#Anti-Tangs

[mmangopudding]

[ghostorbz]

Forgot to post this

[darkesttimelinesblog]

I think the fairly oddparents’s biggest missed potential is not being fully serialized like developing side characters, having story arcs, expanding Timmy and trixie’s relationship/story, fixing Cosmo and Wanda’s marriage, etc etc.

[acearohippo]

I'm pretty sure Li Ling knows that Tang Yun has a very... Toxic... Thing on his brother. To me it reads heavily as inc*stuous but that's due to all the media I've consumed ruining so many sibling relationships that now I'm uber sensitive to that sort of thing.

Regardless, I think we all can agree that Tang Yun is not in a healthy mindset, especially with how he obsesses over Tang Xuan.

And I put forth this theory that Li Ling is aware of how Tang Yun feels and, as such, is protective of Tang Xuan, who does not- can not- see it.

First of all, it is clear that Tang Xuan and Li Ling talk to each other a lot. Not just in person but on the phone ("communicator") all the time. We have a few stories where, when one is mentioned the other is also brought up or where one is, the other is somewhere near.

For the purpose of this theory, we will focus on the communicator, as we see that Tang Xuan doesn't necessarily text often (probably too busy for it, lmfao) but does use the social app. Li Ling seems to be the first to notice that Tang Xuan is MIA, just by the fact that he doesn't answer his calls.

Look at the time stamps of Li Ling's messages.

There are huge gaps of time between his first three messages, before Tang Xuan replies to him when he gets his phone back. And, after Tang Xuan responds, Li Ling's message comes in 2 hours later, talking about some "weak ass miramon".

Fine. Sure.

But if you go over to the social media app, you see this post from Tang Yun:

Lemme preface by reminding y'all this is my personal theory on the order of events, as this app doesn't have any convenient time stamps (:/), but I think we can assume this message comes hours before Tang Xuan gets his phone back.

Two questions pop up:

1. How does he know Tang Xuan is "missing"?

2. Who is accusing him of abducting Tang Xuan?

Tang Xuan then responds to him- maybe after he makes his "I'm not dead!! :P" post, maybe before- and after that is when he gets this message from Tang Yun:

Again, take note of the time. This is well after Tang Xuan has replied to Li Ling, about 8 hours later. I believe that in between his reply to Li Ling and Tang Yun's text, he posts his "I'm still alive!! Cx" social media post,

which then alerts Tang Yun that his brother isn't missing which then prompts his text.

Ok, we all on the same timeline now? Good. THEORY TIME.

I propose that Li Ling (Who is accusing him of abducting Tang Xuan?), not receiving any response from Tang Xuan for near 24 hrs, sent him on a warpath to who he assumes is the most likely culprit of the impromptu dissapearance- Tang Yun.

Li Ling and Tang Xuan talk all. The. Time. Li Ling absolutely knows that, in his previous mission, Tang Xuan came face to face with his brother. And Li Ling probably knows about how Tang Yun admitted to how he would monopolise the one he loves' time and attention, keep them to himself. Tang Xuan probably spared no details going through the entire mission.

Li Ling probably picked up instantly that Tang Yun was referring to Tang Xuan as that "someone he loves" and, remember, this mission takes place not even a week after the Crow one, so it's still fresh in Li Ling's mind, the words Tang Yun said about keeping his loved one to himself. And now Tang Xuan is missing...?

Yeah, I think he went straight for Tang Yun, got pissed (and probably a bit relieved) when he realised Tang Yun did not kidnap Tang Xuan, and then went off to try find him himself, taking on hoards of miramon (enough that he would miss a respond from Tang Xuan by two hours) much to the worry of Lewis and their friends. Then Li Ling tried to play it off for a bit, acting like he was just doing normal union things except Lewis explicitly says that he was actively trying to calm "everyone" down.

Lewis?

Calming people down?

Dude gets fired up at the drop of a pin... Except when someone is in crisis mode, and from his like FIVE CAMEOS (freaking dislyte, give us more Lewis pleaaase) we only really see him act level headed when he's with Tang Xuan and Li Ling.

So, methinks Li Ling might've tried to rally the troops to find Tang Xuan, Leora- an obvious choice as she's a living bishoujo heroine- probably got caught up in the dramatics of it, David and Q too (simple minded David just always ready to be there or be square, Q sniffing a potential story) etc etc. So they're all just psyching each other up and/or out so now Lewis has his crisis that he can take charge in and de-escalate.

Meanwhile, Tang Yun now knows that his brother is missing (How does he know Tang Xuan is "missing"?) and I can only guess how pissed off he got, his mental stability taking a swan dive into the Marianas Trench of all the possibilities of where his brother could be and scenarios where he would keep him by his side, so that this could never occur again. Hence the very aggressive threat (promise?) that he would hogtie Tang Xuan for his own good if this were to occur again.

