#getting captured for fun and profit

[wisteriasymphony]

coming back to this. guys, i know it is so tempting to give adrichat an 8 pack or a 6 pack or huge biceps, but if we're choosing between giving him that and a collection of hand-painted tabletop rpg minis? WHY WOULD YOU NOT CHOOSE THE MINIS

too many jock adrien headcanons, not enough magic the gathering player adrien headcanons. I'm sorry but it needs to be said

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Gandersauce

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for<p>placehold://://er </p> my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in AUSTIN on MONDAY (Mar 10). I'm also appearing at SXSW and at many events around town, for Creative Commons and Fediverse House. More tour dates here.

It's true that capitalists by and large hate capitalism – given their druthers, entrepreneurs would like to attain a perch from which they get to set prices and wages and need not fear competitors. A market where everything is up for grabs is great – if you're the one doing the grabbing. Less so if you're the one whose profits, customers and workers are being grabbed at.

But while all capitalists hate all capitalism, a specific subset of capitalists really, really hate a specific kind of capitalism. The capitalists who hate capitalism the most are Big Tech bosses, and the capitalism they hate the most is techno-capitalism. Specifically, the techno-capitalism of the first decade of this century – the move fast/break things capitalism, the beg forgiveness, not permission capitalism, the blitzscaling capitalism.

The capitalism tech bosses hate most of all is disruptive capitalism, where a single technological intervention, often made by low-resourced individuals or small groups, can upend whole industries. That kind of disruption is only fun when you're the disruptor, but it's no fun for the disruptees.

Jeff Bezos's founding mantra for Amazon was "your margin is my opportunity." This is a classic disruption story: I'm willing to take a smaller profit than the established players in the industry. My lower prices will let me poach their customers, so I grow quickly and find more opportunities to cut margins but make it up in volume. Bezos described this as a flywheel that would spin faster and faster, rolling up more and more industries. It worked!

https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/10/at-amazon-the-flywheel-effect-drives-innovation/

The point of that flywheel wasn't the low prices, of course. Amazon is a paperclip-maximizing artificial intelligence, and the paperclip it wants to maximize is profits, and the path to maximum profits is to charge infinity dollars for things that cost you zero dollars. Infinite prices and nonexistent wages are Amazon's twin pole-stars. Amazon warehouse workers don't have to be injured at three times the industry average, but maiming workers is cheaper than keeping them in good health. Once Amazon vanquished its competitors and captured the majority of US consumers, it raised prices, and used its market dominance to force everyone else to raise their prices, too. Call it "bezosflation":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

We could disrupt Amazon in lots of ways. We could scrape all of Amazon's "ASIN" identifiers and make browser plugins that let local sellers advertise when they have stock of the things you're about to buy on Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/10/view-a-sku/

We could hack the apps that monitor Amazon drivers, from their maneuvers to their eyeballs, so drivers had more autonomy and their bosses couldn't punish them for prioritizing their health and economic wellbeing over Amazon's. An Amazon delivery app mod could even let drivers earn extra money by delivering for Amazon's rivals while they're on their routes:

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

We could sell Amazon customers virtual PVRs that let them record and keep the shows they like, which would make it easier to quit Prime, and would kill Amazon's sleazy trick of making all the Christmas movies into extra-cost upsells from November to January:

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D54P00007nmv9XSAQ/why-arent-all-the-christmas-movies-available-through-prime-its-a-pandemic-we-are-stuck-at-home-please-add-the-oldies-but-goodies-to-prime

Rival audiobook stores could sell jailbreaking kits for Audible subscribers who want to move over to a competing audiobook platform, stripping Amazon's DRM off all their purchases and converting the files to play on a non-Amazon app:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

Jeff Bezos's margin could be someone else's opportunity…in theory. But Amazon has cloaked itself – and its apps and offerings – in "digital rights management" wrappers, which cannot be removed or tampered with under pain of huge fines and imprisonment:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

Amazon loves to disrupt, talking a big game about "free markets and personal liberties" – but let someone attempt to do unto Amazon as Amazon did unto its forebears, and the company will go running to Big Government for a legal bailout, asking the state to enforce its business model:

https://apnews.com/article/washington-post-bezos-opinion-trump-market-liberty-97a7d8113d670ec6e643525fdf9f06de

You'll find this cowardice up and down the tech stack, wherever you look. Apple launched the App Store and the iTunes Store with all kinds of rhetoric about how markets – paying for things, rather than getting them free through ads – would correct the "market distortions." Markets, we were told, would produce superior allocations, thanks to price and demand signals being conveyed through the exchange of money for goods and services.

But Apple will not allow itself to be exposed to market forces. They won't even let independent repair shops compete with their centrally planned, monopoly service programs:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Much less allow competitors to create rival app stores that compete for users and apps:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma

They won't even refurbishers re-sell parts from phones and laptops that are beyond repair:

https://www.shacknews.com/article/108049/apple-repair-critic-louis-rossmann-takes-on-us-customs-counterfeit-battery-seizure

And they take the position that if you do manage to acquire a donor part from a dead phone or laptop, that it is a felony – under the same DRM laws that keep Amazon's racket intact – to install them in a busted device:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24097042/right-to-repair-law-oregon-sb1596-parts-pairing-tina-kotek-signed

"Rip, mix, burn" is great when it's Apple doing the ripping, mixing and burning, but let anyone attempt to return the favor and the company turns crybaby, whining to Customs and Border Patrol and fed cops to protect itself from being done unto as it did.

Should we blame the paperclip-maximizing Slow AI corporations for attempting to escape disruptive capitalism's chaotic vortex? I don't think it matters: I don't deplore this whiny cowardice because it's hypocritical. I hate it because it's a ripoff that screws workers, customers and the environment.

