#i did not make the poster i downloaded it from someone on here in like 2016 and put it into my reaction folder where it has been waiting

[haerin1]

hcs you have for Scara? Love seeing new writers around here 🫶

꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ SCARA HEADCANNONS.

note: omh ty for the req !! i did 2 versions bcause i got carried away UM anw enjoy xoxo kisses hugs :33

[wanderer!scara, modern au!scara x gn!reader] fluff, pinches of angst, mentioned mommy issues and trust issues !!

modern au scara !!

Scara is definitely a band kid and in my opinion, he'd absolutely be an electric bassist. He carries around the band-aids you gave him so he can use one whenever his fingertips get cut from the tough strings of the instrument.

Scara loves judging everybody in his classes and making people uncomfortable because he's a menace like that. His narrowed sapphire gaze following certain people with ill thoughts and a slight grimace; you already know he's judging them real hard.

It's simply impossible for him to go a day, no, even an hour, without his headphones and downloaded music from his favourite artists. Scara's music taste consists mostly of Chase Atlantic, Artic Monkeys, TV Girl, Cigarettes After Sex and he's a closeted Mitski listener.

Mommy issues and miscommunication trope with Ei. Scara aspires to be anything else but the occupation Ei suggested for him. Ei compares Scara to his sister, Raiden, without knowing it hurts Scara's feelings because she's bad at communicating and getting her words right overall.

Shops at Hot Topic and Miniso. Miniso, because he only goes there for the Kuromi stuff that reminds him of you (since you're always telling him how you and him are literally Kuromi and Badtzmaru) and Hot Topic is self-explanatory.

Adding onto the Kuromi and Badtzmaru topic. Ever since you made that comment, Scara ended up loving that specific pair of cute Sanrio characters. He now owns a Badtzmaru hoodie (yours is a Kuromi one: hashtag couple goals), five Kuromi figures and more than thirty things consist of Badtzmaru in his bedroom.

Scara's bedroom is neat but messy at the same time. The room is fairly big and he has his bassist on its stand in the corner of the room with a huge Badtzmaru plushie sitting on the floor by it. His bed is filled with your gifts of plushies from past dates or occasions.

Scara has an area dedicated to his favourite music artists with posters of their albums plastered to the black painted wall. You bought him TV Girl's French Exit vinyl for his birthday, which he always plays on the record player whenever you come over or when he's missing you (by missing you, I mean whenever you're not with him).

Everytime you mention a new song you like, Scara immediately learns it on his bass so he can impress you. You find it so cute how these little gestures of his are all for your compliments and affection when all he could do is breathe and you'd be head over heels for him.

Scara is unfiltered, cunning and a tease. He'll say whatever he wants at any given time and doesn't mind what people think at all (he fights back the urge to rock someone's shit when they disagree with him.) He's your cute little drama queen.

genshin au scara (wanderer) !!

Wanderer's favourite time of day is when the sun starts to set and he gets to have his long awaited tea time with you. You know the perfect way on how to make his tea and it's so natural to the point of when Wanderer tastes any other tea, it just can't compare to the way you make it.

Despite loving you very dearly, and he'd never admit this last bit aloud, he still has some sort of doubt against you. Should something happen to you that marks your permanent disappearance that neither you or him could prevent, what would he do? Wanderer simply does not know. And he certainly wouldn't want to know.

Wanderer enjoys the feeling of your hands in his hair. Whether your hands are soft, rough, cold, or warm, he doesn't mind. He just loves feeling your gentle and affectionate touch against his head as you play with his hair or even braid some strands together.

In general, Wanderer loves physical touch. Holding hands, soft kisses and hugs; It's all so wonderful to him. It makes him feel wanted and loved, like you actually think of him dearly. He loves it especially when you initiate it first. After that, he'll be more than comfortable doing it without waiting for you to do it ahead of him.

Wanderer keeps all of the silly trinkets, gifts and letters you've given him in a box that's kept in a very safe place where no one knows, not even you. Everytime he comes across it, unknowingly to him, a soft smile forms on his lips as he remembers the fact that he's this important to you.

Wanderer absolutely adores it when he makes you smile or laugh. He'll proudly smirk and throw in a teasing remark at this but is hiding the fact that he's just an embarrassed doll with an adorable lover. He loves making you feel good, both verbally and physically, as it feeds his ego and reassures him that he's doing great at being your beloved.

Wanderer's gifts for you are usually handmade, like the cute doll that looks like you which he got to keep so he could give you a doll that looks like him in return. He loves seeing you carry the doll around with you when you want to take it out of your messenger bag, holding it so gently as if it were Wanderer himself.

Whenever you're not paying attention, Wanderer looks at you and observes you. He loves noticing new little things about you, like the way you make little popping noises with your lips when you're bored or the way you subconsciously reach out to hold onto his hand. He adores every, single, little thing.

Wanderer often finds himself trying to impress you. If he sees you walking about, he'll immediately find something heavy to pick up and "coincidentally" run into you so he can make sure you see his amazing skills. You find this habit of his somewhat adorable as you smile and praise him for his strengths. He ends up getting quite flustered, in the end.

Depending on Wanderer's mood, he'll be very flirty one moment or very shy the next. If you manage to outdo him with his charming comments, trust me, he turns into the cutest blushing mess ever. He'll look away as he denies your question about whether he became timid or not.

🐾🍫🍮 : © haerin1 (do not translate, steal or take too much inspo from my works)

[lotussokka]

finished itsb yesterday mood

final chapter of itsb just posted mood

[echobx]

Timeloop - JJ Maybank × fem!reader part 2

summary: y/n meets JJ for the first time and she doesn't know that it will turn her whole life upside down, literally

warnings: none

word count: 1k

author's note: this is so short but I promise I have a vision. pls be patient with me 😭

masterlist part 1

There's a certain type of person in this world who only thinks of themselves, only wishes the best for their own good, not caring about anyone else, ever. And no matter how much I pride myself to not be this person, my actions have made me into a person like that. Selfish. Egotistical. Narcissistic, maybe.

It starts on a Tuesday, perfect sunshine, warm, bearable 72 °F with a light breeze that is blowing through the trees next to our new house. My room is filled with boxes, most of which contain stuff that I won't even need here. Too warm for that. But I spend my day unpacking, anyway. It's a fresh start, and my parents could have picked a way worse place to live than the Outer Banks.

“Y/n, we're going out for dinner. Come on down!” My mom yells from the foot of the stairs, and I quickly grab my phone and my headphones before running downstairs to meet her. It's just my dad, my mom and my little sister. We left the rest of the family behind, not that I am looking forward to seeing them again at Thanksgiving…

“Can you take the headphones off, honey? We're trying to have dinner,” my dad complains after we sat down and a girl around my age hands us each a menu.

“Hi, I'm Kiara, I'll be your waitress for the night. Welcome to the Wreck,” she says, with a forced smile. “Just call me over when you're ready to order.” And as quickly as she appeared, she's gone again. My eyes follow her inside the establishment, where she starts to talk to a group of boys. One of them turns his head to look at me. Tall, blonde, muscly but not scary looking. And as quickly as his gaze was on me, it's gone again.

After dinner, we make our way out of the restaurant, and while my dad pays, I turn to look back at the boys. They are still just hanging out in a corner, joking around and not paying any mind to the people around them. I like how careless they are, how free.

“Honey?” my mom speaks up and rips me out of my thoughts, pulling me with her towards the door and away from the boys.

The next day, I wake up with a headache. My diary is lying on my face and I have ink stains on my fingers.

A shower helps with the stains and lifts my headache just enough to let me survive breakfast, so I think. But my mother has different ideas.

All morning, she keeps asking me why I was so interested in those boys the night prior, and I really don't have a good answer for her. Maybe because they didn't have parents around them all the time. Maybe the fact that they seemed somewhat mysterious still. Maybe, just maybe, I had, for the first time, actually found someone interesting with a single look, and not because I had to dissect their personality to find the bits that complimented my own.

“I don't know, mom. I don't even know who they are. Can you please let it go,” I huff after she posed another question.

“Fine. Did you finish with your room?” she asks instead, and I sigh in relief.

“Yes. Well… I only need a few poster strips and stuff to decorate, but I'll go buy something later.”

“Sounds lovely,” my dad notes, his eyes solely fixed on his tablet while reading the paper.

“Anything new in the world?” I ask and take another bite of my toast.

“Nothing too important. You can read it yourself if you'd download the app,” he replies.

“Oh no, she can't. Y/n has too many pictures of ugly men on her phone. No storage for news,” my little sister laughs loudly, and I wish to sink down into the core of our planet earth. As if having a five year younger sister isn't already punishment enough. That's also not true. I love my sister, but she also drives me crazy with her 11-year-old brain.

“I'll read it later on my laptop,” I say and my dad just nods.

Getting out of the house feels like finally being able to breathe again. I have learned to take my diary with me everywhere I go, not wanting to have last year's incident repeated where my sister took my diary to school and read it aloud to all of her friends and word had gotten around and soon after every teenager in my area had known my secrets. And not even the funny ones. No, my sister had decided to only share the most embarrassing part of my life. For example the fact that I follow a strict protocol when talking to anyone, even my closest friends at the time. And they all had made fun of me, or mocked me or just called me all kinds of vile things because of it.

But that doesn't matter now because this is a new start. I'll find better friends. Preferably ones who I don't have to pretend for. Ones that don't make me feel the need to script out conversations long before they happen.

“Woah, easy there, princess,” a voice rips me out of my thoughts, firm hands grasping my shoulders. “You good? You nearly ran into that shelf.”

“I'm fine, thank you,” I mumble before picking up my head, blinking twice, and a third time. He's even prettier from up close. Disheveled blonde hair falling into his face that is adorned by the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Perfectly matched to his pointy nose and the pink lips.

His eyebrows furrow and I look away, hearing him clear his throat and feeling him drop his hands.

“Thank you for that,” I mumble and smile while looking down, too scared that I might get lost if I look at him for too long.

“Yeah, it's no problem, at all,” he drags out his words and takes a step back. “Just be careful next time.”

I nod, and he's gone, but I'm still nodding. Fate isn't something in my area of expertise. I have never had any luck of any sort whatsoever. But running into him the day after seeing him for the first time- Maybe there truly is something out there that plays our cards, and it played mine just right.

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

taglist: @redhead1180 @spideysimpossiblegirl @drwstarkeyy @princessmaybank @ijustwantttoread @kys4-20 @immyowndefender @julczimocarz @m2m2m2 @th3eternalersi @chiaraanatra @yourmumstoy

[octuscle]

Customer suport?

I need some help please quick.

Im a canadian on a work trip in the deep Southern America. I was walking past a construction site when my phone started scanning the site. Then it said downloading new specs. Im feelung very weird. Please help i can make it stop.

There were professionals at work. Not only did someone perform a remote installation on your phone. The changes made can't be canceled or undone either. There was even a block configured for all changes to the executed profile for the maximum duration of 30 days. This means that I actually can't do much until the transformation is done.

You try to see anything unusual about the site. But there's nothing to see. The construction fence covers everything. Posters tell something about a club that will open here in the next few days. Las fotos muestran a hombres con el torso desnudo. Parece un poco gay.

In the hotel you are glad to finally get out of the suit. You have to look at yourself in the mirror for a moment. Even if you don't notice it: you look hotter by the second. The tattoo on your neck looks really good. And your hair is jet black by now.

Whoever took control of you is an artist. As you're getting changed for dinner, you realize that everything in your closet is black. And a lot of it is shiny. Satin shirts. Leather pants. You choose a T-shirt that looks like it's painted on your body. Plus black track pants with gold stripes that perfectly match your necklace and watch. No one in the lobby, the hotel bar or the restaurant speaks to you in English. Everyone speaks Spanish to you as a matter of course. Y nadie se pregunta por tu acento porteño.

I don't follow your development all the time, unfortunately there are other support cases. But when I look at your account the next morning, you are lying naked on the black satin sheets of your apartment in San Telmo. You live not far from the club where you work. And in three days it's opening, until then your choreography must be perfect. After all, you are one of the main attractions.

The moment you put on your leather pants, the transformation of your body and your mindset is complete. Now I could still make changes to you. But I don't know what else I should change. For me you are perfect!

[archiveikemen]

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 9

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by downloading and playing their games.

read this before interacting with my posts

“— Don’t let a murderer stand on stage.”