The fact that he uses the word hogtie is very disturbing and, for those that aren't sure what that looks like, here's an as SFW-as-tying-people-up-can-be demonstration I could find of it

We are going to ignore the NSFW implications, and just focus on the vulnerability this position puts a person into.

This is the kind of messages Tang Yun sends his brother.

This is the kind of imagery he wants to put his brother in.

And Li Ling knows. He freaking knows and is probably one of the few espers who caught on that something was off with Tang Yun.

And Tang Xuan is

So

Damn

Oblivious ヽ(`д´；)/

Like damn, boy, I understand, he's your brother- that's just NOT something a healthy sibling would ever imagine their sibling would do or think or act. But by golly, could you maybe just focus on what he's saying rather than picking out the most inconsequential, insignificant parts? 😭 Bro is ignoring every red flag and siren.

[qiralync]

Karai: Your master killed my mother!

Leo: *doesn't believe her for obvious reasons*

~~Later~~

Leonardo: Karai, you're whole life is s lie, your real name is actually Miwa and my master who you believe killed your mother is actually your real father, I brought no proof for my claim, I just need you to believe me despite us being enemies and having ruined your trust before.

Karai: *Doesn't believe him for obvious reasons*

Leonardo:

[thechildbesuffering]

Tang: Hey... Monkey King? I didn't mean to mess up your training, but all that "You're nothing" talk was really freaking me out. MK: Did Tang Sanzang make you feel like you were nothing? Wukong: Master made me feel... like I was... everything. Wukong: I see now, how deeply you care about each other. That will make you both great knights! Wukong: MK is practically an expert, so Glasses, you have a lot of catching up to do. Oh, I’m so excited! I can’t wait for the midair and underwater dueling exercises, Oh it’s going to be boodles of fun!

[thegetdownrebooter]

in too much birthday ken has a sign at the party that actually says "the notorious ken ready to die" but sure he secretly listens to mitski my bad.

[neverreallythoughtaboutthefuture]

Happy New Year!!!

There are now officially only 12 days left to enjoy "Pacific Rim" as a movie portraying "futuristic events"!!!

Important dates to add to your calendar!!!

Between January 1 and January 8, 2025:

Striker Eureka is decommissioned from active combat.

Category IV Kaiju, Mutavore, breaks through Anti-Kaiju Wall and is killed by Striker Eureka, thus proving the Anti-Kaiju Wall ineffective.

Stacker Pentecost recruits Raleigh Becket for breach assault.

Raleigh Becket arrives at the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

Pilot tryouts with Raleigh Becket begin proper.

Raleigh and Mako nearly destroy the Shatterdome during their first attempt at drifting together in Gipsy Danger, prompting Stacker Pentecost to ground her, and inform Raleigh that he would be paired with another co-pilot.

January 8, 2025:

Double Event.

Newton Geiszler drifts with a Kaiju brain.

Category IV Kaijus, Leatherback and Otachi, emerge from the breach and attack Hong Kong.

Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha, and Striker Eureka are deployed.

Crimson Typhoon is destroyed and the Wei Tang brothers are killed by Otachi.

Cherno Alpha is destroyed and the Kaidanovskys are killed by Leatherback.

Striker Eureka is incapacitated by Leatherback's EMP, and Herc Hansen's arm is broken.

Since Gipsy Danger is analog and the only Jaeger able to withstand the EMP (don't ask! I didn't quite get that part!), Stacker finally agrees to let Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori co-pilot her in the field.

Stranded with an unresponsive Jaeger, Herc and Chuck Hansen decide they should do something really, really stupid climb on the top of the head of Striker Eureka and shoot at it with flare guns. For the record that was Herc's dumbass idea!

To absolutely no one's surprise, the flare guns do absolutely no damage to the Kaiju whatsoever, and they only manage to piss Leatherback off but still look badass doing it!

Gipsy Danger is deployed and saves Herc and Chuck Hansen 's sorry asses.

Chuck Hansen is revealed as a secret Gipsy Danger fanboy.

Leatherback and Otachi are killed by Gipsy Danger.

Otachi's baby Kaiju is born and dies via strangulation by umbilical cord during pursuit of Newton Geiszler.

January 12, 2025:

Triple Event.

Category IV Kaiju, Scunner and Raiju emerge from the Breach.

Since Herc Hansen is unable to co-pilot Striker Eureka with his son, Stacker Pentecost decides to take his place in the conn-pod.

Stacker Pentecost launches "Operation Pitfall", an assault involving Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka on the Breach.

Category 5 Kaiju, Slattern, emerges from the Breach.

Raiju is killed by Gipsy Danger.

Striker Eureka self detonates thermonuclear bomb near the Breach, killing Scunner and a bunch of fishes and badly wounding Slattern.

Slattern is killed by Gipsy Danger.

Gipsy Danger uses Slattern's dead body as a "bar code" to grant them access to the Anteverse through the Breach.

Raleigh Becket sends Mako Mori to safety in her escape pod after she loses consciousness upon entering the Anteverse.

