#basically a buzzfeed story

[the-last-teabender]

I love to see when people respond to headlines insisting on using people's names instead of "This woman," clarifying misinformation, etc.

Partly because, you know, good.

But partly because I was there when journalists were having best practices beaten out of us, and I appreciate any attempts to forcibly drag us back to where we were.

Like, this was largely the fault of BuzzFeed and Upworthy (anyone else remember Upworthy?) and sites like them. They irrevocably changed the face of journalism and I honestly don't know if we're getting those best practices back.

There are people on this site who have never experienced a world without BuzzFeed. I swear to you, there was a time when headlines were actually helpful and informative. There was a time when, if someone dared to write a headline that was even remotely inaccurate or vague, it did not go to print. The goal was for the reader to see the headline, know what the story was about, and get at least one basic factoid out of it.

But the thing is, the purpose of online news has changed. Instead of conveying the facts as quickly as possible, so that even the idlest of readers is amply informed, we want them to click. We don't want them to leave the site. Because ads are on the site. And we need them to stay on the site. So we need to get them to click, then we need to get them to read past a certain part of the page to maximize ad impressions, and then we can tell them what's up.

If you wonder why headlines are useless. If you wonder why recipes have someone's entire life story before they even mention the ingredients. If you wonder why stories are split up into 5-10 pages you have to click through. Ad impressions. That's it. That's all it is. Look next time. Count the ads. Check the space between the bottom of the skyscraper ad on one side and the start of actual useful information. You won't be able to unsee it ever again.

The sad fact I learned working as a writer at a mainstream news site, sharing an office with two ad guys, was we were selling ads first, printing news second. That's never left my mind. And while I don't begrudge any company the funds it needs to keep going (because things do cost money whether we like it or not), I am ferally pissed to my dying day that this is the timeline we ended up on.

[lemotmo]

im so sorry 😂 but in what world would that be positive - Oliver basically said to the GA "he is a straight character". More than ever, I think this is a confirmation to the public rather than buddie canon. Oh this week is going to be FUN. And it is quite different when is Ryan saying that in a usual interview (audience=fans), but Oliver is saying in a really brouder context= GA. So that's why I said that now it looks more like a reminder rather than a nice thing. Just a confirmation.

Oh I'm so sorry Nonny. I know you were here to troll me and you were probably hoping for an angry reaction.

But I'm afraid that I don't have it in me today to get upset over anything. You see...

I am in the middle of being bombarded by great Buddie content:

Multiple Oliver Stark interviews where they keep asking again and again and again about Buddie.😋 Him always repeating that if the story were to go there, he'd be up for it.

All of these questions approved by ABC and all of these people from the GA watching these interviews on national mainstream television, wondering if they missed something there and if they should maybe look into the Buddie of it all.

Fun Buzzfeed and ET Ryan and Oliver interviews coming up and another solo Ryan interview as well.

A great podcast where Oliver basically confirmed that the 'You wanna go for the title' Buddie scene was super gay. In that same podcast he also refuses to talk about BT.💅😌 Oh... and did I hear 'Whatta man' at the end of that podcast? Oh, I think I did! 😄

This podcast wasn't live either, so if ABC wanted to cut some questions out they could have done that easily. Instead they chose not to. Just saying... 🤷‍♀️

It has just been great Buddie news all day long, one thing after the other and we're not even halfway the week yet. Who knows what they'll still drop on us before the episode? 🤗😏

And all of this after 8x17 as well, which had so many deep and meaningful Buddie scenes.

Crazy shit Nonny! I swear! 🥳

So you can see why I have no proper time to deal with any of your trolling BS today. I'm just too busy winning. 🤗

You are right about one thing though:

This week is going to be FUN! 😂

Just a confirmation.

[firefly--bright]

pls hear me out for this but. jean x reader but like. BuzzFeed unsolved version. jeans alot like Ryan not because he believes in the supernatural but because hes. very afraid. and you're more of a shane because you don't believe in ghosts and think this is just funny.

and it starts off because you and jean have "good chemistry" on camera, with all the joking around and making fun of eachother. and so you get your own youtube show, right. jean claims he isn't interested in this but (you take turns doing research - be it actual locations ur visiting or just crimes that haven't been solved) and he gets SO invested it's so funny to see because he has like this crazy look in his eye and like. when he's explaining a story to you he always uses his hands to be dramatic and it's so cute right

and like. he's always really close to you when you're on locations and the first few times you make fun of him for it, but then after a little bit you get used to it and have like this wholesome, on-camera moment where you're both sitting in this abandoned, allegedly haunted place, right, and you're just spending the night there and neither of you can sleep so u end up just talking for a really long time and obv most of it is edited out but this part isn't, like jean basically admitting that he feels safe when he's next to you and he says this in his own, beating around the bush way because giving compliments is nit his best suit.

like it's just. (ghe italics are him) "i mean I'm not that clingy, I think-" "I, your shoulders have always been sticking to mine, jean" "yeah that's cause it's cold and you...like you emit heat." "most humans do, mhm." "and it's like. not scary but, like....I don't know. nice knowing you're around me. you know." "...yeah." "like it's safe." "i get that. i think... yeah. it is safe."

anyway. yeah. take this as a part two of my speci-fic ideas. shoot me an ask if you'd like more headcanons tho :3

[dinitride-art]

Au fics that i think are neat and that i want to compile into a list because im trying to figure out how to comment on a chapter of a fic but i need time to sort out my thoughts (usually for fic recs i try to rec fics with less kudos/engagement because reasons but im just gonna throw everything in this list. probably multiple fics by the same author in the same universe because thats the one im trying to sort out my thoughts on.)

the strawberries are dying by eggowlss - historical fiction and very interesting character relationships and also character exploration within the time period. I really like this one because the pacing and tone are very gentle. There’s a srt of ebb and flow to the story that makes both the time period and the characters really fit into it. idk how to describe it i just like it a lot.

in the quiet of the night (acswy ao3 series) - they’re putting those characters in situations. It’s a very good time. 10/10 do recommend. If you haven't heard of this one though, it’s basically a modern au where everyone works at a summer camp and Mike and Will cause problems for themselves, each other, and usually everyone else around them. 

si vis amari, ama by perexcri - demons and angels and heaven and hell and its honestly just one hell of a story. like ive got vivid images in my head of scenes i imagined when reading this. 

you start to kiss (and the record skips) by eclipseadventure - this is a band au with a side of a secret relationship and im a sucker for secret relationships. a bit of drama/high stakes in here too which is always pretty fun. 

End Racism on the OTW! - you and me and the horrible teenaged ghost who keeps eviscerating himself in our apartment makes three by TheWrongKindOfPC - i am also a sucker for buzzfeed unsolved aus. buzzfeed unsolved, hauntings, ghosts, yknow the fun stuff. 

into the daylight by andiwriteordie - THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ONE, it’s just the first one that came up in my bookmarks. anyways, this is the second fic in a fantasy au series. The worldbuilding is really cool and there’s magic and history and politics and i like it a lot. the most recent chapter is spinning around in my mind.

the heartbreak prince by andiwriteordie - THIS IS THE FIRST ONE. 

beneath these boughs, my devotion blooms by perexcri - this is the fic that nearly killed me. i literally cant summarize it because im still recovering from what happened to me when i read it. Did i read it in april? Maybe. Listen, it had me asking questions about things i had never considered before. its 11k but im pretty sure it took me a good few hours to read because it made me think about it so much. again, ive got a bunch of visuals running through my head. its just... so much.

sweetheart, you're so cruel by perexcri - Mike’s in a band, Will’s a music snob, they’re both contemplating their life choices. very fun, very interesting, also made me think about some things. 

keep it hush by wiseatom - theres an amusement park and the horrors of customer service. and some other stuff but basically its pretty bright (the visuals of the fic in my head are bright- like sun glinting off metal- and idk how else to describe it)

the start of an age by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) - this ones funny and serious at times and its got Max in it. fantasy au with prince will and knight mike and a secret relationship and a small scheme between three parties that involves a fake (ish) marriage. 

superhero therapy by silverluminoqity - spiderman au with a side of trauma and healing? it’s complicated theres stuff happening, i had a good time reading it. 

you've got this spell on me by andiwriteordie - this one was really fun. basically its a fantasy au theres magic and mike gets himself hit with a spell that makes him fall in love with will and will freaks out about it for a while.

