#all algorithms should die in a fire

[juliannos]

for the love of Christ, YouTube is now recommending alt right channels. Now I gotta go back and figure out who I watched to make them think that

[probablyasocialecologist]

When you look at Instagram or Facebook, I want you to try and think of them less as social networks, and more as a form of anthropological experiment. Every single thing you see on either platform is built or selected to make you spend more time on the app and see more things that Meta wants you to see, be they ads, sponsored content, or suggested groups that you can interact with, thus increasing the amount of your “time spent” on the app, and increasing the amount of “meaningful interactions” you have with content. I also want you to realize that anything bad that you see on the platform is a symptom of Mark Zuckerberg’s unwillingness to rate-limit or sufficiently moderate the platform. Logically-speaking, one would think that Meta would want you to have a high-quality Facebook experience, pruning content that might be incendiary, spammy, scammy or unhelpful, or at the very least, comes primarily from those within your own network, but when your only concern is growth, content moderation is more of an emergency measure.  And to be clear, this is part of Meta’s cultural DNA. In an interview with journalist Jeff Horwitz in his book Broken Code, Facebook’s former VP of Ads and Partnerships Brian Bolland said that “building things is way more fun than making things secure and safe…[and] until there’s a regulatory or press fire, you don’t deal with it.”  Horwitz also cites that Meta engineers’ greatest frustration was that the company “perpetually [needed] something to fail — often fucking spectacularly — to drive interest in fixing it.” Horwitz’s book describes Meta’s approach to moderation as “having a light touch,” considering it “a moral virtue” and that the company “wasn’t failing to supervise what users did — it was neutral.” As I’ve briefly explained, the logic here is that the more stuff there is on Facebook or Instagram, the more likely you are to run into something you’ll interact with, even if said interaction is genuinely bad. Horwitz notes that in April 2016, Meta analyzed Facebook’s most successful political groups, finding that a third of them “routinely featured content that was racist and conspiracy-minded,” with their growth heavily-driven by Facebook’s “Groups You Should Join” and “Discover” features, algorithmic tools that Facebook used to recommend content. The researcher in question added that “sixty-four percent of all extremist group joins are due to our recommendation tools.” When the researcher took their concerns to Facebook’s “Protect and Care” team, they were told that there was nothing the team could do as “the accounts creating the content were real people, and Facebook intentionally had no rules mandating truth, balance or good faith.” Meta, at its core, is a rot economy empire, entirely engineered to grow metrics and revenue at the expense of anything else. In practice, this means allowing almost any activity that might “grow” the platform, even if it means groups that balloon by tens or hundreds of thousands of people a day, or allowing people to friend 50 or more people in a single day. It means allowing almost any content other than that which it’s legally required to police like mutilation and child pornography, even if the content it allows in makes the platform significantly worse.  As a result, Meta is kind of like an absentee parent, occasionally looking up from their phone and muttering “don’t do that” when something obviously awful happens, and even then they’re extremely hesitant to intervene. 

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #28

28. GEORGIA Nutsa Buzaladze - "Firefighter" 21st place

Decade Ranking: 105/153 [Above Andromache, below The Black Mamba]

BY THE POWER OF THE EFENDI-PEDE

The bad Barkeresque bops always engage in a tug of war between basic bitch (Cyprus) and tacky bitch (Georgia) and in this year, somehow, the tacky bitch was the less bad one. Which is miraculous given that Firefighter was - as my colleague James generously pointed it - "a very crappy song".

So yeah, let's get the bad out of the way immediately. "Firefighter" is a garbage song. Direct contender for the worst one in the year. Now here's a song intended to be a party anthem that... fails to be catchy or rhythmic or sing-along? I thought the purpose of a party song is to be interactive in some way? Firefighter proceeds along like a comedy improv sketch, pivoting into a completely different section whenever someone yells "change".

Likewise, the song was a lyrical wreck. It was almost as if the songwriters were drunking their way through an Efendi algorithm- -CHANGE- were low on inspiration and high on sleep desperation -CHANGE- were ON SOOO MUCH COCAIIIIINE -CHANGE- delegated the songwriting to an neural net. What is this garbage?

Windows are burning? Running like tigers? How does one run through "this ashes" (sic X__X) like a firefighter? if there's ashes all around, the building's burnt to a crisp and you're pretty SHITTY at fighting fire. Also, do you intent to save your relationship or are you ah-okay with letting it burn down so you can emerge stronger from the debris? Which one is it because you cannot have both. Make up your mind, and die.

However, one has to believe that a good performance can elevate even the shittiest songs into bearability, and this was one such occasion. The staging went a bit too high on the pyros (girl you're FIGHTING the fire, not spreading it) but that's my only gripe. It was well staged and well-choreographed, respecting its niche as a dumbed-down uptempo trashbop. But the star of the performance was Nutsa herself. She worked REALLY hard to make the best of a very bad song, and she -dare I say- WERKED it?

Like THIS is what "serving" looks and sounds like. Total command of the performance, as one should when you intend to queen. It could not have come at a better time (between Kenzy forgetting her cues and Mustii giving his best Marius Bear impression). Maybe Rybak was right all along, if you believe in it and just roll with it, you might be good enough to break a downward spiral of failure, if combined with a late enough draw in the semi so you can capitalize on Malta's horrible one.

However, because "Firefighter" still sucks hard as a song, there is a ceiling for how high i'm willing to rank it, and we don't go any further than this. She served, but so did Sarah and Aiko(???) with better songs so where's their clutch qual, hmm? On the axis of tacky trashbops, she lands smack dab in the middle between Elena Tsagrinou and Efendi. Regardless, Nutsa earned that qualification and I wasn't unhappy to see her there. I just wish she had broken Georgia's NQ streak with a good song, and not a painfully stupid one.

THE RANKING

[kmze]

I know exactly which panel you're talking about.Never watched the full video but YouTube algorithm brought one of those Insta-story type videos to my timeline. I think the only way to handle this level of behaviour is by hoping they'd reflect on how they acted while deluding themselves into thinking they were cool and edgy.I think it is fans like these that the writers took a dig at through their writing.In 8×03,When Caroline and Bonnie went wedding dress shopping,Bonnie said "I'm honoured to be your maid of honour and not because my main competition is in a coma till I die" This is them calling out the fandom's belief that Bonnie and Caroline were Elena-substitute or replacements in every step of the way so much so that they actually believed Caroline would make Elena her maid of honour and Bonnie didn't stand a chance.And the same goes for the ~Stefan dated caroline because Nina left~ because Candice was replacing Nina.They refused (& still do) to acknowledge Caroline and Bonnie as individual characters and Candice and Kat as actors who deserved respect.And this sentiment stems from a very mean-mindedness that people are replaceable.And they do so because they think they are demeaning Caroline and Bonnie while they fail to understand that they are objectifying Elena in the process.Everyone is unique in their own way.Each of these women played a different part and they were all equally important in the story.

God algorithms are the bane of my online existence, like I started using Tumblr again because this seems to be the only site I can avoid them and search for what I want. I have seen that small snippet from that panel so many times in Google or Twitter if I search "steroline" but I had to dig for that one of Marguerite doing Liz's letter because that wasn't something to be used as a weapon against a ship. Google is the worst if I search Google the main stuff that comes up is from Reddit which is FLOODED with D*bsley shippers and one of the first things that comes up is "Do people actually like steroline" like eat a dick! This fans just pounce on anything they can use for negativity because they are still crying inside about the endgame, like people use that clip of Candice to say she doesn't like SC and prefers KC as if there's not MULTIPLE gifsets of Candice throughout the years hating that ship. Even Paul calling it forced (which is EVERYWHERE on Twitter and YouTube now) even though there's an interview he did while filming S6 calling it such a slow burn it's almost glacial.

