#from feb 12 2023 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

worstcharacterpoll · 2 years ago

Text

[Image description: A tournament bracket of 32 contenders, labeled "Tumblr's most hated." The matchups on the left are Vriska vs. Pearl from SU; Rex from Victorious vs. Rick Sanchez; Ansem the Wise vs. Gul Dukat; Kylo Ren vs. Kokichi Ouma; Scrappy Doo vs. Sheldon Cooper; Pierre from Stardew vs. Mort from Madagascar; Seraphine from League vs. Heimskr; and Jurgen Leitner vs. Andre Glacier. The matchups on the right are Walter White vs. Light Yagami; Buck Cluck vs. Ross Geller; Bramblestar vs. Starlight Glimmer; Goro Akechi vs. Pariston Hill; Katsuki Bakugo vs. Berdly; Angel Dust vs. the Impostor; Olaf from Frozen vs. Hooty; and Zenos viator Galvus vs. Tony Stark. The bracket is red on a black background. End ID]

Here is the official bracket for the most Hated Character on Tumblr! Each round will last 24 hours, with a 12 hour break in between. Round 1 should start Feb 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM CST.

As a reminder, this tournament is for the characters that you hate the most, so always vote for your least favorite of the two options. The winner will be publicly executed.

FAQ under cut:

Q: Why did you put in x character and not y character? Aren't there more hateable characters from that franchise?

A: I wanted to keep the competition light-hearted, funny, and interesting. I intentionally avoided most shitty parent characters, dictators, characters who were meant to be hated, etc., as well as characters heavily associated with bigotry and sexual assault, and gravitated towards characters that were more divisive in fandom. Exceptions were only made for characters I am familiar enough with and can use my own judgement for. Using Zenos as an example: He is a villain who is very evil and meant to be hated, which I mostly avoided when taking suggestions for things I wasn't familiar with myself. However, he's very divisive between people who think he's a good interesting villain, people who don't think he's a good villain and don't like him in the story at all, and people who want him carnally. Walter White is also meant to be hated, but he has a meme status, and as a villain protagonist I think he's more interesting than most "meant to be hated" characters. Also, there are certain franchises that I simply didn't want to include. If JK Rowling wasn't such a real and horrible political presence, owing all her influence to Harry Potter, I would've definitely put Snape on the poll. As it stands, I don't really want to give HP any attention. TL;DR answer: Because it's funnier that way

Q: But I LIKE that character :(

A: As mentioned before, I specifically gravitated more towards characters who are more divisive rather than universally hated. They are usually more interesting, and there is more variety with those types of characters - you don't have shitty dad character #1 vs. shitty dad character #2. I actually looked for "anti-(character)" tags and discourse about that character when making decisions about who to include. lol If you actually like some of these characters (uh, my condolences), vote against them in their respective matchups.

Q: Is it too late to suggest a replacement?

A: Yes.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: I feed off of hatred and violence. I want to see who tumblr users REALLY hate.

Q: Why Pearl?

A: It was quite a while ago now so I get it if people don't remember, but Pearl discourse used to be a big thing and people argued that she was irredeemable for many of the things she did early on in the show. If you remember the "Pearl hates the Irish" meme, that was a parody of how much people hated her

Q: Why Hooty?

A: I haven't seen the Owl House but I'm told many people think he's annoying. Also he's voiced by Alex Hirsch and fuck that guy he did my boy Ford so dirty I'm still mad about this

Q: Why Starlight Glimmer?

A: MLP:FiM is another show I didn't really watch but she was a villain who got redeemed and became a main character and a lot of people think her redemption arc was rushed and botched and she actually made a lot of people quit watching the show. One of my close friends really really really hates her and I don't think that's an isolated incident

Q: Why Berdly?

A: Annoying. Personally I think his arc of becoming less annoying was pretty fun but a lot of people still hate him.

Q: Why Bakugo (instead of Mineta)?

A: I actually debated this a lot and held a preliminary poll which Mineta actually won. But then I decided democracy is dead because Mineta really wouldn't be as interesting as Bakugo in this tournament because he's basically universally hated. Bakugo is more interesting because people who hate him REALLY hate him, while people who love him REALLY love him. Kind of like Vriska. I think. I never read Homestuck and I don't plan on ever doing so.

Q: Why Tony Stark?

A: He's a heavily divisive character because he's a war profiteer billionaire with a superiority complex, but the narrative treats him as a morally pure hero. Also, he's MCU Spider-Man's mentor and most of MCU Spider-Man is basically defined by Tony Stark and he's not allowed to be his own character. There's a bunch of other stuff but I didn't watch and I don't care about most of the MCU. Personally I'm a really big Spider-Man fan and I despise him for what he did to Peter Parker but I shall refrain from making this a long rant.

Q: Why did you include characters that you're not familiar with?

A: I didn't want to exclusively have characters from my interests. I wanted a bit of variety. Before the poll started, I accepted submissions for candidates, and basically trusted submitters to send in decent characters. Some of the characters I ended up with may go against the vague guidelines I set for myself, which kind of sucks, but that's how it is now.

Q: This bracket sucks.

A: Make your own tournament then. I'm just some guy making a tournament on tumblr dot com for free. Don't take it too seriously.

#polls #worst character poll

4K notes · View notes

princessleechan · 1 year ago

Text

choi seungcheol must die masterlist

📌synopsis: Mingyu wasn't the one with his heart broken. It was his little sister. And Seokmin's older sister. And Chan's best friend. Choi Seungcheol is a menace to society and needs to be put down. Immediately. The sure fire way to do it is to give him a taste of his own medicine: break his heart. 📌pairing: fem!reader x ??? (seungcheol, mingyu, seokmin, chan) 📌genre: slight angst, romance, humor, eventual smut 📌series tags: 18+ only, SMAU, inspired by “John tucker must die”, John tucker!seungcheol, college au, revenge fic, tags will vary from chapter 📌status: COMPLETED WITH BONUSES TO COME 📌started: oct 6th, 2023 - feb 18, 2024 📌Tag list: please reply to this post, send an ask, or dm to get updated

Profiles #1, #2, #3

Act I :

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Act II :

11 | 12 | 13+bonus written scene | 14+bonus written scene | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

Act III

26 | 27 | 28 | 29 written scene | 30+bonus written scene(18+) | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37

Epilogue

Bonus:

#seventeen smau #svt #seventeen #seventeen x you #seventeen x reader #seventeen x y/n #choi seungcheol #kim mingyu #lee seokmin #lee chan #scoups #dokyeom #lee dokyeom #seventeen dino #seventeen scoups #seventeen mingyu #seventeen scenarios #plc.smaus💕#nana writes

1K notes · View notes

mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

Text

Kickstarting “The Bezzle” audiobook, sequel to Red Team Blues

I'm heading to Berlin! On January 29, I'll be delivering Transmediale's Marshall McLuhan Lecture, and on January 30, I'll be at Otherland Books (tickets are limited! They'll have exclusive early access to the English edition of The Bezzle and the German edition of Red Team Blues!).

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to last year's Red Team Blues, featuring Marty Hench, a hard-charging, two-fisted forensic accountant who spent 40 years in Silicon Valley, busting every finance scam hatched by tech bros' feverish imaginations:

http://thebezzle.org

Marty Hench is a great character to write. His career in high-tech scambusting starts in the early 1980s with the first PCs and stretches all the way to the cryptocurrency era, the most target-rich environment for scamhunting tech has ever seen. Hench is the Zelig of tech scams, and I'm having so much fun using him to probe the seamy underbelly of the tech economy.

Enter The Bezzle, which will be published by Tor Books and Head of Zeus on Feb 20: this adventure finds Marty in the company of Scott Warms, one of the many bright technologists whose great startup was bought and destroyed by Yahoo! (yes, they really used that asinine exclamation mark). Scott is shackled to the Punctuation Factory by golden handcuffs, and he's determined to get fired without cause, so he can collect his shares and move onto the next thing.

That's how Scott and Marty find themselves on Catalina island, the redoubt of the Wrigley family, where bison roam the hills, yachts bob in the habor and fast food is banned. Scott invites Marty on a series of luxury vacations on Catalina, which end abruptly when they discover – and implode – a hamburger-related Ponzi scheme run by a real-estate millionaire who is destroying the personal finances of the Island's working-class townies out of sheer sadism.

Scott's victory is bittersweet: sure, he blew up the Ponzi scheme, but he's also made powerful enemies – the kinds of enemies who can pull strings with the notoriously corrupt LA County Sheriff's Deputies who are the only law on Catalina, and after taking a pair of felony plea deals, Scott gets the message and never visits Catalina Island again.

