#i just want this app to cease to exist tbh

[bandzboy]

the term "tik tok music" makes me want to die idk about you guys but omg

[hyeahgaku]

What do you think of the growing leaks culture that's becoming more prevalent in our fandom? Tbh I read leaks (via this user named Shinrako) and up to today, I still see people that get extremely mad when others interact with leaks. I mean there's no way to stop leaks anw it's bound to happen someday so seeing majority of the fandom denying leaks, especially on Reddit where you'll get banned, that's kinda surprising.

Yo. Ah, finally someone decides to ask my thoughts on the increasing engagement in leaks heh.

And..... Shinrako? Woah been a while since i last saw that name. So he has decided to translate leaks now huh.

Anyway, personally, I'm neutral (is neutral even the right word here lol) about leaks although I won't encourage anybody to start indulging in leaks. For me, I sometimes see them but I don't make it a point to religiously read them every single time the raws are leaked. If I feel like seeing some panels or read the whole chapter on leaks day, I would. But if I don't feel like it, then I wont. And most of the time, I don't anymore. But rest assured even if I might spoil my followers, I'd just mention ONE thing & i prefer to make it vague or just give a hint but thats it I dont spoil people w leaked panels or mention major spoilers. (If I had done so before I'm deeply sorry!)

However, MOST IMPORTANTLY! I would never go as far as to encourage others to read leaks. Leaks will have a significant negative impact on any manga series, in fact anything. If our fandom starts to increasingly read only leaks & dont bother reading the official translations when it's out on MangaPlus, it will affect SakaDays ratings (cuz they have Top 10 Manga list in app so less number of reads, cumulatively, WILL impact any series there). Dont forget the excitement & everythin around it; they will just dampen on the official release day if people who read leaks have alr discussed them & hype it up on leaks day. I want SAKAMOTO DAYS to gain more attention, become widely talked about, become everybody's "one of my favorite manga", get an anime adaptation, and I want people to recognise Suzuki-sensei's phenomenal art & wonderful storytelling. Leaks might just take those chances away...

I don't mind if you read leaks AND the official release when it's out. Cuz that's what I do before and that way you still help Suzuki-sensei. Fck, I even buy the Japanese volumes to support! But dear anon, I hope you arent that kind of person who encourage others to read leaks or help spread the leaks around & eventually not supportin Suzuki-sensei directly via reading it officially. I do not condone that.

And for Reddit, I think that's a good move banning someone for postin leaks. Sure leaks can never cease to exist but for the sake of keeping the SakaDays sub healthy & not promote a leaks-friendly community, particularly before it gets super famous like the JJK sub did, I think what the mods are doing is for the best for everyone there. I'm happy to know there are people who are against having leaks in the SakaDays subreddit btw. Simply put, one can read leaks all they want but don't try to drag or force everyone else to do the same, yknow?

[shinonart]

Alongside the data scraping, Bluesky allows known terrorist and propaganda accounts to exist on their site without doing anything about them beside adding a filter to not show what they post.

The data scraping part seems to be mostly panic spread allegations. The phrasing in the ToS appears to be very standard for hosting content (Twitter's is very similar) and does not mean that the app suddenly owns everything. Copyright still belongs to the copyright holder and if the content or the account that posted the content is removed, the app will cease to have any rights to the content.

That said, while Bluesky doesn't actively use the content for data scraping, it doesn't mean other parties won't do that - on the app or on any other platform for that matter. Posting art online is always a risk. Glazing and watermarking your images might be the best way to protect your works against theft.

As for allowing terrorist and propaganda accounts to exist, this is the first time I've heard of it, and frankly I don't know what I should say to that. I don't know enough about the platform, its operations, staff situation, developments etc. to judge it. I don't want to jump in to defend it either - tbh I'm really just holding my foot in the door. Most of the internet is a stinking mess and this platform might die as quickly as the next one.

I do encourage a healthy dose of caution towards new social medias, especially since they often require your personal data and safety can be an issue. (One of the recent "Twitter replacement" apps didn't even allow 2FA, don't remember which one.)

I appreciate people just looking out for each other - I want to believe it's just out of good intention.

