#i! love! nonverbal 2d!

[squid-ink-symphony]

f1sh and chips headcanons?

IVE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS MOMENT MY WHOLE LIFE

HARMONY:

Nonbinary and kinda indifferent on their gender. Goes by She/They. Doesn't really care if you use other pronouns for them tho.

Aromantic and a lesbian. Is still ok with labeling a relationship as dating even if she doesn't experience romantic love the same way as other people.

Autistic, and doesn't always function super well as an adult on her own. But she's doing her best.

Collects stuffed animals and small toys.

Likes cute things, but some people would label their definition of cute as weird.

Loves bright colors. Crank that saturation up!

Very blunt.

Gets along pretty well with her bandmates. They aren't SUPER close but they are friends.

Knows she is different. Doesn't care. It probably used to bother them more when they were younger, but now she has come to terms with it.

House is very messy.

People are just drawn to her, she doesn't particularly like it.

A lot of people think that because she is blunt and speaks her mind that she doesn't ever lie and take everything she says at face value. He is very capable of lying and will do so for various reasons if needed. Or sometimes just cuz spreading misinformation is funny. Will tell you the sky is bright green with no hesitation and a deadpan expression.

Depressed. Is on medication for it and handles it ok ish...

Video game addict. You can usually find her at home in her pajamas playing some new game surrounded by empty instant ramen cups.

Mostly enjoys creative or cute games like pokemon, animal crossing, or minecraft. Doesn't play them often, but she is the absolute best at fighting games. Could beat anyone blindfolded. Is good at a lot of hard games, but doesn't really like that kind of stuff.

Plays a lot of things as they come out and probably has a blog where she reviews them.

Knows every skip and speedrun strat ever.

Likes platformers, especially 2d ones.

Collects old nintendo consoles/games.

Stims a lot with any object nearby. Likes to play with her bracelets a lot. Will just pick up random things and fidget with them.

Seems to be tired a lot, has bags under her eyes. Stays up late a lot but doesn't mind the lack of energy.

Very clumsy and has poor motor controls for a lot of things. Has to take frequent breaks when playing games or music. Gets hurt a lot bumping into random objects.

Issues with her wrists have been a problem for most of her life due to her hobbies, and she is surprisingly good at taking care of them nowadays. Used to not care but then some serious injuries happened and she realized she couldn't afford to do that.

DEDF1SH:

Bigender! He/She/They probably. Would maybe be open to neos if he found the right ones.

Demiromantic, Bi, and Asexual. Both Acht and Harmony are aspec(not for any reason what no i'm not biased as an aroace person noooo-)

When first getting out of the metro he was VERY malnourished and had a hard time eating food. He has a lot of texture issues and finds most foods unbearable to put in her mouth.

Has since gained her weight back and is looking more healthy.

Is very sensitive to sunlight, and burns very easily even in normal weather with minimal exposure. This is part of the reason she spends so much time alone indoors.

Eyes are also very sensitive to light after being sanitized and living in the deep for so long. This is why he wears sunglasses everywhere.

Is also autistic like harmony. (again, as an autistic person i am in no way biased towards headcanoning characters as autistic ok?) Is sensitive to sounds and wears noise canceling headphones a lot.

Goes nonverbal if overstimulated.

Doesn't talk that much, is more the type to say as few words as possible to get their sentence across.

Likes eating cereal with no milk. It's one of their favorite snacks.

LOVES fruit. They are that meme of the person covered in mango juice.

Just like harmony, his face isn't very expressive. But while harmony always looks like she's daydreaming, Acht often looks angry. This is especially true when she has her glasses on since you can't see her eyes.

Really likes fashion. Likes very femme alternative stuff specifically.

Is already naturally tall, and wears heels everywhere. Towers over most other octolings/inklings.

There are many lasting effects from the sanitization. Including physical and mental symptoms. Acht is slowly recovering tho!

Can play piano, just doesn't. Doesn't remember where they learned to, but it makes them feel slightly sad to play it.

Has amnesia due to the sanitization. Can remember things like skills, but not where they learned them or from who. Doesn't remember much of her past. Doesn't remember much family or friends either. Can picture some blurry faces, but not names or how they knew each other.

Tartar told her about her decision to be sanitized, and she has no choice but to have taken his word for why she decided to due so as she has no memory of it.

Has a hard time adjusting to life on the surface.

Has some trauma surrounding medical equipment, and doesn't like to go to doctors.

I've always Acht having known Marina before coming to the surface, but with Side Order confirming they know each other somehow i will wait to flesh that out until we get more info.

Is confident and somewhat social(especially compared to Harmony) but needs a lot of time to recharge their batteries after being around others.

ParuF1sh:

They both like to make music, and often make silly little songs together. Acht likes to take whatever Harmony hums and turn it into short songs.

Both of them don't sleep much. Harmony doesn't like to because she prefers to spend her time on hobbies n such instead. She also has insomnia, but since she doesn't like sleeping it doesn't really bother her TOO much. Acht on the other hand has issues sleeping due to frequent nightmares. She ends up having terrifying nightmares of her time with tartar or things she can't fully remember from before she was sanitized. Harmony is always there to comfort him when he wakes up sweating and frightened.

Both of them are very picky about food and so their pantries end up being stuffed with lots of their prefered safe foods.

Acht tries to push himself to leave his apartment in splatsville from time to time to avoid being totally disconnected from the world because that's what she did when she first got to the surface and it made her very depressed. On one of those trips Acht ended up visiting Hotlantis because he was just exploring various shops. He really liked the vibes of the shop and the wide variety of items that rotated frequently had him coming back. This is where the two of them first met.

At first Harmony and Acht didn't even notice each other despite Acht becoming a regular to come buy and look at weird little items. But eventually after having to check Acht out so many times she finally started to pay attention to what Acht was buying and noticed they had similar tastes. Then one day Harmony struck up a conversation with Acht and they became friends from there.

I think they are both poly and wouldn't mind if their partner dated someone else. But neither of them have another partner right now.

While they both may struggle with a lot of things they help each other out and manage to get through life ok.

It took a bit for Acht to get back to making music after getting out of the metro.

They like to watch ghibli movies while cuddling for a lot of their dates. They will watch all of them and then just start over with the first one again. I think the movies are comfort media for them. Harmony's favorite movie is Spirited Away and Acht's favorite is Kiki's Delivery Service.

Acht chills with Harmony's fish a lot i think.

Neither of them know how to cook.

Harmony leaves her work spaces very messy, but Acht keeps hers VERY neat.

Acht and Harmony both take surprisingly long to get ready and pick out outfits, but Acht takes much longer than Harmony.

They do a lot of parallel play where they just sit in silence and do their own thing.

Acht hangs out at Hotlantis with Harmony a lot and just keeps their headphones on and chills.

Acht also runs the store when Harmony isn't there.

They both listen to a lot of video game osts and it's probably what Harmony keeps playing in the store as well.

Acht has asked why Harmony doesn't stream playing games, and Harmony just doesn't wanna. She would rather just post reviews.

They swap whos the little spoon depending on the day.

Both of them have terrible sleep schedules.

The first time Acht ever saw a splatfest she was enamored, and now she makes sure to always attend the concerts. Harmony insists on keeping the store open since people are everywhere during splatfests and love to shop. But the floats come through the same streets as the shop, so Acht makes sure to pull her away to watch them at least once. And Harmony loves seeing the music as well.

Neither of them really participate in turf wars. Acht is older than most players and finds it awkward to team up with random teenagers but isn't willing to put together an official team of players her age. But she still likes to take her trusty squiffer out to the practice range to keep her skills sharp. Harmony LOVES to watch her practice.

I was about to go into a whole thing of which team they would pick for each splatfest and why, but i think thats gonna have to be later/if anyone asks for it cuz it may be too long for this post lol

so yeah ill end it there for now. they are my beloveds and i could talk about them forever so feel free to ask questions/send in suggestions/talk about how you view them

here is a goofy doodle i did in 5 mins on my laptop for compensation for reading this far:

[amywhereyouwant]

Some TOH HCs I wanted to share

There are a LOT of them, so They're under the read more for your scrolling convenience

Luz

-Uses She/They pronouns

-Would watch the entirety of Sword Art Online just to be able to shit on it properly

-Eats way too much Shredded Cheese even though she’s Lactose Intolerant

-Has made a Your mom joke to Willow only to remember she doesn’t have one

-Mains King in Tekken and made a custom attire trying to make it look like the other King

-Screenpeeks religiously in Split Screen Multiplayer

-Predicted Hecazura 2 books into the series, still won’t shut up about it

-Relatively known Digital Artist, her blog probably took off when she started making art of the Demon Realm 

-Hates baking

-Helps Amity bake out of the kindness of her heart(Also seeing Amity enjoying herself is really nice)

-Had a cold once, hasn’t had a Human Realm illness since

-Has SH scars from her depressed period back in the human realm(S3E1), still ashamed over them

-Quotes Memes constantly, only Hunter understands what she’s talking about

-Cracked a rib tripping on a rug on her way to bed

Amity

-Absolutely hates Bugs, like, genuinely despises them

-Does not know how computers work, but still tries to use Luz’s laptop to look up date ideas

-Can and will dress as the most stereotypical Witch ever

-Adopted(All 3 Blight Kids are in my HC)

-Likes to bake

-Does not know how to bake

-Gets sick constantly

-Works out a lot so she can help out with rebuilding the Isles(and also a little bit for Luz)

-Used to apologise a lot for minor things(Pre-timeskip)

-REALLY Bummed she didn’t get to see Titan Luz

-Watched the barbie movie the same day Gus watched Oppenheimer

Gus

-Goes nonverbal when stressed out, uses Illusions and his palisman to communicate

-Cried for hours when he finished the last Cosmic Frontier book, even though it was a happy ending

-Likes the idea of Professional Wrestling, but wishes the fights were to the death

-Quotes Cosmic Frontier as a Vocal Stim

-Dramatically perishes in Matt’s arms on the regular

-Headcanons O'Bayley to look exactly like Hunter just for the memes

-Thinks Human 2D Animation is the most beautiful thing to have ever been created

-Watched Across the Spider-Verse and Begged for Luz to draw a Spider-Suit for him, she did one for everyone

-Got really jealous when everyone else got flapjack tattoos, then he realised he could just make one of his own with an Illusion

-Got insanely mad when he learned about Human Discrimination(“How can you hate someone for something they can’t change? That’s ridiculous!”)