Raleigh Becket arms Gipsy's nuclear reactor to self-destruct, destroys the Breach, and narrowly manages to escape the Anteverse through his own escape pod before the Breach collapses.

Herc Hansen stops the War Clock!

[darkesttimelinesblog]

Timmy and trixie both deserved better. (And each other)

Like, Timmy went from a mischievous yet good hearted average kid who wishes for his life to be better into a selfish kid who only cares about his wishes.

And Trixie went from a rich, popular, privileged girl who has a good heart and a secret tomboyish side into, well… a rich bitch! Don’t get me started on how the writers destroyed the potential of the couple in season 4!.. but that’s for another day.

Point is, These two have the biggest character flanderization in fairly odd history and I never forgive “bitch fartman” for that.

[bohbee]

Brothers reacting to MC randomly hugging them!

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor

Warnings: Charging? Scaring? Lmao thats like it

Notes: I hope you guys like this, there will be one for the Dateables though I do not know when, could be in an hour, could be in a month lmao

Masterlist

Lucifer

Lucifer had just finished with his work, so you decided to visit him. His eyes laid attentively on his DDD as he stretched his back. He stood up, clicking his DDD off only for his ruby irises to glare at the door. "Who's there?" His voice was slightly stern, yet the exhaustion was heavily visible.

You silently giggled to yourself and waited on the wall beside the door quietly, waiting for him to open the door. "I am not falling for your pranks." You inwardly snorted 'Wow the Anti-Luci league really did him some damage....' You thought to yourself. However, your thoughts were quickly interrupted by a heavy sigh and loud footsteps. The door swung open, a dark aura emitting from the room.

His left leg carefully swooshed the outside air, and he then took a step out. 'Now!', your body charged towards his, his eyes widening. Before he could react, your arms latched onto his waist. You squeezed softly, pressing your face into his chest, not daring to look up. A soft chuckle was heard, he then hoisted your body up in which he gained a yelp from your pretty little mouth.

Lucifer walked back into his room and closed the door, not letting go of you. "My my, MC. Did you really have to be so suspicious over a hug?" He finally let you down and peered into your eyes. "Of course I did!" You said with a heavy smile. His lips softly pushed up. It wasn't often that someone could give him such calm, happy emotions, you though? You did it each time.

Mammon

Mammon sat on his couch counting the Grimm he just successfully made, soft music was playing in the background as his mumbling of numbers could be heard. You snuck into his room carefully treading down his stairs trying not to alert the Greedy Demon. Finally, you made it down the steps, and you tiptoed behind the couch and observed him.

Your eyes watched him as he smiled softly, his knee bouncing happily as he counted his well-deserved cash. He was invested in his own world, even if you were to make a noise, he probably wouldn't hear it. 'Perfect time' you thought to yourself as he sat down his bag of Grimm getting ready to grab another.

You flung your arms around his shoulders, hugging him awkwardly from behind, he let out a deafening screech and thrashed around before tossing you forward to the other part of the couch. Earning a loud 'Umph' from you.

"OI STUPID HUMAN! I COULDA HURT YA" he yelled at you his hand grasping his heart, you giggled at him. "Heh, I got you pretty boy" you pounced the blushing demon into a hug yet again, "Pfft course you'd wanna hug The Great Mammon..... don't let go."

Leviathan

The two of you were gaming late in the night, trying to defeat this seemingly impossible level. No words were spoken the only noses that could be heard was the game, the controllers, and the annoyed grunts. That was until Levi killed the final boss, the screen lit up blue "Accomplished" was shown in big letters. The two of you sat there, eyes wide like a bug, and completely stunned.

"FUCK YEAH LEVI YOU'RE SO COOL" You shouted out of nowhere before yanking him into a death grip of a hug. The purple haired demon poofed into a red balloon, his body tensing up heavily. "Y-y-you really w-wanna touch an ug-" you stopped his self-deprecating words by squeezing him tighter. "Levi...... The great otaku...... THE AMAZING AVATAR OF ENVY..... if you don't stop with those words and hug me, I will steal a Ruri figurine." Almost instantaneously, his arms wrapped around you, his body shaking slightly.

The two of you sat like that for a while, his body finally relaxing. Soon enough, sleep overwhelmed your senses, and you laid off in the dream realm in your crush's arms. His tangerine eyes focused on your form. A small smile and a HEAVY blush overwhelmed his features, he then closed his eyes and joined you in the amazing world of dreaming.

Satan

You were walking alone in the Devildom (HOW DARE YOU?!) when you turned your head and spotted a familiar blonde male in the cat cafe, you smiled softly to yourself and walked in the cafe. "Hey Satan" You waved at him, his attention pulled away from the kitten and he smiled at you. "MC? What are you doing here?" his green eyes glanced around to see if someone was around, only to meet yours with a disappointed look. "Oh don't give me that look Satan, I was bored and luckily I found my favorite demon."