Daydream by disaster_energy - i really really liked this fic. its a fantasy au and its got gods and stuff and will gets chosen by the moon goddess because hes Will and everyone is like... woah.

takes one to know one by andiwriteordie - i also liked this one a lot, its a superhero au and its got ironic (like... dramatic irony- i think is what im talking about? maybe? but like fun irony) secret identities. 

Love goes 'round by evil_ontheinside - conversations in a laundry mat. mikes flopping (as in, flopping around like a fish) around a bit and this was pretty cute. 

my promise could be your fiend (could be the smallest of signs) by s0ld_it - spider man au, theres a bookstore involved and a lot of stuff. ive read this fic twice and greatly enjoyed it both times. 

Tip-toeing on Lily-pads by cherryisgone - very very fun, fantasy au and... mike gets cursed to be a frog. can only be un-cursed with a kiss. 

filling in the blanks as we go by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) - bookstore meetcute

there’s more but i spent all day painting my room and i am tired. Ive also got way too many bookmarks to go through and i have decided to stop here. still haven't figured out how to write that comment (but i am working on it because i love the fi(s) and ive been thinking about one specific thing that came up in a new chapter for so long). anyways, i hope someone enjoys this list of au fics from my bookmarks. 

[incorrect-soc]

Godly Parents: SoC edition

(Lil disclaimer: This is not necessarily PJO's meaning of Godly Parent. It's just basically a "Which God is your godly parent" buzzfeed quiz but with actual information-)

Kaz: Nemesis, Goddess of indignation against, and retribution for, evil deeds and undeserved good fortune. Kaz spent the entire two books and the bigger part of his life holding grudges and planning his revenge on an arrogant man who got away with destroying a bunch of people's lives. He makes it his life mission to make him pay for his crimes.

Inej: Hermes, Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy and thieves. First of all, Inej is Suli. Suli people are known to be "nomads", travelling from place to place. Second, Kaz hired her to be his spider, to collect and deliver important information, a messenger of some kind. And a detail I particularly liked is the whole thing with the shoes. Hermes most characteristic item are his flying sandals; and Inej is also particularly fond of her climbing leather slippers.

Jesper: Hephaestus, God of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire, metallurgy and volcanoes, craftsman of the gods. Yeah, yeah. The obvious reason is in fact because Jesper is a Fabrikator. He literally controls metal. If it's parental issues we're talking about, well, we all know how that went for both of them.

Wylan: Apollo, God of Sun, light, prophecy, philosophy, archery, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, manly beauty, medicine, healing, and plague. "Because of Wylan Van Suns-?" *slap* Shut up, that was literally sarcasm. Wylan's story and latter fate begins because of a music conservatory, and music really played such a big part in his own story as well as his story with Jesper (ehem, piano incident). Also, bit of a fun fact, Apollo is supposedly the creator of the flute so there you go. Another literal thing is that he created a fake plague to help Kaz.

Nina: Hecate, Goddess of the dead's souls, witchcraft and divination. (Matthias would be so happy for the whole witchcraft thing). I don't think I have to elaborate on this one, but just a reminder that Nina can in fact control dead bodies.

Matthias: Hestia, Goddess of the hearth, fire and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. *Introduces really gut-wrenching line from chapter 40 of Crooked Kingdom about how he finally could go back home*. I know it's kinda ironic that Matthias is from an icy country and Hestia is the Goddess of the fire, but no one said this was a perfect analysis (do I look like Rick Riordan to you?). Matthias was all about family values and homeland really, even if they meant different things at the beginning and at the end of Matthias' story. First it was his bio family, whose death ignited his hatred for the Grisha and his home was Fjerda. But in the end, the Crows became his family, the family he gave his life for, the same way Nina became his home.

[thepoparena]

Thoughts on "Quiet on Set"

I imagine, being one of Youtube’s “Nickelodeon Content Creators”, you want to know what I thought. QUIET ON SET, the new four-part documentary detailing inappropriate behavior and abuse on the set of Dan Schneider’s various Nickelodeon shows, starts off on its worst foot, with all the earmarks of trashy tabloid journalism. A couple of gossip journalists walk us through events and interject how you’re supposed to feel about them. There’s one moment where Leon Frierson, former ALL THAT cast member, talks about how uncomfortable some of the costuming made him, about how the noses on a nose-themed superhero costume has some unfortunate phallic resemblances, and then we cut to a writer from Buzzfeed going “and then the sneeze gag is basically a cum shot joke!” Frierson never says that. In a later episode, a similar comparison is made to a gag on ZOEY 101, but there it’s actress Alexa Nikolas making that connection from the workplace environment she had found herself in. It’s an authentic observation, where in the earlier example it was outsider sensationalization, playing to the “crusaders” on Twitter and Tiktok where the public side of Schneider drama has mostly lived over the past decade. They bring on Marc Summers, Nickelodeon elder statesman who had virtually no presence in this era of the channel, for all of twelve seconds so that he can watch a clip of a Schneider show and go “oh, wow, they aired that?”

You can imagine how the producers' eyes must have lit up when they learned that Brian Peck, former Nick dialogue coach and convicted sex offender, owned a John Wayne Gacy painting. I mean, yeah, that’s fucked up, but it has virtually nothing to do with anything. It is, however, a perfect “can you believe this” moment that can be clipped and shared on social media for shock value. It’s something that the documentary can ride as a viral moment.

QUIET ON SET was produced for Investigation Discovery, whose bread and butter is schlocky true crime documentaries. Shows like EVIL LIVES HERE and WHO THE (BLEEP) DID I MARRY. Not exactly tasteful television. The channel is owned by Warner Bros Discovery, and was simultaneously released on Max. Warner Bros Discovery owns Cartoon Network. The documentary puts emphasis on Nickelodeon being on the top of the children’s cable game, and often brings up the Disney Channel as Nick’s main competitor. At no point is Cartoon Network mentioned, because, well, nobody wants to say their competitor is doing better than them, and saying you’re doing better than Nickelodeon would defeat the documentary’s narrative. My point is that I do not believe QUIET ON SET comes from a genuine place. It’s cheap schlock shock documentary filmmaking that wants to attract the same crowd who watch serial killer shows for fun. However. It’s also a space where a lot of people who were hurt during this time at Nickelodeon have come forward to tell their stories, and that pretty much nullifies all the gross exploitation elements present in the early parts. When these people start speaking for themselves, the documentary has no choice but to let them speak, and its more garbage instincts fade away. By the time Drake Bell starts telling his story, the gossip journalists all but vanish until the end, and there’s a stronger sensitivity to everything. The topics raised are harrowing. Workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, child abuse, sexism on set, racism on set, and general mispractice paint a meaningful picture of the toxic environment Nickelodeon was allowing at this time. The stories told by AMANDA SHOW writers Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen are infuriating. And then the sexual assault of Drake Bell by Brian Peck. Not an easy watch. It shouldn’t be an easy watch. What a fucking awful thing. It’s heartbreaking to watch. The documentary handles it with an unexpected tact and evenhandedness. It doesn’t excuse Bell’s later behaviors, and it allows Schneider to come off as one of the few adults who handled the situation correctly, even if the rest of the documentary is largely against him. I wish this had been the tone of the entire piece. QUIET ON SET is an important document of a terrible entertainment workplace. It’s a shame they dumped a bunch of trash on top of it. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s one of those things that’s going to be referenced to a lot over the years, and I hope that the people who make children’s television were learn the right lessons from it.

