#I normally can identify them and keep them from happening

[moisette]

I guess Adam is playing the PS2 version of DBD 8u

[evocaitart]

Happy Ace Week 💜 Here's your regularly scheduled reminder that asexual people belong in the queer community because WE. ARE. QUEER!

If you like my lil ace bunnies, I have them as stickers in my shop!

Being Ace is Not a Choice Asexuality ≠ Celibacy! Many Aces TRY to feel attraction despite being unable. This can make them feel broken, wrong, and confused. It can take young Aces many years of suffering before they finally figure out that their sexuality just works differently from others. Being Ace is Not Just Low Libido Aces have a range of libidos. Many have a low libido and abstain from sex, but others have high libidos and enjoy sex for a number of reasons. Libido is your sex drive; the urge to partake in sexual activities. This urge is separate from attraction, which is WHO you feel sexual desire for. Aces are Not Heterosexual Heterosexuality = “attraction to the opposite sex”. Since Aces do not feel attraction to ANY gender or sex, they don’t fall under this definition. This point requires some nuance because many Ace sub-labels (such as Demisexual) CAN experience attraction in a limited or fluctuating capacity. However, the way that these labels experience sexuality still falls outside of what heterosexual society deems as “normal” attraction and can cause compatibility issues in relationships with non-Aces. That being said, some Aces still choose to identify with the Heterosexual label if it resonates with them. You can be both Heterosexual AND Ace, but being Ace is not the same as being Heterosexual! Discrimination/Struggle Happens Many people claim that Aces do not experience any discrimination and thus they don't belong in the queer community. This couldn't be further from the truth. Corrective assault, “it’s just a phase,” getting called mentally/physically ill, “you haven’t met the right person yet” are just a few examples. On top of the blatant discrimination listed above, Aces also deal with other struggles in our very sexual society, particularly when seeking romantic relationships. Aces who are sex-repulsed struggle to keep their partners satisfied in bed. Likewise, non-Ace partners often feel rejected and uncomfortable with the notion that Aces don't find them attractive. This disappointment from their partners can weigh heavily on Aces and make them feel broken/wrong.

Thank you for coming to my Ace talk hehehe. If you're Ace I hope you feel validated. If you're not, I hope you learned something!

[outislovesgoobers]

PLEASEEEEEEEE MAKE THAT POST ABOUT GUSHING/TALKING ABOUT HECTOR I NEED IT REAL BAD. I HAVENT PLAYED THE DEMO YET WHAT DO YOU MEAN YB THE POSITION OF THE VENTS. OTIS. YOU CANT SAY THAT THEN NTO ELABORATE /lh

OH THANK GOD SOMEBODY'S FINALLY GIVEN ME AN EXCUSE OKAY-

AHEM you get another thesis. Smiles evilly. Spoilers ahead for the demo, obviously <3 ALSO NSFW, because... well it's kinda unavoidable w/ Hector, he's a bit of a freak KSJADKJ

EHEHEHEEEE OKAY I'M GONNA START W/ THE VENTS FIRST BC I FEEL LIKE THATS REALLY FUN, AND THEN SOME EXTRA RAMBLES AT THE END.

*pulls out a comedically long ruler* I have so far identified seven vents in the entire house, not limited to :

Across from your desk, where he can blink sweetly at you while you work,

Dining room - surprisingly none in the kitchen! Perhaps one of the few Big Rooms (tm) where there is not a vent,

Living room, where he cannot watch TV bc of the angle, but he CAN watch YOU watch TV AKSDFJAKSF,

Downstairs bathroom,

UPSTAIRS bathroom,

Home gym, placed sort-of-opposite the treadmill,

And of course, the bedroom, in a simply precarious position KJASDKASJDA

I will let you digest and process this as you will 🫡 godspeed soldier(s), this absolutely fucked me up when I first realized it. This little freak is almost inescapable, except for the kitchen and smaller rooms (closets, laundry room).

OKIE NOW I GET TO YELL SOME MORE ABOUT SOME OTHER STUFFS >:) EHEHE.

oughhhwobuoubuogurgurb <- dying. he feels so bad about accidentally making you feel bad w/ his weirdo reaction

This moment is just so sweet to me. He keeps going after, too, talking about how he will "Make up for that, (...) I will do so much for you, as I always have" EEEEEE <3333 he's a freak but he's a SWEET freak and that's my favourite flavour of freak

ALSO! Note his vent's temperature changing depending on his mood! Ice-y for angry or upset, and steam (the love hearts!!) for when he's happy/in-love! AAAAAA!!!

I need to hit him with a car. What do you mean when you say those words you say. He truly goes on like this for a Hot Minute, about how he wants you to control him AND wants you to understand how much that means to him. Wh.

It's just really fun bc I feel like usually this Genre (tm) of character is more dom-leaning, it's so cute + funny to have one who's a massive sub!

It's also crazy that this conversation happens on the SECOND DAY!!!!! HE'S GOING WHOLE-HOG 2 DAYS IN!!!!

So funny to think about him during the evening of day one, pacing (crawling???) through the vents, being like 'okay. okay. alright. Hector, you're gonna be So Normal with them tomorrow' only to pull out THIS!!!! AAASKDJFSKAFJDKSJFSD

this isn't directly about Hector, HOWEVER I also love Fantina and this line has be going crazy.

what did she say

what did she mean

What did she huh when she wuh

Fan club... FAN club... do we think Fantina and Hector just hang out and talk about you??? 😭😭😭 is it just the two of them, or are there more??? I love these two sm. Squeezing them so tight.

I also love the pun! Like if we think about it, an HVAC is just a bigger fan!

I am not immune to silly jokes. Thank u to the devs, this cracks me up.

anyways he it LITERALLY baby and I cannot wait to meet him properly in a few weeks. Getting up on a step-stool to bite his hands.

[staff]

We Asked an Expert...in Herpetology!

People on Tumblr come from all walks of life and all areas of expertise to grace our dashboards with paragraphs and photographs of the things they want to share with the world. Whether it's an artist uploading their speed art, a fanfic writer posting their WIPs, a language expert expounding on the origin of a specific word, or a historian ready to lay down the secrets of Ea-nasir, the hallways of Tumblr are filled with specialists sharing their knowledge with the world. We Asked an Expert is a deep dive into those expert brains on tumblr dot com. Today, we’re talking to Dr. Mark D. Scherz (@markscherz), an expert in Herpetology. Read on for some ribbeting frog facts, including what kind of frog the viral frog bread may be based on.

Reptiles v Amphibians. You have to choose one.

In a battle for my heart, I think amphibians beat out the reptiles. There is just something incredibly good about beholding a nice plump frog.

In a battle to the death, I have to give it to the reptiles—the number of reptiles that eat amphibians far, far outstrips the number of amphibians that eat reptiles.