Kate: That’s…

The words were written in blood red letters on blank pieces of paper, enough to instil fear in a person.

Theatre Member: … What on earth is that? That’s creepy.

Liam: That’s definitely the work of the person who sold my information to the newspaper. … I’m sorry.

Kate: … It’s not your fault, Liam. I’ll get rid of those.

???: Don’t peel them off the wall yet. There are things to observe from those posters.

I heard a familiar voice, and William emerged from the shadows with Harrison.

Liam: … It’s the two of you.

Tom: Excuse me, but may I know who the two of you are?

William: William Rex. A friend of Liam’s, and a fan of The Scala.

William: It is an honour to make your acquaintance, Tom Crawford.

Tom: William. By any chance, are you the man who's been supporting the theatres in Piccadilly?

William: Ah, yes. I hope I’ve been of a little bit of help.

Tom: Not just a little, you’ve been of great help to us!

Tom: Could it be that you’re also—

Harrison: I’m not a big appreciator of theatre as he is. I’m just someone who works for a publishing company as a proofreader.

William’s sincerity and Harrison’s rarely witnessed honesty made Tom drop his guard.

Tom: I see, I see. What a pair of attractive men… makes me want to recruit them.

Tom: Ah, pardon me. What brings you here tonight?

William: After discussing with Liam, I’m here to search for the culprit who sold the information to the newspaper.

William: The culprit must still be very obsessed with Liam, to bring up an incident that happened so long ago.

William: In other words, under the assumption that the culprit might be someone around Liam, we’re here to look at reactions.

Harrison: Therefore, I did my research on all the people in The Scala. … On my own accord.

Tom: How the heck…

Harrison: — Using the publishing company's connections.

(That was definitely a lie.)

I was impressed by Harrison’s trick of mixing a lie with the truth, and William continued in his melodious voice.

William: We managed to narrow it down to a few suspects. And, thankfully…

William: — I just placed the final piece of the puzzle.

(Huh…?)

William: Look at the height at which the posters are placed. Don’t you think a man would've placed them higher?

(Oh…)

William: Although there's a slim likelihood that the culprit disguised themselves, judging by the messiness of the job, that's still highly unlikely.

Kate: That means… the culprit…

Harrison: We narrowed it down to one woman. Moreover, look “here”.

Kate: There's water on the ground…? It’s like something was dragged—

Tom: Ah, a mop! A very bushy one.

William: Very insightful, Mr Crawford. The culprit committed the deed while pretending to be cleaning.

Tom: I see… she must've hid the posters in a bucket.

Kate: Even if she were to be caught in the act, she could conveniently make the excuse of being in the process of peeling the posters off…

An image of the culprit gradually formed in my mind.

Harrison: I found out that the culprit is a janitor who just started her job at The Scala.

Harrison: Perfectly guilty.

William: She’s scheduled to come to work at The Scala tomorrow. “The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime”. I’m very certain that she will show up for work as usual.

Liam: Tomorrow is the first day of the play. I won’t bother everyone anymore. … I’ll talk to her myself.

Harrison: I’m worried about leaving you alone, so I’m coming with you. Kate, judging from that look on your face, you want to come too, right?

Kate: … Yes. I won’t get in your way, so please let me stay by your side.

Liam: … Mm, thanks, Kate. Also, I’m sorry.

William: I’ll leave the rest to you. Ah, you should take the “queen” with you.

William: I have a feeling you’ll need him.

(“Queen” refers to Elbert, whose fairytale curse is “Queen from Snow White”.)

William is good at determining what lies ahead of us, it’d be best to follow his lead.

…

— The day of the performance.

Liam, Harrison, Elbert, and I were waiting at Piccadilly for a “janitor’s girlfriend”.

Elbert: … I don't understand why we have to call her that.

Harrison: Neither do we. But Will never does anything meaningless, so we'll go with his plan.

Liam’s facial expression was tense as he stood next to me, and my heart was pounding hard against my chest.

Right when I was about to say something to calm his nerves—

Harrison: Spotted. I saw that woman on the list of employees.

Janitor’s Woman: …!

The woman immediately turned on her heels when she noticed us waiting in front of The Scala and tried to run away when—

Harrison grabbed her by the arm.

Janitor’s Woman: … Ggrh.

Harrison: Be quiet if you don't want to be handed to the police. … Liam, do you recognise this woman’s face?

Liam: …

Liam: … No, I’ve never seen her before.

Harrison: … What do you mean?

Kate: …

(I doubt a total stranger would do such a thing to him.)

William and Harrison’s deduction couldn't have been wrong.

(She must have something to do with this.)

Elbert: … Ahh…I get it.

(...?)

The moment Elbert’s shoes stepped on her shadow—

Janitor’s Woman: Ah… ahhh… no… stop… stop…

(W-What…)

Harrison: … El’s ability is to bring back someone’s most painful memory by stepping on their shadow, to the point it causes the person to become mentally distressed.

Janitor’s Woman: …Ggh, I don't want to see it. I don't want to… Jacob… argh… Jacob… ugh.

(Where have I seen that name… ah.)

“The casualties were — Liam's father, Max, Liam's mother, Karen, and their butler, Jacob.”

Elbert took his foot off her shadow, the woman was gasping for air as if she had just been woken up from a nightmare.

Janitor's Woman: … What was… that…?

Elbert: … Your most painful memory.

Elbert: If you don't want to experience that again… you should be honest and confess.

The woman, trembling from the memory of being haunted by her own sorrows, revealed her true identity to us.

Marie: My real name is Marie. … I’m the fiancée of Jacob, a butler who worked for the Evans.

Liam: Jacob’s fiancée…?

Marie: Jacab was the son of a baron, who ran away from his family to rebel against his parents because they wanted him to take over as the head of the family.

Marie: He hid his real identity and got a job as a butler for the Evans family. He left me, his fiancée, alone in a far away place.

Marie: … And he never came home, because he gave his life to protect you (Liam), the person who started that fire.

Harrison: There’s no evidence that Liam started the fire, nor is there evidence that Jacob died protecting him.

Harrison: A dead man can’t speak. … You’re just speculating, aren't you?

Marie: … He frequently wrote letters to me after he left. Those letters were about you (Liam).

Liam: …?

Marie: He told me about the two of you becoming friends, and that it bothered him when you started acting strange—

Marie: He was a kind hearted man. That’s why… he died protecting you…

Marie: … Why did he have to die and you’re still alive?

Liam: …

Marie: If it wasn't for you back then, everything… everything would've been…!

Kate: Please stop… don’t… don’t say things like “if it wasn't for you”.

(... Not only Liam, but she will also be hurt by those words.)

Liam: … Kate, you… you don't have to protect me.

Liam: It’s natural for you to be angry. Because everything — is true.

Marie: … What.

Liam: Haha… it was me who started that fire, and Jason protected me.

Liam: I was still a little boy, and he shielded me from the flames with his body.

Marie: … Ggh.

Liam: I told him to stop protecting me, but he wouldn't listen. … I was crying and he yelled at me to “live”.

Liam: It must've been so hot… painful… torturous…

(... Li… am…)

Liam: Therefore, it's all my fault.

Liam: Everything, everything that happened is my fault.

Liam: Hey… want to kill me?

(... what?)

Liam: You want to kill me, don't you? If that's what you want, I’ll gladly let you do that.

Liam: Only then will you definitely… “forgive me”.

Liam took the dagger hanging by his waist and placed it in Marie’s hands.

Liam: Come on, you know how to do it? My heart… it's over here.

The dagger fell out of Marie’s trembling hand and fell to the ground with a clang.

Liam: Oh no. Ahaha… fortunately, I have another one.

Liam: … Here you go. You can stab me right here.

(What are you… doing…)

If Marie were to push the dagger — it would pierce through Liam’s heart.

Death was so near, I could smell it, and it made me break into a sweat.

(... One wrong move… and he’ll be dead…)

(... Liam isn't going to stop…)

(I need to… hurry…)

— All those thoughts were running through my head, but my body refused to move.

Liam: Hey, aren't you going to kill me? No one will condemn you for killing me.

Marie: Argh.. ahh…

Liam: I’m used to feeling pain, so feel free to go wild.

Liam: You can stab me however many times you want till I’m dead.

Marie: … Hah… hah…

Liam: … Hey.

Marie: … Argh, aa… AAAH!

Liam: … What’s the matter?

Liam: Hey… come on, quick.

Harrison: Liam. … Stop fooling around.

Elbert: … Put the dagger away.

The moment Marie fell to the ground, I realised that I had been holding my breath the entire time.

My head was spinning due to being deprived of oxygen, and I couldn't regulate my emotions.

And yet…

When I saw Marie crouching on the ground with her face drained of colour, I had a strong feeling — this can't go on.

(I’m sure she’ll never bother Liam again. … But we can't end things like this.)

(If this is how it ends, this woman’s tomorrow… will be grey and sorrowful.)

(And—)

(... Liam’s too, if we don't change anything.)

Kate: Today…

Kate: … is the first day of the play. … Why don't you come watch?

…

— We only had 10 more minutes till the curtain rose.

Marie was seated in the audience, accompanied by Harrison and Elbert.

I was worried about Liam, who looked as emotionless as a blank canvas without any colour.

Tom gave me permission to stay next to Liam at the side of the stage while he waited for his turn.

(... I haven't been able to say a thing to him since just now.)

In a place where the situation was busy due to the upcoming performance, Liam and I were the only ones being unnaturally silent.

Liam: … Hey, Kate.

Kate: Mm. … Yes?

Liam: I…

Liam: What should I do…?

(Again…)

Liam looked at me with anxious eyes, as if entrusting himself to others — to me.

That image of him resembled one of a lost child, and it was heart wrenching to see.

Kate: I… I don’t know either.

Liam: … Aha. … R-Right.

Kate: But…

Liam: …?

(...)

Kate: I’m sure that… Marie would love to see you on stage.

Kate: You are what her loved one bequeathed to her—

(I’m scared to tell him this…)

Liam nodded, as if urging me to continue.

The easiest thing to do would've been to keep my mouth shut.

(But if things go on like this… no one can be at peace.)

A shaky breath escaped my lips.

Kate: … She would love to see you shine bright like a star, Liam.

Liam: …

Liam: … Mm, I understand.

Liam: Thank you for telling me, Kate.

Liam stood up, removed his jacket, and took a deep breath.

Instantly — the air around Liam changed.

Soon, the signal to start the show rang and the spotlight became brighter.

Liam: — I’ll be right back.

Liam’s back disappeared into the blinding light.

With a round of applause and basking in the spotlight, Liam became Heathcliff from “Wuthering Heights”.

That figure shone as bright as betelgeuse.

The audience was fully drawn into the show and their eyes were captivated.

— However,

(... I’m scared.)

My legs became weak and gave way, so I sat down on the spot.

(I…)

(... I don't know Liam’s heart.)

[rot8erconex]

Yet another case where Google is enshittifying the internet.

For those of you unaware, Relic Castle, a fan site for Pokémon that allows users to share fan games and developers of those same games to create resources to help in making them, was given a takedown notice by a legal firm hired by The Pokémon Company. The current understanding is that the order for this takedown did not directly come from TPC, but because the law firm does work for them, the takedown does need to be treated as legit.

So, as someone trying to make a fangame and who would regularly peruse the developer resources section - I was literally in the middle of downloading alternate summary screens when the takedown hit - I was looking for alternative sites. I think I googled literally "relic castle replacements".

One of the results was "The controversy surrounding the Relic Castle takedown". Which, as displayed on the Google page, was not quite what I was looking for, but still something that might be an interesting read.

So I click on it, and the actual website is called "V*r*is*fy: The controversy surrounding the Relic Castle takedown". Which immediately sets me off. See, the word that starts with V, is a YouTuber whose whole schtick is "Anyone who is better than me at the game must be cheating, and I can prove it because look at how many shiny Pokémon they have. Trading anyone a hacked Pokémon is just as bad as giving someone an STD and should be punishable by death". Absolutely no nuance. Most other PokeTubers hate him because he steals their content, and then when they make a video showing why they dislike him and what content they had stolen, he responds with "they just hate me because I'm a furry" and the other person has to spend the next month or so with all their videos getting hate-bombed by his viewers - I've actively censored his name because it's likely some of his viewers are on here just to harass others. But he's also the most well-known PokeTuber because he does actually know how to do the content grind - he actually releases 10+ videos a day, all around the right length for the algorithm, so he does flood out the competition. He knows how to optimize for the search engine, so you'd think that a company writing an article about his (really bad) video about the takedowns would want to include his name in order to get more algorithm optimization.

