#LJ 2.0

[cesperanza]

I saw your addition to the post about the enshittification of fandom alongside much of the rest of the internet and realized I had no idea that you were among the founders of ao3! I have been following your work for a DECADE and I feel embarrassed not to have known that about your place in fandom history 😅

I wanted us to own the goddamned servers!!! *holds up fist!I*. And now we do!!

(I laugh a TINY bit because A DECADE is really not even anything in my fannish career, lol. I was old THEN! lol)

But anyway, a lot of us who started the AO3 were archivists of one kind or another - I had inherited the DSA (Due South archive), and astolat had Yuletide, and there were other people who were central to fandom in popslash, smallville, highlander, stargate, etc etc. It's a huge responsibility and there was the fear of those small archives falling into the sea, and then there were all of these fic communities on LJ that were essentially also fic archives--flashfic communities and other kinds of communities, etc. Those people also came hurrying to help because we all wanted a safe place to preserve fanworks, both from venture capitalists/ Web 2.0 but also from just link rot and technical degradation.

The people who rushed to help were really all central to fandom at that time, a Dunbar's number of fannish folk who knew each other and who were themselves individually connected to lots of other fans. A very highly charged network so to speak--and people reading this, you know who you are!! :D. YOU AND YOU AND YOU WERE THERE! --and they're still here on tumblr, so many of the first wave OTW! <3 <3 Because we were and are mostly fandom lifers, FIAWOL folk.

[olderthannetfic]

As one of your younger followers I’m surprised that blogs are. . . New? Newer than I thought at least. I guess I always misunderstood what Web 1.0 really was (I grew up web Web 2.0) and I always thought that, outside of informational topics, a big feature of Web 1.0 would be people talking about their lives and interests — tho granted with little to no communication/replies from others. Huh, TIL.

--

Yeah, things really changed a lot and perhaps even more quickly than now at some points in the internet's development.

At the start of the 90s, it was all Usenet groups and service providers with their own forums you could only see if you had that service.

Free e-mail addresses became a thing in the mid 90s. Prior to that, it was all paid stuff like AOL, and prior to that, it was your university or IT job e-mail with your actual name in it. There were very few services, paid or otherwise, that provided you with an e-mail and access to the internet generally: it was all about selling access to a given company's proprietary hangout. There were some. My e-mail is from one. But that wasn't the norm.

(And, of course, prior to like 1995, "the internet" did not by default mean the web. Now, everything is the web or a web interface for your e-mail or something.)

When eGroups and Onelist and then Yahoo Groups arrived, it really changed things for fandom because you could run your own mailing list without knowing technical things. Some of the action drained away from Usenet to mailing lists.

Fandom dipped its toes into blogging sites immediately, but the giant wave of people getting Livejournals wasn't until 2003. I had one in 2002 through a friend, and it really wasn't this big fandom thing at the time. Some time around 2002/early '03, fans started trying to round up invite codes and get their favorite writers on there, and then LJ dropped the need to pay or have a code, and the flood away from mailing lists began.

(I guess web-based forums go in here somewhere, but I wasn't as active on them.)

In some ways, Discord is more like fandom on the early internet than either the LJ era or Tumblr eras were/are.

Most of the 90s stuff was more topic-specific. People socialized because people are people and frequently off-topic, but you were hanging out in The Place For Anime Fanfic or something, not so-and-so's personal diary with a comments section.

[bullet-prooflove]

6000 Follower Celebration Event: The Weekend - Mitch Ripley x Reader (NSFW)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @mini-bee-bee @mandy426 @jareaulamontagnes @watermeezer

Companion piece to:

Seperation!Series:

Marley 2.0 - Mitch doesn't realise your hiding a secret from him.

Not Your Problem - Mitch feels you pulling away from him.

Pill Popping - Mitch confronts LJ about what happened in St Clair.

Not Enough - Mitch realises he won't ever be enough for you after you reveal what happened in St Clair.

Therapy Sessions - Mitch talks through his issues with his counsellor.

Hollow - Mitch returns home to an empty house.

Swings - Mitch steps up when you recieve some life changing news.

Don't Hold Back - You struggle after spending the night with Mitch.

Field of Daisies - Mitch knows exactly how to get you out of your head.