You sat down beside him, and started playing with the kitten in front of the two of you, "Say how about after this.... we go to the bookstore?" You say without turning your gaze away from the cute kitted that was rolling around. His eyes sparkled in love, a rare genuine smile plastered his face, "I would lov-" he was cut off by you suddenly ingulfing him.

"Suprise cat attack hug!" You exclaimed, in between the two of you was the adorable kitten. Satan hugged you back, making sure not to smush the little troublemaker. "You always know how to fluster me, my dear."

The two of you soon left the cafe and walked to the bookstore.......... did I say two of you? Ah, well. I meant three. You, Satan, and the new whisker member of your cat family trotted along the path to the store.

Asmodeus

You sat down in the front row, eyes locked on the stage. Today was the day that marked a beauty contest in the human realm, and you were not going to miss out on your favorite demon strike a pose. Music started playing and many stunning people walked out on the stage but none of them compared to the shining beauty that Asmo was.

The competition soon finished and as expected he won first place, the crown dissipated quickly, leaving you looking around for the Avatar of Lust. "Mc~!" The soft tantalizing voice you knew oh so well said. You quickly whipped your head around and ran towards him, embracing his body quickly. "You did so good! Ah, it was truly beautiful!" You exclaimed.

The strawberry-blonde male let out a beautiful laugh and hugged you back "My my mc~, you keep on squeezing me like that and I won't be able to handle myself." He flirted, his arms tightened around you, and he placed hundreds of kissed on your face.

"Now my dear~, how about you give the first-place winner a congratulatory gift?" his peachy eyes peered into yours, his pupils dilated slightly as he looked at you with so much love and admiration.

Beelzebub

It was yet another restless night for you, your eyes focus on the leaves on your ceiling until shuffling from the kitchen grabs your attention. You slowly sit up and quietly walk out of your room, and towards the noise. As expected, the orange haired male made eye contact with you, his mouth filled with food. "Mphthee warf armph youm dphin upf" (Mc? What are you doing up?)

You smiled at him and walked over to his large form, you wrapped your arms around his torso and laid your head on his chest. One of his arms wrapped around your body as the other placed food in your proximity. "Want some?" he asked softly, cocking his head to the side curiously. You took a small bite of the food and smiled at him "missed you" you mumbled. Finally, your body felt rested as you leaned into the warmth of the nicest brother.

He smiled to himself and hoisted you up, grabbing some food before walking in your room. He turned around and plopped himself on your bed, the two of you laid like that for a while. After an hour of chatting sleep finally overcame your senses, your cheek was smushed on his chest. He pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of the two of you. Before, he himself, let sleep play through his mind.

Belphegor

The brothers were called to duty in the Human Realm leaving you to stay in the Palace with Barbatos. It was fun, definitely, though you missed your sleepy demon. The days droned on and on, until finally, the day where they were coming back finally hit.

You stumbled out of the guest bedroom and ran down the marble stairs, your eyes locking on the infamous avatars of sin. A large smile carved itself on your features as you launched your body on the navy-blue haired demon. You laughed loudly "Belph!" The poor demon tried to catch you though the amount of force in the hug brought the both of you to the floor. A large 'Oopfh' could be heard from the two.

Belphegor's purple eyes widened as he looked at you with shock "Mc?!" he lazily wrapped his arms around your figure, the rest of the brothers snickered and took photos. "Mm I missed you too..... lets stay like this." He said, his face burying itself in your hair (if you lack hair, I am sorry)

The two of you laid there, in the middle of the palace for hours just talking to each other and basking in each other's presence. Though a few hours later photos of the cute interaction would be ALL over Devilgram.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

[probablyasocialecologist]

It’s become a real challenge to keep up with every Palestine protest and action happening in this country, but I am going to round-up some of that have occurred in recent days in case you missed them. Over 75 activists shut down and blocked all entrances to Boeing Building 598 in Saint Charles, Missouri. The facility manufactures the Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs that Israel is using Gaza. “We are joining millions of people across the United States and around the world in demanding an end to Israeli’s brutal assault on Gaza and its decades-long occupation of Palestine,” said Ellie Tang, a member of the anti-war organization Dissenters, in a statement. “We urge Congress and Biden to hear the calls of millions of us living in this country, and push for a ceasefire. Until Congress blocks the bombs, we will.” After shutting operations down for 2 hours, the facility canceled its deliveries for the day. 500 protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) took over the Statue of Liberty’s platform, dropped banners, held a sit-in, and chanted for a ceasefire. “HAPPENING NOW AT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY: Hundreds of Jews and allies are holding an emergency sit-in, taking over the island to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. We refuse to allow a genocide to be carried out in our names. Ceasefire now to save lives! Never again for anyone!,” tweeted the organization. Oakland protesters blocked a ship from leaving its port for hours. The boat was headed to the Port of Tacoma to pick up arms destined for Israel. Hundreds of protesters are currently occupying that port and at least one worker is refusing to take the cargo after learning about its use. At a Get Out the Vote rally, Democratic candidate Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) was confronted by a protester calling for a ceasefire. “4,000 plus dead children in Palestine. 9,000 plus dead civilians, get off the stage. … Get off the stage. I don’t care … get off the stage,” he yelled before being escorted out of the building by police. Tens of thousands gathered in San Francisco to demand a ceasefire. “I can feel the momentum of it and that’s why we had to get out today,” one told the local CBS station. “My son’s in Trafalgar Square right now or he was earlier today. Same deal. People who just feel the injustice of the world.” A speech by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in New Jersey was interrupted by activists calling on him to back a ceasefire. He quickly exited the stage. Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse were disrupted at event by protesters calling for a ceasefire. Rep. Grace Meng was confronted by protesters asking when she will back a ceasefire. She remained silent and her staff told them, “There’s a time and place for this.”