In terms of ecological importance, I would give it to the amphibians again, though. Okay, reptiles may keep some insects and rodents in check, but many amphibians live a dual life, starting as herbivores and graduating to carnivory after metamorphosis, and as adults they are critical for keeping mosquitos and other pest insects in check.

What is the most recent exciting fact you discovered about herps?

This doesn’t really answer your question, but did you know that tadpole arms usually develop inside the body and later burst through the body wall fully formed? I learned about this as a Master’s student many years ago, but it still blows my mind. What’s curious is that this apparently does not happen in some of the species of frogs that don’t have tadpoles—oh yeah, like a third of all frogs or something don’t have free-living tadpoles; crazy, right? They just develop forelimbs on the outside of the body like all other four-legged beasties. But this has only really been examined in a couple species, so there is just so much we don’t know about development, especially in direct-developing frogs. Like, how the hell does it just… swap from chest-burster to ‘normal’ limb development? Is that the recovery of the ancestral programming, or is it newly generated? When in frog evolution did the chest-burster mode even evolve?

How can people contribute to conservation efforts for their local herps?

You can get involved with your local herpetological societies if they exist—and they probably do, as herpetologists are everywhere. You can upload observations of animals to iNaturalist, where you can get them identified while also contributing to datasets on species distribution and annual activity used by research scientists.

You can see if there are local conservation organizations that are doing any work locally, and if you find they are not, then you can get involved to try to get them started. For example, if you notice areas of particularly frequent roadkill, talking to your local council or national or local conservation organizations can get things like rescue programs or road protectors set up. You should also make sure you travel carefully and responsibly. Carefully wash and disinfect your hiking boots, especially between locations, as you do not want to be carrying chytrid or other nasty infectious diseases across the world, where they can cause population collapses and extinctions.

Here are some recent headlines. Quick question, what the frog is going on in the frog world? 

Click through for Mark’s response to these absolutely wild headlines, more about his day-to-day job, his opinion on frog bread, and his favorite Tumblr.

✨D I S C O V E R Y✨

There are more people on Earth than ever before, with the most incredible technology that advances daily at their disposal, and they disperse that knowledge instantly. That means more eyes and ears observing, recording, and sharing than ever before. And so we are making big new discoveries all the time, and are able to document them and reach huge audiences with them.

That being said, these headlines also showcase how bad some media reporting has gotten. The frogs that scream actually scream mostly in the audible range—they just have harmonics that stretch up into ultrasound. So, we can hear them scream, we just can’t hear all of it. Because the harmonics are just multiples of the fundamental, they would anyway only add to the overall ‘quality’ of the sound, not anything different. The mushroom was sprouting from the flank of the frog, and scientists are not really worried about it because this is not how parasitic fungi work, and this is probably a very weird fluke. And finally, the Cuban tree frogs (Osteocephalus septentrionalis) are not really cannibals per se; they are just generalist predators who will just as happily eat a frog as they will a grasshopper, but the frogs they are eating are usually other species. People seem to forget that cannibalism is, by definition, within a species. The fact that they are generalist predators makes them a much bigger problem than if they were cannibals—a cannibal would actually kind of keep itself in check, which would be useful. The press just uses this to get people’s hackles up because Westerners are often equal parts disgusted and fascinated by cannibalism. 

What does an average day look like for the curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Denmark?

No two days are the same, and that is one of the joys of the job. I could spend a whole day in meetings, where we might be discussing anything from which budget is going to pay for 1000 magnets to how we could attract big research funding, to what a label is going to say in our new museum exhibits (we are in the process of building a new museum). Equally, I might spend a day accompanying or facilitating a visitor dissecting a crocodile or photographing a hundred snakes. Or it might be divided into one-hour segments that cover a full spectrum: working with one of my students on a project, training volunteers in the collection, hunting down a lizard that someone wants to borrow from the museum, working on one of a dozen research projects of my own, writing funding proposals, or teaching classes. It is a job with a great deal of freedom, which really suits my work style and brain.

Oh yeah, and then every now and then, I get to go to the field and spend anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months tracking down reptiles and amphibians, usually in the rainforest. These are also work days—with work conditions you couldn’t sell to anyone: 18-hour work days, no weekends, no real rest, uncomfortable living conditions, sometimes dangerous locations or working conditions, field kitchen with limited options, and more leeches and other biting beasties than most health and welfare officers would tolerate—but the reward is the opportunity to make new discoveries and observations, collect critical data, and the privilege of getting to be in some of the most beautiful and biodiverse places left on the planet. So, I am humbled by the fact that I have the privilege and opportunity to undertake such expeditions, and grateful for the incredible teams I collaborate with that make all of this work—from the museum to the field—possible.

The Tibetan Blackbird is also known as Turdus maximus. What’s your favorite chortle-inducing scientific name in the world of herpetology?

Among reptiles and amphibians, there aren’t actually that many to choose from, but I must give great credit to my friend Oliver Hawlitschek and his team, who named the snake Lycodryas cococola, which actually means ‘Coco dweller’ in Latin, referring to its occurrence in coconut trees. When we were naming Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature, I was inspired by the incredible list that Mark Isaac has compiled of punning species names, particularly by the extinct parrot Vini vidivici, and the beetles Gelae baen, Gelae belae, Gelae donut, Gelae fish, and Gelae rol. I have known about these since high school, and it has always been my ambition to get a species on this list.

If you were a frog, what frog would you be and why?

I think I would be a Phasmahyla because they’re weird and awkward, long-limbed, and look like they’re wearing glasses. As a 186 cm (6’3) glasses-wearing human with no coordination, they quite resonate with me.

Please rate this frog bread from 1/10. Can you tell us what frog it represents?

With the arms inside the body cavity like that, it can basically only be a brevicipitid rain frog. The roundness of the body fits, too. I’d say probably Breviceps macrops (or should I say Breadviceps?) based on those big eyes. 7/10, a little on the bumpy side and missing a finger and at least one toe.

Please follow Dr. Mark Scherz at @markscherz for even more incredibly educational, entertaining, and meaningful resources in the world of reptiles and amphibians.

[tahbhie]

Effective Ways of Creating Relatable and Realistic Conflicts

As a writer, whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or expert, you've likely heard about the importance of creating "relatable and realistic conflicts." This advice appears in almost every writing guide. Yes, it's crucial.

However, this recurring statement might seem vague. Let's break down what these terms mean. We'll discuss how to create conflicts in your style that work, and what can lead to the opposite results.

✧✧✧✧

This is a flexible guide, not a strict set of rules. Let's begin.

✧✧✧✧

First, relatability is different from realism, at least in this context.

Relatability offers an experience that people have gone through before. They can easily identify it as something that happens.

Realism, on the other hand, can be a fresh experience or something entirely fantastical. Here's the catch: it must stay true to your setting and plot. For example, in a fantasy setting, your conflict could be the protagonist's dragon falling sick on the eve of a big race.