Anywho, I back out to Google in order to see if it was my mistake, and nope! The search result is actually called "The controversy surrounding the Relic Castle takedown", no mention of the YouTuber in question. And I think "I could maybe fix this" and decide to report the search result.

There's options to report because the description reveals personal information, because the site is illegal, etc., but the most similar option is "the description is outdated". It's not quite right, but there wasn't an option for just clickbait. I just want the search result to match the title of the actual article. Since the YouTuber in question is so good at SEO, you'd think the article poster would want his name in there to increase their SEO. And it would also have allowed me to properly assess that the article was not worth my time.

I click the option and it takes me to a brand new page where I confirm the website that I am reporting the link to, and then it asks me (because I said the description is outdated) to provide words that appear in the description but not in the actual site. This is a mandatory step - I can't skip it - so I don't know if there's a step later that asks the reverse, which is what I want to provide. After all, there's a very prominent word that shows up in the article title but not in the search result title.

I consider the idea of just typing the YouTuber's name anyway, but decide against it because I realize the report system likely is automated, and Google's spiders would probably see that the name does appear on the site in question, and throw out my report.

So then I decide, what if I report this problem itself as a bug - after all, there is a link that says "provide feedback". And I click it, and it takes a screenshot. Which is fine - that is a reasonable thing to do, show the page that I'm providing feedback on - but it doesn't let me show additional images, so I can show that the titles do not match but the way they don't match is opposite the way they want.

TL;DR: had an issue with Google search results, tried to report the issue and couldn't because the form presumed the opposite of what the actual problem was, and I couldn't even send proper feedback about the form because it doesn't let me send images beyond the screenshot of the form itself.

[ultimatelyunassuming]

"Did you find the meme yet?" Karkat lazily asks, a arm wrapped around your chest as he absentmindedly watches the tv.

"Be patient man," you respond, leaning against Karkat's body, "This shit takes time."

"You've been looking on discord for ten minutes. Ten! It shouldn't take this long to find one shitty meme."

"I'm leafing through 6 years of dms between us, it's gonna take this long to find one shitty meme sent, like, a million years ago."

He grumbles something incoherent and vaguely antagonistic as he rests his head on your shoulder. You think he said something about how this meme better be good. "Awww, I love you too," You coo. You can feel how hard Karkat is rolling his eyes. You smile and turn your attention back to your phone. You scroll absentmindedly through thinly veiled threats between the two of you sent years and years ago, keeping an eye out for a deep fried Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff gif you sent him during middle school to try and get him to blow up at you. Your eyes practically glaze over as you grow bored of looking. After another minute of searching, you almost deem this mission a failure, until...

carcinoGeneticist: HEY THERE ASSHOLE, I DOWNLOADED YOUR SHITTY, HIPSTER, GAMER MESSAGING APP, CAN WE FINALLY WORK ON OUR PROJECT?????

Oh my god. You found Karkat's first message to you.

turntechGodhead: yea sure

carcinoGeneticist: I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T JUST TEXT EACH OTHER LIKE NORMAL FUCKING PROJECT MEMBERS.

carcinoGeneticist: EVERYONE ELSE IS NEARLY DONE WITH THEIR POSTER BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T PETULANT CRYBABIES THAT THREW A TANTRUM AT THE MERE THOUGHT OF COMMUNING WITH SOMEONE EVEN SLIGHTLY OUTSIDE OF THEIR SOCIAL CIRCLE.

turntechGodhead: hey i dont throw tantrums

turntechGodhead: if anyone would be throwing a tamper tantrum itd be you

turntechGodhead: and besides i dont keep cringe people in my contacts

turntechGodhead: if i did theyd starting infecting all other contacts

turntechGodhead: its a real fucking issue

turntechGodhead: so i have to quarentine all the dipshits to here

turntechGodhead: thanks for understanding

You make a face, both in nostalgia and second hand embarrassment. Jesus, you were a fucking tool. 'I don't keep cringe people in my contacts', look who's talking, Mr. I-made-my-entire-personality-out-of-liking-Leafy-and-Sjw-Cringe-compilations. Damn, he'd have a fit if he found out you're dating Karkat.

carcinoGeneticist: LET ME GUESS, THE ONLY PEOPLE IN YOUR CONTACTS ARE JUNE, ROSE, JADE, TEREZI, AND YOUR "COOL AND AWESOME BRO".

turntechGodhead: damn right

turntechGodhead: whats with the caps lock

carcinoGeneticist: MY CAPS LOCK IS BROKEN.

turntechGodhead: cool

turntechGodhead: now tell me what i gotta do im a busy man i dont have time to sit around and wait for shit to get finished

carcinoGeneticist: YOU'RE JOKING.

carcinoGeneticist: TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING.

turntechGodhead: nope

carcinoGeneticist: YOU SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR PROJECT IS ABOUT?

turntechGodhead: no

carcinoGeneticist: YOU'RE KIDDING ME?????

carcinoGeneticist: OUT OF EVERYONE IN CLASS, I WAS GIVEN THE MOST BRAIN DEAD EXCUSE OF A STUDENT TO BE FORCED TO WORK WITH.

carcinoGeneticist: WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING WHILE MR. VAGABOND WAS ASSIGNING PARTNERS?

turntechGodhead: sexting your mom

Heh. Your mom joke. You'd bet good money that you stole that joke from Terezi. Speaking of which, you've been meaning to message Terezi about hanging out. Maybe you can organize a double date with her and her partner. That'd be fun.

You glance up from your phone and notice Karkat's eyes on you. "Did you find it?"

"Find what?"

Karkat gives you a look. "The meme?"

Oh. You shake your head.

Karkat groans. "You're kidding me?? Seriously?"

"In my defense, I got distracted."

"With what?" You show him your phone, and you see his face morph from a mildly annoyed scowl to a mortified open jaw."Oh my god. Is that....?"

"Yep."

Karkat groans, covering his face. "Fucking christ, don't remind me of my middle school self."

"What, what's wrong?" You say, a sly smirk on your face. "You don't wanna read the moment that I fell heads over heels in love with you?"

"Shut the hell up, we both know that's not true. It's just that..... Gah!!!!" He waves his hands wildly. "Look at him! You're reading his words, he's such a fucking douche! He thought that he was such hot shit, and that he was so high and mighty, so above everything that he would rather sabotage his grade than work with someone he hates, he's so infuriating! I wish I could kill him."

"Aw, come on, don't be that hard on yourself. Here, look, I was a douche as well. Do you see this line right here? 'I don't want cringe people on my contacts', I was on my own high horse right alongside you."

"You were on that high horse because I was. I was a dick to you, and you were being a dick to me right back."

"A mutual dickening."

Karkat makes a face. "Don't call it that."

"Why? Is it because a mutual dickening happened between us last night?"

Karkat rolls his eyes and you start snickering to yourself. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You know it's true."

"It's not, but whatever you say babe."

"It is, you're just biased because you're my boyfriend."

"Untrue, but it's not important."

"No it is, I'm right."

"No, it isn't."

"It is."

"No it isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Yes, it is! Here, give me that." Karkat reaches for your phone.

You move it away. "What, no, fuck off, don't touch my phone."

He stretches his arm out, fingers grazing your phone. "Screw you, I need it to prove my point."

"Just use your own." You hold it away, using the back of the sofa to support you.

"It took you 13 minutes to get there, I'm not going to do that!"

"Sucks to suck then, you're not getting my phone."

The two of you tussle for a bit, your phone waving wildly in your grasp as you wiggle your hand away from Karkat. After a minute of shuffling around, Karkat gets a solid grasp on the device and yanks it out of your hand. "Aha!"

"Give that back!"

"No, and I'm going to prove that I was a bigger dick." He starts frantically scrolling through his and yours dm, craning his body away from yours as you clammor over him to retrieve your phone. "See, look at this shit! 'Stop hanging out with Terezi, you know she's my girlfriend. Stop trying to steal her away from me, she loves me not you.' I was jealous of you and Terezi, and I wanted you to fuck off! I should've just said that instead of trying to control Terezi's friendships!"

"You're skipping over my lines! Look at that message, 'If she really was your girl why is she making all over me?'. I shouldn't have used your insecurity over your relationship to belittle you. Clearly I was the worst."

"And what about this? 'No wonder you have no friends, you're just a reject making up for your lack of social skills through acting like a Leafy reject,' ."

"Read below that. 'At least I don't have a savior complex with all of my friends and pretends that all of my quote friends unquote like each other,' . I typed out quote unquote! Who does that?"

"I called you a disappointment to your family!"

"I was homophobic to you!"

"Yeah, and look where that fucking led you!"

"The fact that I'm bisexual and that I'm dating you doesn't mean that I couldn't have been homophobic!"

"At least you have an excuse! I just didn't like you!"

"Well, you like me now, so it doesn't matter! So that means I was the worse one!"

"That's not how that works!"

"Then how does it work?!"

Karkat opens his mouth to retort, but nothing comes out. He blinks. ".... How does this work?"

"That's obvious. It works like....... It works..... It.......... Hm."

"Yeah, exactly! How the fuck are we quantifying 'being the worst in middle school'?"

"........ Being the bigger douche?"

"Dave, you can't quantify 'being a bigger douche'. What are the parameters, at what age do we stop our assessment, do we measure this based off of what we said to each other or to others, we need to go over shit like that."

"oh." You've just decided that the whole process Karkat laid out seems like way too much work for something like this. "Do we have to do it right now? I kinda don't want to do that."

"We don't have to if you don't want to, I'm just saying that if we did, we'd have to make some ground rules."

"Cool." You point to your phone. "Can I have that back now?" He hands it back. "Thank you."

"No problem." Karkat settles back onto the couch. "Now sit down, we got 27 Dresses to finish."

You nod and sit next to Karkat, assuming the position you had earlier. You glance at your phone, intending on turning it off, but something caught your eye. "Hey look, it's the meme!"

"The meme?"

"Yeah, the meme from earlier. The one about Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff that I sent you? Look at it." You hand your phone over to Karkat.

"...... This is not worth the 13 minute wait."

"Technically it was 17 minutes."

"Whatever you say, love."

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Are you or anyone else in this little clique familiar with the podcast Red Scare? Elizabeth Olsen is apparently a big fan of it.

I mostly ask because I've heard tell that the podcast is antisemitic, but I can't for the life of me find any information on that or any other sort of controversy. Either way, even just the notion worries me, but I don't like making assumptions.

[And no, I'm not trying to insinuate that Lizzie is antisemitic, though I'm sure there are people who have tried to imply that.]

I had never heard of that podcast before. Lizzie did say she adores it (here) but without having actually listened to any of it, I can't really say anything about them or the hosts.

Typically, when I see posts accusing someone of being "x", if they don't come with actual sources or examples of why the poster thinks they're "x", I ignore them completely. It's a podcast, it should be easy enough to download, cut certain parts, etc. If they only accuse but don't provide any sources.... that is very shady.

From other articles and what the wiki says about them, they seem to focus on being provocateurs and using edgy humour to stir the pot somewhat. I'm sure there are people who like that kind of thing, I don't, but I believe that the context of what you say matters an awful lot, especially when it comes to comedians or people using humour to express themselves. That context is a narrative, a fiction, where you use a certain kind of humour out of the dozens available and it doesn't mean that what you say it's what you think or part of you -- it's all part of the game.

Think of... Dali, for example. A lot of his thing was doing just that, stirring the pot and saying all kinds of crazy stuff, but that was always the point! (And a controversy erupted not long ago of course, why try to understand when you can call him all kinds of shit...)

So no clue if it is antisemitic or not, but I'll tell you one thing. People listen and watch all kinds of things, and sometimes the people they listen to say things they don't agree with... and that's okay. Hell, that's part of what critical thinking is supposed to be about, or are we supposed to only hear those who agree with us on every single thing? That sounds very limiting.

[sapphirecrook]

[STORY] Call Me Fang - Chapter 1: Perish the thought

TUMBLR TEXT:

Might as well put some stuff on my blog, ammirite gamers?

Besides, my tumblr is my shame zone, and this stuff still has my head reeling.

Download (it looks nicer)

ORIGINAL:

I've been working on a retooling and restructuring of this. There's now two parallel things.

