#justified e: the devil you know

[undercovercannibal]

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT as RAYLAN GIVENS in JUSTIFIED 3.04 ✰ The Devil You Know

[laineystein]

i personally don’t support war and find blindly serving any military awful. I don’t mean to be rude i just wonder why you think that defending israel is the only way to garuntee jewish safety? that feels like taking responsibility off of other countries and leaving diaspora jews vunerable. im really just anti military but this conflict has been awful and i hope for the safety of all jewish people israelis muslims and palestinians but no safety to a government of right wingers

I admire your bravery in reaching out when I don’t have anon turned on. Few would, so good on you.

First off, I’m not serving blindly. None of the soldiers I’m serving with are serving blindly. We all believe in what we’re doing and we’re going to keep doing it until the mission is done and all of our people are safe again. I could get into the nuances of conscription and reserves but I’m not going to. With confidence, succinctly, none of us are serving blindly. (I’m also employed by the IDF outside of reserves so I assure you that I, in particular, love my army and believe in what we stand for.)

I don’t *think* that defending Israel is the only way to guarantee Jewish safety. I know it is. We are a country surrounded by homicidal antisemites. Hamas has stated that they will continue doing what they did on October 7th until we cease to exist. There is no peace for the Israeli or Palestinian people with Hamas still in power. So we’re destroying their tunnels and we’re rooting them out and we’re here for our hostages. Let’s play devils advocate - if Israel didn’t exist do you all honestly think that Hamas and all other Iran proxies would just allow Jews and the Western world to live in peace? Because they wouldn’t. Y’all should be grateful that we’re here because if we weren’t, they’d be killing Jews elsewhere. Don’t let them fool you into believing this is about land. They. Hate. Jews. And Israel is the only place in the world where Jews can truly defend themselves. My grandfather survived the Holocaust BH and he always says that they didn’t have a way to defend themselves in the camps. They weren’t organized. They didn’t have weapons. They didn’t have the upper hand. Well now we’re organized and we’re armed and we’re trained. Never again will we be helpless - thanks to Israel.

“That feels like taking the responsibility off of other countries” - what responsibility? To protect Jews? To persecute Hamas? Feh! None of that will ever happen. Not once has any other country *saved* the Jewish people. And, actually, often times people are turning a blind eye to our persecution - like most of the world did on and after and ever since October 7th. Like they did during the Holocaust. Like they have every time Hamas and PIJ indiscriminately fire rockets at Israel. As I said, never again will our safety be in anyone else’s hands because the world has shown us time and time again that they do not care.

“Leaving diaspora Jews vulnerable” is an insane way to blame the victim. WE WERE ATTACKED. But do you think we needed to be attacked for people to hate Jews? No, this has just empowered them to do so out loud. There has always been a correlation between anti-Israel hate and violence against Jews in the diaspora. In May of 2021 when 4000+ rockets were fired into Israel, goyim in the diaspora took this as permission to act out their antisemitic fantasies. Again when WE WERE ATTACKED. Don’t forget - People were celebrating our massacre before Israel even set foot in Gaza. Don’t let the world fool you into thinking that Israel defending ourselves has created antisemitism in the diaspora, it’s only encouraged it.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you are not Jewish. I don’t know how to explain this conflict to you - a conflict I have lived my entire life (like my parents and grandparents before me). I don’t know how to share my pain and grief and the pain and grief of my tribe in a way that will make sense. But I’m done needing to justify my existence as a Jew. Israel is done justifying its existence as the homeland of the Jewish people. History has shown us that our survival is our responsibility and I/we won’t apologize for it. The same people that are too cowardly to stand up for us when our people are killed and raped can keep their mouths shut when we defend ourselves.

And it seems like maybe you didn’t read this post that I shared today which really would have answered a lot of this without me needing to go on a sleep deprived rant.

[isekai-crow]

The Witch and the Beast / Majo to Yajuu Episode 1

Overall Score So Far: 9/10

WE'VE GOT A HOTTIE LINE UP OF ALL GENDERS!!

Guideau on the left, Ashaf in the middle, and Genderless Hottie on the right :3

HOW ARE THEY ALL SO PRETTY.