[tanoraqui]

Eldamar!Buzzfeed’s Top 5 Maglor Fëanorion Songs

9/26/422 Fo.A

[read on AO3]

The votes are in and the people have spoken! Thanks to our poll last week, Elf!Buzzfeed is excited to present our and your Top 5 Maglor Fëanorion compositions, with commentary from experts—including the infamous Singer himself!

5. First Age Northern Beleriandrin Songs of Warding and Warning

After the sheer number and variety of write-ins, we decided to credit Maglor with the whole genre of Songs of Warding and Warning of Siege-Era Northern Beleriand. Top write-ins included “Campfire Warding Song”, “Wind in the Grass” and “Song of the Gap.”

Expert Opinions:

Eglatarwen Lindambar, a Court Minstrel of Üdoriath: This is an insult to Queen Melian. The Noldor did naught but modify and build upon pre-existing Songs, and all or nearly all the popular Songs of Warding in Beleriand were taught or inspired by Melian, even before she created the Great Girdle. I will concede their effectiveness—against most things pettier than dragons, at least—but to credit him with the genre? So much for journalistic neutrality.

Timpenindë Cuilemë, preeminent bard among the Noldor: Oh, I don’t know if I’m qualified for this one—I was only in Beleriand for a few decades for the War. But I did recognize Maglor’s work when I found it, and we found it in quite a few places. I think he deserves more credit for the endurance of Himring, actually—I saw that immediately. It may be Maedhros’s will sunk deep into those stones, so deep that neither Morgoth not Ulmo could wear them down. But it’s Maglor’s classic Songs, all love and faith and bloody-minded stubbornness, that served as the final mortar.

Maglor: I’m flattered, but I really don’t think I should be taking credit for this. I did compose my first warding-Song entirely organically, to keep annoying younger brothers out of my bedroom. But everything— almost everything in the First Age was collaborative. “Campfire Warding Song” is ancient—I learned it in my youth from my father, who learned it from his, who Sang it in Cuivienen and during the Great Journey. All I did was modify it to be more attuned to the enemies we faced later, as orcs and such were new and rare for our forefathers. “Song of the Gap” is a call-and-response with constant improvisation—I did compose the basic melody and rhythm, but it varies every time it’s Sung! Likewise “Wind in the Grass”, “Lullaby for Foes”, “Tread Thee Not (or Suffer our Wrath Resplendent)”…I’m not saying we didn’t compose some good Music, but it was all very collaborative!

4. Noldolantë (Full)

The complete story of the Fall of the Noldor: the prologue of Finwë’s first visit to Aman, then the tragedy of Miriel, the division of the Noldor and the slaughter of Finwë, the Oath, the First Kinslaying, the Burning of the Ships, the Siege, the Breaking of the Siege, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Falls of Gondolin and Nargothrond, the Second Kinslaying, the Third Kinslaying, the War of Wrath and final theft of the Silmarils, the suicide of Maedhros and the lone Singer himself wandering remorseful forevermore; with a postscript for the forging of the One Ring, the deaths of Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad, and the Fall of Númenor. It isn’t pure grief—there are bright spots in the Rescue of Maedhros, the Tale of Beren and Lúthien (borrowing melodically and lyrically from the Lay of Leithien), the rise of Gil-Estel. However, its wide range of tragedies is famously able to reduce even the stoniest heart to tears at least once.

Composed in pieces mostly over the course of the First Age, and refined into a single piece over the course of the Second and Third Ages, as the singer wandered alone and repentant on the shores of mortal Arda. Takes six and a half days to sing all the way through, unstopping.

Expert Opinions:

Timpenindë: This is not Maglor’s best work. I don’t even think it’s his fourth-best work, honestly. It is impressive that he maintains the intensity of emotion throughout—deftly waxing and waning, but mostly waxing—and maybe only Maglor could do that for six and a half straight days! But even if it's strong throughout, the whole 'throughout' is just...too much. Even a powerful Singer has to half-kill themselves to perform this, and it's not much more gentle on the audience. Admittedly, I'm not sure what he could possibly cut, but... It is what it is, but it's just not his best work. Also, the lyrics could use work—more poetry in a couple places, less in others, and I know the faltering meter and rhyme represents his descent into madness but... Well, it suffers from the fact that he was genuinely descending into madness.

Finrod Felagund, High Prince of the Noldor, etc etc: I think this might be ranking so high based on name recognition, honestly. I usually start crying within the first hour, and don't stop... But laced through all my grief for...everything...is the question: if Maglor could produce this sustained tidal wave of craft and raw emotion while wandering lost for 6,000 years, what could he have done if he'd been found instead? It makes me dream wistfully of what greater, kinder marvels he could have wrought... Which only ties into the themes of the song, of course—what could the Noldor have been, if we hadn't gone down the roads we did? What could Arda have been? So, all the more credit to the composer for so thoroughly manifesting this masterpiece!

Maglor: I believe this piece speaks for itself, and for myself.

3. Noldolantë (Original/Standard)

Written in the style of a traditional Noldorin history-song, the original Noldolantë is an accounting of the events of the Darkening through the death of Fëanor, with references at the end to early First Age events including the Rescue of Maedhros and the Dagor Aglareb. Focus is primarily on the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and secondarily on the Burning of the Ships. Though Maglor originally composed it in Quenya during his brief reign as King of the Noldor and added events throughout the First Age (see: "4. Noldolantë (Full)", this translation into Sindarin, first performed publicly in 68 FA, is the version that was widespread and popular throughout First Age Beleriand and thereafter, and remains most identifiable as "Noldolantë."

Major themes include loss of life and loss of innocence; grief, regret and repentance over the same; and determination to take all this hurt, and all the hurt in Arda, and throw it back at the Enemy tenfold, with sword, Song and fire. Takes about four hours to sing in full, though individual sections were often excerpted as marching chants or battle hymns.

Expert Opinions:

Eglatarwen: The Noldolantë is an undeniably impressive work of technical song-craft, engaging and well-paced narrative, heart-wrenching passion...and propaganda. To not treat it as propaganda would be to do it a disservice, because it's also a very impressive work of propaganda! It takes betrayal and atrocity and turns it into...not 'necessity', to be fair, and nor does it shirk the fault of the Noldor—though it certainly blames Morgoth as well. But it takes the irredeemable and almost inexorably turns it redeemable. Horrors and darkness which can and will be moved on from. Terrible mistakes which can and will be learned from. If only that had been true.

Eärwen Olwiel, Princess of the Teleri, High Queen-Consort of the Noldor: Surprisingly factual and earnestly apologetic, I think, for all its spin.

Finrod: I still hum it sometimes. I still hum parts about Alqualondë sometimes. I hate how good at this he is.

Maglor: Of course it's propaganda. It was propaganda just for me, first, when I needed to make some reassuring sense of everything or I would shatter like a wedding glass. Then I sang it to buck up my people, not least my younger brothers, and keep us going through some of the worst years of my life. Then word came of Thingol's Ban and we needed a response of equal—though not directly contradictory, you'll note!—social impact—and, appropriately, I had this piece that only really needed to be translated into Sindarin in order to serve. Though of course I did need to rewrite every single word and note in subtle, crafty ways to accommodate the new language, and sometimes in very obvious ways. I still miss the original recursive arpeggios... Shoutout to Glauriel of the Plains for thrice saving my life: once from an orc arrow, once from dragonfire, and once for not killing me herself when I recruited her to help me with the translations, said I only needed a quick Sindarin-native judgement on a few scattered verses, and then made her help me rewrite the first bridge alone six times in six days.