Ghost - You and Mitch finally lay your baby to rest and look towards the future.

Mitch has lost count of the nights you’ve spent together since you decided to end the separation. Most of your evenings are spent in his company on dates that always lead back to the home the two of you bought together, the one’s still in his name.

You always leave the next morning, kissing his mouth in that tender way of yours before you return to you parent’s house to get ready for work. If he’s honest the routine it’s starting to drive him a little crazy because there is nothing he wants more than to exist in the same space with you again, to share the home you’ve built together.

“Marley.” He says as you slip out from his sheets early that morning. You’re wearing his t-shirt from the night before, the hem barely covering that pert ass of yours as you remove your toothbrush from your overnight bag. “I think it’s time we should talk about you moving back in.”

You pause as you glance over your shoulder at him, tugging a pair of clean panties from the bag instead.

“I’m gonna need to put some underwear on before we continue this conversation.” You inform him, stepping into a blue cotton pair with white daisies on. Your good girl panties he calls them, the ones he enjoys rubbing your clit through because they get the perfect amount of friction to make you soaked.

“You should put on different ones.” He tells you, drawing back the sheets to show you his hardening cock. “Because those pretty little things aren’t helping.”

“Are you sure you want to talk?” You ask him as you stray back to the bed. He lies back amongst the pillows as you straddle his hips. The fabric grazes over his naked cock, rubbing over the tip and a low moan tears from his throat, his hips arching.

He’s fucked you three times in the past twelve hours so his dick is beyond sensitive and you use that to your advantage as you rock your damp pussy over the head.

“Fuck.” He hisses, his cheek pressing into the pillow because the ecstasy it’s already raising up in him like a wildfire, searing through his synapses, eating away his sanity.

“No baby.” You murmur, your hand gripping his jaw as you guide his gaze back to yours. “You want me to move back in you need to be a good boy and stay focused on me.”

Your palm comes to rest on his throat, squeezing just enough to make him feel safe, to let him know that you have him no matter what happens in this crazy fucking life.

His breath hitches as you shift your panties aside, his dick catching in just the right place, the tip slipping inside you and the noise he makes it’s enough to wake up the neighbours as his release spills out of him, coating your pussy, staining those cute panties of yours.

You lean over him, your mouth covering his, drinking down his pleasure as his hand tangles in your hair, keeping you close.

“We didn’t finish our conversation.” He murmurs, his nose trails over yours, his skin flushed with rapture.

“This weekend.” You smile, your fingertips caressing the line of his jaw as you look into his eyes. “You can help me move my stuff back in then.”

Love Mitch? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Before you join the taglist make sure to read the rules here as you otherwise you won't be added.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[vimesbootstheory]

CK S6 Pt1 Thoughts

Do we still call this "the cut" or did we leave that behind on LJ? Anyway the thoughts are under the cut. I haven't looked at anyone else's thoughts yet, no idea whether this is echo chamber stuff or if I watched a different show than the rest of you.

Overall I honestly had a blast, I'm probably gonna talk more here about stuff I disliked but that's because positive stuff kept me glued to the screen while negative stuff sent me to vent in the notes doc I had open in another window lol

Eagle Fang was Johnny's thing, not an extension of Kreese's Cobra Kai, and I was so angry at the show for not understanding that that I burst into tears

I continue to think that the big cast is spreading character work too thin, such that most characters were either made much less interesting than they have been in previous seasons (e.g. Daniel, Miguel) or were given too little time with the character work they had (e.g. Robby, Kenny) or both.

Characters I made particular note of who are now boring: Daniel, Amanda, Sam, Hawk.

I was surprised in particular how Daniel was given virtually no character work other than this token Miyagi thing. I prefer when Daniel's a bitch. Daniel being The Reasonable One is incredibly boring.

We kinda got slutty gi back? In hallucination form? Briefly?

This was a hard realization: I don't think I ship Daniel/Johnny in these episodes. I'm still absolutely bonkers for them in previous seasons (1-4 mostly) and in the fandom sphere but honestly I wanted Johnny away from Daniel most of the time in s6e1-5. I found it really off-putting how much Daniel was trying to change Johnny into someone he's not.