The way the actresses have been treated by fandom for years has always been disgusting, for the most part I think that's why Kat, Candice and Nina avoided cons for so many years and they still don't attend with the frequency of the male actors because. I remember sometimes in S8 there was a video released of Kat calling some storyline garbage and a certain fandom was calling for her to be fired on Twitter with pitchforks and telling her she should be grateful for the job she has and fam THE SHOW WAS OVER! What is she gonna get fired from IT'S OVER! But Paul could drag the show and the writers constantly and it's always seen as funny and "telling it like it is" that's how deep the misogyny goes with this fandom. And I think JP & Co deserve a lot of the blame for that because they perpetuated it especially with her terrible treatment of Bonnie/Kat and the way she continues to cater to ship wars. Watching that panel she did with Carina and Marguerite talking about how much influence social media had on DE and KC being ships is just sad. I don't know if the network really influenced her a lot because they were concerned about ratings, or it was just her in general not being able to mute them but it's just like why are letting online brats influence your story that you created?

I remember when Cami was killed of on TO and then an episode or so later Davina was also killed (and her death was brutal to watch thankfully she came back) an article came out like "why are we killing so many women on TV this week" and yet they still didn't get the wake up call.

[ilgaksu]

🎉 and 💔 for the fic writer asks?

from this series of fic writer asks

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

definitely engagement. i actually have several fics abandoned currently because of lack of engagement.

(the one that came to my mind immediately is the fic discussing hei xiazi's past as a sex worker in canon, which never did as well as i hoped, but also i had very limited hopes for the appeal of a fic about a cis and very masc man's relationship to female-oriented sex work. it is, however, entirely accurate to the actual sex work industry in the country he was operating in, as well as refusing to view sex work with anything but respect for a profession. do i sound bitter? i'm a little bit bitter.)

in my original writing career, engagement is less of a pressing issue to me because i have exchanged actual money or some other form of renumeration for labour. fic for me is less a handing over an item (because outside of a commission, you haven't paid for access to it and also then do not take any ownership of it or rights to it) and more of a form of communication with other fans. i want the influencer-capitalism shift of fan subculture into content creators and content consumers as two separate groups to die in a fire, actually. subcultures should not seek to mimic the dominant culture; modern fandom was created, as i've said before to a friend, by a group of women in a house talking about star trek, who had the audacity to treat each other as equals to each other and to men, when the world refused to view any of them as such. there is no such thing as "more equal than others" outside of animal farm, and especially not based on productivity.

having said that, i think if i was pretending that engagement isn't part of the reason i'm spending my limited time on earth writing two fictional and borrowed people, i would be being disingenuous. i am using it as a form of communication and communion with other people who love the thing i love, and the fic itself is a way of me expressing and processing my love, especially in a sociohistorical era where we are often far more distanced from who we want to be in community with. everyone wants their work and love to be acknowledged, and the use of their time, especially when it's on something that is viewed as a waste of it in the dominant culture; especially when it's viewed as silly and small, because current western culture denigrates love of the silly and small, especially a big love of something that cannot be made fully marketable. and so, it's hard to feel like a little kid at show and tell with your craft project, only to feel as if all the other kids are just walking by. it's why i'm always open to questions about characterisation and construction of fics/headcanons/theories, as well as writing craft; i just don't discuss the last one unless asked very often because i dislike seeming as though i need to provide a thesis defense for my creative practice to preface my work. like, what are you, my phd supervisor?

but to go on further, because it's my blog and i can elaborate if i want to, there are other aspects too. to follow the argument for engagement further, i sometimes get comments that echo that i have verbalised or represented an experience that felt personal to someone, and personal to the point of it feeling isolating. when i specialised in trauma studies, i focused a whole dissertation on caruth's theory of the unspeakable in trauma and looked it with a literary studies focus. caruth argues, to try and condense it quickly, that trauma is the experience of an unspeakable event, and, by that argument, we can surmise that only by articulating the trauma can someone begin to process that trauma. (i think a lot about what it means to live in a current culture that is trauma-obsessed and obsessed with making our trauma marketable for the algorithm to the total invasion of privacy, and yet deeply lacking in empathy to when trauma makes a person behave outside the bounds of what they consider acceptable, btw. but that's another topic for another day.)

so, for example, getting a comment saying that someone has felt seen and heard feels incredible to me. even if that's the only comment i get on that fic, it feels like this form of communication in a world that's starved us of that kind of communication, and that will make the real work and time that goes into writing feel worthwhile.

however, overall, i've moved away from as being as metrics-focused as i once was. when i began writing in heihua fandom, for example, i assumed, with absolute certainty, that nobody was reading, that nobody was interested in what i had to say, that nothing i was writing would be viewed with grace. and as a result, i felt free in a way i hadn't in previous fandoms where i was very publically involved; if i was writing alone, just for me, what would i write? and so now a great deal of is a fic a success for me is based in: do i read it back to myself and enjoy the process of that? does it feel like, if it wasn't written by me, and i wasn't worried about egocentricity, i would acknowledge that this fic was made entirely to my own tastes? am i having fun? did i love the process?

those are the questions i try to focus on now, and so now it's about 50/50 with that and actual external engagement, which is huge progress.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

OH, BOY, THIS ONE'S THE BRUTAL QUESTION.

short answer: yes, there's been several, and i immediately thought of them when you asked.

longer answer in a reply that's already had a very long answer:

several fics of mine reflect claustrophobia and hopelessness i felt at that point in my personal life. i am proud of them and i am proud of myself for them, but not because i believe the purpose of pain is to make art, or that it makes personal misery worthwhile. i am proud of them because of their honesty. they break my heart in that to look at these works at the point in my life i'm at now is to feel an intense love and compassion for the version of me who wrote them. i try and avoid autobiographical readings of my work, because i think they're often used to pigeonhole marginalised creators to fit into the box of literary criticism, but i think it's important as a creator to value how you can see your own personal development outside of just skill development in your own creative work.

[liliallowed]

end world normopathy lyrics

(a music video is literally playing in my brain)

Noelle/angel/angelfollower

sans/blighted lightners

spamton/jevil/secret bosses/lighted darkners

Kris/demon/demonworshiper

ralsei/darkners/puppets

The path you showed me how to walk was cold

Algorithmic dreams, a vessel of your soul

Through her eyes of perfect ambiguity

We were born to keep the world in harmony

And through the days we saw this place create

Normopathy that would collate

The passages in detail on your palms

A world enveloped proudly by your heart

The gift of life would soon impart

The tears were born from fires of a psalm

A spark alight behind those eyes

Ensured damnation as a failed attempt

Enlightened windows to the mind

were damaged still

While your claws laid across your chest

And now you're all alone

.

.

.

Fleeting words in pen, I tell the story of Salpêtrière

Dissonant again, and shown disorganized, without a prayer

Cornered by a psyche in a world that never truly ends

Though you'll never die, you've found that

All eyes are staring at your hands

The core of my design

Your eyes look down at mine

It never truly ends

As metal breaks and bends

The path you walk eternally is cold

Knowing clarity is out of our control

I can't understand the way you seem to pray

But reality's contorting at your say

A new façade, a prophet's masquerade

You recreated on your face

Those eyes designed and carried by your fate

Our hands embodied roles to automate

To never feel, to never break

The writing on the wall remains the same

And yet you live between these states

Never belonging, in a futile daze

But were the ethics appraised?

Now it's too late...

I fear you're lost in the holy gate!

The core of my design

Your eyes look down at mine

It never truly ends

As metal breaks and bends

As metal breaks (And bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks) As metal breaks (And bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks) As metal breaks (And bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks, and bends, it breaks) As metal breaks

[segway to dusttale]

Listen, this is not a question,

I have tried and I have failed

If you wanna kill the world

You should start by getting it backwards

I know that I can feel the pain in my heart

And we've had to say goodbye to all illusions that are shattered and gone

To see the world again

And my sister just gives me that weird, surreal look

To see the world again

To see the world again

[unhingedwomandiaries]

Right, let me tell you about my absolute cock-up with peppers this week. Been getting these videos on YouTube Shorts, right? Endless parade of people stuffing peppers like they're auditioning for MasterChef. Algorithm's got me sussed – knows I'm a proper sucker for food trends.

