#Joel Berry

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Megan Squire and Creede Newton at SPLC's Hatewatch:

An SPLC Data Lab investigation of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant content on The Babylon Bee and its sister site, Not the Bee, has uncovered multiple controversial businesses formerly run by owner Seth Dillon, along with the identities of 14 pseudonymous Not the Bee writers, despite the website’s efforts to keep information secure. The Babylon Bee is a right-wing satire site that borrows a format from the satirical news outlet The Onion while amplifying far-right rhetoric and disinformation. Its sister site, Not the Bee, is a junk-news site with salacious headlines about culture-war issues designed to stir up right-wing outrage. Dillon, who purchased the Bee in 2018, has been tight-lipped about his past businesses, with prior biographical articles making only vague references to his history in “e-commerce” or a “legal filing service.” Publicly available data reveals that from 2004 to 2011, Dillon operated two term-paper writing services, Custom-Writing.com and TheWriteElements.com, which charged up to $18.95 per page to write term papers for college students.

The Write Elements website listed Dillon’s phone number, and that same phone number appeared in data sets stolen from Elance, a now-defunct freelancer search service, and later leaked to the public internet, where the Data Lab viewed it. Along with the phone number, the Elance data breach also listed email addresses for “sdillon” and “Seth Dillon” at both of the term-paper websites. The Custom-Writing.com site claimed to have been in business since 2001, and both term-paper businesses were located in Palm Beach County, Florida, according to information posted on the now-defunct essay mill websites. Seth Dillon attended Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Christian college, in Palm Beach County from 2000 to 2004. He has had several residences there, including his current home in upscale Jupiter.

[...]

From Babylon Bee to Not the Bee

After purchasing The Babylon Bee from Adam Ford in 2018, Dillon launched a sister site called Not the Bee, with the tagline “your source for headlines that should be satire, but aren't.” Despite the claim to be “humor-based,” many Not the Bee stories feature strongly anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant themes. Nearly 600 stories on the site were tagged “Illegal Immigration,” “Biden’s Border Bloodbath,” “Border Crisis,” “Deportation Now,” “Build the Wall” or “Great Replacement,” while the word “illegals,” a dehumanizing word used to refer to undocumented immigrants, was used in 109 stories. More than 800 stories were tagged “Transgenderism,” “Transgender Craze,” “LGBT,” “Trans Cult” or “Trans the Kids.” These stories frequently misgender and mock the appearances of trans people, and some refer to Bible quotes about “millstones” being tied around the necks of LGBTQ+ people. Another 96 stories were tagged “Libs of TikTok,” promoting content from Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist. Bee owner Seth Dillon stated on Twitter in 2022 that he “worked out a deal” with Raichik to financially support her and her videos.

In 2022, the social platform Twitter, now known as X, suspended the Babylon Bee account for hateful posts aimed at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine, a transgender woman. Eight months later, after Elon Musk took over the platform, Twitter reversed its decision and reinstated the account. Not the Bee was not suspended by Twitter.

[...] Joel Berry, who is the managing editor of The Babylon Bee according to his LinkedIn profile, has written about 20 articles for the site under his own name. However, the data exposed about Berry by the website also matches to a pseudonymous writer, “Davy Crockett,” who has written 140 articles, nearly all of which stoke fear about immigration with headlines about migrant crime waves and “illegal invaders” taking American jobs.

SPLC’s Hatewatch blog has a bombshell report on right-wing satire site The Babylon Bee and its sister far-right “fake news” site Not The Bee.

[berrysquared]

I just think LDShadowLady’s husband joel sHOULD PUT HER ON THAT BILLBOARD IN HIS BASE I KNOW UR LURKING JOEL I KNOW UR SEEING THIS, PUT QUEEN ON THE BILLBOARD

[harveyguillensource]

Harvey shared an emotional trip down his WWDITS memory lane. Happy birthday and happy Shadows wrap, Harvey 🥹

[moldyrainbowbutter]

Empires SMP Headcanons

(most of these are season 1, I'm not caught up on season 2 lore)

S1 Gem and fWhip were both born human. They each chose different paths to gain power regardless: Gem chose wizardry and fWhip chose to be an artificer/alchemist. Part of the reason he moved to the Grimlands from the Crystal Cliffs is because of the corruption there (not the Xornoth corruption). It fascinated him. Eventually, prolonged exposure to it changed him. Like how in cannon, the corruption gave him real dragon wings to replace his mechanical wings, but I think it also turned him into a vampire.