In the real world, we have no dragons. But in your setting, your situation with this creature feels real. Now consider an instance where we have intelligent insects with no apparent reason or explanation. This is an example of an unrealistic conflict that doesn't align with its setting. It's either you adjust a few things in the settings or adjust the conflict that stems from their intelligence or is solved by it.

Now that we've established that, let's consider what to keep in mind when writing conflicts.

Conflicts can be resolved instantly or extend further. They can begin your story, occur during it, or happen after a sweet moment.

Before writing a conflict, think about:

1. The Setting:

Where is your world set? This matters a lot! You can use our real-life world but still create your own rules, as long as you make that clear. Your conflict could come off as both realistic and relatable. However, where you have a total no is when your world is the normal world we know, with no changes, and your conflicts are unrealistic and unrelated.

You have such examples in some Bollywood movies. No offense to anyone in love with these movies. This is just a case study for clarification purposes.

Think of the fight scenes. The physical conflicts often stem from a grander conflict. You'll understand where I'm coming from.

2. Duration:

How long will this conflict last in your story? Earlier, I mentioned lasting conflict and fleeting conflict. The former helps create more meaning for your plot. The latter adds excitement that drives the plot forward.

3. Solvability:

Sometimes, the resolution to your conflict can render it meaningless, even after you've nailed the creation. Resolve your conflict in agreement with your plot.

4. Interesting Premise:

Conflict ideas sometimes come naturally as you write your story. I remember when I wrote high school stories, conflicts came to me as I wrote, but this doesn't happen every time. Sometimes, I knew I needed something more exciting and less predictable.

For example, it's common for a new female student to be rivaled by the school's most popular girl. This is usually because of the love interest—the most popular guy in school. But what if they become best friends, and the love interest turns out to be the popular girl's brother?

She mistakes the protagonist's friendship with a different guy as cheating, and the feeling of betrayal turns them against each other. This twist offers a fresh take on the usual antagonizing characters. It could make your story more interesting. This time the antagonist is doing what she feels is in her brother's favour not herself.

5. Character's Involvement:

This is slightly similar to the above. The difference is that it deals directly with the characters themselves, not just the conflict they face. The actions towards the conflict give the situation meaning.

6. Aim and Goals:

What do you aim to achieve with your conflict? Do you wish to entertain, hook the readers, drive the plot forward, or introduce a new object or character? It's best to aim for two at a time. Trying to achieve all in a single conflict could lead to complications.

Which conflict have you read in a book that made you wish you wrote it?

Aiming for a powerful plot? Check out this plot progression planner that helps you plan the aspects you often overlook. You get a free gift!

If you love what I do, support my work to enable more content production.

[witherby]

Assuming that Punchline is successfully rehabilitated, what do you think she'd be like as an adult? Do you think she'd keep a lot of the same traits or she'd change a lot?

Also, how do you think both current and future Punchline would react to seeing Joker?

- 🌃

All fantastic questions. I had to sit on these for a couple days.

Adult!Punchline:

Changed her name. It was one of the last things she did in order to really sever her identity from the Joker's. What would it be now? Maybe an off-set name from her old one, like Lin, or something completely new.

Chatty! She's got autonomy and opinions, now, and boy is she gonna use her autonomy to express those opinions!!

Out of Gotham. As grateful as she is for the Wayne's and their willingness to rehabilitate her, she can't stay in the city that's consumed her childhood. There are too many triggers and too many chances to regress.

Using her talent for good. Punchline grew up learning how to destroy and cause harm, making a normal 9-to-5 excruciatingly boring to her. One of her specialties was bombs, only now instead of making them, she found a job where she gets called in to diffuse. She quickly becomes one of the best in the field for her quick dismantling time and even teaches courses on how to identify different types for safe handling.

Pen pals! She writes to the Batfamily! Originally Alfred requested she send correspondence to let them know she was doing okay and not to be afraid to ask for help, but now she sends little post cards and notes to all of them.

Uses aids. She got a hearing aid for her right ear to help restore some of the sound, can often be seen walking around with knee braces to prevent hyperextension, and has timers set on her phone to remind her to eat because she has no hunger cues.

Self-soothes. She still knocks her feet together to regulate her emotions, particularly when she feels exceptionally bored or like she shouldn't be lounging around or relaxing.

Wears her natural hair and face. No more hair dye, no more clown paint, no more green or purple clothes.

She still laughs like her dad, though. When she hears a particularly funny joke, she's done for. Couldn't de-condition that one out of her.

If Adult!Punchline happened to run into her father, she would still Fawn. Still as a statue. Shocked. Appalled. Immediately putting a smile on her face and clicking her feet. Hoping and praying one of the bats will come help, because she is very much afraid of him.

As for Current!Punchline meeting the Joker? Well. That's being written, so you'll have to see. :)

[whynotjohnlock]

Doctor who incorrect quotes!

AAaAaaAhHhhHhH! I'm trapped in a cycle where I need some comfort so I watch this man child do silly things for 45 minutes but every episode I end up in tears because some I'm attached to Dies, so I need more comfort from doctor who but then my hearts get ripped out again so I start watching more Doctor who and then-

Here's some dumb stuff to brighten your day!

----------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor: I WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD FOR YOU!

(Y/N): Okay, can you do the dishes?

The Doctor: No!

----------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor: Do not test me (Y/N)! I am the last timelord-

(Y/N): What about Ranni and the Master and literally like every 10 adventures where they just randomly appear? Not to mention all the other versions of yourself you seem to keep running into.

The Doctor: I've killed thousands of innocent beings and creatures and-

(Y/N): Haven't we all stepped on an ant pile or on grass before?

The Doctor: (Y/N), we are not the same I've lived for hundreds of years-

(Y/N): Isn't that a perfectly normal age for a Timelord? Hundreds of years only sounds impressive because I'm human.

The Doctor: You will wither and die and I will have to live on alone-

(Y/N): Do you not consider the TARDIS company? Isn't she literally sentient?

The Doctor: .......

The Doctor: *grumpily stomps in the TARDIS*

The Doctor: I need a dumber companion next time.

----------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor: Bowties are cool!

Y/N: *confused* I never said there weren't...?

The Doctor: oh I know, I just like saying that.

----------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: *Throwing they apples into space out the TARDIS doors* Bad Apples! Kill them with fire!

The Doctor: what did the apples ever do to you?

Y/N: Remember that one time I broke my leg and couldn't go adventureing with you?

The Doctor: what does that have to do with anything?

Y/N: I broke my leg because I tripped over an apple. I just realized the ancient earth prophecy is true. 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' and I need to destroy them all now.

----------------------------------------------------------

Child: What’s it like being tall?

Child: Is it nice?

Child: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

The Doctor: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb 3 chairs, 6 boxes, a small coffee table and 4 oddly placed stools to get what they want.

Y/N: It was one time!

----------------------------------------------------------

Companion: *Calling Y/N* where is The Doctor, Y/N?

Y/N: sorry, the doctor has the zoomies right now, whatever it is, they can't help you.

Companion: The "Zoomies"?