So there I am, thinking I'm going to be dead adult about it. Meal prep. Planning ahead. Being responsible and all that bollocks.

First batch looked proper mint. Could've been on one of those foodie Instagram accounts where everything's got a bloody fairy light in the background. Feeling well chuffed with myself, aren't I?

Monday rolls around. Christ on a bike. Ever bitten into something and immediately regretted having taste buds? These peppers had the texture of something you'd find stuck to your shoe after a rainy day at a slug convention. Tried picking at just the filling like some sort of picky toddler, but turns out the filling's about as exciting as watching paint dry in a beige room.

Tuesday, brain's going "maybe raw peppers are the answer!" because apparently I'd gone temporarily mental. Raw peppers, stuffed with filling. Groundbreaking stuff. Except no – turned into some sort of vegetable swimming pool. There's actual puddles forming under my lunch. Proper grim. Like someone's wrung out a wet flannel into my tupperware.

Should mention – I'm the type who eats cereal dry because soggy food makes me want to vom. Can't be dealing with that mushy texture. Judge all you want, but I'll die on this hill. Dry Weetabix for life.

By Thursday I'm desperate, aren't I? Chuck the filling in a sandwich because surely that can't go wrong. Spoiler: it did. Felt like I'd swallowed a lit match. Proper fire in my chest all afternoon.

So here I am, end of the week, starving and questioning every decision that led me to this point. Think I'll stick to Pot Noodles next week. At least they're honest about being a bit shit.

Proper state of food prep, this.

[ailtrahq]

Generative artist William Mapan’s latest collection, “Distance,” sold out in less than 24 hours despite launching in the middle of a very weak NFT market. From his early long-form generative series “Dragons” on the Tezos blockchain to the highly sought-after “Anticyclone” ArtBlocks collection that currently commands a 5 ETH floor, Mapan has a unique way of capturing the hearts and minds of collectors.But many people in the public still don’t understand what generative art even is. Mapan has a unique way of explaining the often misunderstood genre by boiling it down to a piece of paper, a crayon and a die. “It can be really hard to explain but usually the way I explain is to put away the code, put away the blockchain, put away everything. Just take a piece of paper, a crayon and dice. Imagine drawing two by two boxes on that paper, so four boxes total. You then throw the dice — if the roll shows up as a three or below, you draw a square; if the dice shows four or above, you draw a circle into one of the boxes. “You just made an algorithm; you just made a set of rules and introduced some randomness in there. That’s basically what generative art is, you build a set of rules, an algorithm and then introduce randomness. Then you try to control that part of the space. Strands of Solitude #010 by William Mapan (OpenSea) “With the grid of two by two, the parameter of space is very reduced, but as soon as you expand to different parameters, you can get many different outputs. Imagine a 10 by 10 box and imagine you have multiple shapes like a circle, triangle, square, star or whatever. You just write down your rules and just follow them, and that’s it.” Fine line technique Mapan’s work straddles the line between appearing as if it’s physically or digitally made, a technique other artists such as Tyler Hobbs and Emily Xiu have a reputation for. “I like to activate senses, feelings and memories. My hope is that when you see my work, it sparks curiosity. You might think my art reminds you of something in one way, but in another way, you’re thinking there are so many shapes that it’s impossible that someone made it by hand,” says Mapan. “I hope that it connects with people in their memories, especially like the last series that I released last week, “Distance.” I want people to see themselves traveling, and they remember, ‘Oh, I was on this plane when I saw this kind of landscape down there.’ I like to trigger emotions and curiosity.” Distance #22 by William Mapan (OpenSea) Based in France, Mapan credits Matt Deslauriers, the artist behind Meridians and Subscapes, as his introduction to art on the blockchain. Mapan’s first NFT was minted on 4 March 2021 on Tezos, where he put a lot of his early digital work before launching Anticyclone via ArtBlocks on Ethereum on 23 April 2022. “Matt helped me navigate early on. He kindly explained it all to me, and it started to make sense over time. I started in the Tezos ecosystem, which was a very community art-driven vibe,” Mapan says. “It intrigued me that you could put an algorithm on the blockchain, and when people mint it, they buy an iteration that triggers your algorithm on demand. It was a new way to think about your work. Basically, the collector is a triggering point.” Notable Sales “Anticyclone #470” by William Mapan sold for 182 ETH ($229,856). (OpenSea) “Anticyclone #743” by William Mapan sold for 37 ETH ($50,430). (OpenSea) “Strands of Solitude #253” by William Mapan sold for 16 ETH ($26,321). (OpenSea) Rapid-fire Q&A Are there any up-and-coming artists who you think people should be paying attention to? “Anna Lucia:I definitely love her work. She’s very talented, and I can’t wait to see her progress. You need to look her up.” “Abstract expressionism movement and people pushing boundaries in modern-day art.” AC the collector — He is one of the most engaging ones. He comes to exhibitions and talks to me. He always tries to reach out to me and to understand the practice behind the work. AC is definitely a great collector.” 

“‘Horizon(te)s #5” — a collaboration by Iskra Velitchkova and Zach Lieberman. “I don’t know why I love this, but I just do. It’s perfect because I love Iskra’s work and I love Zach’s work. It’s the perfect combination. I love the light and abstract shapes, it’s just amazing work.” “Kendrick Lamar and Sofiane Pamart. I really like classical music, especially when I try to be in the flow state. When I need to crush stuff, it’s hip hop. “Performers are in another light. They need to go up in front of the public. They have to be fragile and sensible, yet you have to let your shell down. I find that very inspiring. “I try to be more like that. To let my emotions out. Prior, I was basically shutting them down because I wasn’t creating art full-time. Now that art is my job, I want to explore expressing myself more. Performers are very inspiring in that regard.” “Untitled” by William Mapan (objkt.com) What’s hot in NFT art markets Mapan’s aforementioned “Distance,” a collaboration with Cactoid Labs and LACMA, sold out its 250-piece collection at a 2 ETH mint price per piece. The collection has done close to 185 ETH in secondary sales volume since its 13 September mint.Below are some of the other top recent digital art sales. Ringers #343 by Dmitri Cherniak sold for 39.99 ETH ($65,395). (OpenSea) Door VII by Matt Kane sold for 22.5 ETH ($36,787). (OpenSea) Chromie Squiggle #1606 by Snowfro sold for 20 ETH ($32,877). (OpenSea) Cool Cats headed to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Nothing says mainstream more than the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and Cool Cats is set to become the first NFT collection to be featured. In its 97th annual edition, the parade ran a contest that featured numerous NFT collections, including SupDucks, Boss Beauties and VeeFriends. Cool Cats eventually won out, which means a massive Blue Cat balloon will grace the skies of Manhattan on 23 November. The lead artist and founder of Cool Cats, Clon, couldn’t be more excited for his beloved project. “This is a big moment for me as an artist and as the founder of Cool Cats. Personally, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been an important event in my family and it holds a lot of memories. Being able to showcase my artwork alongside some of the world’s most recognizable characters is a dream come true,” says Clon. Nouns DAO fork finalizes After a bumpy ride over the past few weeks, the Nouns DAO fork has finished with 472 Nouns NFT holders out of 844 in total opting into the fork that was approved in proposal 356.  The Nouns holders that opted into the fork will have the opportunity to get approximately 35 ETH back, while Noun holders that voted against proposal 356 will carry on as the DAO had originally been structured, where 1 Noun per day is auctioned, with the proceeds going to fund the treasury of Nouns. Tweet of the week Source

[lawbreaker13]

1. I never once said Muslims were homophobic. I know queer Muslims, I wouldn’t dare say that. In fact what I’m saying is that queer Muslims deserve the right to exist without being killed, because they definitely do exist and also shouldn’t die. What I said was that the Palestinian “government” does not care about their citizens and are still publicly executing people. And for you to compare that to a country where gay marriage is “legal but only sort of” and pretend it’s the same situation is laughable. Imagine a pride parade in Gaza. I don’t think it’s Israel that’s getting on their case about that.