[quitealotofsodapop]

Peach soup au. Do you think that after Peaches and Moon had their first big fight/argument they had nightmares about THAT fight?

OOooooooo!!

That hurts so good

Moon and Peaches have a fight after the shadow monkey realises that he himself is another de-aged superpowered monkey - except he's apparently a villain??? Or an anti-hero? Tang and the Bull fam tried their best to explain it to him the softest way possible, but the doubt still weighs heavy in Moon's mind.

Especially if a certain fish demon in his life is far older than he claims...

Peaches wants to understand why his best friend has put distance between them.

Moon: "You don't understand! You're literally a god! And I'm just some-! Some obsessive demon who tried to take your place!" Peaches: (*frozen stiff by Moon's words. His heart aches with despair and fury for reasons he cannot explain*) Moon, voice cracking: "I don't know who I am anymore, Peaches. Our friends, our babysitters... even my dad has been lying to me! I need to know why I got a second chance." Peaches, tries to grasp hands: "You don't need a reason for why you came back!" Moon: "Then why do you!?" Peaches: (*speechless*) Moon: "I'm sorry, I need to know.... Goodbye Peaches." Peaches, panicking: "Wait don't-!" Moon: (*sinks into the shadows, leaving without a trace*) Peaches, breaking down sobbing: "MOON PLEASE! I can't do this without you! Please....! I don't know who I am any more either..."

Even apart, they can't stop thinking of one another. Not just in their waking moments, but in their dreams.

Dreams where the words "obsessive demon" echoed through a cave. Dreams where staff and cudgel clashed. Dreams where they nearly tore apart Heaven, Hell, and Earth together twice over, first at each other's side and second face-to-face.

And while the pressure of the world increases on Peaches' shoulders - Moon takes the word of a smiling Thrall to heart...

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The surveillance advertising to financial fraud pipeline

Monday (October 2), I'll be in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab. On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.

Being watched sucks. Of all the parenting mistakes I've made, none haunt me more than the times my daughter caught me watching her while she was learning to do something, discovered she was being observed in a vulnerable moment, and abandoned her attempt:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/may/09/cybersecurity-begins-with-integrity-not-surveillance

It's hard to be your authentic self while you're under surveillance. For that reason alone, the rise and rise of the surveillance industry – an unholy public-private partnership between cops, spooks, and ad-tech scum – is a plague on humanity and a scourge on the Earth:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

But beyond the psychic damage surveillance metes out, there are immediate, concrete ways in which surveillance brings us to harm. Ad-tech follows us into abortion clinics and then sells the info to the cops back home in the forced birth states run by Handmaid's Tale LARPers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/29/no-i-in-uter-us/#egged-on

And even if you have the good fortune to live in a state whose motto isn't "There's no 'I" in uter-US," ad-tech also lets anti-abortion propagandists trick you into visiting fake "clinics" who defraud you into giving birth by running out the clock on terminating your pregnancy:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/15/paid-medical-disinformation/#crisis-pregnancy-centers

The commercial surveillance industry fuels SWATting, where sociopaths who don't like your internet opinions or are steamed because you beat them at Call of Duty trick the cops into thinking that there's an "active shooter" at your house, provoking the kind of American policing autoimmune reaction that can get you killed:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/us/swatting-sentence-casey-viner/index.html

There's just a lot of ways that compiling deep, nonconsensual, population-scale surveillance dossiers can bring safety and financial harm to the unwilling subjects of our experiment in digital spying. The wave of "business email compromises" (the infosec term for impersonating your boss to you and tricking you into cleaning out the company bank accounts)? They start with spear phishing, a phishing attack that uses personal information – bought from commercial sources or ganked from leaks – to craft a virtual Big Store con:

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise

It's not just spear-phishers. There are plenty of financial predators who run petty grifts – stock swindles, identity theft, and other petty cons. These scams depend on commercial surveillance, both to target victims (e.g. buying Facebook ads targeting people struggling with medical debt and worried about losing their homes) and to run the con itself (by getting the information needed to pull of a successful identity theft).