-Watched Oppenheimer the same day Amity and Hunter watched the Barbie Movie

Hunter

-LOVES Dino Nuggies

-Didn’t know Dinosaurs were real for a while until Luz showed them to him, Velociraptors are his favourite because “They’re like Wolves but Lizards!” (They’re not)

-Has a tumblr account where he posts about Wolves, Luz is his only follower

-Definitely has a Fursona

-Kicks Luz’s ass at most video games, except for Halo 2 specifically(I wonder why)

-”Will you go out with me?” “Hunter we’ve been dating for a year” “Oh.”

-Thinks Huggbees’ How it’s actually made videos are 100% Legit and honest

-Made Willow a Flower Shirt to match his Wolf Shirt

-Wears Willow’s Flower Shirt he made

-Imagine Dragons is his favourite band

-Has Epilepsy

-Steals Willow’s dresses sometimes

-Found Nicole Coenen on YouTube, showed her to luz “She looks kinda like Amity!”(Nobody else sees the resemblance)

-Probably plays a LOT of Roblox

-Watched the Barbie Movie with Amity(Luz forced him to)

-Has seen every single vine there is(Thank the Titan for Vine Compilations on YouTube)

-Any kind of facial hair he grows is really patchy so he just goes clean shaven for convenience

-Snuck food during TtT even though he was 100% allowed to eat normally

-Bananas do exist in the Demon Realm, Hunter has just never learned that they do

-Gets visits from the Spirits of the other Golden Guards in his dreams

Willow

-Tackled someone to the ground when they only slightly bumped into Hunter(We stan a protective queen)

-Feeds her palisman doggie treats, nobody knows why

-Filled Camila’s entire back garden with way too many plants during TtT, they’re still there despite not being watered for a while

-Made a Garland made of both Demon and Human Realm plants for Hunter on their anniversary

-Has no real idol/role model

-Happily Listens to everyone else ramble about their interests

-Wears Hunter’s Wolf Shirt

-Calls Hunter “Hun” as a short for his name, started doing it even more after she figured out what it actually meant

-Pranks people she doesn’t like by putting giant Grape Vines around their house

-Held a presentation about plant care for the Gravesfield Gardener Society

-Thinks most Human Sports are boring(Except for Hockey and Roller Derby)

Vee

-Pulls off some crazy ass cosplays

-Knows how to drive Camila’s car perfectly, still has no idea how it actually works though

-Laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe first time she heard Metal Pipe Fall Sound Effect

-Considers Luz to be her Sister, Camila burst into tears and hugged her when she called Luz “Big Sis” in front of her for the first time

-Plays Minecraft on Camila’s home PC, has spent tons of time on Hypixel and built a little shrine for the other basilisks on a private world

-Takes after Luz in a lot of ways

-Is way better at Spanish than Luz, flexes about it constantly(Nobody really cares)

-Had no idea how to tell Masha she was a Basilisk when they confessed to her(Masha knew long before she told them)

-Is really cuddly in Basilisk form, not so much when shapeshifted(“I don’t really feel like it’s myself”)

-Her first kiss with Masha was really awkward, she apologised like 45 times and cried because it wasn’t good

-Steven Universe is a canon IP in the universe, so she got really confused when Amethyst sounded EXACTLY like her

I have no idea why I made this

[supposed2bfunny]

2D gets self conscious of his speaking voice sometimes. and he’ll just get really quiet, mumble a lot, and generally be unresponsive during interviews. murdoc notices this and starts asking 2D questions about things he knows the lad likes. “oh by the way, have you seen that new album that came out recently? it had that bloopy synth vibe everywhere. 2D, you love bloopy sounds, yeh? what’d you think of it?” *2D proceeds to rant about how much he loves synths and explains his replications of them*

2D sometimes being nonverbal is a BIG YES!! Not even solely because he’s self-conscious about his voice (although comments about the way he speaks can definitely trigger a quiet episode).

Even if the only talking he does that day is just info-dumping about the things he really likes and the rest of the day he contributes little to conversations, Murdoc is fine with it.

Even if Murdoc doesn’t give a rat’s ass about which 80s zombie movie remake has the best special effects, it’s worth it to ask, just so he can see 2D light up as he launches into a rant about it.

[monkeyparasite]

hello! I would like a headcanon for my oc and the band or my oc and noodle. my oc is Stacy Adams and he's an autistic entertainer who is in a relationship with noodle. he is also a member of the band as of now due to the trauma of the tranz video has almost breaking him down. my ideas for a headcanon is how they doing in the studio or stage, what would they do if Stacy has a breakdown, and how they cheer him up.

hi there!! i havent had a request in a while and i am so happy to recieve one again!!

i like how you were specific on what you wanted, i just really like that and wanted to point it out! sorry if thats weird smfhs

also my apologies for getting to this so slow!

anywhoo!

Noodle

(I did noodle first because I assume you like Noodle the most! Dont be alarmed, I do this usually with other people if I know who theyre favorite band is)

Being the first to run to comfort him and check up on him, she's very protective and loving of her partner, so of course she'd want to help in any way that she can!

Depending on what works best for him, she usually uses that to help him! But when she doesn't, she always asks if she can touch him, if so, hes usually meet with a tight hug from her, and if not, its words of affirmations!

Shes understanding and patient with him, understanding that he can't control this, and even encourages him to do whatever is soothing for him!

Offers to take him somewhere else, like to get a drink of water, somewhere more private so he feels more relaxed perhaps, or something!

Quick to remind him that he's safe, hes not there anymore, and its going to be okay. Also reminds him to breathe!

Murdoc

Muds, assuming that this has happened before, would still be panicked each time because yknow, hes worried!

Depending what caused him to have a breakdown, he would offer to throw it out for him or beat it (or them) up for him, because well.. thats what he did for Noodle when she was younger and he hasn't fully grown out of trying to help like that

He does have a problem with not asking before touching, but he does have good intent with his actions! Like petting his head or rubbing his back

He's mainly the one Noodle barks orders to if she needs him to get something to help, which he has now made sure to keep close by just incase! Especially in the studio, like a weight blanketed that he has admittedly started using after finding out its so much better than having Russel lay on him when he's overwhelmed

Big words of affirmation dude though! If he goes nonverbal though, he is always up for just saying supportive things and asking easy to answer yes or no questions!

2D

He knows what its like so he's really understanding! Not very good at helping sometimes, but hes trying!

Gets scared whenever Stacy is overwhelmed because he doesn't want his band member to be upset, and is usually afraid something bad might happen to him!

Trys to distract him and remove whatever caused him to go into this state!

He is quick to panic really, running all over the place to try and help, which is a bad habit of his actually!

Is more of a listener a talker if Stacy is still able to speak, he tries to sympathize with him, while thinking up ways to help, which sometimes seem to be a scrambled mess unfortunately

Russel

Is both a listener and a talker! Hes big on words of affirmations and acts of psychial affection as well, so it is usually a mix of both telling him he is safe while offering to hug him

He has admittedly offered to lay on him because Murdoc had him do that once, in hopes that he'll be like a weighted blanket for him

His schedule of helping Stacy when he gets like this is always: First, figure out what caused him to become overwhelmed, then comfort him, and finally, if he can, deal with what made him like that. Say if its too much flashing lights, he has whoever is managing the lights to cease doing that

Not big on giving orders to anyone when Stacy gets like this, but when he does, its usually towards 2D, because we all knows the poor boy needs instructions and to be told what to do during times like that

[lynchianfilm]

sage, ivy, and aloe vera!

sage: what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

this is really difficult!! if i had to say, i think maybe, like... physical objects in general? this is a little bit of a cop-out in that i'm not specifying between sculpture/textile/physical 2d arts/etc, but all of those lovely things fall under the same mental umbrella to me and they're more and more easily blended these days. i think the reasoning is that visuals tap into emotions we don't have words for and can't otherwise get across, and that physical materials play a huge part in what makes art so affecting. think of something as simple as patching up a well-loved pair of jeans or casting a pet's paw print in plaster... there's love stored in there, you know? it's lived a life of its own in the physical world, and it travels through time with us. idk.

ivy: what are your ‘tells’ for your emotions and moods? how can someone tell you’re happy, annoyed, upset or tired?

i think it's pretty easy to tell if i'm annoyed or upset. i tend to get short with people, then once i realize i'm being grouchy i withdraw to calm down. exhaustion is my baseline so that's hard to differentiate. i actually have quite a hard time expressing happiness nonverbally... i often straight-up tell the people i'm with, because i know it doesn't really come across in my body language or tone other than, like, being quiet and soaking up the moment (unless i'm EXTREMELY excited/happy, in which case i'll be bouncing around flapping my hands etc).

aloe vera: what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

i have simply GOT to take someone on a date downtown by the beach one day. walking along the rocks, looking at the art on the sculpture walk, checking out all the cute shops, going down the pier... dream date tbh.

[glowinggator]

Hi there! First of all thank you for the short haired reader Headcanons, it was so sweet !

I’d like a matchup please! She/they, INFP, curly short hair+ freckles, rosy checks, chubby/curvy hufflepuff, 5’9, shy but friendly, Loud w friends, nerdy, like memes, books, animated movies, painting, n’ artist stuff. My friends says I’m very funny but also very naive, I have one of those obnoxious funny laughs you don’t see it coming from a mile away ( bc im usually kinda quiet ) but those that it makes others laugh from just hearing it? So yeah abbrjgkdkdn, a softie not gonna lie, hopeless romantic, affectionate, but I hide my love side out of fear for being rejected, I’m very good with kids and animals, I get flustered SO easily ( it’s a pain. In the ass bfbgjdksks) got depression and anxiety, but I love hanging out with friends, I’m always down to comfort ppl, listen, give advice if they need to, extremely supportive and kind. I sometimes need my space but at the same time I think I kinda need someone who reassures me I’m not a bother or that they still like me, ( friendships and relationships ) otherwise I will crate conspiracy theories against myself and slowly drift away shbfngjdkd also understand non verbal language cuz it’s hard for me to open up, I Hope this is enough? thank you!