Fave new character was Kwon. Enjoyably silly. I like his anime hair.

Delighted that Jarmen baby is a girl, even more delighted that the topic of the baby was pretty backgrounded, didn't spend a lot of time on it.

I am filled with incandescent rage that they neutered SamTory; it was weird rooting for Johnny's terrible strategies to make them frenemies instead of friends. But it looks like they're not quite done yet so I'm gonna cool my heels on this point.

Team Captain nepo babies lol. I would be so pissed if I were any of the other Miyagi-Do students.

Loved Johnny championing his female students. In an ideal world I would not have had a little voice at the back of my head wishing he'd spend the same kind of quality time with Robby (How about some Robby time? Robby? Robby now? Johnny and Robby?); nevertheless for what it was, I still really like Johnny supporting Devon and (to a lesser extent) Tory. Meanwhile Daniel over here in his sexist era I guess, ok. Like he really only wanted to send his daughter and no other girls.

Peyton List is the part-season's MVP, obviously obviously. She was so great. Kicked ass, kicked acting's ass. Tory was probably the meatiest character of the season, too, though that's not saying a ton.

My worst fears were not realized re: Johnny's character. He still isn't the fully-realized guy he was in early seasons, but relative to other characters, he's having a pretty OK season IMO. Knock on wood.

I was unexpectedly all riled up on Anthony's behalf. Why does he HAVE to get into karate? Why does he have to be Daniel 2.0? At least this was addressed textually.

So pissed on Kenny's behalf. Justice for Kenny. He deserved one of the top 6 spots. He got poo pants instead. Jesus Christ.

Loved the Lawrence vs Barnes fight, very metal, excellent choreo, love watching Zabka move. I would bet the cobros are lighting up at having an answer on that particular head-to-head.

This has been a running thing with Cobra Kai for a while, but I'm not even sure how I as an audience member was supposed to see Johnny's current teaching style? Honestly I loved his day of blended-style lessons. Obviously broken glass in the koi pond is not a great idea. But like. Jesus Christ, Daniel, katas HAVE STRIKES. WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT.

Did they really just write Chozen out without any goodbyes? :(((

Daniel's ego flare-up and "I'm the boss" moment, contender for only interesting aspect to his character in these five eps. Hell yea hell yea. Show some goddamn teeth Daniel LaRusso.

One thing I think CK excels at and has always excelled at is keeping the stakes up for tournament-style fights, such that more often than not, I can't tell just through narrative signposting who's going to win. Robby vs Miguel in particular was a nail-biter. I did a full-body arm-pump when Robby won. Though the stakes were weird because it's not as someone can't win in Barcelona if they're not a captain? That was confusing and makes me think it's going to be their way of doling out successes across the main four kids. Like Robby and Sam for the captains, and then Miguel will win, presumably Tory too when she flip-flops back to team good guys again.

Interesting acting/directing/writing (idk which) choice during Robby vs Miguel, Johnny visibly rooting for Robby.

I love that Johnny brought up losing his mum when Tory's mum died, but I really hope they get the chance to bond over it at some point.

The fuckin magic jewel bottle cap got me so bad. Resourceful DIY toys is poor person realness and it was so cute and heartbreaking.

It's weird that new!CK got into the tournament because it's clearly not really the same dojo, so they haven't really qualified.

I'm so pumped about Kreese being the main villain. That was true before the season began and I still feel that way.

I'm excited for part 2!

[decepti-thots]

I wonder if age/generation has a lot of bearing on the decrease of fandom meta; like, the age of understood concepts/etiquette like “don’t like don’t read” or simply choosing not to interact w interpretations you don’t like aren’t really a thing anymore. People in general seem to have gotten way more aggro with conflicting ideas/interpretations and specific “fanon” tends to get established very decisively. Not to mention the larger internet culture has changed to be so, idk, personal? like sometimes i just see how younger people behave/interact on twitter or tiktok and they can be SO aggressive and eager to make someone out in the worst light possible, stuff like that, idk if this makes sense but yeah. culture changes, I guess

Oh, I have to disagree with you anon. "Don't like don't read" started because people had to be told that, told it often, told it frequently. The flamewars back in the day about things as innocuous as "who tops" were once legendary, after all. My experiences on LJ were full of constant drama, much of it nasty as fuuuuuck. Back in my day, making someone's beloved blorbo gay could get you death threats.