Stay calm, stay safe, and honestly don't jump into anything you don't have the spoons for or that rubs you the wrong way.

[eatingfireflies]

law and chaos in dx2 liberation

Oh hey 10 years after Dx2 came out, I’m going to talk about it. 

Inspired by this post which I stumbled upon while looking for Jabo screencaps and pretty much sums up my general reaction to Dx2′s storyline as a whole: Wtf is happening here?  Also, why is Einherjar such an asshole?

Quick recap of the story so far: protagonist downloads an app via recommendation of popular video streamer Megakin. They are greeted by Einherjar, who tells them they are capable of summoning demons using the app (aka a Devil Downloader or Dx2 for short). Einherjar also says there are two groups of Dx2s battling each other, namely the Liberators and the Acolytes. Somehow, it’s decided the protag will join the Liberators and help stop whatever it is the Acolytes are planning on doing, which has something to do with this thing called Vanitas. 

The protag does have an alignment, which will become affected by the dialogue choices the player makes in game, but it doesn’t affect the gameplay at all. You can choose one option in Chapter 6 for the final battle in Odaiba and then come back instantly and choose the other option to get the alternate Odaiba battle, no biggie. Your alignment doesn’t really have anything to do with the routes... so the whole thing is pretty much cosmetic imo. But how come choosing to be ruled in order to survive considered a Chaos point?

Because Einherjar is an asshole and Astaroth is an inconsistent fuck. 

I have a problem with how the ‘celestial’ beings in Dx2 handled the plot and that’s why I’m writing this. I’m biased, but I’ll try to explain why. 

1, From the start, the Acolytes are framed as bad guys. Unlike most Megatens where you start off with nothing but worrying about survival before choosing your path, Dx2 starts you off with the Liberators from the start. They give you very little incentive to think of the Acolytes as in any way worthy of sympathy or your time. By the time you reach the fork in the road and Astaroth offers you a chance to switch loyalties, there’s very little reason for you to do so. The Acolytes themselves don’t even work with each other: they all have their different motivations that barely have anything to do with each other. Why would you even align yourself with that? But okay, at least their group as is Chaotic as the game labels them.  

2, It’s not that I don’t think different motivations is bad. While the other Liberators have their own personal goals, they’re united by their sense of justice and doing what’s ‘right’. The Acolytes, on the other hand  ¯\_(ツ)_/�� they’re a bunch of various corrupt individuals who do whatever they want, and by the time the Big Plan is revealed by the highers up, it’s kinda too late for us to care. So what is it the Acolytes supposedly want?

Joshua Hawke: wants to return the world into a state where nature is untarnished by humans.

Jabo Kakuryu: posits that destruction goes hand in hand with civilisation and implies destruction is needed for humanity to go forward. This somewhat ties in with what Joshua is saying (for the earth to be saved, some humans have to die). Finally, we seem to be getting somewhere. 

3, Except not really. Poor Astaroth, he’s doing his best to sell this gig but the plot does its best to thwart him to the point of him contradicting his own actions. 

It doesn’t help Joshua doesn’t trust Astaroth and at a critical point ignored his warnings about Vanitas (which resulted in the ‘bad end’). Like, Joshua really? Which one of you can see the future, buddy? 

Let’s try to break the whole thing down and I’ll do my best because tbh I don’t know:

Vanitas (comparable to Polaris in DeSu2) judges if mankind deserves to continue existing.

Astaroth sees the destruction of mankind in the future and decides to support the Acolytes in the guise of Jabo, in order to help save humanity.

Joshua Hawke, as advised by Jabo, intends to use Vanitas’s power to get what he wants. The Acolytes need to cause enough chaos to make Vanitas do something, but not enough that Vanitas would deem to destroy all of humanity. Just enough to clear the room a bit, you know?

Joshua doesn’t do that, but that comes later. 

Astaroth invites the protag to join the Acolytes’ cause, as it’s the ‘only’ way for humanity to survive. 

Shiori and Einherjar point out the flaw in Astaroth’s logic: if Astaroth’s predictions are infallible and the future can’t be changed, then why did he bother supporting the Acolytes? Also, the moment Astaroth interfered with humanity’s fate, he ceased to see a concrete future: Astaroth can’t see his own fate. 