But there is someone I do blame: the governments that pass the IP laws that allow Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other tech giants shut down anyone who wants to disrupt them. Those governments are supposed to work for us, and yet they passed laws – like Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act – that felonize reverse-engineering, modding and tinkering. These laws create an enshittogenic environment, which produces enshittification:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/#autoenshittification

Bad enough that the US passed these laws and exposed Americans to the predatory conduct of tech enshittifiers. But then the US Trade Representative went slithering all over the world, insisting that every country the US trades with pass their own versions of the laws, turning their citizens into an all-you-can-steal buffet for US tech gougers:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/31/hall-of-famer/#necensuraninadados

This system of global "felony contempt of business-model" statutes came into being because any country that wanted to export to the USA without facing tariffs had to pass a law banning reverse-engineering of tech products in order to get a deal. That's why farmers all over the world can't fix their tractors without paying John Deere hundreds of dollars for each repair the farmer makes to their own tractor:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

But with Trump imposing tariffs on US trading partners, there is now zero reason to keep those laws on the books around the world, and every reason to get rid of them. Every country could have the kind of disruptors who start a business with just a little capital, aimed directly at the highest margins of these stupidly profitable, S&P500-leading US tech giants, treating those margins as opportunities. They could jailbreak HP printers so they take any ink-cartridge; jailbreak iPhones so they can run any app store; jailbreak tractors so farmers can fix them without paying rent to Deere; jailbreak every make and model of every car so that any mechanic can diagnose and fix it, with compatible parts from any manufacturer. These aren't just nice things to do for the people in your country's borders: they are businesses, massive investment opportunities. The first country that perfects the universal car diagnosing tool will sell one to every mechanic in the world – along with subscriptions that keep up with new cars and new manufacturer software updates. That country could have the relationship to car repairs that Finland had to mobile phones for a decade, when Nokia disrupted the markets of every landline carrier in the world:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/03/friedmanite/#oil-crisis-two-point-oh

The US companies that could be disrupted thanks to the Trump tariffs are directly implicated in the rise of Trumpism. Take Tesla: the company's insane valuation is a bet by the markets that Tesla will be able to charge monthly fees for subscription features and one-off fees for software upgrades, which will be wiped out when your car changes hands, triggering a fresh set of payments from the next owner.

That business model is entirely dependent on making it a crime to reverse-engineer and mod a Tesla. A move-fast-and-break-things disruptor who offered mechanics a tool that let them charge $50 (or €50!) to unlock every Tesla feature, forever, could treat Musk's margins as their opportunity – and what an opportunity it would be!

That's how you hurt Musk – not by being performatively aghast at his Nazi salutes. You kick that guy right in the dongle:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/26/ursula-franklin/#franklinite

The act of unilaterally intervening in a market, product or sector – that is, "moving fast and breaking things" – is not intrinsically amoral. There's plenty of stuff out there that needs breaking. The problem isn't disruption, per se. Don't weep for the collapse of long-distance telephone calls! The problem comes when the disruptor can declare an end to history, declare themselves to be eternal kings, and block anyone from disrupting them.

If Uber had been able to nuke the entire taxi medallion system – which was dominated by speculators who charged outrageous rents to drivers – and then been smashed by driver co-ops who modded gig-work apps to keep the fares for themselves, that would have been amazing:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/21/contra-nihilismum/#the-street-finds-its-own-use-for-things

The problem isn't disruption itself, but rather, the establishment of undisruptable, legally protected monopolies whose crybaby billionaire CEOs never have to face the same treatment they meted out to the incumbents who were on the scene when they were starting out.

We need some disruption! Their margins are your opportunity. It's high time we started moving fast and breaking US Big Tech!

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/2025/03/08/turnabout/#is-fair-play

[lilybug-02]

Someone needs to make a fanfic about if ghost got captured by someone who didn’t like bugs/treated them wrongly (maybe a cousin of Dewi??) and both Hornet as well as Dewi have to work together to help little Ghost escape.

THIS, but it’s actually Zote (the Mighty) who gets captured. Dewi’s older cousin Sam finds out about Hallownest and creates a sinister plan for its residents! She’ll turn them over to the Government for a hefty profit! But what's this?! Sam... enjoys talking with Zote? And he's kinda fun to talk to?..... No No, She can't forget her mission! No matter what her stupid cousin and his bug friends think!

Told you guys Hollow Knight with Humans has a lot of potential ;)

Also no- this isn't another comic I'm making, more a very fun concept (that you can steal to your hearts content). But i did make a few more sketches of her.

[bambitek]

hellaverse oc: floor

(pt. 2/??) — hello!! i'm going yap about my girlypop below.. here is a link to my previous yapping session abt her!! yipeee

does she have powers??

Yeee!!! very poltergeist!! She can tamper with tech, be an unwanted virtual assistant, be annoying, etc.

She avoids cameras! Not fond with getting captured on camera, especially without her consent! Invisibility is her best friend.

HUMAN VERSION!!!

Here is my girl pre-transition.. how she grows up so fast.... (cough she dies shortly after this since she is biologically 25 y/o.... rip....)

BITS OF HER ANATOMY

I want her to have a floofy chest!! She is not too happy with getting stripped down but I had to do it for my sanity (I NEED TO VISUALIZE IT!! I NEED TO!!!! HHHHHH)

RELATIONSHIP W/ SOME CANON CHARACTERS

Not looking very good imo!

Vox hates her ass 100%. Floor enjoys fucking up his business and sabotaging his profits. Fun rivalry! (Not so fun from Vox's side of things ig)

She is acquainted with the other Vees, considering how much she messes with the Samsung TV. Valentino and Velvette doesn't meet her with the same hostility as Vox. Instead, they see her as a potential cash cow for their respective business.