2. “The Song That Never Ends”

Infamously annoying short tune which loops both lyrically and melodically, sung most often by children. Composed pre-Darkening. No true potency save, it is rumored, as a means of tormenting enemy prisoners.

Expert Opinions:

Eglatarwen: This song is a malicious attack.

Timpenindë: This is in second place? Stars, I can't believe I was ever engaged to that elf.

Finrod: [staring into the unseen distance as one haunted by memories of torment] The Edain learned this, somehow. The thing about the children of Men, you know, is that they're only children for a very short amount of time relative to us... But there are always more of them...

Maglor: I genuinely regret this one. I’m not sure I even remember why I wrote it. I think to annoy my parents, or maybe Nelyo—hey, Nelyo! [to his brother, passing by] Do you remember when or why I came up with that annoying looping song?

Maedhros Fëanorion: [upon further explanation of the question and context] This is in second place? [to Maglor] I should've killed you when I had the chance. When I still did things like that. [upon being told Finrod's comment on the song] 'Mannish children'? Ha! You can give those back to their parents, not like siblings—of which he only had four, I’ll note, and none of them composed this monstrosity. And speaking of Man-ish children, whom you can’t give back to their parents, he should try righteously vengeful, maliciously compliant teenage—

[He cut off as our host, Elrond Peredhel, walked in, whistling a few idle, familiar notes before offering everyone another round of tea. Maglor and Maedhros both winced, though they said nothing save to accept tea.]

1. Ardamirë

Unofficial subtitle: (Father) It's Not Only Ours Anymore

An ode to Gil-Estel—the jewel, the Light, the ship and captain, the Star. Elements composed and gathered over nearly 6,500 years of wandering on mortal shores, including elements of the Noldolantë; arranged into a complete song in the decades after Maglor’s return to Valinor at the start of the Fourth Age. Takes about three hours to sing in full, reducing most listeners to mostly-joyful tears.

Expert Opinions:

Maglor: Good choice, people—this one is the best.

Fëanor Curufinwë, Crafter of the Silmarils: I won't pretend to be as expert in musical composition as my son, in Songs of Power or simply in casual music-craft. However, I'm certain this isn't his best work, technically speaking. Did truly so few people vote for "The Great Journey” or “On the Slopes of Túna"? [shaking his head] The wisdom of the Eldar truly has been diluted... And surely the recency of this composition biases voters in its favor. Are you certain you've balanced your data properly? …But the song is persuasive. And sticks in one's head very effectively. I've been thinking about it.

[thekatebridgerton]

A little venting post about the changes made to the show.

Sometimes I miss the era where book adaptations were true to their source material. Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, pride and prejudice, Twilight, The Hunger Games. Books with adaptations that literally had the power to change whole generations. Create such a cultural impact that we'll still be defining facets of our personalities by their influence for years to come.

And I think that those books had so much success as adaptations because the people who made them understood that watching the movie had to be an interactive experience between a person and their book. Not just their screen. People would finish watching the movie, go home, read the book and feel connected to a story where they knew the ending. So giddy and excited to know something they thought other movie goers didn't know. This made the experience exciting! It made it interactive enough to cause an impact.

I recently watched Lord of the Rings (yes the whole 24 hrs of it) and I realized how much I miss that excitement. That same warm blanket of knowing the ending that I experienced when I watched The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Bridgerton showrunners are so obsessed with delivering something with a 'plot twist' or 'different from the books' that they completely miss the point of how big franchises managed to make their adaptations impactful. So focused on curating the source material to make it more 'original' and new. So focused on driving up buzzfeed articles that read ' 100 ways Bridgerton season 2 was different from the books' that they alienate the interactive experience that exists in a viewer who enjoys reading.

Call me a book purist or maybe I felt sad today because I saw yet another article titled ' 10 reasons why Eloise storyline shouldn't follow the books' but it sucks to have creators spit on the books you love. It sucks to watch an adaptation that looks like fanfiction because it's all the media is currently offering. And you just wanted to see Kate bite Anthony's ankle and laugh. But you have to put up with all the changes of season 2 because complaining is met with an ' oh we wanted to do something different from the book, we wanted to surprise viewers'

Excuse me showrunners, I liked that book, what's wrong with liking that book? What was so offensive about it you had to turn it into something so far away from the source material the Author herself had to come out and say ' the books are the books and the show is the show' basically drawing a line between her creation and the show she authorized to adapt said work.

Netflix If the books I loved were so bad you felt they needed to be changed so much for an adaptation, then why adapt them at all? Why not find some kind nice very much in need of their big break author who has written a story that looks like the narrative you've got in mind.

As a reader I loved all the storylines as they stood. To me it would have been a giddy and exiting experience to be able to follow the show along with the source material. And I'm so sick and tired of show viewers and basically all the sensationalist media like buzzfeed and screenrant implying and outright saying that there is something wrong... with people like me. Who simply liked the books as they were. Because that's how they treat us, and that's what they think and it makes me sad.

And as I wait for season 3 I I sit and wait to see how many ' 100 ways the show is better than Romancing Mr Bridgerton because of how much the showrunners decided to change ' articles start poping up on my feed as soon as it's released. Because it will happen and as a reader you feel so powerless and confused, because all the media kees saying is that you're not allowed to feel angry, because even getting an adaptation is supposed to be a good thing, so don't start being a Debbie downer about the changes made for the screen. The book you loved was outdated anyway, the book you loved was boring anyway, the book you loved needed more excitement anyway.... And the message you keep getting is that The things you loved needed to stop looking like the things you loved, to be worthy of the masses attention

So what does that say about you?

Tomorrow, maybe I'll be back to being my usual positive self. Tomorrow I'll look at the bright side and feel ever so grateful that Julia Quinn's work is on screen. But for today, just for today. I needed to get that off my chest.

[anonymous-dentist]

hey even if you don't write it can you talk about the celerity au it sounds interesting

Sure!

So Roier is a cosplayer who kinda only does Marvel and other superhero cosplays. He's most famous for his various Spider-Man cosplays, and the internet loves him and calls him Cute Spider-Man because he is, in fact, a cute boy. He went viral back when the first Spider-verse movie came out, and he's had a pretty big social media presence since (his Professional Insta is HUGE, but his TikTok is basically just him shitposting)

Meanwhile, Cellbit and Bagi do a podcast kinda like Buzzfeed Unsolved where they just talk about weird crimes and unsolved cold cases and crazy internet horror stories. Really random stuff, but it's popular enough for them to have a pretty sizeable audience even outside of Brazil. Bagi is studying criminal justice offline, so she always has something to say about how fucking stupid the cops are in all these stories, and Cellbit is an aspiring horror writer who wholeheartedly believes in a solid 99% of the supernatural stuff he talks about

The important thing here is that Cellbit and Bagi are faceless creators. They've never done a liveshow because they don't think their podcast is the most important thing in their lives. It's just for fun for them despite it being a big hit

Meanwhile even people not into cosplay or Marvel has a vague idea of who Roier is because he's a funny hot guy who goes viral for either his really realistic Spider-Man cosplays or a meme or something

Rumor has it that Roier has a partner- he can be seen talking to someone off-screen during his Instagram Lives and he sometimes mentions having a partner in his videos. But nobody knows who it is or if they're even real or if they're as fake as his "cousin" Melissa is

Meanwhile, Cellbit and Bagi have announced a hiatus on their podcast because Cellbit is moving house and they won't have time to record a new episode until he's settled

But one day Roier does a live and someone spots a really handsome guy walking out of a room in the background just blurry enough to be unrecognizable but in focus enough for people to go "Holy shit, is Roier gay????"