That could have been the end of it, but California's three-strikes law – since rescinded – means that when Scott picks up one more felony conviction for some drugs discovered during a traffic stop, he's facing life in prison.

That's where The Bezzle really gets into gear.

At its core, The Bezzle is a novel about the "shitty technology adoption curve": the idea that our worst technological schemes are sanded smooth on the bodies of prisoners, mental patients, kids and refugees before they work their way up the privilege gradient and are inflicted on all of us:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

America's prisons are vicious, brutal places, and technology has only made them worse. When Scott's prison swaps out in-person visits, the prison library, and phone calls for a "free" tablet that offers all these services as janky apps that cost ten times more than they would on the outside, the cruelty finds a business model.

Working inside and outside the prison Marty Hench and Scott Warms figure out the full nature of the scam that the captive audience of prisoners are involuntary beta-testers for, and they discover a sprawling web of real-estate fraud, tech scams, and offshore finance that is extracting fortunes from the hides of America's prisoners and their families. The criminals who run that kind of enterprise aren't shy about fighting for what they've got, and they're more than happy to cut some of LA County's notorious deputy gangs in for a cut in exchange for providing some kinetic support for the project.

The Bezzle is exactly the kind of book I was hoping I'd get to write when I kicked off the Hench series – one that decodes the scam economy, from music royalties to prison videoconferencing, real estate investment trusts to Big Four accounting firm bogus audits. It's both a fast-moving, two-fisted crime novel and a masterclass on how the rich and powerful get away with both literal and figurative murder.

It's getting a big push from both my publishers and I'll be touring western Canada and the US with it. The early reviews are spectacular. But despite all of this, I had to make my own audiobook for it, which I'm pre-selling on Kickstarter:

http://thebezzle.org

Why? Because Audible – Amazon's monopoly gatekeeper to the audiobook world, with more than 90% of the market – refuses to carry my work.

Audible uses Digital Rights Management to lock every audiobook they sell to their platform. Legally, only an Audible-authorized app can decrypt and play the audiobooks they sell you. Distributing a tool that removes Audible DRM is a felony under Section 1201 of the 1998 DMCA.

That means that if you break up with Audible – delete your Audible apps – you will lose your entire audiobook library. And the fact that you're Audible's hostage makes the writers you love into their hostages, too. Writers understand that if they leave the Audible platform, their audience will have to choose between following them, or losing all their audiobooks.

That's how Audible gets away with abusing its performers and writers, up to and including the $100m Audiblegate wage-theft scandal:

https://www.audiblegate.com/

Audible can steal $100m from its writers…and the writers still continue to sell on the platform, because leaving will cost them their audience.

This is canonical enshittification: lock in users, then screw suppliers. Lots of companies abuse DRM to do this, but none can hold a candle to Amazon, who understand that the DMCA is a copyright law that protects corporations at the expense of creators.

Under DMCA 1201 commercial distribution of a "circumvention device" carries a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that if I write a book, pay to have it recorded, and then sell it to you through Audible, I am criminally prohibited from giving you the tool to take it from Audible to another platform. Even though I hold the copyright to that work, I would face a harsher sentence than you would if you simply pirated the audiobook from some darknet site. Not only that: if you shoplifted the audiobook in CD form, you'd get a lighter sentence than I, the copyright holder, would receive for giving you a tool to unlock it from Amazon's platform! Hell, if you hijacked the truck that delivered the CD, you'd get off lighter than I would. This is a scam straight out of a Marty Hench novel.

This is batshit. I won't allow it. My books are licensed on the condition that they must not be sold with DRM. Which means that Audible won't sell my books, which means that my publishers are thoroughly disinterested in paying thousands of dollars to produce audiobooks of my titles. A book that isn't sold in the one store than accounts for 90% of all sales is unlikely to do well.

That's where you come in. Since 2020, I've used Kickstarter to pre-sell five of my audiobooks (I wrote nine books during lockdown!). All told, I've raised over $750,000 (gross! but still!) on these crowdfunders. More than 20,000 backers have pitched in! The last two of these books – The Internet Con and The Lost Cause – were national bestsellers.

This isn't just a way for me to pay off a lot of bills and put away something for retirement – it's proof that readers care about supporting writers and don't want to be locked in by a giant monopolist that depends on its drivers pissing in bottles to make quota.

It's a powerful message about the desire for something better than Amazon. It's part of the current that is driving the FTC to haul Amazon into court for being a monopolist, and also part of the inspiration for other authors to try treating Amazon as damage and routing around it, with spectacular results:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-four-secret-novels-by-brandon-sanderson

And I'm doing it again. Last December, I went into Skyboat Media's studios where Gabrielle De Cuir directed @wilwheaton, who reprised his role as Marty Hench for the audiobook of The Bezzle. It came out amazing:

https://archive.org/details/bezzle-sample

Now I'm pre-selling this audiobook, as well as the ebook and hardcover for The Bezzle. I'm also offering bundles with the ebook and audiobook for Red Team Blues (naturally these are all DRM-free). You can get your books signed and personalized and shipped anywhere in the world, courtesy of Book Soup, and I've partnered with Libro.fm to deliver DRM-free audiobooks with an app for people who don't want to mess around with sideloading.

I've also got some spendy options for high rollers. There's three chances to name a character in the next Hench novel (Picks and Shovels, Feb 2025). There's also five chances to commission a Hench short story about your favorite tech scam, and get credited when the story is published.

The Kickstarter runs for the next three weeks, which should give me time to get the hardcopy books signed and shipped to arrive around the on-sale date. What's more, I've finally worked out all the post-Brexit kinks with shipping my UK publisher's books to EU backers. I'm working with Otherland Books to fulfill those EU orders, and it looks like I'm going to be able to sign a giant stack of those when I'm in Berlin later this month to give the annual Marshall McLuhan lecture at the Canadian embassy:

https://transmediale.de/en/2024/event/mcluhan-2024

Red Team Blues and its sequels are some of the most fun – and informative – work I've done in my quarter-century career. I love how they blend technical explanations of the scam economy with high-intensity technothrillers. That's the the same mix as my bestselling YA series Little Brother series – but these are firmly adult novels.

The Bezzle came out great. I hope you'll give it a try – and that you'll come out to see me in late February when I hit the road with the book! Here's that Kickstarter link again:

http://thebezzle.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/10/the-bezzle/#marty-hench

#pluralistic #kickstarter #audible #the bezzle #bezzles #prison tech #disciplinary technology #crowdfunding #wilw #wil wheaton #audiobooks #publishing #science fiction #marty hench #martin hench #red team blues #shitty technology adoption curve #reits

660 notes · View notes

jikooklove9795 · 2 months ago

Text

JIKOOK & NOV 8th 2015

In South Korea couples have a unique and delightful way of celebrating anniversaries marking special milestones. They commemorate these milestones by exchanging personalized gifts, going on romantic dates, by wearing matching clothes or by sharing photos documenting their relationship. This is done in recognition of their continuous love and appreciation.

Now let's dive into see how Jikook celebrates a special a date in their relationship.

On Nov 8th 2015 Jikook posts their first video together on twitter

Exactly 100 days after Nov 8th 2015 Jungkook made a tweet about the importance of lyrics in a song and uploaded his cover of Nothing Like Us by Justin Bieber

One year later on Nov 8th 2016 Jimin posts a video of Jungkook and him sitting together on a plane

On Nov 8th 2017 Jungkook releases his first ever GCF. It was video documenting Jimin and Jungkook's private trip to Japan in 2017. A trip Jungkook planned and arranged as a birthday gift to Jimin

youtube

On Jan 26th 2018, which is 811 days from Nov 8th 2015 Jimin posted this pic. Do you see the black & white reference at the foot of the champagne glass? Interesting right??!!

On August 2018 BTS were in Malta filming BV Season 3.

1000 days after Nov 8th 2015 Jungkook posted a selca while in Malta at 10:13 local time which is Jimin time

And on the 1500the day from Nov 8th 2015 Jimin posts a selca at 1:50

Now before we move on let's take a moment to remember that Jimin won the Search King Challenge question where BTS had to find the 2000th day from the first episode of Run BTS. He used the NAVER Anniversary Calculator. Jungkook was not far behind. He was about to answer but lost by a few seconds to Jimin. Hoseok had no idea about the calendar while Namjoon went for Google. So, this shows Jimin often uses the calculator for finding important dates and anniversaries

Okay, now back to our main topic.

BTS PTD Seoul Concert in March 2022. And during the concert...

He said "This is Jimin from grade 2 class 3 number 15". Cause March 10th 2022 was exactly 2315 days from Nov 8th 2015.