In "Consumer Surveillance and Financial Fraud," a new National Bureau of Academic Research paper, a trio of business-school profs – Bo Bian (UBC), Michaela Pagel (WUSTL) and Huan Tang (Wharton) quantify the commercial surveillance industry's relationship to finance crimes:

https://www.nber.org/papers/w31692

The authors take advantage of a time-series of ZIP-code-accurate fraud complaint data from the Consumer Finance Protection Board, supplemented by complaints from the FTC, along with Apple's rollout of App Tracking Transparency, a change to app-based tracking on Apple mobile devices that turned of third-party commercial surveillance unless users explicitly opted into being spied on. More than 96% of Apple users blocked spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

In other words, they were able to see, neighborhood by neighborhood, what happened to financial fraud when users were able to block commercial surveillance.

What happened is, fraud plunged. Deprived of the raw material for committing fraud, criminals were substantially hampered in their ability to steal from internet users.

While this is something that security professionals have understood for years, this study puts some empirical spine into the large corpus of qualitative accounts of the surveillance-to-fraud pipeline.

As the authors note in their conclusion, this analysis is timely. Google has just rolled out a new surveillance system, the deceptively named "Privacy Sandbox," that every Chrome user is being opted in to unless they find and untick three separate preference tickboxes. You should find and untick these boxes:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/how-turn-googles-privacy-sandbox-ad-tracking-and-why-you-should

Google has spun, lied and bullied Privacy Sandbox into existence; whenever this program draws enough fire, they rename it (it used to be called FLoC). But as the Apple example showed, no one wants to be spied on – that's why Google makes you find and untick three boxes to opt out of this new form of surveillance.

There is no consensual basis for mass commercial surveillance. The story that "people don't mind ads so long as they're relevant" is a lie. But even if it was true, it wouldn't be enough, because beyond the harms to being our authentic selves that come from the knowledge that we're being observed, surveillance data is a crucial ingredient for all kinds of crime, harassment, and deception.

We can't rely on companies to spy on us responsibly. Apple may have blocked third-party app spying, but they effect nonconsensual, continuous surveillance of every Apple mobile device user, and lie about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

That's why we should ban commercial surveillance. We should outlaw surveillance advertising. Period:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/03/ban-online-behavioral-advertising

Contrary to the claims of surveillance profiteers, this wouldn't reduce the income to ad-supported news and other media – it would increase their revenues, by letting them place ads without relying on the surveillance troves assembled by the Google/Meta ad-tech duopoly, who take the majority of ad-revenue:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

We're 30 years into the commercial surveillance pandemic and Congress still hasn't passed a federal privacy law with a private right of action. But other agencies aren't waiting for Congress. The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Divsision have proposed new merger guidelines that allow regulators to consider privacy harms when companies merge:

https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-2023-0043-1569

Think here of how Google devoured Fitbit and claimed massive troves of extremely personal data, much of which was collected because employers required workers to wear biometric trackers to get the best deal on health care:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/google-fitbit-merger-would-cement-googles-data-empire

Companies can't be trusted to collect, retain or use our personal data wisely. The right "balance" here is to simply ban that collection, without an explicit opt-in. The way this should work is that companies can't collect private data unless users hunt down and untick three "don't spy on me" boxes. After all, that's the standard that Google has set.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/29/ban-surveillance-ads/#sucker-funnel

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[xterier]

Ya, I get what u mean. I don’t know y they’d have Timmy run to Trixie after he gave into Tootie in “Love Stuck”. It was like Trixie was turning into Tootie but worse. A lot worse!

What's your opinion on Timmy×Trixie? Cuz I ship it and wanna know your thoughts on it

Are you sure you want to hear this?

Eh, it’s not my favorite ship. Trixie in herself doesn’t appeal to me a lot (I don’t really go for “judgmental popular girl” character types). Although, my heart softened after I read BookwormGal’s fanfiction, “Never Had a Friend Like Me”.

Chapter 11 in particular- this was the very first time it hit me that Trixie has experienced all those “near-kisses” and “almost-romantic-moments” with Timmy too, only to be rejected in favor of Tootie (“Love Struck”) or rejected entirely (“Emotion Commotion”). All of a sudden, it clicked for me. I like her more when I remember that she thinks Timmy has humiliated her.

But as for shipping them… No. No, I can’t. It’s kind of the abuse thing again- Timmy struggles to respect Trixie’s boundaries, sure. He still needs to learn that if she’s not interested, she needs space. But Trixie toys with him at times, coaxing him deliberately, so she’s a bit to blame for his ongoing affections too.

… I just have a hard time believing Trixie would ever actually go for Timmy in the first place, and be intrigued enough to stay with him. He’s a simpleminded soul from a very simple family. Can he really keep her entertained forever?