And the Internet Goes Wild

[miscfandomwrites]

Pairing: Eddie Brock / Venom x Bodyguard! Reader

Warnings: Language, mentions of a stalker, 

Words: 1.8k

Tagging: @tyler-t0t

~

“Alright so here’s the basics: This is going to be a tandem interview, so there will be questions directed to both of you and separately, there’s also some talk of there possibly being a point where we go through your daily routine for either a day or a week but we really don’t know the full details about that yet..” Eddie told me as he walked in, a notepad and coffee in his hands and some paper tucked under his arm. 

“I’ve heard about that, I know Jenny would be okay with it, depending on the day...or the week. It varies fairly often, especially with fashion week coming up.” I replied, sipping the cup of coffee Jenny had got for me once I was inside and had sat down with her. 

“Now that everyone is finally here, I believe we can start the interview now.” The director, whose name I believe was Matthew, said as he gave an annoyed glare to Eddie. 

“Do you know if they actually decided on anything as far as the routine goes? I know this isn’t typically a fashion magazine, but I think winning that award last month might have something to do with it.” Jenny whispered as she leaned my direction, still looking at the camera and the crew.

There wasn’t going to be anyone in the spotlight besides us, and apparently we were going to be drawing random interview questions from a jar, like something they do off of buzzfeed. 

“Not that I’m aware of, I think they’re going to see the reaction this interview gets then they’ll go from there.” I replied, gazing around the room. 

“Alright, we start filming in three..two..one..and we’re live!” the direction shouted.

“Hi, my name is Jenny Lemon, and this is my best friend as well as my literal bodyguard, (F/N) (L/N), and I guess we’re going to be doing a live interview today!” Jenny’s bright voice carried through the room and the director gave us a thumbs up, motioning on for the rest of the introduction and the questions. 

First it was the really simple ones, ‘How did you two meet?’ ‘How did both of your careers start?’ and then dove more into the modeling side for Jenny, which she happily answered. I knew there was going to be some questions directed towards me, but I felt that it mostly was just going to be about how she got to where she was, and the basics of what I do. 

I was, however, not expecting that after half an hour of questioning her that it was my turn to be interrogated.

“So, Miss (L/N), let’s talk about you now!” Eddie said as he dragged a chair into frame, sitting next to me holding his notepad and pen, giving me a grin I couldn’t help but to return.

“What’s it like to be your best friend's actual bodyguard? It has to be a bit weird, but I imagine it comes naturally to you now as it did before her career - and yours - really took off. “ he started.

“Well actually..” I started.

Just a couple questions about the basics of it, how I became her bodyguard, the training I had to go through, mostly about how it’s changed as she rose upwards in fame. When she started gaining more attention, so did I. After a while I ended up getting modeling offers, some with her, some different. I also ended up getting stories and reports done about me and my work, how exactly to be a bodyguard, the training, what I do daily to make sure she’s safe, about who trained me, etc… 

There’s definitely been some offers for me to work for other people, or to train other people, but in the end I always turned them down. She’s my best friend, I’m not going to leave her for some bozo’s son who has anger issues and drinks too much.

“Are there any stories about how you have had to protect her from other people or crazy fans?�� He asked.

I sighed and looked over to Jenny, who nodded to me as she sipped her apple juice. 

“Last year there was this man who thought that Jenny was the perfect...wife for him, and he wanted to take her for himself. You’ve probably seen the story about how he was arrested, but as far as I know, no one really knows what happened that night besides her, him, and I.’

Him, as well as the other reporters turned their full interest upon me, now completely focused upon my story.

“We were going out shopping, hitting up Starbucks and Target, all the usual shops, when I noticed a man following us. Along with several other men. They were at every store we went to, and if not inside, waiting outside. After two or three shops I got suspicious, and ended up talking alternate paths through the city to get to places. Not the type of typical paths either.”

“Just to add in, whenever I’m out and don’t want to get noticed, I dress differently. I’m talking about different makeup, different hair styles, clothing, and the works. And I don’t really need anyone besides (F/N) there with me, because I know she can handle almost everything.” Jenny cut in 

I nodded and continued. “I told her about it, and we decided on one more shop then take a different path home, and if on the way home they still were following us, then we would make them lose our trail and get ahold of authorities. Walking around the last shop, he came pretty close to us, enough to where I was reaching for my weapons. He stopped once he saw was I was doing, smiled at her and I, and backed away. I didn’t see him after that, so I thought that was the end of it. We headed back home, thinking he was gone and got scared off..but I knew that smile meant trouble.”

I took a breath, and shifted in my seat before I finished the rest. “He ended up breaking in later that night, thankfully both of us were in the kitchen, and I managed to get her out of the mansion before calling the police, but I stayed to make sure he didn’t leave. He got into her room and was looking around in her things, but stopped once he saw me. A conversation which consisted of mostly cuss words from my end, and him repeatedly telling me that she was going to be his wife, whether I liked it or not. He had chosen her, so it was going to be her. The police got there just before it got physical, and he went peacefully with them. He did say to me that he would be back, and I told him I had a bullet with his name on it if he did.” I finished, sipping my coffee and glancing around the room.

“And this man, do you know if he is still in prison?” one of the other reporters asked me. 

Both Jenny and I looked at each other. “No, we don’t know.” I replied. 

“That sounds hectic.” Eddie said, scribbling down some more notes. 

“Alright, and just to wrap it up, we’re going to be doing a special piece on the daily lives of these two! The model and the bodyguard! That’s all for now, folks. Cut!” the director said as he came up behind us, setting a hand on each of our shoulders and smiling at the camera. Another fake smile from both of us, and then we got up.

I pulled Jenny to the side. “We didn’t agree to that daily life thing, did we?” I asked her.

“No, we didn’t. And since it’s live, we can’t exactly take it back now either..”

“Fucking directors. Fucking media..that isn’t right.”

“We can argue to get paid for it. They would be coming onto our property anyway, so if they didn’t pay, we could argue for trespassing.” 

“Right, but how would that look to the media?” 

She sighed, rubbing her forehead and closing her eyes. “And this is why I hate fame sometimes.”

“It’s a love hate relationship, Jen.”

“Ah! Ladies!” The director waved us over, talking with a small group of people. “We were just wondering what day next week would you like for us to be over?” he asked.

Both she and I faked a smile, and she responded with next tuesday. 

“We should be heading home, we need to prepare some for the other shoots we have today.” I lied to him, shaking his hand. Bastard. 

“Oh, I was hoping you’d stay for an extended written interview.” he pushed.

“We’re pressed with time, so unfortunately I’ll have to decline the offer. Thank you though.” I replied. 

I nodded to him and after making sure we had everything, I went over to the scruffy reporter before we left the room.

He glanced up at me, smiling as he leaned back in the chair. 

“So, The Model and the Bodyguard huh? That’s a pretty catchy name.” he said. 

I shrugged. “Not the best, but not the worst. Rating of a seven on a one to ten scale for me.” I sighed, finishing my coffee. 

He nodded. “I was asked to interview you next week, just you personally apparently. I guess they want me doing a special on just you, then there’s someone doing a special on Jenny, but there’s also talk of doing another daily with both of you.” 

“Sounds like we’ll be pretty busy next week then.” 

He nodded. “Anyway, is there any way I could get your phone number? Work number would be fine, I know you don’t want to give out your personal information to a random stranger, let alone a reporter.” 

I could feel the small guilt trip, and the whole ‘you can trust me’ and to be truthful, I wanted to, but also, he’s a reporter. So yeah, work phone. 

I took out one of the business cards I had on me and handed it to him. “Oh wow, a business card. Talk about fancy..” he muttered as he typed the number in his phone. 

“Alright well, we need to head out. So I’ll talk, or see you later.” I told him.