Remember the rectangular Maison Margeila pendant which Jimin wears? He wears the one where the number 11 is encircled.

Let's take out 11 and add all the other numbers on this pendant.

10+12+13+14+15+16

And we get 80

So, what do we have

11/8

On Feb 21 2022 Jungkook posted a video on his IG highlighting 23:08 which is basically 11:08 however the story was originally posted at 1 am

On October 26th 2022 (which is 13 days after Jimin's birthday and 13 days to Nov 8th) while in Qatar Jungkook posted a pic on his IG at 11:08 pm KST

There are a myriad of references to 11/8 from song covers, song recommendations ending at the 1:18 mark to pics posted by both Jimin and Jungkook.

Both Jungkook and Jimin has shown how they are serious about these numbers relating to their relationship or those about each other. Reminds me of how Jimin started a live on Sept 1st 2023 wearing a 1997 model watch adjusted to Jungkook's birth time

Nov 8th 2024 marks their 9 years of togetherness.

So, let me conclude this post by wishing the couple a

"Happy Anniversary"

💛💜

Credits to the owner of the video

#jikook #kookmin #jungkook #jimin

131 notes · View notes

isa-ghost · 7 months ago

Text

HEY YOU!!

Fuck it, I'll share this with the class.

Do YOU want to rewatch all of Phil's QSMP Hardcore Deity Lore in one big binge like a total fucking masochist? LOOK NO FURTHER!

In order to drag my friends into Bird Man Brainrot Hell with me, I made a bullet list of all the major lore vods with dates and timestamps included for a streamlined list of what and where to watch!

All you have to do is use this [QPhil Lore Playlist] I made from our beloved Crow Mercy's Phil vods channel and refer to the bullet list below!

Tallulah & Chayanne would've loved this day (Sept 15th 2023, 8:00:15)

What Happened to Me? (Sept 24th 2023, 1:09:11-1:15:00)

Finding the Line (Oct 27th 2023, 2:50:00-3:03:00)

A discovery… (Dec 6th 2023, 2:19:47 to 3:15:26)

Another discovery (Dec 15th 2023, 2:42:07, 2:57:18, 5:37:39)

Healing (Dec 18th 2023, 3:07:10, 6:10:59)

Xmas Event & A New Threat (Dec 20th 2023, 3:11:25, 3:36:33 to 3:42:46, 6:19:06)

A message or a warning? (Jan 12th 2024, 7:53 to 19:04)

The date is fast approaching (Jan 17th 2024, 2:21:31, 6:08:28)

oh boy oh gosh it's island time (Feb 21st 2024, 6:21:12)

A Strange Gift (Feb 23rd 2024, 2:15:11 to 2:20:11) (OPTIONAL: WATCH WHOLE VOD)

Greed comes with a price (Feb 26th 2024) (WATCH WHOLE VOD)

Break past the void (March 1st, 2024) (WATCH WHOLE VOD)

ALTERNATIVELY!!

If YouTube is giving you trouble for one reason or another, YOU'RE IN LUCK!!

Kristin uploads all of Phil's vods to an archive on his Twitch, so you can actually find ALL these vods on Phil's Twitch channel too! I did this myself just a few days before posting this, they're all uploaded and relatively easy to find!

In order to do it this way, all you have to do is go to here on Phil's Twitch, then refer to the dates in the above bullet list in the vod titles. Once you find the right vod, just refer to the timestamps above and go nuts!

Happy binging and reliving Bird Man Trauma! :D

And as a bonus note: The vods in my playlist that AREN'T major Hardcore Deity Lore moments are other significant QSMP Lore moments Phil was involved in or present for, so you could actually binge the entire playlist chronologically if you want to relive it all! :)

#qsmp #philza #qsmp philza #q!philza #philza hardcore #philza lore

401 notes · View notes

dearly-somber · 1 year ago

Text

Because It’s Soft | j.jk

-> pairing. wolf shifter!jungkook x human! reader (f)

-> genre. slow burn, eventual romance, (domestic) fluff, found family, humor, (mutual? 👀) pining, f2l (friends-to-lovers), eventual smut, high school!au

-> rating. 13+

-> w/c. 1367

-> a/n. This is one of my favorite installments ngl

-> warnings. None!

-> collection. mini-series

-> started. Oct. 23rd, 2022 @ 21:45

-> fin. Sun., Feb. 26th, 2023 @ 18:08

-> edited. Tues., Nov. 14th, 2023 @ 12:33

-> divider credit. @mmadeinheavenn

“Have I ever told you how much I love your hair at this length?”

Jungkook hisses under his breath, narrowly avoiding death from a flank-attack and managing to get cover to recoup before diving back into the match. “No?”

“Really?” Y/N muses in a shocked voice behind him, lightly touching his shoulders. Jungkook bites his lip to concentrate on what’s happening in game, the hair on the back of his neck tingling.

Y/N was dropped off here for the day because her parents had to go out of town for some or other social gathering. Jungkook remembers waiting for her by the front door, respectfully bowing his head when her father gave him a curt nod.

He remembers how his stomach fluttered when she turned to him with the biggest grin after hugging her mother goodbye, half-jogging toward him before throwing her arms around his neck in a tight, excited hug.

He remembers the way he patted her back and smiled sheepishly at her parents from over her shoulder, hoping they were too far away to notice the blush on his cheeks.

“Yeah. I think you might’ve commented on how long it’s gotten since summer started, but otherwise you haven’t said much.” Jungkook groans and throws his head back between your knees, a frustrated sigh leaving his lips. That’s his sixth loss in a row.

Y/N gives him a pitying tut, using her hand on the back of his neck to gently lift his head, completely oblivious to the intense inner-rumblings of Jungkook’s wolf. She bring her hands up into his hair, dragging her fingers through the silky strands…gently tugging knots loose and running her nails over his scalp.

Jungkook’s shoulders relax and he closes his eyes with a breathy little sigh, his controller going slack in his lap.

Y/N giggles knowingly. “I really do love your hair at this length, you know. It’s nice when it’s long.”

“Mmm…” Jungkook hums distractedly, his eyebrows scrunching together at just how nice it feels to have her hands in his hair. “Why’s it…nice?”

He thinks she shrugs. “Can play with it better when it’s long.”

A smirk pulls the corners of his lips up. “Head out your ass, Kook.”

Jungkook can’t help but laugh. “Sorry. I’ll keep my hair at this length forever if you like playing with it, though. S’really nice,” he mumbles, leaning back into the couch and sighing contentedly.

She continues her ministrations with a quiet hum. “Can I tie it up for you later? Wanna see if I can get it into a ponytail.”

“It’s not that long,” Jungkook pouts, eyes still closed.

“Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Jungkook hums in agreement, letting her run her fingers through his hair in relative silence. He doesn’t even notice when he lets go of the controller to instead loop his arms through her legs, pulling his arms through until his hands are resting comfortably on her knees.

“Who’s cooking tonight?” Y/N asks curiously, as if she’s only just remembered that Jungkook’s house is never this quiet.

“Dunno. Jiminie hyung said they were going out for drinks to celebrate Yoongi’s promotion, so most of them are out.”

“You mean we’re alone?”

“No?” Jungkook says carefully. “The noonas are having a bonfire out back. Why? Are you not comfortable being alone with me?” The thought makes him deflate.

She gives his hair a reprimanding tug and Jungkook has to bite his tongue to stop himself from gasping.

She says something, but Jungkook’s too focused on controlling the rapid beating of his heart and excited prancing of his wolf to hear.

“Jungkook!”

He yelps and rubs the back of his head, flipping around to glare at Y/N, betrayed. “What was that for?!”

“For not listening to me,” she snaps. Jungkook humphs and pouts, smiling satisfied when she rolls her eyes with a sigh and apologizes under her breath. “Sorry for smacking you.”

He doubts he’ll ever get tired of the way she lowers her voice when speaking to him so sincerely.

“Sorry for not listening,” he concedes. “What were you saying?”

“Can you come with me to ask Lisa and them about food?” She reaches forward to fix his glasses and mindlessly brushes a strand of hair behind his ear.

He hopes she doesn’t notice the stars in his eyes. “Sure.”

The two of them get up and Jungkook follows closely behind Y/N as they make their way to the back yard. He closes the sliding door behind him as Y/N walks ahead, joining her with a small smile.

“‘Sup.” Jennie bro-nods at him from where she’s sitting next to Rosé.

“Hi, noona.” Jungkook smiles. “You guys having fun?” He stands closer to Y/N when he notices her shiver.