This one is pretty vague but I think the floating islands of Stratos might have something to do with the floating islands in The Overgrown or the ones Wizard Gem fled to.

IDK if this is cannon but the lines from where water level changed that you can see at the Pix's archaeological dig are from when the ocean drained.

Sheriff Jimmy, Princess Katherine, and Princess Gem were childhood friends (I stole this from a YouTube comment)

Apollo (Gem's s2 bear) is a reincarnation of her X Life bear, Blue. This would fit with the cannon fact that she brought the season 1 dragons over from a previous world she'd lived in.

In season 1, Scott felt particularly protective of Shrub because he felt guilty for her home being destroyed (even though he literally did not cause it and could not have stopped it, he's just like that). That's why he didn't get too mad when she stole the Xornoth crystal. The reason he gave her those boots in the first episode was because he could sense that she had been near his brother, even though he didn't know that was what was happening.

In season 2, Pix, Gem, and Joel always knew about Lizzie being a cat. Pix and Gem because they know none of this is real, and Joel because he's her husband so of course he'd know

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

making yourself up as you go (a 12x100 about ESMP S1 and transgenderism)

(fic can also be read on ao3 here. cw for gender dysphoria and mild transphobia)

Katherine has, as far as anyone knows, always been Katherine. Always been the beautiful, lithe, perfect fairy they expect when they hear her name.

There is a certain image faer titles bring to mind, to faer fellow emperors and fairies alike. And if Katherine’s magic is any good- and it is good- that is the image they will always get, whenever they think of her.

It is only Katherine, now, who remembers that small and gangly child, hair too short and eyes too bright. He lives only in her mind, now, and Katherine is quite content to keep him there.

---

Shrub still doesn’t really get it, the gender thing. She grew up with something almost similar, but the words he used then, the words people used for his parents and baby sister, sound foreign and wrong on her new friends’ tongues.

So instead, Shrub looks at herself in the mirror, at her stocky build and choppy hair and mismatched socks, and she takes it in stride. It’s not wrong, the words her friends suggest- sometimes they even feel nice. They’re just not his, in the way nothing here truly is. In this way that means he’ll take what he can get.

---

Joey doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. Maybe when he was younger, when becoming a boy was a much darker bruise, he would’ve understood better all the stress his new friends feel about the thing. Nowadays, however, Joey’s settled so well into the feeling that it’s hard to remember he was ever something else. 

It certainly helps that no one he knows nowadays knew him as a kid, or that his closest friend and neighbor is a gnome who doesn’t understand human gender anyways. Joey is a man, now. Does there need to be anything else to it?

---

Fwhip has been grasping for whatever parts of manhood he could reach since he was young, and he still feels less than halfway there. It’s the small things- reminding ambassadors that it’s Sir, trying to match the bulk and height of his fellow emperors, making his voice sound deep enough to be believed. It’s the big things too, the things that make him taste bile when he catches sight of himself in the mirror.

But it’s easier to ignore the persistent ache, these days, with people, people like him, drowning out the voice of the angry little girl in his brain.

---

Gem sometimes feels like she hasn’t grown past the little girl she was 10 years ago. Sometimes, the face in the mirror isn’t hers, but a child in their mother’s clothes who’s about to discover her greatest secret, greatest joy.

It was hard, for a long time. The Crystal Cliffs only ever knew her as Gem, but she couldn’t help but feel like they could see right through her, through her dresses and long hair to the core of her person, to the too-tall little boy with knobby knees and broad shoulders.

Nowadays, though, all they can see is Gem.

---

Sausage knows how she looks. With her strong, tall build, her dark, coarse facial hair, her deep voice, she knows how she looks. And most of the time, it doesn’t bother him. He finds joy in the familiarity of masculinity the same way he does the novelty of femininity and androgyny.

But Sausage can’t help but be jealous. For all they love their body, they long for the beauty Katherine holds in every step, the androgyny Scott has never had to convince anyone to respect. Jealousy runs deep in Sausage’s bones, and she does her best to push it down.