2. I ask again—do you think Israel is still “occupying” Gaza because you’ve been there and you’ve seen it for your own eyes, or because of what you read and videos you watch online? Do you speak to Palestinian people directly, or is the TikTok comment section your forum? Propaganda is a two-way street, a human without bias does not exist. Confirmation bias is so real, especially with today’s algorithmic consumption of media. If you refuse to hear the words of people being raped, kidnapped, set on fire, blown up, and otherwise brutally murdered in Israel, you’re part of the problem.

3. Israelis are not white. I don’t know who your “white man” in this circumstance is, but he’s not there. You’re talking about people of color protesting governments comprised of people of color. And Palestinians shouldn’t be protesting Israel’s government, because they don’t live in Israel. They live in Gaza. AGAIN, you don’t know any Israelis, you don’t know any Gazans. You just won’t believe me because the big bad internet told you so. But Palestinians have every single right to protest peacefully, or at least they should. They also shouldn’t have mosques used as covers by their own government to blow people up, and should be able to bring in new officials to govern them. Which they cannot do. There shouldn’t be rockets being stored in their hospitals. And they shouldn’t have to rely on the neighbors to protect them, they should have their own infrastructure and be able to have faith in their own leaders. Protests are punishable by death in Gaza. But not under Israel’s law. Israel is not the one penalizing them.

4. The UN has a long, long history of antisemitism. I wouldn’t trust a word they said about Israel, just as I wouldn’t trust a Trump supporter’s opinion on Mexico. The UAE too has a long history of antagonizing Israel. But they deem Hamas a terrorist organization, too. I have not generalized the Palestinian people as anything, because most of them are innocent people. But Hamas is a globally recognized terrorist organization. Their charter does not call for liberation, it explicitly calls for the genocide of the Jewish, not Israeli but Jewish, people. And they say in the very same charter that they would rather sacrifice their own Palestinian civilians than coexist with Israelis. Which I’m sorry, is bonkers. I’d never trade my mother’s life for my neighbor’s apartment.

5. I cannot believe you just said “my 25-year-old white guy I didn’t know who killed himself is a tragedy but your 25-year-old white guy you knew personally who was murdered is actually progress and deserved to die” and I just want you to think about that on like. A fundamental level.

6. The fact that you only have a limited amount of grief for one “type” of murdered person says all to me that I need to know. It says to me that you pick and choose who’s worth living, that babies lives only matter if they would have been taught your specific beliefs, and that you value your perception over human lives. Your constant mention of Trump in this argument says to me that your believe the same applies to Americans, too. Palestinians deserve to live in prosperity, just as the Israelis do. Because they’re people, and they deserve to live. That’s literally it. That’s the whole thought.

For the love of everything good in this world, I cannot believe the belief that all life has value is something we can’t all agree on.

My people have enough space in our hearts to mourn both our dead and yours. Why don’t you?

Something I really don't understand is this obsession the anti-Israel crowd (in the West) have with death and martyrdom. All they care about is dying, and often killing for their cause; I see nothing about building a better future that isn't based on the murder of 9 million Israelis.

It's easy to die for a cause. The challenge is living to make a better tomorrow.

[leseigneurdufeu]

So, to new users, you probably have seen posts about how there’s no algorithm, how you should have a header and pfp other than the default ones, how you should reblog everything, how blocking is not a moral thing but a convenience one, etc. But let’s talk vibes.

- There is a culture in Tumblr. We are a civilization. We are nice but the ecosystem isn’t, it’s ruthless and unforgiving. You shall adapt or you shall perish.

- There are important holidays. Some are more important than others. Out of touch thursday is commonly accepted, and Sad-ant-with-a-bindle-monday is a nice one to participate in. Do not speak ill of the 5th of November, which is the international day.

- You are not obliged to have watched the series or read the books everyone else has. But it would give you a headstart to know what Destiel, Superwholock and Dracula Daily mean. More specialized slang, like Horse Plinko, Blorbo, Eeby Deeby or Jonmina, will come later.

- We don’t have the same kind of personnalities as Twitter has: our pantheon is composed of President Smellborp, Glup Shitto and my cousin Throckmorton, to only talk about the most notorious.

- Traditions such as the Sexyman Bracket, the Colour Theory comments, etc, might seem outdated or outright weird to the common newcomer. You are completely free to ignore them, and completely free to find them stupid. Be warned however that if you smear them, you will be stoned to death.

- If you want the question and the answer to be public, you can ask people things through the askbox. If you want it to be private, direct-message them.

- As for the header and pfp problem, you should know that there is a neversleeping plague in here: they call themselves sugar daddy or sugar baby, lonely girl or even mature teen, but we call them PornBots. We recognize them at a default header and profile picture, and their blogs are full of porn. However, they started evolving and sometimes have not only a credible username, but also a profile picture. You WILL be blocked on sight if you have never reblogged anything and/or if you have the default header and pfp. When we fight a war, we don’t care what brought you to wear the ennemy’s uniform, we care only to make you bleed.

- The Shibboleth if you think someone you know is on Tumblr is “I like your shoelaces”. The addressed shall, if they are from tumblr, answer with “Thanks! I stole them from the president”. Few are still living who remember the meaning or the origin of those words.

- If there’s a flashing gif, tag it as “tw flashing” or “flashing”. Do NOT tag as “epilepsy”, or epileptic people in quest of informations will open the tag and die promptly after being exposed to twenty flashing gifs all at once. This is not a joke.

- You can block tags and post contents in your settings. Be warned that the post contents will also filter the usernames: so if you filter “fire” because you don’t like fire or because it generally comes with flashing gifs, know that it will block anyone with a username saying firelord, firefighter, brighter-than-fire and such.

- Anon hate is for cowards and for fools. Who would come, however well masked, to a king’s very throne room, in order to insult them? When the king is accompagnied by his most trusted advisors and most devouted subjects? It’s also not a nice thing. You can be blocked even if you’re on anon btw.

- There are posses and groups, factions if you like. Some are politicals, some are religious, some go by hobbies... You can go wherever you like but be sure to be armed before you ever go near an unfamiliar Fandom. Those are dreaded even by the most valiant heroes.

- The current climate is midly xenophobic. No one cares where you come from, mind you, in real life. But if you’re coming here from Twitter, hide the signs. Pick up the lingua, talk about reblogs not retweets, try to put “rebagel” at some point and talk about SPN and how dreadful the Superwholock fandom are just as if you belonged. Lie low. You’ll be able to joke about that later with your mutuals. For the moment, you might want to be safe rather than sorry.

- This is a lawless land. You make justice by yourself, by blocking people or by reporting them. I’d recommand only to report people actively encouraging crime and the Ennemy (the pornbots), but you do you, and you know better than me when it’s time to unsheathe your weapon.

- For the love of all that is holy, tag your posts. If you don’t, they will find you.

- On that note, try to tag the trigger warnings/content warnings with tw or cw tags which already exist. Because blocking the tag “tw incest” doesn’t block the tag “tw: incest”. And if you ever try your hand at censoring your tags (ex: “tw e4t1ng d1s0rd3rs” or “tw r*ape”)... not only will you harm people, you will probably be harmed in return. DO NOT CENSOR YOUR TAGS, and except if relevant (if you really want people who censor those words to still read this post) do not censor the words in the post itself.

