyone having a chance seeing this!

To take part in the raffle, you need to fill out this form:

 >> Here << !!

Reblogging is not a must, but very appreciated!

You must Follow also my blog to partake, no giveaway blogs please!

The Raffle ends on January 31th!

Ilm = Inch  Fulm = Foot (12 Ilms)  Yalm = Yard/Meter (3 Fulms)  Malm = Mile (1760 Yalms)

 Onze = Ounce  Ponze = Pound (16 Onzes)  Tonze = Ton (2,000 Ponze)

 Bell = Hour (1 Hour in game time = 2m 55s in real life)  Sun = Day (24 Bells)  Sennight = Week (8 Suns)  Fortnight = 2 Weeks (16 Suns)  Moon = Month (32 Suns)  Year = Year (12 Moons)  Epoch = 12 Years or one full Zodiac.

 Astral Era = Time when mankind builds up his civilizations. (Seem to average 1000-1500 years.)  Umbral Era = Time when mankind tears down his civilizations. (Length of time varies greatly.)

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=13330  (main post) I highly recommend looking at the #5 post by Sounsyy!