#I want to do more image id for people to help make this site more accessible it just takes so much out of me if it's a long one

[godtears]

It's interesting that like. I cannot hear the audio for videos for a good chunk of the time. It's not the video, it's me. So whenever I see a video with an ID description or subtitles I feel so much better my body feels a little lighter.

My likes are basically just a collection of videos I'm putting to the side to watch when I'm able to hear audio.

Idk if anyone who sees my posts can relate but. Yeah.

Hmmm

[the-rad1o-demon]

[Image ID (sorta, basically just the text from it):

GET KOSA TRENDING.

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

AS OF FEBRUARY 21ST, 2024, WE GOT FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF DECISION OF THE KOSA BILL, WHICH WILL CAUSE MASS CENSORSHIP ROUND THE INTERNET IF PASSED. OR DOOMSDAY. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.

WE'RE DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT WE CAN'T GIVE UP YET. IF WE GIVE UP, EVERYTHING IS OVER. IF WE DON'T, AT LEAST WE HAVE A CHANCE.

I'M THE ONE WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CURL UP AND DIE YET.

Reblog this post in every LEGAL way you can under the Tumblr guidelines with the appropriate tags. TELL AND TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW, then add the tags to see below... and more if you can think of any complying.

Visit badinternetbills.com if you want to find a way to defeat KOSA. It WILL NOT take much of your time. Reblog with any other information or sources, too-- but make sure to reblog if you can.

Reblog if you support lgbtq+ content.

Reblog if you support questioning queer youth and/or abused youth getting the information they need.

Reblog if you support Ao3 and/or other sites that wholeheartedly preserve talentedly made media.

Reblog if you're going to repost this on other sites than Tumblr and spread the word across Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, or elsewhere, alongside the link to badinternetbills.com.

END image ID]

Hey, everyone. So yeah, this is happening. We're still fighting this battle. And we can't give up now. We can't. We can't stand idly by while one of the most important resources that helped us all wake up, or at least start to question things, is being threatened by the government.

We can't stand idly by when kids, teens, and adults just like us still trapped inside might lose access to the resource that could help them wake up. We can't stand idly by when they might lose access to their non JW friends and family. We CAN'T stand idly by when we can do something to stop this bill from passing.

I am sick and tired of this same old song, where conservative fuckers higher up think they can oppress everyone. I am FUCKING SICK of it.

Please, reblog both this post and the original post linked above what I've written, and do what you can to stop KOSA, please. We are running out of time.

I suggest that if it is within your power to do so, that you do more than simply reblog and assume someone else will do something. DON'T assume that. Please do more than just reblogging if you are able to, because that's not really enough at this point.

Call/email representatives in the House and tell them to oppose KOSA (you may want to list different reasons depending on who you're calling, some House representatives are anti-LGBTQ+, so it may be best to tell them to oppose because it violates people's privacy, safety, and anonymity online). Print posters and put them up where legal if you can.

Sharing all this information to other social media sites (Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, the bird app) to reach more people can really help too. The wider the reach, the better.

Thank you. Now let's fucking rip that bill apart like we rip apart Watchtower magazines and eat it for fucking breakfast. (In a "we're eating it and the politicians who are sponsoring it are looking on in horror" kind of way)

[anistarrose]

I want to make my posts more accessible, but can't write IDs myself: a guide

[Plain text: "I want to make my posts more accessible, but can't write IDs myself: a guide." End plain text.]

While every image posted online should be accessible in an ideal world, we all know it 1) takes time to learn how to write image descriptions, and 2) is easy to run out of spoons with which to write IDs. And this says nothing of disabilities that make writing them more challenging, if not impossible — especially if you're a person who benefits from IDs yourself.

There are resources for learning how to write them (and if you already know the basics, I'd like to highlight this good advice for avoiding burnout) — but for anyone who cannot write IDs on their original posts at any current or future moment, for any reason, the there are two good options for posting on Tumblr.

1. Crowdsource IDs through the People's Accessibility Discord

[Plain text: "1. Crowdsource IDs through the People's Accessibility Discord". End plain text.]

The People's Accessibility Discord is a community that volunteers description-writing (and transcript-writing, translation, etc) for people who can't do so themselves, or feel overwhelmed trying to do so. Invite link here (please let me know if the link breaks!)

The way it works is simple: if you're planning to make an original post — posting art, for example — and don't know how to describe it, you can share the image there first with a request for a description, and someone will likely be able to volunteer one.

The clear upside here (other than being able to get multiple people's input, which is also nice) is that you can do this before making the Tumblr post. By having the description to include in your post from the start, you can guarantee that no inaccessible version of the post will be circulated.

You can also get opinions on whether a post needs to be tagged for flashing or eyestrain — just be able to spoiler tag the image or gif you're posting, if you think it might be a concern. (Also, refer here for info on how to word those tags.)

The server is very chill and focused on helping/answering questions, but if social anxiety is too much of a barrier to joining, or you can't use Discord for whatever reason, then you can instead do the following:

2. Ask for help on Tumblr, and update the post afterwards

[Plain text: "Ask for help on Tumblr, and update the post afterwards". End description.]

Myself and a lot of other people who describe posts on this site are extra happy to provide a description if OP asks for help with one! This does leave the post inaccessible at first, so to minimize the drawbacks, the best procedure for posting an image you can't fully describe would be as follows:

Create the tumblr post with the most bare-bones description you can manage, no matter how simple (something like "ID: fanart of X character from Y. End ID" or "ID: a watercolor painting. End ID," or literally whatever you can manage)

Use a tool like Google Lens or OCR to extract text if applicable and if you have the energy, even if the text isn't a full image description (ideally also double-check the transcriptions, because they're not always perfect)

Write in the body of the post that you'd appreciate a more detailed description in the notes!

Tag the post as "undescribed" and/or "no id" only if you feel your current, bare-bones description is missing out on a lot of important context

When you post it and someone provides an ID, edit the ID into the original post (don't use read mores, italics, or small text)

Remove the undescribed tag, if applicable. If you're posting original art, you can even replace it with a tag like "accessible art" for visibility!

And congrats! You now have a described post that more people will be able to appreciate, and you should certainly feel free to self-reblog to give a boost to the new version!

[transformers-earthspark]

Apologies for my recent radio silence. I've had a lot on my mind lately.

This post isn't Earthspark-related at all, but please read it.

I need to take a second on this blog to acknowledge some things going on in the world. I should not have stayed silent on this blog before, but I'm trying to fix that now.

Genocide in Palestine + how you can help Palestinians

You can buy e-sims for people in Gaza here. Anything helps.

Click here daily to help generate funds for Palestine. It's free and takes less than a minute.

Here's a list of where you can donate to help Palestine.

(If there's anything I should add to this section, please let me know.)

-----

The KOSA bill, what it's going to do if passed, and how you can help prevent it from taking effect

KOSA will essentially erase anonymity from the internet by requiring people to upload their government ID or other form of identification to any social media site, as well as restricting resources and information on LGBT rights, history, racism, and more. This bill will censor the entire internet and destroy privacy while violating First Amendment rights and potentially putting minors in danger.

This also could very well mean the end of Tumblr, and I'm not exaggerating here.

Tomorrow KOSA could be passed in Senate, and from there it will need to pass in the House of Representatives before being signed into law by the president. It's not doomsday yet, but it is a dangerous situation-- and here's what you can do.

StopKOSA.org provides you with a template email to send to your representatives. You can leave it how it is or edit it to say what you want, and then send it from their website.

The website also allows you to call your representatives and gives you a template of what to say.

BadInternetBills.org, run by the same people, takes action against KOSA as well as other bills like EARN IT. At the time of posting this, over 356,000 people have signed this petition.

Additionally there are several petitions on change.org to help stop KOSA. Here are a few of them.

STOP KOSA

STOP THE KOSA

Stop Kosa

Save Humanity, Oppose KOSA

STOP THE KOSA ACT

(Again, please let me know if there's anything I should add.)

-----

One last thing-- The evolution of AI images and video.

I don't really have anything good to say. AI is evolving fast and changing the world as we know it. We are adapting, but nobody knows how this really is going to end up.

A few quick points:

AI images are not art. That's all. AI "artists" who genuinely claim to have made something of their own just by typing a prompt into a generator will be blocked. (Which has been in my rules for a while, but I still think it needs to be said.)