- Rogue knights who fought under the banner of the Blue Bird prior to its castle’s conquest by the Elongated-Muskrat-blason man, are not seen with a kind eye right now. But boy oh boy, if you betray that you’re from Tiktok, for example with the use of words such as “unalive”, you will wish that someone would use such kind words to describe what will be left of you. Don’t censor yourselves. For the above-mentionned problem, and because using words such as fuck, kill, murder, arson, disembowelment, have no algorithm charged with tracking it. You won’t be censored by the ecosystem: don’t censor yourself.

- The Tumbeasts are the official emblem of the Hellsite. You can use this nicholasname in a derogatory, affectionate or flirtatious manner. Don’t try to hunt the Tumbeasts to extinction. Much like the hydras, you will only find yourself with more ennemies than you could count before starting your quest.

- No one cares for the name, address or age of the mysterious guy who stepped in the saloon. It will actually be sus of them to wear a badge with their real name, age or city, on their chest. Sus people will be taken advantage of or blocked. There’s a third, secret thing, but you’re not old enough to know about it - old in tumblr days of course, not in real-life days.

- The Tumbeasts eat electronical circuits. However if you disturb their sleep they will bite, and they will add to their diet any living moving thing, from blue birds to tiktokers. Ye be warned.

- Don’t try to change us. Others tried before and are no longer around to flaunt their unfortunate attempts. Assimilate. If change has to happen, it will happen organically.

TL;DR: Don’t censor your tags nor yourself, both because it’s useless and because it will actively harm people blocking the full words, and put a pfp and a header. Block liberally. Stay clear of the Fandoms if you’re not ready, there’s no shame in it.

Welcome to the Hellsite, you weeaboo little shits. Sleep tight, tomorrow your first day of hell starts. There’s no exit. They took the bridge.

[thefanficmonster]

Few Too Many

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing, In-game violence and death, Suggestive comments

Genre: Protective fluff, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Jealousy is a dangerous thing, especially when the jealous person is armed with a gun....in a game of Counter Strike. At least Y/N’s friend will now know not to mess around and flirt with her, especially not with Corpse around.

Requested by 🐐 Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request! Sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post your request but here it finally is! I didn’t want to make it IRL violence to avoid triggering anyone while I also felt it’d be very ooc for Corpse to beat someone up but I still hope you enjoy the fic if you come across it and read it! Love, Vy ❤

“Hey everyone!“ Y/N greets her squad as they all customize their characters while I sit there, observing and unknowing of what I’m supposed to do. “I invited Corpse to play with us today, hope y’all don’t mind.”

“Of course not! Nice to finally meet you, Corpse. We’ve heard a ton about you from Y/N, thanks for making our girl the happiest she’s ever been.“ One of her friends says, the tone of his voice suggesting he’s only half-joking with the dad like comment he made.

“Nice to meet you too, man. Glad I’m the one she gave the chance of making her happy. That’s all I ever wanna do.“ Though it may sound cheesy, as guys, her friends can probably read into how genuinely I mean what I’ve said.

Dating a girl with only guy friends has it’s pros and cons. Which outweigh which is still up for debate since I’m still researching, but so far so good in my opinion. This is the first time I’m interacting with them directly so I’ve still got a long way to go in terms of getting to know them and the details of their relationship with Y/N better. Regardless, I at least know they can easily understand me and put themselves in my shoes if I ever ‘mess things up’ with Y/N and she goes to complain to them - something that will most likely never happen. I’d never dare make this girl upset. Chances are, if I do, her friends won’t get to me on time - I would deliver my own punishment just the way I think I deserve it. However, there’s also the chance of them getting super protective of her and ganging up on me over something as small as a fight. By the many things and stories Y/N’s shared with me about them, I believe they wouldn’t think twice about kicking someone’s ass for her. They’re not massive dudes - I’ve seen pictures of them - but I for one don’t ever wanna see em angry.

“Ay bro, what’d you do to score our best girl? You must know what she likes. If so please, by all means, do tell.“ One of them, not the one who was previously talking, speaks up, his words making me furrow my brows in both confusion and irritation.

I open my mouth to complain as I slowly start cracking my knuckles when Y/N and her friends beat me to it. Thing is, Y/N’s friend group consists of three guys and her and yet four voices scolded the guy that made that suggestive comment. That being said, this guy probably isn’t considered to be one of her friends, at least not one that’s a permanent part of her friend group.

“Seth, cut it out!“ The guy I was previously speaking to says sharply before softening his tone to refer to me, “Sorry about my brother, excuse his lack of brain cells, please.“

Just then, I also receive a message from someone. Checking my phone, turns out it’s Y/N who by the way is currently in the living room while I’m in the recording room. Her text reads:

Y/N ~ Ignore Seth. I told Leo to not invite him but he’s still here somehow

I send her back a quick reassuring text before answering the guy I now know is named Leo, “No worries, it’s fine.”

“See? The guy can take a joke, you’re all just freaking out over nothing!“ Seth laughs, reminding me and the others of how loud he is compared to us.

Despite acting like it’s no big deal, I can’t help but admit to myself that this behavior of Seth’s has awoken a deeply buried suspicion of mine that’s not only mine but also arises in every guy whose girlfriend hangs out with a lot of guys. It’s not that I don’t trust Y/N - she could literally blindfold me and tell me to walk through a pool of lava, promising it wouldn’t hurt and I’d do it - but we all know about that saying that every guy in a group with one girl has liked said girl at least once.

Disturbing to think these four, including Seth five, dudes could’ve possibly been my competition at some point. It’s nice that they’re all super chill about it, mostly cause some of them have girlfriends as I was told.

Nevertheless, we get over that hiccup and carry on with the small talk and preparations for the game. Since it’s my first time playing CSGO, Y/N, Leo and her other friend Clancy explain the mechanics to me in detail to avoid me getting confused mid-game and getting myself killed. When they finish, we start the round and wait for the game’s algorithm to separate us into two teams which Y/N jokingly refers to as cops and robbers. Unfortunately, the end result of that separation ends up being me getting put in the terrorists’ force with Leo and Clancy while Y/N’s with the FBI, partnered with Seth and her other friend Evan.

“Alright, team, we shall now disperse. Corpse, remember, if you see more than one of them, radio in and lay low, we’ll be with you as soon as possible.“ Leo informs me as he runs off in one direction, Clancy going in the opposite. I confirm I understand and go along my way too, heading for this ancient looking structure that looks like it could belong in an old-timey movie. 

Walking in, I realize the place is way bigger than it appeared on the outside. A quick look up confirms that there are three fucking floors above, not to mention that the ground floor is huge. Luckily, there are many crates and barrels to hide behind if I come across an FBI agent. I sure as hell hope it’s Y/N, I could maybe even try talking her into giving me a second chance at life and pretend she never saw me. Come to think of it though, I’d probably prefer getting killed by her rather than her friends - especially Seth.

Given that we’re in a Discord call, I can hear all the conversation going on. They are all quiet though, I can just periodically hear the mumbles of someone muttering to themselves as they navigate the map cautiously out of fear of running into their opponent unprepared. The silence is put to an end though when Seth speaks up, addressing Y/N.

“Yo, your boyfriend’s with the terrorists, ain’t he? That’s like the universe giving you a sign that y’all shouldn’t be together.“ The fucker laughs at his own joke while I can literally hear Y/N rolling her eyes.

“Have you heard of Romeo and Juliet, Seth?“ She asks sarcastically, almost getting a chuckle out of me but I suppress it to avoid getting caught listening in.