“I think we should be asking you that,” Rosé laughs, lifting her head to grin at him devilishly as she wiggles her eyebrows.

Jungkook resists the urge to flip her the bird, settling for a roll of his eyes. When he looks back at Y/N, she’s watching them butcher with a faraway smile, so he nudges her back to attention.

She clears her throat. “Jungkook and I were wondering about food. Is someone cooking?” she asks, putting her hands in her pockets and leaning into Jungkook’s arm to fight off the cold.

Lisa scoffs with a dramatic shake of her head, stoking the fire with a black-burnt stick. “You brats. Always waiting for someone to cook for you.” She shakes her head in mock-disappointment.

Y/N smiles sheepishly and Jungkook glares pointedly at his sister. “Really, Li?”

“What!” She widens her eyes at him. “It’s not like I’m lying!”

Jisoo sighs, muttering something under her breath. “Why don’t you two boil us some ramen, then? The rest of the guys aren’t going to be back until much later, so just enough for us should be fine.”

Y/N nods eagerly. “Will do. Thanks, unnie. We’ll bring it out when it’s ready.”

“Thanks babe.” Jennie blows Y/N a kiss—Jungkook resists his wolf’s urge to growl at her.

“C’mon, Koo. Let’s go.” Y/N tugs on his sleeve until they’re walking side-by-side, sliding the door open and waiting for Jungkook to close it again before skipping to the kitchen.

He grabs the television remote to play some music, joining Y/N in the kitchen like it’s second nature. Which he supposes it is.

He grabs a large pot from the cupboard as Y/N turns the stove on. Fills the pot with water while she grabs the ramen packets. Sets out seven pairs of chopsticks as she puts the sauce in.

She uses a pair of chopsticks to stir everything in the pot, and Jungkook goes back to the living room to change the song.

When he comes back, she’s watching him; leaning against the counter with a small smile. He smiles back and walks straight into her arms, wrapping his arms around her back and nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

Y/N giggles, one hand on his side and the other in his hair. Jungkook will be eternally grateful for how her attitude towards affection changed after those first few months of their friendship. She had been so touch-averse, he almost cried when she kept rejecting his attempts at physical contact.

He doesn’t know when it changed, but he’s glad it did.

Jungkook breathes in her scent, rumbling deep in his chest. God, she smells so nice. So so nice. He’s convinced it’s the best smell on earth.

“Because it’s soft.”

“Hm?” Jungkook makes a confused noise, stomach fluttering at her shy giggle right by his ear.

“Your hair, I mean. I think I like it because it’s so soft.”

Jungkook grins into her neck with a small shake of his head. “Thanks, Y/N.”

She hums, scratching at his scalp until the water’s fully boiled and the smell of ramen drives her to let him go.

Jungkook watches her cook with a lovestruck smile on his face.

He can’t wait for the day that this is his norm.

The day they’re finally together the way he so wishes they could be…

Because it’s soft.

<- prev | next ->

399 notes · View notes

alphynix · 8 months ago

Text

Cadurcodon ardynensis was an odd-toed ungulate that lived in what is now Mongolia during the late Eocene, about 37-34 million years ago.

It was around 2m long (6'6") and, despite its very tapir-like appearance and lack of horns, it was actually closer related to modern rhinoceroses – it was part of a group of early rhino-cousins known as amynodontids, which convergently evolved both hippo-like and tapir-like lifestyles.

Cadurcodon was the most tapir-like of the tapir-like amynodontids, with a short deep skull and retracted nasal bones that indicate it had a well-developed prehensile trunk. Males also had large tusks formed from their upper and lower canine teeth, which may have been used for fighting each other.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Averianov, Alexander, et al. "A new amynodontid from the Eocene of South China and phylogeny of Amynodontidae (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotoidea)." Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 15.11 (2017): 927-945. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2016.1256914

Громова, В. [Gromova, V.] Болотные носороги (Amydontidae) Монголии. [Swamp rhinoceroses (Amynodontidae) of Mongolia.] Trudi Paleontol. Inst., Akad. Nauk SSSR 55:85-189 (1954) https://www.geokniga.org/books/13983

Prothero, Donald R., and Robert M. Schoch. Horns, tusks, and flippers: the evolution of hoofed mammals. JHU Press, 2002. http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/141/1415340780.pdf

Wall, William P. "Cranial evidence for a proboscis in Cadurcodon and a review of snout structure in the family Amynodontidae (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotoidea)." Journal of Paleontology (1980): 968-977. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1304363

Wikipedia contributors. “Amynodontidae.” Wikipedia, 17 Dec. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amynodontidae

Wikipedia contributors. “Ergilin Dzo Formation.” Wikipedia, 12 Feb. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergilin_Dzo_Formation

#science illustration #paleontology #paleoart #palaeoblr #cadurcodon #amynodontidae #rhinocerotoidea #stem-rhino #perissodactyla #ungulate #mammal #art #he just woke up

274 notes · View notes

akm87 · 2 years ago

Text

A Teaser/Trailer for my short "Mon Papi à Moi" selected for a few festivals and the Festival du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand, that I'm so happy to attend for the first time soon (27-30 Jan)

SCREENINGS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS/// PROJECTIONS ET SELECTIONS OFFICIELLES

TAAFI - Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (Live & Online Tickets) Fri, Feb 17th ///9:00PM - 10:22PM

Festival Côté Courts de Cormeilles en Parisis (14ème édition ) vendredi 17 février 2023 à 20h30 théâtre du Cormier à Cormeilles en Parisis Séance suivie d'un échange avec les réalisateurs

FESPACO - Le Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

Salle du Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs (CBC) Mardi 28 février /18h30 - 20h30

DCIFF -The DC Independent Film Forum (Washington DC, USA) Location: Landmark's E Street Cinema Times: Saturday, March 4th - 3:15pm

Mammoth Film Festival™ (Mammoth Lakes, CA) MC- Theater #2 437 Old Mammoth Rd, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 March 3, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST

Corti da Sogni-International Short Film Festival (Ravenna, Italy) from 18th April to 22th April 2023

AniMate 2023 - World Shorts Films Collection (Australia)

Sat., 6 May 2023, 5:15 pm – 7:15 pm AEST Location: Pulse Life Club 9 The Crescent Wentworth Point, NSW 2127 Australia

2K notes · View notes

matan4il · 7 months ago

Text

For the Nonnie who asked me to share some of the response to the performative "all eyes on Rafah" campaign, I hope it's okay if I add to the two images you sent me, and turn to the people sharing that AI generated image...

If all eyes are on Rafah, are you seeing Hamas' abuse, torture and even killing of its own Gazan civilians?

("Resistance is justified when people are occupied!" Cool cool, but what kind of a "resistance" attacks its own people?)

If all eyes are on Rafah, where were your eyes on Oct 7?

If all eyes are on Rafah, 'coz Gazan kids being burned alive (by Hamas, even though Israel got falsely blamed for it) is so unacceptable, then where were your eyes when our kids were burned alive by Hamas? In the pic: 2 years old Omer Siman Tov, who was deliberately burned alive by Hamas terrorists together with his entire family, his parents and two older sisters, in their own home.

youtube

If all eyes are on Rafah, do you see Kfir Bibas, kidnapped at the age of 9 months together with both his parents and his 4 years old brother Ariel? Kfir is the youngest hostage in the world ever (second youngest ever was Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., who was kidnapped at 20 months old in 1932).

If all eyes are on Rafah, are you seeing our other molested hostages?

If all eyes are on Rafah, are you seeing Hamas' rocket launchers which continuously operate and target our civilians from there? (note the dates vary from Dec 7, 2023 to May 26, 2024)

If all eyes are on Rafah, where the IDF did strike and kill two senior Hamas leaders, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Najjar, near (but not at) a shelter tent camp, are you seeing that Hamas deliberately chooses to risk its own civilians by having its leaders carry out consultation meetings so close to regular people?

If all eyes are on Rafah, why did you see the rescue of two of our elderly hostages (and the killing of the terrorists who tried to prevent the success of this operation) as a massacre? And why did you claim this was Israel invading Rafah back on Feb 12 already, when the actual ground operation in that city only started in May?

If all eyes are on Rafah because you care about the Palestinians so much, where were your eyes when Palestinians were endangered and killed by fellow Arabs?

If all eyes are on Rafah, where almost a million people have been evacuated by May 20 already, then whose eyes are on Sudan, Congo, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Ukraine among other places, where the murders of hundreds of thousands in each (and altogether, millions) is being carried on unchallenged? Where are the campaigns for the people whose slaughter you can't weaponize against the Jewish state?