I recommend Glaze for artists who don't want their art being scraped and used for data training. Especially with the recent rumors of an upcoming deal between Tumblr and Midjourney. There's also a similar program called Nightshade (haha, earthspark reference? anyone?🦉) that I haven't tested myself but have heard good things about.

-----

That's all, I suppose. Reblogs are good, if you don't mind.

Spread the word about KOSA. Contact your representatives. Sign the petitions.

Support Palestine if possible. Donate if you can. If you are unable to donate, make sure to do your daily clicks.

Stay safe and take care of yourselves. ❤️

[copperbadge]

Well, Still Salty.

I was cranky yesterday and I thought a good night's sleep would provide some adjustment in perspective, but unfortunately "spending yesterday not on tumblr" also offered perspective and got there first.

Up front: feel free to comment or reblog on this post (replies may be heavily delayed) but if you feel the urge to Like, I'm going to ask you to take one more step and go to https://www.tumblr.com/support, select "feedback" as the category, and enter a line or two about the new dash. It can be as simple as "Your new dash design is difficult to use and is driving people off the site". I'm not asking everyone to do it, but if you're going to Like this post, that would be a helpful action in addition. You can delete any response they send; no reason to expose yourself to the unique combination of incompetence and condescension with which they handle feedback generally.

Also up front: yeah, if I find somewhere else to go and go there, I will certainly let you guys know beforehand, I'm not going to just evaporate. I'll be broadcasting about Tumblr's replacement on Tumblr very heavily. But I can't deny that it is now an active goal of mine to find a viable replacement for this site. (More on this in a moment.) You will always be able to find me on AO3 as copperbadge, or via copperbadge@gmail.com. (More on this in a moment also.)

This kind of thing is why I refuse to fuck with staff now or ever; I don't trust them and I never will. Watching @wip respond to almost every complaint or suggestion with "but that would be really hard" is telling. Whoever is pushing blocks around at Tumblr wants a lucrative site that's easy to code, but lucrative is hostile to community and code is difficult by nature, and when the architecture of the meeting hall is hostile and cheap, people don't stick around.

I've been watching the site as every change made it incrementally worse, from a buggy post window that doesn't allow ease of editing to the new dash (which is the reason I'm writing this in a text window off Tumblr). I genuinely do not think I can use desktop Tumblr like this unless I can install something that will put it back the way it was, and roughly 40% of the content you guys get HAS to come through desktop. It's impossible to do on a phone or so time-consuming it's not worth it. I cannot code Radio Free Monday on a phone; it's a struggle to code it on a single-monitor laptop (I usually write it on my work computer, where I have two monitors). Even writing image IDs on the phone is difficult and something I rarely do. Tumblr is becoming an actively difficult place for me to make content, introducing friction left and right.

But where does one go? I've tried other platforms and they're either worse to use or they don't have the constituency. The problem with a lot of discourse around internet addiction is that it often points out how glued people are to their phones without asking what it is they're doing on those phones. I'm not addicted to social media; I don't doomscroll, I don't care what celebrities have to say, I don't find 140 characters useful or interesting, I don’t find most “funny” videos very interesting. I create a lot of original content for public consumption, significantly more than many social media users, and if that becomes difficult, then the site suffers more than I do. But it's undeniable that social media, and this social media in specific, is where my people are, and yeah, I like seeing you all every day. It makes it difficult to leave even when Tumblr is the best of a bad set of options.

It seems like a lot of the internet, lately, is the best of a bad set of options.

All that said, Tumblr forced a sudden, unwanted, and unchangeable reskin on me a day after I listened to a two-hour podcast about addiction while working on building a newsletter system for my author site. I spent the evening before this happened in contemplation of my relationship to social media and to my readership and how I might alter it to my benefit regardless of whether that's also to Tumblr's detriment. Their poor timing, I suppose. A lot of the theories advanced on the podcast were, to put it kindly, bunk, but one of the suggestions for people questioning their relationship to an activity was a dopamine fast -- removing something in your life that gives you quick but unsustained dopamine hits, so that you can take some time to level out and examine your behaviors. On the one hand, that's not at all how dopamine works; from the jump it's a bad theory. But on the other, pulling back from something you think may be causing you difficulty is generally speaking a good tactic.

Removing myself from Tumblr yesterday was an active process: because I have ADHD and often will forget something exists if I don't systematize my engagement with it, Tumblr is normally pinned to my browser, with the app on my phone's top screen. Removing the app and closing the window meant that while I occasionally reached for Tumblr, it was less frequently than I expected, and the lack of access reminded me why I wasn't there. I missed you guys, but I didn't miss getting distracted from work by my dash, or the pressure to respond to the volume of communication I receive through the site daily. I don't think my use of tumblr as my sole social media has been unhealthy, per se, but certainly yesterday felt both quieter and calmer after I walked away.

But that's a temporary relief, because you are my community, and not only do I not want to leave my community, it's a resource for me. One of the reasons I do things like Radio Free Monday and the weekly Hug on Saturdays is that I try to make sure that resource is reciprocal. Leadership involves service. Leaving would be easy in the short term, but in the long term, leaving my community without having another place to meet it, or another community to go to, would be harmful to both of us. I'm already someone who isolates, and while I have a strong brickspace circle of friends, they fulfill sometimes different needs.

Though I do appreciate the wild vote of confidence from the comments to my last post telling me people would come with me where I went. That means a lot to me. I will attempt to make it either unnecessary or as painless as possible. Just know, I see your faith and friendship and I appreciate it.

Sometimes at my old job I'd be in very tumultuous meetings where a lot was discussed and not much agreed on, and the most useful thing to me was always to say, "What are our next steps? What would you like me to do because of this meeting?" So what are next steps, all this being the case?

First, I'm going to be off Tumblr, mostly, for another couple of days, because clearly I need the break and a few days won't matter too much. Again, I will be back either to continue on the site or to let you guys know, at length and volume, where I'm headed. The former is much more likely.

Second, I'm going to be actively looking for both a widget I can install to reset the dash (recommendations welcome, I currently don't even use xkit) and a wholly new platform that's a realistically viable alternative. Even if the dash gets reset, the shitty post editor is here for good. Attempts to source alternative platforms in the past have taught me that it needs to have a mobile-friendly site or an app, a similar structure to tumblr, and a reasonable chance of actually attracting users. That's a heavy venn diagram unlikely to be fulfilled anytime soon, but I'm now invested in finding it, instead of just passively waiting for it to happen to me (as Tumblr did when it pulled me off LJ).

Third, I do have an email newsletter in the works! I'm just wrestling currently with setting up how people sign up for it. This wasn't meant to be "my main broadcast platform"; it's meant to be a once-monthly email to share book news, targeted at people who aren't on socials or who just really love content from me, I guess. :D The plan was for me to assure Tumblr users that it was not extra content, just select content repackaged into a digest. But it will be one way to ensure that if I'm moving around outside of Tumblr, you'll know about it. I hope to have a link to a signup page soon. (I'm....dealing with some code issues.)

Fourth, I'm going to be combing through the last ten years I've spent here and pulling anything I think is of value into an archive. For now everything will remain here as well, and I'll let you guys know if I think that's going to change, but it's clear that this space is moving only one direction, towards a place I can't exist, and when/if it crumbles I want to have already evacuated what's important.

So there you go. I'll possibly be posting sporadically (the Saturday Hugs are queued six months in advance so that'll happen) but if nothing else and if not sooner, I'll be back full-time next week starting with Radio Free Monday. I appreciate your patience and your kindness in the meantime!

[stusbunker]

Spotless: Pizzicato

Chapter Nineteen

Featuring: Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean/Bela, Dean/Cas (unrequited)

Other characters: Miriam Talbot (OFC Bela's mother)

Word Count: 2567

Warnings, etc: Mutual pining, putting out other people's fires, and old baggage, unbeta'd

A/N: Castiel and Trouble's friendship is something I didn't realize she had been missing until he was in front of her. There are a couple of big truth bombs in this chapter and I hope I handled them respectfully. This is an AU and it is not indicative of this author's feelings on canon or any other fandom shipping practices.

Series Masterlist

Posting on Dean’s instagram account was par for the course as the band’s publicist. You bothered to know what a hashtag was, for one. For another it also allowed you to check traffic on posts and actively moderate things to help the comment section look best for Dean’s image. Afterall, Dean trusted you, you weren’t going to leak anything or make him look like an idiot.

You were a goddamn professional and this wasn’t the hardest thing you’d done in the last year, but Jesus fuck were you pissed.