Angel Dust, Cherri Bomb = Buds when they cross paths. Lots of crude and brutal honesty thrown at each other.

Her bitchfest with Katie Killjoy? Something to do with transphobia and terrible first meetings, sparking an on-going bitchfest where they try to out-bitch each other. (Christ, that's a lot of bitches) Floor got her grudge.

SOMEHOW gets along with Alastor? They are civil, at least! Friends? Let's not assume things lmfaoo

Avoids Charlie Morningstar for numerous reasons. (Redemption, doesn't know how to deal with her naive optimism, Floor feels like a neanderthal being dragged out of her goon cave, etc.)

Aside from the ones mentioned above, she does feel at home with Succubi, clubbers and other industry workers. SO SHE ISN'T ENTIRELY HOPELESS WITH HER SOCIAL LIFE?? goodjob floor!!! 👏👏👏

THanks 4 reading my yapperonis

[tarotwithavi]

Messages from Aphrodite 🐚 🕊️

Piles : 1~2~3

How to choose a pile?

Take a deep breath and gently close your eyes. Politely request your spirit guides to reveal the appropriate pile meant for you, then open your eyes. Whichever pile captures your attention is the one meant for you.

Masterlist

Paid services

Pile 1

Aphrodite wants you to know that things get worse sometimes, they don't go the way we want them to. I know it sucks but that's just how it is. You shouldn't stress out or get upset over something that isn't in your control. You've been working really hard and haven't gotten the results you should get. Don't worry everyone has their own pace. She wants you to know that you shouldn't give up yet. Keep on working and you'll be really grateful that you didn't give up one year from now.

She wants you to know that love begins within oneself. You won't experience true love until you learn to appreciate the love you have for yourself.

I'm also getting that she is sending lots of blessings into your life. And you might already be experiencing some of them right now. Don't worry things will only get better from now on. For some of you, you'll have to choose between two love interests. And she is telling you to ask her for guidance before making the choice.

Pile 2

Aphrodite has recognised your efforts. She acknowledges the effort you have been putting in mastering that skill. She is really proud of you. She wants you to know that you'll soon have to face a huge crowd and this is especially for you to let your talents shine. I'm getting that you're going to be put into a situation where you'll have to face your fear of recognition. I feel like some of you fear being recognised as you believe it'll attract unwanted attention to you. And I'm also getting that in the upcoming days someone might approach you for their own profit. This person could be really famous in your work area/school/University.

You'll be recognised by your teachers/boss/ higher authorities and I promise you, you'll be really grateful for the opportunity that is coming your way. However I do want you to be careful of letting people know too much about yourself. Especially about your finances and how you manage your money.

Most of your blessings are related to work/career/studies/finances. You might not be focusing on love right now , rather Your focusing on improving yourself. Which is really appreciated by Aphrodite. She wants you to put yourself first.

Pile 3

I heard "Justice is going to be served" . Aphrodite wants you to know that people who have treated you badly are going to face the consequences of their actions. And it is going to be in front of you. People are going to ask for apology and take accountability for their actions. Also she wants you to know that she is with you no matter what. Someone here has been bullied for having monolid eyes. And some have been bullied for "not fitting in". You have been made fun of for the way you looked and the people who said those hurtful words are going to have their downfall right in front of your eyes.

You're going to shine and people are going to talk about you, how much you have changed and Your recent glow up has people going crazy. Some of you may be doubting yourself. Aphrodite wants you to know that you're blessed by her. And someone who has been blessed by her is everything but "not beautiful"

Some of you are going to travel to the place you always wanted to in just a few weeks. I'm also seeing international travel.

[incorrectfatui]

give one to each harbinger

OHH this is gonna be fun!! Pierro, ironically, is getting The Weight of Knowledge- technically Dottore is more heavily associated with Knowlegde, of course, but uh..its not weighing on him. Dottore has fun with it, but Pierro has seen horrors beyond everyone's comprehension and acts like it. Capitano gets the chainmail. Because yes. Dottore has the decoy wallets- mostly because I dont think this dude has any real money (his budget is gone 1st of the month), but also because I can picture Webtorre throwing them at peoples faces. Columbina has the keys to heaven and hell, and you know exactly why. Arlecchino has the picture of- just kidding, she gets the Baby Toys and stuff, for the younger kids. Pulcinella gets Santiago. Scaramouche has the heart on the string. He hides it in the little pocket on his back. It's one of his three most treasured posessions, the other being the golden feather and the little puppet he made. Sandrone gets the glock, because she deserves it. La Signora has the rose for her beloved, tragically dead, Rostam Pantalone has the Cement, he sells it for higher profits. Aaand finally, Childe gets the picture of Ma- assuming it's his mother and not a random old lady. Which, I suppose, would leave Crucabena with the cyanide pill- not in case of HER capture, but for the kids. You know. Like a responsible parent. This was really fun!! Feel free to send more of those xD

[curiouspupsicle]

Good Omens Fan Fiction Friday (5/16/25) - Heaven & Hell

Good Omens fan fic writers have contributed wonderful stories to the lore of heaven and hell. This is a small selection of my favorite fics featuring denizens of The Bad Place and The Other Bad Place.

Let's start with a fun little cracfic, Send Nudes (T) by xkingevelynx (ebony_dove). Beelzebub gets an unexpected text from Gabriel. Autocorrect strikes again! Short, silly, and fun.

And we'll follow up with a charming little fic by perennial favorite, AppleSeeds. It's The Greasy Pole (T). Shax promotes Furfur to temptations and sends him to Crowley to learn how to seduce humans to lust. Aziraphale lets Crowley demonstrate a temptation so Furfur can learn. And the newly promoted demon proves he's a fast learner. Of course, it's ridiculous and sweet.