I don't think what has changed is any of that as much as the delivery mechanism. What did used to be easier, IME, was choosing how and where to interact to minimize unwanted contact with the people having those bad faith arguments, and the way those arguments were confined to static spaces once upon a time. Web 2.0 didn't make people act worse, but it did make sure that folks acting badly were algorithmically boosted on basically every platform. It's the reblog thing again, isn't it? A stupid take on a forum or a personal blog or even a community might get linked around (who else was there for fandom_wank, shout out), but it didn't get endlessly reproduced. I am wary of arguments fandom culture got "more toxic" in the abstract because I think it obfuscates the role that centralized platforms and especially the corporate idea of "user content" as something to be treated as a kind of resource to be exploited play in our current... situation? Twitter needs a main character to boost engagement to sell ads in a way that web 1.0 spaces just couldn't dream of. And the end result for everyone is that by design, avoiding the nobodies with rancid takes and ongoing drama is simply not possible now. No closed ecosystems. There's a reason the very common request for Tumblr to implement a "make this post unsearchable" function is unlikely to happen. (I'm still astonished they gave in on reblog controls, frankly.)

[saunteringvaguelydownwards]

🐛 🐛 🐛 Talking about WiPs, here's some little guys

Yes, more love for the works in progress! 🐛 Great WIP (go comment)

MCU - F I R E F L Y by SheDreamsByDay (tumblr?) There is so much going on in this fic, but here's the super CliffNotes version: set right after the end of the Hawkeye series, Kate is lonely, Yelena is out on missions, but they start chatting over the phone and become each other's anchor. They get together when Yelena gets back to town, and start trying to take down Red Room 2.0 with the help of Clint and fam, Yelena's parents, Natasha, Wanda, and Shuri. This one is so fucking intense y'all, and has eaten my brain in the best way. I pretty much mainlined the first 24 chapters in 3 days. I mentioned in a comment there that this is a stunning example of the quote "You’re in love with her, here’s the best part: she loves you more than her own life. Here’s the worst part: she loves you so much more than her own life." The things these two are willing to do for each, how far they'll go... There's drama, there's action, there's so much angst and trauma, it can get really dark in places, but the author is very good about putting warnings at the beginning of each chapter about what comes next. Updates regularly every Sunday, and the author replies to pretty much every single comment.

~

SG - Evil by @thingsanddreamsandstuff Metallo!Lena from the Mxy episode decides that Kara is to blame for her pain and suffering in life, so she hops dimensions to try to kill her. Kara decides that the best way to deal with this (and also the fact that her Lena isn't talking to her) is to go to Other Lena's prison cell in the DEO and become talking buddies. Very angsty, lots of great conversations in various configurations of Kara, Lena, Other Lena, Lex, and Alex. Like, some truly eviscerating lines that make you wince by proxy. According to the stats there's only one chapter to go, was last updated in May, and in the notes of the latest chapter she said the next/last chapter was already partially written, so maybe some comment love will help.

~

WN - can i get your house key? by @piratekane OMG THEY WERE ROOMMATES! Avatrice college AU where Ava comes crashing into Bea's life (literally) and decides to never leave. Bea's got serious issues thanks to her fucking parents, Ava is sweet but kinda oblivious, and once again these two have taken up residence in a pine forest. The chapters don't follow a strict linear progression, there's time jumps in between. It's more like a series of moments, until later when they're starting to get their shit together. Again, according to the stats there's only one chapter left, and was last updated a week ago, so very much an active WiP. Plus I think GK and I have been buddies since like LJ or something, so give my pal some love.

[xazz]

Ok so you reblogged this:

So you have no one to blame but yourself for all the dumb questions I'm about to ask you.

1) They Were Giants

• Are you planning to continue this fic?

• What inspired you to write it? How did your original idea differ from what you ended up going with in the first chapter (if it differed at all in the first place)?

• Were there any bits that you really liked but had to cut due to pacing/them not fitting the plot?

• Is there anything you can tell us about where you could see the characters going in the future without spoiling the story (if you plan to keep on writing it, that is)?