Dean hated tattoos. Really, he hated needles. He was black out drunk when he and Sam got their matching flaming pentagrams. He actually had a panic attack the next morning after realizing he let someone “sew ink” into his skin. By sheer force of will and through the bond of shared grief, you got him to go with you for Jo’s memorial tattoo on the tenth anniversary of her death. It was in your all-time top five ultimate Dean-Y/N memories.

And now it meant jack shit.

You edited and cropped the photos, sent two back to Bela to post on her account and then posted the lion’s share onto Dean’s, making him look like the diligent boyfriend while Bela was busy in the chair. You thanked Billie for taking care of “his girl” and made sure the shop was the location and tagged. You wanted to punch something, it looked so good. Then you sat back and let the interwebs do its job.

Okay, in actuality, you emailed about twenty different people, had a conference call with the tour management marketing team, scheduled radio station drop ins and followed up with Meg on the expected release of Dean’s photoshoot and interview. These days it may just end up online, but you hoped she was able to score him real physical print space.

It was just as you were winding down for the night, when your phone rang. It was past any reasonable business hours and you were already done with your skin care routine, but then you saw the caller id.

“Miriam! Hi!” You tried to sound pleasantly surprised.

“Don’t Miriam me, young lady. What is going on out there? Is it drugs? I thought we missed this stage when she quit acting for college. You’d tell me if this hoodlum was pressuring her into risky behavior wouldn’t you?”

Which was a lot to unpack right off the bat like that, luckily you had experience dealing with Bela’s mother.

“It’s just a tattoo. She’s not on drugs, I promise.”

“And what about this Dean? I knew they were seeing each other, but this seemed a bit more intimate— not exactly in the public eye.”

Oh, she was good.

“He’s not on drugs either. And—- he actually isn’t thrilled with tattoos. This might be all Bela, if I’m being honest.”

“Have you seen the things they’re saying? The things they’re calling her, Y/N?”

You rolled your eyes and heaved yourself out of bed, you needed your laptop if you were going to continue this conversation rationally. 

“Let me look into it— what site were you on?”

“Oh, I’m not sure. Olivette, one of the boardmember’s wives, told me she read about it online during dinner.”

You inhaled deeply and started your usual rotation of sites, you’d have to add some new tags to follow Bela’s buzz more closely going forward. 

“And you’re sure this wasn’t just bad blood from Olivia? I’m not finding much besides general surprise.”

“It’s Olivette. And yes, I’m certain. She wouldn’t make me worry without a reason.”

And then you realized what you were missing, it wasn’t just People or TMZ you had to worry about. You went to Hello!’s twitter and you found what had Miriam Talbot’s friend in a huff. 

You started scanning the comments, gathering the most common complaints and judging their amount of influence via cursory glances. You did not know a lot of the news personalities or celebrity bloggers in the UK. You were going to have to meet with Bela and figure out a better approach going forward.

“Okay, Miriam, it’s almost eleven here. I know you probably called me as soon as you woke up, but consider me on the case. Alright? Bela’s fine and this is just a minor hiccup.”

“If you’re sure, Y/N, dear.”

You sighed. “Of course. I would warn you if there was anything to worry about. But please just let this run its course. You know how the tabloids are.”

“Unfortunately I do, that’s why I called. Please keep me updated if anything else comes up?”

“Will do. You have a good ni-day!”

“Goodnight dear— and thank you.”

You smiled at your lap. “Anytime.”

You let her hang up. Then you promptly pulled up your contacts list and warned Bela that her mother was sniffing about online and to call her at a decent hour. And finally, you spent the next four hours (or so) online until you had swam to the bottom of the cesspool and decided it wasn’t worth your time. At least not right then, not so exhausted.

Three days passed since the snobby UK gossip rags’ judgment rained down and, as expected, it had already just about fizzled out. You sat in a cafe with a quad shot flat white, waiting for your lunch date to arrive. Not truly a date, though it wasn’t a meeting either.

It was a diplomatic mission.

Then you spotted him and your stomach swooped, feeling the loss of his presence in your life all over again.

“Hey, Cas.” You stood and held your arms open for a hug, which he accepted with a timid smile.

“It’s good to see you, Trouble,” his gravelly voice murmured in your ear. He still smelled the same.

You pulled back and looked him in the eye, searching for anything but the sincere blue reality in front of you. He held no grudges, not with you, without even discussing it you knew he was still your friend. 

You then punched him squarely in the shoulder. “That’s for ghosting us all for the last nine months, assbutt!”

He grunted, and rolled his eyes. “I can accept that.”

“Good. Because I missed you. We all miss you.”

He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in challenge.

“So— heard you have a kid, huh. That’s —- weird.”

Castiel exhaled and shook his head. “Who told you?”

“What? Nobody. I have eyes. And spend enough time online to draw some conclusions.”

“Kelly told you.”

“She didn’t have to. She’s amazing by the way— are you a thing now, now that you know he exists?”

Castiel looked affronted. “Me and Kelly? Oh, no. That was a teenage mistake. We were young. And we’ve both matured into vastly different people. But I respect her and I think— I hope I’ve earned her trust.”

“Tell me about him—- he’s what? Twenty-twenty one?”

“He’s twenty three and very talented. Kind, impossibly optimistic even.”

“Yikes, tough combo out here.”

“Tell me about it.”

You shared a look and he smiled at you like he knew what you were thinking about. Like you were reliving the same joke.

You blinked away the sting in your eyes.

“Go get your dark roast and get back over here, we’ve got things to discuss.”

His eyes softened, but Cas didn’t argue with you.

You sipped your drink and tried not to let all of the questions that had been building for months run away from you. He was back both too quickly and too slowly. You cleared your throat, the awkwardness you had been fighting back rushed to the surface.

“So— I presume there is more to you calling to get lunch. Not just asking about Jack and goading me about my latest tattoo?” Cas wasn’t one for small talk.

You nodded and swallowed around another perfect mouthful of milk and espresso.

Castiel’s face went through a journey when you didn’t quickly reply. “He doesn’t want to see me—- he made that quite clear.”

“And what about since everything?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know Dean’s called you. He might not have been big enough to actually apologize in a voicemail, but I know he wants to fix things— he misses you as his friend, too.”

“Then he should be able to suck up his pride and make the effort,” Cas snipped, the first sign of the lingering anger from his and Dean’s fight.

“I haven’t exactly seen much of your effort. Do you not want to fix things?--- And I’m not talking about coming back to the band— that ship has sailed. I’m talking about twenty years of friendships you just walked out on.”

Cas stared at his coffee, his eyebrow ring arched with his bitchy expression. He hated being corrected, you knew that. But this had gone on long enough.

“I’ve spoken with everyone but Dean,” Cas explained. “It’s not perfect, but it’s progress.”

“You never spoke to me,” you spat.

Cas’ eyes softened again. “I always knew where your loyalties lie, you took your time, too.”

“Wait— even SAM?!”

“Sam and I haven’t lost contact this whole time.”

You sucked in air. “Oh, he is so dead.”

“Y/N. It wasn’t like we were plotting or anything. He was worried about me, I was worried about Dean.”

“Yeah, but if Dean knew—”

“Ask Sam, but I don’t think he could hide anything from Dean if he wanted to.”

You knew he was right. Ever since Sam got sober, transparency had been something Sam put into his closest relationships anyway. Beside Dean being ruthless and stubborn, well, you supposed Cas was right. 

“Why do I feel like this band just doesn’t want me to be able to do my job?”

“Your position as group therapist is fairly tenuous. Especially with Pamela involved.”

“I meant my real job. If I had known you were on decent terms with, well, everyone but Dean, it would have made things a lot easier, young man.” You couldn’t help but smile now. Sure you were hurt, but the eggshells you had been stepping over for so long really only took up a single corner of the floor.

It was freeing.

“I never meant to cause you any distress.”

“That doesn’t make it go away, Cas.”

He bowed his head, but popped back up to meet your gaze. “I know. I apologize. I didn’t want you to think that I was done— with any of you.”

You pinched your eyes closed quickly and then reached over the table to squeeze his forearm. “Okay. So— you’ll come to Dean’s birthday party, then?”

Cas patted your hand with his left and sat back, breaking the contact and sat with the invitation for a heavy moment.

“What makes you think he’d want me there?”