I should just draw some more. It beats the heck out of this planning.

I feel like I'm learning a lot, and it sucks and is tiring and more. Anyway, the core ideas have solidified. As in, I found the plot, the idea is set, what this IS is set in stone, and it's a story I think has at least some merit being told. However big or small that may be. At this point, however, finishing it is more of a 'prove it to myself' than something I want to do. If I seriously consider myself a writer, this is a thing that's gotta happen. What I want to do is something else. And will forever change. It is the way. To finish what you don't want, and learn, and refine, that's the ouch zone.

The parallel thing will be uploaded too. Because I like working on it.

-----

Regrets are a poor cleaning agent. But mistakes were made. 

The last thing I remember is jumping in front of two bright headlights, on a miserable, cold, rainy evening. Further details elude me. Just me standing on the sidewalk, before I dart forwards, turn my head, and overbearing yellow beams blind me. 

Then this lightness, a brightness, a tightness. 

Such a stark difference from the obsidian towers with topaz pockmarks and endless clouds. 

I have never been so acutely aware of my fleshy form before. 

A searing wave crashing over, and I feel nothing.

I didn’t think myself capable of such reckless behavior. For all my flaws, throwing my life into the hands of fate has never been my style. My motivation must’ve been something fierce. If only I could remember. 

No doubts over what must’ve happened. 

Yet, despite the odds. I am alive.

I am sore all over, the sun is blasting me with heat, and the outfit I am wearing is both tighter than I’d like, and definitely a dark color. It’s soaking in those rays. Hell is a strange place, apparently, and opening my eyes only deepens the mysteries of hell. 

I have a giant schnozz. My first question would be how one eats with this thing. 

The second, if it is a standard feature.

The third, is if this belongs to someone else. 

This is not my body.

Naturally, neither is the room. The place is well appointed. My leg, the only part still on the bed I seem to have fallen out of, confirms it is a comfortable bed. The blanket, half-wrapped around me, is light and nice. A giant TV is set into a closet, there’s paraphernalia and more. Mostly music posters, a string or two of polaroids, two guitars and more. I see make-up articles and the sense of repulsion, of not belonging, dawns on me.

I have invaded. 

Did I, though?

With a grunt and a raise I position my head in an elevated position as to better survey the disaster zone the original inhabitant calls a room. There are clothes everywhere. I’m pretty sure that’s a half eaten sandwich, sans plate, on a wooden table. And at least two empty bowls.

It’s still better than my place.

The mirror is a good place to get a look at the meat puppet I am renting. It’s white? Maybe a very pale grayish blue? Feathers. Funky horn thing. Wings? Historically accurate pterodactyl? 

Historically accurate PUNK pterodactyl, judging by the choice in clothing. 

I match one of the ladies in the pictures.

Assuming they are ladies. I am unfamiliar with these species and their gender markers, or whatever similar designs exist here. 

Some of my artisanal touch finally fades. 

Exhausting my usual wordiness is a blessing. It is a time for thinking fast. 

“Judging by the trees outside, wearing black is asking the sun for a scorching. Who am I to talk? I wore all black all summer! And what of you, oh, mirror maiden? Shan’t thou speaketh the name of thyself freely?” I poke the mirror, seeing the manicured claws. I examine them closer, which is when I hear sounds. An alarm is going off? 

The alarm goes off at exactly 8 AM. The alarm being the soothing morning jingle of the 8 AM Pangea News. The humble tones of professional presenters make it clear nothing much has happened. The black and orange creature under the bedsheets lets off a short groan, and peeks out from under the sheets. The curtains kept out most of the sunlight, giving the place a spectral ambiance.

With a second groan, he’d get himself out of bed, adding a few solid stretches. Curtains were pulled aside, the sun let in. Since the room was on the south side, the sun never shone in directly, thus only allowing in the indirect light. It kept the place nice and cool, even in these hot summer months. 

Actually, it’s winter, despite everyone calling it ‘Summer Break’. 

And it’s hot all year round. Perks of the tropics. 

The dark colored dinosaur hoisted himself into the laid out attire. Before being worn, it was folded onto top of his desk, jacket hung over the backrest of the desk chair. His hands would slide across the crest on his head and chin, to make the tiny adjustments to help his look come together. Without the ostentatious jacket, he’d definitely have a solid ‘business chic’ look. With the jacket, he looked far more casual, as a barrage of watermelon print tends to do to most articles of clothing. 

Just how he liked it. Formal. But approachable. And icebreaker in the flesh.

“Looking good, triple president. It might be Fang’s senior year, but it’s my year to set new heights!” He winks at his reflection and does one final touch up on his crest. His hair was trimmed to the roots, only the faint discoloration remained. As such, his crest had to do all the heavy lifting to make his face pop. Together with his orange irises, there was this flow to it.

Even if he’s been told he looks like some cheap glow-in-the-dark toy in dark rooms. 

Humming a quiet tune to himself, he hoisted up a large bag of various booklets, pens and other stationery. Each in vivid colors and flags, a melting pot of choice. The cotton bag had been meticulously packed to insure its contents remained wrinkle free during transport. 

The tip of his shoe was briefly lifted to double check its polished sheen, before he considered himself truly ready. One final breath…

BZZZZ

His orange claws scooped up the phone on his desk, snug in its shimmering gold casing.

Nobody could dissuade him from the bold choice of color. 

# Naomi

> Nm: “Ready to inspect your new office, Mr. President?”

> Ns: “Considering my other engagements, I’m more of a triple president.”

> Nm: “So you’re sticking to it?” > Nm: “I mean, I get why, but you are at a serious risk of spreading yourself thin.”

> Nm: “Class president”

> Nm: “Head of the debate team”

> Ns: “With Fang at most doing the band thing, I might as well do extracurriculars for two.”

> Nm: “President of the Student Life Association”

> Nm: “Member of the Young Leaders League.” > Nm: “And a writer for the school newspaper.” > Ns: “AND volunteer at Pangea Tomorrow.” > Nm: “My point is, maybe scale it back. You’re going to drown in senior year if you have that AND finals.”

> Ns: “Look at that, I’m not a senior this year. Works out perfectly.” 

> Nm: “Say ‘hi’ to Fang for me!” > Nm: “So, are we meeting at school or will you pick me up?” > Ns: “I’ll pick you up.”

> Ns: “First, I gotta make sure Fang is alive and breathing. Wouldn’t want them blaming me for the hangover.” 

> Ns: “And deliver your greetings to them.”

> Nm: “So responsible, Mr. Triple President.”

> Ns: “Tripresident.”

Fang had spent his morning in a straightforward way. On a whim, he decided to clean up the place, a whim guided by the thought that cleaning up can only be educational and emotionally encouraging. Take a mind off, recenter, focus. Do something useful. And cleaning is inoffensive, nobody can complain you cleaned up but a stickler. 

Before that, he gazed off the balcony, and spent a few minutes pinching and poking himself to be certain this world was real. The view was nice: the morning sun, distant beaches, lovely buildings with a distinct ‘overgrown plantlife’ aesthetic. Just soak in a bit, suppress the rising nerves, and form a mental wellness plan. 

Then, he’d begin cleaning up the room, if only so those knee high boots wouldn’t flatten something valuable.

Fang put his hands firmly on his sides. A few articles of clothes had been rounded up from the floor and folded up, the bed itself was tidied as well. Pillows in place, sheets pulled taut. The strings of polaroids were examined closely for clues. The room breathed an unnatural tidiness, and a second inspection left the deducing detective to conclusions. 

“And this is the phone.” He mused, gazing upon the slab in their hands. Found it in the obvious place: on the bed itself, teetering near the edge. “About as modern as mine. Definitely nicer though. That pretty much goes for everything. Ironic I’d be the one feeling like a fossil.”

With a swift spin, he danced it around his fingers and turned it on. A bright stark moon on a pitch black background greeted him. Judgment: ‘A touch tacky.’

“Huh, of course, pattern lock. Uh…”

His thumb idled, and traced the 3x3 pattern with a circle. He thought about how he might approach this lock, and pick it too. With his face grimacing many directions, he decided a bit of an unusual solution. Made sense in his head.

He put his thumb in various starting positions and swept it around, trying to find a path of least resistance. He’d quickly draw the phone and let his thumb do the thinking.

Against the odds, the borrowed thumb complied, drawing the arcane sigil of unlocking with just a little bit of prompting. Once learned, it would be possible to master the specifics, as with any spell.

“Muscle memory? Hm.”

A brief smirk as he realized that saved him the awkwardness of learning to tie the laces of these big boots. That muscle memory should be easy to find, surely. As the homescreen welcomed him, he simply stared. A sudden, harsh realization paralyzed the thumb until the impatient device locked itself back up again. The sigil was redrawn, yet once more a paralysis kept him from actually doing anything meaningful. As if struck by a defensive ward. 

Icons for various apps, nature and purpose unknown. But that uncertainty wasn’t the issue. Instead that deep, underlying worry of digging a bit too deep. Poking in heads not his own. A violation that cannot be taken back, and he had condemned in the past. On top of the fact he often referred to people as ‘cyborgs with how much a phone does for you nowadays.’

‘Okay, maybe do more… inventory? Hair might be dyed? Pictures imply red, but that’s just as much a dyeable color. Pale colors next to phantasmagoric dinos implies whatever their equivalent of ginger is. Choice of attire is fine by me. A little too fine. Very overlapping. In fact, I cannot help but wonder if I am myself, in another world. In terms of taste. If anything that makes the situation MORE awkward, doesn’t it? I’d hate to have to explain myself to myself.’ 

The silver haired witch gazed in the mirror, seeing only himself. “God, I am going to choke on these new vocal cords. What AM I supposed to sound like? Sharp? Gruff? And why does this body look more ass-kicking than me? The irony is getting me.”

Suddenly, the silver one perked up, and noted a sound coming down the hallway. Footsteps. Standing at the foot of the bed, thoughts began to race. Time slowed to a crawl. The phone slipped out from his fingers.

It fell like a snowflake, gentle as a leaf. There was a lot to consider.

‘Oh that can’t be good.’

‘Husband? Parents? Wait… wife?’

‘What day is it? Phone said sunny weather, didn’t check the…’

‘What voice to…’

His hand swooped down, catching the phone, which had only descended an inch. Eyes unable to remove their laser focus from the door. His heart pounded. Stiff as a board, unable to properly breathe without the tension on his ribs pushing against it. 

The top did not help.

‘This is how I die, right? Shotgun blasted for home invasion? Body invasion? Does body invasion, like manslaughter, have a lessened penalty for lack of intent or willing participation? I doubt they’ll care about the nuances. Could they even tell? Will they even care? How shotgun resistant am I like this?’

Then he heard someone bop lightly against the door, followed by the metal ‘tink’ of a zipper. It sent paralyzing chills down his spine. 

The irony that Fang - of all people - had the east facing room, catching the first rays of dawn, had never escaped anyone. It made sense, from a historical point of view. The master bedroom had used the extra space of the west protrusion to be lavish, giving the parents all the room they needed. And you’d want your firstborn near, so you use the closest bedroom, leaving Naser with the room at the end of the hall. Nobody could know Fang was a big fan of sleeping in for hours on end at that point. This also meant that the morning person walked right past the not-morning person every day. And that was a fact he fully exploited, for the tiny amusements it tended to bring. 

Naser pushed up against the white door and thought for a moment to himself. He listened in, making sure Fang was alive and well, and not groaning over whatever got them in a slump last night. Only once he knew for sure what he was dealing with, did he push his way in. 

From the dark hallway to the bright room, where the sun does shine. Instantly confronted by the absence of the usual mess. It almost broke his stride as he took his half-step inwards.

“Good morning on the last day before the first day of the last year.” To his surprise, Fang was frozen, looking him dead in the eyes. Like a bull beetle in the headlights. “Naomi says ‘hi,’ by the way. Uhm. Are you alright? Your room is clean and you look frozen… would the TV remote unpause the mind control chip?” 

Naser’s statements lost cohesion as he tried to fill dead space. He wasn’t used to not getting immediately slammed for intruding like this, let alone stared down like a slab of meat. Seconds to minutes.