While we're on the topic, let's talk about Gormless Seduction (T) by @munchmulch. According to hell, there's an angel who owns an old bookshop. Crowley is sent to pose as a human to seduce the angel and gain important information about heaven. Love the characterization in this fic. Aziraphale, in particular, is amazing.

And finally, one last seduction fic: One Night In Bangor (And the World's Your Oyster) (E) by Atalan/@brightwanderer. Has everyone in the fandom read this one? If you haven't, check it out. At the millennial retreat for heaven and hell, there's a prize offered to the first demon who can seduce an angel. The efforts by the obvious demons to attract the oblivious angels is a riot. And the banter between our ineffable pair is wonderful.

Artist @anotherwellkeptsecret has also created a comic version of the story which you can see here on Tumblr.

@ednav created two of my favorite original characters, the angel Zophiel and the demon Ramiel in Spying Omens (T). The pair are assigned by their superiors to keep tabs on heaven and hell's representatives on earth, Aziraphale and Crowley. The pair come to their own arrangement while doing their jobs through the ages. One of my top-rated fics.

In Mixed Company, or the Corporate Retreat of Heaven and Hell (M) by TheOldAquarian, is a fandom favorite for a reason. The corporate retreats of heaven and hell held every 300 years is a rich subject for storytelling. And our ineffable sillies don't disappoint as they navigate their relationship through the shenanigans of their bosses and coworkers from Heaven and hell. Also a favorite thanks to the delicious banter.

Time for a little break. Recs continue under the gif.

The Auction (M) by ShadowsRider was inspired by Gleafer art. Aziraphale volunteers himself and Crowley for a charity bachelor auction. Unfortunately, Shax and Furfur are there to bid on Crowley and have put a miracle blocker in place. How will Aziraphale keep Crowley from ending up contracted to hell?

Miracles on the Orient Express (T) by @astrhae has assigned Crowley to capture an Archangel aboard the famous train. Aziraphale just happens to be taking a vacation on it at the same time. The pair are swept up in a Christie-style mystery where both hell and heaven do the unexpected.

Aziraphale is swept into the power vacuum caused by Adam refusing to end the world and becomes the new King of Hell in A Special Place in Hell (T) by HotCrossPigeon and Mirach. I love BAMF!Aziraphale. And this is a great depiction of him--a particular favorite of mine.

The Kidnapping an Archangel for Fun and Profit (T) series by @waitingtobebroken has the new Duke of Hell, Crowley, kidnapping the new Supreme Archangel, Aziraphale. He torments the captured angel at the Ritz, in the park, and other nefarious places. Various demons and angels are swept up in shenanigans that involve kidnapping and trying to foil kidnappings.

Did I miss your favorite fic featuring the personnel of heaven and hell? Reblog and share in the comments.

I'll be back next Friday with more great Good Omens fan fics on a new theme. In the meantime, check out my other favorite fics on this pinned post of weekly Good Omens fan fiction recommendations. And if my faves appear to be your faves, check out my bookmarks on AO3--all the fics I rate in my top 10% of everything I've read.

Don't forget to nurture the fan fic community. Share kudos and comments to show the many wonderful creators how much we appreciate them.

[slushyseals]

Hoo Haven Wild Animal Rescue!

Last night I interviewed the director of a non-profit wildlife animal rescue, Hoo Haven. While I'm not coastal and probably will never have the opportunity to do a story on seals/marine life, at least while I'm here, I thought you guys might enjoy hearing an interview about a wildlife rehabilitation center done at one of their fundraisers with clips of some of their ambassador animals.

Fun fact: The name of the corn snake in the video is Goodness Gracious. It has a friend at the center named Great Balls Of Fire! XD

Also! One thing that hurts rescues like this is when people bring in animals that they think need rescuing- but didn't until the person captured them. Just like baby seals, baby deer and rabbits are left alone while their moms are out- even if you don't see the mom she's probably watching you. If you think an animal is injured or abandoned- call your local rescue BEFORE trying to capture them as the volunteers can help you determine if that animal actually needs help. Sometimes even adult animals will look injured- like birds acting like their wing is broken, or foxes struggling to walk on a broken leg- when actually they are faking the injury to lure you away from their babies hiding nearby. Catching these animals in an attempt to help them creates orphaned baby animals- who are much better being raised by their biological mothers. Once they are brought to a center, it's too late to try to return them, and then that baby animal is using up limited resources that could have gone toward animals that desperately needed them to survive. If you'd like to donate to your local animal rescue, one of the big items they're always looking for is towels and blankets! So if you're ever trying to get rid of them, consider your local shelter or animal rescue! <3

[transformers-synergize]

Hi. I wanted to ask if I could make a dub of your comic on my youtube channel.Don't worry, you would be credited and I leave a link to your channel. Here some info thought if you agree:

-First and foremost,I'm not professional.Most of stuff I post on my channel are experimental to test my voice acting skills.

-I'm female and I have thin voice,which is often a problem when I do VA for guys.I use voice generated AI to help me with this.

-I'm not Native english speaker and my accent is mostly reveal this

-I don't expect payment.Like stated before,I do this mostly for fun and practice so it's for free

I understant when you don't agree.I just really like your comic and I would like to introduce it to other people.