If you shared that graphic, but didn't do anything about any of the other things listed in this post, you don't actually care. You just want to seem as if you do.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

204 notes · View notes

stormblessed95 · 5 months ago

Note

I sent a timeline into the op, I’ve removed the speculations, so hope this helps some

2023

JM dior show Paris 20th jan 23 with Hobi

JM album face promo Feb/march 23

JK visits him at dance practice BB probably Feb time

1/2 jk goes live bam there

This is the live where Tae makes him do a instagram live

3/2 JM live from company late evening

Same night Jk goes live and JM in comments Jk invites him for fried chicken

Same live where he says Jimins name and bam reacts and runs to the door

10/2 JM live talks about jk, sings euphoria and talks about acting in photo shoots,

11/2 jk live at boxing JM comments

18/2 JM joins Hobi on his bday live at company

Hobi had said he sees Jimin a lot at company and they play cards

28/2 jk live talks about going to work and JM is in comments

4/3 jk goes live gets tipsy

6/3 JM live at company

9/3 Yoongi bday, JM records himself watching the live, jk comment on Weverse about marry me thing

13/3 JM flies to nyc

Films day with vogue and practice for fallon

And fallon

14/3 jk. X3 part live on white day- JM abroad but comments- leaves spoiler for smfp2 video teaser at midnight

19/3 Jimin arrives in Korea

24/3 Face is released

24/3 JM on jimmy fallon show not live

Jk goes love cooking

27/3 JM goes on suchwita

28/3 JM live jk spams comments- promos for face are done says to jk that it’s finished, jk says time flies

28/3 writes I miss you on Weverse , jk replies me too,

After jk goes live and watches Jimin content including suchwita

Around early hours- JM replies see you soon the live is cute

29/3- Jimin Weverse live for face

Late march- all member meal

31/3- JM on music bank

2/4 JM on ingagayo

4th April- JM bb hot 100 live- jk is sleeping comment

8/4 Hobi and Tae go to JKs house and go on Weverse live

8/4 jk flies to USA

11/4- JM and Yoongi in weird YouTube show

16/4 jk at cochella

17/4 Jk arrives home

19th April - Hobi’s enlistment - epic hug moment

They were together the night before

Astro member died 19/4 pm

25/4 JM flies to nyc

25/4 Jk and Tae attend dream premiere jk comes live straight after it late

25/4 jk live seems sad and tired and says he is both,,cooks on live

JM had flown to NYC that day

28/4 Jimin at Tiffany event nyc

29/4 Jimin at d day concert usa

Jk at lv event in Seoul with Mingyu

30/4 JM live with Yoongi

During this time recording Who…

6/5 JM arrives in Korea

23/5 JM goes to London and HP world

24/5 JK went live , sang angel

27/5 JM arrives home -

5th June Jk live talks about rainy day fight

Watched Jimin on lee mijun show (sings along to like crazy )

12/6 jk falls asleep on live

13/6 JM letter live for festa

14/6 jk flying to la

15/6 JM live talks about rainy day fight

Recording Muse that day too

22/6 jk arrived home

Late june- yoongis dday tour attendance Seoul 25th JM and jk

29/6 jk live working out

1/7 JKs brother posts a pic of family game night ft JMs hand

4/7 jk 4am live with Mingyu

July seven release

JK flies to NYC -12/13?

JM flies out next day 13th

14/7 seven is released

Go missing in NY state for 4 days - Ays filming

18/7 JM flies home

24/7 jk arrived home from London

25/7 JM posts about jk bb hot 100

27/7 jk goes live sings letter by Jimin at end

28/7 - July when they come back from NYC- JKs epic in bed begging JM live

30/7 jk inkagayo music show v visits him

Celebrate hot 100

August - jeju island trip ? Spotted by fans

12th august- JK in Tokyo with Eunwoo??

3rd august JM d day concert

3/8 jk goes live

4th august jk d day concert

5th august Weverse live JK

23rd and 24th august jk spotted in Busan with Eunwoo and Mingyu eating out

September - 1/9- JM shirtless pic for JKs birthday

Jk attends Tiffany even in Seoul. Comes live afterwards….. wearing watch set to JKs. Birthday time.

jK must have prepared 3D content in September

He must have filmed suchwita on 3/9 ish

5/9 jk flies to la

9/9 jk arrived home from la

12/9 jk flies to nyc

15/9 JM supported v at music show

16/9 jk arrived home

Jikook meal with Yoongi at some point ? Spotted but Jimin kind of confirmed this in mmm

21/9 jk flies to nyc

25/9 jk arrived home

28/9 chusseouk - JM posts pic on Instagram of whale cloud drawing saying jk did it

29/9 jk releases 3d

JM posts single cover 😅 with this emoji

4/10 jk live talked about Jeon Jimin

Played like crazy x2 and smfp2 and other members songs

Had hung out with 97 friends that day

6/10 jk flies to la

10/10 jk arrived home

13 October- JM birthday live days Jk busy makes sad face and such concern

13/10 jk music bank

Around here JM Weverse interview said he has been spending time alone which if Jk was gone to 3D he would be

14/10 jk flies to Budapest

Oct- Tae posts pics of him and Jikook in jeju from??

20/10 jk arrived home

23/10 jk at ck event Japan

29/10- JMs production diary live- JK comes on for a minute

Jm has golden hair…

They found out days before this about the enlistment

Late October- 30/10 JM fan even

Mini moni music filming he has blonde hair

3/11 jk live talking about Golden

Tae and JM live outside JKs house

November 4th- golden release

&& Release party we only know bc JM posts photos

5/11 jk flies to nyc

11/11 jk arrived home

15/11- mini moni p2 filming

16/11 JM flies to Budapest to film who mv

17/11 ish JM stuck with you this is Jimin dance cover

19/11 JM arrives home

20/11 golden live in Seoul

JM commented that hate you is his fave song

Rm attended

Around here JM was spotted filming at a hot springs which we now know isn’t one and was a location for his jimmy fallon appearance 22/7/24

22/11- JM records sgmb track video

Possibly fallon performance too given spotting date posts

23/11 - they go to Japan together for about a week

28/11 they arrive home from Japan

29/11 jk flies to la

2/11 jk arrived home

5/12 - jk,JM,v,rm last live before enlistment very touchy feely

JM said he’d been sick after Japan

12/12- both at v and rms enlistment

13/12- they enlisted together in the buddy system

Very watered down, but I *think* (can't be 100% sure without going and looking everything up right now, but it looks good) totally accurate timeline of Jikook activities through 2023

#jikook #kookmin #jikook in 2023

95 notes · View notes

febuwhump · 4 months ago

Text

febuwhump 2024 survey results

has it been six months since febuwhump? yes. yes it has. nevertheless, here's the cold hard data (analysis) of the survey from febuwhump 2024: feb five.

firstly, this year was our most popular yet! with 1417 works in the official collection across 329 fandoms, we made (and shared) 103 fics more than 2023, and 770 more than my first year running febuwhump in 2021! this isnt even including all the art and fics posted to tumblr, or wasn't shared during the event, which would put our total so much higher!

the prompt list had 4000+ notes and i received 115 responses to the survey.

there were 62 people in the hall of fame, up from 51 in 2023.

the blog hit 2,683 followers, up from 1,946 at the end of the 2023 event.

across two independant check, based on the average word count of 2,000 words per fic in the 2024 collection, and aware of the multi-chapter fics (some of which were finished after the event), it is estimated that 2.8 million words were written for febuwhump 2024. which is just. fucking insane.

now, onto the survey results!

firstly: in what way did you participate in Febuwhump this year?

with extra write-ins not pictured, fanfiction was the overwhelming winner with 92 responses (82.6%), followed by original fiction (22.6%) and artwork (11.3%). interesting to me personally is the 4 responses who wrote poetry and the not-pictured 1 response who created web-weaving! which is very cool and i would like to see it.

fandoms

according to the survey:

the most popular fandoms written for were the star wars universe and legend of zelda universe (8/115 responses)

21 responses included original fiction

the majority of responses also referenced more than one fandom, meaning less people stuck to a single fandom or topic the entire time.

according to the collection:

21 anime/manga fandoms were represented

51 books/literature fandoms were represented, 12 being specific star wars subseries

24 RPF fandoms were represented, including bands and minecraft servers

the most popular fandoms written about in the collection were:

star wars (all media types) - 253 works

star wars: the bad batch - 80 works

torchwood - 66 works

original work - 56 works

my hero academia - 54 works

why and how

next, there were a lot of really lovely responses about why participants took part in febuwhump, a few favourite and repeated responses being that it seemed fun, they'd done it before and so wanted to do it again, and they liked to write about their favourite characters suffering. also, multiple people have been doing it for three of the four years i've been running it (of five total), and several were encouraged by friends!

