#I understand not knowing how to reverse image search | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blorbocedes · 5 months ago

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let me take you guys on a journey. one that will help you understand how annoyingly obsessive and hung up my brain can get......

so here is where our wild goose chase starts. I was going through a 2012 f1 blog's nico tag. it's actually pretty rare for early 2010s blogs to have comprehensive tagging systems so whenever I find one I try to go thru it all. and I come across this v cute nico image (cropped for posterity. payoff will be worth it promise)

here we have a picture, from 2012, and in classic 2012 fashion there is meme text on it. OP of the original pic deactivated. so I want to find the version without the meme text. pretty easy, just reverse google search right?

WRONG!

google reverse search is functionally dead and defunct and absolutely dogshit.

ok back to square one. I'm trying to sus out from whatever information I have.

the other meme watermark of f1humour.tumblr.com? deactivated.

okay 37 notes. maybe I can do something with this.

tumblr kind of breaks (?) with very old posts. so even if someone tagged it, I can't see it. ok but 14 people liked it!

of the 14 accounts only 7 actually show, including mine. so what I do is I go through 6 of those blogs, and their public archives because those accounts are all inactive for several YEARS now. and I check their blogs for April 2012.

no luck.

back to the drawing board.

the meme has a MOTORSPORT.COM watermark.

here's all the information I have: this was posted on April 24th, 2012, which means that's my upper limit on the date this could be taken. Nico got in Mercedes in 2010. So from anywhere between 2010-2012 motorsport images couldve taken this pic.

so, because I was born with excessive intelligence, I think hmmm... let me search the archives of Motorsport Images dot com. surely that is where Motorsport dot com would keep their Images.

two years of a racing driver's pictures means thousands of pictures. okay. let's start from April 2012. unfortch for keen eyed listening, April 2012 was also the Chinese Grand Prix aka Nico's first f1 win.

why is that relevant? because it means every photographer and their MOTHER took a picture of nico for his first win. over 900+ images.

while I am exhibiting extremely unemployed levels of behavior here, I don't actually have the time and brain capacity to sift through 900 images.

I go back to the original tumblr post. this time I go to the empty reblogs. there's lots!

but because there's no tags it can't help me. still I go through every one of them because you can see the blog I found the pic from @the-fastest-waffle is listed in the other reblogs even though they clearly had tags!

and I find my silver lining. from @fuckyeahf1drivers's tags

just this simple. #bahrain #lol

if this picture is from bahrain 2012 it changes everything, as in it narrows my search a shit tonne.

375 images. This means 1-15 pages and I know the exact picture I'm looking for. I feel like I'm SO close. I can't give up now. gambler mentality 💎

so I guess what. I go through all 15 goddamn pages. and I DONT FIND IT!!!!!!!!! SCREEEEEECH

now I've lost hope. if it's not from bahrain 2012 then it can be from anywhere from 2010-2012 taken by motorsport.com which is just too big a search. there isn't anything I can narrow it down with. my search is futile.

but I have one tiny little thought bugging my mind. how come motorsport images don't have the motorsport.com watermark... so I consult a fellow archivist @vegasgrandprix on the matter.

WE AS A SOCIETY NEED TO ADDRESS WHY MOTORSPORT.COM AND MOTORSPORT IMAGES.COM HAVE THE SAME FONT

finally. finally

I go on motorsport.com

which is actually kind of not super user friendly interface finding their pics if you have excessive intelligence like I do. I go into this knowing if the bahrain 2012 long shot is actually NOT when that picture is from, I'm fucked.

I filter and say a prayer.

and lo and behold.

salvation.

one person's singular tag of 'bahrain 2012 lol' led me down this spiral, where if it wasn't for that bit of information this would be lost forever because finding the version of the pic without the meme text is otherwise near impossible. google reverse search is no help, and f1 drivers simply get photographed way too much. reblogs + tags with context literally are a holy grail. this is what I imagine archaeologists feel like. so if you ever want someone 12 years after you've posted something to go down finding out, tag your posts accordingly (assuming tumblr survives the next decade)

so why did I do it? why did I spend hours of my life on this? cause it's fun. it's like a mystery and it itches at my skin. many times I'm not successful which is why the times I am feels so rewarding because it feels almost like detective work, finding and refinding something, overturning evidence. and I have a brain that just functions Like This.

and now for the fruit of my labour, if you guys still want to see. the picture I spent hours to find the original version of. sitting proudly at the time of posting at 9 notes 😌😌 here's what goes behind actually finding and archiving 2010s retired f1 drivers online. click below!

👇👇👇

👆👆👆

#welcome to my dark twisted evil mind #if you read the whole thing... I hope u shared this journey with me. kiss!#the effort behind a stupid shitpost lol. this is what nobody sees #nico rosberg #Bahrain Grand Prix 2012 #lore hunting

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writteninlunarlight-years · 1 month ago

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HI, LET'S TALK ABOUT ART THEFT

Hello, my name is Luna; I have gone by Luna for ages and have been friends with some fantastic artists here on Tumblr. One artist is @heart-of-the-morningstar

A few days ago, it was brought to our attention as a friend group that someone had reposted her entire work, and only in the small author note pointed out it was hers, and they were only doing this because the account has errors (Which it doesn't but we will get into that later)

The account in question for doing this is known as @luna-naoffcial

Now, from one Luna to another, stealing other authors' writing, purposefully taking art, and getting rid of the artist's watermark is wrong.

I have compiled a long list of proof of all the transgressions and my own personal grievances regarding what has happened and continues to happen in the artist community.

First off, story stealing:

To accomplish this, I went through every single story and copied not only the summary that this person wrote on their master list but also the first few lines of the text.

With this, I placed it in a Google reverse engine search and managed to find the accounts with the actual stories, all of which, from my understanding, do not belong to @luna-naoffcial.

They are as follows:

Masochism Tango: https://www.wattpad.com/story/365788359-masochism-tango-alastor-lucifer-vox

Molting Season: https://www.wattpad.com/story/365592419-%F0%9D%90%8C%F0%9D%90%8E%F0%9D%90%8B%F0%9D%90%93%F0%9D%90%88%F0%9D%90%8D%F0%9D%90%86-%F0%9D%90%92%F0%9D%90%84%F0%9D%90%80%F0%9D%90%92%F0%9D%90%8E%F0%9D%90%8D-radioapple

To Love A Killer: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46501777/chapters/117090241

Insanity: https://www.wattpad.com/story/361200644-%F0%9D%90%88%F0%9D%90%8D%F0%9D%90%92%F0%9D%90%80%F0%9D%90%8D%F0%9D%90%88%F0%9D%90%93%F0%9D%90%98

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These are all stolen writing works, not to mention the one stolen from @heart-of-the-morningstar

We will move on to stolen artwork and the watermarks intentionally cropped out of view.

I opened a Google engine bar and an image search to find these. You can then download or drag and drop the image you are looking for.

With out further ado:

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I would like to dive into the 'apology' given out and the oddities I have found.

I don't know how many people on Tumblr are familiar with the Cait Corrian drama that happened a few years ago.

She was found creating many fake accounts on GoodReads and trying to ruin the chances of her other YA Authors' getting accredited.

She is also notorious for making fake discord messages to try and cover up her deciete

I post this specific account of the story and these screenshots to highlight the oddities of the following messages shared between @luna-naoffcial and her 'friend' @lia65lana towards a third individual named Kate. What is off to me is that there are a lot of odd things involved in this message exchange

For example, Lia is messaging Kate off Luna's account. Why not off your own account? On top of that, why is Kate on Luna's account? I trust many of my friends but would not hand over my account.