The Doctor: *Spinning on chair quickly after chugging soy sauce while making incoherent dinosaur noises*

----------------------------------------------------------

Missy: Hey, do you know where (Y/N) is?

The Doctor: Why, so you can kidnap them again? That's never going to happen-

Missy: No, I would never waste time kidnapping Y/N again, they are too much fun for that. I want to have a girl's trip out with them. Actually is (Y/N) a girl? I can never tell what humans think gender is defined as.

The Doctor: actually, I don't really know either.

Y/N: *points at the TARDIS covered entirely by rainbow glitter* you should know by now doctor that I Identify as a fucking menace.

----------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor: Daleks are the most evil beings of pure hate and are not to be trifled with under any circumstances.

Y/N: *Bursts out in laughter*

Doctor: Y/N, that's not funny!

Y/N: *still laughing* It can't even get up the stairs. OH FeAr tHE MigHtY dAlEk EmPIrE, FeLleD bY a SLiGht iNcliNE!

----------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor: I hate your existence and will make sure your parents never meet, Y/N. I will find your friends and make them hate you!

The Doctor: Don't you dare!

Y/N: Uno!

----------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: Nock Nock.

Doctor: fine I know this is going to be bad but Who's there?

Y/N:*Trying not to laugh*Doctor.

Doctor: *Rolls his eyes*Doctor who?

Y/N: Exterminate! Exterminate!

Doctor: That joke was terrible, Y/N.

----------------------------------------------------------

Y/N: How many time lords does it take to check if it's safe to go outside the TARDIS?

Doctor: I don't know.

Y/N: me neither because you've never fucking done it.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Cybermen: *Starts trying to connect Y/N's thoughts to upgrade them*

Y/N: *Gives them a tuor of their mind*

Y/N: on your left you can see the mental fuckery that is my everyday thought process.

Y/N: in front of you is every single weird reference from all media I have consumed in no order whatsoever.

Y/N: Oh, on your left is a real life coherent thoght! That's impressive, I thought all of them had died with that time I ate half of a computer.

Y/N: Oh, I want you to meet my friends! That's anxiety, hiding just around the corner is depression. Oh, and here's my BFF self doubt!

Doctor: Y/N, how did you stall in your mind for so long? I thought I wouldn't be quick enough to save you! How... *Looks around*

Doctor:

Doctor: you need therapy.

Y/N: I need therapy.

----------------------------------------------------------

Jack: Hey, Just wanted to check in on my favorite couple.

Y/N: We're not a couple!

Doctor: Yes we are Y/N! How could you honestly forget our night underneath the singing trees on €en§πß where I proposed to you?

Jack: Well congrats on-

Y/N: I was with Missy, who the FUCK did you propose too?

Doctor: wait, what were you doing with Missy?

Jack: *Munchies on popcorn*

----------------------------------------------------------

[paused-waterfall]

I want to talk about how the qsmp federation dinner blended canon and non-canon "storylines", and just how effective that was for engaging Philza "the fourth wall is for other people and I'll sneak away mid-lore" Minecraft: Those who don't watch Philza streams might not know, but cc!Phil identifying when his eggs are not his eggs is a regular occurrence. He knows when Chayanne's admin is portraying Cucurucho, and when Tallulah's admin is subbing in to play Chayanne. Phil keeps track of which admin is which as a means of judging what scenarios are safe for them. He knows what skills he's taught them and even some of the hardware limitations they're working with. So when someone else steps in to play them, its a risk, because it means he doesn't know how his kids are going to act.

Philza takes about a minute and a half to call out "Tallulah" as not his egg. But if you watch closely, you can see that it took him less than 15 seconds to identify that the wrong person was playing her. Early in the dinner (4:52:50 on Phil's stream), Philza noticed and pointed out to his chat that the chef was lagging in a way that Tallulah normally lags. When "Tallulah" shows up to the dinner, there's a moment when he looks away from her-- he's not scanning for threats, he's checking that the chef was still around. And then giving a knowing look straight to camera. For a bit after that, he keeps looking back at the chef and talking to "Tallulah" like she's real. Because what cc!Phil hasn't decided at that point is whether or not this is canon. He knows the admins have to switch around for practical reasons, which have never been canon before.

But it's already a risk. This might be q!Tallulah, but it definitely isn't the Tallulah that cc!Phil knows how to predict and protect. All of the earnest, half-in-character conversations between Phil and Tallulah's admin about how they both want to keep her safe and how best to accomplish that are suddenly for naught, because the wrong person is on the other side of that screen.

While most of the characters and audience got to doubt reality when the eggs transformed, the same sort of process happened for cc!Phil and his chat as soon as the eggs showed up. What we were doubting was the line between canon and non-canon, but it tapped into much the same emotions while overriding the tongue-in-cheek approach to canon that normally holds sway in Phil's streams.

It's just so cool to see storytellers embrace the limitations of the medium to enhance the story they're telling like this. What a fun stream that was!

[merchant-wizard-and-jerry]

(This is going to be linked as the card drawing post from now on)

*Warning all effects are permanent unless stated otherwise wise and all effects can’t be undone by undoing the magic*

(This means that if your arms turn to metal, you can’t revert the spell that made it happen, because the armed in the eyes of the universe are naturally metal now, but instead can convert the metal back into flesh like you would do if the arms were always metal.)

(The lore reason why is the supreme being made it…. Aka I am the writer of this story and deck and I say no you. (In a joking manner if you or a love one rolled something you don’t want to happen tell me and we can work out a solution))

(List of effects)

TP who TC Gains partial divinity

TP who TC can ask one question to the universe and gets a true answer

TP who TC is immune to all undead for 24 hours

TP who TC can ask one request of the Flock of seagulls

TP who TC gains absolute mastery of there most proficient skill

TP who TC gets there perfect ideal of a follower summoned, the follower is made of stained glass

All people who wants to attack TP who TC becomes completely peaceful

TP who TC has the vision permanently enhanced by 4x

TP who TC brain grows 10x as fast and smart for 1 hour

the next good effect drawn from TD is doubled

TP who TC has everything blue that there touching enchanted randomly.

TP who TC gains a skeleton key

TP who TC has there mind gain armor, it helps reinforce there mind’s processes and also help ward of wind magic form effecting it

TP who TC has a calming aura for 1 week, anyone within that aura has their emotions calmed.

TP who TC arms turned to metal (I forgot to say, for 1 hour)

TP who TC splits into five identical clones 1/5th the size. Each have a randomly selected 1/5th of TP who TC’s powers. At the point of them splitting is when there memories split. Each will grown to normal size over the span of a week. Once one dies, its powers and memories are randomly split among the remaining clones (of that batch). Each clone can split but the above side effects still apply.