You glared at him, all tattooed and handsome and absolutely clueless about how much his absence has affected Dean. Sure, Dean got to keep the band, but it wasn’t the same without Cas. Cas has had to start over entirely, become a dad and rebuild his career all without any of the support Dean has had around him through his own troubles.

“Look— I know you’re Mister Independent and I don’t want to set back any of the progress you’ve made without him needing you around. But he still looks for you whenever we all go out. And hanging out with Kevin, made it abundantly clear to him that you were available— you just weren’t interested.”

“Why do you always make it sound like we were an item?”

You rolled your eyes. “Look, we all know Dean has attachment issues. I’m not saying anything was kinky between you guys— that’s not my business. But, as friends, you guys deserve to at least get some answers— closure or forgiveness can come later, if you get there.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that to get me off your case?”

“Yes, really.”

You smirked and Cas’ smiled with his eyes, fidgeting his lip ring with his tongue.

Cas cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee before changing gears. “So, your friend Bela and, uh, Dean?”

You groaned and hid your eyes in your hand. When you looked up he was laughing at you.

“What?!”

“Stop— we both know what it’s all about.”

“Kevin seems to think Dean’s whipped.” Mischief continued to dance in Cas’ eyes.

“Well, it’s about time.”

“I told him, the only one who has had Dean whipped in over a decade is you.”

You choked on your spit, sputtering at Cas’ bluntness.

“They don’t know it’s for show do they?”

You inhaled deeply. “Sam knows. Dean and Bela have their own private agreement about it all. But, uh, yeah, you pretty much guessed right.”

Cas watched you thoughtfully, futzing with his lip ring with his top teeth now. 

“How are you holding up?”

“Me? I’m fine, why?”

Cas nudged your ankle under the table with his combat boot.

“As someone who was definitely in love with him for most of my life— I know the symptoms.”

You sighed and shivered at being seen and having your long held suspicions confirmed. You rubbed your upper arm, trying to fight the goosebumps. “I’m fine. Nothing has changed. He’s just been working on himself and that is— distracting.”

Cas hummed, head cocking to the side as if looking at you with a different angle would give him more insight.

“I mean it. He’s in therapy and everything. Sam and him are working out. He’s been insanely focused on the latest album—”

“He’s doing penance.”

“Maybe. But he wants to be better. It’s not just guilt. I don’t know how to explain it. But, you’ll see what I mean.”

Cas eyebrow popped up again.

“You will,” you insisted.

“You always were able to read me weren’t you?”

You chuckled at the back of your mouth, short and knowing. “Guess it comes with being stuck with each other for so long.”

“Shared trauma response,” Cas teased.

“Or that.”

You finished the last of your drink and looked around the cafe.

“So, where we going to eat? I think we’ve had enough heavy— sushi?”

“You buying?”

“Phantom Traveler is covering this as a business lunch.”

Cas stood and pushed in his chair. “Okay, well then, bring on the seafood.”

You stood and let Cas walk you outside, his hand on the small of your back until he could offer you his elbow on the sidewalk. You smiled up at him and pulled him tight to your side.

“I’m glad you’re back, Cas.”

“Well, we’ll see if everyone agrees with you, won’t we?”

The afternoon passed quickly, catching up and sharing memories that were now tinted with the grief of the last lost year. Things made more sense the longer you thought about how the band had been acting, especially way back at the Animal Shelter where Cas’ niece had been more than willing to put in her two cents. You texted Sam while you waited for your meals, warning him where you were and what you knew.

‘Have fun.’

His only response. Asshole.

But everything kept from you, kept from Dean, wouldn’t last forever. It couldn’t. Now you at least could control the narrative a bit more by being in on it all. Or most of it at least.

Tagging:

@deans-spinster-witch

@mrswhozeewhatsis

@cosicas-cuquis

@fics-pics-andotherthings-i-like

@suckitands33

@ladysparkles78

@deans-baby-momma

@stoneyggirl2

@sassy-pelican

@leigh70

@globetrotter28

@winharry

@lastactiontricia

@rockhoochie

Chapter Twenty: Arpeggio

[rose-tinting]

the amount of misinformation that has been circling outside of neopets circles I swear

I see a new rumor every time

“They’re free from nft bros” Nope. Owned by one!

“The original team rebought them” God fucking no and you should not want them to, Adam Powells little meltdown over neopets users criticizing his new crypto venture is reason enough lol.

“The company was sold to Neopets Internal Teams” They sold it to the guy who used to head the former NFT project and are promising this means TNT has more freedom “under new leadership“ with “no current plans for crypto/NFTs” (This is not a promise not to make them)

One of the “brand ambassadors” who is supposed to help TNT with the knowing and understanding the userbase is some celebrity who’s wife is also a celebrity who I’ve seen people CLAIM used to be a Neopets mod. Does that sound like a neopets user who can tell the neopets team what the average user wants? No call for users who aren’t celebrities to become brand ambassadors has been made afaik.

Current Neopets mods are silencing trans people for mentioning HRT as well as top surgery and ignoring cis people talking about pregnancy, death, and surgery. (Have seen these boards go on for several hours and never get deleted even after a heated debate on one one about abortion) 

There’s items and backstory on the site that are racist. Neopets users have asked these be addressed. Do you think this “brand ambassador” will address any of that? Why does the ambassador need to be a celebrity? Unless the actual intent is to have “ambassadors” who sell neopets as a brand to the potential new userbase and isn’t about “listening to the users” at all.

god can one person with a huge following please for once just reblog and acknowledge the TRUTH. (doesn’t have to be from me I’d just like the actual info to be spread!) Awareness will help us keep the worst from happening! Pretending everything is fine until it isn’t is NOT the way!

If you want the actual info on the site Neopets has a fansite dedicated to reporting Neopets news including everything TNT tries to sweep under the rug

https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=14391

A direct quote from their article on this

“ New CEO of Neopets is Dominic Law, who previously headed the Neopets Metaverse and brokered a "management buyout deal" “

Please if you’re reading this

stop spreading misinformation

spread the real information

make your own post even

this could go either way right now

this is not a “neopets renaissance”

this is a crossroads and we don’t know where we’re going yet. It could be great, or it could be the end of the site.

(Editing my reblog in so it can hopefully get seen too, I was provided with more accurate info on the brand ambassador.)

@pirakeet Thanks! Was actually hoping someone COULD correct this :3 Cause I was REALLY HOPING it wasn’t what it seemed since all I could find was a twitter post with an attached video where he accepts it (I immediately fled twitter may be why)

[Image Text ID]  Posted by tumblr user pirakeet: I’m not correcting anything, but just letting you know the “brand  ambassador” program has been made available - just presumably not in  the ‘john legend’ sense:  https://portal.neopets.com/brand-ambassador-program  and for clarity, i’ve been popping off about the difference, this isn’t a  “gotcha moment”.   There’s more info when you click “apply” and it takes you to a google ��doc [End Id]

As I said I’m more interested in the truth being spread so I hope this can be seen!

[digenerate-trash]

For the picker wheel thing I got Niki with online and Wren with hurt

FIRST SHORT FIC FROM THE WHEEL

Online stalker-

Niki GN | PC GN

Stalking | kidnapping | implied past rape

It's been a while since Niki has seen something as perfect as you. It makes them squirm in ways they can't really comprehend.

It's their job to recognize beauty though and when they lean out the side of the car to confront you and ask if you'd be their model you don't answer. Instead stepping back and starting to run...

Not the answer they were looking for but what can they do?

Well what can they do... you're the prettiest thing they've ever seen. Desperate to get ahold of you again.

Back at the studio, they look you up. Without a name, you're hard to find but you were wearing a school uniform.

Slowly he combs through the images on the school site it's almost midnight when he finds you.

You. Pared with a name. An ID number and with a little more prying an address. He's not usually the stalker type but for Niki, this is a great find.

Quickly they find out every little detail about your life. There are countless images of you online. Mostly posted without your knowledge but they don't mind too much. It's just perfect to see that others have noticed your beauty as well.

Niki thinks about where they'll put you once they can get a hold of you for real. Maybe you'll stay in the studio full-time. Like a priceless piece of art. Or maybe they'll keep you tied to their bed at all times.

Maybe he'll even take a lock of your hair and tie it around his wrist just so they'll have you around all the time.

Niki is almost giddy with the idea as they scroll over every image of you.

Niki wants to recreate these images. Using them as reference. The ones where your nose is bloodied and you're lying helpless on the ground are the ones that are the most eager to recreate. Hopefully, with your help, they'll finally have the perfect muse. They'll become the artist they were meant to be.