Go for it sounds awesome I love to see it. Don't worry about payment You're also 100% allowed to monetize your video and keep all the profits.

just ask you don't use AI voice/ text to speech. I think this technology has its place but I'd rather have real people perform, especially for characters with more messy speaking styles like spikes with frequent ums and uhs and often inarticulate sentences or characters who have a tendency to get very emotional like cliffjumper, I rather a inexperienced voice actor try and fail to potray those emotions than a ai voice with a flat tone,

I rather you attempt the male characters voices yourself, or find someone to collaborate with. There are a lot of amateur voice actors who are always looking for something to work on. the ability to collaborate with other vas is a great non-acting skill to have in voice acting. idk if you would like to collab with other people, but I'll put this out here anyway if you're a dude with a dude-sounding voice and wanna possibly collaborate on an unofficial dub comment below

also, within lore, the cybertronian characters are all genderless, so even if a bot is masculine presenting in design and behavior to humans, doesn't mean they need to sound like a guy. I mean, I have thought of possibly putting together an official dub in the future and planned to let anyone of any gender, accent, or tone try out for any of the cybertronian characters and I would pick roles purely based on the performance, and how well they capture the character energy ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[waitingtobebroken]

Yet another part of the Kidnapping A Supreme Archangel For Fun And Profit series (the profit is kisses, btw. If you even care)

How To Save An Archangel (The Angelic Assistant Story) (Rated T, 7.5k words)

Alternative title: "How To Cockblock An Archangel (And His Jealous Duke Of Hell Partner)"

Summary:

Agiel is happy with their position as the angelic assistant of the newly appointed Supreme Archangel Aziraphale. It does involve far less menial paperwork, which they usually love, and a lot more trying to keep His Divinity safe. But they like the Supreme Archangel, so they try their best to keep him away from the Grand Duke of Hell Crowley. If only Aziraphale could stop getting himself kidnapped and tortured, though.

And a little excerpt:

"Thank you, my dear. Truly." His Highness tipped sideways, a soft sound escaping soft lips. Everything about him was soft. It left Agiel feeling utterly terrified. "However, it is hardly necessary. Crowley will never harm me." His Divinity smiled. There was so much holiness in that smile that, despite the fact it was what Agiel was made of, it still left them with the urge to shield their eyes from it. And then His Highness left for Earth. Where he, true to the angel's worst fears, managed to get himself captured within minutes.

[argumate]

yorickish said: iirc veblen’s “the engineers and the price system” has a lot of complaining about constricted supply for profit maximization in the immediately post-WW1 economy… with the fun perspective that if you just handed it over to the engineers they would let the industrial machinery run at full capacity cause they love to see machinery run. more or less

capitalist: nooo that will sink the rate of profiterino!

engineer: heheh product printer go brrrrr

I mean the flip side of the bizarre modern American supply crunch is the bizarre modern Chinese supply glut, where the capitalist and communist systems have traded places in terms of who gets to have the surplus and who gets to have the shortage.

putting profit above everything else results in a system that squeezes the life out of everyone, but paying no attention to profit (or "turning the economy over to institutions that lack hard budget constraints") results in poor investments and overproduction and debt, it's a complicated balancing act that requires deft government not captured by vested interests, if such a thing can exist.

[blubberingjellyfish]

Hey y'all!!! Look at this funny picture of a cat!! Isn't he cute and squimpy?

Are you looking at me now? Are you paying attention? Could this beloved white american not-so-kindly redirect your limited time and attention to something more important then looking at funny cats on tumblr?

Do you see the Palestinian people are being genocided? Yes its real and it is happening right now, and contrary to what you've been taught, its wrong actually. It's more then wrong, it's so unbelievably goddamn evil that no amount of words I put here can describe the horrors of that have taken place in Gaza.

YOU SHOULD BE ANGRY

This is goddamn important and I will act patronizing to your face and write in blinding colorful letters if it means getting your attention. You should be paying attention to the words of the Palestinians, who are starving and dying. But I know the algorithm despises accuracy and instead favors profiting off of yalls attention which is more likely to be captured if there is a white face involved and it's "entertaining".

This is blatant racism.

And you are perpetuating racism if you ignore dying, starving Palestine children and only listen to the whitey crackers when they talk about Palestine. Palestinians do NOT have to be "entertaining" to you to deserve solidarity.

In two months it will have been a whole year of genocide for the Palestinians. A WHOLE GODDAMN YEAR.

Don't stop being loud and annoying about Palestine. Don't stop ruining people's fun because you're talking about Palestine. Don't give into "compassion fatigue" because TENS OF THOUSANDS of people are STILL DYING.

You can help save people's lives by donating to Palestinian fundraisers!!!

I've been been getting asks from Palestinians for donations lately, and while I can't personally donate because of financial issues, I answer each one, and none of those posts get attention! These are Palestines asking for much needed help but it's not entertaining enough.

I'd like to end this post by 1: sharing the links to the fundraisers again and asking y'all to donate any small amount of money even if it's just five dollars. Any amount helps. I will repost the words that they said themselves because you NEED TO LISTEN. 2: I am very aware that this post is incredibly hypocritical of me to make. But that doesn't make it less important. Hopefully though posting this we both learn to pay more attention to Palestinian voices and NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT THE GENOCIDE!!!!!!

[leonleonhart]

@sexybritishllama I hath brought forward a small lore dump on my Warriors of Lights. Placed under a read more for convenience.

Dante Erwin

Dante is not what she was called on her nameday, nor is Erwin an inherited family name. Actually, though she now somewhat prides herself as a Gridanian, she's originally from Old Sharlayan. In the advent of the decision to abandon New Sharlayan rather than stand with the Eorzean Alliance against Garlemald Dante spoke up often enough and loud enough that they got sick of her. She was given two options; remain silent so she can stay just barely within their good graces or be banished and never welcomed back. Evidently, she chose the latter. No one but the people she left with on the ship that day know where she's from. She doesn't hide it from shame, but more so because she hates the place now as not even her parents stood by her beliefs.