Anime, now with more CROW BAIT. This time it's literal!! :D

OF COURSE the Goth With The Coffin on his back can use CROW MAGIC. AHHHHHHH.

Also, Guys. You guys. Fucking TOSHIYUKI MORIKAWA is voicing Ashaf.

THE VOICE OF SEPHIROTH. GRIFFITH FROM BERSERK. DANTE FROM DEVIL MAY CRY. TYKI FROM D. Gray Man. We get THE KING OF THE DARK AND BROODY SEXY MAN VOICE.

And Guideau is voice by Taichi, You - Jousuke from JoJo, Suphia from TenSura, Saya from Dead Mount Death Play, and Dorothy from Princess Principal!! A great rough and tumble voice perfect for Guideau. (1st Epi Spoiler: I can't tell if she's voicing Guideau's true form.)

More Episode 1 Spoilers Below!

I don't really know what I was expecting except for Hot Goth Dude with a Coffin Boyfriend, and a badass punch-em-up beauty with a nasty mouth from the PV on youtube, but that's what I got and more, and I am so very pleased about it.

I was SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CROWS YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Hottie Mage whips out a spell covered arms and MY BABIES ARE BURSTING FORTH IN A MURDER OF ADORABLE!!! I might have woken up Capybara's deaf elderly neighbors in my excitement.

What I was not expecting was a giant Zom 100 Shark to show up in the middle of the city lmfao.

Zom 100 Zombie shark on the left and Big Buff Giant Shark Dude on the right.

It's just a dude whose turned himself into a shark with magic, who immediately gets dispelled by a witch, and that THIS IS A NORMAL OCCURANCE??? People are like, oh noooo, there's a giant shark, Ione will deal with iiiiit, no worriesssss.

The implications this gives of a mixed soft/hard magic system tho.

I'm really looking forward to learning (or maybe not learning and discovering through negative space) the rules that don't get broken (which is necessary for a magic system), but also hope that they'll be playing hard and fast with what's possible. Cause seriously, wtf is this shark. Delightful, lol.

They mind games played with "Are Witches Bad or Not?" in this episode is fun, because as a viewer going in blind, we could have had some lawful good protagonists or we could have had some chaotic anti-heros, and I would have accepted either outcome. We kind of get both and that's even better!

Trying to include a speech about the morals of getting revenge with Ione as she tries to justify her actions for removing the lock on her grandmother was interesting, but I'm still not sure if her Grandma was the one to cause the fire and people 300 years ago killed her, or if her getting blamed for the fires and then killed just so happened to lock the fire away, but either way...

Along with this I'm not surprised by the coven of would-be witch's nor the attempts by them to claim that witches aren't bad, "you're just like everyone else," when you can tell from the art that the stereotypes in this world hold weight, lol.

However, I don't know WHY I was surprised by said witches getting their hands and feet removed as part of a ritual summoning of hellfire.

How... how is there not blood E V E R Y W H E R E ??!!?? Some heavy duty arteries have been cut, yo. I guess there kind of is but there should be MORE.

Ashaf finally figures out what's going on and gives in to Guideau, letting her go wild, and HELL YES I love it when we get a beast gremlin on a rampage!

Witch Laser Beams! Sure!

I also LOVE when Characters get the shit beat out of them and then Keep. Standing. Up.

The very purposeful listing of the two ways to lift a Witch's spell at the very beginning of the show, True Love's Kiss or A Change of Heart),was such a great Chekhov's Gun that I knew there was probably going to be another (secret) way to deal with it.

Fuck yea, angry kiss!! Let Guideau feast on your soul!!

But the most surprising thing that has me fully on board and ready to rock and roll is Coffin Boyfriend.

What gender is Coffin Boyfriend? We don't know.

However.

Coffin Boyfriend is not a third character like I initially expected.

Coffin Boyfriend is Mother Fucking Guideau Y'all.

Everything makes so much sense now. Ashaf carries coffin boyfriend's true body around in his backpack like it's no big thing.

And Guideau, with all that rage packed into a tiny little body, has to go around kissing witches to switch from her current body back to the original to then proceed to beat the shit out of said witch.