After school, they wait in their car. Clorphorm ready their hands tapping on the steering wheel. Their eyes are fixed on you through the review mirror as you step closer and closer

•···········································•✦•···········································•

Job security

HE/HIM Wren | GN PC

kidnapping | injury | helplessness | Mentions of murder

Deep down Wren knows he isn't a perfect person. He's not even an okay guy. defiantly not destined for the pearly gates. But he is pretty sure you are...

you're perfect. more perfect than anything he's ever seen. you toil away every day just to make things easier for the people around you. he has no idea how you balance your little life and Bailey's legendary ridiculous rent.

but Remy hates you- and it's not without cause. you've been causing a lot of trouble for his little cattle ranch and as Remy's right-hand man. of course he's saddled with 'taking care' of you. it's not something Wren took lightly though.

but he'd feel so much better if it didn't end up like this.

"Morning," Wren says as he opens up the shed. your Berley coherent as he leans over and looks over at your broken leg. not his best work. but it did manage to stop you from causing any more trouble.

you let out a groggy sound as wren leans down and pets your head.

"rough night?" he laughs a bit as he moves away from you. grabbing a hay bail and slicing the cord off it with a sturdy knife. he grabs fistfuls of it and drops the hay into a loose crate spreading it around as you squirm on the floor.

"I wouldn't move around too much if I were you-" Wren warns "Not only will it attract attention but you're pretty hurt as well."

wren watches you from the corner of his eye as he works. eventually, he pulls a hammer down from the shelf.

you move away from him. it's weak but he assumes it’s as fast as you can go. you're looking up at him with fear in your eyes as you realize your old poker buddy is now standing over you with a weapon. but Wren looks relaxed. not even phased by your panic.

he picks you up carefully before he drops you into the crate lined with hay. you yelp in pain your leg crushed under you but Wren quickly grips your face covering your mouth.

"Gotta be quiet now. my boss thinks you're dead." Wren says before he winks at you. "and if you wanna stay alive you'll be quiet."

you feel sick as he pulls away grabbing the crate lid and pulling it over your head sealing you in. 'Wren the smuggler' doesn't seem like such a misnomer anymore...

[anipgarden]

The Secret Other Thing: KILL

This is my eighth post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

KILL, TEAR, RIP, MAIM. 

You may have seen this sentiment a few times on gardening and wildlife blogs and been incredibly confused. Isn’t killing things the opposite of what you should be doing to protect habitats? In some cases, it really is necessary!

Invasive Plants

Invasive plants can do more harm than good, taking up space and nutrients and providing little in return to local wildlife--while spreading and choking out the native plants that would provide the most to our native fauna. Learn how to identify invasive species in your area and how to properly dispose of them, and do so whenever you have the opportunity! You may even be able to find volunteer groups/events where you can join up with like-minded people to remove a specific plant from an area.

(This image refers to the United States specifically--these plants aren't invasive or native everywhere!)

Pro tip, though; if you take out an invasive species and leave empty soil where it was, it’s likely another quick-growing invasive species will just move in. We don’t want that! Try to plant something in its place! If you’re going out on a mission to take out invasive plants, try to keep some native flower seeds or seedlings on your person while you do this work.

Different plants are invasive in different places, so be sure that the plant you're targeting is actually invasive to where you are. You don’t want to rip out a beneficial plant because it’s invasive somewhere else! Social media sites like Instagram and Tumblr are great for spreading information about invasive plants, but they can often be a bit… US-centric. Even I'm guilty of this, plenty of times! Plants like garlic mustard, kudzu, butterfly bush, Amur honeysuckle, wild radish, and Japanese knotweed are high-profile invasive plants that I hear about all the time here in America--but they came from somewhere, and are a part of the environment in these places! Likewise, many plants that are branded as pollinator-friendly and biodiversity boosters here in the states can be awful invasive species elsewhere. Even plants and animals that aren’t invasive in one part of a country or continent can be detrimental in another--Canadian waterweed is native to North America, but it’s actually invasive in Alaska.

(Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) vs Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) vs the yellow variety of Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens))

Be sure you’re taking out the right plant--be very confident in your ID before you take any action! Amur honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle, for example, may be invasive in the US--but coral and northern bush honeysuckles are native and key species in their environments. You don’t want to do harm while trying to do good--double check your IDs. Being certain with your IDs can also prevent you from doing harm to yourself and others--some plants produce toxic smoke when burned. Stay well-read on how to dispose of the invasive plants you’re targeting. 

(Garlic mustard pesto! Can't say I've ever had it, but I've heard good things about it online!)

With that being said! Some invasive species can be eaten. It’s free food! And you’re helping the environment? Win-win! Try looking up recipes that use these plants, or see how you can substitute something else for them! Foraging guides and blogs would likely be extremely helpful for this.

A super easy way to help curb the spread of invasive plants is to not grow them yourself! Double check any plant you’re considering buying or growing from seed--some sold in stores like butterfly bush are often touted as great plants to add to a pollinator garden, but in reality are an invasive species that eagerly displaces native shrubs here in the states.

POV: you're working the garden center at the Blue Big Box Store, you care about the environment, and every day you watch people buy Butterfly Bush and can do jack shit about it asides from try to gently steer them towards something else (but the other next best option was also Invasive Tropical Milkweed because its easier for Big Box Store to sell) I have a personal vendetta against people who grow Butterfly Bush (I live in The States) (If you didn't know Butterfly Bush was invasive in the US before now you're valid but also please god consider replacing it with an alternative ASAP)

Invasive Animals

POV 30 to 50 feral hogs are running into your yard within 3-5 minutes while your small children play

Invasive animals and insects compete for resources, take over habitat, and can even spread disease--all while pushing native species out or dwindling their numbers. Keep track of invasive animals you see and report them. Depending on the severity of the situation, killing them can be necessary and even encouraged. Do be sure it’s an invasive species and not a look-alike. If you’re unsure, take pictures, do research, and take action the next time.

Some high-profile invasive species in the US are spotted lanternflies, cuban tree frogs, hammerhead worms, feral swine, zebra mussels, lionfish, asian carp, burmese python, and others. Again, do make sure you’re targeting species that are invasive in your area; I doubt Asian carp are considered invasive in Asia, for example. Similarly, the American bullfrog is native to the eastern US and Canada, but is quickly becoming an invasive species around the rest of the world. Not to mention, the racoon problem in Japan… 

Some invasive species can be eaten as well! Some of them taste awful, and some can even be dangerous to eat or handle without caution. I would do a good amount of research online before trying to cook up just anything.

Doing it Right

If you’re trying to handle invasive species, you do have to ensure you’re doing it properly. As you do your research, you’ll likely see if the species should be photographed and reported and to what channels. Also in some cases, going about destroying them incorrectly could unintentionally help them spread--some plants spread quickly through rhizomes into disturbed soil, and hammerhead worms can actually regenerate from pieces into fully-developed new worms when you try to cut them up. Some invasive species are even actively harmful to humans, so I cannot emphasize enough that you need to be sure about what you’re dealing with and be careful about it. Giant Hogweed, for example, has toxic sap that’ll cause severe skin inflammation and painful blisters if it contacts skin and is exposed to sunlight. The blisters last for months, and the skin may develop long-term sensitivity for sunlight. 

If you’re unsure about how to handle an invasive plant, or are unsure of it’s identity, try contacting your local university co-op extension service if you’re in the states. They can tell you how to remove it safely and effectively. I can't say for sure what other channels would be the best option for someone living outside the states, so if anyone knows, feel free to chime in!

Pets

POV: ur little outdoor kitty Firestar is destroying the balance of your local ecosystem plz keep him INSIDE

Please keep your pets inside, or at least on a leash. An outdoor cat can do a lot more damage than one might imagine, as well as unrestrained dogs.

That’s the end of this post! And... technically, the last post in the series! My next and final final post is gonna be basically a giant list of all my sources that I used to make this post! I hope this post series was informative, helpful, interesting--anything of value, really! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

[laptoparmageddon]

This place use to be ALIVE. I remember spending HOURS just chilling at Sans' and Papyrus' house. Just chilling on the couch, watching people do their thing.

I used to have so many screenshots but I lost them after the turtle tank inccident...

I miss the creativity. I miss the chaos. I miss joining and having 5 different Sans AU fights going on just in Snowdin. I miss you... Home sweet home...