I match you with...

Leonardo!!

Your caring and loving nature is a huge factor in drawing him in! Kind to kids, kind to animals, nerdy, a lil shy... he’s SO in. He realizes he’s in love with you the first time he really makes you laugh. Dorky & infectious laughter... his weakness <3

He’s the best reader of nonverbal cues, hands down. He picks up on that shit so quickly, sometimes before you even realize what you’re feeling. He’ll give you a little bit of time, to see if you want to bring it up, but he’s not afraid of bridging that gap if you’re unable to. He’s also the KING of reassurance. He’ll kiss your forehead, hold your hands, and tell you all the things he loves about you. Sweetest motherfucker on earth tbh 

He’s a bit taller than you! You already know he’s gonna do the thing of holding something above your head so you have to get on your tiptoes and lean into him to grab it. 

Send him your memes... he always has like, a billion saved on his phone to respond with. (He’s also started saying “___.....my beloved...” out loud recently about the most mundane stuff. he’s so dumb <3 also most of his texts read like shitposts its so funny. he’s your boyfriend, but it’s obvious that you two were very good friends before you started going out together. It’s really cute.) 

At least once a month, he sends you a video of him trying to get Splinter to say Ratatouille quotes. “Dad, dad! I need you to say something for me.” “What is it?” “Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” “No.”  It never works :( He’s not gonna stop trying though. 

ADORES how flustered you get... he plays into it so much. He loves to pepper you with kisses and watch how flustered you get. He’s also done the Gomez & Morticia kiss up the arm hundreds of times. 

He’s a hopeless romantic and proud of it! He’ll do it all. Flowers, candlelit dinner dates, watching the sunrise & sunset, making dinner together, everything. 

He likes to lay his head in your lap while you read. Oftentimes he’ll fall asleep, especially if you trace patterns on his shell with your free hand. 

He loves crystals a lot! He could spend hours inside of gem shops, to be quite frank. His favorite is Blue Tourmaline, and he’ll buy little bags of it in the Hidden City so he can make necklaces & bracelets for you out of it. Every time you look down at your wrist or at your necklace, it makes you think of him :) 

One way to make him really flustered? Trace his stripes! He practically melts into your hands, and he gets the sweetest smile on his face. His eyes close as he leans into your touch and it’s just... MUAH. 

He tries so hard to make you laugh!! Your laughter is his favorite sound in the world, and he’ll do damn-near anything to hear it. If you’re ticklish... godspeed </3 

Fellow lover of animated movies!! He’s always down to watch them with you, and chances are, they’re a pretty common pick on movie night. (He also FREQUENTLY sends you the “I wish all american animation studios a very make 2D movies again or else” meme. If he has to watch one more CGI remake again he’s gonna DIE.)

If you have freckles on your shoulders/arms, you already know he’s gonna trace them. He thinks they’re so pretty! He likes to connect them with markers to make little constellations. 

He has your hair products MEMORIZED. If you ever run out of something, he’s the first to track it down for you. He also likes to draw cat ears and whiskers on the products in your bathroom <3

On your first year anniversary, he wrote you a really sweet song. He ran across the rooftops of New York with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder to get to your apartment, and you still remember the way he smiled as you grabbed his hands to pull him through the window. (He’s a good singer, too! It was the sweetest thing in the world <3) 

He’s SUCH a nerd... talk to him about your latest interest, do it!! He gets just as passionate as you do, even if he had no idea what it was beforehand! He loves passion. 

He has Houdini’s history memorized forwards and backwards: both his personal life and his performances! He gets so excited when he talks about Houdini, it’s cute. He’ll lay his head in your lap and ramble for ages, if you let him. His eyes light up like supernovas, it’s adorable. He talks with his hands, too. 

Super supportive of your art!! He frames/hangs up anything you give to him. And if it’s too small, you bet its going in his treasure box. (He keeps it under his bed, and it’s full of little things that remind him of you.) 

Speaking of which, he’s cool if you ever need a bit of space! It doesn’t hurt his feelings, I promise. Everyone needs a little bit of space sometimes, and that’s okay! So long as you know you’re loved, he’s cool with it. 

He’s a huge fan of personality tests!! Both serious ones like Myers-Briggs and the silly ones that you find on like. Buzzfeed. He’ll stay up for HOURS taking them to avoid going to bed. (He’s an ENFP & Gryffindor, for reference! He barely skirts into ENFP-T, [Around a 55-45, maybe 60-40 split] if you wanna be specific.) He loves sending them to you, too! 

Literally the sticky note KING. He’ll stick them everywhere. Having a depressive episode? Sticky note reminders to eat & shower if he’s not there. Loving little stickies with encouragement! Declarations of how much he loves you, and how proud of you he is! He’ll also do it when you’re feeling a-okay, but you can bet that he increases them when you’re not feeling well. It’s a nice way for him to tell you that he loves you and is proud of you when he isn’t there. You keep all of them in a box of your own :) You guys also have a giant sticky note trail on your fridge. You both keep stacking responses on top of one another. 

[theresidentedgelord]

Hi! If you’re still doing matchups? If not that’s okay!! I’m 19, I’m 5’4”, im demi-pan and nonbinary, I’ve got shortish brown hair that’s kind of wavy(? Idk it has a mind of its own). I love to read and listen to music, I’m REALLY into theatre and I love acting! I’m really easy to make laugh, I’m a super giggly person, but I also have depression and anxiety and that can sometimes make me real quiet and nonverbal. I just wanna have a good time honestly. Thank you !!!

Russel

Russel supports you and your identity! He loves everything about you, so you being comfortable in your skin and fearlessly you is like the cherry on top!

Absentminded Sunday morning cuddles where he runs his fingers through your soft hair is a guarantee.

So is him laughing when your hair does something weird.

Bookstore and library dates! Expect afternoons dedicated to perusing the shelves of a bookstore and sharing the gems you guys find. Russel will read your favourite books and bring you ones he thinks you’ll like. He also loves talking about the meanings, messages, and impact on influential books.

Expect the best music playing set ups in his house. Dude has everything it seems. Record players, tons of speakers (he’s always searching for a better one), cassette tapes, boomboxes, CD players, and even an 8 track player! He’s got multiple iPods and mp3 players. He was (and still is) the go to guy when you’re looking for a new or better way to listen to music.

On top of that he has tons of instruments! He’s not able to completely play everything but he can play something on everything! He’s got about as many drum kits and 2D has keyboards. He has different kinds of drums. He has synths, a guitar, a uke, and more!

Point is, he loves music too and he is more than willing to blast or play music with you! He’s also a super good teacher if you want to learn.

Russel is the kind of guy who already loves theatre so the fact that his favourite person is involved in something he already enjoys is like literally the best news her ever heard. (Excluding when he got the news that Noodle is still alive.) He will be in the audience every chance he gets. Russel is so proud of you and he will gush over your performance in the car ride home. 

Flowers every single performance. With out fail.

Russel understands depression and while he doesn’t fully understand anxiety, he cares so much about you and does everything he can possibly do to help you out. He’ll remind you of therapy appointments, medication, and to do the basic things like eat. He keeps abreast of the latest advancements in mental health studies and does his best to love and care for you. He’ll cook your favourite meals on your worst days. Cuddles to cheer you up. He’ll make you mixtapes of songs he thinks might make you feel better and then play them for you.

Over all this boy adores you and wants nothing  but the best for you.

[stupotimagines-blog]

how 2D would go about helping his autistic SO out when they start to get sensory overload in public?? love ur blog!!

A/N: Thank you so much! Alright so on a personal note I’m not autistic but I experience sensory overloads for other reasons I’m not trying to dive too deeply into right now. So basically I feel comfortable writing about this topic but I’m honestly not sure if I experience them in the same way!

It first starts up in the department store. What started as a quick run for a rice cooker quickly became overwhelming. A couple of kids were crying throughout the place, different music was playing in different parts of the store, bright lighting, a phone kept ringing by the bedding section that no one would answer, and peoples shoes were exceptionally squeaky against the tile. He notices you seem anxious but generally doesn’t like being overbearing so he brushes it off.

You respond less and less to his chatter before you grow completely silent, stiff bodied, with a massive headache. He asks if you’re feeling okay and when you shake your head he asks if you feel comfortable enough speaking. Another head shake, then a nod after he confirms nonverbal communication is best in the moment.

After getting approval to grab your hand, he leads you out to the carpark. He holds out his sunglasses for you before you reach the door. “It’s sunny out, I don’t know if the light is botherin’ you.” You nod and accept them.

He opens the the door for you, closing it gently before wrapping around the back to find a jacket and a three day old water bottle. He looked at it for a minute before deciding something was better than nothing and sets them near you.

He sits in the drivers side quietly checking his phone for a while so you have time to calm down to feel comfortable on the road home.

[rontufox]

Sonic Tag Meme

thanks for tagging me @mathewryf!

How long have you been a Sonic Fan? 

22 years, my youngins

First sonic game played: 

Sonic 3 & Knuckles.  that game blew my miiiiiiiiiiiiind.  it was the first Sonic game my family owned, though I had watched other people play Sonic 2 and Sonic CD before that.  I never played that game alone haha, I was always Tails!

Top 3 Favorite Characters: 

❀✿ MIGHTY ✿❀ Knuckles! Sonic!

Favorite Vocal Track: 

*face in hands*  it’s this...........

BUT man, Unknown from M.E. SUUUUUCH a close second you don’t even know, I LOVE THIS STUPID SONG

♫ born on an island, IN, the heavens the blood of my ancestors, FLOWS, inside me my duty is, to save, the flower~ from EVIL DETERIORATION ♫

just believe in MYself, won’t rely on others!!!!!!!!!