This conversation thread looks very similar to the Cait Corrians. Not only that, but the people in the conversation sound and talk very similarly. The grammar, spelling errors, and odd placement of some nouns and verbs are fluid between all 'three' people.

However, I am willing to step back and say it could be a dialect thing, as when I look at the @luna-naofficial account, my Google Translate automatically wants to translate from Mandarin.

What really struck me as odd however was the responses that both accounts posted as apologies

Lia's account is red, and as we have seen, Luna's is green.

Both accounts posted the EXACT SAME MESSAGES. Only Luna's had an additional ending.

As I was investigating for my friend, it changed again

Again, many of these messages don't fully make sense. There are many grammatical and spelling errors, all very similar to the original picture I added first. All of these 'three' people sound, talk, and make the same errors in all the same ways. I would like to play the benefit of the doubt. In these messages, there is talk of depression, death, and anxiety, all things I personally also struggle with and I understand are hard. However, they are not excuses for purposefully stealing other people's hard work and taking credit for them.

You blatantly take credit for others' work, which is wrong and disheartening.

Side note @alastorsmiles1930: The response and messages are also odd and read the same as all these others. This account is also the ONLY account that followed @heart-of-the-morningstar and the others in my friend group. I want to point this oddity out however I hope you are just an innocent bystander

From one Luna to another, please stop this and apologize. Not just to @heart-of-the-morningstar but to everyone you have been stealing from.

Thank you for listening My Moons

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regretsofaghost · 2 months ago

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Survival May Be the Hardest Part

part 1- I Couldn't Give What It Cost Me

ao3 link- here

Danny couldn’t focus.

He needed to focus, to save, to keep something, with Batman. From Batman?

Danny kept looking in his peripherals, images of white suited men, teal and bright orange HAZMAT suits, people that left before he could get a clear look at them.

He needed to know for sure.

He couldn’t.

Phantom stepped away from Batman, unused to the feeling of wind on his bare face as he flew up. He hoped the other man was okay, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t. Whatever he saw when Phantom had removed his mask had shaken the older hero.

Phantom could power through most things, he had to.

Phantom was the only thing standing between ghosts and the living.

The only thing that wanted both sides to be safe.

Was Scarecrow ready for a real ghost?

A real manifestation of fear, of the dead? Something so otherworldly that you could just barely comprehend it?

Phantom didn’t really understand what he did. All he knew for sure was that he didn’t want anyone hurt, including Scarecrow.

He couldn’t give into his urges like he had with Freakshow.

Danny liked the stars; he liked them a lot.

It’s one of the reasons he loved Amity Park so much, the night sky was so clear that he could see distant stars and planets, some nights the Milky Way looked close enough to touch.

It was one of the only things he could think of while under Freakshow’s influence, his stars. Danny couldn’t remember much other than his stars, how odd it was that they were tinted ever so slightly red, his eyes drifting to the sky at every opportunity.

Sam liked to say it was that reason she knew she wouldn’t die from her fall off the tightrope. If Danny could remember his stars, if he could seek them out and lose himself to them like he normally would, he would remember Sam and Tucker.

Bruce had been keeping an eye on the new meta in Gotham, a mysterious figure who wore a black HAZMAT suit, complete with a gas mask which obscured their face. Of course, Batman had wanted to meet this figure, but the Family was having trouble setting up a meeting.

Their abilities made tracking them near impossible, new powers seemingly appearing every week. Or perhaps the meta refrained from using their full arsenal, it was impossible to tell. Intangibility made them impossible to contain, flight made them harder to catch, invisibility made the Family lose track of them regularly. That was ignoring how the meta messed with their technology, much of it shorting out when they got close enough to detect them.

It was like they were dealing with a real ghost.

Running the meta’s appearance through reverse image searches lead the Family to social media, where Barbara was able to get past a fire wall surrounding a small town. Phantom was their, or rather his, name. He was a hero, or a vigilante, or a villain, depending on who you asked. He appeared to exhibit villainous behaviour at points, however with how rare it was, mind control in those instances was not ruled out.

Amity Park had a ghost problem, and it seemed that they received a ghost savior in the process.

Bruce didn’t know what to think of that.

Danny remembered stars.

He kept looking up, hoping to see the tiny specks in the distance, the moon should be full.

The smog was too thick to see through.

He wanted to see his stars.

It was dark. There was a thunderstorm happening, flashed of bright light followed by booms of thunder every few minutes. Just enough time for Danny to relax, never enough to feel safe.

He forgot about those fears. Those childish fears of the dark, the ingrained fear of electricity.

Maybe that’s why the lightning looked more green than white, like it should.

He had to protect them. He had to find Scarecrow.

Target the ghost, the perpetrator, help deal with the fallout afterward.

Danny’s face was wet, he didn’t realize rain could touch a ghost.

Scrodinger’s cat, neither dead nor alive till you opened the box, both dead and alive till you lifted the lid.

Danny didn’t want to open the box.

Phantom drifted upward, eyes scanning for Scarecrow, recognizing the dissociation for what it was.

If he didn’t register the white, teal, and orange, he could do it.

Bingo.

Scarecrow was in front of him, taunting? The rain was too loud, the lightning too distracting. Phantom couldn’t tell, couldn’t see his mouth, the mask over the other’s face.

Phantom lifted a gloved hand, sending a weaker ghost ray towards the man. Scarecrow was still sent back into the building behind him.

Maybe he wasn’t as present as he thought.

Fear gas was still thick in the air, Phantom could still see the Fentons in the corners of his vision, gloves bloody and suits damaged, he didn’t hurt them. Did he? He wouldn’t, he couldn’t.

Phantom stood over Scarecrow, tilting his head at the odd energy surrounding the man. He hadn’t seen ghosts react like that before, the way they seemed desperate to get away, only to be pulled back in, like the man was a drain they couldn’t escape.

Danny thought of a mixture of red and green going down the drain.

The Bats were busy, Batman was closer than he usually got.

Batman still had Phantom’s mask on.

Batman could still see Danny’s face.

“Do you know fear?” Phantom found himself asking, looking down at the Scarecrow. His voice sounded so odd without the muffling of his mask, that was until he remembered that his voice was not coming strictly from his mouth. It was also coming out of the speakers in the area, a damaged store’s intercom, a police car’s siren, com links. It made his voice crackle, high and low frequencies cutting in and out.

It nearly sounded like he was borrowing others’ voices.

The Scarecrow struggled to answer, which was odd. Phantom didn’t want to know why he struggled.

“I think you think you know fear, Scarecrow,” Phantom breathed out, the crackle worsening in the speaker closest to him, “you know it’s not simply what goes bump in the night.”

Phantom walked closer, white, teal, orange, orange, white, teal, orange.

There was a boom of thunder in the distance, a flash of green lightening illuminating Danny’s face.

White, teal, red, red, orange, red, white, green, white, teal, orange.

“Phobias are easy. The best way to scare someone is with rational fears. Something that can, and will, harm them.”

White, teal, orange.

“Are you afraid of ghosts, Doctor Crane?”

Phantom kept looking up at the sky. Bruce wasn’t sure why.

There was almost longing in his young face, jaw still soft with age despite the malnourished way his cheeks sunk in. His green eyes were hazy, never truly focusing, even as he searched for something he seemed to struggle to find. His white hair whipped around his face, shaggy in a way that suggested it was kept short but had grown out.