TP who TC is recognised as a minor noble in the nearest nobility system

all eyes in a 1 mile radius of TD glows gold for a year

TP who LC gets magic equal TP who TC's magic capabilities for 1 spell

TP who TC can see how corrupt anyone is

TP who NC has there card effect double

TP who HTC has the ability to identify any living thing’s clade

TC turns into, upon being drawn, a random minor magical item. TP who TC will be registered as that item's true owner, that ownership will either be passed to a designated person or person with their best interest in mind upon death of the previous owner.

TP who TC can identify if it’s safe to drink any water they see

TP who TC gets 10 currency

TP who HC has control over a small company of knights

TP who TC gains scales for 1 hour

TP who TC begins to be observed by a god

TP who TC will have all cuts immediately scab over for the next month.

TP who TC is turned into an animal chosen by TP who NC for 4 hours. TP who TC keeps their mind, unless this card is drawn again in the same time and the same animal is chosen. If it is picked again but with a different animal, TP who TC will hybridize as both animals.

TP who TC has the effect they last were under that was triggered by a card reapplied as if they drew it again.

TP who TC chooses a person who will NC

(Automatic custom card)

TP who TC has there element shift one element, this effect either last 1 year or until TP who TC comes to except one lie they believed was true was a lie

A random seed in a 1 foot radius around TP who TC will grow to complete maturity. If there is no seed, a seed will from that when planted will grow a perfect replica of a random card with the magic effect at 1/10th efficiency

TP who TC plays a game of 20 question, if you win, you get a clue finding spy glass. If you lose you lose an eye.

TP who TC next spell will go wild

all water in a 30 foot radius of TD turns into wine

TP who LC has its effect happen to TP who TC

TP who TC has the direction they move relative to gravity altered by the person who NC

TP who NC has TP who LC effect added to theres

TP who TC becomes the target of tempest the clown. Tempest is a weather demigod who wishes to bring joy to kids by showing them weather phenomena… up close.. at full scale.

TP who NC will gain the ability to know where you are at all time

TP who TC will be transformed into a computer software sprite on a piece of digital hardware. The card is transformed into that piece of hardware. Both effects last for 1 day

TP who TC has all there hair light on fire, they are not armed nor is there hair

TP who NC can choose one of TP who TC’s skills to lock for 1 hour

TP who TC experiences 1 years worth of advanced mutation that would be handy in this situation

all grass in a 3 yard radius of TD turns into a fungus based alternative

TP who TC will lose all their hair and have it regrow in a 24 hour period

TP who TC will have all open injuries and non-sensory body holes (peircings, behind, belly button, etc) transformed into functioning technology ports

TP who TC is swarmed by pollen

TD loses its magical effect for 10 minutes

TP who TC gets struck by lightning

TP who TC if they have a scarred over stump it grows cactus spines making it impossible to restore, if not you are immune to cactuses.

TP who TC loses their sense of smell for 10 min

in a 1 yard radius around TP who TC rain will clouds form and rain for 1 week

TP who TC becomes a telepathic potted plant for 1 hour. TP is completely immobile, but still conscious and is able to talk to anyone nearby via telepathy. Any person who touches TP is affected by magic: (Roll 1d4 to decide the effect given) 1. Becoming a telepathic potted plant without other effects. 2. Being fully healed and restored as if they drank a powerful healing potion 3. Clothes are replaced by plants equivalents made from leaves, grass, flowers, moss, and other plant materials. These new clothes do not cover up well and ordinarily resemble Druidic clothing, but also resemble the clothes they were previously wearing. Depending on the magical power or significance of their previous clothes, they may be possible to recover via summoning magic. 4. A large tree appears nearby and they are temporarily transformed into a dryad linked to that tree for one day.

TP who TC becomes a potted telepathic plant for a year

TP who LC attacks you

TP who draws TC loses the ability to understand speech for 1 hour

TP who TC loses all of wealth

TP who TC has there most prized possession trapped in this card for 1 year or until they tell someone a deep secret

all events that took place in the last hour reverts in a 20 yard radius of TD

TP who TC Dies

TP who NC will gain control of your body for 1 minute

(List of terms)

The person (TP)

The deck (TD)

Drew this card (TC)

Drew last card (LC)

Draws next card (NC)

Holds this card (HC)

(Rules)

You can ask pay for a card with 10 currency

When you pay you can specify out of character whether you want a random card or if you want me to make a new one for you to draw that will be added to the deck

If I make a new one I’ll add it to the list

Also if the card calls for good or bad it is referring to thirds, the first 1/3 is good, the last 1/3 is bad and the middle in neutral, round down and give the neutral the extra cards.

If you pick random, roll for me out of the numbers and tell me what you get

[eamour]

mental over physical.

in my post called "feeling over desire", i have already talked about the importance of fulfillment from within rather than without. i went as far to tell you that when you desire something, it can only ever be fulfilled in imagination and not in your physical reality. today, i'll tell you why exactly that’s the case with the explanation of "states".

key points

key points from former post

you are desiring to feel (inner self), not to actually have (outer self). therefore, you seek fulfillment from within.

by wanting things physically only and refusing to feel good about already having them in imagination, you are conditioning your desires.

what you can’t experience within, you can’t experience without. that way, you are making yourself reliant on outer change.

it’s impossible to give you something you desire internally, externally. it won’t and cannot satisfy you.

your aim isn’t the confirmation of the outer world. it’s the confirmation of imagination and experiencing your desire‘s existence there.

determination of the physical.

first of all, states are crucial. a state determines your thoughts — along with your behaviour, perception, experience and reactions to the physical world — as they come from your feeling aka the state that you are currently occupying. this is important for you to understand because depending on which state you are identifying with, you will reflect it into your material world. conversely, that means that you can never express a state you are not already embodying mentally.

an unfulfilling state.

now, if you aren’t already occupying the state or embodying the version of yourself who has your desire, receiving it in the physical world will not and cannot satisfy you. if you are in an oppositional state, yet manage to obtain results physically, it won't be able to fulfill you. you need to get into the state of your wish being fulfilled FIRST and experience it in imagination BEFORE you can get it in the 3D. that’s also the way you normally go about manifesting things.

experience of a state.

it’s because you aren’t experiencing the outer world, you are experiencing your state. you can only ever experience your state. the outer world is just a conformation of the state you currently happen to be in. although the 3D is a depiction of your imagination, your state or who you are in imagination still determines how your outer world is going to look like.

inner feeling of desire.

again, to desire means to occupy a state, a desired state. when you desire, it’s coming from within, not from without. only your inner self can desire. because after all, your desire is just a feeling — a feeling only your inner self can feel. your outer self, on the other hand, can only give you physical insight on your inner self. and inner feelings can only be fulfilled with feelings from within.

my example.

i remember i was in a relationship once which was very perfect to begin with. however, somehow, i would find myself in a state where i would feel unloved, as if i'm being lied to or just generally doubt my partner’s adoration and affection for me. the more i felt that way and the more i persisted in it, i managed to pull them away — even though everything was seemingly perfect on the outside, it didn’t really feel as perfect on the inside.

see, your physical manifestation can be as desirable as possible but if you happen to be in a contrary state, you won’t be able to keep the physical, nor be content with it.

with affection and adoration, ella.