Favorite non-vocal track:

oh gooooooooooooooooooooooooosh how in the world can I answer??  the old games got TONS of freaking amazing music.  if ya make me choose...

but I also love Chemical Plant Zone, Sky Chase Zone, Emerald Hill 2P version, Hydrocity Zone Act 2, Ice Cap Zone Act 1, Flying Battery Zone Act 2, Sandopolis Zone Act 1, Hidden Palace Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone, Azure Lake, Endless Mine, Marina Madness, Evening Star, Take Off, Take a Nap, Tachy Touch, Panic Puppet Act 1 (Genesis), Volcano Valley Act 2 (Genesis), SO MANY OF THE BOSS SONGS  *cries*  THEY”RE ALL SO GOOD

Top 3 Games: 

Sonic 3 & Knuckles Sonic Adventure Sonic Adventure 2

............and I also REALLY love playing Sonic Riders

Top 5 Stages:

you can’t ask me this

Favorite Team, (Team Rose, Sonic, Dark, Chaotix):

Team Sonic I guess?

Favorite game intro: 

SONIC ADVENTURE OMG

Which game has the best story: 

to this day nothing has topped Sonic 3 & Knuckles!

2D, 3D, or Both: 

I obviously love the 2D games, but Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the epitome of that format.  unless you create something that polished and enormous, there’s no point.  I really wanna play another 3D game I love as much as SA/SA2!

Sonic Mania or Sonic Forces: 

not to invested in either atm!

Which character(s) would you want to see in the Boom show: 

dooooooon’t ask me this lolol

Best Sonic Show: 

I was surprised how much I liked Sonic X (I only watched it recently), at least the Japanese version.  Sonic’s so cool in it.  all super introverted and nonverbal.  it was also sorta strange how cool they made Knuckles sometimes!  I like it best outta all the Sonic shows I’ve seen

Favorite Sonic Era: 

classic, you even gotta ask?

Tag 5 or more people: @bulgariansumo @earth-tooth @gaysilver @final-rush-zone @aelith-earfalas @torpedoesarts (it won’t tag you...)

[michaelarts]

Favorite Games of the Decade (2010 - 2019)

2011

L.A. Noire - A great detective story, an amazing soundtrack, and a memorable mechanic where you read people’s faces to decide if they’re telling the truth. It isn’t perfect, but I replayed it a ton and I think it’s the most unique big budget game of the decade.

2012

FEZ - A 2D game that takes place in a 3D world. The main mechanic lets you change perspectives and see the world differently. It’s a unique title full of mystery and personality. I used to play this before winding down for bed because I found it so relaxing, but it can be as challenging as it is relaxing!

Dear Esther - The original “walking simulator art game”. I love the narrative in this; it basically plays like a detective game where you’re finding fragments of story and have to make sense of what’s going on by analyzing everything in the environment. There’s one scene towards the end where you’re trapped at the bottom of the ocean, and when I first played it my brain thought it was happening to me in real life and I started panicking haha. A memorable experience for sure!

2013

Proteus - This is basically a dynamic soundtrack generator. You walk around a randomly generated island and the music changes based on the environment around you. Each animal has a different song to sing, and each season gives an entirely different mood. A really relaxing experience with some of the best sound design of the decade!

Antichamber - A psychological puzzler with a unique art style! I struggle to describe this one, so here’s a quote from the store page: “Discover an Escher-like world where hallways wrap around upon each other, spaces reconfigure themselves, and accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.“

Papers, Please - You play as a border inspector that decides whether or not to allow people into a country. You have to examine each person’s paperwork and make sure it’s in order before letting them in. It has a unique mechanic, but the tough moral decisions really take it to another level.

The Last of Us - A great story with memorable characters. Most people have probably played this so I’m not going to say more than that haha.

2014

Corrypt - This is a mind blowing puzzle game built around using glitches or “hacks” to progress. I don’t want to say much more, but I haven’t played anything quite like this. It takes a while before the main ideas kick in, but if you like puzzle games and have some patience you should definitely check this out. It’s free to play online too!

The Talos Principle - One of my favorite games of all time. It’s a philosophical puzzle game that touches on many deep subjects through the narrative. The puzzle design is great, the soundtrack is amazing, and I felt like a different person after completing it.

2015

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture - The spiritual sequel to Dear Esther, and I think it’s one of the best narrative-focused games ever made. Similar to Dear Esther, you explore an abandoned town and piece together an out of order narrative by analyzing the environment. The attention to detail is on another level, and the soundtrack is amazing too!

2016

The Witness - This is my favorite game of all time. It’s hard to talk about it though because there are so many spoilers and it almost plays like a type of spiritual experience you need to witness (get it? haha) yourself. Thematically, it’s about the relationship between science and spirituality... among other things. If you like philosophy and puzzles I think this is a must play game, but it’s probably not for everyone.

Inside - An awesome platformer from the developers of Limbo. Similar to The Witness, it expresses deeper themes and ideas nonverbally so it’s hard to discuss what the game’s about exactly, but if you like moody platformers they don’t get much better than this.

2017

Night in the Woods - A story based game with a lot of heart. It deals with themes that people from a small town will relate to, and that’s why it stuck out for me.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I loved exploring Hyrule and finding all of those awesome dungeon puzzles!

Horizon Zero Dawn - I loved the setting, the story, and the characters. I think this is one of the best RPG games from the decade.

Gorogoa - A puzzle game where you put together pieces of pictures to make new pictures. I have no idea how to describe this one, so just watch the trailer haha.

2018

Spider-Man - I loved the Spider-Man games from the 90′s, and playing this really brought me back to those days.

[marymosley]

Emojis in Court

Love them or hate them, it looks like “emojis” are here to stay. As of this writing, more than 3,000 emojis have been officially recognized, standardized, and named by the Unicode Consortium (a group that cares very deeply about emojis, among other things) and they have been adopted for widespread use on cell phones, tablets, email clients, and social media platforms.

Emojis now exist as a way to succinctly express everything from the ordinary and familiar ( smiling face;  thumbs-up) to the surprisingly specific ( mountain cableway; moon viewing ceremony) to the routinely misunderstood ( not “angry” but rather “persevering face;”  not “shooting star” but rather “dizzy”), to the criminally repurposed ( snowflake to mean cocaine;  rocket to mean high drug potency).

The explosive growth of this alternative form of communication is raising some interesting questions for criminal attorneys and the court system as a whole. Should emojis be considered “statements,” on equal footing with written or spoken words? If they’re not statements, then what are they? Who decides what is meant by the use of a particular emoji? Do they have to be published to the jury and included in the record as images, or can they be summarized and described by words? What should practitioners do to make sure that emojis are accurately reflected in transcripts, court orders, and appellate opinions, since many court systems are text-based and do not allow for the inclusion of images?

Let’s about it.

Emojis? Really?

I’m afraid so. If this topic makes you  and want to  your , I sympathize. It took me far longer to find and insert those three images than it would have taken to simply type the words. But like it or not, emojis are showing up as evidence up in court cases with increasing frequency.

This topic garnered some national attention a few years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015). The defendant in Elonis challenged his conviction for threatening his estranged wife on Facebook, and one of the arguments on appeal was that the posts could not be interpreted as threats because the defendant included a smiley face emoji with the tongue sticking out, indicating that he was not serious. The emoji did not end up factoring into the Court’s opinion, but to some observers it was proof that emojis had finally arrived as an issue on the legal landscape, and would likely become more common and more significant.

Recent cases across the country seem to bear that prediction out. See, e.g., United States v. Jefferson, 911 F.3d 1290 (10th Cir. 2018) (affirming defendant’s robbery convictions, and noting that the “substantial” evidence of his guilt included not only surveillance videos and his admissions, but also a “Facebook post made after the January 9 robberies, which included a firearm emoji”);  Commonwealth v. Hunt, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 1123 (Feb. 22, 2019) (unpublished) (evidence on cross-examination to show nature of relationship and alleged bias of witness included text messages with “three kissey emoji,” “emoji of … two people with [a] heart … above their heads” and an “emoji of … [a] diamond ring”); State v. King, 2018 WL 4868127 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Oct. 9, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in witness tampering case included Facebook post that included a picture of a subpoena, multiple references to the subject as a “rat,” and “seven middle finger emojis”).

According to Professor Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University who tracks this issue, the prevalence of emojis in court cases across the country has followed a “J curve” pattern, beginning with just a few cases back in 2004 but then rising exponentially; in fact, more than 30% of all reported court cases mentioning emojis appeared in 2018 alone.

I have not yet seen any North Carolina or 4th Circuit cases in which the presence, admissibility, or meaning of an emoji was a crucial factor in the decision, but they are undoubtedly beginning to show up in the evidence. See, e.g., State v. Aracena, __ N.C. App. __, 817 S.E.2d 628 (Aug. 21, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in robbery and assault case included a Facebook post directed at victim boasting about the assault, along with “five laughing emojis with tears coming out”); see also Nexus Services, Inc., v. Moran, 2018 WL 1461750 (W.D. Va., March 23, 2018) (concluding that an email between two co-workers which contained a “Hitler emoji” was not an attempt to chill plaintiff’s speech – it had to be “taken in context” where “one was jokingly calling the other a ‘meanie’ and a taskmaster”).

Emojis: Words, Thoughts, Both, or Neither?

As explained here, emojis first appeared in the mid- to late-1990’s as a feature on select Japanese cell phones, but their popularity exploded in the early 2000’s after they were standardized to work across multiple platforms and in different countries. The term “emoji” comes from the Japanese words “e” (絵, or “picture”) and “moji” (文字, or “character”), so emoji literally means “picture character.”