Phantom was young, younger than estimates suggested. Why was a child wearing a HAZMAT suit? Why did he seem so proficient in engineering?

Phantom asked Scarecrow if he was afraid of ghosts.

What killed a child in a HAZMAT suit?

What prompted Phantom into giving Bruce his mask?

Phantom wasn’t reacting like one normally would under fear gas, but Bruce knew it wasn’t because he was immune.

Maybe it was because he was a dad, but he knew when a child was scared, and Phantom was terrified.

Danny remembered searching for the stars, before he was diving to save a Robin from falling.

Freakshow never really learned, he was human, but he was the same as the ghosts he took over. Never really learning from his mistakes.

Or maybe he thought he figured Phantom out.

Danny could remember holding Freakshow over the ledge, his staff broken below them.

He could remember the feeling of Freakshow’s suit jacket in his hands, the rubber of his gloves just barely slipping.

“You got your sequel, I’m not letting you make it a trilogy.”

His hand let go.

Phantom let Lady Gotham take Freakshow, leaving before the Bats could arrive.

Phantom was standing over Scarecrow.

He was so small, how did they ever think he was older than 18.

Scrodinger’s cat, dead and alive.

Phantom had a civilian identity.

“Oracle?”

“B-zzzzzz-t’s? C-zzzz-me? -zzzzzz- get a-zzzzz-al.”

No luck, it’ll have to wait.

Batman was slow to approach.

There was no need to scare the kid further, with what he’s seen so far, Phantom wouldn’t hurt him, but fear gas was powerful.

“Phantom?”

The ghost turned towards him, and Bruce had to breathe deeply as his body tensed, chills running down his spine, his palms went sweaty.

All precursors to fear that Batman was used to ignoring.

“We’ll lock him up. Let me take him.”

Bright green eyes, hazy, hands loose at his sides. Phantom was terrified, but he didn’t act on it. Strange.

Phantom’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to catch something that wasn’t there. His breath was coming out in puffs of mist, despite the temperature, though Bruce couldn’t complain, the mist meant he could tell that the child was hyperventilating.

Scrodinger’s cat, both dead and alive

Bruce hoped his comment about fear wasn’t from experience. He knew it was.

“Phantom, let me take Scarecrow,” Bruce put a bit more of a demand behind his words, taking a small step forward. He held his hands within view, making it clear he had nothing in them, and wasn’t reaching for anything.

Phantom watched him so closely, he probably forgot his face was exposed. He let Batman get close though.

The fear gas was slowly dissipating around them. Good, they had Scarecrow, the others had taken care of the gas, and now, Bruce was within ten feet of the mysterious meta who had managed to avoid the full force of Gotham’s vigilantes.

Phantom watched as Batman cuffed the Scarecrow, the masked villain never letting his eyes leave the ghost.

Phantom looked towards the sky again, seeing a glimpse of the night sky, a single star, before there was a shooting pain through his side.

The ghost came crashing to the ground, the pain a terrifying familiar feeling, Danny struggled to keep his transformation up, even as his eyes darted around the crowd, white, white, white.

Teal, orange.

White.

Phantom was gone.

#danny phantom #dc x dp #danny fenton #bruce wayne #hazmat au #full hazmat au

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prettynalilmagic · 7 months ago

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ℙ𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝔸 ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕕: 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕜- ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟

Decks: Considerate Cat Tarot Vol 2, The Dark Mirror, Tarot of Pagan Cats, The Wild Unknown Archetypes

This reading will be shadow work based on what exactly are we repressing and not aware of. And how to work through it with advice from me and tarot. Take everything as a small guide, tarot is a tool for guidance and not to see or predict the future.

Pile one

First things first, Go get therapy.

"Its not about choosing the chains.

Its about choosing them again and again."

Pile one welcome to your little section. So, I had a theme card for your overall shadow, which was Addicted. At first, I was troubled with finding out exactly what type of addiction was causing you to repress your shadow, and I kept pulling cards and I realized that your shadow is built on way too many situations that come back to your dissatisfaction from your life. Pile One your addicted to hating yourself. You have heavy cards that show me that there’s this feeling of self-inflicted despair. Your shadow emits contempt for life, you hate yourself and honestly hate life overall. The hanged Man in reverse shows me that you grew up very much internally, most of your experiences are based inwardly as you felt left behind on life. Everyone seemed to reject you. Your loved ones, and people who are supposed to be close, turned their backs on you at some point so in turn you did the same. The world rejected you growing up. Life showed you, that you aren’t deserving of love, so you internalized that and have subconsciously clung onto that delusion.

Pile one do you feel like nothing can change you? Nothing can fix you? That things will stay the same or get worse over time? Have you even thought about how you feel about yourself truly? When was the last time you willingly reflected on your own self-image? Do you think there's any motivation for you to live your life beyond what traps you? Going back to your theme card, your repression is very much self-imprisoned. You don’t see you can work through any internal conflict and you in turn have been chaining your own self to depression. Nobody is perfect, that's true, but self-discovery is beautiful however it's also difficult. This won't be an easy task.

Mentally, you’re at rock bottom almost every day. Do you dissociate a lot? Do you even know if you do? Because I recently discovered that I dissociate a whole lot throughout my life and have never known I was doing it. Human brains are truly mind blowing, it can take and hold so much stress and pain, then hide it away from us so when we don’t keep reliving and feeling all that hurt.

Nobody wants to struggle and be depressed, and our brain very much plays a part in helping us hide it away. Chances are you downplay or don’t care to think or consider your own shadow self.

I'm not fit to diagnose, but pile one look into Complex Trauma, C-PTSD, and being Shame Bound. Learn about various types of traumas, habits, and attachment styles on YouTube it will help you get a rough idea on understanding what you need to improve on without using therapy. However, please if you can, look into seeing a psychologist and a therapist.

I know life is super tough as it is for you and you might not be able to afford it but research if there's anything you can afford and if you truly have searched, look into self-help groups online and self-help programs as well. There are free eBooks you can illegally get, pirate that shit. Get a tarot deck for yourself and do shadow work readings. Also please stop reading all the dumbass future partner and next lover readings, invest love into your own damn self before investing it onto some person you most likely haven’t even met or aren’t going to meet. Sorry it's a pet peeve of mine. Chances are you’re reading this on your phone or computer, get on the notes app and write out that little ass of yours. Please there’s still so many ways to make your own mental stability easier on yourself. There's so much stuff you can do if you truly look into it, I recommend watching Patrick Teahan, Heidi Priebe, Psych2Go, and Kati Morton, they're my personal favorite therapy youtubers, and they can help you.

Okay going back to the cards, and not my own personal input, the hanged man in reversed also shows me that it was your environment growing up that has formed you into who you are. Life for you looked like everything was so big and almost outta reach for you to grasp, but you’re still here, you have developed habits that has made growing up easier, you learn to get by.

Which leads me to the present, you got the 9 of cups, meaning that your experiences have made you who you are. It ties back to all those built of moments of isolation and lack of love for yourself that you grew up with. Obviously when we grow up knowing others are treating or making you feel some type of way, you take from that and build your mindset on all those experiences.