the majority of participants discovered febuwhump through tumblr, the admin's tumblr, ao3 fics and discord servers. a handful said there's apparently a google doc floating around that houses a whump event calendar. i would be interested in seeing that if anyone's got it.

did you participate in Febuwhump 2020, 21, 22 or 23?

the majorty of respondants were new comers to febuwhump at 66.1% "no" to 33.9% "yes". the majority of comparisons to previous years referenced a noticably bigger community, more interaction on the blog, and the admin being more "confident" (oh, you guys), however several noted that the prompts felt more repetitive or samey this year than they did previously.

are you a Febuwhump completionist or participant?

a fairly even split, 51.3% of participants didn't finish compared to the 48.7% who did. however, only 88.1% of those completionists submitted to the hall of fame.

for those who didn't complete, the most common amount of prompts completed was 2 (13.6%), 3 (11.9%) and 12 or 6 (6.8%).

the most common place to share prompt fills was tumblr (74.8%), ao3 (72.2%), or choosing not to share at all (7%). several write-in responses said that they were planning to share in the future but hadn't yet. and while 76.4% of people submitted to the ao3 collection, those who didn't claimed it to be because the fics weren't ready to be shared on time, they weren't following the rules so didn't add to the collection, an inability to find the collection on ao3 (i swear i'm working on it) or shyness/fear.

what went well/even better if:

the only actual criticsm of the event received was that the blog was posting in a "spam"-like way, to the point that the participant almost unfollowed (and another suggested a reblog tag so it could be ignored easier if people didn't want to see the works throughout the month).

several comments asked for a later deadline for submission to the collection/hall of fame, which is going under advisement, but the current position is that by doing so, it makes the event a different event. there are no stakes to actually create once a day if, at the end of it, you actually get 2 weeks of extra time.

another couple mentioned there being too many dialogue prompts and vague prompts. this will be considered during the next voting period and prompt collation - potentially, if i allowed less dialogue prompts into the final 100 vote, less would make it through to the official 28, however the voting itself is out of my hands (unless voter fraud occurs once again).

the main suggestion for improvement (8 times out of 44 suggestions) was for an additional mod to help with reblogging more. (which imo flies in the face of the "spamming" from earlier, but there is surely a middle ground). this is likely to not happen, because i like running the event alone, despite the major burnout i receive every single year without fail. but thanks for your concern lol.

on discord:

31.3% of participants were in the discord server (which, this year, ignored the first year's 100 user cap and had 172 total users).

43.6% of people who didn't join the server did so because they hadn't heard of it, while the majority didn't join because they were either shy (the minorty) or don't use/like discord (the vast majority). i don't know if tumblr still does groupchats and if that would be a viable alternative, or if there is another forum/chat location that would work better (or to have in tandem), but i am open to suggestions.

of the people who were in the channel, most (33.3%) used it "rarely", followed by "most days" (25%) and "for half the month" (22.2%)

febuwhump 2025

the majority of responses wanted next year's colour scheme to either be red or green, but shout out to everyone who wanted orange, the person who said "children's hospital" and the other person who gave me this specific hex code: #4BEC13

which is vile, but also another vote for green.

finally, here are my favourite suggestions for febuwhump 2025's colloquial name. previously, we have endured febuwhump 2: electric boogaloo, febuwhump 3: tokyo drift, fourbuwhump and feb five.

febuwhump 6 suggestions:

fe6uwhump (which, i'll be honest, is a real contender)

"I don't know"

febuwhump 666

febuwhump: revenge of the sixth

"I don't know, sorry"

"febuwhump sex and make all the prompts kinky"

"??? i have been thinking about this for 10 mins"

febuwhump 6(9)

feBEEwhump

"i am bad at this"

"could not care less"

febuwhump feb five 2: electric boogaloo

apparently, i accidently made this a mandatory question and that made some of you mad :(

and that's the wrap up survey, six months late! any questions/queries/want to see some of that cold hard data? send me an ask. i'll actually respond to it i swear! (probably!)

#febuwhump #febuwhump 2024 #febuwhump2024 #survey #obsessed with everyone who was mean to me in this survey there were several of you lmao #legit send me asks about this i have THOUGHTS

55 notes · View notes

theafterglow83 · 8 months ago

Text

Stray thoughts on a Sunday morning.

5/12/24

Since the release of TTPD I’ve heard and seen a lot of Maylors rising from the grave. Some words of advice- stay buried.

Their claim is that Taylor has had a hidden relationship with Matty Healy for the past 8 years. I’ve even seen some claim Reputation is about him

I laughed.

I’ve heard people say kissgate was to make Matty jealous.

I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes

They even think Maroon is about Matty😂

* shakes head

Let me tell you something honey- NYC ain’t screaming nobody’s name but Karlie Kloss who also just happens to be the only one Taylor’s ever dated who is fit like a daydream and Matty Healy’s lips and disgusting stained teeth are not the lips she called home.

Open the schools!

Dream girls

Do they even realize how utterly ridiculous that is?

Do they process any critical thinking skills whatsoever?

Please tell me why Taylor Swift would have to hide a relationship with a white male her own age ?

What’s the scandal?

Yeah, he’s rough around the edges but PR could have easily ironed him out if she was so in love with him as they claim. Nobody’s worse than the overrated, clout chasing, alcoholic, fading athlete she’s bearding with now. They covered up for him when his old tweets surfaced.

At least they got the hidden relationship part right - but she wasn’t hiding ratty you brainless wonders -she was hiding Karlie Kloss.

There also is that rumor that Taylor had a short lived fling with ol ratty from around Feb- March 2023 till around June. Thing is she was touring through most of that time. He was seen at a couple of concerts and out once in NYC. Hardly the making of a love affair - but a good diversion trail for her beloved Swifties to follow and take the bait that he was her secret lover she was hiding from the world if the topic were to come up in her songs.

The entire thing makes me scratch my head. It’s as crazy as the people who believe Karlie was PR to cover up Taylor’s relationship with Diana ( who there’s been zero connections to her in years) or Lily ( which in my opinion is completely fan fiction)

My God there’s more photos of Karlie with Lily than Taylor and not to mention that Derek Blasberg ( KK’s ride or die) is still friends with Lily. Does anyone really believe he would even associate with her if she betrayed his beloved Karlie.

Use your brains!

And please tell me why you would get Karlie Kloss who had multiple bi/ lesbian rumors attached to her to do a PR relationship with Taylor to cover up the fact that Taylor was bi/ gay.

Open the schools - hire more teachers

All roads always lead to Karlie Kloss … and my God who could blame her! Karlie Kloss is one in a 8 billion. Ratlors - Nice try -crawl back in your hole

Rant over - enjoy your day🤍

#karlie kloss #kaylor #taylor swift

64 notes · View notes

revenantghost · 1 year ago

Text

Kenji Muto's Twitter Posts: Part 2

Before and while Tristamp was airing, Kenji Muto made some amazing Twitter posts giving us lore and production tidbits along the way. And while I don't speak Japanese (so I'm going to have to use Google Translate for this, so take everything you read here with a grain of salt because it may be skewed by mistranslation), there was some fantastic art and really cool concepts shared, and I want to archive anything Trigun-related. If I miss anything, let me know!) It starts a little slow with stuff we already know, but there are some interesting tidbits! If anyone who knows Japanese wants to correct anything, please feel free! Now, without further ado...