I fucking here for this. I'm so hype.

Hot Bois, Crows, Body/Gender Swaps, Witch and Magic Fuckery. I'm here for it all, y'all.

(I might even go read ahead in the manga for this one cause OH MY GOD MANGA ASHAF IS ALSO VERY GOOD)

This ART STYLE.

But also... Chrollo? Is that you?

Ashaf on the left, Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter X Hunter on the right.

I love this. I love their vibe. After Apothecary Diaries, this might just end up being my favorite this season. I'll save that judgement for a few more episodes in though.

ep2 ep3 ep4 ep5 ep6 <- these will eventually become links

[beebobeebo]

Title: HELL Is Coming With Me

Fandom: Justified

Pairing: Raylan x Boyd (if you look at it sideways)

Characters: Raylan Givens & Boyd Crowder

Summary: HELL is empty and all the devil's are in KENTUCKY.

Inspired by this post and @skelingtonsderek

So you come here with your tales of hot burning HELL told to you by a man with a Bible in one hand and a snake in the other. You slip down these old, worn paths. Your feet feel the ruts what ain't known a cart in so damn long. So. Damn. Long. Then you cross the point of no return. Glowing embers in the dark catch the corner of your eye as they flee down all those twisting paths.

You stop.

You think this is HELL. All them letters stand big in your mind. H-E-L-L. You keep going though, because you're a sight too young to know better. The flickers give way to a chill as you get closer and closer to the Earth's dark middle. Then there's the bone-rattling cold when you go too deep. It's just that you're underground. No, it's that HELL is a cold place under Harlan County.

People what come down here stay more often than they'd choose. You see them that came even 'fore me are as ice, but you don't start that way. First, at the beginning of your end, when you don't slip from this place 'tween life and death, you burn red hot. It's the rage of having life pulled from you without the sweet release of HEAVEN or NOTHING. You're a burning coal. That may just be a little too close to home for my fellows down here, but you are that red hot thing at first. 'Til time takes the fight from you. 'Til you learn your place. Then you get to be that rock-hard lump at the pit of a stomach like you was always meant to be.

Now, it ain't fair to you to let you linger here without at least a story to tell if you do find your way back topside. So, I'll tell you one what's been repeated at least once a generation since a wave of rock put me here. See it's a hate story. No, you ain't heard me wrong. It's not a love story. Those are for the dead and gone. Love stories is memories. Hate stories are alive and well in Harlan County.

See there was a boy born a red hot coal. We thought he'd be down here with us in the deep 'fore long. That he'd burn so bright that he'd sear off the bruises his daddy marked up on him. That he'd combust from all that rage held in that lanky frame of his. He hated being what we were in life. He thought ours was a role one died in, not lived. Maybe the little bastard was right, but he didn't have to be so smug as he read his books with coal smudges on the page corners.

There was another that me and my fellows thought would join us, but not 'til the dust had took his lungs or the long paths burst his heart. Men like him rarely leave the depths of Harlan once their number comes due. Wild-eyed boy, he was. He had a way about him. Too clever for his own good, that had made him old inside long before his time. When he joined us, he'd damn near be an ice block within the span of a living generation.

Thing is they fell in together. That red hot coal and that wild-eyed boy worked hip to hip, back-to-back. A man knows you like that? You are that man. He's part of you. You dug coal together.

I was of a thought when they left this place at the end of their day's digging something passed 'tween them. Some connecting of spirit. That happens when you live in the dust of death together. Dust you make with hammer and tool.

Wild-eyed boy could blow it apart like something most ain't seen. Broke the stone with a mixture that shattered it to pieces like a hundred men. He felt the rock in his feet and his soul. He was born of it. It's how he knew that it'd come apart on its own.

And somehow, that wild-eyed boy saved that livin' coal of a young man by wrapping his hand 'round his friends and pullin' him along.

Wait, you say, that sounds like love. That sounds like the true bonds of friendship making a miracle all its own.

Miracles are a terrifying thing to us what are dead. Should be to you still got life in you, but you don't know better.

That saving? It took that wild-eyed boy's heart and the living coal ran free to burn and scorch a path elsewhere.