Emojis aren’t words in the traditional sense, of course, but it’s clear that they are something more communicative than mere doodles or illustrations.  Like their text-based ancestors known as “emoticons” (figures or symbols such as  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or :-), created with regular keyboard characters), emojis can be used to add context and tone to an accompanying statement, or they can express a separate and independent thought on their own. Conceptually, this makes emojis analogous to gestures, nods, or facial expressions that can likewise modify the meaning of accompanying words (like a shrug for “no offense,” or a glare for “I’m not kidding”), or convey a complete thought (like a nod to mean “yes,” or pointing to mean “over there”), depending on the circumstances.

Until we receive specific guidance from North Carolina’s appellate courts, and in light of the fact that emojis are being used as a form of communication, the most logical approach is to treat them as “statements,” comparable to any other type of “written or oral assertion or nonverbal conduct intended by the declarant as an assertion.” G.S. 8C-1, Rule 801(a) (definition of hearsay); see also State v. Satterfield, 316 N.C. 55 (1986) (“An act, such as a gesture, can be a statement for purposes of applying rules concerning hearsay”). Treating emojis as nonverbal statements provides a ready-made body of law for tackling issues like relevance and admissibility, which is a great start, but it gets a little more complicated when we turn to the matter of interpretation.

What Do Emojis Mean?

Imagine a troubled young defendant who texts his girlfriend that he is willing to   her disapproving parents so that they can finally be together. She texts back with what the Unicode Consortium calls the “folded hands” emoji: . What does that reply mean? Is it hands clasped in prayer, begging him not to do it? Or praying that he will? Or perhaps she misunderstands the emoji and thinks it’s a “high five,” celebrating their murderous plan? Additionally, consider what happens if the sender and receiver are using different cell phones or operating systems. The same emoji, “pistol,” displays this way on a Microsoft device:  but it shows up like this on an LG smartphone:  . The potential for misunderstandings and conflicting interpretations is (literally) easy to see.

In many cases, the jurors will make the final determination about the true meaning or intent behind an ambiguous emoji, just as they would with any other potentially incriminating statement that the declarant contends was “only a joke” or “not how I meant it.” And to help the jury answer those questions, it appears that we have already entered the age of emoji interpretation expert witnesses. In a recent human trafficking case out of California, the state qualified a detective “as an expert in the areas of pimping, pandering and prostitution,” based on his training and experience, and the expert was permitted to testify about several emojis that the defendant texted (a crown, high heels, and bags of money) and the meaning of those images “specific to commercial … sexual exploitation.” See People v. Jamerson, 2019 WL 459012 (Cal. Ct. App., February 6, 2019) (unpublished).

But judges, magistrates, attorneys, and law enforcement officers also need to become at least conversationally fluent in emoji-speak, in order to address a number of other issues that could surface before trial. For example, is the “folded hands” emoji in the example above enough to charge the girlfriend with conspiracy? Is it admissible at trial as a statement of a co-conspirator? If the girlfriend testifies and insists that her reply meant “I’m praying you don’t do it,” can the state still argue the mistaken high five interpretation as a “reasonable inference” in closing? Opposing parties will inevitably disagree on what certain emojis mean, but it helps if both sides can at least agree on their names and recognize the differences between them.

How to Publish and Preserve

The growing use of emojis in texts, social media posts, and emails poses two additional problems for the court system. First, how should emojis be presented in court proceedings, such as when an officer is using them as part of a warrant application, or when an attorney wants to publish them to the jury? Second, how should they be documented and preserved in court records, such as transcripts or appellate opinions?

Whenever possible, the best option is to use the entire text, email, or post, showing all the words and emojis together. Officers can attach a printout or screenshot to their warrant applications, and attorneys can publish to the jury by handing out copies and letting the jurors see it for themselves. This approach helps to avoid disputes about misrepresentation or cross-platform display errors, and best ensures that the full and true intent of the communication will be conveyed (whatever the parties contend that intent is).

If including an image is not possible, it is imperative that the written description of the emojis be as complete and accurate as possible, preferably by using the standardized Unicode Consortium names. There are 148 different emojis listed in the “Smileys and Emotion” category alone, so a vague description like “smiley face emoji” could lead to confusion or error. In addition to its distinctive name, every emoji also has a unique code assigned to it. Including both the full name and the code in the description will ensure that “sleepy face” (, U+1 F62A) is not incorrectly characterized as “drooling face” (, U+1 F924).

The least desirable option is to leave the emojis out entirely, or replace them with a generic placeholder in brackets like [emojis omitted] or [various emojis]. For all the reasons explained above, this option doesn’t accurately convey the full meaning of the statement. See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, 280 F. Supp. 3d 772 (D. Md., Nov. 21, 2017) (referencing an Instagram post where defendant wrote “…they welcomed me home like it was 88 [emojis]. Real luv never fails…”). The post in Johnson would read quite differently if the defendant said he was being “welcomed home” with  instead of .

Emoji or Emojis?

Finally, what is the correct plural of emoji? If there are several of them in a row, is it still “emoji” like we would say “the seven samurai,” or should it be “emojis” like we would say “multiple tsunamis?” As you can tell from this post I’ve already made my choice, but for a contrary view check out this Atlantic article. Let the comment war begin.

The post Emojis in Court appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Emojis in Court published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

[foxvalleyinstitutechicagoi-blog2]

Marriage Counseling Naperville Fox Valley Institute: A Simple Definition

Marital relationship rates allegedly are on the decline. While it's an oft-repeated fact that 50 percent of very first marriages end in divorce, that number has actually stayed unchanged for the past thirty years. Divorce rates likewise vary with the partners' level of education, faiths, and many other aspects.

However when divorce does happen, it leads to troubles for adults as well as kids. For grownups, divorce can be one of life's most difficult life occasions. The decision to divorce typically is met uncertainty and uncertainty about the future. If kids are involved, they may experience unfavorable effects such as rejection, sensations of desertion, anger, blame, regret, preoccupation with reconciliation, and acting out.

While divorce may be required and the healthiest choice for some, others may want to attempt to restore whatever is left of the union. When couples encounter issues or problems, they may question when it is suitable to seek marital relationship counselling. Here are seven excellent factors.

1. Interaction has actually ended up being negative.

As soon as interaction has deteriorated, frequently it is difficult to get it returning in the right direction. Negative communication can include anything that leaves one partner sensation depressed, insecure, disregarded, or wishing to withdraw from the discussion. This can likewise consist of the tone of the conversation. It is very important to keep in mind that it's not always what you state, however how you state it.

Unfavorable interaction can likewise consist of any communication that not only leads to harm feelings, however psychological or physical abuse, along with nonverbal communication.

2. When one or both partners think about having an affair, or one partner has had an affair.

Recovering from an affair is not impossible, but it takes a lot of work. It takes dedication and a determination to forgive and move on. There is no magic formula for recuperating from an affair. However if both individuals are devoted to the treatment process and are being honest, the marital relationship might be restored. At the minimum, it might be identified that it is healthier for both people to carry on.

3. When the couple appears to be "simply occupying the same area."

When couples end up being more like roomies than a couple, this might indicate a need for counselling. This does not mean if the couple isn't doing everything together they remain in problem. If there is an absence of communication, conversation and intimacy or any other elements the couple feels are essential and they feel they simply "co-exist," this might be an indicator that an experienced clinician can assist sort out what is missing and how to get it back.

4. When the partners do not know how to resolve their distinctions.

I keep in mind watching GI Joe as a kid. Every program ended with the phrase "now you understand, and knowing is half the battle." For me, that phrase enters your mind with this situation. When a couple starts to experience discord and they understand the discord, knowing is just half the battle. Many times I have actually heard couples state, "We understand what's incorrect, but we simply don't know how to repair it.". This is a best time to get a third party included. If a couple is stuck, an experienced clinician might be able to get them relocating the ideal direction.

5. When one partner starts to act out on negative feelings.

I think what we feel on the inside reveals on the exterior. Even if we have the ability to mask these sensations for a while, they are bound to surface area. Negative feelings such as bitterness or dissatisfaction can turn into painful, in some cases hazardous behaviors. I can recall a couple https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=Couples Counseling where the spouse was very injured by her hubby's indiscretions. Although she consented to remain in the relationship and work things out, she ended up being extremely spiteful. The wife would purposefully do things to make her partner think she was being unfaithful despite the fact that she wasn't. She wanted her husband to feel the very same discomfort she felt, which was disadvantageous. A skilled clinician can help the couple sort out negative feelings and discover much better ways to reveal them.

6. When the only resolution seems separation.

When a couple disagrees or argues, a break frequently is very handy. However, when a timeout becomes an overnight stay away from home or eventually results in a temporary separation, this might indicate a requirement for counseling. Spending quality time away from home does not normally fix the scenario. Rather, it strengthens the idea that time away is helpful, frequently leading to more absences. When the absent partner returns, the problem is still there, however frequently avoided due to the fact that time has actually passed.

7. When a couple is remaining together for the sake of the children.

If a couple feels it is wise to remain together for the sake of the kids, it might assist to include an objective 3rd party. Frequently couples think that they are doing the best thing when remaining together really is destructive to the kids. On the contrary, if the couple has the ability to solve problem and move https://fvinstitute.com toward a positive, healthy relationship, this may be the best decision for all involved.

In my opinion, kids must never ever be the choosing element when couples are determining whether to remain together. I remember dealing with an adolescent who was having difficulty in school. She was acting out and her grades were declining. After a couple of sessions she stated, "I know my parents actually do not like each other." When I asked her why, she responded, "They are good to each other, however they never smile or laugh like my buddies' moms and dads."

Kids are typically extremely intuitive and intelligent. No matter how couples might believe they have the ability to phony their joy, a lot of children are able to inform.

All marriages are not salvageable. In the procedure of marital relationship therapy, some couples may find it is healthier for them to be apart. However, for those relationships that can be restored, and for those couples going to commit to the process, marriage counseling may be able to advise them why they fell in love and keep them that method.