2) The "Flocking Movement" series

• What inspired you to write this story, and how much planning did you do before writing it?

• Were you at any point surprised by the direction your story took?

• How would Lucy Prime react to Lucy 2.0 (idk what else to call them lol)? Had Lucy Prime been put in the position of Lucy 2.0, would her actions have differed in any significant way? (+ would she have been an Angel as well or is that just a Lucy 2.0 thing?)

• What does the world created by Desmond look like 100+ years in the future? Are any of the immortals still hanging around? Have more of them popped out? (big question, I know, but I am legit curious about what your answer will be)

• Had Daniel lived (while also being cured of whatever Vidic did to him) what would he have done?

• Some fun facts about Cain, Tiamat, Baldur or any of your other OCs?

• Could you see yourself ever returning to this timeline?

3) General writing questions

• Are there any new WIPs (Ac related or not) that you're really excited about right now? Can you tell us anything about them?

• Do you have any advice/words of encouragement for your fellow writers?

There's a bunch of 'would you write X again?' questions in here and. I do have prompts and requests open on @ahungeringknife. If you want more AU stuff you're more than welcome to ask so long as it's not 'more of this Au!' without any idea of what you want lol

1) They Were Giants

• Are you planning to continue this fic?

Eventually? Maybe? I have the ideas just not the desire to write it rn. Hyperfixation ran out. TWG has also mostly been written on commission.

• What inspired you to write it? How did your original idea differ from what you ended up going with in the first chapter (if it differed at all in the first place)?

I got a request for God!Altair with AltMal and I just went from there. I wrote the first chapter based on it and then I think someone paid for a second chapter so I wrote more. The first chapter is real different from the others because it was supposed to be a one shot. I had to make up Eagle to give Malik something to do lol. Again the second chapter was supposed to Be It and then someone paid for a third and I had to write more. So I tried to wrap up chapters as I go so there aren't dangling ends. Except for recently bc the last chapter or so I wrote for myself.

• Were there any bits that you really liked but had to cut due to pacing/them not fitting the plot?

No really? The parts I'd change would be drawing out the Tarazed thing a bit more. Having him and his priests all die in one chapter was very fast. I'd probably do some sort of red herring Malik thinks he's killed the priests and then building up to killing Tarazed.

• Is there anything you can tell us about where you could see the characters going in the future without spoiling the story (if you plan to keep on writing it, that is)?

Malik leaves Eagle to find out what's 'wrong' with Altair. He meets a bunch more stars and learns that they aren't the only gods. Desmond gets to come with and maybe Lucy? I hadn't planned her and then she popped up.

2) The "Flocking Movement" series

• What inspired you to write this story, and how much planning did you do before writing it?

Kinkmeme on LJ prompt was something like 'Desmond meets Ezio in Montergioni'. Or maybe it was 'Desmond meets ancestors for real'? And then I just went insane. Very little planning happened in the first story but I very meticulously planned 17th, Triad, and TT.

• Were you at any point surprised by the direction your story took?

Jacob was a surprise. So was Tommy. Fan fave Baldur and Cain were also surprises.

• How would Lucy Prime react to Lucy 2.0 (idk what else to call them lol)? Had Lucy Prime been put in the position of Lucy 2.0, would her actions have differed in any significant way? (+ would she have been an Angel as well or is that just a Lucy 2.0 thing?)

Prime would have been disgusted by L2. Not because L2 is disgusting but because of what the Proeathans did. Like the disgust is not at L2, it's what they did to her. But also big 'I've only had synth me for 2 days and if anything happened to her I'd kill all of your and then myself'. L2 was 'programmed' to want Desmond. Prime I think just liked him because they were stuck together and in a terrible situation but once out of it wouldn't have stayed with him. So stuff L2 does that revolve around her feelings for Desmond Prime wouldn't have. Idk what Prime would do if put in the situation *thinky face* She'd probably work with the Assassins properly though. They'd probably meet her when they run into... Andrew. Right Desmond's dad is Andrew in that fic XD I almost wrote William. Prime would have been an angel but not in the same way. Tommy is a watered down version of Desmond. Prime would be a watered down version of L2. L2's biggest plus is proeathan stuff doesn't register as 'human' which is why she can get past their security, Prime is a person/human so does.