But they've come back together crashing. We hear it even down here. Oh, when you scurry back out topside, you'll know it. You think HELL is someplace burning hot. Well, I thought it was the cold 'neath Harlan County, but HELL done crawled out with them boys.

Now, as I was told so many times in life, child, go to HELL.

[somereaderinblue]

It's already Day 6 of Trigun Fanfiction Appreciation Week. I don't want any regrets so here goes: I give you a VW mpreg rec list. If this isn't your cup of tea, that's fine. If it is:

what I am trying to cultivate… by Altered-Havoc (Altered_Karma)

100/10, I've lost count on how many times I reread this. Both of them have suffered & after everything, they finally get a soft epilogue. Angst? Who dat? This is 80% comfort to me.

Surprise, Wolfwood! It's A Bouncing Baby Plant! by @attackofthezee, rated T

WW returns from the dead & there's a surprise waiting for him. 3 guesses as to what it is.

Until The End by squishycake, rated E

“Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.” – Richard Siken A bittersweet fic wherein an aging WW makes peace with his mortality but not before Vash two new lives.

Innocent Souls by NaughtyJacks (JackalJamboree), rated T

In a quiet moment, Vash asks WW to bless the two blessings he carries. Vash knows WW is still keeping secrets from him, but he also knows that he's decided to choose Vash & his kids over them. And that only makes him love him more.

o' light, won't you shine (upon souls of youth) by seventhgiver (fifthgiver), rated T

Another bittersweet fic wherein WW still faces his canon death, but Meryl & Milly are there to support Vash through thick & thin. There's angst, but it really does have a happy ending.

dear star and spring bud, my preachers by elemmacil, rated T

Post-canon AU where VW have a child. Does a great job at depicting their awe over the fact that they were allowed to make this dream their reailty.

I've Taken to Calling Him Nico by mak000000, rated G

Short one-shot wherein Vash tells WW that the little boy he assumed to be Lina's baby brother is in fact someone's kid. 3 guesses as to who's the father.

i’d give you the sun (i’d give you the sun) by justotherdays, rated M

Set post-Trimax, full of nothing but tenderness & a much deserved happy ending.

This is not humanity's song, this is ours by O_ToJoy, rated M & T

An AU where Knives's victory is short-live & WW has to pick up the pieces, one of said pieces being Nikolai. He's 16 years too late, but that won't stop him from trying.

Talk About Timing by lucifergooseifer (Lucifergooseifer), rated M

A small detour causes everything to NOT go according to plan. BUT! Nothing (too) bad happens, I swear.

A Black Angel at Your Side by hazeltea (madlovescience), rated E

I would've listed this at the top but then I read it, cried, & slapped it here. I want to devour this but also throw up. On a side note, I like how this fic depicts Livio's still somewhat religious view on Plants & how said view is deeply embedded in NML's culture, which causes conflict with the Earth Federation. There's also a Meryl POV chapter where she justifiably remains wary of Livio/Razlo, which really individualizes her. Also has fanart.

Flower Dew, Deep Waters, Desert Thirst & Use My Heart by cloudbureiku, rated E & M

Aside from smut, there's also tender caring & non-sexual intimacy, all of which are three of many reasons why VW is our bread & butter.

Lavender by @vaporame

Gotta love it when Plant pregnancy involves markings & telepathic bonds. Totally makes breaking the news to your s/o less nerve-wracking. Their other VW works are also recommended.

Modern AUs

To Build a Home by hielhue, rated G

Everyone is alive & happy, and WW narrates how he met Vash, fell in love & started a family.

cause everything else is a substitute for your love by @sascake, rated M

VW have a bad history when it comes to using protection despite one of them ironically owning a sex shop. They're not perfect but they make it work.

little moment verse by justotherdays, rated G & M

VW's journey as parents. In the second fic in the series, the author isn't afraid to write how some parents, no matter how much they love their child, still inevitably struggle. Which is why it's important to have support.

devil on your shoulder (or the angel laying on your tummy) & paint the town red by cloudbureiku, not rated & G

The former guest stars the one & only Kuroneko while the latter shows us why it really isn't advisable for heavily pregnant parents to sit on the floor.