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, PRINCESS?"

I WROTE ANOTHER FIC WITH REMMICK

I hope you like it! 😊🖤☝

WARNING: EXPLICIT SMUT UNDER THE CUT

Remmick could hear your heart pounding and your blood rushing through your body at a speed faster than a normal human's every time he looked at you.

It didn't take him long to realize the reason for your condition, so one night when he gave the others permission to go hunting, he decided it was time to talk to you privately about what was clearly happening between you.

You walked into the small barn where you were temporarily staying, your legs shaking with nerves.

Before he left, Stack had told you that Remmick wanted to talk to you, but he hadn't told you why, or what he had to say.

You didn't know if it was because you had done something wrong or because… you really had no idea, which only increased your nervousness.

You opened the barn door as you glimpsed the simple yet imposing black chair in the center of the room where he was sitting.

The soft moonlight reflected off his features, making his dark eyes shine in the brightness of the star.

"Hi," you greeted, not knowing what you were supposed to say. "Did you want to see me?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Come in, please," he said, gesturing for you to close the door.

He stared at you for a few seconds, clasping his hands together and placing them on the armrests of the chair he was sitting in.

"Did I…?" You swallowed hard. "Did I do something wrong?" you asked. "Whatever it is, I can fix it. I'll do whatever it takes to…"

"Relax, honey. You didn't do anything wrong," he whispered, causing you to take a deep breath, a little more calmly. "I just wanted to talk to you while the others were busy on their little excursion, that's all."

"Okay," you murmured, suddenly shy. "What do you want to talk about?"

-I'm glad you asked - he celebrated, looking at his nails distractedly - you see, it's been several weeks since I've been able to ignore your attitude towards me - he said, going straight to the point, making you tense from head to toe - don't bother denying it, love - he whispered - I've been alive for a long time, and there are certain things that one learns to identify as soon as they are in front of them, and you, my dear y/n, desire me with such intensity that sometimes you have trouble breathing when I look in your direction, like now - he explained, sketching a half-smile -

-I-I… didn't mean… t-to…

-Shhh, it's okay, sweetheart, it's a natural reaction - he murmured - I can see through you, the longing for the darkness that surrounds me is… delicious - he whispered, and the way he said it made your skin crawl - you're drawn to me like a moth to a flame, but you must be aware that, If you're not careful, the flame could end up devouring you, darling." His eyes shone with an intense reddish glow. "Is that what you want, Princess?" He asked, resting his gaze on your face. "Do you want to be devoured by the flame?"

"Y-yes," you murmured, feeling your cheeks blush intensely. "I want it," you replied. He nodded, pleased by your answer.

"In that case, be a good girl and sit on my lap," he whispered, his eyes following your every move.

He held the straps of the garment you were wearing between his fingers, making you feel the touch of his cold fingers against your skin.

"This dress… is beautiful," he whispered. "It's a shame I have to get rid of it, don't you think, darling?"

“Please…” you shifted impatiently on his lap, making him laugh.

“Oh, look at you, you poor thing,” he mocked lightly. “So desperate, and I haven’t even touched you yet,” he whispered in your ear. “I can hear your lungs struggling to fill with air, and your heart pumping blood through your body so you can keep breathing,” he murmured. “I can feel EVERYTHING,” he almost gasped. “I can FEEL YOU,” he emphasized. “I feel you in every pore of my skin, in every particle floating in the air, your smell…” he growled. “It’s driving me crazy, baby, I need to have you,” he moaned as if it physically hurt him to even say it. “I need to be inside you.”

“Do it,” you gasped. “I want to feel you, please…”

You didn’t even need to say anything else.

Remmick quickly removed your dress, careful not to rip it, and with one swift movement, he was inside you.

You both gasped as you felt each other so clearly.

"You're mine," he panted in your ear. "You're all mine, forever."

"Forever," you repeated, feeling the pressure in your lower abdomen increase more and more. "Remmick, I need…"

"I know, baby. I can feel you clench around me." He panted, gripping your hips tightly with his hands. "Cum for me, my love."

That's what you did.

You came against him, and he gently held you in his arms as you both caught your breath.

It had definitely been worth it not to have accompanied the others on their night of hunting.

[lemurianeggs]

Stalker Caleb Headcanon - DDDNE

TW: Stalking - Grooming - Teacher x Student - Implied Noncon

MC can't help the feeling of being watched as soon as she leaves her house. It often has her run the last few meters home / to school cause she is so scared by it.

Sometimes Caleb makes a game out of it. He is standing in the shadows watching her. Using his evol to make her jump by throwing a can or other trash, enjoying the thrill of seeing her panic and run. On rare occasions he will even indulge into running after her. He is wearing all black with a black mask and hat, so no one will be able to identify him anyways.

Maybe on one of those days he will use his evol to make it impossible for her to shut the door after she ran inside, to follow her. Though he probably has been inside her house a lot already, rummaging through her underwear and rubbing himself off on her bed, but at one point that is just not enough for him anymore.

He needs to fully own her. He is so glad that her guardian seems to be away for work a lot. Makes it easier to get close to her.

Cause little does she know that he is her teacher, the school counsellor at her school, watching her even there.

Maybe he will scare her deliberately at school too, letting something fall in the bathroom, when she is alone just to see her jump again.

He loves playing with her fear.

She tells him readily about her nightmares and fears too with him being a trusty teacher to her - He's so aroused from her shaking and quivering while she retells her biggest fears.

Also whenever she gets attention from boys her age, her life somehow gets worse. The scary incidents increase and he has her sobbing in her office. - Getting off on seeing her cry like that.

"You know, Pips. This might be those boys... I know that is hard to accept but sometimes they like to play pranks like that. It's probably best if you don't talk to them anymore.", he will tell her and she fully believes him cause he had always been so so kind to her.

He will probably also give her the cold shoulder eventually, to drive her mad, while scary things keep happening to her, maybe even rumors going around about her, getting her ostracized from her fellow students. Acting as if he was too busy to talk and support her only to make her more pliable in the end - her being already codependent on him emotionally.

There will mostlikely be assault at some point too, just because he is a greedy man and can't hold back for much longer. It makes it easier for him to continue being that strong pillar for her as the "one person" that seemingly cares for her too.

He will play mindgames with her trauma, breaking her until she is malleable enough to be formed into his perfect little plaything. Telling her he can make her feel good and that she doesn't need to be scared of sex, if she just allows him to show her.

(This is most likely going on for years until it becomes her "normal". He might even convince her to marry him along the lines.)

[bewitched-hours]

Meet Astra!

Gotta admit, I forgot I wanted to do a wiki-esque page for my deity oc and figured I might as well do it now as a late thank you for the 50+ followers. Part of me wanted to wait until the 100 followers but since I hadn't done anything special for 50, it was only fair I do that now.

So... Meet Astra!