Part 1

Part 2 [here]

12:14 AM · Jan 30, 2023

方言が南部訛りのメタファーなら、他の方言メタファーがあっても良いんじゃない？って事で、多彩な地方出身キャラが登場。もちろん彼らのバックグラウンド物語も構築済み。神は細部に宿るのだ。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

If dialect is a metaphor for a southern accent, Wouldn't it be nice to have other dialect metaphors? So, a variety of local characters appear. Of course, their background stories have also been constructed. God is in the details. #TRIGUN #トライガン

11:29 PM · Feb 5, 2023

現代社会にラディカルに切り込む、第五話。誰の中にも憎悪は生まれる。親や国籍は選べない。 WE ARE MONEV. #TRIGUN #トライガン

The fifth episode radically cuts into modern society. Hatred is born within everyone. You can't choose your parents or nationality. WE ARE MONEV. #TRIGUN #トライガン

11:35 PM · Feb 5, 2023

風力発電だけじゃない上質なワムズシルクも高値で取引されている。この惑星では、手に入るものすべてが貴重品。生き抜くために。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

In addition to wind power generation, high-quality Wams silk is also traded at high prices. On this planet, Everything you can get is valuable. To survive. #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:04 AM · Feb 7, 2023

当然のことながら、他にもプラントを持てない村が多数存在する。風力発電、ワムズシルク以外に、ワムズ漁で生活する村がある。例の3人組も、各地に点在する「漁師の村」出身の可能性が高い。特に高値で取引されるのが、グランドワムズ類。 #TRIGUN

As a matter of course, There are many other villages that cannot have plants. Wind-power generation, In addition to Wamsilk, There is a village where people live by fishing for worms. The example trio, It is highly likely that they came from "fishermen's villages" scattered throughout the country. The ones that are traded at particularly high prices are Grandworms. #TRIGUN

11:46 PM · Feb 12, 2023

時系列を鑑みるに、この頃はまだ、青年だった。なぜ髪が「青い」のか？オキシタケヒコ氏の「裏SF考証」が世に出ることを切に願う。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

Considering the time series, At this time, he was still a young man. Why is my hair “blue”? I sincerely hope that Takehiko Okishi's ``background science fiction research'' will be released into the world. #TRIGUN #トライガン

5:11 AM · Feb 13, 2023

惑星ノーマンズランドにおける、「ハンプバック級」の巨大砂蒸気船は合計７隻存在する。七都市がそれぞれ一基ずつ貴重な「生体動力炉プラント」を捻出して建造。水を沸騰させて動く原始的な蒸気機関を採用している。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

On the planet No Man's Land, There are a total of seven "Humpback class" giant sand steamships. Each of the seven cities devised and built one valuable "biological power reactor plant." It uses a primitive steam engine that runs by boiling water. #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:25 AM · Feb 15, 2023

彼は誰の味方？どっちの味方？国境なき、ワムズの王。知識でなく、智恵を求めよ。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

Whose side is he on? Which side are you on? Without Borders, King of Wams. Seek wisdom, not knowledge. #TRIGUN #トライガン

3:19 AM · Feb 22, 2023

BADでRADなヤツら。地獄のような惑星環境もなんのその。何事も捉え方次第ではポジティブに生きられる。バド・ラド団の第二分隊、登場。本隊は…？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

BAD and RAD guys. What's with the hellish planetary environment? You can live a positive life depending on how you view everything. The second squad of the Bad Lads Gang has arrived. The main force...? #TRIGUN #トライガン

11:18 PM · Feb 23, 2023

名前って不思議なもので、改造人間ニコラスは、二つの顔を持っている。ニコラス・D・ウルフウッドニコラス・ザ・パニッシャー最終的に彼はどちらを選ぶのだろう？脚本時の名前表記が「ニコラス」で統一されていたのは、そうゆう理由だったりする。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

Names are strange things, The modified human Nicholas has two faces. Nicholas D. Wolfwood Nicholas the Punisher Who will he choose in the end? This may be the reason why his name was written as ``Nicholas'' in the script. #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:11 AM · Feb 27, 2023

地球産の動物は惑星環境に適応できない。 SEEDS船団が目的地に到着したとき、その地で育てていくために積まれていた、無数の動植物の胚と遺伝子ストックから植物や動物を複製するためのシステム、「クローニング・デバイス」そこで遺伝子改良され生まれたのが、トマ。トマってすごい。 #TRIGUN

Earth-born animals cannot adapt to the planetary environment. A system for replicating plants and animals from the countless embryos and gene stocks of plants and animals that were on board to be grown on-site when the SEEDS fleet arrived at its destination. "Cloning device" Toma was then genetically improved and born. Toma are amazing. #TRIGUN

10:09 PM · Mar 2, 2023

マフラーと仮面のようにも見えるが、実はワムズの一種。極めて毒性の強い、砂ムカデ類の幼生ワムズなのだ。寒い冬に、一匹飼ってみては如何？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

It looks like a scarf and a mask, It's actually a type of Wams. Extremely toxic, It is a larval worm of a sand centipede. Why not keep one in the cold winter? #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:06 AM · Mar 6, 2023

シナーズの銃、別名プロトタイプ（改造前）のPeace Bringer。こちらも「幻のスケッチ」にヒントがある。なぜ、誰が、いつ、改造したのだろう？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

Sinners' gun, also known as the prototype (before modification) Peace Bringer. There is also a hint in the ``Phantom Sketch''. Why, by whom, and when was it remodeled? #TRIGUN #トライガン

4:36 AM · Mar 10, 2023

ディスコミュニケーションや地獄のような環境で踠く姿は、とても人間らしく、美しく、何より”ポジティブな物語”だと考えて作っているのですが。みたいな赤裸々トークをしたFMラジオ収録。いつOAだろう？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

Discommunication and the appearance of struggling in a hellish environment, Very human and beautiful. Above all, I think of it as a ``positive story'' when I create it. An FM radio recording of a frank talk. When will it be OA? #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:34 AM · Mar 17, 2023

成長した彼女は、強くなりますよ。 “パニッシャー“では太刀打ちできないほどに。軍用の身体改造ナノマシンによって作り替えられた肉体。ロストナンバー。あくまで今回は、前哨戦。再戦はいつか、また…。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

As she grows up, she will become stronger. To the extent that “The Punisher” can’t compete with it. A body modified by military body modification nanomachines. Lost number. This time, it's just a preliminary battle. When will there be a rematch? #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:18 AM · Mar 20, 2023

プラントの力は、空間に開く無数の穴《ゲート》がすべて担っている。このゲートは大別すると《持ってくる力》と《持っていく力》の二種類がある。この世ではない別の場所、別の宇宙なのか、異なる位相なのか、異次元なのか（？）に繋がっているらしいが…。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

The power of the plant is entirely derived from the countless holes (gates) that open in space. There are two types of gates: ``Power to bring'' and ``Power to bring.'' A place other than this world, It seems that it is connected to another universe, a different phase, or a different dimension (?)... #TRIGUN #トライガン

Adding a tid-bit from @pancake-breakfast here:

So, my Japanese isn't great, but I wanted to try to clarify something on here that Google Translate isn't capturing, namely from this part: Saying that there are two types of gates and then defining them both as "Power to bring" doesn't make sense in English. Why make a distinction between the two if you're gonna define them the same way? But in the Japanese, it's not quite the same words used for both: "持ってくる力" (motte kuru chikara) vs. "持っていく力" (motte iku chikara. 力 (chikara) just means "power," so we'll set that aside for now since that part is actually consistent across both items. 持って (motte) is also consistent across both items. This means "carrying" or "holding," like you'd hold a bag or a purse or a backpack or something that you're taking around with you. The big difference is between くる (kuru) and いく (iku). These are actually the kana (phonetic) versions of two kanji characters: 来る (kuru) - to come 行く (iku) - to go That provides us with a nice little pair of opposites, and changes our literal definitions as follows: 持ってくる力 (motte kuru chikara) - Power to come carrying 持っていく力 (motte iku chikara) - Power to go carrying So... they're both kinda "power to bring" but it would be more accurate to say one brings and one removes. Or, if you're feeling dramatic, one giveth and one taketh away.

1:46 AM · Mar 20, 2023

ノーマンズランドで流通している銃は、墜落移民船のデータベースから設計情報をサルベージされ、レプリカ制作されたものが大半。宇宙時代の銃は、設計が判明しても再現は難しい。乾燥、砂塵の舞う土地が多いため、故障の少ないシンプル構造のものが好まれる傾向にある。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

The guns circulating in No Man's Land are: Most of the designs were salvaged from databases of crashed immigrant ships and were made into replicas. Even if the design of a space-age gun is known, it is difficult to recreate it. Because there are many dry and dusty lands, There is a tendency to prefer those with simple structures that are less likely to break down. #TRIGUN #トライガン

1:05 AM · Mar 21, 2023

隊長、実はうどんが大好物。憲兵たちにも大人気、創業100年の老舗屋台”儒来ヌードル” 大墜落後の闇市からはじまった屋台が数多く存在する、旧市街の横丁。訪れた際は必ずチェックしたい観光スポットの一つだ。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

Captain, I actually love udon. Very popular with military police, 100-year-old long-established food stall “Yulai Noodle” This alley in the old town is home to many food stalls that started as a black market after the Big Fall. It is one of the tourist spots that you should definitely check out when you visit. #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:34 AM · Mar 22, 2023

通常種／自立種を問わず、プラントの身体の内側では、 ”サプライゲート”が無数に動いており、細胞ひとつひとつに活動エネルギーを供給し、本来な��生物として生存できないはずの不完全な肉体を健康に保っている…らしい。 "プラント"とは、何なのか？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