This hatred is what we use to get by and we build ourselves up to work with our hatred. You know you felt like you are replaceable or have a deep fear of being left behind, we go outta our way to justify being the ones to leave others and replace other people with anything else to get that same feeling, until the same trigger happens. It's a never-ending cycle and growing up it can actually be helpful. As a child we only experienced all the heavy emotions and were not shown consistent or significant amount of effort for our needs, so we learn to not expect that and run away from anything that triggers that little child in you. No one was there to show love so obviously unhealthy habits and mindsets get developed and grow up with us and only gets worse and worse as time flies by. Pile one, you are depressed and hopeless but cheer up, just because your life hasn’t been the best does not equate to that being a set-in stone reality for the rest of your life.

You can make your own life better; the daughter of cups reverse shows me that there's this desire to play around with stuff, just do it. Stop thinking about it, do it. Fuck shit up, stop being afraid of messing stuff up, you think the ones who have hurt you stopped when they were making you feel not cared for or loved? Nope, so just have fun.

Do that fun hobby idea you been thinking about. Get messy with life, even if it is creating something very sloppy. You want to express yourself some type of way but feel like you shouldn’t? Well just do it, even if you feel like a joke or an idiot just try it and see how it feels. Even if you don’t necessarily want to do something or show off a different look or skill, and your more so afraid of making mistakes and not being perfect, just push that thought to the back of your head.

If you spill your drink and make a mess, guess what you can clean it up, you don't have to get mad at yourself or at the drink. Shit happens, and why should you submerge yourself into all the small things with these big emotions like anger and sadness. Relax and rest those pretty eyes. Which goes into your last main card, Four of Swords. Again, relax for once, don’t guilt yourself. Everyone who has it easy, allows themself to relax from time. Even if they don’t doesn't mean that you should do the same thing. Have fun, learn more about who you are and why you are here. There’s so much self-sabotage that goes unnoticed by everyone.

Learn from yourself, thank who you had to become to get to here, and learn how to work past that when that shadow side doesn't help you anymore. You don’t have to 100% love yourself to overcome your shadow. Because here’s the thing, you’re not overcoming it, you’re learning to accept it and work with it to do better. Your shadow is who you are and use it to your ability to grow. Pile one get outta here and watch some therapy videos pls, you will be happier even for just a second.

Pile Two

"What I can't have forever, I will have for a minute. What I can't have for a minute, I will hold to me for one second."

Hello pile two, welcome to your pile. I assume for the most part your shadow is not something you shy away from because quite frankly there's not a significant amount of repression that is being displayed; I feel like this kind of shifted into a little bit of a motivational reading from your guides to tell you about one specific flaw in you rather to tackle down one serious hindering issue.

You guys got two theme cards for your theme of the overall shadow side that you're repressing. I pulled Masquerade and Queen of my world, for you pile two. Both cards have one thing in common. Both are attached to the word Bargain. Which tells me that you tend to do the most to procrastinate the process of bad emotions or habits. Masquerade is all about living in the moment and doing everything in your power to savor and dwell into the fleeting moments you so desperately want to hold onto and stick to. Queen of my world is all about holding onto a facade that hinders the possibility of being seen as anything other than graceful and powerful. You also pulled the daughter of wands in reversed. Which tells me that you procrastinate as well, and you can honestly be very disorderly as well.

You repress your shadow self because of how uncomfortable you are for being seen as who you wish you could be.

You know when we live our whole lives trying to maintain a certain image, it can be so hard and honestly draining. It makes sense why you want to slack off and just live in the moment because maintaining the way you think you have to come off to other people is very draining and if you think about it, your facade is stressful weather you are or aren't aware of it. Having live off of short moments and a false persona is only going to fulfill you for so long, do you think pretending to be stronger, smarter, or fiercer than you really going to stop you from embracing your true inner strength? Because aren't you tired of always having to consistently perform? I don't know if you are even doing it for yourself because doing that for so long will tire you out and make you unsure of who you are deep down.

Pile two, I did pull the son of cups. Which is a very charming and very appealing person to be around, this just reinforces that you will be this at all times for everyone and everything. Given that this is the card that's supposed to represent your present reality, I believe that you are a very much cookie cutter desired person. Someone who is always on top of how you appear as. All I see is that there's this big grand facade of being this person that is so desirable and welcoming. Everyone wants to present themselves in a good light to an extent but for you pile two it's very apparent that this isn't a want for you, it is a need and you do whatever needs to be done to be this beautiful picture-perfect version of yourself, but your human, so guess what? You are at a point where you have to chill out and learn to be yourself, not the ideal version at all times. It's okay to not be what everyone else wants you to be, or what your parents want you to be or whoever else you want to idealize you. You're a human, you're only capable of so much, you're flawed, and you can want to do or partake in things that are different from what should be expected from you.

I pulled The High Priestess in reversed for you as clarification for Son of Cups. Which tells me that you are a very spiritual person, which would make sense, you are reading a tarot reading. Besides that, it brings up to light that your inner self is not being done justice.

Do you even understand who you truly are? Not what you think you have to be to maintain approval.

This facade habit is not aligned with your highest potential. Because face it, do you think you will be happy for the rest of your life pretending to be something that isn't the real you? Just because others think you will be does not make that idea a reality, stop deceiving your true potential.

I don't want to assume but my guess is you may or may not have immigrant parents that have kind of forced this urgency to be a certain way to please them. At the end of the day, you know how you want to be or wish to be. If you don't relate to that portion obviously disregard it, it could be anything from grades, skills, and appearance. Maybe it's a controlling figure, which could be a lover or a person in power over you causing you to feel like you cannot be authentically yourself.

The next card for you is Chariot, which is all about heading straight to where you want to be. Who you want to be. Nobody is going to be able to do it for you. You have built a wonderful mask for yourself for so long that it'll be hard to take it off and learn what you look like when you aren't wearing one. It will be unnatural to you at first, but you will get used to it. You got this pile two. I hope the best for you beautiful.

Pile Three

"I cannot recognize myself. But I'm still me."

Welcome to your reading Pile three. I pulled two oracle cards; Downcast Pride and Is this Me, which the purpose is to reflect on the main themes of your reading. Is this Me is associated with the last stage the Dark Mirrors Oracle grief cycle, which the stage of acceptance, whereas Downcast Pride is associated with the depression stage.