Gotta admit, I took inspiration from @brain4stew's Galaxy Guardian design which I highly suggest checking out too because it's really cool and I want more people to see it too （＾ω＾）

"What's yours is also mine~!" - Purchase Quote

"Previously a deity living among the stars. She loved to watch people make memories and grant innocent little wishes, only to be surprised when she suddenly saw a new realm entirely and got thrown into it quicker than she would've liked. Thanks to the gear she managed to materialize using the void-like substance from her body, she can work as both a healer and a sentinel." - Astra's Description

Astra is a support & sentinel survivor. Available for 500$. They used to be a star deity but now she has to learn to be mortal whilst attempting to keep everyone's spirits up.

They still attempt to identify as a deity, not wanting to disappoint her new friends or downplay who she used to be. They just can't believe she was overpowered by an entity they didn't even know of.

Abilities;

Starry-Eyed

(Passive Abilitiy)

"Yeah, these eyes aren't great but that's why I got my hat!" - Astra

Astra is able to use the stars as a secondary set of eyes. Every 30 seconds, she will be able to briefly identify where the killer is on the map. But if another survivor is below 25% health, she will identify them instead.

However, they are forced to halt anything they're doing and freeze up entirely for 5 seconds during this.

Upon entering LMS, this ability gets disabled and instead provides a 30% speed and attack boost. If Astra happens to be below 25% health during this, she gets fully healed at the cost of her stamina.

Galaxy Potion

Cooldown: 30s

Keybind: Q

"Maybe a little boost will do~" - Astra

Astra either drinks or throws the bottle strapped to her for another survivor to drink. This fully heals whoever drinks it and provides a temporary speed boost but if a killer were to drink it, they would get stunned for 2s.

Chained Fate

Cooldown: 1m

Keybind: E

"Still chaining yourself to meaningless matters..." - ██████

Using the chains on her arms, Astra can stun the killer by tying them up. Normally, this would only last 5s but can be extended if another supporter is nearby. Every supporter within immediate range adds another 2s to the stun.

Quick Sweep

Cooldown: 10 - 15s (depends on if she teleported alone or not)

Keybind: R

"You were always so easily frightened back then..." - ██████

If Astra is below 50% health, she can choose to teleport to a random location on the map outside of the killers vision. She may choose to take another survivor with her but that will add 5s to the ability cooldown. Either way, it comes at the cost of her stamina draining completely.

Lore

Astra was a deity of stars, watching Robloxians from all kinds of origins as the stars were basically her eyes. As long as she could remember, she enjoyed watching mortals and fulfilling wishes for the better. Wether that was a little kid wanting to get a pet or a parent concerned for their child.

She did whatever she could to make others happy and had her own little cult that was devoted to spreading her word through charity and good will. As such, she gained more of a permissive view on Robloxians as she wanted to believe in the best in them. Especially after she saw 007n7 abandon his ways to care for a child.

Astra genuinely believes anyone can change but still recognizes when someone is dangerous and will act accordingly. She isn't oblivious or careless in any way but she does try to stay optimistic and cheer up those around her whenever possible.

Interactions

Yes, I made this in google docs and cropped a screenshot for this-

Trivia

Astra uses She/They/It pronouns but usually doesn't care what she's referred to as. She considers herself genderfluid.

Astra struggled to take things seriously outside of rounds unless she can recognize someone being in a bad mood.

Astra's cult are like her own children. She likes to pretend they are at least. She wouldn't ever want to go through the same pain that some mothers go through for 9 months though...

She has almost an instinctive need to protect those around her.

Astra likes to believe she is still a deity despite her current form but struggles to convince herself at times, leading to her sometimes muttering incomprehensible words to herself.

Astra never had any needs to tend to so she had to be taught by the other survivors how living actually works.

Astra believes in giving everyone(who doesn't get hostile within the first five seconds of meeting) a chance but that doesn't mean trusting just anyone.

Astra did have parents but completely forgot their existence after a century of watching Robloxians.

She uses the stars attached to her hat to see properly. Her regular eyes can only see in blurs and outlines but the stars provide full clarity to her vision. Taking the hat off just causes her to go back to her blurry vision but she takes comfort in that at times.

Astra loves music but she's a bit shy about dancing because she never learned how to.

Sometimes she finds herself worrying about her cult.

Astra absolutely cannot stand loud noises. They overwhelm her quickly and she'll try to find a quiet place to allow her mind to stabilize.

She actually favours Noob, Elliot and 007n7 out of all the survivors but she's ashamed of admitting it. She has no reason to, she just does.

AAAAA- I did ittttt (ˊᗜˋ)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ

[sparklethoughtbubble]

Some terms to look out for

I know this is something that would normally go on the anti rq blog, but I think this is relevant to the situation at hand, given that many KC supporters self-identify as "radqueer" and thus have adopted much of their vernacular. Warning for NSFW topics and very upsetting topics such as grooming, zoophilia and incest.

TransID: Someone identifying with traits they do not physically have other than gender. This in itself is not really problematic and many are harmless, such as "transhaircolor" or "transangel" or something like that. However, there are a few sublabels in this that are worrying if not outright dangerous. -Transage: Identifying as an age that you are not. This is different from age regression, a normal coping mechanism, and ABDL, a consensual (albeit a bit unsanitary in my opinion, but whatever) kink. Transage people desire to transition to permanently being a specific age, usually a child or teen. They then use this to justify interacting with minors in a romantic or sexual way or to avoid accountability by infantilizing themselves so that it seems as though they just "didn't know any better." -Transharmed: Self-explanatory. People who wish to be harmed in a specific way. Highly alarming and indicative of an unstable mental state. If you know anyone that identifies as "transgroomingvictim" or similar, please reach out to them and try to help them understand that they don't deserve to be hurt like that. -Transharmful: Also self-explanatory. Paradoxically, radqueers will insist that people who are transage, transabled etc really are these ages or whatever else, but that a "transmurderer" or "transnazi" isn't really a murderer or nazi. These are only a few examples. Like I stated, the majority of TransIDs are a nothingburger issue, but there are some very worrying ones.

Consang/Consanguinity: Incest term. Refers to an incestuous relationship. I don't really know what the etymology of it is.

Conabuse: "Consensual abuse." Not to be confused with BDSM or similar. One individual is abusive in any way you can think of with another, with no safewords or boundaries. It is considered "consensual" to radqueers because they "ask for it," but there is no ability to revoke consent. Threats and isolation are usually used to keep the partner from leaving.

Pediverse: Ring of Mastodon instances used by Radqueers to recruit and interact with minors, share CSEM and reassure each other that they are doing nothing wrong. Includes Oddballs and NNIA, which many of you have probably heard of already.