• What does the world created by Desmond look like 100+ years in the future? Are any of the immortals still hanging around? Have more of them popped out? (big question, I know, but I am legit curious about what your answer will be)

I have a half finished fic for Legacy that covers that. I just didn't think it turned out very good lol. Altair and Micheal stick around the most. Micheal is very invested in being a grandpa to all of Desmond's kids. Desmond's life gives Altair some purpose and structure. Also Jacob stays in Atlantis. Once Tommy dies Jake and Altair get back together. Cain and Ezio are bother wanderers. Cain 100% starts a fucking cult about himself.

• Had Daniel lived (while also being cured of whatever Vidic did to him) what would he have done?

idk. He doesn't live. I never thought about it lol. There is no timeline where Daniel lives. Ubisoft tortured him enough in canon he gets to fucking rest.

• Some fun facts about Cain, Tiamat, Baldur or any of your other OCs?

Cain's human half is from Turkmenistan. Or that's what Cain says and I'm not about to argue with him. Baldur is trans 👏👏Just in case there was any confusion. She's mtf. She and Thor end up adopting a kid. Tiamat becomes the AI that oversees Atlantis and the Embrace when she eventually dies. She allows Desmond to do that to her so long as she maintains complete control. You never meet her but Desmond and Lucy have a daughter named Saturn and she IS A MENACE. Tiamat loves her. Kaley would have been a stronger pyromancer than John or Desmond.

• Could you see yourself ever returning to this timeline?

I think about it from time to time. But like with TWG just... hyperfixation isn't there. If people prompted for it maybe? I just have written most of what I want for the AU.

3) General writing questions

• Are there any new WIPs (Ac related or not) that you're really excited about right now? Can you tell us anything about them?

There's 2 Destiny AU ideas I have that I'm just *vibrates* about. But there's no 'story' only vibes and setting atm. As for new WIPs? Not really? And always my constant original fantasy WIP.

• Do you have any advice/words of encouragement for your fellow writers?

The mind editor is the thief of joy. Do not let the editor in your head ruin your fucking art.

If you don't feel like your writer's block is going away and you've rested and gone fallow here's the trick they don't tell you; sit down and write through it. It will probably be painful. You probably won't like it. But if your fields are fallow and you feel like they've rested long enough sometimes you have to till the dirt yourself by hand.

In a positive way; no one cares. No one really cares if you make a continuity error, or if you don't have the exact facts right on something, if your headcanon changes mid story. In the 14ish years I've been writing fanfic no one has ever said to me 'um actually you're not right about minor X fact'. I've had people who can't read or understand hyperbole but no one is standing around fact checking you on what you're writing. It's fine. No one cares. If you can't find the exact stat you want fuck it make it up. No one cares enough to check. I say that as a writer and a reader. I'm not out here fact checking someone. Even if I know the information is wrong. Who cares? It's a fanfic.

m/f f/f is just as good and valid as m/m and you should write more of it

[sadsoftserve]

I'm not crow but I am in hellsite 2.0!

-🟣

And yes I am the real loud anon I just wanted to be a little shit for once okay

I'm done now I got bored after like the first 2 asks but felt like I had to keep this up for the sake of consistency. Sorry sadsoftserve

NO.1

if you were in the Hellsite, you'd know everyone calls me either

Lj

Soft

Or Sads.

Two, if you're in the Hellsite, prove to me, what my latest concept is that I have yet shared here.

And three, I have a sneaking suspicion that if somehow, you are in the Hellsite... You are either Arospecbandgeek, Noah, or wren (tho I highly doubt that last one)

[nanjokei]

but this is indirectly a sequel to the generational differences i talked about in my post about how the anime fantasy genre is on its deathbed, you can tell exactly when someone got into anime by how they talk about it— you can tell if its a babby zoomer who knows it through tiktok and streaming (probably during lockdown too). you can tell when its someone who got into it thru post-2015 twitter anime boom. you can tell if it was from tumblr or livejournal (depending on the age its one or the other, sometimes both if old enough), you can tell if they got into it when myspace and forums were still around, you can definitely tell if it was pre-web 2.0, you can so so so tell when its someone who was circulating fansubbed tapes around a university AV club

but yeah, this is why i dont really bother getting too mad about that kind of thing, but i really am deeply nostalgic for the eras i was young and active in (forums~lj/tumblr)

[athelind]

I answered <tumblr>, because LiveJournal is generally considered to predate the advent of Web 2.0 social media.