“Just doing… last day before the first day of the last year cleaning. Tidy room, tidy mind.” Fang finally unfroze, hands coming together. Folded arms, casual pose, facing him directly. Quite stand-offish. Creating an aura of impatience. Naser took it as good news, and put on a big smile. He let go of the door and leaned himself against the doorframe, not unlike an adult trying to connect with the kids. “Well isn’t that a lovely forward thinking mentality. See, my Triple Presidency is already affecting people with its leaderly aura.” 

“I will surely be inspired to triple my efforts, oh lord commander president.” 

“Technically I’m only really president tomorrow, once the summer vacation ends. Still have the keys, though!” He winked.

The response was terse and unamused: “Gotcha.”

“As I said, Naomi says ‘hi’ and all. More importantly, I’ll be out of the house. In case you didn’t hear me yesterday when you zombied your way to bed. School needs tending to.” “You’re… spending your last day of summer break at school? That’s some high level nerd stuff you’re up to, buddy.”

“Come on, Fang, a triple president sets a triple high!”

“Triple high sounds like huffing an overstuffed blunt.” 

“Ahum.” He cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. “Seriously. It’s important work! Making sure everything is set to go for tomorrow’s big announcements, and the rush of juniors and forgetful seniors.” 

“Is that why you’re carrying a giant duffle bag of money?” “Not money. Stationery! You’d be surprised how many people forget pens, papers and more. And before you even say it, no, Fang, we’re not replacing them with computers this year either.” 

“At this rate you should just run the entire school.” They replied, eyes rolling. “Nerdzilla has the chops for it.” Fang regretted his posturing, as he was going what he considered ‘off script.’ However, being snarky, sassy and quipy was so deeply ingrained into his manners, all he could do was curse every time it happened.

“Har-har. You’re free to spend your last day thinking up cute nicknames. Just don’t burn the house down, and don’t eat the entire meal without me. And clear your throat, you sound so deep and groggy today.”

Fang rolled their eyes once more, just to get the rust off. Naser took his leave, snickering along the way. Then, his gentle voice called out from the hall.

“Oh, mom and dad called last night. Something about a big ‘hoopla,’ as dad calls it, requiring them to stay on Isla Nublar a bit longer than they expected.” “Really now?” Fang grinned, as that was a lucky break, if anything.

“You know how it goes. Expect it to take another month. So if you see Amal bringing groceries, say ‘hi’, but don’t give him the one I just gave from Naomi. Regifting is Tacky!” 

Naser finally left Fang alone, closing the door on his way out. Fang took a deep breath, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and let off a low, frustrated grumble. With a sigh befitting the situation, he turned around, and thought.

“What a handful. Nice guy, though. I might have to glue my mouth shut if I don’t stop commenting on things. This was way easier when work and private life were separate.” 

After some time of milling over the politeness of this brother figure, he turned himself over to the whims of his body. Hunger. Grabbing the guitars with him, as well as the phone. Along the way, learning the correct pronouns, and the name of this figure through one of the polaroids. And those of a few apparent friends. Things were coming together, sort of. He tried to be optimistic, though his mind refused to veer too far from wanting a quick and dirty solution. 

His very presence felt like he was contaminating a timeline. Relaxing and calming as the atmosphere was. 

Items in hand, he went down the stairs, and heard the car outside pull away. ‘Good,’ he thought as he explored the halls and saw a kitchen area ahead, ‘means I get to eat in peace.’

As he entered the kitchen, he thought about what to get. Simplest idea was to just throw bread together with some cheese and call it a meal. Provided such ingredients existed. Thus, time to crack the fridge. They did, but that very brief flash of uncertainty was the kind of low-risk anxiety he needed to establish perspective. 

‘Giving it some thought.’

‘I might be allergic to lactose?’

‘Would they buy cheese if someone was allergic?’

‘I guess I’ll die then.’

Though there was a chance, and he had grumbled about it, he refused to change clothes. Even if he wasn’t completely sure he liked it. He had more pressing things to worry about, and the thought of looking through someone’s wardrobe to workshop a look was too much. No. Instruments, bags, phones and digging for personal dirt, that’s the way. 

A cheesy bite was prepared, a stool at the counter was pulled away, and he looked over the place. Fancy. Large fridge, induction cooking, high end oven and microwave. Glass sliding doors to the finely cut grass yard with tastefully overgrown picket fence. The tiles on the floor were clean, the table tidy. It felt familiar, yet alien. Unlike his sandwich. The square, brown bread felt like it had come on this journey with him.

‘Shitty spy dies forgetting his cover story is allergic to cheese. More like, didn’t research his cover story until after insertion.’ He amused himself with a string of thoughts, each interrupting the last. His twitching fingers equally refused to stop, as if sitting still would make him visible to the looming monster of existential dread, and let it get a bead on him. 

To silence the growing realizations, he shoved the cheese sandwich into his beak. Eating is a thing with a maw that long. He was already mulling over the wings and tail, and how they might cause trouble. Once more, he echoed the importance of baby steps. And enjoying good cheese.

Having survived the lactose lacerations, his attention turned to the phone. It was a veritable treasure trove of personal information. Most people are cyborgs nowadays, with phones like these, so it's pretty close to mind reading. And for the more respectful of privacy, it can be a treasure trove of worldly insights.

‘Come on. Just. TURN IT ON AND LOOK.’

His mind was willing, yet his body refused. His thumb just hovered over the screen, which turned off. Then he turned it on again, and hovered anew. The moon wallpaper taunted him, as did the line of notification icons begging someone to finally heed their calls. 

Only by chowing down on another bite of cheese could his body be overpowered and overruled. With a swift swipe, the notifications were deployed. A lot of instant messages required attention, as did a few emails and… media playing apps of some description. An auto-playing playlist had halted due to ‘inactivity’. Also, the battery was running dry, he made a note to sort that out later. 

“Okay. Just don’t… snoop too far. Just the recent stuff that matters. Names, faces, places. Let’s see. ‘Dinogang’ has very minimal stuff. Just appears to be “Stella” and “Sage” bemoaning the weather and home situations. Uh… “Ya ever hear about WORM DRAMA?” has nothing since… wow. A month. That’s probably most of whatever summer vacation that dork was about.”

‘Government sponsored fursona avatars. Only way to explain how everyone has cute pfps.’

He squinted.

‘What is this Reed guy on about? “I’m vanishing off the planet, my homeworld needs me”? Uh. This planet has connections to aliens? Dude, is anyone around to yell at Fang? Naser’s only talking about dinner and basic school stuff. That said, being boring is probably preferable. Easier to cheese.”

Then he noticed LJ. The most contact there, quite an extensive conversation even. A few musical files had been uploaded, some so recent the (still open) MIDI-mixing app had them loaded in upon activation. 

Naturally, he is not above the obvious curiosity. 

Tap.

The slab produced a rather interesting sound. With distinct vocals that sounded… familiar. He decided to assume this was him/them/it judging by the date and all. 

‘This… sounds like me? Or her. Them? Whoever. There’s overlap. I guess I can sing now? I mean, I sing a lot anyway, I just sucked like a vacuum cleaner.’ 

# LJ

> L: “If you want this gig, you all will have to play something new.” > L: “Nothing from the other hundred auditions, OK?”

> L: “Just trying to help.” 

> F: :ok::pray::music:

> L: “K”

> L: “Send me the song Monday morning.”

‘So. LJ. Who the hell are they? Some kind of friend? Insider? Sending all kinds of tracks. Last thing appears to be that demo. It’s not bad…’

Fang stared ahead. A half-finished sandwich remained. And somehow, his stomach just locked up. It was too late. The endless information barrage had begun to settle like snow, solidifying into a smothering blanket. A suffocating truth that turned his very existence into an objectively bad thing. 

‘...And it will never be finished. Not as intended.’

The invading inhabitant tapped his fingers across the counter. Harsh, stark light replaced with ambient blues as the daylight shifted. Bread drying in the rays that remained. His mind bounced every which way, desperate to close the box now opened.

“Existential dread and young cheese. Quite a breakfast for a budding dimensional traveler. Quaaaantum… LEAP!” He tried to create levity, swinging the limp bread around, cheese flapping like a mute tongue. “Let’s just pretend, and set this out: this will fix itself in a few days. A gross transgression of reality shall not stand for long, and I am quite the mistake to begin with. Hear me, oh universe, I will mock thee until my support ticket be resolved.” When the universe was as silent as his sandwich, he grumbled. The bread felt drier than before, and the beak was uncomfortable to eat around. Couldn’t imagine himself dealing with this long term. 

‘Or not.’ That sinking, heavy, glob-like feeling of anxiety and dread grew in his chest. Knowing how close he might be to some kind of brink, he swerved again. 

“I have no fucking clue what to do today. Apparently, it’s just me and… Naser in this house.”

His brow went down as he looked around the place. ‘Nice house at least.’

Quiet settled in.

His mind stopped producing any thoughts. Instead, sensory information became crisp and clear. Looking at his hands, he saw them vividly, and sighed. What DID he hoped for? The phone seemed to twinkle in the corner of his eyes.

“So, look through weeks of untold teen drama?”

The white witch tapped his claws against the table. 

“I dunno, dude, the house is empty. The fuck else is there to do.”

His eye glanced through the opening in the wall. The hallway that connected the living room and kitchen and most of the house was, well, connected through a large, almost hemicircular entrance. It gave the rooms a very open, lively feel, and the sun’s light would bathe both areas through most of the day. 

And it let him see the absurdly large flatscreen in the living room.

‘TV.’

‘And a piano. Instruments aplenty.’

“Can I play the piani? Or the geetar? Can I sing? Can I dance?” 

As he chuckled, his eye noticed a remote control in the corner of his eye. “So rich they have the remote in the kitchen? Does it reach?” A single press reveals that it does. And with the size of the giant slab, it’s quite legible too. It appeared to be the news. The news means nothing to him, as there is no context to build upon. “Rich. Or maybe the standard of living here is just that high. Welp. I got 24 hours in a day like everyone else, time to read old texts, strum some strings and learn how to cope with newfound existentialism anxiety. First time someone’s gotta deal with not being valid.”

All words. Endless words. Break the silence, kill the thoughts.

His wrist flicked the TV back off. The final bite of sandwich devoured, the phone stuffed in a pocket and instruments in hand, he lowered himself down onto the couch. The U-shaped couch occupied much of the living room, left besides the doorless main entrance archway. Pleather. Soft. Windows on the other side let in the evening sun, but not right now, as it was still morning. The piano likely bathed in the evening light, making it easy to read sheet music. A lovely thing; it’s no grand piano, but the polished wooden surface said it all. It was loved.

Above the sofa was an arrangement of family pictures on shelves. A few larger framed images depicted births, marriages, the big events that warrant high fidelity imagery. The smaller pictures had proud brothers collecting awards, dads and doctorates (or so he assumed) and smaller events like visiting a theme park, or a young Naser adamantly resisting entering a dangerous looking rollercoaster at Fang’s insistence. A family was captured, even if they died tomorrow, their love and life echoed from behind the glass. 

All of it bombarded Fang with a sense of unease. Everything was watching. Everything was judging. Fang, the body, may only appear in a few pictures, it was enough to unsettle. A background noise that could only worsen from exposure.

Strangely enough, the idea of being truly invalid. The novelty of it seemed to stave off the realization he might have to die again to right the wrongs. A certain mischievous playfulness began to bubble up.

On the couch, guitar in hand, he plucked idly at the strings. Something familiar boiled under the surface, eager to reveal itself. Almost as if the spirit was, where the soul was not. Or just a lingering desire to finish up that demo. Best he could tell, it just needed a cleaner version, the rest were rougher with dropped notes. 

Or something.

‘Surely even I, with limited talents, can fake it with this much supportive effort? Maybe even have time for my own machinations.’ Was how he felt about it. The odds are: the neurons are still there.’

He just had to focus on whatever that muscle memory was that opened the phone earlier. Channel that inner haze and flow it to his fingertips. Take a deep breath. Close his eyes. Feel that energy deep within. That natural tendency. Sending a waving river of energy, until his fingers were light as feathers, drifting on a breeze, and claws and tips plucked the strings.

[briangroth27]

Spooky Short: ValenMine Customer Service

Hello and happy Valentine's Day!

My friend sent me this writing prompt and gave me 30 minutes to come up with the story. I'm not sure where he got it, but if you're reading this & you happen to have created it, thanks (& sorry I was unable to credit you)!

Enjoy this Twilight Zone/Black Mirror-esque Valentine!