[sillyguy99]

There is no fear in love

(Mafiafell Sans x Reader)

Chapter Two: Bittersweet Greeting (His POV)

[Index | Previous | Next]

Notice:

(To those who read Chapter One, please be aware that a few minor but crucial details of the story have been changed, such as the Reader's age and Sans's height and description.)

(You can re-read the chapter for those details, though you can also wait until Chapter Four and Five, where those details will be highlighted!)

• • • • •

With a soft push forward, Sans breaks free and steps aside.

      Yet – unlike what the woman before him has demanded him to do – he doesn't move from where he's standing.

      "i know this is… difficult to take in, but you gotta let me explain."

      She scowls, then clenches her jaw and steps forward.

      "What is there to explain, Sans? Your kind hurt my child, and now you're waltzing into my life, saying you're free to do as you want, only because they've-"

      "please. everythin'll make more sense if ya hear me out. i can promise you that. i'm not tryna justify anythin'; i just wanna talk to ya 'bout what happened."

      She steps back, eyes easing into a calmer expression of distrust: from hatred to impatience.

      "...Speak."

      Her voice, though mellow and tremulous, establishes both authority and patience, and her posture follows the same route: straight and courtly. 

      He needs to be severely mindful of what he plans to do next – that much is obvious. 

      The opportunity is a rare one. 

      "well…" He can barely manage to speak, her gaze too alert for him to not feel judged with each choice he makes. "frisk-"

      And speaking of the devil, Frisk barges into the garden. 

      Despite being sleepy-eyed and them sporting a full bed-head, their concern is unmistakable in both their posture and expression. They've overheard their mother raise her voice, and it's not too complicated to figure out what consequences that will bring. Sans still being cornered is another factor that will likely make the situation more difficult to explain. He can only imagine how they would've reacted had they stepped in when she was holding him by the collar. Either they would act in favour of her, or him, or as their last-case scenario: search for a middle ground.

      "What happened?" they ask, looking back and forth between him and their mother. "I heard mom screaming!"

      "uh…"

      Finding himself between a rock and a hard place, Sans looks toward the woman in question, hoping to receive help – no matter what kind.

      In response, she frowns, then looks at Frisk.

      "Dear…"

      She rushes to their side and places her hands over their shoulders, a patient smile showing through.

      "We're okay. I just…"

      Her gaze goes back to him, as if asking for help in return.

      And, improvisation being his expertise only when it came to matters not as serious as this one, he delays far more than what he's accustomed to. There's a pause far too long and far too uncomfortable for his and – noting by the look on her face – her liking. Frisk is the one who remains waiting, expression unchanged.

      "i was showin' 'er some of my magic, and she got surprised," he says, huffing.

      That last part wasn't supposed to happen. Sans truly shouldn't be huffing if he wants that already awful  lie to be somewhat believable, so he pretends that huff has to do with him wanting to apologize for waking them up. His apology is weak, yet that doesn't seem to be their primary concern. Frisk's eyes brighten at the same time they widen. They appear to care little about him being sorry and more about what he was expecting: more context on just what kind of magic he was performing.

      "Really?" they ask, breaking free from their mother's hold to run off toward him. "Like the one you used when a man tried to-" They stop, seeming to have noticed their mistake in letting themself speak before thinking. "Um…"

      Their mother catches on quick and sends suspicious eyes his way before returning her focus on Frisk.

      "When a man tried to do what, dear?" she asks, gaze narrowing. 

      Sans feels the urgency to intervene, though Frisk's droopy posture and downcast expression suggests it won't be that easy to escape from the trouble they've gotten themself into.

      So, he waits.

      "I, um…"

      Frisk twists and turns their shoes, and they avoid her gaze like they've already pleaded guilty.

      "Sans spooked some bad guys away with his bone magic," they exclaim, their change in mood as sudden as the light rain that starts to fall.

      And while their mother tries to protect them from the rain by rushing through her belongings to find cover, Frisk shakes their head and states they have to do something before they go to their room.