Astaroth doesn’t defend himself despite these arguments being beside the point. Astaroth jumping into the fray doesn’t change the fact that Vanitas is going to pop in to judge mankind anyway. It’s going to happen, no matter what the Liberators and Acolytes do; what Astaroth is doing is just offering people a way to get through this alive somehow. He created a branching timeline: nothing more, nothing less. Saying he’s not infallible doesn’t destroy his arguments because his ‘route’ is based on the provable fact that Vanitas is coming. But the game seems to forget this I guess? 

Einherjar then (hilariously) points out that siding with Astaroth would mean being caged. By what? The Acolytes’ dogma? But the Acolytes don’t even listen to Astaroth. Astaroth himself has been consistently chill about humans doing whatever they want. In fact, when he and Einherjar agree not to interfere with humans after protag makes their decision to either be free or live like a cow, Astaroth honours his promise and stands back, no matter which side you choose (although he would try to give you tips if you side with him). Einherjar on the other hand would try to punish you for betraying him and the Liberators (the Acolytes route is a bit harder than the Liberators route because you have to fight Einherjar). This doesn't even equal how you have to fight Dadga in the Bonds Route of SMT4: Apocalypse, because we don't owe Einherjar anything--unlike Dagda who literally had to revive Nanashi's dead body in exchange for doing what Dagda asks.

So there you are, with Astaroth who will honour your decisions and Einherjar who wants you to choose the Liberators' side no matter what. Like how is that different from being 'caged'? This guy is basically showing you how you'll be punished if you step over the line.

Ah, but that does sound like the Law route doesn't it?

The choice Astaroth presents the protag goes against the usual Chaos route trappings of anarchy and disorder (quite the opposite actually), but the very different ways Astaroth and Einherjar react to protag's decisions kinda hark back to the harsher consequences of the usual SMT game.

eta: Jabo's speech about civilisation and destruction going hand in hand did NOT age well

[gecko-sims]

Simself Tag

Hey! So I’m almost finished with the semester, so to celevrate, I’m doing this thing! :D I’m just gonna say @berrysweetboutique tagged me because I’m a doof and nobody actually tagged me lol

i tag: You if you haven’t done it! Yes you, I’m talking to you.

traits: Creative, Clumsy, Hotheaded

You have to make a simself and put whatever you wish there, traits, anything about you.  After the keep reading thingy are +100 questions I found that you can answer if you want, but you don’t have to.

𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨:

What is your full name? Kristyn Jo is my legal name

What is your nickname? Jojo, Krispen, Loony. I prefer to be called Nova :)

Birthday? june 28th

What is your favorite book series? I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. I also have a book of short stories about ghosts I take literally everywhere.

Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? Both actually. Thought I don’t know if aliens have been here.

Who is your favorite author? I really like Brandon Mull!

What is your favorite radio station? Does the Welcome to Nightvale podcast count?

What is your favorite flavor of anything? Either apple of pumpkin. fall ftw

What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Ballin

What is your current favorite song? my all time favorite is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, but lately I’m really into Venom by Eminem 

What is your favorite word? preposterous 

What was the last song you listened to? Dirty Car by Studio Killers

What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? Lucifer

What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? The Princess Bride

Do you play video games? I do a lot, but a limited selection

What is your biggest fear? ceasing to exist

What is your best quality, in your opinion? my ability to be enthusiastic about anything

What is your worst quality, in your opinion? My crippling insecurity

Do you like cats or dogs better? Both. Just both. Also. Lizards

What is your favorite season? FALL BBY

Are you in a relationship? HAHAHAHAHA. no. Unless you count @ponderingpigeonsims (she’s ma wife)

What is something you miss from your childhood? The ability to make a fool of yourself without getting weird all looks.

Who is your best friend? Sarah, my tall blonde friendship soulmate who basically just adopted me into her family.

What is your eye color? goldish brown

What is your hair color? brown (or any color that strikes my fancy)

Who is someone you love?  I love like 20000 family, but my grandmother might be the best person to ever person.

Who is someone you trust? my roommate

Who is someone you think about a lot? My brother

Are you currently excited about/for something? I’m always excited for Christmas

What is your biggest obsession? Top 10 creepiest countdowns

What was your favorite TV show as a child? lots and lots of things, but I adored Teen Titans

Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? I’m non-binary so...?