---

Pearl has been pretty lucky, if she might say so herself. For the most part, her people have been quite accommodating when she slips in (or occasionally out) of being a woman. Farmer Queen or King, as long as Pearl can harvest, can defend his kingdom with fervor, how specifically he does it doesn’t tend to matter.

Pearl finds freedom in her gender, in her fancy dresses and heavy armor alike. In a world that becomes more complicated by the day, it feels good to have something, anything, that Pearl has full control over, and that makes her so happy.

---

Scott was much more of a pushover when he first became King. He let his advisors make decisions, he let the people around him form opinions of him and didn’t dispute them. It came with the territory of being a kid, of being thrown headfirst into a mass of worlds you didn’t understand. Nowadays, Scott has a century’s worth of ruling under their belt, and is much more willing to bite back against these incorrect assumptions.

He cannot deny, however, that people got one thing right. That ethereal androgyny humans tended to assign to elves? Yeah, that one was pretty spot on.

---

Joel doesn’t answer questions about her gender. There are simply more important things they could be talking about. Not only does it not matter, but it never has. No one ever cared about his gender when he was small, why should that change now that he was grown? Now that he was in charge? Lots of things that mattered as a kid didn’t matter now that xe was in charge, and in Joel’s opinion, that’s how it should be. The more power Joel gets, the older she grows, the less the world should place on her shoulders. It’s only fair.

---

When Jimmy washed up on the shores of the Codlands, the fisherman who found him called him a girl. He didn't speak the language yet, so he didn’t know what that meant. Once they learned the language, they still didn’t really understand. But sea knew it didn’t feel right, that calling searself she left a pit in sear stomach that sea couldn’t understand.

Even now, Jimmy doesn’t quite know why this new gender feels better. Codfather, Codboy, man, he doesn’t understand it in the way his human friends do. But that doesn’t matter as much as knowing it feels right.

---

The first person Lizzie met on land was a beautiful woman, tall and slender and suddenly, Lizzie understood everything she’d ever wanted to be. Lizzie molded herself on the humans of Pixandria, the fishfolk of the Codlands, and she took their words that sounded nice in her voice, looked right next to her name, until she’d made a person that felt entirely, totally, hers.

As time has gone on, that person has evolved. They’re taller now, they remember where they came from and what they originally wanted out of life. But Lizzie doesn’t think she’ll ever forget that beautiful woman.

---

Pix is beginning to get sick of being people’s queer awakenings. They’re happy to help, of course, but this is getting ridiculous.

Pixandria has always been removed from the cultures of its fellow humans. Being so far away, it was only natural that its people would care less about the customs that mattered so greatly to their fellows. So Pix gets it, when these young kids stumble through the gates of his city and take in all its differences for the first time, get exposed to the idea of more. He does, really!

But does it always have to be them?

[your-local-crypt1d]

The seasonal depression has been kicking me in the ass atm so sorry for no uploads. Have some esmp art I did throughout yesterday, I thought I'd mix it up and draw some emperors I have no designs for. Tap for better quality.

((Close-ups under the cut))

I actually really like Joeys' eyelashes in this one. he's a king he deserves blade-sharp eyelashes

Joel "massivebeans" my beloved. Those smudges are clay he got all over his face (I understand from personal experience).

I probably won't include it in her final design but I'm a sucker for hats with veils so I gave Shrub one.

I love Jizzie and their cursed ship name 💖

[imaloregremlin]

Why I shouldn’t punch you, Empires Season One edition:

[rhymeswithfart]

Hello my friends!

I am Ahmed from Gaza 🇵🇸🍉

Asking for help is not easy. Ask for a small donation of€20 or€25 from each person...

I need your help, if you can donate to save my life and the life of my family. My donation link is in my bio.

Every donation, even if small, will make a big difference in my life.

Help me and my family 🇵🇸😍

https://gofund.me/dd544a0e

Has a clean reverse image search, very low on funds!

https://gofund.me/395dfbcf

I hope this will help reach more eyes: I'll add images to add more tags

[waytooobsessedwithmcyt]

Emptober Day 8: Wings of Fire

Gem: Nightwing (mind reading and prophecy)

Fwhip: Nightwing (no powers)

Sausage: Nightwing (mind reading)

Pearl: Night/Mud hybrid

Shrub: Mud/Leaf hybrid (fire resistant)

Scott: icewing (duh) (first in rankings)

Katherine: leafwing (sapwing)

Joey: leafwing (poisonwing)

Jimmy: seawing (duh)

Pix: sandwing (also very obvious)

Joel: sand/sea hybrid

Lizzie: Seawing (a fourth very obvious one)

[fruityenderman]

What if season 1 had a princess tea party?