      "You just had to see it! I was gonna get taken away, but Sans was like…"

      They recreate the bone attack scene with a stick they find on the ground, including into their impromptu dramatization sound effects and facial expressions worthy of recognition. And they act it out well: with proper opening, climax, closing, and all. Using two different voices – one for the human man and one for Sans himself – they couldn't have put more effort into an action-packed play had they actually tried to rehearse beforehand. It even ends with them recreating how they themself reacted to having been saved, and with how they imitate their own voice in a more exaggerated tone, they hit one of their mother's weak spots. As they conclude the recreation, she resists a laugh and clears her throat, yet still ends up snorting far louder and covering her mouth when they imitate police sirens and them running away with Sans as they leave the unconscious man behind.

      "...And that's what happened," they say, each word bursting with contentment. "Maybe we saw and treated each other a lil differently when I was trying to leave the Underground, but… But now we're friends, and they all helped me find you!"

      The amusement she allowed to slip past ends as she ushers them to her side.

      Sans can only stay quiet and watch as she places her hand against the back of their head, then moves it across their hair and pulls them closer, hugging them tighter than she had at the beginning.

      "That's…" She sighs and closes her eyes tighter, though it's not enough to keep a tear from breaking free. "That's great, dear. You'll have to tell more about that later, but…" Her body is visibly shaky, and she covers that with a smile. "We'll have to talk more about this later, alright? …About everything."

      "Sure," they state, grinning. "You want me to go back to bed, don't you? I can tell from the look on your face!"

      The woman chuckles and nods.

      "Yes, please," she replies, kissing their forehead. "You know me well."

• • • • •

      Fast-forward to a few hours composed of awkward silence as he receives a tour of the convent and dinner prepared by an elderly nun, and Sans is wiped out despite it still being early in the night.

      Now, he finds himself in her room, this one small yet tidy. The decor is simplistic: a family picture hung on an empty wall, a few potted plants in a corner, and knick-knacks on her dresser. What space isn't occupied by the bed and the dresser is taken away by a desk and a nightstand. There's no closet around, but one simple glance at another corner to see an ironing board explains the neatness of her clothing after having washed up. The bulb fixed to the ceiling hardly helps fight against the dark, though she lights up a candle and opens the window and curtains to let the moon's glow seep into the room.

      "They were put in danger, and yet… This is the happiest I've seen them in a while."

      The woman says that without a hint of a smile on her face. Her lips are a straight line, there are creases on her forehead, and she has her hands firmly folded over her lap. Her posture's rigid, and he can see the tension in each movement she makes.

      "So, with that said, I…"

      She picks at her nails, then stops herself when her skin bleeds, something she quickly takes care of by taking a wet wipe from her dresser and cleaning her hands with it.

      "I'll be observing you for some time, until I'm sure Frisk is in good hands."

      The aforementioned child has thankfully fallen asleep. Albeit, Sans isn't sure whether he would've preferred having them around or not. The idea of being alone with their mother for the rest of the night is an unwelcome one. No matter how much he appreciated Frisk for all their help, there are still a handful of limits he can't bring himself to take away. He can gladly show her his potential, but having to confront her like this is something he wishes to avoid. She could react in a way he wouldn't be prepared enough for, and that could lead to more trouble along the way. As such, he decides it's best to leave her room as fast as politely possible – the sooner, the better. He could apologize later for ending the conversation so abruptly.

      "Where are you going?" she asks, the very second he tries to reach for the doorknob.

      She sets her hand over his, and it's then that he regrets not having simply used his magic to end his bind.

      "Are you alright? Your body feels hot."

      It's either his recent lack of sleep getting to him, or he's let the pressure of being alone with Frisk's mother get to his head and mess with his common sense.

      "i'm, uh… i'm overwhelmed. sorta," he replies, avoiding eye contact. "i have a feelin' i'll disappoint you, and that i'll make frisk more upset, in the process."

      Her fingers lace with his, and she tugs with caution.

      "Is that why you've been… silent, this whole time?"

      His hand sheds cold, cold sweat, and he stops right where he is, the door left ajar.

      "yeah."

      She closes the door and makes him turn around with a nudge on his shoulder.

      "Then rest-assured," she says, smiling. "I will allow time for you to get adjusted, while I ask Frisk about their journey."