Contact Stance: Whether or not you think fucking animals and kids is okay. -Anti Contact: Normal person with a basic level of respect for other lifeforms -Pro-Contact: Dogfucker/Kidfucker/Whatever -Complex-Contact: Thinks fucking kids and animals is a "nuanced issue" that needs to be looked at on a "case by case basis" -Contact-Neutral: Doesn't care if you fuck kids or animals

MAP: "Minor Attracted Person" aka pedophile. You probably know this one. Also includes "YAP," or "youth attracted person." AAM: "Adult attracted minor." Term used by radqueers to gaslight minors into thinking they are paraphiles and that adult pedophiles are the only "partners" that will "really love them." Also grooms them into becoming pedophiles during adulthood.

Xenosatanist: Radqueer that isn't attempting to hide that they are an evil zoosadist pedophile rapist. Has nothing to do with actual satanism and just put that there to be edgy.

Not a specific term, but I think at this point it's safe to say that proshipping in itself has become a radqueer dogwhistle. Every radqueer i have seen or even occasionally had the displeasure of talking to also happened to be a proshipper, and claimed that the desires/plans they had to actually hurt people were "just fiction" or "weird kinks."

They also love to say that terms that have nothing to do with them actually came from them when they didn't. For example, they like to say that being objectum is radqueer, or that self-diagnosing is radqueer, or that having literally any kink is radqueer. They think that fucking squirrels are the same as wearing a puppy mask or being chained up (consensually.)

Anyway, sorry for the huge text post. Just stating things to look out for.

If you want proof that I'm not just pulling all of this out of my ass, here you go!

Blog with lots of information and dogwhistles Explanation of xenosatanism, straight from the horse's mouth Not the original "coining" post, but an explanation of what consang is from someone who supports it

[drdemonprince]

I see you post against the global blackout on insta and I understand the sentiment, that it doesn’t make a difference but actually we’ve got major Palestinian civilian advocacy groups saying This is what we’re doing and why, and it feels like the West goes “oh there’s no point let’s not bother”. But in actual fact it’s Something. Which is better than nothing. It’s so easy for us to say it’s not worth it. Because we don’t want to give up a day of paid work, social media and online shopping. But when people in Palestine and the major charities actually on the ground working with them want this, isn’t it actually a show of solidarity regardless of our views on it, the actual impact, and our own in inconvenience? Regardless of impact.

Not shopping for one day isn't all that inconvenient. I don't know about you but I have no buy days all the time. It's not much of a sacrifice, if a person wants to do it and feels that it's a good exercise or symbolic or what-have-you, they should do what they feel is right. But showing respect to a people and a cause means being willing to discuss tactics, express disagreement, identify whose political ideals are in alignment with yours, and convey what one personally thinks is right.

Just because a person is Palestinian doesn't mean that their political ideology or theory of how political change happens aligns with your own, or with any kind of leftist politics. There are a great many Palestinian public figures who are not in any way revolutionary or liberationist. The majority of the charities that exist in Gaza are created and controlled by people in imperial countries, and all these charities operate with harsh restrictions placed upon them that limit how challenging to the existing status quo they can be. Many of them have explicit policies of normalizing the apartheid regime.

And just because a person is affected directly by the genocide doesn't mean they have expertise in tactics or economics -- in fact, it is outrageous that the entire Western world is relying upon a people who are actively being genocided, still, to give us our marching orders and plan our wing of resistance for us. Solidarity isn't just standing around waiting for a people in crisis to tell you what to do. It's organizing and tacting action, lending your support, your expertise, your money, your time, taking a stand for something, asking questions, suggesting alternatives, proposing new acts, participating actively in resistance on every level.

It's also important to keep in mind that the calls we see that come from Palestinians the most often are the ones who have been elevated to the status of Influencer or Head of a Nonprofit-- with all the competing motivations and financial and social incentives that involves. We are not hearing from a lot of Palestinian people on the ground who lack a sizeable platform, who do not have internet or phone access, and whose organizing and resistance take forms that are not social media friendly. The call to "listen to Palestinian voices" is a lot more complex than simply doing what a person on social media -- even a number of popular figures! -- has to say. No person or group can speak for a whole people, or a whole movement.

I believe that taking a single day off from shopping is appealing because it asks so little. It demands almost no organizational work or effort from Americans. It's inert and ineffectual, provably so, but something a person can pat themselves on the back for doing and then go back to their day. It's like almost every form of "activism" that has been promoted on social media for years now -- and it's telling that people won't learn, won't build the infrastructure necessary to make something more dramatic or longer-lasting happen, that members of the imperial core just keep sitting around on social media expecting other people to tell us what we should do to end the imperialism and genocide we are complicit in.

We need to do a whole lot more than not shopping for one day, and we need to do a lot of things that cannot be posted about on social media.

[goawaypopup]

Look Outside Posting Part 5: Static

If you didn't bother to go back and check the laptop regularly, you might have missed this.

You wouldn't be missing a whole lot, to be honest. There aren't many answers to be found from the news or social media. But there is something strange to be learned there.

As the weeks continue, photos posted on social media begin to appear as nothing but colorful noise. This seems to specifically happen to the photos that are posted by Witnesses, and Witnesses comment on the photos as if they were normal; everyone else is mystified.

We can rule out a few reasons this might be happening right away. If it were due to some kind of atmospheric interference coming from the Visitor, it would be happening to all data, not just images. If it were some kind of effect from trying to capture footage of the outside at all, the VHS footage and photograph of the Visitor wouldn't be useful.

Rather, I think this is censorship being applied manually on the social media site Sam is using.

With an infohazard readily visible in the sky, and a large contingent of the userbase talking about wanting to force people to look, photos of the Visitor would be a huge safety concern.

A lot of news sites are down a few days in, and I'm pretty sure social media should be no different, but it remains operational over the full 15 days. Like the electricity, and Placide's control over the building's pipes, this likely means someone is still upkeeping the servers. Someone who's already looked, and therefore isn't at risk from any unfiltered photos.

The corrupted images start to appear a few days in, and only become ubiquitous after a while, when very few people remain online who haven't somehow been turned. We don't know for sure that it's specifically and only Witnesses' images being targeted, but what we do know aligns well with that.

Most Witnesses are very visible online. They use the eye emoji to identify themselves, and post about the Witness/Coward discourse or about looking outside themselves. Manually labeling them all to apply hidden account restrictions would still be a superhuman task, but it would reduce the load massively compared to moderating images by hand.

I was pretty perplexed by Witnesses interacting with glitched photos as if they were normal. Even if most of them are kind of crazy and up to a lot of groupthink, people who are cursed are just too unpredictable for me to believe that every single one would play along and keep posting garbled pictures. I think that they CAN see them. If they're already getting flagged as Witnesses behind the scenes, it would be easy to lift the filter for them.

This is kind of an insane thing to implement at a time like this, but whoever is doing this clearly has some interesting priorities in the first place, to be working so hard just to allow people to continue to post images at all.

In a rolly chair in a dimly-lit office somewhere, or possibly entangled in the circuitry of the servers themselves, sits a passionate content moderator, steadfastly committed to the end user experience, come hell or high water.