The game is called TPP's 2D Multiverse RP ✨

You can't find decals the old way anymore, as shown. If you want a specific image, you'll have to get it's decal ID, like I did for my Honeycomb Raslei image.

You can upload your own transparent images to Roblox to use in game. I previously spent HOURS importing hundreds of my own art just so others could use them. They still exist but can't be looked up by other users... Maybe I'll make an ID library at some point.

If people are willing to help me bring the community back for Undertale and Deltarune's anniversaries, I will upload more of my art to be used on site.

I just want this place to thrive again... Home Sweet home of 2015...

[sapphicrpc]

hi~! would you be able to make a thorough tutorial on how to use carl-bot.. specficially where people joined your server and it'll lead to one channel and you have react in order to get access to the other channels. if that makes sense. i couldn't figure out and not sure how to make it work. thank you in advance~!

of course!

this will be image heavy so, under the cut:

CARLBOT WELCOME MESSAGES & REACTION ROLES

first, add carl bot to your server and then you want to access the dashboard available on the site i just linked.

select manage and then the server you want to manage and it'll show up a page like this

If you go to the welcome tab on the side you'll be able to set a welcome message for new people joining. Select the message to go to your landing channel, and then you can do something like this:

that string of numbers is called a channel ID - you get that by right clicking on the channel and pressing this:

if this doesn't show up, you need to go to your settings and enable developer mode.

now, what you need to do is PREPARE YOUR SERVER!!

you should at least have a "read rules" role for this to work, but when running an rp i prefer to have a "guest" "member" and "admin" roles

make all channels except the landing channel and rules channel private. you can make things visible to guest vs. members at your own discretion, you do that by utilising the permissions for each channel in discord itself, not using carlbot. i can explain more about this if you need it!

once you've done that, you're ready to create your rules page!!

go down to reaction roles on the sidebar and you'll get an option to "create new reaction role"

if that doesn't work, assign carl bot your admin role, with the "give admin permissions" box ticked, otherwise he may not have permission to send the messages!!!

it'll look like this in your server

i hope this helps you out, let me know if you want any more information and I'll be happy to expand

[internalself]

(RBs appreciated! this is for the community, so any way the community can find it, is help.)

I posted my take on a transjapanese flag some time ago on a separate blog i lost the login info for. The post is still up, but i thought id repost it here, because i made a higher quality version and it also has mascots now!

I personally call it the 4 season flag. The mascots are up to you what one you like more, I picked a pheasant because its the national bird of japan (Phasianus versicolor) while I picked a tanuki for the second mascot because its an animal that comes to lots of people's minds when they think of japan, but also because its a japanese animal even named after in english for its resemblance to an animal that is not. The tanuki is 友彩 Yua, the pheasant is 優羽 Yuwa. Neither of them have a gender, as in you can portray their genders however you'd like.

If anyone who has an account on a transid wiki would like to archive these terms and designs, be my guest!

Some less fun stuff under the cut

I would prefer if you kept use of these characters to positivity and education!

any "reclaimations" of these characters should be and will be considered theft.

The 4 seasons flag was created in my response to personally not liking the pink transjpn flag. i feel as though it feeds into stereotypes and a fixation on idol culture and "kawaii" obsession that personally i feel is a bad call to choose to boast about, but also it does not feel as all-encompassing, or like its painting all of us as being such. i didnt connect with it much. japan is much more than hello kitty and sakura season. if you connect with that, sure thats fine, but not everyone does so i wanted to make a flag that includes more people and recognizes more than what is the most consumable on the internet.

each stripe on my flag represents the 4 seasons. pink for spring flowers, purple for summer flowers, orange for autumn leaves, and white for winter snow. (i would have added blue for the rainy season and to represent the ocean but i wanted the flag to be recognizable and simple, as well as the colors to mesh together in a sort of sunrise look, due to the sun in the middle and reputation of japan being the country of the rising sun.) the cut through the lower half splits the autumn in two, because theres many colors of autumn leaves, and many people who comes from many walks of life who would unite under this flag. it continues into the center stripe to make a shadow of a mountain and the sky, representing both people who are closeted and people who are out, and people who are struggling and people who are happy. the sun is residual of the flag of japan and other transjpn flags. i also chose the 4 seasons as a theme because the seasons change as time passes regardless of where you live, sometimes it changes the way the world looks and sometimes not so much. people also change with time, sometimes they change physically and some dont, but no matter where someone is from, they can change, and it is natural to change.

here's the more reference intended images i made

please do not use my art for commercial reasons. i do intend to use the images at the top of the post for physical goods in the future.

please do not use my art for machine learning in any way

please credit me when using the designs! (if this blogs go down, you can credit my (as the mod who did this) art handle on many sites Togainunochi. if you want to refer to me as a person, its okay to use my first name Masato 真人.

I would prefer if you didnt but i cant stop if you..:

use my designs for political reasons other than transjpn acceptance

used my designs for violent or sexual imagery

used my designs for commercial reasons (on original art you made) without giving me a cut of any profits

portrayed my designs with mascots for microlabel "blank-queer" movements.

use my designs for hate or policing in any way, including portraying them as intolerant or unkind

portray my characters as any label outside of the one they directly are representing

yes, you may:

be inspired by my works (but please, be original. thats what gives a design charm!)

self ship with these designs

publicly be connected to these designs in any way (introject, kin, etc) but please do not make statements about me or the supposed beliefs of these characters as all encompassing. derivative designs are allowed (kinsonas, etc) so long as they are clearly listed as such and still credit me as the creator.

headcanon behaviors, likes, dislikes, fashion, gender, etc. but please remember the focus should always be when it comes to their identity, that they are transjpn.

use the artwork and designs with credit on works not including personal unrelated ideology (DNI banners, for example, would be not allowed.)

make moodboards, stimboards, etc, based off the characters

draw this oc next to other trace mascots or general radqueer mascots. (i prefer NOT blankqueers because some of them are openly anti-trace or otherwise tracist and i would prefer my designs not be connected to that, or to movements unrelated to them or containing otherwise personally disagreeable values which could make others interpret it as me agreeing with said values)

draw fanart of these designs, write fictions around them, etc.

really anything. i cant control you, i dont want to either. i would prefer that you stay mindful and respectful of me and other creators around you! my characters are just characters, but you actions may have consequences for yourself or for ME so please be careful and respectful.

please do not harass anyone that you see defying this list, but i would encourage a gentle reminder, and if behavior continues please contact me. if you drew these characters, you can also contact me because i would love to see it, and if it is okay with you, archive the fanworks with the rest of the character works! preferably send these to @ togainunochi on Cohost, where you do not need to be signed in to make an ask.

if you are interested in helping me spread anything else to do with trans-identity activism and discussion, i did coin the term "pwii" to mean "people/person with identity incongruence" as an alternative to transid/transx that includes people who may not use the label for any reason but is still important to the discussions surrounding incongruent identities to the physical or socially perceived self! i would be happy if this term got used more, i feel as though it could help with a lot of the divide between transid people and those using different labels.

i may edit this at any point.

please direct any questions to my art related question taking blog.

[benetnvsch]

ADDRESSING TWITTER'S TOS/POLICY IN REGARDS TO ARTISTS AND AI

Hi !! if you're an artist and have been on twitter, you've most likely seen these screen shots of twitters terms of service and privacy policy regarding AI and how twitter can use your content

I want to break down the information that's been going around as I noticed a lot of it is unintentionally misinformation/fearmongering that may be causing artists more harm than good by causing them to panic and leave the platform early

As someone who is an artist and makes a good amount of my income off of art, I understand the threat of AI art and know how scary it is and I hope to dispel some of this fear regarding twitter's TOS/Privacy policy at least. At a surface level yes, what's going on seems scary but there's far more to it and I'd like to explain it in more detail so people can properly make decisions!

This is a long post just as a warning and all screenshots should have an alt - ID with the text and general summary of the image

Terms of Service

Firstly, lets look at the viral post regarding twitter's terms of service and are shown below

I have seen these spread a lot and have seen so many people leave twitter/delete all their art/deactivate there when this is just industry standard to include in TOS

Below are other sites TOS I found real quick with the same/similar clauses! From instagram, tiktok, and even Tumblr itself respectively, with the bit worded similar highlighted

Even Bluesky, a sight viewed as a safe haven from AI content has this section

As you can see, all of them say essentially the same thing, as it is industry standard and it's necessary for sites that allow you to publish and others to interact with your content to prevent companies from getting into legal trouble.