Which brings up the primary point- your shadow self that is being repressed, is your own lack of attachment to joy or fulfillment for your life. This pile does remind me a lot about pile one, as both were attached to the stage of depression. There's been this emptiness in our lives for so long, that we become very dull in life and don't bother to work or see things in a way outside of that empty feeling. Yet, on contrast to pile one, pile three is more so at the phrase of depression morphing into the stage of acceptance. Pile three has wisdom and more insight compared to both previous piles. Pile three you have this inward recognition that everyone is within means of having the capacity to alter your method of thinking and act based on that. You're the more self-aware pile so congratulations on that. I got the High Priestess reversed, Nine of Cups reversed, and Two of Swords as the cards to represent what is being repressed from your past. Nine of Cups was the overall main card for the first question and when it's in reversed I read it as dissatisfaction despite all the opportunities that have been given to us. Perhaps, we overestimated what should be given or granted to us and are disappointed that we don't feel satisfied even if our needs have generally been met. In other words, even though you didn't have the worst hand in life, you're not content. It's possible, you have taken your status, or a piece of your own identity for granted. Given the length of time we have used certain facets of our identity for so long, or maybe even briefly; our perspective of our identity can very much be impacted with that facet we once were attached to and what we used to represent. And it also plays a significant role in preserving our happiness and contentment. Now, this "opportunity" or fragment of identify has gotten away as time gives space for it to vanish off. Life is all about change, it's difficult to accept yet we can't and shouldn't allow it to dictate our personal fulfillment. Change is devasting but so is self-pity, a little self-pity is healthy for you, too much is detrimental for us to expand ourselves onto newer and better things. This could mean anything, such as growing up thin and gorgeous. Years go by and now you've gained more weight than you like, eyes have become dull and wrinkly skin has formed in the corners of your eyes, forehead, arms and almost your entire body. Maybe you're blaming yourself for not earning as much money or for not being able to get the same level of love, appreciation or attention from other people. It could be anything—even a passion that ignited a fire in your life that has gradually faded over time. (Mind you, I am not saying that if you picked pile three you have to be old enough to be worrying about wrinkles or having to make more money from the previous year, any age group could pick this. School, family and mental/physical illnesses can be factors as well not just time itself.) Two of Swords also brings up a different point, that highlights being at a standoff with decision-making. Pile three, did you make a lot of decisions based off of what someone else told you was better or what would best suit someone else? Two of swords displays a lot of lack of self-assurance and I think that part of your fulfillment that's displayed from Downcast Pride roots from not being more assertive in your own personal decisions. The High Priestess is a very spiritual card, and as it is included in the spread's earlier sections, I interpret this to mean that either an inner wisdom has been present but has been clouded by the lack of purpose and achievement. You have potential, but with all this chaotic energy, you have suppressed a lot of this fulfillment. Even after all this time has passed and you still feel as though you are in the same place in life. How come you never knew or tried to figure out what you wanted to do? You're not content and have felt like happiness and fulfillment hasn't been present in life. Pile three, it has to feel devastating for you.

Another way that I’m reading the high priestess is that the high priestess is all about our inner calling and inner wisdom. Based on the other two cards, I would say that this is what is blocking off all this magical, inner wisdom being brought up. Meaning, we must solve our own issues to let our inner voice be shined. Seek assistance from anyone or any place that might help you becoming more aware of your inner reality.

You also got the Son of Cups and Judgement reversed. Which just reinforces what I said the previous paragraph. Son of Cups represents a charming and idealistic person that everyone loves and desires. Whilst Judgement reversed is highlighting missed opportunities and failure. Failure to be the Sun of Cups. Failure to grow past who you used to be.

Mourn your past. Accept it’s not with you anymore. Move on so you can grow. I am aware it’s easier said than done, but it still needs to be addressed.

Lamenting over who you wish you still were, or where you want to be is rather pointless. Stop wishing for something thats now unattainable for you. Look for the new you, answers and solutions for yourself. Morph into something better so that the old you would’ve been jealous of new present you. When you think about it, it’s actually good that some things cannot be changed because then there’s a plethora of options for growth and numerous outcomes for who we can be.

Now, I pulled Father of Swords, for advice for you to help you work through accepting your shadow self. This card is pretty straightforward, Father of Swords is a very authoritative and is someone who strives onward. He’s also someone who’s very logical and knows that in order for blessings we have to work and set ourselves up for blessings. He does what he has to do to get to where he wants to be. He dosn’t live in the past, he lives in the present while working for the future. Spirt wants me to tell you to do the same so you can work through your repression of your shadow.

#oracle #tarot reading #free tarot #pac reading #pick a card #pick a picture #pick a pile #tarotonline #shadow work #healing

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strawberrycheeks-and-glasses · 1 year ago

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Listen to Me

Tsukishima x f!reader | rated E | 5k

Summary: Failing one of your classes, you remember a flyer you saw on campus offering ‘on call’ tutoring sessions. So, in your desperation, you call and develop a crush on the guy’s voice on the other end. Pretty soon, things start to heat up.

A/n: this is very self indulgent porn tbh, pls don’t judge me but I had a craving for a voice kink and the thought of Kei whispering in my ear gave me goosebumps. So~

“Hey there,” the smooth sounding voice on the other end of the phone says, sending a shiver down your spine.

You had seen a flyer on campus for a call in tutoring session a while back and as a joke, you snapped a picture of it for future reference. Well, good thing you did because guess who’s failing chem?

“H-hi,” you hesitate, being completely thrown off by the sound of this guys voice.

“Hello,” he greets again. “Did you need help in a subject, or are you one of those girls who call because they heard I have nice voice?”

“People actually do that? I mean you sound, like a normal guy,” you shrug, fiddling with your pencil.

“I’ve been told my voice is soothing to the ear,” he replies. “Not too deep, but not too high, and with a tone that is both unbothered, yet still attentive.”

“I just meant that you sound familiar, is all,” you scoff a laugh, rolling your eyes at how pretentious he’s sounding.

“I get that a lot,” he chuckles. The sound vibrating through the speaker tickles your ear. “Was there something I could help you with?”

“Oh, right,” you almost forgot why you called in the first place.

Talking you through your chemistry homework like he’s in the same class, he teaches you how to find the compounds and use your graphic calculator with ease. And, yeah, okay, his voice is kind of soothing, but he doesn’t need to know you think that.

“Holy shit, I think I understand now,” you laugh, amazed at how simple it actually is once it was explained in a way you could grasp. “You’re pretty smart aren’t you?” You tease him.

“Well, yeah,” he says, and you can hear him rolling his eyes at your stupid question.

“Okay, nerd,” you playfully insult him.

“This nerd just saved your ass from failing chemistry,” he rebuttals. “And the next time you have to call me for help, I’m charging you. Only the first one’s free.”

“Ugh, fine,” you say, pointedly, ending the call.

Please read the rest on ao3

Also, I’m not sure who to credit for this pic that my friend had saved from Pinterest, the artist is no longer active on Twitter and there is no watermark or signature on the art (I even reversed Google image searched and nothing came up), but if you know who made it pls lmk so I can tag them or link their art!!

Anyway, this is the Kei I think of when I wrote this fic, just to get an idea of why I needed to write this fic 💁🏻‍♀️ (also, my friend said Kei biting on the pen is slut behavior, and I agree I agree I agree)

#like he’s so hot in this fic pls #not my art! idk who make them but if you do pls lmk so I can tag them #tsukishima kei #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima x you #tsukishima smut #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyu smut #haikyuu #hq #haikyuu!!#my fic

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 year ago

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TL;DR I purposefully viewed my roommate's messages on their laptop out of concern for their welfare and discovered that they are being catfished, and now I don't know how to tell them. Bit of BG: I (M27) formed a close bond with RM (NB20) by being a mentor for them since they were like 8 or 9 (I was friends with their older brother). I won't go into great detail because it isn't my place to tell, but they're alive because of me providing for them emotionally and later physically with housing and food. This is the second time they've lived with me, and they've gotten a job this time to help pay. There were issues with employment for awhile, and I don't want to get into the details here because the important part is that until very recently, they couldn't contribute anything to the household whatsoever, so I had to foot the bill. I don't resent them for it. but it makes the next part grind my gears more. They are single and looking for casual or serious companionship, and I never cared what they did as long as they were being safe, sane, and consensual. Having basically raised them from teen to adulthood, I have my convictions, but I've always taught them to have safe and risk-aware sex, so a casual fling isn't of concern. They left their laptop open when I got back from taking them to work and it was playing music, so I woke the screen to turn it off so it would stop making noise and not drain the battery (their settings let sound stay on after the lid is closed). I found them in conversation with a woman, and the way she spoke to RM was very suspicious ("babe" tacked onto every sentence was the first red flag), and it only got moreso after I scrolled up. Before I really processed that I was doing it, I had already seen more than I care to have seen, but in doing so, I uncovered that this other person was convincing RM to spend money on her (multiple occasions of asking for $15-25) and meet up for sex. I wouldn't really care if I knew this was a real person and that RM was able to pay their portion of rent, but the latter is certainly not true, and the former is dubious at best, given that a quick reverse image search returns someone from out of state with an OF in their Twitter linktree. I'm not saying it's impossible for RM to pull a girl that looks like that, but the more likely explanation is that the other person is stealing that girl's pictures and catfishing RM. I'm mad that some online rando is getting money that my household needs, but the only way I know that is because (and I won't mince words here) I violated RM's privacy by looking through their messages instead of just leaving it alone and turning their music off. I'm understandably conflicted here, but I don't know how best to handle this situation. I certainly don't want a catfish to effectively steal from RM by lying to them when that's gas and grocery money that's getting funneled to her instead of our household, but more than that? I really don't want RM to get taken advantage of by a liar on the internet when they don't even have the funds to spare in the first place to make a mistake like that consequence-free. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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lullabyalikpoptarot · 8 days ago