“Yeah, they both die at the end. Fucking boooriiinngg.“ Just then, I spot two silhouettes entering the building. Aiming my gun at them reveals their names - just the people I’m currently involuntarily eavesdropping on. Seth and Y/N don’t notice me though so I quickly duck behind a crate and prepare to radio in when Seth continues verbally torturing Y/N and dancing on my last nerves, “I personally think the friends-to-lovers trope is far more interesting...“

Did this guy just- no, he’s gotta be fucking kidding me

I’m left with my jaw hanging in disbelief at this guy’s audacity. I have no doubt Y/N’s about to put him in his place herself but I just gotta have my own chat with this guy. And by ‘chat’ I mean I mindlessly rush out from behind the crate towards where I saw him and Y/N and open fire on him.  I hear his startled and upset screams with Y/N’s laughter in the background. She doesn’t try to stop me as a teammate of his should and would, instead she just observes the scene unfold, laughing her ass off.

“Yo man what the fuck was that for?!“ I hear Seth’s yell but only faintly since the sound of gunshots is still echoing through my headphones. Yeah, I’m not done shooting this fucker.

“Corpse...Corpse, buddy...“ Y/N manages through fits of laughter she cannot tame, “That’s a few too many bullets, he’s already dead.”

“And that was a few too many comments for him to be let off the hook.” I answer as sharply as I can with the new-formed smile on my face. What can I say, her happiness is contagious.

“Well, you got your first kill in CSGO. Good job, babe! I’m super proud of you!” She cheers for me, clapping her hands excitedly. 

“Nah that was my first overkill.“ I quickly add, with a more threatening tone: “And it won’t be my last.”

“Let’s just hope there aren’t few too many of these overkills either.“ She snickers.

“That doesn’t depend on me, babe.“ I say smugly, suggestively enough for Seth to pick up the dropped hint. Mother fucker’s officially been put in his place and I couldn’t possibly be happier - with the added bonus of getting a ton of laughter out of Y/N who also decides to walk away, leaving me unharmed but promising to shoot to kill next time she sees me.

I’m ok with that. She could kill me anyday.

@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse

[an-anticlimactic-bass-drop]

Tall Part 2/?

Prompt: Tech is too tall for his own good. Constantly hitting his head on objects and desks as he works on projects. The other bad batchers make fun of him for this but you find it endearing.

Tech X Reader

Slow Burn/ Angst

Warnings: Mild 1.11 Spoilers, Deviates from canon

Word Count: 1.5K

Part 2/?

partly inspired by this gif 

(it won’t let me put it in but its the one of tech catching omega)

Omega nudges you awake from where you are napping in the pilot’s seat. The small girl’s blonde head peeks over the arm of the chair as she looks out the window. 

“Look!”

The sounds of explosions and blaster fire are erupting from the city center a few klicks away. You quickly lean forward and start firing up the takeoff controls for the Marauder. You are sure your boys are the ones behind the explosions and you smile gently as you imagine Wrecker’s gleeful expression as you see a cloud of smoke rise into the air in the distance.  They can’t be too far off if the nearing sounds of blaster fire are any indicators. Omega rushes to the landing ramp as Hunter’s voice crackles in through the comms. 

“Omega! Get ready to bring the senator aboard!” Hunter sounds a little winded and Wrecker cackles in the background as another explosion rocks the tunnel they were in. You remember the new security system Tech put in place and shake the last cobwebs of your nap out of your mind as you recall the specifications that he had told you about before leaving. Your hands fly across the panels as you disarm the system and lower the landing ramp. You head to the ramp as Omega jumps up and down waving at the men as they trek towards the ship. 

“Ladies! Meet the newest passenger of the Havoc Marauder, Senator Avi Singh.” Hunter introduced you to the senator and you looked him up and down. The senator doesn’t look like he’s all that happy to be leaving his planet in the hands of the Imperials. Singh is wringing his hands and has a look of worry on his face. 

“I should not leave my people. They need me here!” The senator says quietly. Echo leans in with a hand on the senator’s shoulder. 

“If you stay here you will be hunted down and murdered. It is better to live to fight another day than to die unnecessarily.” The clone looks almost defeated as he tells the senator this. Singh’s shoulders slump forward as he takes one last look around his planet before boarding the ship, nodding in agreement at Echo’s words. 

The trip back to Cid’s bar was uneventful to say the least. The senator and his droid are quietly sitting in the cargo hold. You offered him a cup of caf earlier but he graciously declined. The men are scattered around the ship as hyperspace speeds by. Echo and Hunter are attempting to sleep in the bunks while Wrecker and Omega are playing Saabac on the box that functions as a makeshift table. You just poured yourself a piping hot cup of the precious brown liquid that keeps you going through bouts of insomnia caused by the nightmares and the general lifestyle of the Bad Batch. Wandering up towards the cockpit, you aren’t expecting to trip over Tech’s long legs that are stretched out into the aisle. 

“Kriff!” Tech curses as your cup spills slightly onto the top of his blacks. He slides out from the wall he was buried in and starts looking around for a towel to wipe the hot caf off of his shirt. 

“Sorry! I didn’t see you there!” You frantically bend down to help him. You grab one of his grease rags from the toolbox you notice off to the side and dab at the stain on his shirt. 

“No worries. I will be fine.” Tech strips off his shirt and you swear you can feel the temperature of the air heat up several degrees as you realize just how close you are to the taller clone. “There. No harm done. Would you mind putting this in the laundry for me? I need to finish this last bit of wiring before heading back to check on the flightpath.” You flush as you tear your eyes away from the bare chest of the man in front of you. 

“Hm? Sorry! I’ll just get right on that.” You hurry away with the stained shirt and a blush on your face. You left your cup of caf on the floor near where Tech was working. He let out a small chuckle as he steals your drink. Not his fault if you left it in your hurry. 

The ship lands back at Cid’s bar without incident. The senator thanks you all graciously and departs into Cid’s office to discuss payment. Wrecker and Omega not so sneakily sneak off to get Mantell mix and Echo follows them at a distance to make sure they stay out of trouble. Tech goes to the bar to get a drink and you sit beside him to discuss the mission. You flush as you think about the previous night on the ship and you clench your jaw to avoid licking your lips at the thought of the bare chest of the taller clone next to you. You aren’t ashamed to say you dreamed of the expanse of skin and what it might taste like while you were in your bunk after that episode last night. 

“Am I boring you? I can stop if you would like.” Tech looks concerned as you zone back into reality and realize you have been watching him with a blank expression for a beat too long. You blink in surprise as you shake away the untamed thoughts that have been plaguing your mind. You really can’t be anymore obvious in your crush can you? At this point you might as well have a giant sign that follows you around that says “This person has a crush on the tall nerdy one!” 

“No!” You exclaim a little too loudly and get some irritated looks from the other patrons of the bar. “Sorry I'm just distracted today. The mission has me a little rattled. I am not used to being that deep into enemy space.” You say in a quieter tone.

“We are also not used to it. I always knew we would make it to Raxus someday however I never thought about it being to save the seperatist leader. Echo was most displeased about the idea and protested greatly. I tried to convince him that it was just a job and we need to pay off our debt to Cid but he does not see it this way.” Tech seems saddened at his brother’s inability to see the mission without the politics. You can see Echo’s point of view and point out to Tech that Echo’s trauma probably makes it hard for him to trust the separatists seeing as they had kidnapped and tortured him for 2 years before he was rescued. 

“The Techno Union treated him like a computer! An algorithm! Barely even human! I really don’t blame Echo for not trusting the separatists. He has barely recovered from the trauma of being in that machine for so long. He is still really pale and frail and you haven’t finished working on his new limbs yet so he still has the prosthetics they forced on him. Speaking of which, if you need help working on those I am always available. He has every reason to be upset about this mission.” 

You are fully involved in the discussion and don’t hear Echo and the others enter the bar as they make their way over to you and Tech. Echo catches the tail end of the conversation and tries to announce their presence with a small cough that turned into a hacking one that left Omega looking concerned. Her big round eyes are full of unspoken worry as she gazes up at him. Echo glances down at the young girl and forces a smile, patting her head. 