Oddly, I experienced more of a sense of actual community and camaraderie on LiveJournal, AOL forums, UseNet and even '90s-vintage mailing lists than I've ever managed to find on the "social media" sites.

That includes this one, as much as I love my moots -- and a significant number of my mutuals are people I've known since LJ and UseNet.

(If Discord is considered "social media", does that mean IRC would be, too? What about MUCKs?)

*for our purposes, a youtube account only counts if you’ve used it to post videos.

reblog for reach/bigger sample size!!

[darkmaga-returns]

Amid the current chaos of Trump 2.0, Larry Johnson offers some hope. I highly recommend perusing his:

Has Trump Derailed a Deep State Plot to Attack Iran?

Regular readers will recall that I have basically refused to engage with the supposed Iranian plot to assassinate Trump. I have, mostly in what amount to asides, dismissed this supposed plot as a Deep State ploy, as opposed to the all too real plots to assassinate Trump that failed. Those real plots, in stark contrast with the made up ones, were all of the home-grown variety.

I’ll only summarize LJ’s post—which is very important, IMO—so do follow the link.

Basically …

LJ first notes the hallmarks of the recruitment and grooming of Farhad Shakeri abroad—a drug smuggler who was arrested but then provided with another easy source of financial support: The US Deep State. To me, the mechanics of this plot all ring true. Please note, there is nothing in any of this to suggest that Shakeri was taken into the confidence of the Deep State—probably far from it. He was a tool.

LJ then moves on to Elon’s meeting with the Iranian ambassador to the UN, and argues that the dispatch of a now trusted Trump insider to this meeting had Trump’s blessing and was part of thwarting the Deep State effort to immerse the US in a crazy war with Iran—a war so disastrous that it might have caused Trump 2.0 to be stillborn. This also rings true to me.

LJ next contrasts—implicitly to some extent, explicitly otherwise—the understandable freakout over some of Trump’s bizarre appointments of folks who are on record saying absolutely crazy stuff about Russia, China, Israel, Iran. Here’s what I mean: Contrast the extremely rational use of a highly savvy guy like Elon, with the knuckleheads like Rubio and Hegseth and Waltz. That stark contrast between Elon’s prominent role and the other knuckleheads should raise your antennas. Here I’ll quote LJ:

[bullet-prooflove]

5000 Follower Celebration: Field of Daisies - Mitch Ripley x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @spaghettificationandpretzels @mini-bee-bee @mandy426 @jareaulamontagnes

Companion piece to:

Seperation!Series:

Marley 2.0 - Mitch doesn't realise your hiding a secret from him.

Not Your Problem - Mitch feels you pulling away from him.

Pill Popping - Mitch confronts LJ about what happened in St Clair.

Not Enough - Mitch realises he won't ever be enough for you after you reveal what happened in St Clair.

Therapy Sessions - Mitch talks through his issues with his counsellor.

Hollow - Mitch returns home to an empty house.

Swings - Mitch steps up when you recieve some life changing news.

Don't Hold Back - You struggle after spending the night with Mitch.

It’s two days later that Mitch turns up on your parent’s doorstep. You answer the door half asleep because you got off shift twelve hours ago and there’s a deep set exhaustion inside of you that has nothing to do with physicality and everything to do with the mess inside your head.

“Put on some sneakers.” He says, tucking his hands into the light blue windbreaker you’re wearing. “We’re going running.”

“You gave up the right to tell me what to do when you served me with separation paperwork.” You remind him, your temple coming to rest on the door and his jaw tenses as he looks down the street for a second.

“I deserved that.” He says before he tilts his head towards you. “But I’ve been where you are right now Marley and it’s a really dark fucking place. Trust me this helps.”

He doesn’t flinch when he meets your gaze and you sigh before you retreat into the house and step into your running shoes before snatching up your jacket, headphones and phone.