Fox Valley Institute

640 North River Road, Suite 108

Naperville, IL 60563

P: 630.718.0717

F: 630.718.0747

https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2975.109228426509!2d-88.18281818456188!3d41.782859579229765!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x880ef863f98770bf%3A0xca4880a8723d9325!2sFox+Valley+Institute!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1542660528308

[williamslucy]

Spatial Communication :-

“Spatial Communication is a very broad aspect of nonverbal communication. It is especially important because of how big a role it plays in everyday communication without people realising it.”

About using communication within a space.

Can include material and express a narrative.

Probably going to be a time based experience.

A few examples of Spatial communication that I thought were interesting:

Troika perspective sculptures series: I really caught my eye and I found their concept and pieces to be really interesting making me want to view them over and over, furthermore I liked the way these were almost interactive pieces with the public as you have to move around them to see understand what they are trying to present to you. Within this series this includes:

Squaring the Circle: (Above) A simple 3D model fixture that displays 2D images of both a square and a circle, the fixture plays with the audiences visual and logical perceptions as it bends our expectation of reality

Dark matter: Similarly, Black matter is another 3D model fixture and probably my favorite out of the three. The fixture appears flat and eerie as if just stuck in one place but as the viewer moves around the space it the piece morphs into three different geometric shapes making it apparent that the fixture is 3D and has three different viewpoint in one piece. I think its a fascinating piece how it has been put together to create its illusion and how it makes it audience feel and question what they are seeing. 

Brunner Salone Milan:  Appearing as an almost art installation rather than a display, I love the way that Brunner has taken full advantage of a space and is using its new product in an eye catching way on the surface but also is representative or other elements. The chair is marketed as ‘lightweight’ and this is shown almost literally by having the chairs suspended in the air. The mirrored walls also work in line with the piece creating a mesmerizing atmosphere in the space which would put anybody in awe due to the mesh of vibrant colours being reflected around, there are also links here to a company slogan ‘See/Reflect/Act’ which has helped to inspire the whole set up.

https://www.scribd.com/document/264561552/Spatial-Communication

http://troika.uk.com/work/troika-squaring-the-circle/

http://troika.uk.com/work/dark-matter-art-basel-unlimited/

https://ifgroup.org/en/project/807/brunner-salone-milan-2011/?sector=36

[marymosley]

Emojis in Court

Love them or hate them, it looks like “emojis” are here to stay. As of this writing, more than 3,000 emojis have been officially recognized, standardized, and named by the Unicode Consortium (a group that cares very deeply about emojis, among other things) and they have been adopted for widespread use on cell phones, tablets, email clients, and social media platforms.

Emojis now exist as a way to succinctly express everything from the ordinary and familiar ( smiling face;  thumbs-up) to the surprisingly specific ( mountain cableway; moon viewing ceremony) to the routinely misunderstood ( not “angry” but rather “persevering face;”  not “shooting star” but rather “dizzy”), to the criminally repurposed ( snowflake to mean cocaine;  rocket to mean high drug potency).

The explosive growth of this alternative form of communication is raising some interesting questions for criminal attorneys and the court system as a whole. Should emojis be considered “statements,” on equal footing with written or spoken words? If they’re not statements, then what are they? Who decides what is meant by the use of a particular emoji? Do they have to be published to the jury and included in the record as images, or can they be summarized and described by words? What should practitioners do to make sure that emojis are accurately reflected in transcripts, court orders, and appellate opinions, since many court systems are text-based and do not allow for the inclusion of images?

Let’s about it.

Emojis? Really?

I’m afraid so. If this topic makes you  and want to  your , I sympathize. It took me far longer to find and insert those three images than it would have taken to simply type the words. But like it or not, emojis are showing up as evidence up in court cases with increasing frequency.

This topic garnered some national attention a few years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015). The defendant in Elonis challenged his conviction for threatening his estranged wife on Facebook, and one of the arguments on appeal was that the posts could not be interpreted as threats because the defendant included a smiley face emoji with the tongue sticking out, indicating that he was not serious. The emoji did not end up factoring into the Court’s opinion, but to some observers it was proof that emojis had finally arrived as an issue on the legal landscape, and would likely become more common and more significant.

Recent cases across the country seem to bear that prediction out. See, e.g., United States v. Jefferson, 911 F.3d 1290 (10th Cir. 2018) (affirming defendant’s robbery convictions, and noting that the “substantial” evidence of his guilt included not only surveillance videos and his admissions, but also a “Facebook post made after the January 9 robberies, which included a firearm emoji”);  Commonwealth v. Hunt, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 1123 (Feb. 22, 2019) (unpublished) (evidence on cross-examination to show nature of relationship and alleged bias of witness included text messages with “three kissey emoji,” “emoji of … two people with [a] heart … above their heads” and an “emoji of … [a] diamond ring”); State v. King, 2018 WL 4868127 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Oct. 9, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in witness tampering case included Facebook post that included a picture of a subpoena, multiple references to the subject as a “rat,” and “seven middle finger emojis”).

According to Professor Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University who tracks this issue, the prevalence of emojis in court cases across the country has followed a “J curve” pattern, beginning with just a few cases back in 2004 but then rising exponentially; in fact, more than 30% of all reported court cases mentioning emojis appeared in 2018 alone.

I have not yet seen any North Carolina or 4th Circuit cases in which the presence, admissibility, or meaning of an emoji was a crucial factor in the decision, but they are undoubtedly beginning to show up in the evidence. See, e.g., State v. Aracena, __ N.C. App. __, 817 S.E.2d 628 (Aug. 21, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in robbery and assault case included a Facebook post directed at victim boasting about the assault, along with “five laughing emojis with tears coming out”); see also Nexus Services, Inc., v. Moran, 2018 WL 1461750 (W.D. Va., March 23, 2018) (concluding that an email between two co-workers which contained a “Hitler emoji” was not an attempt to chill plaintiff’s speech – it had to be “taken in context” where “one was jokingly calling the other a ‘meanie’ and a taskmaster”).

Emojis: Words, Thoughts, Both, or Neither?

As explained here, emojis first appeared in the mid- to late-1990’s as a feature on select Japanese cell phones, but their popularity exploded in the early 2000’s after they were standardized to work across multiple platforms and in different countries. The term “emoji” comes from the Japanese words “e” (絵, or “picture”) and “moji” (文字, or “character”), so emoji literally means “picture character.”

Emojis aren’t words in the traditional sense, of course, but it’s clear that they are something more communicative than mere doodles or illustrations.  Like their text-based ancestors known as “emoticons” (figures or symbols such as  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or :-), created with regular keyboard characters), emojis can be used to add context and tone to an accompanying statement, or they can express a separate and independent thought on their own. Conceptually, this makes emojis analogous to gestures, nods, or facial expressions that can likewise modify the meaning of accompanying words (like a shrug for “no offense,” or a glare for “I’m not kidding”), or convey a complete thought (like a nod to mean “yes,” or pointing to mean “over there”), depending on the circumstances.

Until we receive specific guidance from North Carolina’s appellate courts, and in light of the fact that emojis are being used as a form of communication, the most logical approach is to treat them as “statements,” comparable to any other type of “written or oral assertion or nonverbal conduct intended by the declarant as an assertion.” G.S. 8C-1, Rule 801(a) (definition of hearsay); see also State v. Satterfield, 316 N.C. 55 (1986) (“An act, such as a gesture, can be a statement for purposes of applying rules concerning hearsay”). Treating emojis as nonverbal statements provides a ready-made body of law for tackling issues like relevance and admissibility, which is a great start, but it gets a little more complicated when we turn to the matter of interpretation.

What Do Emojis Mean?

Imagine a troubled young defendant who texts his girlfriend that he is willing to   her disapproving parents so that they can finally be together. She texts back with what the Unicode Consortium calls the “folded hands” emoji: . What does that reply mean? Is it hands clasped in prayer, begging him not to do it? Or praying that he will? Or perhaps she misunderstands the emoji and thinks it’s a “high five,” celebrating their murderous plan? Additionally, consider what happens if the sender and receiver are using different cell phones or operating systems. The same emoji, “pistol,” displays this way on a Microsoft device:  but it shows up like this on an LG smartphone:  . The potential for misunderstandings and conflicting interpretations is (literally) easy to see.

In many cases, the jurors will make the final determination about the true meaning or intent behind an ambiguous emoji, just as they would with any other potentially incriminating statement that the declarant contends was “only a joke” or “not how I meant it.” And to help the jury answer those questions, it appears that we have already entered the age of emoji interpretation expert witnesses. In a recent human trafficking case out of California, the state qualified a detective “as an expert in the areas of pimping, pandering and prostitution,” based on his training and experience, and the expert was permitted to testify about several emojis that the defendant texted (a crown, high heels, and bags of money) and the meaning of those images “specific to commercial … sexual exploitation.” See People v. Jamerson, 2019 WL 459012 (Cal. Ct. App., February 6, 2019) (unpublished).

But judges, magistrates, attorneys, and law enforcement officers also need to become at least conversationally fluent in emoji-speak, in order to address a number of other issues that could surface before trial. For example, is the “folded hands” emoji in the example above enough to charge the girlfriend with conspiracy? Is it admissible at trial as a statement of a co-conspirator? If the girlfriend testifies and insists that her reply meant “I’m praying you don’t do it,” can the state still argue the mistaken high five interpretation as a “reasonable inference” in closing? Opposing parties will inevitably disagree on what certain emojis mean, but it helps if both sides can at least agree on their names and recognize the differences between them.

How to Publish and Preserve

The growing use of emojis in texts, social media posts, and emails poses two additional problems for the court system. First, how should emojis be presented in court proceedings, such as when an officer is using them as part of a warrant application, or when an attorney wants to publish them to the jury? Second, how should they be documented and preserved in court records, such as transcripts or appellate opinions?

Whenever possible, the best option is to use the entire text, email, or post, showing all the words and emojis together. Officers can attach a printout or screenshot to their warrant applications, and attorneys can publish to the jury by handing out copies and letting the jurors see it for themselves. This approach helps to avoid disputes about misrepresentation or cross-platform display errors, and best ensures that the full and true intent of the communication will be conveyed (whatever the parties contend that intent is).