“I am fine little one. Don’t worry about me.” He says reassuringly.

Hunter leaves Cid’s office with her and the Senator. He comes over to where the group has gathered and steals Tech’s abandoned drink. He chugs the rest of it and gestures for the group to follow as he heads back to the ship.  Tech stands up and offers his hand to you to help you off of the bar stool. He has a habit of making sure none of the Bad Batchers fall over, a habit he has picked up from their upbringing on Kamino where the other 3 clones were not the best balanced due to their enhanced abilities. Your face flushes again as you become uncomfortably aware of how close you two have gotten during the conversation. He leans away from your touch as if he also hadn’t realized how close you two had gotten. Tech turns to follow Hunter out the door and has to stoop a little to avoid hitting the door frame, Echo cracking a quiet joke about not having to worry about hitting the top of door frames since he lost a few inches. Only Omega and you caught the joke and you give a chuckle as Omega just looks confused. 

“The legs you see? Lost a few inches? Oh well.” Echo gave up on explaining the joke to the kid and followed Wrecker out the door towards the ship. 

Once back on the ship Hunter announces that they have been given a few days off courtesy of Cid since the mission went so smoothly. The other bad batchers glance at each other, not sure of what to do with their new time off.  You were pretty sure they have never had free time in their entire life.

“We could visit Cut and Suu? See how they are settling in!” Suggests Omega. 

“Too dangerous for them. We attract too much attention. The last thing they need is to be recognized as republic sympathizers.” reasons Tech. 

“I think we deserve a few days of downtime! We can take a well deserved vacation and rest up before the next mission.” you say as you pour a cup of caf from the pot Tech started when you arrived back at the ship. “We can get some repairs done on the ship and maybe even explore the city! I know Omega has been dying to go to the museums in the city center since we got here and I'm sure you boys would enjoy it too.” 

Hunter thinks for a moment and nods in agreement. 

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Taglist: @haloangel391 @m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s

[autumnbrambleagain]

hey what website should we all post our art on?

oh, i know! the one where you can't view more than one image at a time, and to view an image posted 6 months ago, you have to scroll through everything someone posted chronologically until you get to 6 months ago

and your dashboard feed is run by an algorithm , and your sidebar and inserted sponsored posts show you people being murdered

yes, this is the ideal website to put my fandom/furry/etc art

this is super accessible and a great idea

die in the fire you built for yourselves

i was making fun of you idiots for using a microblogging website as your furry art gallery despite having no gallery functions whatsoever even before elon fuckwit paid more money than you will ever comprehend so he could play main character

but im glad i'm continually justified in making fun of everyone who decided this microblogging website that doesn't have working tags or art galleries and if you want to see something from a month ago you have to just scroll through an infinite scroll for several minutes until you find it,

i'm so glad you are all living with the consequences of what a terrible idea i told you it was

[otemporanerys]

If you’re still doing the ask meme, I’d like to toss Miranda and Jack your way, too! ❤️

Yes, thank you, I love them both very much and I rarely talk about it

First impression

For both:

Impression now

Miranda: God I love her, she's genuinely got such a kind heart underneath the seven levels of ice queen bitch, but also she is an ice queen bitch and that's great

Jack: very fun to write, should have been allowed to swear more, like how is she not constantly swearing, my favourite part of ME2 is when I finish her loyalty mission so I can force her to put a shirt on

Favorite moment

Miranda: "Kind of a disaster, really."

Jack: her with the Grissom kids!!

Idea for a story

I really REALLY want to write some Jack/Miranda, because I ship them hard. Two ideas I have which are sort of Shakarian spin-offs:

From the fucked up high school AU (human kids get exchanged with turians to "promote peace"/act as hostages): Miranda hacked into the selection algorithm to get sent away from her father, Jack stole another kid's identity to get away from a truly terrible group home, they both realise the other one's not supposed to be there and their attempts at blackmail end in mutually assured destruction, bonding over bad home situations, enemies-to-lovers (Mean Girl Power Couple edition)

From the regency romance AU: the Very Eligible Ms Lawson scandalously elopes with Jack, who is basically Julie D'Aubigny (thanks to @misseffect for this truly stellar suggestion)

Unpopular opinion

Jack and Miranda are probably the main reason why I like the ME2 squad more than ME1?

Favorite relationship

Aside from each other? I am intrigued by Kaidan/Miranda. With Jack, nothing's really coming to mind.

Favorite headcanon

Miranda: big rugby fan

Jack: Bioware can die in a fire for denying us a Jack/Shepard romance. Also I bet she brings home animals ALL the time with the very thin pretense of "it just followed me" and Miranda has given up on trying to talk her out of it

Ask me about characters!

[indigoire]

With the knowledge that about 75% of Twitter's staff is leaving rather than deal with a mercurial Musk (and who can blame them), I am curious to know what Twitter will look like in the future.

I don't think Twitter will fully die, at least not immediately. I know there will be glitches and there will be technical issues in the short term. There will probably be outages. There might be continued hullabaloo about the verified check marks, and they might be done away with entirely.

This will likely drive the big names off the platform, if they haven't left already. Plenty of people will do what they did during the 2018 Tumblr porn ban: move to other platforms. I kinda doubt that mastodon or pillowfort will really take off, but they will definitely be alternative options. Hell, even Tumblr as a micro-blogging platform would be a viable option, as we have already seen a lot of returning users and even new folks.

I don't think we can assume the "fall" of Twitter will exactly mirror Tumblr's minor one a few years ago, but I do have theories. Musk will do as much damage as he can legally do without destroying the site entirely, then claim bankruptcy and pawn the site off to some other tech schmuck. He will probably lose a lot of money but he probably won't be ruined by it. Twitter will linger, there will be the stubborn folks who stick around because it still does its job, mostly, and if they manage to keep the FTC off their backs about it, there probably will still be pornographic images a-plenty. Though if they manage to piss off enough people the porn exodus will begin anew.

If Twitter is lucky, it might be bought by someone who's actually willing to do hard work to make the site useable. Once the celebs, politicians, and big name authors are scared off, it might actually be a usable site. There will be a contingent of people who will not leave until the lights are shut off.

Which is the future if Twitter is unlucky. If it makes itself non-profitable, I'd bet dollars to donuts that it goes the way of ff.net: slowly fading away as everyone migrates to better platforms, and then announcing the day they can't keep the servers running.

I see that as a very unlikely future however. Honestly, if Elon actually wanted to "clean up" Twitter and just shut his mouth for two seconds and listened, as far-fetched as that possibility might be, he probably could wait out this backlash, hire some new folks, and just let the site do its thing. Twitter doesn't really have a copy that does what it does. There's not a good enough knock-off yet, and there's certainly not a high-profile site that has the same function.

But really, maybe that's a good thing. Between deranged celebs, insufferable politicians, idiotic "personalities", and millions of ads and advertisers, the site has been awful to navigate for years now. Its trending topics are our morning news. Its scandals shape our lives, unfortunately, and it shouldn't. So much of it is not self-curated but rather algorithmically fed to us to keep us in a state of outrage or despair.

So maybe it should die. But I don't think it will. The scaremongering will disappear as the holidays encroach and we stress about other things, and Twitter will or will not sort its shit out. Musk might get by a lawsuit or two but he'll probably avoid all consequences of fucking over the lives of several thousand people, and I'll probably still go on Twitter for the fanart.

In the meantime, let's sit back and see how long it takes this dumpster fire to fizzle out.

[kirain]

Hazbin Hotel and VivziePop Drama

I've been hearing/seeing a lot of drama concerning Hazbin Hotel and it's creator VivziePop, and while I don't know her personally or really care what people think, I do hate slander and the spread of misinformation. Truly nothing in this world upsets me more than when people believe rumours while making no effort to fact check, and that's exactly what's happening right now. That said, I wanted to try and clear up some of the rumours going around about Vivzie and the show, because I think some of them are absolutely outrageous and need to be addressed.