“Fine but I’m listening to my Yellowstone playlist.” You tell him as you place the earbuds in your ears.

“Sure.” He says as he takes out his own matching set.

It takes the two of you a second to sync your phones to the Bluetooth before Mitch takes off, leaving you to follow his lead. It’s a new route, one you don’t recognise until you end up running along the lake with Mitch by your side. He’s slowed his step to keep pace with you, his skin is flushed from the exertion and the cold as he draws to a halt underneath the railway bridge.

“I wanted to show you this.” He says as he gestures at the graffiti art sprayed onto the wall.

It’s a Brenda Barnum piece, a mural of white daisies painted onto the concrete amidst yellow and green hues and it makes something inside of you light up the way it always does when you see something of hers.

You’d always been a weird kid, perfect on the surface but with an oddness underneath. You didn’t like the same things as other kids, you liked quirky things, vivid colours and shit that challenged your thinking. There was always a battle to conform and you had because it made life easy but you never really felt like you fit. You’d lived with that feeling for years, thinking there was something wrong with you until you saw one of Brenda Barnum’s paintings and in that moment you realised that you didn’t have to hide yourself, you could be exactly who you wanted to be.

You’d told this to Mitch when you’d taken him to an exhibition in the early stages of the relationship, you’d explained how each painting made you feel like you’d been seen, like someone had taken the thoughts out of your head and committed them to canvas.

When he’d finished renovating the house, he’d put a framed museum print of ‘Purple Firecracker’ on the wall above your bed because he knew how much you loved the piece.

“I know you feel displaced right now.” He tells you as he leans back against the concrete pillar. “That you don’t know which way is up but I thought this could be your anchor point, a reminder of who you are underneath the rest of the shit that’s going on in your head.”

Your chest grows tight as you stare at the colours, the vividness, the complexity and in that moment everything just quietens.

“Thank you.” You say finally because you’ve been on the edge ever since you got your diagnosis and this is the first time you’ve actually allowed yourself to take a breath, to step back from the abyss that threatens to swallow you up.

“I mean it.” You say as you tilt your head towards him and his cheeks start to colour. “Thank you Mitch, for bringing me here, for reminding me I’m stronger than this.”

“You’re the toughest person I know Marley.” He tells you as he pushes off the pillar. “You just needed to find yourself again.”

“Yea.” You say, your gaze straying back to the artwork in front of you. “Yea I did.”

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[fuckyeahkagepro]

SERIOUSLY ILLEGAL

[mindibindi]

Okay, listen up, SVU fans because this is a feat, a labour of love by an exceptional creator. Now, I am one of the biggest EO shippers out there and even I balked at the time on this. But I watched it over two days and time fucking flew. I know my SVU 1.0 pretty well but watching it all supercut together, interspersed with relatable shippy reactions was an absolute joy and the highlight of a crappy week. I stopped watching regularly around season 16 so there were aspects of 2.0 that I was not aware of. And because I'm in Australia, where eps of both SVU and OC can be hard to track down, there were even aspects of 3.0 that I had missed out on. This vid covers it all, including some bts drama that I was also blessedly unaware of. I don't agree with everything (cos Bensidy is a hard no for me) and we have some differing opinions on Olivia's hairstyles (cos what fanvid would be complete without at least touching on that vital aspect of the show?). Ships other than EO are mentioned: Cabenson gets a yes, Barson a no (agreed on that too). There's some astute analysis on the post-1.0 blurring of lines between Mariska and her character that I was def nodding along to. My old LJ is also featured at one point so yay for me. This is an invaluable resource for any old EO shipper in need of a refresher or for any new fans wanting to jump into the shows in their current iterations but needing to know the backstory (tho obviously it won't hit as hard if you don't go thru the shipper wringer). When Elliot returned and people on here saw fandom reactions, I had some online friends ask whether they should start watching SVU, get into this 20+ year ship, and I was like: God no, save yourself the grief. But I dunno....watching this video kinda made me rethink that response...

hey! haven’t been on here in forever, but i made a video recapping every single moment between olivia and elliot

yes, it’s 7 hours haha

[izzyizumi]

[radoncanyoncryptid]

I will honestly be so fucking thrilled if tumblr's bullshit causes dreamwidth to finally take off