Though she had a strong stance against their non-intervention she was still 17 when she left, having never left Old Sharlayan before. Unfamiliar with the outside world, her natural strength got her scouted to work on a ship that put her in a contract she wouldn’t be able to escape for more than a decade. In that time she took the name Dante of her own accord while Erwin is a spin on the name of a crewmate that helped her escape after she grew frustrated with that lifestyle. Though, because Dante chooses not to reflect on that part of her life she struggles to remember that person’s actual name.

Through simple acts of ‘doing something when everyone else is doing nothing’ Dante gains popularity somewhat quickly, becoming everyone’s favorite do-gooder. This has the effect of tainting her outlook as she realizes everyone's definition of ‘good’ can be horribly hypocritical, but she still believes in making the world a better place for everyone. She’s just a bit more cynical and tends to treat things like allegiances with a far more aloof attitude. She believes in people and their own convictions over faceless causes.

Dante always appears as if she’s fully confident in every situation, but off of the battlefield and away from people she withdraws in on herself. Were it not for those that practically force themselves into her life she would be completely antisocial.

Fima Thrall

After being abandoned as a young child to the mercy of the woods, Fima was adopted by an odd, semi-outcast couple; one made of a viera and an elezen. 

Favored by the Elementals despite not being Padjali, Fima has an extraordinary ability to connect with nature. Despite this, as a child he was considered a little bit of a menace. Being in Gridania, even though he is a Seeker, he faced a lot of prejudice growing up to which he fought back with harmless fun and annoying the worst of the worst. Small pranks to get back at those who talked shit about his fathers, distracting Wailers that were harassing Duskwight and Keeper citizens, et cetera. Much to everyone's chagrin he befriended a few Sylphs and the magic they taught him fueled his efforts further.

The abilities that would make him ideal to become a Hearer, unfortunately for the Conjurers, are spurned for quite a while in favor of chasing dreams of knighthood. His elezen father, Hillaire, is a former Ishgardian knight who stole away with his viera papa Riso. The latter of which stood to be executed for poaching that the former knew was nothing more than just trying to survive in spite of Ishgard's hostility. Such a valorous origin had Fima wanting to be a similar sort of hero.

That being said, his journey had a rocky start. He left home at about 16, and though he successfully joined the Gladiator's guild in Ul'dah for a time some unsavory characters captured him and shipped him off to Limsa Lominsa for a profit. Before the worst could happen the Rogue's guild stepped in and essentially adopted him until they knew he'd be able to take care of himself. Of course, with his attempts at chivalry putting him in dangerous situations, that took a couple years and as such he picked up a bit of an accent. He can drop it if he tries, but he generally doesn't unless someone else deems it necessary.

Outwardly he presents himself as cheerful, friendly even. While it’s not that he isn’t, Fima is capable of holding grudges so powerful it frightens himself. 

Rhyun'a 'Ryu' Amariyo

Once he was a reaper employed by the Lemures. They were his family when his mother disowned him after a lifetime of neglect, and he formed a pact with a voidsent named Orthrus. Rhyun’a’s power of the Echo awoke during the fall of Dalamud. Unfortunately he was impaled in his stomach and chest by detritus from the fall and died shortly thereafter. Similar to Zenos, however, his aether separated from his body and took possession of a nearby Garlean soldier that was simply knocked out. The trauma of dying, coupled with the fact he had so simply taken the place of another and essentially erased them from existence, overwhelmed him and his mind refused to accept what he now was. This caused him to lose his memory, forgetting everything including his childhood.

Immediately post-Calamity, a Keeper woman named Rhyun found him and took him in. Despite the fact he was clearly a young adult, she still adopted him into the family and named him as her first son. He slots himself in perfectly with his adoptive family, one composed of several older sisters as well as younger sisters and two younger brothers. The former of which teased him until he felt at home while the latter treated him with trepidation. After some time, however, his younger siblings learned they could rely on him absolutely, especially when it comes to spoiling them. His time away from home has somewhat resulted in him almost immediately seeing Alisaie and Alphinaud as family and acting accordingly. 

Personality wise, outside of that, he’s a flirt with a silver tongue that has thankfully gotten him out of more trouble than it has caused. It’s a confidence born of a new chance at life, free of his troubled past. For a time, at least…

Despite his many trips back to Ul’dah, the Lemures don’t approach him. They had accepted him as dead after he failed to return from the battlefield, not knowing he ended up in Gridania. It’s not until after Heavensward when they recognize him and reach out. Even though he doesn’t remember who they are, Rhyun’a finds himself trusting them easily, only mildly disturbed to discover he’s had a voidsent nipping at his heels unknowingly for 5 years.

Rhyun’a’s memories finally return to him in the middle of Shadowbringers and he is straight up not having a good time.

[roxxie-spirt]

Wyverns + the Divines

ALRIGHT ITS GONNA BE A BIG POST !! I did some visuals just so yall can have some eye candy~ anywho let’s get to it!

Wyverns are very magical / powerful beings , they’re also very, very, intelligent. They have cultures councils dialects etc and so when they went to discover the new realm they were trusting after discovering realm traveling via portals they couldn’t wait to greet the beings of this realm. Sadly their welcome wasn’t ideal, humans , werewolves, Witches, mei’fewa almost every being in the overrealm didn’t welcome the Wyverns with open arms. Which made the great Wyvern hunt era began which is actually before the Divine era! Wyverns weren’t outcasted by everyone of course , elves as well as some small groups of warlocks were opened to the Wyverns and wanted to be close to them! Wyverns decided to create a spell for other beings to be able to speak to them ( just cause I didn’t like that only the descendants of the divine were the only able to ) I do like the fact that Wyverns can reborn after a long period of time! So I am keeping that in, but there’s a way to interrupt that reborn process with strong magicks ..