If including an image is not possible, it is imperative that the written description of the emojis be as complete and accurate as possible, preferably by using the standardized Unicode Consortium names. There are 148 different emojis listed in the “Smileys and Emotion” category alone, so a vague description like “smiley face emoji” could lead to confusion or error. In addition to its distinctive name, every emoji also has a unique code assigned to it. Including both the full name and the code in the description will ensure that “sleepy face” (, U+1 F62A) is not incorrectly characterized as “drooling face” (, U+1 F924).

The least desirable option is to leave the emojis out entirely, or replace them with a generic placeholder in brackets like [emojis omitted] or [various emojis]. For all the reasons explained above, this option doesn’t accurately convey the full meaning of the statement. See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, 280 F. Supp. 3d 772 (D. Md., Nov. 21, 2017) (referencing an Instagram post where defendant wrote “…they welcomed me home like it was 88 [emojis]. Real luv never fails…”). The post in Johnson would read quite differently if the defendant said he was being “welcomed home” with  instead of .

Emoji or Emojis?

Finally, what is the correct plural of emoji? If there are several of them in a row, is it still “emoji” like we would say “the seven samurai,” or should it be “emojis” like we would say “multiple tsunamis?” As you can tell from this post I’ve already made my choice, but for a contrary view check out this Atlantic article. Let the comment war begin.

The post Emojis in Court appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Emojis in Court published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

[marymosley]

Emojis in Court

Love them or hate them, it looks like “emojis” are here to stay. As of this writing, more than 3,000 emojis have been officially recognized, standardized, and named by the Unicode Consortium (a group that cares very deeply about emojis, among other things) and they have been adopted for widespread use on cell phones, tablets, email clients, and social media platforms.

Emojis now exist as a way to succinctly express everything from the ordinary and familiar ( smiling face;  thumbs-up) to the surprisingly specific ( mountain cableway; moon viewing ceremony) to the routinely misunderstood ( not “angry” but rather “persevering face;”  not “shooting star” but rather “dizzy”), to the criminally repurposed ( snowflake to mean cocaine;  rocket to mean high drug potency).

The explosive growth of this alternative form of communication is raising some interesting questions for criminal attorneys and the court system as a whole. Should emojis be considered “statements,” on equal footing with written or spoken words? If they’re not statements, then what are they? Who decides what is meant by the use of a particular emoji? Do they have to be published to the jury and included in the record as images, or can they be summarized and described by words? What should practitioners do to make sure that emojis are accurately reflected in transcripts, court orders, and appellate opinions, since many court systems are text-based and do not allow for the inclusion of images?

Let’s about it.

Emojis? Really?

I’m afraid so. If this topic makes you  and want to  your , I sympathize. It took me far longer to find and insert those three images than it would have taken to simply type the words. But like it or not, emojis are showing up as evidence up in court cases with increasing frequency.

This topic garnered some national attention a few years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015). The defendant in Elonis challenged his conviction for threatening his estranged wife on Facebook, and one of the arguments on appeal was that the posts could not be interpreted as threats because the defendant included a smiley face emoji with the tongue sticking out, indicating that he was not serious. The emoji did not end up factoring into the Court’s opinion, but to some observers it was proof that emojis had finally arrived as an issue on the legal landscape, and would likely become more common and more significant.

Recent cases across the country seem to bear that prediction out. See, e.g., United States v. Jefferson, 911 F.3d 1290 (10th Cir. 2018) (affirming defendant’s robbery convictions, and noting that the “substantial” evidence of his guilt included not only surveillance videos and his admissions, but also a “Facebook post made after the January 9 robberies, which included a firearm emoji”);  Commonwealth v. Hunt, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 1123 (Feb. 22, 2019) (unpublished) (evidence on cross-examination to show nature of relationship and alleged bias of witness included text messages with “three kissey emoji,” “emoji of … two people with [a] heart … above their heads” and an “emoji of … [a] diamond ring”); State v. King, 2018 WL 4868127 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Oct. 9, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in witness tampering case included Facebook post that included a picture of a subpoena, multiple references to the subject as a “rat,” and “seven middle finger emojis”).

According to Professor Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University who tracks this issue, the prevalence of emojis in court cases across the country has followed a “J curve” pattern, beginning with just a few cases back in 2004 but then rising exponentially; in fact, more than 30% of all reported court cases mentioning emojis appeared in 2018 alone.

I have not yet seen any North Carolina or 4th Circuit cases in which the presence, admissibility, or meaning of an emoji was a crucial factor in the decision, but they are undoubtedly beginning to show up in the evidence. See, e.g., State v. Aracena, __ N.C. App. __, 817 S.E.2d 628 (Aug. 21, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in robbery and assault case included a Facebook post directed at victim boasting about the assault, along with “five laughing emojis with tears coming out”); see also Nexus Services, Inc., v. Moran, 2018 WL 1461750 (W.D. Va., March 23, 2018) (concluding that an email between two co-workers which contained a “Hitler emoji” was not an attempt to chill plaintiff’s speech – it had to be “taken in context” where “one was jokingly calling the other a ‘meanie’ and a taskmaster”).

Emojis: Words, Thoughts, Both, or Neither?

As explained here, emojis first appeared in the mid- to late-1990’s as a feature on select Japanese cell phones, but their popularity exploded in the early 2000’s after they were standardized to work across multiple platforms and in different countries. The term “emoji” comes from the Japanese words “e” (絵, or “picture”) and “moji” (文字, or “character”), so emoji literally means “picture character.”

Emojis aren’t words in the traditional sense, of course, but it’s clear that they are something more communicative than mere doodles or illustrations.  Like their text-based ancestors known as “emoticons” (figures or symbols such as  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or :-), created with regular keyboard characters), emojis can be used to add context and tone to an accompanying statement, or they can express a separate and independent thought on their own. Conceptually, this makes emojis analogous to gestures, nods, or facial expressions that can likewise modify the meaning of accompanying words (like a shrug for “no offense,” or a glare for “I’m not kidding”), or convey a complete thought (like a nod to mean “yes,” or pointing to mean “over there”), depending on the circumstances.

Until we receive specific guidance from North Carolina’s appellate courts, and in light of the fact that emojis are being used as a form of communication, the most logical approach is to treat them as “statements,” comparable to any other type of “written or oral assertion or nonverbal conduct intended by the declarant as an assertion.” G.S. 8C-1, Rule 801(a) (definition of hearsay); see also State v. Satterfield, 316 N.C. 55 (1986) (“An act, such as a gesture, can be a statement for purposes of applying rules concerning hearsay”). Treating emojis as nonverbal statements provides a ready-made body of law for tackling issues like relevance and admissibility, which is a great start, but it gets a little more complicated when we turn to the matter of interpretation.

What Do Emojis Mean?

Imagine a troubled young defendant who texts his girlfriend that he is willing to   her disapproving parents so that they can finally be together. She texts back with what the Unicode Consortium calls the “folded hands” emoji: . What does that reply mean? Is it hands clasped in prayer, begging him not to do it? Or praying that he will? Or perhaps she misunderstands the emoji and thinks it’s a “high five,” celebrating their murderous plan? Additionally, consider what happens if the sender and receiver are using different cell phones or operating systems. The same emoji, “pistol,” displays this way on a Microsoft device:  but it shows up like this on an LG smartphone:  . The potential for misunderstandings and conflicting interpretations is (literally) easy to see.

In many cases, the jurors will make the final determination about the true meaning or intent behind an ambiguous emoji, just as they would with any other potentially incriminating statement that the declarant contends was “only a joke” or “not how I meant it.” And to help the jury answer those questions, it appears that we have already entered the age of emoji interpretation expert witnesses. In a recent human trafficking case out of California, the state qualified a detective “as an expert in the areas of pimping, pandering and prostitution,” based on his training and experience, and the expert was permitted to testify about several emojis that the defendant texted (a crown, high heels, and bags of money) and the meaning of those images “specific to commercial … sexual exploitation.” See People v. Jamerson, 2019 WL 459012 (Cal. Ct. App., February 6, 2019) (unpublished).

But judges, magistrates, attorneys, and law enforcement officers also need to become at least conversationally fluent in emoji-speak, in order to address a number of other issues that could surface before trial. For example, is the “folded hands” emoji in the example above enough to charge the girlfriend with conspiracy? Is it admissible at trial as a statement of a co-conspirator? If the girlfriend testifies and insists that her reply meant “I’m praying you don’t do it,” can the state still argue the mistaken high five interpretation as a “reasonable inference” in closing? Opposing parties will inevitably disagree on what certain emojis mean, but it helps if both sides can at least agree on their names and recognize the differences between them.

How to Publish and Preserve

The growing use of emojis in texts, social media posts, and emails poses two additional problems for the court system. First, how should emojis be presented in court proceedings, such as when an officer is using them as part of a warrant application, or when an attorney wants to publish them to the jury? Second, how should they be documented and preserved in court records, such as transcripts or appellate opinions?

Whenever possible, the best option is to use the entire text, email, or post, showing all the words and emojis together. Officers can attach a printout or screenshot to their warrant applications, and attorneys can publish to the jury by handing out copies and letting the jurors see it for themselves. This approach helps to avoid disputes about misrepresentation or cross-platform display errors, and best ensures that the full and true intent of the communication will be conveyed (whatever the parties contend that intent is).

If including an image is not possible, it is imperative that the written description of the emojis be as complete and accurate as possible, preferably by using the standardized Unicode Consortium names. There are 148 different emojis listed in the “Smileys and Emotion” category alone, so a vague description like “smiley face emoji” could lead to confusion or error. In addition to its distinctive name, every emoji also has a unique code assigned to it. Including both the full name and the code in the description will ensure that “sleepy face” (, U+1 F62A) is not incorrectly characterized as “drooling face” (, U+1 F924).