1. Vivzie hired an abuser onto the show.

Now, I’m not here to burn anyone at the stake, especially since I don’t know anything about Chris Niosi (the alleged abuser), who I believe openly admitted to the allegations? Regardless, this is a moot point. He’s not credited anywhere at the end of the episode. So either he was booted before production wrapped up or he had nothing to do with the show in the first place.

2. Vivzie supports bestiality.

Admittedly I thought this one might be true, since she draws so many anthropomorphic animals. In the very least, I figured she was probably a furry, but I haven't seen any evidence supporting this accusation either. Near as I can tell, this rumour started for two reasons. One, because of her famous Zoophobia comic, which revolves around a therapist named Cameron who gets assigned to work with human-like animals. Ironically, poor Cameron suffers from crippling zoophobia, which makes for some pretty decent comedy. I didn't read the whole comic because, quite frankly, it’s not my cup of tea and I just don’t have the time. But from what I saw there are no examples of bestiality anywhere in its contents.

Two, this message, which blew up all over social media:

To me, this just proves that people are more interested in virtue signalling than checking to see if their claims are actually true. Everything about this message is 100% false, which I’ll touch on in my next point.

3. Vivzie is a pedophile and she’s drawn child porn.

This is hands down the worst allegation and holy shit, I really wish people would stop using it to defame someone when they don't have any proof. This is a life-ruining accusation and you're disgusting if you believe it based solely on hearsay. This rumour began to spread when Vivzie allegedly shipped the two underage characters in the above photo and drew them NSFW-style. At the time, one character was 19 while the other was 14, and the relationship was a very illegal student-teacher relationship.

This is WRONG! The characters were not 14 and 19, they were actually 18 and 19, the legal age of consent! Additionally, the relationship wasn't student-teacher. One character is a student and the other is Alumni (a student teacher). This one pisses me off the most because it’s obvious the person who sent that message didn’t even bother to conduct any research. They said, “He’s a teacher, she’s a child.” Both characters are MALE!

Since then, Vivzie has apologised for any NSFW art she drew in the past and stated that it's not a reflection of her art today, and I'm inclined to believe her. Almost every artist has drawn NSFW content at some point in their career, and hers wasn't even distasteful. Other than this one example, there is no evidence anywhere that suggests she’s drawn “child porn”. In fact, she’s never even drawn explicit NSFW.

Please stop spreading this rumour. It’s dangerous and completely incorrect.

4. Vivzie said the "N" word!

No, she didn’t. It was a fabricated tweet. That is all.

5. Vivzie is copyright striking every video that criticises her!

No she isn't. YouTube’s DMCA is automatically striking people who are using full clips without permission. Vivzie has gone public several times, telling people exactly how to avoid getting a copy strike from the algorithm, which is something she absolutely does not have to do. At this point, she doesn't owe you anything. In my opinion, she should just sit back and watch these channels burn.

6. Vivzie copies and traces other artists’ work.

This is another one I’ve seen going around, but I looked into it as thoroughly as I could and failed to find any concrete evidence to support the allegations. As of right now, there are only two examples of Vivzie “copying” or “tracing” other artists’ work, and both of them can be explained. The first is a gif she made with a character from her Zoophobia comic, which looked a lot like the girl from ME!ME!ME!:

Damn, that’s pretty incriminating. She obviously stole-- oh, wait. This gif was part of a ME!ME!ME! MEP (multi editor’s project) and Vivzie didn’t take full credit, despite the fact that it’s not even a direct trace. It’s supposed to look like the original, which she fully cited. The second example comes from a short dance sequence from her Timber video, which seems to have been inspired by several Disney movies. As Vivzie herself stated, that was an homage to the original animations. Lots of artists and shows do this, including the beloved Stephen Universe series.

Regardless, this doesn’t count as stealing character designs or plagiarising someone’s work. It’s meant to be respectful, an admiration of other projects. Other than these two instances, however, there is no evidence of her tracing or stealing other people’s art. From what I’ve discovered, all other designs she’s been accused of “stealing” are characters she bought and paid for. They’re quite literally HER characters.

7. Vivzie supports problematic creators.

I’m getting really tired of guilt by association. Vivzie follows and enjoys some controversial figures, but who cares? We can argue all day about whether or not the accusations against them are true, but it ultimately has nothing to do with the show or Vivzie as a person. I do the exact same thing, to be honest-- follow and listen to people on all sides so I can learn, understand, and form my own opinions. The fact that some people think this is bad, to me, is absolutely mesmerising. Vivzie doesn’t control what the people she follows post, and if they do something overly questionable she publicly criticises and denounces it.

From Vivzie:

Now that that’s been dealt with, I’d like to address some complaints/claims about the actual show.

8. Vaggie is an angry Latina stereotype and a lesbian stereotype. Vivzie is appropriating Hispanic culture and misrepresenting the gay for profit.

First off, I see a lot of people passing around yet more misinformation regarding Vivzie's race. So many people seem to think she's white? Well, I'm here to tell you they're wrong. Very incorrect. Vivzie is in fact Latina, and Vaggie is meant to mirror some of her own personality traits.

Second, who is Vaggie mad at? Context matters, and if we take a look at the episode, we see that Vaggie is literally only mad at two specific people: Angel Dust and Alastor. Why? Well, for starters, it's her girlfriend's dream to run a rehab hotel for sinners, and Angel Dust nearly demolishes that dream single-handedly. Vaggie has every right to be over-the-top vitriolic. Then there's Alastor, a known sadist, narcissist, and murderer who loves trapping people in his nefarious schemes. He invites himself in, effectively takes over the hotel, and pushes both her and Charlie aside. At one point he even sexually assaults her by slapping her butt during his musical number. So yeah, I think her seething ire is totally justified. Keep in mind, however, that when she's around Charlie she's calm, collected, and happy. I wouldn't call that a stereotype.

Thirdly, the lesbian stereotypes. I keep hearing this argument but I really don't see it. Both Vaggie and Charlie have so much personality and trust for each other. Maybe I'm wrong, but the stereotype I know always totes a more butch, tomboyish woman with a ditsy, innocent, naive woman. Charlie is optimistic, but she isn't stupid. She refuses to shake Alastor’s hand because she knows he’s likely trying to screw her over. She’s also not entirely innocent herself and uses words like “fuck” and “shit”. I also wouldn’t call Vaggie butch or tomboyish. She has a cute, girly presentation, complete with a pink ribbon in her hair, lace stockings, and a dress. She's protective of her girlfriend, as I think we all are with our partners, and there's nothing wrong with that. They're flawed characters, as every character is meant to be. This isn't a problem.

9. The show is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, blah, blah, blah.

I’m amazed this is even an argument. The show is supposed to be a dark comedy that takes place in HELL. You know, the place the worst of the worst end up after they die? What were you expecting? Everyone gets a shot or two fired at them, but that doesn't make them bad characters nor does it make the show itself horrible. Take, for example, Katie Killjoy, the news reporter so many people are up in arms about. She says she doesn’t “touch the gays” because she has “standards”. Well, here’s a newsflash of my own: we’re not supposed to like her! She’s an antagonist. Not to mention ten seconds later Charlie insults her and isn’t the least bit slighted by her pretentious attitude. The characters are strong and don’t take shit from anyone, because to some degree they’re all terrible people who can throw down when it’s called for.

Obviously if you don’t like the show or think it’s offensive, I’m probably not going to change your mind. That’s perfectly fine. You’re entitled to your opinions and you don’t have to watch the show. Just stop lying and stop trying to take it away from everybody else. Stop attacking Vivzie and spreading misinformation without checking the facts. I realise a lot of people probably aren’t trying to be vindictive and only want to do something good, but just remember this: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.