Now let’s get into the divine warriors or the Wyvern hunters. Believe or not Esmund was the one who started to Trend of hunting the Wyverns within the group, at first Esmund fought of the Wyvern out of protecting Enki and Kul’zak. Then the thrill of it was something he hadn’t felt before.. Now Esmund and the rest were all in their mid teens to say the least ,t hem hunting down Wyverns were all for sport and for the prices Wyverns went for. During the Wyvern hunting era it was very difficult to actually uphold an actual body of a Wyvern since their bodies would disappear out of thin air it seems. So if you were able to capture a Wyvern and harvest their scales, feathers, bodily liquids ( any . Yes. Any ) , or more they went for top dollar. ( fun fact: Kul’zak as a gift for his friends actually made armor out of the scales of the Wyvern and for the ladies he gifted them feathered Woven dresses which would actually be the cloth Aphmau wakes in when she’s awoken in mcdS1) Anyways , yes the Group would trap, hunt, and profit out of this practice. Irene and Enki out of the group were magically gifted, out of the name of well research Enki and Irene wanted to see what exactly they can use the Wyverns in the sake of their magical properties. While prodding a Wyvern for blood , Irene had the urge to just… sip.. and she did just that , suddenly she felt a sharp rush in her body she felt stronger she felt like her abilities were heightened. Enki kept note of that. Esmund helped the two in their researched by collecting more and more Wyverns . Yeah uhh this isn’t exactly the story the divine warriors told anyone but it’s the truth. Over the span of a few years , they done it. They discovered how to create relics or at least a prototype of one, Shad was the first to test it out. It definitely worked he was stronger faster and he even began to use magic which he had none of before then. Now how they made the relic or the prototype wasn’t an easy task , Enki practically drained an adult Wyvern till it just died on its own. Irene and Enki do eventually figure out how to contain the soul of the Wyvern, in doing so as punishment by nature Irene and Enki ( I might make it all the warriors but I need some inspiration)bear a mark of their shame. To others these are holy divine marks told by the winners but to Wyvern kind they know the truth, Irene and her descendants will bear the darkened marks formed on her body and Enki bearing the horns and tail of a demon. As for the others they don’t need to worry about generational shame from the Wyverns but they still hold powerful relics. I’ll probably talk about the relics in another post but for now let me continue. When the hunters/divines turned into their 20s they wanted to turn their life around.. at least move on from the hunting of Wyverns and into helping the world, after Irene and Enki got punished they decided erm maybe that wasn’t the best move 🙄. So they released the Wyverns they captured on the condition they will never speak ill in their name ever or else. Which is why a chunk of history is kinda muddy of course some spoke of their story which is how the ‘ rumor ‘ of the divine warriors not being so divine… happened but how did Irene and Enki make some of the Wyverns trust them? It was purely of gaslighting that oh! We didn’t steal these Wyverns souls.. they gave it to us! As an offering of friendship. Shad managed to convince the councils of some Wyverns that what he preached was truth and gifted them their own relics (made out of a different material not Wyverns ). That’s all for the divine warrior portion for now …((I will make a post about the warriors in the future they aren’t JUST assholes dw))

OK LAST POINT!! Which is mainly Laurance n garroths connection to Wyverns :3 this one might be shorter than the previous one. How ungrth and Laurance met is a fairly simple one, ungrth as he did his patrol on guarding his kin. He heard a small cry in the distance of the forest, for ungrth it sounded like a hatchling and so he went out to find the source and he saw a small little 4 year old Laurance lost in the woods separated from his family ( bio ) who at the time didn’t know were gone. Ungrth was hesitant, he knew how humans were he know how cruel how selfish they were. After all he was there during the great hunting era. As he attempted to fly off , Laurance cried louder and louder. Something about his cry’s broke ungrth heart , he told himself this one time he’ll help a worthless human. He landed and walked over to the small boy who was curled up , when Laurance heard the sounds of leaves he darted his head up seeing a huge wyvern overhead. Laurances green eyes stabbed back into ungrth green eyes. In that moment ungrth forgotten his hatred for humanity, seeing a young man’s eyes as green as his suddenly just melted the heart of this wise wyvern. Laurance wasn’t afraid and ran to the Wyvern crying for ungrth. Ungrth couldn’t talk to him unless he said the spell, without hesitation he did . Ever since Laurance and ungrth were family. Ungrth eventually found out about Laurances bioparents passing and he was actually going to let Laurance into his clan but of course it was prohibited and ungrth gladly turned his back on his kin to be with the human he loved . He eventually found Laurance a great family to be with. I LOVE UNGRTH AND LAURANCES FOUND FAMILY RELATIONSHIP OK 😭( the Zvhals and ungrth are tight no worries.

Now for Garroth! So the romeaves actually never gave up Wyvern hunting. In honor of Edmund their ancestor! Garte fought a Wyvern and now it was for the oldest Garroth(age 14) to fight one as well, but Garroth hated this practice. He’s done his research on Wyverns due to Zianna wanting her sons to be educated and thought this was something for the dark ages to do but Garte demanded for Garroth to go out and slay a Wyvern. Garroth with his tail tucked between his legs shamefully went out to find a Wyvern. Hell in this day n age it’s fucking rare to find a Wyvern, Garroth was tempted just to take the tail of a bearded dragon . It’s been days since he went out he was actually going to do his plan B if he couldn’t find a damn Wyvern until.. he heard crash in the woods. Garroth went to find the cause and it was.. a small Wyvern , it was Raven , he was injured badly and arrow throw his wing . It had a cross ok it was one of his kingdoms ( Plot twist Zane(10) did it he was gonna prove that he was better than Garroth but anyways he couldn’t find the body so womp womp ) Garroth saw Raven hell this was his chance he can just mercy kill this Wyvern.. but it didn’t need mercy it just needed medical help. Garroth went up to Raven his sword out , Raven was going not back down from a fight but.. Garroth couldn’t do it he just couldn’t he fell to his knees crying. Fuck Raven was confused, Garroth told him he wasn’t going to hurt Raven but that’s crocodile tears to Raven. It took hours for Garroth to gain ravens trust, and I’m not saying like 2-4 I mean like 6-9 hours of just talking to Raven even though Garroth knew he wouldn’t hear anything back from Raven since he knew of the contract that Raven would need to do in order to speak. Raven after hearing this, huge 14 yr old finally submitted and allowed Garroth to help him. Raven gave Garroth some of his feathers and scales to show his father so Garroth wouldn’t be shunned by his father out of some form of empathy. Now Raven didn’t give Garroth the ability to speak to him until season2 when he came back from the Irene dimension. Either way Raven trusted Garroth from now on helping him send messages when asked as a thanks.