“Yeah, see ya around bodyguard.” he said with a smile, giving me a small salute as I started walking away. I tossed my empty coffee cup as I met Jenny at the door of the office and we headed out, both of us talking about the interview and the rest of the day. 

“Did you hear what one of the reporters said? She literally called you cold and heartless.” Jenny told me as we got into the elevator. I put a hand on my chest and faked exasperation.

“Me? Heartless? How dare they!” I mocked, throwing my hand over my forehead and sighing.

Jenny chuckled as she pushed the first floor elevator button. “So dramatic”

“More than you sometimes.”

“Hey!” 

[themushroomgoesyeet]

I apologize for breaking schedule already; this took me a while to figure out and I guess I accidentally forgot to actually write this up yesterday (Sunday is going to be the day that I post these, unless I decide otherwise btw)

Anyway!

Arcana characters as cryptids

(see I told you it wouldn't all be Disney)

Asra - the Loch Ness Monster

Water theme? Check

Mysterious to a mind boggling degree? Check

Is it a dinosaur that the asteroid missed? Is it an ancient Celtic creature with nebulous shape-shifting magic? Is it just a hoax? Who knows! Certainly not us, and I feel like this fits Asra's "no gender only magic and adventure" vibes

Both of them have an increasingly frustrating ability to disappear at random and only be seen when they want to

Julian - Mothman

Big, blanket shaped, black and red color palette, sexy for some people

Did I just describe Mothman or Julian?

Both also have a bad habit of materializing from/melting into the shadows

I think if Julian were to find this post likening him to such an edgy, mysterious creature he'd be thrilled

Muriel - Bigfoot

I mean is there really even a question about this one

Literally all you have to do is make Muriel hairier and have bigger feet and you're all set

Both of them live out in the middle of the woods & don't seem to care for company

Bro basically is a cryptid to some Vesuvians

Lucio - Goatman

I feel this needs even less explanation than Muriel's tbh

Especially since a nice chunk of this fandom double as BuzzFeed Unsolved fans

Fuck you goatman

Nadia - sphinx

Ok so I'll admit this is where I started running out of ideas

Hear me out tho

I know that some of you will say that sphinxes are mythological creatures and not cryptids, and personally I disagree; I bet in a thousand years archaeologists and the like will look back on our cryptid studies and be like "man, these guys had a weird mythology"

So long story short sphinxes are just ancient cryptids

There are two flavors of sphinx, both of which I think fit Nadia well

Greek sphinxes were usually portrayed as guardians - usually of cities, gates, and doorways - and (in the case of Oedipus) challenged people with riddles. As ruler/protector of Vesuvia, I think it's safe to say that Nadia slots into the guardian role quite nicely

I'm not as familiar with Nadia's route but I imagine she'd also enjoy riddle games

Then there's the Egyptian flavor of sphinx; while these are also guardians (of tombs and temples specifically), they are also representations of Pharos and their closeness to the gods, as well as symbols of their strength and ferocity

And of course we love the strong & independent queen that is Nadia

Portia - Tonttus/Nisse/Gnomes

For those who don't know, Tonttus are creatures from Scandinavian folklore; they look like tiny men with white beards and colorful, conical hats

While their description doesn't fit Portia (aside from being incredibly small in stature), their actions and temperament certainly do

If treated well, Tonttus will become guardians of homesteads and farms, helping with chores, caring for livestock, and warding off danger and misfortune.

If treated poorly or insulted, Tonttus will instead cause mischief in the place that they live, playing tricks, stealing from the family, and sometimes even killing livestock

Now Portia may not go as far as killing animals, but she's definitely got a short temper at times and is a wild prankster

I almost forgot about these homely little creatures but I'm glad I found something that fits Portia's cottage core vibes so well

[kenthenugget]

Dear Watcher....

This is going to be about the youtube channel Watcher and a recent video that they released earlier today, so if you dont watch the channel, or older content produced by Ryan, Shane and Steven at Buzzfeed, this is not going to make sense to you. This only going to be for those who are a fan of Watcher, or are fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved so if you are, that's great!

Earlier today, I got a video notifcation from the channel titled, "goodbye youtube", and it was definitely not something I wanted to see. There is a recent trend this year of youtubers retiring or taking a break this year and I was scared this was that scenario. And it kind of was but way worse. Basically, the guys over at Watcher are going to be posting on their new streaming service called....Watcher. And, no, it is not a late April Fools joke, that's actually what their doing. Initially, I was in a state of shock after I watched through the entire video. I, no joke, went through the 5 stages of grief upon viewing this announcement and was thrown through a loop to where I struggled to focus on sketching one of my comic pages. So much so that I actually made a deviant blog post about it the moment I finished watching the video (most of the content from this post will be copied and pasted from that blog so declaimer I guess). After having some time to absorb this information, I have to say that Im really disappointed with the guys over at Watcher. Like Im not mad to where Im completely done with their content but.......WHY!?

I think at this point in time that a lot of people, myself included, are burnout with the whole streaming boom we've had for the past 5 years in no part thanks to those greedy bastards at Disney....but thats another story. I miss the days when there were only 2 to 3 main streaming services and not 5 billion other services that you need to buy in order to watch a show you like that was on Netflix but it now locked behind a pay wall. Streaming services used by a novelty concept but are now not looked upon in the best light. So for the them to announce a streaming service now is definitely a bad look, especially because the content before was free to access. I feel like creators will always have an uphill battle when it comes to content that was initially free being locked behind a paywall, because you're potentially isolating your audience and bringing up the question of weather your audience if loyal enough to give you money to enjoy your content. Now, like I said, I love and respect the people at Watcher, but I dont know if I'm willing to take money out of my wallet to watch the next season of Ghost Files. Especially in this economy, where in some parts of the country a big mac now costs 20 fucking dollars, and with inflation going out of control.

Now its not like I don't understand why they're doing this. Ever since its founding in 2019, Watcher has always had troubles with money, with most of their shows not being profitable enough to make ends meet (I know that sounds bs because most of their vidoes get millions of views but this is coming from one of the founders Steven, in an update video from a while ago so idk, views probably mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things). And the fact that they started around the pandemic didn't help things either. Unlike Buzzfeed, Watcher is a much smaller company so any loss that happens is felt much more than if it was a larger one. In the video itself, they mentioned that most of their money came through youtube ads and sponsorships, which, while alright if you're an independent creator, may not be enough for a company. And then there's the fact that YouTube can remove or demonetize videos out of nowhere and for the dumbest reasons so its not a very stable sight to base your income off of. So I can understand why they felt moving on from YouTube was a good idea. But..........I think there were better ways of going about it than creating their own fucking streaming service. Like, in one of their update vidoes, they said most of their shows werent making ends meet so maybe cutting back on the production of said shows to make them not as expensive to produce would be a good solution. In their announcement vid, they talked about wanting to maintain their high production value for their shows without going under but (and I dont mean this to slight them) I dont think they understand why they popped off in the first place. For me, Im not watching Ghost Files or Mystery Files for high production value and fancy graphics, Im there for Ryan and Shane. Same reason I loved Buzzfeed Unsolved, which compared to those shows is much more bare bones. I get wanting to step up your production value from what you had at Buzzfeed but if you have budget out in certain places which would entail having a season that doesnt look as good as the previous season, that's completely fine. Im sure me and the rest of fans wouldn't have minded a downgrade because at the end of the day, the fancy sets and graphics are window dressing to why we're truly watching.