And we already got an idea of how the two of them dating would turn out in “Just the Two of Us”- Trixie required constant attention, to the point where she physically lashed out at Timmy because he wasn’t satisfying her enough.

Um.

Nope, nope, nope, there’s really nothing in me that can defend this ship.

Timmy’s getting anxious. He’s scared. Scared of the girl he’s in love with. He makes an excuse and takes off running right after this scene. That’s not good.

Sure, they’re children now, but take that to the next level and… No, no, it’s not a good situation at all. Just the thought of them being in a relationship makes me wince. I spy with my little eye so many problems that would require years of dedication and therapy to smooth over.

So yeah, if “Just the Two of Us” is how Trixie expects a relationship to be, she needs serious help. The problem doesn’t lie wholly with Timmy. She has an obsessive need to be told she’s pretty, and she clearly (at this point in time) has no qualms about being abusive to get what she wants.

He tried to chew his own arm off to get away from her! More than once. Um!

Um!

Yes, it’s a cartoon, and yes, cartoon physics/logic/humor are in play, but this does not look like a remotely healthy relationship to me.

So, no, I don’t ship these two. Personally, I prefer Timmy with Molly, who started out irritated with him, but had great character development during her six minutes of screentime, and even in the end initiated a hug with him (as well as a high-five specifically for him, and not for Dwight, despite Dwight being right there and attempting to get in on this high-five action; it was instinctive for her, even given how much she tries to avoid physical touch). If nothing else, I hope they’re long-distance friends, and meet up at Cupid’s parties and the Olympics to chat about their lives sometimes.

BUT! It’s not my job to tell people what they can and can’t ship. So even though it’s not my favorite pairing, I hope I didn’t ruin it for you! I’m glad you’ve found a ship you like! Nice! I mean, this episode was from awhile ago. Things can change- especially over the fifty years the timestream was frozen, right?

And with enough effort on both sides, they could make the relationship work eventually. It would just take a lot of time, and a lot of talk, and probably some counseling to calm Trixie down. But, if they want it badly enough, it’s possible. 

I myself just can’t imagine Trixie falling for Timmy when she could have anyone else, though.

[cinelestial]

Apple Music’s ‘100 Best Albums of All Time’ list:

#1. Lauryn Hill — The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

#2. Michael Jackson — Thriller

#3. The Beatles — Abbey Road

#4. Prince & The Revolution — Purple Rain

#5. Frank Ocean — Blonde

#6. Stevie Wonder — Songs in the Key of Life

#7. Kendrick Lamar — good kid, m.A.A.d city

#8. Amy Winehouse — Back to Black

#9. Nirvana — Nevermind

#10. Beyoncé — Lemonade

#11. Fleetwood Mac — Rumours

#12. Radiohead — OK Computer

#13. Jay-Z — The Blueprint

#14. Bob Dylan — Highway 61 Revisited

#15. Adele — 21

#16. Joni Mitchell — Blue

#17. Marvin Gaye — What’s Going On

#18. Taylor Swift — 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

#19. Dr. Dre — The Chronic

#20. The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds

#21. The Beatles — Revolver

#22. Bruce Springsteen — Born to Run

#23. Daft Punk — Discovery

#24. David Bowie — The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

#25. Miles Davis — Kind of Blue

#26. Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

#27. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II

#28. Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon

#29. A Tribe Called Quest — The Low End Theory

#30. Billie Eilish — WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

#31. Alanis Morissette — Jagged Little Pill

#32. The Notorious B.I.G. — Ready to Die

#33. Radiohead — Kid A

#34. Public Enemy — It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

#35. The Clash — London Calling

#36. Beyoncé — BEYONCÉ

#37. Wu-Tang Clan — Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

#38. Carole King — Tapestry

#39. Nas — Illmatic

#40. Aretha Franklin — I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

#41. OutKast — Aquemini

#42. Janet Jackson — Control

#43. Talking Heads — Remain in Light

#44. Stevie Wonder — Innervisions

#45. Björk — Homogenic

#46. Bob Marley & The Wailers — Exodus

#47. Drake — Take Care

#48. Beastie Boys — Paul’s Boutique

#49. U2 — The Joshua Tree

#50. Kate Bush — Hounds of Love

#51. Prince — Sign O’ the Times

#52. Guns N' Roses — Appetite for Destruction

#53. The Rolling Stones — Exile on Main St.

#54. John Coltrane — A Love Supreme

#55. Rihanna — ANTI

#56. The Cure — Disintegration

#57. D’Angelo — Voodoo

#58. Oasis — (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

#59. Arctic Monkeys — AM

#60. The Velvet Underground & Nico — The Velvet Underground and Nico

#61. Sade — Love Deluxe

#62. 2Pac — All Eyez on Me

#63. The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Are You Experienced?