Let me break down some of the most common terms and how these app do these things with your art/content:

storing data - > allowing you to keep content uploaded/stored on their servers (Ex. comments, info about user like pfp)

publishing -> allowing you to post content

redistributing -> allowing others to share content, sharing on other sites (Ex. a Tumblr post on twitter)

modifying -> automatic cropping, in app editing, dropping quality in order to post, etc.

creating derivative works -> reblogs with comments, quote retweets where people add stuff to your work, tiktok stitches/duets

While these terms may seems intimidating, they are basically just tech jargon for the specific terms we know used for legal purposes, once more, simply industry standard :)

Saying that Twitter "published stored modified and then created a derivative work of my data without compensating me" sounds way more horrible than saying "I posted my art to twitter which killed the quality and cropped it funny and my friend quote-tweeted it with 'haha L' " and yet they're the same !

Privacy Policy

This part is more messy than the first and may be more of a cause for concern for artists. It is in regards to this screenshot I've seen going around

Firstly, I want to say that that is the only section in twitter's privacy policy where AI /machine learning is mentioned and the section it is is regarding how twitter uses user information.

Secondly, I do want to want to acknowledge that Elon Musk does have an AI development company, xAI. This company works in the development of AI, however, they want to make a good AGI which stands for artificial general intelligence (chatgpt, for example, is another AGI) in order to "understand the universe" with a scientific focus. Elon has mentioned wanting it to be able to solve complex mathematics and technical problems. He also, ofc, wants it to be marketable. You can read more about that here: xAI's website

Elon Musk has claimed that xAI will use tweets to help train it/improve it. As far as I'm aware, this isn't happening yet. xAI also, despite the name, does NOT belong/isn't a service of Xcorp (aka twitter). Therefore, xAI is not an official X product or service like the privacy policy is covering. I believe that the TOS/the privacy policies would need to expand to disclaim that your information will be shared specifically with affiliates in the context of training artificial intelligence models for xAI to be able to use it but I'm no lawyer. (also,,,Elon Musk has said cis/cisgender is a slur and said he was going to remove the block feature which he legally couldn't do. I'd be weary about anything he says)

Anyway, back to the screenshot provided, I know at a glance the red underlined text where it says it uses information collected to train AI but let's look at that in context. Firstly, it starts by saying it uses data it collects to provide and operate X products and services and also uses this data to help improve products to improve user's experiences on X and that AI may be used for "the purposes outlined in this policy". This means essentially just that is uses data it collects on you not only as a basis for X products and services (ex. targeting ads) but also as a way for them to improve (ex. AI algorithms to improve targeting ads). Other services it lists are recommending topics, recommending people to follow, offering third-party services, allowing affiliates etc. I believe this is all the policy allows AI to be used for atm.

An example of this is if I were to post an image of a dog, an AI may see and recognize the dog in my image and then suggest me more dog content! It may also use this picture of a dog to add to its database of dogs, specific breeds, animals with fur, etc. to improve this recommendation feature.

This type of AI image, once more, is common in a lot of media sites such as Tumblr, insta, and tiktok, and is often used for content moderation as shown below once more

Again, as far as I'm aware, this type of machine learning is to improve/streamline twitter's recommendation algorithm and not to produce generative content as that would need to be disclaimed!!

Claiming that twitter is now using your art to train AI models therefore is somewhat misleading as yes, it is technically doing that, as it does scan the images you post including art. However, it is NOT doing it to learn how to draw/generate new content but to scan and recognize objects/settings/etc better so it can do what social media does best, push more products to you and earn more money.

(also as a small tangent/personal opinion, AI art cannot be copywritten and therefore selling it would be a very messy area, so I do not think a company driven by profit and greed would invest so much in such a legally grey area)

Machine learning is a vast field , encompassing WAY More than just art. Please don't jump to assume just because AI is mentioned in a privacy policy that that means twitter is training a generative AI when everything else points to it being used for content moderation and profit like every other site uses it

Given how untrustworthy and just plain horrible Elon Musk is, it is VERY likely that one day twitter and xAI will use user's content to develop/train a generative AI that may have an art aspect aside from the science focus but for now it is just scanning your images- all of them- art or not- for recognizable content to sell for you and to improve that algorithm to better recognize stuff, the same way Tumblr does that but to detect if there's any nsfw elements in images.

WHAT TO DO AS AN ARTIST?

Everyone has a right to their own opinion of course ! Even just knowing websites collect and store this type of data on you is a valid reason to leave and everyone has their own right to leave any website should they get uncomfortable !

However, when people lie about what the TOS/privacy policy actually says and means and actively spread fear and discourage artists from using twitter, they're unintentionally only making things worse for artists with no where to go.

Yes twitter sucks but the sad reality is that it's the only option a lot of artists have and forcing them away from that for something that isn't even happening yet can be incredibly harmful, especially since there's not really a good replacement site for it yet that isn't also using AI / has that same TOS clause (despite it being harmless)

I do believe that one day xAI will being using your data and while I don't think it'll ever focus solely on art generation as it's largely science based, it is still something to be weary of and it's very valid if artists leave twitter because of that! Yet it should be up to artists to decide when they want to leave/deactivate and I think they should know as much information as possibly before making that decision.

There's also many ways you can protect your art from AI such as glazing it, heavily watermarking it, posting links to external sites, etc. Elon has also stated he'll only be using public tweets which means privating your account/anything sent in DMS should be fine!!

Overall, I just think if we as artists want any chance of fighting back against AI we have to stay vocal and actively fight against those who are pushing it and abandon and scatter at the first sign of ANY machine learning on websites we use, whether it's producing generative art content or not.

Finally, want to end this by saying that this is all just what I've researched by myself and in some cases conclusions I've made based on what makes the most sense to me. In other words, A Lot Could Be Wrong ! so please take this with a grain of salt, especially that second part ! Im not at all any AI/twitter expert but I know that a lot of what people were saying wasn't entirely correct either and wanted to speak up ! If you have anything to add or correct please feel free !!

[senoritafish]

Mike's been a friend of mine since high school, and I can vouch for him. He's been a professional television and screenplay writer and researcher for years, but the gig economy is doing him dirty recently. If you can make use of his services or give him a bit of help, it would be much appreciated. I'm broke myself, at least for another week, so I'm Signal boosting.

(Links to services are in the comments of his post)

Folks,

A writing assignment and a couple other gigs evaporated on me, and I'm desperately in need of $550 to stave off disaster this month. I'm currently trying to find some form of full time clerical, order desk, or editorial work and would appreciate any likely leads or suggestions.

If you just want to help out or make an advance payment on future services, my Venmo ID is @Michael-Dobkins, and the last 4 digits of my phone is 8090. Payments can also be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal.

(links to his services below cut if Facebook doesn't work for you)

Thanks for reading...

STORY CONSULTING

I'm a produced television writer with thirty years of experience. If you're stuck on your screenplay or need guidance going into your next draft, I can provide comprehensive guidance and advice that will help you tell the story you want to tell.

My current fee is $450, but I'm charging only $225 until 6/3. You can find the full details of my consulting process is and how it can help you at my web site:

https://www.dobkins.net

HISTORICAL RESEARCHER

For more than fourteen years, I've been running THIS DATE IN SEAL BEACH HISTORY, a local history blog, that takes a deep dive in my hometown's past through old photos, stories, historical facts, and obscure tidbits hidden in old newspaper archives. I can apply these same skills and attention to your family or historical questions.

Normally, I charge $100 for an initial two hours research and newspaper clippings (usually that sufficient for most questions), but this month I'm offering a flat $25 fee for one hour and a $45 for two hours.

You can see Seal Beach-centric versions of what I can do for you at the blog here:

https://sbfoundersday.wordpress.com

FAMILY PHOTO AND HISTORICAL DOCUMENT SCANNING

I will travel to your home in the Long Beach and Orange County with my computer and scanner and scan your vintage family and historical documents at high resolution. You'll get a copy of the raw image files that day after the scanning is complete (usually on an USB thumb drive).

I will then process the images and add captions based the dates, names, locations, and other information that you provide for each photo or document during the appointment. I will then make those processed files available in an online password protected folder for you to download. This usually take 7-10 days after the initial scanning appointment.