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Lee Minho (Lee Know) Perspective Reading

Disclaimer: I don't claim to know him, just a girl with cards. If you have a set perfect image of him, keep it moving, if not, enjoy the ride. This is just my interpretation of the energy and cards I get.

Alright, so decided to go with him for the next reading now that we are in Scorpio season, why not get to him as there was someone interested in his reading. The song that came to me, like Taehyun, it came very quickly was Beautifully Broken by Ashley Simpson. At first, I had no clue what song this was. I just heard the song name, so had to look it up, and I realized it was an old song I used to like. The lyrics that stood was 'I am beautifully broken, and I don't care who knows it.' Honestly, this is so Scorpio energy. I am not sure if he wears his scars on his sleeve, not sure why that came up, but he may be unapologetic about who he is, including his flaws, he may even embrace them. I am not too familiar with him, so this will be fun to dig in and see what I can get. He can sometimes be hard to read for me, so not sure how deep he will let me go.

Okay, well this was the quickest I have seen this deck of cards fall out, since doing this, and a lot wanted to pop out, so there can be a lot lurking within him in the shadows here. I get a sense he needs some sort of struggle or pain to kind of feel anything. He may feel like a shell of himself. It is like he needs to feed off of something, maybe others to feel anything. I mean, this colorless Angel card is kind of like someone lifeless and cold. Or someone who is numb to the world. He doesn't seem much of an optimist or a dreamer. Seeing this, not sure why I am pulled to my more spiritual deck, he isn't giving me the vibe he is very connected in that sense. But I can also see him not using tools or addictions to escape. It is like he wants to face the harsh realities of the world. I felt like I got this vibe from him in the idol reading, where he kind of likes the struggle and darkness.

I asked for more, and of course a lot came out, man this dude may seem to like to show his dark side, which now the song choice makes sense. I am beautifully broken, I don't care who knows it is really showing here with all these cards coming out. He kind of embraces that aspect of him. Once again, the Peaceful Among Thorns card is reversed, it is like he likes to step in the fire, the chaos, because it makes him feel. Yeah, I am in his energy, and I am feeling nothing, so yeah, there is a sense of numbness here (not complaining from my end though), like he may need external things to give him some sense of feeling. I am not sure why Fragmentation is reversed here. Maybe he doesn't see himself as broken. It is like he is a beautiful puzzle piece. Interesting phrasing there.

So, he got the Sovereign card, in this energy he seems to stand in his own power and loves his authentic self. He stays true to himself and what he stands for. It is kind of like no one can bring him down. With the Tamer energy. He is very good at keeping his cool through any storm that may come his way, or he just knows how to remain cool, calm and collected. He understands people may not agree with him and that is okay. Now, with this creator energy here, life is a game or a play for him, maybe even a stage, a place he can have fun and create the life he may want. I just think of The Magician when I look at this card, he can manipulate the environment and people around him. It doesn't have to be malicious, but it can also be that way. I am not getting a purely innocent vibe from him, but not negative either. He is kind of neutral in a sense. Not on the good or bad side. I can see him playing both sides to be honest. He is always seeking something to fulfill the needs he desires whatever that is. He is always on the search for something more exciting and thrilling. The thrill of the chase I am getting.

He is showing different elements with this deck of cards. He seems like a pure romantic, a person who may seek true love, or maybe this love can help fill him in a sense. Love may allow him to purify his thoughts, maybe bring clarity to his life, or make things clear for him. It can also help him to feel more deeply. Or just be able to tap into his emotions more. He seems like a very thoughtful person with the undercurrents of emotions that may lay dormant but could come to the surface if he finds the love he needs. Crazy messages here but going with it. Love seems to be able to awaken something in him. This sounds like a damn love story here wth

It seems building bonds with others will be important in his life. It seems he enjoys having people close to him, or just connecting with others. It is like he is meant to find his true love or a soul mate here. Maybe there is someone in his life that he may need to take a leap of faith with. There are also opportunities here for him that he needs to take a chance on, as I said earlier, he isn't the most optimistic or the type to have faith in things. He may feel things will all go to hell, interesting wording that popped up here, but he just needs to learn to have faith things will work out for the best. He seems to be a very loyal person. Someone who stands by others through thick and thin. He is always there to listen and be of comfort to someone he cares about. Different vibe here from the first part, this is taking me somewhere else.

So, these selections of cards are mostly telling him to allow himself to open up and be vulnerable, so if he allows love into his life, it will give him the opportunity to reveal the inner most vulnerable sides of himself. To bring out those emotions that lay dormant. He may shut that part of him off, which can make him feel cold and empty inside, which is why he seeks external pleasure or enjoyment. It is like allow himself to be on display. He seems to like to go into his dark and shadow side, but not his soft, warm and vulnerable side. It is like he should come out the darkness and show his color and light. He is like backwards, most people hide their shadow side and keep their lighter side on display, he is the opposite, embraces the shadow side, but keeps his light within him. There could also be a lack of freedom of expression with him, due to shutting his vulnerable side off.

Let's end this with Tarot. so not surprised my Scorpio card came out, well duh, he is one, the keywords that stick out are secretive, cautious of others and taboo. There is also a deep undercurrent to him I am getting. He is not the type to share too much, and maybe that is why he may struggle for people to get to close, because you may discover things about him, he may not like, not the dark side, but the more vulnerable one. With the 4 of Cups rv, he tries not to brood or sit with his emotions for too long, he needs a distraction to keep him away from that. He seems to be emotionally and spiritually disconnected as well. With The Star reversed, makes sense, lack of hope and optimism on his part, once again, blocked spiritually as well and a lack of healing one's soul, or doing the soul work. I get it, some people are just not spiritual and focus on the material and Earth plane, so he may be in that energy. He may also have a difficult time seeing the potential in things as well. It is like he is constantly on the move, so he doesn't have to connect with himself or feel, which is why he may feel a void within himself.

Okay, he is a fascinating character, thankfully I felt nothing energetically, but that also could indicate strong disconnections there. I thought it would be hard to get anything from him, but he made it rather easy. I am sure there is more to him he isn't sharing though, but this was fascinating on its own.

#kpop tarot #stray kids tarot #lee know tarot

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useless-catalanfacts · 3 months ago

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I'm pretty sure that ask from a Palestinian family is a bot, i've gotten so many of those in my inbox and I'm 90% sure they're all bots

Look, I'm going to answer this assuming that you mean well and that you're not trying to spread this rumour to take part in genocide and get Ahmed and his family killed.