I also thinking letting us know ahead of time would've possibly softened the blow. Watcher is in a very interesting situation because there's a much closer relationship between them and their customer base as opposed to traditional companies. So they really could've been like "hey! We're thinking about having future content be on our own streaming service because doing business through YouTube is fucking us over. What do you guys think?". One explanation as to why they waited until now instead of a few months ago when this idea was sparked could've been because they knew they would get backlash and they were going ahead with the streaming service idea regardless of fan input, which might be the reason. But if that's the case, they probably would've had the comments and likes disabled from the start. Right before I started typing this, I checked the video to see if the comments were disabled and they are thankfully still there. Im someone who always wants to see the good in people (which is definitely a character flaw of mine and while defiently lead to me being at the end of an abusive relationship........another abusive relationship but lets not go there), so I think this might be the case of Ryan, Shane and Steven, thinking the streaming service was a good idea and not reading the room properly.

At this point, Im hoping that they dont do things that could make this situation 10 times worse: a) removing the existing content (Mystery Files, Puppet History, etc) off the youtube channel and having it on their streaming service. If you are going to have new seasons of those shows behind a paywall, at least have that content still up for those who want to support but cant purchase the service......b) respond to the critism in a negative way. I think things would be made worse if they lumped genuine fans who are concerned with the new direction with the trolls and haters, and double down on this new direction. Im hoping this situation ends up being a slip up that they can learn from and not being the beginning of the downfall of the Watcher gang. No joke, I think Ryan and Shane are the only youtubers who have avoided any sort of drama up to now. Youtubers I once respected over the years from Tobuscus to Leafyishere to H3H3 to Idubbz to even fucking Dream have all fell from grace in one way or another, and Im hoping the ghoul boys dont join that list....

[quaranmine]

Missing 411 guy?

David Paulides, the guy who is the creator of "Missing 411" which is basically a conspiracy about suspicious clusters of people going missing in National Parks in the United States. He is also the bane of my existence for the past year as someone who is researching a story about someone who goes missing in a National Forest.

To start with, if you've ever been even on the fringes of "irl spooky stuff" videos on YouTube, you might have encountered this. There are a lot of youtubers and podcasters who cover this guy's content without understanding What and Who they are giving platform to. Sometimes, people don't even mention him but will relate the cases that he covers in his books or use the same conspiracy points as him. I would not be suprised if you watched a Buzzfeed Unsolved/Watcher video (which are fine btw) and then got recommended something related to Missing 411 in the sidebar since it's a similar genre. It's super popular to the point where its outgrown its creator. I can't stress enough that many of you have probably encountered this content, at least in passing, without knowing what it was.

So to recap, Missing 411 documents cases of real-life people who have disappeared or been found dead in national parks, national forests, etc and claims that these cases are unusual and mysterious. It frequently talks about missing person "clusters" and things like that. There is often an overt, if not outrightly stated, implication that something supernatural, crpytid, or UFO/alien related was involved. For starters, David Paulides has written a ton of books trying to prove the existence of bigfoot. Now, I have no issues with people believing in bigfoot, or cryptids, or aliens, but I do have an issue with people co-opting real life tragedies and twisting information to push this as conspiracy. I simply do not think it is helpful or respectful to talk about missing and dead people (and children!) like this. Also, with the high prices of his books ($100-200) he just reeks of grifter to me.

To me, Missing 411 "criteria" is a stretch at best. You will see cases "mysteriously" connected because both of these people wore red when they went missing. Both these people's bodies were found near water (as if many National Park do not have water features.) Both these people's bodies were found near granite rocks (like, the most common rock type in mountains lol.) All these cases involve the weather turning bad! (um, yeah, that's a big reason why people get in trouble?) He frequently claims that bodies being undressed is highly unusual, without ever acknowledging paradoxical undressing. Or he claims laughably weak connections between people like "these two women who went missing in different years are connected because they both had three letter names that started with A." I haven't personally listened to this talk but there is a data scientist mentioned in his Wikipedia page who examined the case data and found nothing out of the ordinary in them. If you don't want to watch a video (I don't either right now) then he also wrote this article. From a different person, this article from a podcast is also good.

David Paulides does not present Missing 411 cases with accuracy. He has been known to cherry-pick data and purposefully omit data to make them seem more unusual. Many cases he covers are either already solved, or have extensive information available. He does not retract information or admit when he is wrong. Even if he does present a particular case accurately, he has such a bad track record with reliable research that he cannot be trusted as a source. There used to be someone on reddit who would deconstruct cases he covered. In this post they found several instances of cases of Paulides missing sources and coming to incorrect conclusions.

Note there's a few differences in the sources I just linked. The data scientist and podcast skeptic both said they found the data to be accurate, while the redditors have found evidence to the contrary. The data scientist also says he found Paulides' presentation of information respectful, but I personally find all of this highly disrespectful. But despite these differences I think we can all agree....the claims of Missing 411 are pretty ridiculous.

Also, let's talk about David Paulides himself. Before becoming a writer, he was a cop in California. He was a cop who was fired for corruption (well that's hard to do), because he was caught soliciting donations for a fake charity he set up. That's straight from his Wikipedia page. He continues to use his past as a "dectective" to attempt to make his claims sound more reliable. There was also a redditor who pulled up some other career highlights from when he was a cop in the 80s, by looking at court transcripts and news articles. His job used to be entrap gay men by pretending to be gay, getting them to invite him home with them, and then arresting then. He and his unit were also accused of police brutality many times in the 80s, with Paulides testifying in defense of his unit. And he has not changed btw, he's a Qanon stolen election covid denier type of nut right now on his YouTube channel (according to reddit. I am not watching this man's videos.) So yeah, I think his character speaks for itself.

Anyway, I'm tired of hearing about this guy and seeing 411 related content pop up around YouTube, Reddit, Tiktok, etc. Pay attention if you watch things related to "creepy and unexplained real life disappearnaces." I do not think he is a good person, I do not think he can be trusted, and I do not think that his work actually benefits the families of the missing persons in question. These are real people. He turns them into spectacles to push ~unusual~ circumstances and paranormal activity.

[yeehaw-in-magic-space]

Campaign and Characters: Basic Rundown

(The campaign I’ll be posting about here is a space western with heavy fantasy and horror elements. It draws quite a bit from some of my favorite things including The Locked Tomb, Star Wars, Darkest Dungeon, Cowboy Bebop, and some other cowboy themed D&D stuff I've run in the past)

The campaign starts 3 years after a massive crisis of succession that accidentally fused four different wars into one galaxy wide conflict. After over 30 years of fighting, a new Sovereign of the Galactic Kingdom has been named, and people are trying to pick up the pieces of their scattered lives. This has led a lot of people to flee towards the frontier worlds in an attempt to make their fortune and free themselves from the burdens of living under the various Dukes and Counts that hold dominion over their solar systems (though most fall immediately into the hands of outlaws who treat themselves as monarchs). It’s a mix between the energy of scrappy space cowboys, noble fantasy houses, and a horrifying galaxy filled with undead abominations (at least, according to rumors).  

Our protagonists are a cluster of drifters and runaways who for one reason or another find themselves on an interstellar train that will take them to the edge of "civilized society", which is where they run into each other and experience the first rumbles of the hauntings and horrors that lie beyond what the Galactic Kingdom has managed to conquer. I have 4 players in this game whose characters I'll give a brief description of below:

Dolly (she/her): Dolly is a disgraced reporter who once captured the events of the war and rooted out corruption wherever she found it. Eventually, she poked a little too hard at a cluster of powerful nobles, and a scandal broke about her selling information (and having intimate relations with) some of the outlaw leaders at the edges of the galaxy. She now takes jobs from "Choice Information" a trashy tabloid that has her basically writing buzzfeed style articles and doing vapid interviews for upstart bounty hunters. They give her lackluster information and sexy costumes to wear to every interview. She is a Human Inquisitive Rogue.