Writing Prompt #1,081

You download a dating app that you've never heard of after your friend recommends it. She met her current boyfriend through it and, according to her, he's perfect. She warns you that the sign-up process is a little bit strange, but completely worth it. You shrug and fill out the information, thinking nothing of it. The very next day, a box arrives on your doorstep. You take it inside hesitantly and open it to find an odd array of items inside: a pink elixir, a rose, and some chalk. A notification is sent to your phone shortly after. The app requests that you open it and follow the instructions on the screen: draw a small circle on the floor, think of the perfect partner, and drink the liquid. You do as instructed and, in a gigantic poof of pink smoke, a woman appears in your living room, standing inside the circle. In a few days, you get used to her. She is perfectly nice and makes an effort to plan dates as well as bring you gifts, but you soon realize that she barely eats, doesn't sleep, and doesn't seem to know anything specific about her past. You try to shake off the odd feeling, but then see her face, with a different name, on a missing person poster.

----

—ValenMine Customer Service Inquiry Log #111,459 —

—Pete McNeil, Orlando, FL February 9, 8 AM—

ValenMine Customer - Pete, 2/9, 8:00

What the hell?? If I thought Josie lying completely motionless in bed, watching me sleep (!!), was weird, last night’s discovery is even worse. I mean, I assumed she just fell asleep after I did and somehow managed to wake up before me every day, but whatever; I like attention and it’s been a while. But when we were talking a walk after dinner last night, I saw a missing persons poster WITH HER FACE ON IT. What’s going on here? Who is this woman you conjured up?

ValenMine CS Associate - Sarah, 2/9, 8:40

Hello! We’re happy to hear from you! I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying the attention you receive from your ValenMine girlfriend! Here at ValenMine, we’ll make you a perfect match!

Pete - 2/9, 8:41

That’s all you have to say?? What about the fact that Josie’s doppelgänger is on a missing persons poster? Where did you find this woman?

Sarah - 2/9, 8:45

If I understand correctly, you’re concerned about your ValenMine girlfriend. Is that correct?

Pete - 2/9, 8:45

What an astute observation.

Sarah - 2/9, 8:46

We here at ValenMine strive to make sure all our users find their happy, blissful ending! Wherever you are, wherever they are, we’ll get you together. At ValenMine, we’ll make you a perfect match!

Pete - 2/9, 8:48

That’s what I’m asking! Where did you meet Josie? I thought she kinda poofed out of nothing. It almost seemed like magic.

Sarah - 2/9, 8:49

We’re happy to hear your experience was magical!

Pete - 2/9, 8:50

But where did you find her?

Sarah - 2/9, 8:51

I’m sorry; our user database is classified. If you want to know more about Josie, we suggest healthy conversation. Studies show that healthy communication is essential for a fulfilling and long-lasting relationship.

Pete - 2/9, 8:55

You don’t think I’ve tried talking to her? She exactly doesn’t say much. She wouldn’t even tell me where she’s from!

Pete - 2/9, 8:55

*doesn’t exactly

Pete - 2/9, 8:57

I mean, at first it was nice to be able to get a word in edgewise and to have someone just listen to my opinions for once—usually I have to rely on Reddit or my PodCast for that, but views on Pete’s Thinks have been down lately.

Pete - 2/9, 8:58

But that’s not the point! I wanted someone who didn’t ask dumb questions during movies or ask about the rules to lacrosse fifty times during a match, not someone who seems to have no thoughts about anything! All she does is agree with me. Which, cool—haven’t been with a girl like that since I was in middle school—but…

Pete - 2/9, 9:00

And then this thing with the missing person’s poster! I frequent a lot of news sites with their eyes open, you know? I know all. about. the deep state. I am VERY INFORMED. Where did this woman come form?

Pete - 2/9, 9:00

*from

Sarah - 2/9, 9:10

We here at ValenMine strive to make sure all our users find their happy, blissful ending! If you can’t find anyone on your own, we’ll do whatever it takes to pair you with your perfect partner. At ValenMine, we’ll make you a perfect match!

Pete - 2/9, 9:11

You said that already. Is there someone else I can talk to?

Sarah - 2/9, 9:11

I’m sorry; all our customer service associates are busy with other callers. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Pete - 2/9, 9:12

Is Josie really even her name? The missing persons poster said her name was Adriana.

Pete - 2/9, 9:12

You haven’t hooked me up with some kind of illegal, have you?

Sarah - 2/9, 9:13

I’m sorry; I can’t divulge any information Josie hasn’t told you herself. ValenMine takes the privacy of our customers very seriously. Perhaps the missing persons poster just looked like her.

Pete - 2/9, 9:14

Don’t give me that! There’s a very small scar right under her hairline—I liked it because she was perfect but not too perfect, you know?—so I know what I saw, and the woman on that poster had one too!

Pete - 2/9, 9:20

Hello?

Pete - 2/9, 9:31

Sarah?

Pete - 2/9, 9:45

What the hell? You’re not gonna talk to me either?

Pete - 2/9, 11:00

OK, I’m just gonna call the police.

Pete - 2/9, 11:30

I swear I’ll do it. Let’s see how your little app fares then!

Pete - 2/9, 12:05

Hello?

Sarah - 2/9, 2:00

Sorry for the delay! I’ve spoken to my higher-ups here at ValenMine and my manager would be happy to speak with you in person at our downtown office.

Pete - 2/9, 2:05

Finally!1

Pete - 2/9, 2:05

Jesus.

Pete - 2/9, 2:05

OK.

Pete - 2/9, 2:05

Great

Sarah - 2/9, 2:06

Perfect! I’ve sent the address to the email we have on file for you here. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Pete - 2/9, 2:06

Hell no. I’ll save my questions for your manager.

Sarah - 2/9, 2:07

Great! I’m glad I could help you today. Remember: here at ValenMine, we’ll make you a perfect match!

—End ValenMine Customer Service Inquiry Log #111,459—

—Customer Approved for ValenMine Match-Maker Intake Procedure—

THE END

Check out more short stories, reviews, & opinions here!

[reveriix]

Ash & Theo

Summary: Ash doesn't believe in love. Theo has bad luck in love. One day they get matched on a dating app.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

- Ash -

Ash was staring past her, focusing on the poster behind his sister. It wasn't that he didn't want to pay attention to what she was saying but he was trying to figure out just what exactly was in the picture.

"Earth to Ash!" She pushes in front of the print causing him to look back at her. "Did you even listen to a word I said?" Liz pouts slightly, her brows pushing together.

"Sorry, it's just-"Ash points toward the poster. "Have you seen that weird thing, what do you think it is? Looks like a weird combination of a dog and a slime, what is that supposed to even mean? They need to hire someone better to do their mascots design because it's not working out." He takes his drink, creamy caramel mocha, if there was one good thing about these lunches with Liz  it was that he always got a free beverage out of it.

She rolls her eyes. "I'll take that as a no then. As I was saying, there's this new dating app I've been trying out and I thin-"

"No."

"Ash let me finish. I think, that maybe yo-"

"I know what you're going to say and I know that you know what my answer is going to be and it's a solid, no."

"If you weren't annoying little brother what would you want to be, huh?" Liz shakes her head, taking a sip of her own drink." I think you should give this app a try. I know that you think you're too cool for this kind of thing but it wouldn't hurt to give it a chance, who knows you might find someone there that catches your attention, possibly even make a friend?"

Ash laughs at that, pushing back his black hair from his face." A friend? Liz why would I want to join a dating app to make a friend?"

"Alright, fine. Maybe you have a point but I still stand by what I said, you should give it a try. It's not going to cost you anything."

"My time."

"Oh, and how exactly are you spending your time exactly?" As if on cue Liz rolls her eyes again." And don't say work because that doesn't count. I mean your spare time."

Ash opens his mouth to answer but finds that he doesn't really have an excuse, sure he has friends and he does hangout with them from time to time but other than the usual hanging out most of his days are just filled with work, riding his motorcycle and sometimes catching up to one of the shows on stream before falling asleep half way through. He wouldn't admit this to her but it does feel lonely at times.

"But why would I even join? You know that I lose my patience with that type of stuff."

"Yes, I know Ash but that's why you have me. I can help you set up everything. Give it a month or two and if you don't like it then you can just delete it from your phone, okay?" She gives him a smile, hoping that he'll say yes and like most times in their life Ash can't help but give in to his sister's demands.

"Fine. One month and then I'll be done with it, got it Liz?"

Liz claps her hands together an excited squeal escaping her lips." Deal! Okay give me your phone so I can download it for you."

Ash grabs the phone from his leather jacket, he's about to hand it out to her but she quickly snatches it from his hands.

"How long is this going to take?"

She hums to herself. "Oh not long. You just have to answer a few questions, set up your photo and then you are good to go! I won't bother you anymore for the day don't worry."

Ash groans already regretting his decision, at least he still had his caramel mocha to get him through the rest of the lunch.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

All chapters are posted here

[scrabble-scribbles]

Alright, that last response I left was shitty, my apologies. Here's a better explanation of this issue.

AI has gotten to the level that it can make deepfakes of any human being, so long as it has enough data to run on. This isnt limited to propaganda posters, either. A tiktok user (Z) I follow had a commenter (X) point blank tell them they had made deepfake pornography of Z. X did not need any permission from Z to make PORNOGRAPHY of them. Z did not consent to ANY images of them being used to make deepfake porn. And the kicker? Z did not have ANY photos or videos of them ANYWHERE online revealing their body: they only had photos of their face, their fully clothed body. and now they have potentially several photos of them circulating the internet, showing them naked, showing them having sex.

the age-old warning of "nothing you post on the internet is ever gone" has taken on entirely new meaning with this. Before this level of AI, if you didnt want any of your nudes online, you just didnt post them, or didnt share them with people who would. Now? Anyone can take a photo (they only need one) and make an AI deepfake of you sucking someone's dick. they can make a series of photos where you're stuck in compromising positions. Hell, it can go BEYOND that.

like the post above shows, deepfakes are getting good enough to trick most people. the very small and limited mistakes are the only things telling us they're fake. While using it for an attempt at propaganda, think about the other possiblities. and think about what has already been happening.

A murderer could fake a photo of him in a hotel 200 miles away from where the murder took place. Now he has a rock-solid alibi. then, he could find a random person who was in that area, take a photo of their face, and make a deepfake of them that makes the cops think THEY were the killer.

Pedophiles have already been doing this: they take photos of kids online, shove 'em into a deepfake porn maker, and they then have endless amounts of CP of a child who was shown on the internet ONCE.

and that is ONLY photos. We havent even MENTIONED audio.

Scammers are making deepfakes of peoples voices (from audio clips only a few seconds long) to fake kidnappings and to fake a family member needing money.

someone you do not have marked down as being able to pick your child up from school can get a 10 second clip of you talking on instagram, and then fake a phone call to the school so they can go pick your child up.

someone you went no contact with could use deepfakes to get back in contact. someone who hates your guts can ruin your reputation with a few fake voice memos.

someone could make a video of you confessing to crimes you did not commit.

the reason you should be absolutely terrified is because I AM. Because I've seen the shit that can be done with these AI's. I am scared to death as to what this means for me. I have 3 public accounts on tiktok with well over 15 thousand followers combined. My videos have been duetted, stitched, downloaded, copied, replied to, everything under the sun. And before, where it was enough to simply not post the things you want hidden, that doesnt work anymore. Anyone could make porn with my face in it, post it, and then my reputation, my REAL life, is ruined.

it used to be that you can curate your own persona on the internet. You had control over what you said there, what you did there. if you accidentally said a slur on a video, you could choose to not post it. if you took a nude photo for your partner, you could simply not send it. Now?

if you even post one picture of your face, one clip of your voice, anyone who sees it can make you do anything they want. and you will NEVER be able to erase those images or videos.

We should be terrified. Your voice, your face, your entire body, is no longer something that you get to control.

AN: the reason i said we should all be terrified is because if you aren't, you are not taking this thing seriously. if you are not absolutely horrified by the implications of OP's post and all this, you need to research these things and listen to some of the stories people are telling. this is an issue that is way bigger than anyone is making it out to be, and it's not just going to go away

Once the bugs get ironed out, AI Image Generation will forever change propaganda and how easy it is to make and distribute.

[somedaythesun]

3t2 Stadium Set (Part 1: Build Mode)

I went a little nuts with the stadium rabbithole(s), so I'm breaking this up into two downloads for you. Today is just the build mode stuff--the windows, walls, doors, and a roof (technically an object). All the decorative bits in the preview pic will be available in part 2.