#64. Erykah Badu — Baduizm

#65. De La Soul — 3 Feet High and Rising

#66. The Smiths — The Queen Is Dead

#67. Portishead — Dummy

#68. The Strokes — Is This It

#69. Metallica — Master of Puppets

#70. N.W.A — Straight Outta Compton

#71. Kraftwerk — Trans-Europe Express

#72. SZA — SOS

#73. Steely Dan — Aja

#74. Nine Inch Nails — The Downward Spiral

#75. Missy Elliott — Supa Dupa Fly

#76. Bad Bunny — Un Verano Sin Ti

#77. Madonna — Like a Prayer

#78. Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

#79. Lana Del Rey — Norman F*****g Rockwell!

#80. Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP

#81. Neil Young — After the Gold Rush

#82. 50 Cent — Get Rich or Die Tryin'

#83. Patti Smith — Horses

#84. Snoop Dogg — Doggystyle

#85. Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour

#86. Mary J. Blige — My Life

#87. Massive Attack — Blue Lines

#88. Nina Simone — I Put a Spell on You

#89. Lady Gaga — The Fame Monster

#90. AC/DC — Back in Black

#91. George Michael — Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1

#92. Tyler, The Creator — Flower Boy

#93. Solange — A Seat at the Table

#94. Burial — Untrue

#95. Usher — Confessions

#96. Lorde — Pure Heroine

#97. Rage Against the Machine — Rage Against the Machine

#98. Travis Scott — ASTROWORLD

#99. Eagles — Hotel California

#100. Robyn — Body Talk

[newkatzkafe2023]

@lara-legomonkiekid

Hello👋, I think this is the first time sending you an ask, I really like your blog and I have a question about something.

And if Y/N were a monkey like SWK's/Monkey King's, how would they react?

I imagine Y/N to be a very pretty white monkey with green or blue eyes (^w^).

I also wanted to know what their reaction would be like if they purred with Y/N or if Y/N started to purr🤔.

Do it if you want!☺️

Aww Thank you i'm glad you like it This makes me feel better about my whole blog🥰🥰 I will gladly answer your question.

You are (Y/N) a Monkey with white fur and Piercing blue eyes. You're pretty Well known for making Food that can heal diseases And fix injuries. Many would come to the very top of your mountain home to ask for your help, But the thing is, you are anti social and you don't like humanity or the demons. We were taking a nap 1 day when suddenly when a Something smacked into The tree you were sleeping in and you Wake up to see another monkey???

(LMK Wukong) He was stunned 😲 he has never seen anything like you. Your snow White fur and your navy blue eyes stared into his very soul. He was also quite perplexed, the only celestial monkeys,He knows of his himself and Macaque So imagine his shock to find us another one in fact a female one. You know exactly who this guy is The monkey king the great sage equal to heaven and all that bull crap, he already sounds annoying So without any word you quickly Kick them off your mountain. Unfortunately that didn't stop him from coming back. Over the years, he wore you down So you finally throw him a bone. And now you two have been married for god knows how long. Their was never a time where you and Wukong purred together as you Cuddle and you kissing him.

(Nezha Reborn wukong) This Guy harasses you something fierce it's been like this for years. With a beautiful Creature that stares at him like dirt on your boots He always comes by flirt and try to court you. Every time you kick him off your mountain he just bounces right back, he just couldn't take a hint. You're kind of glad he Didn't, Because your Marriage wouldn't be what it is today He loves head and chin Scratches because his purrs would be heard from all over the room Along with yours when you're Relaxing with him.

(Monkey Reborn Wukong) You to meet this A**hole when the monk Tang comes to you asking for your assistance for the journey. He's perplexed to find a female Celestial monkey, He'll never admit it but he thought your fur and eyes were kinda pretty. You of course rejected his Master's request and immediately told them to get off your mountain. Wukong didn't like that and demanded that you do what his master saids. Yeah, it did not take long for the exchange To get heated and you both throw hands And the most hilarious part is that He absolutely lost. that was the beginning to a very violent rivalry There was never a time where you were Both weren't yelling, exchanging insults or just full out fighting. Soon a violent fight led to a rather intense make out session before he froze and Dashed away from you something changed from there and soon enough you both got togethersure their was still fight but not violent like before. He'll tease you for purring but shuts up Immediately if he purred Too.

(Hero is back wukong) He may not show it but he was interested in you Appearance, he's never seen anything like you. Not only are you a female celestial monkey, but one with snow white Fur and sharp blue eyes. And it seems like you remind him of himself in a way. You don't socialize at all. He takes his time getting pass your walls and you two become friends and years later get married. I imagine his purrs are deep and that usually tell you that he's either relaxed or Sleeping

(Netflix Wukong) you never got along with the monkey Elders especially with how the ostracized a new monkey who Simply wants to fit in with them. That's right your the only one who befriend Wukong and stayed with him. Sure he was a handful but that's because he was literally brand new. He always like playing with your snow White fur and your eye always head comfort rather then Judgment you purr Quietly While He is also purrs rather loudly but that because you're always petting him

There you Go Feel Free to Reblog😇👍