400 Photos/documents $100

300 Photos/documents $ 90

200 Photos/documents $ 70

100 Photos/documents $ 50

A 64 GB USB thumb drive - $15

[vulturereyy]

PRE-ARTFIGHT PREP - SAVING REFS FOR FUTURE ATTACKS! :)

Hey y'all!! I'm so excited for Artfight 2023, especially to be on team goggie :> (You can find my profile here!)

I know I'm responsible for getting a few more folks into AF this year, and I've seen a lovely few tutorials on many aspects; but one thing I haven't seen is a general 'how to' on saving refs pre-fight.

For those who are new to AF, the site... Typically doesn't work the first week or so. Downtimes are getting increasingly better, but since this site is run on donations and volunteers, it's understandable that it's experiencing some hiccups with SO MANY people joining every year! AF is usually extended into the first week of august to make up for this.

HOWEVER, this does mean that all those lovely characters you've bookmarked to attack? You won't be able to access their refs if the site is down! :((

This is why it's EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED that you save them beforehand, as is often repeated!

This is not a universal method for most folks, but if you're like me just hearing 'just do x!' doesn't always help me picture *how* to do something, so I wanted to share my method :) My example will use discord, but you can very well use a google doc or word doc; anywhere that images can be saved.

Now, Let's begin!

For starters, I have my own discord server that I use for various things. I'm the only member in it, and it's great for organizing things I need.

Next, I use a text channel where I'm going to store all of the information I need

Now, while the site is up, i head over to my bookmarked characters:

Find a character you'd like to save the refs of from your list, and click onto their character profile! :)

Now, for the important question: What should you save, at the very least? (Hi @saturno-sol I'm using Chantilly as an example :> Go attack fae here!!)

Above a character's main image, you should see this:

The first thing that may not be obvious to save is that string of numbers, which can be copied by pressing the clipboard. Artfight does not use character names, but character IDs for submitting attacks, and these cannot be found anywhere but on-site.

Second, you'll want to save the username of the person who the character belongs to. I usually format these in my notes like:

Chantilly - 2231643 By Saturno-Sol

The other things you will want to save text-wise will be that person's permissions, found under the images and character descriptions here:

( Please be sure to take note of each person's character and personal permissions! Getting free art is lovely, but so is respecting boundaries <3 )

And the character profile itself, situated above the permissions and below the image gallery

If a character description is longer, I personally tend to pick out important bits from it and paste them together in more bullet-pointed form. But those who won't break the character limit of a normal discord post, I'll simply copy paste both perms and character description :)

Finally, you'll want your images of course! These can be copy pasted into wherever you're saving them, though I highly recommend a format where you can have the above text information and the images together for sake of clarity. Especially if you're going to have a lot of saved characters, like myself :>

In the end, my posts usually end up looking like:

**Name - ID** By [Username] **Character permissions** [character permissions] **[username's] global permissions** [global perms]

**Character profile** [Character information here]

And lastly, images at the bottom, given how discord formats things :) All in one place, off-site, so I may still browse various characters while the site broken. And as soon as it's ready, I don't have to worry about loading multiple tabs on-site to submit the attack, I've got all the information I need right there!

I hope this helps some new and maybe even some old artfight veterans. I'd recommend saving over the amount of attacks you think you'll do, just in case you're an indecisive queen like I am and want some variety to choose from.

Hope to see you all in the fight when it starts! Excited for my fourth year in the brawl >:)

[council--board]

Status -> Stimboards: Closed -> Doodles: Open

Doc w/ each anon and request

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-> please refer to me as v2, pebbles or willoh. I use he/him pronouns and I'm aroace. I'm a french canadian user

-> interests for anyone curious. this updates from time to time

-> be patient with me if you send requests. I am tired all the time and I sometimes get too busy to work on boards

note: I can't work on anything that requires me to open wikis to get images if I'm on my laptop since the wiki lags. this just means I'll take a bit longer to get to some requests so you're welcome to provide me with an image [could just link it or send it via dms if you'd wish to remain anonymous in the asks]

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-> main blog is @paintedcomputer

-> I also run @ultrastim [ultrakill related] and @sliver-board [rain world related]

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-> anons are allowed to sign off with a name or emoji which will be recorded on a notes app + a post on here. I sometimes may ask for anons to provide pronouns so I don't accidentally misgender someone when talking about them

-> guide that I made to help

I will do: -> Original Characters -> Oc x Oc / Canon x Canon / Oc x Canon. I welcome ships -> Kin stimboard -> LGBTQ themed boards -> Animals -> Fandom characters [catified designs / your own designs are welcome!] -> Fandom specific -> Gift stimboard

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Fandom Specific would be asking me to create a stimboard based off Undertale and not a specific character from the game

ships are only welcome if they're fine to do. if you ever see me do a ship board where it's problematic, please inform me and I'll get rid of it. I try my best to do research on canon x canon to make sure nothing is bad

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I won't do: -> Spiders -> Soap Cutting -> Slime -> IRL people -> Kidcore

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• I won't be recolouring gifs because it's a pain in the ass

• IRL people only applies to like actors, youtubers, etc. you get the idea. HOWEVER, characters from a tv series or a movie is fine since I’m not directly doing the actor

--

Maybe: -> Bugs [it depends which ones]

-> this is a general stimblog! I do multifandom stuff and I'll allow pretty much anything

-> regarding fandoms: I don't care what fandoms you wanna request, I'll do the ones I'm comfortable with. I ask that you specify the fandom when requesting fandom characters so I don't get the wrong thing

-> requesting a kinboard is simple, just inform me it's a kin and i'll tag it. you're allowed to ask me to tell people to not tag it as id/me/kin if needed

-> " [character] x [character] " to me is a ship while " [character] and [character] " isn't one. you're allowed to specify ship or not in your request if needed but this is how I write them down. I don't understand people going " [character]/[character] " so it takes longer for me to do it

-> if you want me to use a specific image, I'll ask you to please provide it for me because sometimes it would involve me needing to hunt it down and I never find it in the end sometimes. I look at the wiki more than I try to look directly into the source [due to some sites not allowing screenshots yknow]. I will not accept fanart that isn't made by you without clear permission from the one who created it so I prefer if only official art was handed over

-> please be specific on your themes, you're allowed to not request any themes and let me choose everything but in most cases it takes me longer + me doing a ton of research

-> I do three characters max into one stimboard as more would look strange obviously

-> you can request multiple boards!! you don't have a limit, and you're allowed to request the same character[s] multiple times even if someone else already requested one

-> I'm allowed to change the theme around even if provided with specific stuff. I only change if I can't find a theme or if I think something else fits. I'm also allowed to deny any requests I'm not comfortable doing or that I can't do

oh what did you mean by [blank] in your posts?

sometimes I add in blurbs when I make my own posts while sometimes I don't

-> for my own benefit - I think this is clear enough but pretty much means the board was created for me

-> I know what you are - I know exactly who the anon is off anon as I am probably friends with them

------

can you explain these tags?

-> #stimboard-logs - despite my new username as this is my original one, this is my general tag for anything I create -> #gabriels stimboards - only stimboards I create get tagged as this

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-> Stimboards: " hey could I request a Gabriel from Ultrakill stimboard with themes of wings, gold and swords? " can also be written as " Gabriel [ultrakill "

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-> Ship stimboards: " hey could I request a v1 x v2 from Ultrakill stimboard? " can also be written as " v4v [v1 x v2 ultrakill] " -> if you write down their ship name, please specify the names separately for easier research

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-> Kin stimboards: " can I get a Foxy from FNAF stimboard? this is a kin request "

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-> Doodles/Icons: " can I request a doodle/icon of [character/oc] " doodles can sometimes be actual drawings instead of normal doodle if you request doodles/icons, I will obviously want to be given the ref of the oc

-> what are some requests you would deny? anything that makes me uncomfortable to work on or if it's problematic in some way then I'll deny it. I also avoid anything that wants me using bright colours or if the character is really bright [which might just be me putting an overlay on it] since bright colours gives me bad headaches

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-> is there anything you won't allow for themes? spiders, water slime, anything on my " won't do " list really

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-> could I make a blog inspired from yours? you don't have to ask, anyone is allowed to make a stimblog. I might look at your blog if you do make one though and I'm aware of it

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-> can I ask for this specific thing again? go ahead! I don't mind

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-> can you tag this for me? yeah, sure. make sure to tell me if it's a cw or tw because I don't know the difference :[

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-> am I allowed to request a stimboard for someone else as a gift? YEAH!! please do, these are fun to make