I had to do some major resizing of everything since the building in TS3 is SEVEN STORIES TALL in TS2. Holy moly it is so big. I wish I could make a four-story window to accurately capture the size of the thing, but we'll have to make do with what we have in TS2.

So, let's talk windows: I've made 5 varieties for you, including:

A four-tile, two-story window (+diagonal, this the the PARENT mesh)

A two-tile, two-story window (+diagonal, child mesh)

A four-tile, one-story arched window (no diagonal, child mesh, cloned from Nysha's four-tile No Obligations window). Note that the window frame spans about six tiles and has borders that descend to the level below so you can have a nice surround for a set of lower doors. If you place this window on the ground floor the extension bits aren't visible and it'll look like a normal window.

A four-tile, one-story ticket window (no diagonal, child mesh)

A four-tile, one story window (no diagonal, child mesh)

Here's the ticket window. There's a tiny shelf on the exterior side and an attached poster with ticket prices. The window stickers and intercoms appear on both sides.

On the interior, I purposely left the shelf a little short so you could put island counters right up against it and have it appear somewhat seamless. You can pop up some bar stools or have a counter with a register and have it look like a functional ticket window.

I did try to make a version with an actual hole for the ticket slot at the bottom of the window, but the indoor/outdoor lighting interacted weirdly in the non-glass part and it looked strange. So you'll have to use your imagination that someone could actually slide a ticket through there, but I still think it looks good.

Next, we have the roof. This is a decorative object (Deco > Misc) and it spans about 28x14 tiles. I used Deedee's method of expanding the footprint, so be warned it really takes up that much space. I opted to not convert the weird scaffolding arches from the original rabbithole since they're pretty low-res.

The doors and walls I have for you today are plain, but look good on a variety of buildings.

Metallic double doors (+diagonal). These have the same blue-ish glass that I used on all the windows so it will match.

A nondescript single door (+diagonal) that was on the back of the rabbithole. The lock detail is a bit low-res, but I think it looks good as an employee entrance or an emergency exit door. Just don't zoom in too closely.

Two brick walls: either plain yellow brick or brick with a decorative stripe

I have so many more decorative things that I plucked off of the original rabbithole and the Dr. Pepper promotional stadium (banners! ATMs! posters! ads! awnings!) It's all coming soon, I promise, I'm just fiddling with some last-minute details.

Enjoy part 1!

Download

[blindbeta]

Your Content and Accessibility For the Blind

Hello everyone! I was thinking about accessibility and wanted to make a post to help creators. This is going to cover general accessibility for blind people interacting with your content. Some of it may be obvious to some and this is by no means comprehensive, so feel free to add anything you think of that is helpful. Also, I wanted to include some ideas for DeafBlind people, but I am not DeafBlind or D/deaf, so I simply listed some general accessibility ideas. If anyone has any other tips or things to consider, please add them in a comment or message and I’ll include it here.

Remember, blindness exists on a spectrum. This post will focus on making things accessible for totally blind people, although these tips can also be beneficial for people with residual vision who use screen readers to reduce eye strain, for small text, for clarity, etc. D/deafness and DeafBlindness are also on spectrums. Some DeafBlind people have some hearing, some vision, a little of both, or none of either. If someone asks you for better or different accessibility services for your content, listen and try to accommodate them as best you can. I have provided some links and resources here to attempt to explain accessibility for blind people, which will include blind people who are DeafBlind. The point is accessibility issues can come from both sides whether it be the audio or visual sides.

Some general helpful links:

AFB’s Advice for image descriptions here

Screen-readers here

Improving Accessibility for the DeafBlind community here

How DeafBlind People Use Technology and The Importance of Braille and Transcripts: Understanding Assistive Technology

Online Content:

GIFs, Pictures, Fan-art, PSA and info posts, Memes, Screenshots of Text Posts or Screenshots of Twitter Threads- Provide an image description on your original post! This is the best option, as you probably know your content best and what you wish to draw attention to. More importantly, every reblog will include an image description, which means the blind person doesn’t need to hunt for an image description in the reblogs! If you know more than one language, include image descriptions in those languages.

Note: Always include descriptions when you post images with or about blind people or characters. Particularly fan-art you made of blind characters. If you don’t, consider why and think about how it would feel to be shut out of something about yourself.

What should you include?

Write Image Description in brackets and include End of Image Description at the end for clarification. As for what you should describe, it depends on what the picture is. Include where it is from. For example, “a screenshot of a Twitter thread by BlindBetaIsAwesome”. Include the text and describe any GIFs or images it includes. Write everything out as they appear. Describe emojis as well. When writing out screen names or hashtags, capitalize the first letter of each word. Otherwise screen-readers read it oddly. For example instead of #accessibilityfortheblind try #AccessibilityForTheBlind. If you think someone will want to search a name, include a link.

You should describe what is important in the image, especially for conveying information or humor. General ideas include: image origin, who is in the image, what they’re doing, any relevant colors or clothing, objects they’re holding, their facial expression, any emojis, and any text in the image. Blind people do like to know about color. For NSFW stuff, include ‘NSFW’ at the start, but other than that, yes, blind people also generally like NSFW things described.

Fanfiction:

Generally, fanfic is very accessible to screen-readers and Braille Displays. However, there are a few ways you can make it more accessible.

Pictures: Include alt-text for any images you post such as artwork or character social media posts. Describe it like you would any other image. Alt-text is different from an image description because instead of a screen-reader saying “image” when it finds an image, it will describe the image. An image description is the text included beneath the picture that everyone can see. Including some kind of description, especially for plot-relevant images, can allow all blind readers to experience the fic.

Chat conversations: Again, for hashtags and screen names, capitalize the first letter of each word for the ease of screen-readers. For characters who don’t use capitalization much, you can add a hyphen between each word to make it easier to read like this: blind-beta-likes-fanfic-too.

Emojis: Screen readers can’t fully read emojis like this one that uses keyboard slashes and symbols to create an image ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (image description: emoji of a person shrugging with both palms lifted upwards. End description.) However, they can read emojis that come on a phone such as 🧁which screen readers read as “cupcake”.

Podfics are also good for hearing people with no vision or reduced vision. Having a podfic with good quality (maybe one that can describe images found in the story) will reduce some of the issues listed here and give blind people another, fun way to interact with content. However, I would try to keep in mind the things I mentioned above for the sake of screen-readers and Braille Displays, which are particularly important for some DeafBlind people who may want to read your fanfic and may not be able to hear well enough to use a screen-reader.

Lastly, keep in mind that any kind of comic may be inaccessible to some blind people. Write with them in mind. Include a message at the start of the story, maybe that it contains material from the comic, graphic novel, or print cartoon. If you know of a comic dub, link to it. If there is none, include details in the story so that a non-manga or non-comic reader would be able to understand.

Web-Comics/Web-Graphic-Novels:

First, I did research and found a comic book store for the blind called Comics Empower. Unfortunately, when I click the link provided on Twitter and the articles I read, the site seems to be down.

However, this is about you all and sharing your comics with blind readers. You have a few options:

Alt-text. This is descriptions directly ‘inside’ the image, which is not visible to everyone. You can read about alt-text for comics specially here and you can read general info for alt-text for screen-readers and Braille Displays here.

Image descriptions. These are descriptions of each comic page (hopefully with a paragraph for each panel) that can be visible to anyone. You can describe your comic, who is in it, what they’re doing, and what they’re saying, probably beneath the image.

Comic Audio Performances. These are accessible to both blind and sighted audiences. These are videos using actors for the dialogue, sound effects, and moving comic panels. Pros for this style include increased viewership, increased accessibility for the blind, and perhaps more revenue if you have a way to monetize the content. Cons include that it is more work, could potentially cost money when hiring actors initially, may not be accessible to anyone with hearing loss, and may still require a bit of audio description for some panels that are hard to follow with only sound effects.

What can you do?

A few ideas I had were to use a combination of image descriptions and audio performances to make the comics accessible to a number of people who may be blind, or DeafBlind. Having options is helpful. For ther issue of some panels needing extra description in order to make sense, I thought of including time-stamps and descriptions in the description section, labeling it as image descriptions for the blind. Include dialogue for reference. Or an audio description could be added such as:

Audio narration: “Bee sits on a couch writing.”

Sound Effect of a purring cat.

Audio narration: “Blind Beta picks up an orange cat and puts him on the couch next to them.”

Dialogue: “I’m so glad I have a cat to cuddle with!”

I will touch on this in the video section, but while it is sadly not possible to add audio descriptions onto YouTube as of 2021, you can add them manually through websites you like YouDescribe. For your comics, I suggest, reading about YouDescribe, downloading the app, creating a narration transcript for your web comic performance, and posting the described audio performance onto YouDescribe. Post both versions as close to the same time as you can, and include a link to the described version in the YouTube description. A glance at YouDescribe will tell you not all videos are available with descriptions and not all blind people are aware of this service. Not all videos are searchable in their library either. However, it is an option I wanted to include.

You could also simply include the audio narration in your main YouTube video if you would like. Or any combination of my suggestions you feel comfortable with.

YouTube Videos/Video Clips:

I wanted to cover YouTube videos and video clips shared on websites like tumblr. For small clips, image descriptions and transcripts could probably be listed together. I have seen this done and it seems to help people.

Again, the original poster should post the description with the video. This is because they know the most important parts and because all reblogs of the post will include the description, so no one will have to hunt down a description that may not exist.

For the clip or clip compilation, mention where the clips come from, who is in them, and what they are doing. You could probably have a separate paragraph for each clip and include times-stamps if possible.

For videos you post on YouTube, descriptions can be very helpful! Unfortunately, YouTube does not support adding an audio description track at this time. Ideally, YouTube would have a description track one could turn on and off such as with subtitles. Until then, if you want to add a description, you should add one yourself when you post the video onto YouTube or any other website.

Before I get into how, let’s go over something else.

What videos need descriptions?

-Recipe videos - especially ones with only text. Ingredients, steps, measures, methods, any flourishes or special scenery (such as when shopping for ingredients) should be described. Blind people don’t just want you to read the recipe to them. They want to know what is happening in the video and how it is being done.

-Tutorials - These often contain a voice-over and accompanying images to demonstrate. A creator can opt to simply include more visual description along with the other information in the voice-over or add extra narration later (see the “How?” section below). For these videos, make sure to avoid or expand on any visually dependent parts such as “click here” or “fold here” or “when you finish, it should look like this”. Videos that contain only text and demonstration, however, will need a more traditional audio description the same as any other video.

-Silent aesthetic videos - Sometimes containing music or focusing on natural noise, these videos are usually vlogs with soothing activities or daily routines. They often show scenery, pretty things, or tours. Because these videos are silent, sometimes containing only text, they are not accessible. However, they can be easy to describe, perhaps in a soothing or educational fashion.

-Music videos - Because these videos are by nature visual, they may not be accessible. They may also have inconsistent, poor, or changing lighting for aesthetic purposes or set changes. This means audio descriptions would be helpful.

-Text-based videos - Obviously these are not accessible or may be difficult to read depending on font size, style, or background. For these, putting the text in the description may suffice. Label it so that blind people are aware they are getting the same material. If the text includes pictures or short clips, you could also simply include your own narration on the video itself or see the “How?” section below for another alternative.

-Game Play-Throughs - Games can sometimes be completely inaccessible pe very difficult depending on the person’s level of site. A lot of video games a not accessible or difficult to play, with quick-moving graphics, perhaps small text, or other difficulties. Because of this, blind people may enjoy game plays on YouTube for video games and mobile games.

-Skits or other performances - Think of these as Netflix shows with audio description tracks. Blind people may miss out on some visual humor, plot elements, or other fun visual aspects like costumes.

-Original Films, Animation, Clips From Shows - Again, think of it as any TV show that needs to description to cover visual aspects of what is happening. Scenery, characters, what they’re doing, any text, facial expressions, etc.

Pet videos- Because pets are cute and they should be described! Especially because these videos are sometimes hard to follow, such as a pet doing a trick.

How? How Do We Provide This?

There is always the option to add your own audio descriptions. However, that way confuse already-existing narration or may not be possible for already-published videos. You may also have trouble speaking and wish for someone else to provide audio descriptions. The video may be a music video or one you want to remain silent for the aesthetic. You may want to add a description to a video you enjoy that is not one you uploaded personally.