Chuck (he/him): Ch’k T’k, nicknamed Chuck, is a bounty hunter who takes any odd job he can find. He’s an expert tinkerer, fast with his shooting hand (which is helped by him having four of them), and is never seen without his Automaton companion, MAC. He does his best to keep a low profile and take jobs that will be easy money without gaining too much attention from the authorities or high profile outlaws, but he seems to have a bad habit of being dragged in over his head and finding dangerous gigs. He is a Thri-Kreen Battlesmith Artificer.

Geraldine (she/her): Geraldine is a wide-eyed debutant from a new money family. Her family didn’t make as much money as they were hoping to selling weapons and supplies during the war, and their lack of progress left her with a lot of free time on her hands. She used this free time to perfect her shooting at the local range, and to indulge in romantic novels that paint pictures of love, lust, and adventure in the frontier worlds. She decided that she dreamed of writing a story of her own, and wandered off to the nearest train station to find a crew to take her on an adventure. She is a Human Battle Master Fighter.   

Prometheus (he/it): Prometheus is a mysterious con artist, and is visibly the most cursed gothic man ever conceived of (though he really doesn’t seem to notice). He is fleeing to the edge of the galaxy, and scamming as many people as he can along the way. He slings snake oil potions, certificates for distant stars, and shockingly openly brandishes eldritch magic when the situation calls for it. Prometheus is a fellow with an untrustworthy face, but a shockingly smooth tongue to compensate. He’s wandering further and further into the galaxy for reasons that perhaps aren’t clear to most, or maybe even to him. He is a Human Great Old One Warlock.

This is our primary cast and crew, and soon I'll be diving into how they met and the shenanigans they got up to during our first session.

[beansprouts]

an anecdote, probably irrelevant if you know little about tech esp in silicon valley

Anyone who knows me irl knows that I went to a very elite private college full of rich people highly motivated by STEM. While there I narrowly avoided being inducted into rationality/longtermism, which I consider a doomsday cult. I have a former friend who is as big in this cult as they come (when I knew him in college he had not one, but two T-shirts about Bayes theorem) who went to work for MIRI after he graduated.

This guy was my former good friend; visited me in the mental hospital. Now he's been putting out papers of this pseudoscientific drivel, the kind of statistics-on-steroids that's costing thousands of jobs. Basically the shit I've been deeply opposed to (due to my own education in computer science and linguistics, also just being a marginalized person) since someone posted a link about OpenAI's new product in a work slack a few years ago and I quickly rebutted their unscientific methodology and naively thought the tech world would just dismiss their "work."

Someone on bluesky posted a very good thread, with sources, connecting a lot of these threads and deconstructing the cult's ideology and why it's dangerous. That thread is here. My first instinct was to respond with my own personal relevant experience from college of realizing this ideology was truly on a religious level and not just an encouraging of scientific open-minded thinking like they claim. And then I realized that I can't do that, because I am genuinely terrified of these people, and my bluesky profile is an image of me, which is enough information for the people involved to track me down. And despite this guy having been my friend once, I know what their evangelical devotion to the technocult looks like, and I am far more frightened of that than I am trusting of him.

So I'm posting my silly little story here instead, even though my tumblr is mostly fandom reblogs and definitely not a suitable home for it, because I know the rats aren't very active on here.

It's not much of a story. My former friend, a "rationalist," has always championed ideological debate and open-mindedness. I had found an excellent op-ed by Ted Chiang that seemed to rebutt some of the AGI fears (which as a rationalist he took very seriously) by analyzing them as more of a hallmark of a capitalistic mindset and society than any sort of genuine technological inevitability, let alone one breathing down our keyboards with impending doom. It's fantastic and you should read it, even though it's on Buzzfeed.

I sent that article to my friend, because I knew he loves to defend his ideas. He was a libertarian and would defend this ideology for fun. So, as an extension of this, I assumed he would enjoy either some new angles of analysis he hadn't considered on this viewpoint, or alternatively deconstructing this argument (since of course he was also a former policy debater).

Instead, he was.. offended. Hurt. Acted like me sending him that article was a transgression. Vaguely attempted to argue with it, but not in any way that made sense. This was inconsistent with all of his behaviour previously. Like, you have to understand, this guy would debate economics in the lunch line for fun. I had every reason to believe he would rise to the challenge and argue back against this op-ed. Hell, much of our friendship had taken the form of such discussions until that point!

But he didn't react the way he had with all his other logically held beliefs, because rationality is not one of those. Rationalists don't believe in AGI coming to kill us all, well, rationally. They believe in that with an emotional zeal and fervor. Roko's Basilisk, or whatever new form it will take next time someone has a thought experiment, is the end-of-days scenario that they feel so strong of a need to fight that it has become religious to them.

Doomsday cult.

Now that guy is director-level at a tech startup .. and I'm unemployed and mostly arrange choral music lol.

Also, since I know I have followers on here whom I know in real life and who may know whom I'm vagueblogging here: please don't send this to him. I haven't talked to him since like 2018? and I do not want him to know I consider him an ideological enemy.

[lizzibennet]

do you have any modern!Kathony fic recs for someone who usually has a hard time getting into modern aus for ships from period dramas/stories that take place during historical periods? :)

god anon i hope you have a lot of free time

sidelines by ramarro - “Kate sees Anthony's bumble profile and finds it very pretentious. It does not stop her from obsessively drawing his arms though. Until he starts dating her sister.” SIDELINES MY BELOVED!!!!!!! probably my favorite modern au (which is why i’m recommending it first). it’s just delightful. i don’t wanna give too much away just read it!!! i promise you will not be disappointed

most eligible by amalin (firstglances) - a ‘the bachelor’ au. if that means nothing to you don’t worry, it meant nothing to me too. you can get by with very little knowledge of the show besides the basic premise. i love this one

a supercut of us by joekavaliers - basically a buzzfeed unsolved au where kate is ryan and anthony is shane. probably more enjoyable if you already like bfu but it’s really funny

prima facie by katelai - kate, anthony and tom dorset are all famous actors starring in a new film. drama and speculation follow them because while kate and anthony are married and happy, anthony and tom are exes. this is really really good, super interesting, anddddd hot. this author has a bunch of really intriguing fics - i haven’t read all of them, but i really liked the ones i have! mind the tags though

just go with it by suitsusboth - kate jokingly selects the title of viscountess as she is booking a flight. much to her surprise, there is an actual viscount on board, so she’s moved to sit by her husband, because that’s obviously what they are. right?

operation: barista series by starkswinterfelling - OMG OPERATION BARISTA HIIIII. i love a good text fic tbh and this one is about all the sibs trying to get anthony and that cute barista from that coffee shop in their town, kate, together. so cute <33333

the little things you do by zegabz - flower shop au. kate finds a floral arrangement she made just as she is heading to a bar to meet up with friends. incidentally, the man who so rudely discarded the bouquet she made is there too. screams

it had to be you by zegabz - when harry met sally au. need i say more

june, after dark by stutteringpeach - edwina is friends with daphne whose wedding celebration is taking place in her grand fancy estate in the country, so obviously she drags kate along. daphne’s brother is very annoying, but also familiar to kate… hmmmmmm

soulmates au by teabrigadier - soulmate au in which the first words your soulmate will ever say to you show up on your wrist on your 18th birthday, and both kate and anthony have very decided opinions on their soulmates, since both of them have very asshole-y soulmate marks. there is an anthony pov and a kate pov!!

a place to rest by lookingforthestars - kate runs a little bed & breakfast. anthony shows up suddenly one late night. they go from there

you are the light that is blinding me by lookingforthestars - anthony is just one of kate’s vaguely dickish, annoying coworkers - until she starts eavesdropping on conversations between him and a mystery woman, and a side of him she was not aware of is revealed. peak idiots being idiots love them

i can’t find the words, so i guess it’s time by pentaghastly - k&a have a one night stand after much unresolved sexual tension. to kate’s surprise, he starts being a regular at her tea shop.

I could go on but lol