Here's the first 5 party-goers + a party crasher

[Part 2 will be here later]

[ID: 6 traditional drawings of empires smp season 1 characters in dresses.

The first is of joel, wearing a mesa patterned skirt and a flowery moss cape.

The second is shrub, wearing a short, leafy patterned skirt, as well as brown shorts and a red cape with mushrooms growing on it.

The third is fwhip, wearing a vampire cape, a flowy red shirt, black and red corset, and a long black skirt with slits on the sides.

The fourth is Sausage, wearing a white unbuttoned shirt, teal and gold corset, and a red and gold skirt.

The fifth is gem, wearing a large purple cloak, and a multi layered skirt with purple and green layers.

The sixth is xornoth, wearing a red-to-purple gradient dress, with a slit down one side of the skirt.

End ID.]

[waytooobbesesedwithmcyt]

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while from back when I first heard about fake dating aus and thought that it was just gay people trying to make their family happy, so here are my incoherent thoughts about who would be sold off to who for a marriage alliance in medieval times, probably going to post something based off this on AO3 at some point because I have a general plot idea:

Gem and Scott are married and Katherine and Jimmy are married, Katherine and Gem spend all their time complaining about how oblivious Jimmy and Scott are

Pearl and Pix are married by name only, they live miles away from each other and barely speak

Fwhip, Sausage, Pearl, and Gem are all the kids of one kingdom and are all siblings (I'm sorry shiny duo shippers)

Joey and Xornoth were secretly dating until Joey was caught kissing Xornoth and was put to death for being gay, Xornoth has never recovered

Lizzie and Joel are married and the one couple who are actually in love

Shrub is a lady in waiting to Katherine (she's not of noble descent, Katherine is just really gay for her)

In my mind I call it the kingdom au but there are definitely better options for names I just can't think of

[fayegonnaslay]

Photo by Jean-Paul Goude.

Halston with his creative team and models, Esquire Magazine, August 1975.

[berrysquared]

I JUST THINK THAT SINCE JOEL HAS ANOTHER FREE BILLBOARD HE SHOULD PUT OLI ORIONSOUND ON IT

bonus (it was me, I put him up there)

[harveyguillensource]

Laura Montgomery shared a ton of behind-the-scenes photos showcasing the amazing costumes on WWDITS Season 5!

[gsworld-ask]

REFERENCE DONE!! (+ additional lizzie ebcause i couldnt do the j without the izzie)

time to work on the comic

[your-local-crypt1d]

It's pride month so here's some pride headcanons for the empires s1 members

Most people have pots and pans, Jimmy solidarity is pan with POTS

Kinda stolen from my favourite fanfic but he's also polyamorous

People in the ocean empire and codlands often have multiple romantic partners over their lifetimes, and they don't like to be told who or how many to love

On that note, Lizzie has bi wife energy to me

Joel is as cishet as they come but is also the biggest ally ever, buys cakes with the bisexual flag on it at Lizzies' cake shop specifically for her

Along with already being gay, Scott is bigender to me (he/she pronouns). She's mostly referred to as the Elvenking of Rivendell, but it's not uncommon for his subjects to switch it up to Elvenqueen here or there

Elves are just very fluid with their gender

Both fWhip and Gem are trans and they swapped names as children. Because they're identical twins, they nearly swapped identities on accident because of this

fWhip is also gay you can FIGHT me on that

This isn't exactly a new idea but Xornoth is non-binary and uses they/he pronouns

Pixl strikes me as an aroace kind of guy, the kind who doesn't mind a kiss on the lips from his friends yknow?

Pixl "It's not gay to kiss the homies goodnight" riffs

Katherine Elizabeth the angry bisexual and Shrub Berry the even angrier lesbian, that is all.

Also because mlm wlw besties with Joey and Shrub

Anyway I leave you all with this final image