A free website and mobile app called YouDescribe can help with that. It allows people to add audio descriptions to videos on YouTube. You can even describe videos on a wishlist. Find out more here.

If you describe your video or have it described, be sure to link to the YouDescribe video in the description of your YouTube version so that people can find it easily, or note that it is available on YouDescribe.

Here is a link to the website

And a link to the app.

This site may be a bit too niche, but I figure if it helps one person, I’ll be happy. My entire blog is niche, when you think about it- targeting writers who specifically want to write and read about blind characters. It’ll be fine.

Keep in mind that audio descriptions may not be accessible to all DeafBlind people. An inclusive option could be to include a description under your video so people with Braille Displays can read it.

Print Books, Audiobooks, Large Print Books, or Braille Books?

Let’s get into something you writers might be interested in. Books! Let’s say you wrote a book with a blind character. How do you make sure it can be accessed by blind readers? You want to have a few options.

Print books - These are accessible to people with reduced vision. It is also possible to scan print books to read with voiceover, but I can’t imagine many people buying books simply to scan unless they borrowed/found it. So it could be an option, I suppose. Scanning books also takes time because you need to do each individual page.

Audiobooks - Audiobooks are great. They are accessible to blind people who can hear. They are cheaper to produce than Braille books, take up less space, and are better for the environment. They can be expensive when you buy them. Libraries have extensive collections now, however, because libraries don’t usually have any Braille books and very few large print books, not all blind people use them, even for digital access. However,many blind people love audiobooks so it a good way to make sure your content is accessible.

As of now, my library app is accessible with a screenreader, so reading audiobooks is possible. E-books are not currently accessible with a screen-reader on this particular app.

Make sure to release your print books and audiobooks at the same time or as soon as possible. It isn’t fair for blind people to have to wait, although there are cases where not having an audiobook is understandable. Keep in mind that the less options you have, the less accessible your content will be.

Large Print Books - I used to get large print books myself. I would say it is less likely publishers will want to publish large print books because they are, of course, larger and take up more space. (Not as much as Braille books, but we’ll get into that.) As you may assume, they are also less popular with readers. Publishers make exceptions for textbooks, so if you are making a textbook or an educational book, particularly one with drawings, publishers might allow it. They also might consider making large print editions of children’s books. Large print books can sometimes be found at libraries, although they are usually crammed into their own limited section. That shows how rare it is for large print books to be printed compared to regular-sized books. I have an extra note about this in the children’s book section, but for the most part, I think you can get away with not having a large print edition of your book.

Braille Books - I should you one doesn’t just make a Braille book. Feelings toward them are generally complicated. They can wear down over time, cost a lot, and take up a lot of space. One volume of a book is several volumes of Braille books. Libraries don’t generally have them- you have to request them from various places like The National Library Service for the Blind (NLS). For more information about obtaining or borrowing Braille books, look here.

Braille Books have largely been replaced by refreshable Braille displays and audiobooks. However, they are still important. They can also help DeafBlind people, if a book cannot be read on a Braille display (see the section on e-books below). My suggestion would be to skip Braille books unless you are writing for children (see the Children’s Books section) or your book contains many diagrams that need to be embossed.

Children’s Books -

I wanted to briefly discuss children’s books. With children’s books, you will, of course, want to have a print book and an audiobook available, perhaps even someone reading the book on YouTube. If the book has pictures, descriptions of the pictures would be nice. This is also where I think large print and Braille books may be not only possible or more likely, but important. Children are just learning to read and will continue to explore a love for reading. Therefore, a lack of reading material can be challenging.

If possible, you may want to consider asking your publisher if large print or Braille versions are possible. While websites are available so that children can get books, you may want to ask for your book to be published in these formats if your story has a blind MC.

Braille literacy is declining in the blind community, with children (and frankly many others) choosing to use VoiceOver and audiobooks to read rather than Braille. Being able to read helps reinforce spelling, grammar, meaning in ways that are not possible with having things read to you. That said, children should also be encouraged to learn technology and use audiobooks when they feel comfortable.

If you are publishing a children’s book, particularly with a blind MC, consider what your options are for increasing accessibility.

E-Books:

This is one of the more accessible options, as it can be read with a screen-reader or Braille display. E-books are also common enough that they are released at the same time as print books. The text can usually be adjusted and readers usually have a Search feature. However, accessibility is still a problem with e-books. While authors cannot fix this, they should be aware of it. You can read about accessibility issues here.

-

I hope all this helped somewhat. I provide sensitivity reading for blind characters for anyone who is interested.

[flavia-draws]

I am ridiculously late to the Progtober party, so the first 10 will be all one post.

1. How(e) did you first get into prog music? Everybody asks this, so I've gotten very adept at telling the story. It all started when I got the book Ready Player One for Christmas, 2019. That book, full of Rush references, got me into Rush at around the time COVID hit. I stayed obsessed with Rush until early 2021, when I got into Yes, and then it just exploded from there with Tumblr's help.

2. Baby's first prog memories THERE ARE SO MANY so I'm just going to make a list.

Sitting up and squealing the first time I listened to 2112 on headphones (before I started flapping, I used to squeal all the time at prog things).

Reading poignant YouTube comments about Neil Peart's death.

Downloading the rest of the Rush discography (I started with 2112, Moving Pictures, and Signals), then going on an unexpected trip (very long story that I will not tell here) before getting the chance to put it on my music player, then returning home and immediately listening to Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

(Writing that out, though, I realized that the way it actually went was I went in order, starting with the self-titled debut, so forget that last part I guess.)

Lying in bed listening to Power Windows.

Listening to half of Hold Your Fire in bed the night before Election Day, then pausing it because I decided to get up, go online, and RSVP for a last-minute campaigning thing an environmentalist group was doing. (I won't say who it was for because then people could figure out where I live, but I will tell you they didn't win.) I then decided I wasn't going to finish listening to the album until after the election.

Which meant I didn't finish it until the following Sunday, when Biden was declared the winner.

Elaine (remember her?) making so much noise I couldn't focus on In The Court.

Being so affected by "Heart of the Sunrise" I couldn't focus on Elaine.

Watching Yessongs videos with the sound off because I didn't have my headphones and didn't want to wake people up but I was still in love with Jon Anderson.

3. Prog band you thought was big but isn't There are probably so many of these too because I generally tend to think prog bands are less obscure than they are, but I do often get surprised when people don't talk about the Strawbs. Someone did think a drawing I did of Robert Fripp was Dave Cousins, though, so maybe they aren't the best example.

4. Prog band you thought was obscure but isn't This is hard! I don't have the opposite problem very much! I do remember thinking Rush was more obscure than they are, though.

5. Your top ten Big™ prog bands Pink Floyd. Uhhhh...Genesis? Does Genesis count? *looks around at posters* I don't know. Unless you want to argue that the Beatles are prog, which I don't really...howe big is Big? Does ELP count? If they count, doesn't Yes count? See, my sense of obscurity is skewed because the bands I grew up on varied in their levels of obscurity so much from Tiger Trap to the Roches to 80s Genesis to the freaking Beatles to local artists I don't want to mention for fear of people figuring out where I live.

Okay, let's say Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Genesis, and no one else. Top three, in no order.

6. Songs you wish were 20 minute prog ballads I wish Firth of Fifth (by Genesis) was longer. It made me fall in love with Tony Banks. Yes, I know it's something like 11 minutes already, but I do not care! Wonderous Stories (by Yes)! It could have used a nice instrumental interlude or something!

8. Fave five prog albums of all times Making me pick five? You are cruel, Keef, cruel. 😂 ... Okay, okay, okay... Selling England by the Pound - Genesis Lizard - King Crimson Tales From Topographic Oceans - Yes Barrett - Syd Barrett (Okay, this one isn't exactly prog rock, but someone* called it "progressive acid folk," which is close enough for me.) Still - Pete Sinfield (If someone wishes to contest my blorbo-claim to Pete, this someone may unblock me and present his case. No, I'm sorry, that's a joke. The other fervent Sinfield-lover gets Pete, and I will be respecting his unwillingness to interact with me.)

*Wait, that was me.

9. Least favorite prog songs/albums/bands and why Well, Love Beach, to be sure. Except "Canario" and "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman," the latter of which is a fucking underrated 20-minute prog suite, people. (Also, did anyone notice that Peter Sinfield's actually referencing a line in his earlier song "The Song of the Sea Goat" about officers and gentlemen?) "The Gambler" isn't half bad either, but the first three songs (I can't remember what "For You" is like) are lyrically so distasteful to me that I can't notice anything I might like about the music.

Other than that, I don't know. I like 90125 fine, but I'd probably like it more if it wasn't by the same band that was making prog epics the previous decade. Didn't stop me from flapping like crazy when Owner came on the radio at a restaurant one time, though. (And then "Another Brick In The Wall part 2"! Definitely some of the best prog luck I've ever had.)

I've only listened to Going For The One once in its entirety, but I remember not being so in love with it. (Strangely, I love Tormato.) "Wonderous Stories" is fantastic, though, and I've heard some great things about "Awaken" (from Rick Wakeman, to be fair, but still), so perhaps I'll give it another try.

10. Proggers with uncontainable fashion drip This one deserves a fanart. I will be editing the post with something suitable shortly.

[socialjust-ish]

I want to start this off by saying that I really dislike current copyright laws.  I also think that Nintendo is particularly bad at being consumer friendly - their practices with the e-shop and game preservation and all the rest are terrible.

Like, what they did to PointCrow?  That’s fucked. 

BUT

This story is being misrepresented and misinterpreted here.

One of the tags from the poster I reblogged this from (and I don’t mean to call them out specifically, but this is a pattern I’ve seen on these posts) is this:

And that’s... just not true.

In the early 2000′s record companies and film studios were going after the people who downloaded torrents, not the ones who uploaded them (I mean, they also went after the uploaders, but the really scummy thing was going after the people who downloaded things).  So if John Smith downloaded the latest Linkin Park album, he could get slapped with a lawsuit claiming damages not just for his downloads, but for all illegal downloads of that album.  The companies couldn’t go after the uploaders (because they were hiding their location, or lived outside the jurisdiction of the relevant law enforcement) so they would pick random citizens and destroy their lives.

Gary Bowser is not a random citizen.

Gary Bowser is a developer and the salesperson for software designed specifically to crack Nintendo’s built-in anti-piracy measures on the Switch.  This wasn’t someone making a home brewed emulator and said “hey, if you already have the ROM you can play on your PC or Steam Deck by downloading my app!”  or someone going “oh, I love this old 90s game and want to upload it and share it with people who never had the chance to buy the original!” This was someone going “hey, buy my product, for money, and you can bypass Nintendo’s security features and play pirated copies of my games.  This product will make it easy for you to pirate currently-marketed Nintendo Switch games”.  He was literally being paid to sell an illegal product.  From an earlier article:

This isn’t a random person who used the software.  This is the developer of the software.  It’s less like “a random person who used Limewire” and more like “the person who created Limewire”. 

If you google “what is the sx pro switch” you get this:

This wasn’t to allow the Switch to run no-longer sold retro titles or something like that.  It was just “hey, buy this from me, for money, to skip paying Nintendo for their new games”.

And whether you agree with it or not, what he was selling (again, for profit - this wasn’t like Dolphin where it’s an open-source, free product, he was doing this with the sole purpose of making money) was completely illegal. 

Again, I want to emphasize:  Current copyright laws are fucked, and Nintendo is not consumer friendly.  But the narrative of “they picked a random person to set an example” is just not true.  This was someone illegally bypassing anti-piracy measures and doing it for personal profit.  They weren’t just pirating games, they were making and selling the software so others could do it.  They were probably making hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of dollars doing so.  Bowser - as one member of the team, made about $350,000 over six or seven years doing this.  Because the group is anonymous it’s not clear how many others are on the team but if you assume 10 others working for about the same amount of time, that’s at least $3,850,000 from selling these products. 

Finally: Nintendo isn’t the one who prosecuted him criminally - that was the United States.  If you want to be upset about the disproportionate and unfair imposition of punishment on individuals compared to massive corporations, that’s not something to hold against Nintendo, that’s something to hold against our current system as a whole.

Honestly insane I haven't seen a single post about how a guy who made mod chips for Nintendo switches now has to pay 30% of his salary for the rest of his life to Nintendo after he was released from prison