It is not a bot, it has been checked that he is not a bot. There are people like @/nabulsi, @/el-shab-hussein and @/90-ghost on Tumblr (and others from other organizations and other platforms) getting in touch with all the people asking, checking their national ID card to make sure their names match, and that all their story matches. That's why verification lists exist, because people have put in the effort to verify all these people, even when it's extremely difficult because internet connection isn't stable in Gaza and all of them are already busy enough with trying to survive because Israel keeps telling them to evacuate to "safe zones" and then proceeds to bomb said zones, they have to queue for hours to get some water and some food, and the tents they're being forced to live in reach 50°C. The Palestinians in our ask boxes are doing everything they can to save their families and themselves. Can you even imagine being in that situation? Living a hell on earth, a genocide, your home destroyed, your business destroyed, relatives and friends killed, bombs exploding at any time around you, your hometown in rubble, your school/university in rubble, food extremely expensive and you've lost almost everything you owned, malnourishment and illness all around you and knowing hospitals have been bombed and doctors are being targeted, fearing for your life and the life of your children, your parents, your partner, if they are even alive, hearing how people are getting kidnapped, tortured, and even raped by Israeli soldiers and the state media celebrates it. And on top of this, the only way out is to beg strangers on the internet proving your disgrace with photos and videos of your most vulnerable moments and your children's most vulnerable moments, in a language that's not your own — in some cases, in a language you don't speak or understand, written in a script you can't read, but that someone was kind enough to type a message in for you so that you can re-send it. And on top of all that, people will see your suffering and say you're a bot or a scammer. Can you imagine?

You will never see me post or reblog a donation link to someone who has not been verified, because I know that such risk exists. Most people who are asking and aren't verified are real people in need, because it's difficult to get verified in these circumstances. But I don't speak Arabic, I can't verify myself, so I'm choosing to focus on the ones that we know are verified while those who can speak Palestinian Arabic get in touch with the others and complete the verification process.

I've gotten less on this blog, but on my main blog I've gotten dozens of asks asking for donations and reblogs (I've not counted but my estimation would be around 50) and out of all these, only 2 were fake. The fake ones used PayPal instead of GoFundMe, their stories said they needed insulin (most Gazans are asking for money to evacuate or afford food and medicine, insulin could be needed but it's unlikely to go alone), the photos they used showed up in a reverse image search, and the names once you clicked on their PayPal were not Palestinian or Arab (according to Google, the names of the people I personally got were from Kenya and Uganda, but the same method could be used by people from anywhere else).

Of course it's important to check that any donation you make goes to the person/organization you want it to go to. And that's why I included the verification link. Sending an ask like this to someone trying to get them to publicly post your message spreading the false idea that a very real person with a very real family trying to survive a genocide is a bot or a scam shows, in the best case, that you are careless and didn't think much before acting and, in the worst case, that you are actively taking part in this genocide and contributing to the dehumanisation of Palestinians, to cutting off the little support they get from outside that gives them a chance of survival, and that you are trying to get these families killed. Whether it was on purpose or not, this is what an ignorant message like this —accusing with no proof and where you would have seen it's a real person with only a bit of research—, this is what it does: it contributes to the genocide. It gets people killed. This is a genocide, we cannot afford such mistakes.

If you have a doubt, research before making public accusations. Or ask privately about it. Instead, you chose to send this ignorant ask on Anonymous, meaning that you knew well that I would not be able to answer to you privately and that I would have to answer publicly, using me as a loudspeaker to spread your baseless rumour (a rumour that could cost a family their lives!) with all of my followers.

Of course you've gotten so many of these messages in your inbox. Gaza, even before October, was one of the most densely populated places on Earth because of Israel's apartheid regime and how it pushes Palestinians in an open-air concentration camp. And now they're all getting bombed. What are they supposed to do? Not try to survive? Die in silence? What would you do if you were in their place?

Anyway, let's all go help the family that this ask is accusing. And I recommend you make up for it and donate, too, at least some. They are very close to reaching the goal they need to afford the Egypt travel agency costs to evacuate to Egypt. Help Ahmed and Dina and their children Zeina (7 years old), Eileen (6), Yamen (4), and the baby girl born in June in the midst of war.

(Verification link: number 264)

Let's also help Samer, Shuroq, and their three children:

(Verification link: number 196)

Also please Mahmoud Al Sharif, his wife Soha, and their 4 children (ages 12, 11, 8 and newborn). Mahmoud lost an eye and fingers in the wars he survived before the current one. They are still very far from their goal.

(Verified by 90-ghost here)

"Solidarity is the tenderness of the peoples". Palestine, Catalonia always has you in our heart.

#palestina #other countries #ask #anonymous #not facts

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freyjas-musings · 4 months ago

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Hey, so you have your comments restricted and you have me blocked on Insta. But the post you are making contains a shit ton of fallacies. I legit didn’t know it was Gwynriel (as seen in the image above). Again, you have me BLOCKED so I don’t see anything on her account. I always use a reverse google search for images before using them. Both of the images, which have been deleted, didn’t show up as anything. I was at work and unable to respond or hop on insta to delete them until about thirty minutes ago. - I don’t go around calling people dumb as hell. - I don’t dox people

-I don’t edit images, I found them on Pinterest.

These images are grabbed from Pinterest, again. They have been deleted, because again, didn’t know and wouldn’t knowingly share someone else’s commissioned art. I always try to credit art when I find it. I understand it’s expensive af. The user I was responding to had been harassing me in another post and I responded defensively. Then was busy at work. Deleted them like an hour or two ago, because again. Wasn’t aware. Now I am. They are gone.

but it’s okay, I deleted my posts but the ones where you and your followers are targeting me, berating me, harassing me…that’ll stay up and perpetuate the toxicity in the fandom.

Hey ,

Irrespective of where you found the art , you should be paying due diligence in finding the artist and commissioner if involved before reposting , that's basic ethics.

Someone did inform you that it was my commission. Ship who you want doll but try to stay ethical . If you have made a mistake take responsibility.

You don't call people dumb , good for you ... whats your point ? I do call dumb things dumb... its my opinion ... not going to apologise for that.

Also , I don't need to adhere to your opinion on what can and cannot be on my commissions please get over your entitlement . The characters belong to Sarah j Maas , unless you are her you get no say on how I choose to portray my commissioned art.

You don't dox people .... Good that's ethical behaviour, neither do I ... now start exercising the same ethical behaviour while reposting art.

I deleted my stories as well as soon as you deleted the post .... like for like 👍....

Who was harassed ? It's my art that was stolen , it's my money that was abused , it's my time that was wasted .... I literally took time off because I was burnt out at work and needed a break for my mental health only to deal with this fandom fuckery .... if anyone has been harassed nd exhausted by this ... its ME !!!

Stop with the Victim blaming please, for once take responsibility for your actions and move on ...

#gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #pro gwynriel #gwyn acosf #acotar #azriel shadowsinger #gwyn x azriel #post acosf #azriel #acosf theory #bryceriel

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mariacallous · 4 months ago

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As freshmen at New York University’s film school, some chums and I had an unusual greeting. “We live on rice gruel!” we would say if we saw one another around campus. “We’ll make do on millet!” was the reply.