[lyatudor]

The story collector

Chapter 14 - Invite them in

A story inspired by real events, dreams or more.

Warning 🔞⚠️: Dark horror stories with elements of death, decay, sex, drugs, alcohol, suicide, religion and overall spook factor for your reading pleasure.

Religion…

Such an utter crap fest if you’d ever seen one, because let’s face the facts for once. We are looking at the most well-known fiction book to exist and furthermore so many believe it. If one needs to shake hands with a writer to get some inspiration to rub off, it’s that one.

Born a child of none, religiously speaking, moved into a family of utter deliverance. It irks every sense that creates and makes one. From the very concept of life, being born…a miracle. Would you call a miracle a bastard child born from fucking in a barn while a family build of love and devotion struggle to have a child? Would it still be a miracle if a middle-class scum who can barely write and speak correctly comes on top while another with studies, tries and tries but doesn’t have the right words at hand at the right time?

Oh no, God guided them. They believed and still do. They…you almost vomit in the salad you’re making close to midnight because tradition dictates women sit in the kitchen and prepare everything for the following day.

The television is on, words sinking into your brain like rot that you carve out the moment it closes. Utter shit and then some when you sit, if you even do, to think about it. Honestly you had to give it out to them, churches, religion, the most profitable institution. That and prostitution. But then again whores do not run the head of everything important. No, unfortunately not. If they did things would be far more fun. If the world would burn, you would prefer a cock on the war banner instead of the makeshift image of the son of God.

The thought alone makes you crack a smile as you continue to chop vegetables, eyes lifting to look at the clock.

Almost midnight.

Usually by this hour you and the entire family would have been dressed and out at church, however by miracle alone or being too tired to function properly, this year it’s different. No one is dressed in their best clothes to go to church and freeze their asses off. You are all inside the house, drinking, talking, cooking…each to their own, which is more than acceptable in your books.

The image on the television changes once more to show the crowds gathered to accept the holy light and you all but roll your eyes in the back of your skull. Delivered by plane or it just came to exist. Utter shit. You steady your hand, continue to chop boiled vegetables because somewhere in the back of your mind the menial task is all that is needed at such a late hour. Like you’re possessed by nothingness and you absolutely love the feeling of not having to think about anything.

Of course, until the silence is broken by the church bells, hollow and oddly very loud, as if resonating all over. Those were bad enough on their own, an annoying and haunting sound. But the voice in front of you is what captures and keeps your attention.

“It is said that during this time, at midnight, when the bells ring…we invite the dead in.” the pause in the sentence is felt by your every fiber, as if your heart is in tune with everything happening, stopping and starting at the drop of a few words.

You cannot remember when the knife on the cutting board last made a sound, your hand as if going numb from sitting still for too long “You know I don’t believe in such things.” Defiance your very essence, the poison your soul loves over and over again.

Because let’s be real for a second. God and all that mumbo jumbo is something for the weak, for those with nothing, grasping as straws and whatnot. You promised one day you would read the Bible just for fun, just to sit and read and criticize every word of the world most known fiction book.

“I know you don’t believe and that’s alright, one day you’ll find a reason for everything. He waits. He knows when you’re ready.” The voice is calling out to you and yet you resent it with a cold laugh.

“The dead are dead.” yet the air around you is cold and colder still as you continue to talk “they don’t come back, they don’t haunt us. They are rotting in the earth, where we left them.”

A nod. A dry swallow “Then if you don’t want to believe today, don’t turn around.”

A glimpse, a single reflection as the television goes black, faces, countless, mouths wide and dark, calling without a sound, screaming without a whisper.

They are there.

They are waiting.

[zithcavooris]

Pat O’Brian wasn’t a bad guy, he was just unlucky. So unlucky that he got himself roped into helping rob a chemical plant. And when the job went south, one of his teammates shot him. And then he fell into a vat of acid. And when he climbed out he fell into a vat of radioactive waste. And when he climbed out of that he fell into a vending machine full of that weird soda Gingold, getting soaked in the stuff. And then the vending machine fell over and crushed him.

One or more of those accidents had an unexpected side effect. When he eventually came to, he was not only alive, but had become so stretchable he could  basically shapeshift! And I guess his clothes had become stretchy too, sure.

Pat decided to use his powers to get revenge on his old teammates. After finding and beating them up brought him no fulfillment, he decided to turn them in to the cops. Turns out some of them had cash rewards posted for their capture, so he was able to make a little money out of the deal. Inspired, Pat fashioned himself a costume out of his clothes and started fighting crime for fun and profit as the superhero Plastic Man. Happily, as is the way of things, the good he was doing soon turned out more fulfilling than the money, and he turned his life around and became a superhero and role model for real.

Maybe he’s not so unlucky after all?