Are you superstitious? yes tbh

Do you have any unusual phobias? The thing under my bed grabbin my ankles

Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? I like both

What is your favorite hobby? looking for cryptids

What was the last book you read? Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

What was the last movie you watched? To all the boys I’ve loved before

What musical instruments do you play, if any? i’m untalented

What is your favorite animal? Geckos :3

What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? - There’s a lot! but I check @ratboysims @ridgeport @gunthermunch @tainoodles and @berrysweetboutique like daily

What superpower do you wish you had? telekinesis 

When and where do you feel most at peace?  Sarah’s house

What makes you smile? cats

What sports do you play, if any?  hahahahahahaha

What is your favorite drink? MONSTERSSSSSS

When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? I wrote one for my grandmother last week. 

Are you afraid of heights? a little

What is your biggest pet peeve? When people talk as if I can’t hear them

Have you ever been to a concert? No :(

Are you vegan/vegetarian? nope

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? an actress rofl

What fictional world would you like to live in? put me in that My Hero Academia world plz

What is something you worry about? Losing people

Are you scared of the dark? yes :(

Do you like to sing? I do!

Have you ever skipped school? yes. Sometimes I just ca’t get up you know?

What is your favorite place on the planet? My Grandma’s backyard

Where would you like to live? Ireland

Do you have any pets? I have a old dog named Frisky, and a leopard Gecko named Wilson

Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? night owl like really bad lol

Do you like Sunrises or sunsets? sunsets

Do you know how to drive? no

Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? headphones 2000%

Have you ever had braces? nope

What is your favorite genre of music? I like pretty much freaking everything. Really like rock and heavy metal though.

Who is your hero? uhm

Do you read comic books? does manga count at all?

What makes you the most angry? needlessly hateful people

Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? real book

What is your favorite subject in school? besides studio classes, Reading 

Do you have any siblings? I have an older brother

What was the last thing you bought? paint for my roommate

How tall are you? 5′2

Can you cook? yuppers

What are three things that you love? scary movies, fluffy dogs, telling bad puns

What are three things that you hate? ignorance, people with no consideration, vegetables

Do you have more female friends or more male friends? i have a good mix

What is your sexual orientation? am a bi buddy

Where do you currently live? USA. send help

Who was the last person you texted? my friend

When was the last time you cried? two days ago watching a Shane Dawson video <_< I cry a lot

Who is your favorite YouTuber? Phillip Defranco

Do you like to take selfies? yes

What is your favorite app? i still play pokemon go

What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? no comment

What is your favorite foreign accent? Irish

What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? Japan

What is your favorite number? 13

Can you juggle? no

Are you religious? nope

Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? hecc yes

Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? very mildly

Are you allergic to anything? nope

Can you curl your tongue? no

Can you wiggle your ears? no

How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? every ten minutes

Do you prefer the forest or the beach? forest

What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? Be proud enough not to ask for help when you don’t need it. Humble enough to ask for it when you do.

Are you a good liar? yes

What is your Hogwarts House? Gryffindor!!!!

Do you talk to yourself? i do, it’s good conversation

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? extrovert, until im not

Do you keep a journal/diary? tried to, but im not consistent enough

Do you believe in second chances? depends

If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? try to find who dropped it

Do you believe that people are capable of change? occasionally

Are you ticklish? no <_< I swear

Have you ever been on a plane? yes

Do you have any piercings? just me ears

What fictional character do you wish was real? all of them. like all of them

Do you have any tattoos? not yet, but i really want one

What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? to stop caring about what people think of me so much

Do you believe in karma? hell yeah

Do you wear glasses or contacts? glasses

Do you want children? Kind of? Maybe? Possibly in like ten years

Who is the smartest person you know? I know of lot of smart asses

What is your most embarrassing memory? I have a lot and I think about them constantly. Weird things happen to me in bathrooms.

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? yes. all the damn time

What color are most of you clothes? black bby

Do you like adventures? yessir

Have you ever been on TV? yeah

How old are you? 22

What is your favorite quote? shit happens

Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? sweet