This back-and-forth comes from an early scene in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954), a movie somewhat force-fed to us on our first day to teach concepts about the language of cinema such as shot/reverse shot and the fourth wall—conventions that today’s students already have in their blood having played with iPhones before they could walk. Though presented as a literal classroom assignment, Seven Samurai’s appropriation as an inside joke among know-it-all 18-year-olds is proof that watching this landmark of world cinema does not feel like homework. Indeed, revisiting the “good guys with a code facing an unwinnable battle” picture for its 70th anniversary, remastered and appearing in cinemas across North America this summer, reminded me that it’s just as fun now as it ever was.

If one had to chisel a Mount Rushmore of so-called foreign films from the influential midcentury period, surely the image of Toshiro Mifune’s mad swordsman Kikuchiyo from Seven Samurai would be among the four granite faces, right next to the cloaked figure of death from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957), Marcello Mastroianni with the fedora and whip from Federico Fellini’s self-mythologizing 8½ (1963), and Jean-Pierre Léaud’s truant teen in François Truffaut’s directorial debut The 400 Blows (1959). (For the French nouvelle vague, you could also make the case for Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, but I’m picking The 400 Blows because this way they all have numbers in the title.)

Though Kurosawa was already a known quantity internationally after the release of Rashomon (1950), a period drama in which several people recall a violent incident differently depending on their point of view, Seven Samurai was both a domestic success and a ripping-enough yarn—swords! archery! horses! mud! gruel!—to engage the rest of the world.

Japanese cinema of the postwar period was initially reluctant to dig into its samurai storytelling heritage, the notion of blind loyalty to feudal lords being understandably less popular at the time. The two most famous Japanese films released just before and after Seven Samurai remain Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953), basically an enormous guilt trip pointed at modernity for letting down their elders, and Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla (1954), a nation’s collective apocalyptic nightmare that somehow mutated into a still thriving merchandise line. Seven Samurai is set in the late 1500s, during the Sengoku period of civil war, a chaotic time that found many of the samurai class without masters. Many of these men became mercenaries, but imagine a story in which some of them (seven, if you will) decided to join forces against impossible odds because it was the righteous thing to do. In revisiting classic Japanese heroism but acknowledging the then-current sentiment, the picture had its rice gruel and ate it too.

The tumultuous setting depicted in the film—the most expensive in Japanese history at the time—no doubt resonated with a Japan that was modernizing rapidly, as did the secondary theme, blurring the lines of a previously clear class system. The highborn Katsushiro (Isao Kimura) falling for the farmer’s daughter Shino (Keiko Tsushima) amid the endless meadows of chrysanthemums, and Mifune’s Kikuchiyo, revealed to be a fraud to the samurai class but one who proves himself in combat, may feel like classic movie characters, but to a postwar Japan in search of a new identity, these transgressions resonated on a much deeper level.

Seven Samurai has a very simple story that perfectly suits its several high-energy set pieces. The 207-minute epic (that’s about 29 minutes per samurai) is set during a time when the countryside is terrorized by bandits who plunder small villages, depleting their harvests and kidnapping women. Already brutalized villagers, aware that they will soon be targeted again, decide to defend themselves by hiring some outside muscle. But how can they afford to pay (see above: “We live on rice gruel!”)? you may wonder. The wise elder who lives inside a mill with a water wheel providing an incessant warlike beat knows the answer: Don’t just find samurai, “find hungry samurai.”

Timid representatives of the village head to town and witness the bravery and creative thinking of Kambei (Takashi Shimura). They convince him to take the gig, and then he assembles his crew. This includes Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi), a cold-as-ice swordsman; Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), a brilliant tactician; the eager silver-spoon apprentice Katsushiro; and the loose-cannon Kikuchiyo, who, in time, emerges as the real star of the show. (There are two other guys: One is kind of the morale officer, and the other is just Kambei’s pal.) Anyway, if the plot seems familiar, yes, it has been adapted for Western cinema several times, most notably as the gunslinging The Magnificent Seven (both in 1960 and 2016), sci-fi romp Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and, if you want to stretch it, the dopey comedy Three Amigos! (1986) and the Pixar cartoon A Bug’s Life (1998). Beyond that, a great many standard cinematic tropes have their roots in this movie.

Most obvious is the first act of the film, in which Kambei builds up the team. There’s no need to overly intellectualize it; it’s just fun to watch him size up potential comrades, test them out, and then make his appeal. There’s also a wonderful moment in which we think we’ve got a new addition but the samurai in question shrugs off the approach when he hears there’s no money or fame in the job. Should Disney ever purchase Toho Studios, we can maybe expect a limited streaming series to find out whatever happened to that guy. Anyway, every movie from The Dirty Dozen to The Blues Brothers to The Right Stuff to Ocean’s Eleven to School of Rock owes a lot to Seven Samurai.

Another influential development is how the villagers (and we in the audience) first meet Kambei. There is some tumult in town as a thief has kidnapped a child and barricaded himself inside a building. Kambei cuts off his hair (a very big deal for a samurai), poses as a monk, and then, after a series of badass moves, rescues the child and kills the baddie in slow motion. Introducing the hero through a mini-mission before we get to the real mission is now so common (think every single James Bond movie) that it’s funny to think it had to originate somewhere.

Most of the so-called movie brats of New Hollywood revered Kurosawa, but none so much as George Lucas, who would later use his clout to help the Japanese director secure funding for his expansive project Kagemusha. While there are more one-to-one alignments between other Kurosawa films and Star Wars (most famously, the original R2-D2 and C-3PO in 1958’s The Hidden Fortress, two comic-relief peasants tagging along on an adventure to save a princess), there’s still a lot in Seven Samurai that made it to the galaxy far, far away.

For starters, there are those wipe transitions between scenes. And then who is the wise elder hunched in the dark speaking truncated wisdom if not The Empire Strikes Back’s version of Yoda? The romance between Katsushiro and Shino is something like a Han Solo-Princess Leia dynamic in reverse, as well. On a technical level, though, one can point to the rising action of the final battle. While there is no exploding Death Star, Kurosawa, who deployed multiple cameras shooting concurrently, cuts not just between different angles of the same fight but between several skirmishes all building to the final thrilling, albeit pyrrhic, victory.

Most striking for its time—and still fiery today—is Seven Samurai’s most impressive element, Mifune. An explosive performer by any standard, let alone the typically taciturn style seen in Japanese movies of the period, Mifune is like a cross between Stanley Kowalski and Woody Woodpecker: muscular one minute, flamboyantly loosey-goosey the next. Like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, Mifune dominates every scene he is in with an unpredictable magnetism. (Though never stated as such, John Belushi’s famous samurai character on Saturday Night Live is basically an exaggerated version of Mifune.) Kikuchiyo is a drunkard and a brute but also silly and, when necessary, fragile. His scene rescuing an infant from a burning building is probably the best thing in the entire movie. Any other actor could have played the part as merely loud and annoying, but Mifune turns the role into something sensuous, mesmerizing, and sui generis. There are many reasons we’re still talking about this movie 70 years later, and the biggest reason of all is him.

The anniversary of the picture means its first remastering to 4K and a significant release in North America. (Not just New York and Los Angeles but places including Akron, Ohio; Paducah, Kentucky; and Kitchener, Ontario—here’s the full list.) With a 15-minute intermission plus a little time to buy popcorn, we’re talking about a four-hour commitment at the movie theater. With today’s limited attention span and hectic schedules, programming this film may seem like going up against impossible odds. Hopefully, there are enough people out there still ready to heed the call and do what’s right, no matter the cost.

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