The least desirable option is to leave the emojis out entirely, or replace them with a generic placeholder in brackets like [emojis omitted] or [various emojis]. For all the reasons explained above, this option doesn’t accurately convey the full meaning of the statement. See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, 280 F. Supp. 3d 772 (D. Md., Nov. 21, 2017) (referencing an Instagram post where defendant wrote “…they welcomed me home like it was 88 [emojis]. Real luv never fails…”). The post in Johnson would read quite differently if the defendant said he was being “welcomed home” with  instead of .

Emoji or Emojis?

Finally, what is the correct plural of emoji? If there are several of them in a row, is it still “emoji” like we would say “the seven samurai,” or should it be “emojis” like we would say “multiple tsunamis?” As you can tell from this post I’ve already made my choice, but for a contrary view check out this Atlantic article. Let the comment war begin.

The post Emojis in Court appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Emojis in Court published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

[marymosley]

Emojis in Court

Love them or hate them, it looks like “emojis” are here to stay. As of this writing, more than 3,000 emojis have been officially recognized, standardized, and named by the Unicode Consortium (a group that cares very deeply about emojis, among other things) and they have been adopted for widespread use on cell phones, tablets, email clients, and social media platforms.

Emojis now exist as a way to succinctly express everything from the ordinary and familiar ( smiling face;  thumbs-up) to the surprisingly specific ( mountain cableway; moon viewing ceremony) to the routinely misunderstood ( not “angry” but rather “persevering face;”  not “shooting star” but rather “dizzy”), to the criminally repurposed ( snowflake to mean cocaine;  rocket to mean high drug potency).

The explosive growth of this alternative form of communication is raising some interesting questions for criminal attorneys and the court system as a whole. Should emojis be considered “statements,” on equal footing with written or spoken words? If they’re not statements, then what are they? Who decides what is meant by the use of a particular emoji? Do they have to be published to the jury and included in the record as images, or can they be summarized and described by words? What should practitioners do to make sure that emojis are accurately reflected in transcripts, court orders, and appellate opinions, since many court systems are text-based and do not allow for the inclusion of images?

Let’s about it.

Emojis? Really?

I’m afraid so. If this topic makes you  and want to  your , I sympathize. It took me far longer to find and insert those three images than it would have taken to simply type the words. But like it or not, emojis are showing up as evidence up in court cases with increasing frequency.

This topic garnered some national attention a few years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2015). The defendant in Elonis challenged his conviction for threatening his estranged wife on Facebook, and one of the arguments on appeal was that the posts could not be interpreted as threats because the defendant included a smiley face emoji with the tongue sticking out, indicating that he was not serious. The emoji did not end up factoring into the Court’s opinion, but to some observers it was proof that emojis had finally arrived as an issue on the legal landscape, and would likely become more common and more significant.

Recent cases across the country seem to bear that prediction out. See, e.g., United States v. Jefferson, 911 F.3d 1290 (10th Cir. 2018) (affirming defendant’s robbery convictions, and noting that the “substantial” evidence of his guilt included not only surveillance videos and his admissions, but also a “Facebook post made after the January 9 robberies, which included a firearm emoji”);  Commonwealth v. Hunt, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 1123 (Feb. 22, 2019) (unpublished) (evidence on cross-examination to show nature of relationship and alleged bias of witness included text messages with “three kissey emoji,” “emoji of … two people with [a] heart … above their heads” and an “emoji of … [a] diamond ring”); State v. King, 2018 WL 4868127 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Oct. 9, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in witness tampering case included Facebook post that included a picture of a subpoena, multiple references to the subject as a “rat,” and “seven middle finger emojis”).

According to Professor Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University who tracks this issue, the prevalence of emojis in court cases across the country has followed a “J curve” pattern, beginning with just a few cases back in 2004 but then rising exponentially; in fact, more than 30% of all reported court cases mentioning emojis appeared in 2018 alone.

I have not yet seen any North Carolina or 4th Circuit cases in which the presence, admissibility, or meaning of an emoji was a crucial factor in the decision, but they are undoubtedly beginning to show up in the evidence. See, e.g., State v. Aracena, __ N.C. App. __, 817 S.E.2d 628 (Aug. 21, 2018) (unpublished) (evidence in robbery and assault case included a Facebook post directed at victim boasting about the assault, along with “five laughing emojis with tears coming out”); see also Nexus Services, Inc., v. Moran, 2018 WL 1461750 (W.D. Va., March 23, 2018) (concluding that an email between two co-workers which contained a “Hitler emoji” was not an attempt to chill plaintiff’s speech – it had to be “taken in context” where “one was jokingly calling the other a ‘meanie’ and a taskmaster”).

Emojis: Words, Thoughts, Both, or Neither?

As explained here, emojis first appeared in the mid- to late-1990’s as a feature on select Japanese cell phones, but their popularity exploded in the early 2000’s after they were standardized to work across multiple platforms and in different countries. The term “emoji” comes from the Japanese words “e” (絵, or “picture”) and “moji” (文字, or “character”), so emoji literally means “picture character.”

Emojis aren’t words in the traditional sense, of course, but it’s clear that they are something more communicative than mere doodles or illustrations.  Like their text-based ancestors known as “emoticons” (figures or symbols such as  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or :-), created with regular keyboard characters), emojis can be used to add context and tone to an accompanying statement, or they can express a separate and independent thought on their own. Conceptually, this makes emojis analogous to gestures, nods, or facial expressions that can likewise modify the meaning of accompanying words (like a shrug for “no offense,” or a glare for “I’m not kidding”), or convey a complete thought (like a nod to mean “yes,” or pointing to mean “over there”), depending on the circumstances.

Until we receive specific guidance from North Carolina’s appellate courts, and in light of the fact that emojis are being used as a form of communication, the most logical approach is to treat them as “statements,” comparable to any other type of “written or oral assertion or nonverbal conduct intended by the declarant as an assertion.” G.S. 8C-1, Rule 801(a) (definition of hearsay); see also State v. Satterfield, 316 N.C. 55 (1986) (“An act, such as a gesture, can be a statement for purposes of applying rules concerning hearsay”). Treating emojis as nonverbal statements provides a ready-made body of law for tackling issues like relevance and admissibility, which is a great start, but it gets a little more complicated when we turn to the matter of interpretation.

What Do Emojis Mean?

Imagine a troubled young defendant who texts his girlfriend that he is willing to   her disapproving parents so that they can finally be together. She texts back with what the Unicode Consortium calls the “folded hands” emoji: . What does that reply mean? Is it hands clasped in prayer, begging him not to do it? Or praying that he will? Or perhaps she misunderstands the emoji and thinks it’s a “high five,” celebrating their murderous plan? Additionally, consider what happens if the sender and receiver are using different cell phones or operating systems. The same emoji, “pistol,” displays this way on a Microsoft device:  but it shows up like this on an LG smartphone:  . The potential for misunderstandings and conflicting interpretations is (literally) easy to see.

In many cases, the jurors will make the final determination about the true meaning or intent behind an ambiguous emoji, just as they would with any other potentially incriminating statement that the declarant contends was “only a joke” or “not how I meant it.” And to help the jury answer those questions, it appears that we have already entered the age of emoji interpretation expert witnesses. In a recent human trafficking case out of California, the state qualified a detective “as an expert in the areas of pimping, pandering and prostitution,” based on his training and experience, and the expert was permitted to testify about several emojis that the defendant texted (a crown, high heels, and bags of money) and the meaning of those images “specific to commercial … sexual exploitation.” See People v. Jamerson, 2019 WL 459012 (Cal. Ct. App., February 6, 2019) (unpublished).

But judges, magistrates, attorneys, and law enforcement officers also need to become at least conversationally fluent in emoji-speak, in order to address a number of other issues that could surface before trial. For example, is the “folded hands” emoji in the example above enough to charge the girlfriend with conspiracy? Is it admissible at trial as a statement of a co-conspirator? If the girlfriend testifies and insists that her reply meant “I’m praying you don’t do it,” can the state still argue the mistaken high five interpretation as a “reasonable inference” in closing? Opposing parties will inevitably disagree on what certain emojis mean, but it helps if both sides can at least agree on their names and recognize the differences between them.

How to Publish and Preserve

The growing use of emojis in texts, social media posts, and emails poses two additional problems for the court system. First, how should emojis be presented in court proceedings, such as when an officer is using them as part of a warrant application, or when an attorney wants to publish them to the jury? Second, how should they be documented and preserved in court records, such as transcripts or appellate opinions?

Whenever possible, the best option is to use the entire text, email, or post, showing all the words and emojis together. Officers can attach a printout or screenshot to their warrant applications, and attorneys can publish to the jury by handing out copies and letting the jurors see it for themselves. This approach helps to avoid disputes about misrepresentation or cross-platform display errors, and best ensures that the full and true intent of the communication will be conveyed (whatever the parties contend that intent is).

If including an image is not possible, it is imperative that the written description of the emojis be as complete and accurate as possible, preferably by using the standardized Unicode Consortium names. There are 148 different emojis listed in the “Smileys and Emotion” category alone, so a vague description like “smiley face emoji” could lead to confusion or error. In addition to its distinctive name, every emoji also has a unique code assigned to it. Including both the full name and the code in the description will ensure that “sleepy face” (, U+1 F62A) is not incorrectly characterized as “drooling face” (, U+1 F924).

The least desirable option is to leave the emojis out entirely, or replace them with a generic placeholder in brackets like [emojis omitted] or [various emojis]. For all the reasons explained above, this option doesn’t accurately convey the full meaning of the statement. See, e.g., United States v. Johnson, 280 F. Supp. 3d 772 (D. Md., Nov. 21, 2017) (referencing an Instagram post where defendant wrote “…they welcomed me home like it was 88 [emojis]. Real luv never fails…”). The post in Johnson would read quite differently if the defendant said he was being “welcomed home” with  instead of .

Emoji or Emojis?

Finally, what is the correct plural of emoji? If there are several of them in a row, is it still “emoji” like we would say “the seven samurai,” or should it be “emojis” like we would say “multiple tsunamis?” As you can tell from this post I’ve already made my choice, but for a contrary view check out this Atlantic article. Let the comment war begin.

The post Emojis in Court appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

Emojis in Court published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/