Regardless of whether it is a normal species or an independent species, Inside the plant's body, A countless number of "supply gates" are moving, supplying energy to each cell, It seems that he is keeping his imperfect body, which normally would not be able to survive as a living thing, healthy. What is a "plant"? #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:48 AM · Mar 24, 2023

「記憶世界」は”弟側”からの記憶と印象値と断片で造られている。故��、描き方は限定的になる。 “兄”の視点や感情から見た”テスラ事件”は、もっと凄惨な内容になるだろう。描く機会があれば…。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

The "memory world" is made of memories, impression values, and fragments from the "younger brother's side." Therefore, the way of drawing is limited. The ``Tesla Incident'' seen from the ``older brother'''s perspective and emotions would be even more gruesome. If you have a chance to draw... #TRIGUN #トライガン

12:14 AM · Mar 25, 2023

あくまでドクターの仮説だが。体内にある“ゲート“を強く開くことで、それを物質へ相転移させることで肉体を変形させているらしい。今後、この謎は科学的に解明されてゆくのだろう。なぜ”弟”のゲートだけ「黒い」のか？ #TRIGUN #トライガン

That's just the doctor's hypothesis. By strongly opening the “gate” in the body, It seems that the body is transformed by phase transitioning it into matter. This mystery will probably be solved scientifically in the future. Why is only the “younger brother” gate “black”? #TRIGUN #トライガン

11:16 PM · Mar 26, 2023

地獄のような、惑星ノーマンズランド的現場でしたが、最後まで生き残ったメインスタッフの皆様、プロデューサー陣、制作陣、音響チーム、宣伝チーム…など、とにかく多くの人に支えられた作品でした。何よりも、内藤先生の支えには感謝しかない。本当にお疲れ様でした！ #TRIGUN #トライガン

Like hell, It was a scene similar to the planet No Man's Land, This work was supported by many people, including the main staff who survived until the end, the producers, production team, sound team, advertising team, etc. Above all, I am grateful to Naito-sensei for his support. Thank you very much for your hard work! #TRIGUN #トライガン

11:18 PM · Mar 26, 2023

池田さんは”血”で、松岡さんは”砂”ですよね。「ぶにゅー」とか「サラサラ」とか、擬音、抽象度高めのトーク満載、ブルーレイディスク、オーディオコメンタリーの収録。本編同様、１回や２回聴いただけじゃ理解できない、 STAMPEDEっぽい内容となっております。 #TRIGUN #トライガン

Mr. Ikeda's name is "blood" and Mr. Matsuoka's name is "sand." "Bunyuu" or "Sarasara" Full of onomatopoeic and highly abstract talk, Includes Blu-ray disc and audio commentary. Like the main story, you can't understand it just by listening to it once or twice. The content is similar to STAMPEDE. #TRIGUN #トライガン

#Trigun #Trigun Stampede #Tristamp #Trigun Meta #Kenji Muto #I'm checking for text posts next but this is all the image posts #I want to do other accounts... but also..... I don't have the time or energy #Muto was an easy target lmao

117 notes · View notes

mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

Text

Private equity ghouls have a new way to steal from their investors

Private equity is quite a racket. PE managers pile up other peoples’ money — pension funds, plutes, other pools of money — and then “invest” it (buying businesses, loading them with debt, cutting wages, lowering quality and setting traps for customers). For this, they get an annual fee — 2% — of the money they manage, and a bonus for any profits they make.

On top of this, private equity bosses get to use the carried interest tax loophole, a scam that lets them treat this ordinary income as a capital gain, so they can pay half the taxes that a working stiff would pay on a regular salary. If you don’t know much about carried interest, you might think it has to do with “interest” on a loan or a deposit, but it’s way weirder. “Carried interest” is a tax regime designed for 16th century sea captains and their “interest” in the cargo they “carried”:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

Private equity is a cancer. Its profits come from buying productive firms, loading them with debt, abusing their suppliers, workers and customers, and driving them into ground, stiffing all of them — and the company’s creditors. The mafia have a name for this. They call it a “bust out”:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

Private equity destroyed Toys R Us, Sears, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and many more companies beloved of Main Street, bled dry for Wall Street:

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-06-02-days-of-plunder-morgenson-rosner-ballou-review/

And they’re coming for more. PE funds are “rolling up” thousands of Boomer-owned business as their owners retire. There’s a good chance that every funeral home, pet groomer and urgent care clinic within an hour’s drive of you is owned by a single PE firm. There’s 2.9m more Boomer-owned businesses going up for sale in the coming years, with 32m employees, and PE is set to buy ’em all:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/16/schumpeterian-terrorism/#deliberately-broken

PE funds get their money from “institutional investors.” It shouldn’t surprise you to learn they treat their investors no better than their creditors, nor the customers, employees or suppliers of the businesses they buy.

Pension funds, in particular, are the perennial suckers at the poker table. My parent’s pension fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Fund, are every grifter’s favorite patsy, losing $90m to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency scam:

https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/about-us/news-and-insights/2022/ontario-teachers--statement-on-ftx/

Pension funds are neck-deep in private equity, paying steep fees for shitty returns. Imagine knowing that the reason you can’t afford your apartment anymore is your pension fund gambled with the private equity firm that bought your building and jacked up the rent — and still lost money:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/25/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-25-feb-2020/

But there’s no depth too low for PE looters to sink to. They’ve found an exciting new way to steal from their investors, a scam called a “continuation fund.” Writing in his latest newsletter, the great Matt Levine breaks it down:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/matt-levines-money-stuff-buyout-funds-buy-from-themselves

Here’s the deal: say you’re a PE guy who’s raised a $1b fund. That entitles you to a 2% annual “carry” on the fund: $20,000,000/year. But you’ve managed to buy and asset strip so many productive businesses that it’s now worth $5b. Your carry doesn’t go up fivefold. You could sell the company and collect your 20% commission — $800m — but you stop collecting that annual carry.

But what if you do both? Here’s how: you create a “continuation fund” — a fund that buys your old fund’s portfolio. Now you’ve got $5b under management and your carry quintuples, to $100m/year. Levine dryly notes that the FT calls this “a controversial type of transaction”:

https://www.ft.com/content/11549c33-b97d-468b-8990-e6fd64294f85

These deals “look like a pyramid scheme” — one fund flips its assets to another fund, with the same manager running both funds. It’s a way to make the pie bigger, but to decrease the share (in both real and proportional terms) going to the pension funds and other institutional investors who backed the fund.

A PE boss is supposed to be a fiduciary, with a legal requirement to do what’s best for their investors. But when the same PE manager is the buyer and the seller, and when the sale takes place without inviting any outside bidders, how can they possibly resolve their conflict of interest?

They can’t: 42% of continuation fund deals involve a sale at a value lower than the one that the PE fund told their investors the assets were worth. Now, this may sound weird — if a PE boss wants to set a high initial value for their fund in order to maximize their carry, why would they sell its assets to the new fund at a discount?

Here’s Levine’s theory: if you’re a PE guy going back to your investors for money to put in a new fund, you’re more likely to succeed if you can show that their getting a bargain. So you raise $1b, build it up to $5b, and then tell your investors they can buy the new fund for only $3b. Sure, they can get out — and lose big. Or they can take the deal, get the new fund at a 40% discount — and the PE boss gets $60m/year for the next ten years, instead of the $20m they were getting before the continuation fund deal.

PE is devouring the productive economy and making the world’s richest people even richer. The one bright light? The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Division just published new merger guidelines that would make the PE acquire/debt-load/asset-strip model illegal:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/07/ftc-doj-seek-comment-draft-merger-guidelines

The bad news is that some sneaky fuck just slipped a 20% FTC budget cut — $50m/year — into the new appropriations bill:

https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1681830706488438785

They’re scared, and they’re fighting dirty.

I’m at San Diego Comic-Con!

Today (Jul 20) 16h: Signing, Tor Books booth #2802 (free advance copies of The Lost Cause — Nov 2023 — to the first 50 people!)

Tomorrow (Jul 21):

1030h: Wish They All Could be CA MCs, room 24ABC (panel)

12h: Signing, AA09

Sat, Jul 22 15h: The Worlds We Return To, room 23ABC (panel)

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups

[Image ID: An old Punch editorial cartoon depicting a bank-robber sticking up a group of businesspeople and workers. He wears a bandanna emblazoned with dollar-signs and a top-hat.]

#pluralistic #buyout groups #continuation fraud #pe #pyramid schemes #the sucker at the table #pension plans #continuation funds #matt levine #fiduciaries #finance #private equity #mark to market #ripoffs

310 notes · View notes