      Soon after, she leads him off to bed and gestures for him to sit down on the edge.

      "...Meanwhile, I would like to get to know you better."

      The room dims as the wind blows out the candle, so she excuses herself to light it again.

      "Because, for better or for worse, I talked to them before they went back to bed, and… " A winded breath leaves her mouth. "They told me you hadn't… intervened much in their journey, neither to help nor harm them."

      The scent of lemon enters his nose cavity as she retrieves some lip balm from her nightstand.

      He looks away, until he hears her close the drawer and sit next to him.

      "Correct me if I'm wrong, but…" She faces her lap, and with how gloomy she looks, it's not farfetched to believe she's judging herself at the same time she's judging him. "Both not hurting someone and actively choosing not to intervene when they are being hurt – though different – are bad in their own ways." A pause accompanies that statement as she tries to recover from the shakiness of her voice. "And with what they said about you helping them with some men who wanted to take them away, it… wouldn't be wrong to say you're now doing more for them than I have through these… past few months."

      The woman stands up and walks off to her nightstand, where there's a jug of water and two cups placed on top of a doily.

      "I've failed them more than once, so while I try to make amends, I hope you prove to be a good caretaker, and…"

      She pours some water into both cups and hands one out to him.

      "Perhaps… We could be friends?" 

      Sans stares at the water like it's a mana potion – a quest item waiting to be picked up.

      And, noticing his uncertainty in taking up the offer, she giggles.

      "You can decline if you want to, and you can still take the water, if you're thirsty."

      He chuckles, stares at her, and then at the water.

      "thanks," he says, taking the cup. "for the water, and for askin' to be friends."

      With one movement forward, he chugs the water and sighs.

      "i'd like that."

[Index | Previous | Next]

• • • • •

Tag List:

@itsberrydreemurstuff

[fairy-switchblade]

A brief life update and vent. Tw: homophobia, assault, public harassment, r*pe , s*icide, SH,SA

I’m sure the tw will have freaked some people out so let me start by saying I and my loved ones are safe rn.

I hesitate sometimes on sharing these things here because I want this to be a safe space where people can come and focus on being femme in an uplifted, positive way. But I’ve decided recently that it’s also important to speak out about what we deal with in the outside world.

Where I currently live, it is not safe to stand near a butch lesbian in public, let alone touch. As in, it is not safe for them. Sometimes it’s not safe for you either.

People will definitely jeer at you, and sometimes they throw things especially if it’s late. Normally it’s a drink in a paper cup, but sometimes it’s more dangerous, ie a glass beer bottle. Sometimes you get followed, which can be really dangerous. Both women and men will harass you, but men are more likely to be sexual about it.

Most butches I have met here have had to make decisions on a daily basis, based on where they are going that day and how late they’re staying out, on how ‘masculine’ they choose to look. Some wear wigs.

Some cannot hide because they are butch to the bone. Let me say now that they are perfect, beautiful, and complete. But we live somewhere that treats them as less than human.

I am often okay, if I am on my own. I’m often straight passing, and if I am harassed it’s usually for being alternative. That is another issue. If I am with a butch or noticeable queer in some other way, I will be called names, leered at, propositioned, or groped. It’s like… if you’ve ever been so afraid you’ve stopped being able to see properly, and you feel like you’ll vomit, or wet yourself, you’ll know what that’s like. The thing is, it stops feeling like that after a while. It stops feeling like anything at all.

Sometimes when I cant sleep I wonder if part of the reason butches get attacked is because the men who do this see women who look like me, standing next to them, and use that a reason to justify their hatred. Sometimes the devil whispers in my ear that it’s my fault, and I never know what to say back.

I’ve sat next to friends and lovers on a bed, or on a bathroom floor, or on the street, or in A&E, helping with a broken nose or a bruised gut. Sometimes they’ve been raped. Sometimes they’ve attempted suicide. I don’t always know and I rarely ask if they don’t say; sometimes you just know. I’ve done my best to not look worried, and be the responsible one. I feel like crying all the time, but that doesn’t happen very often.

I guess it’s like… being tired all the time. You get used to it. A part of being femme for me means sitting up without sleep sometimes, because you know someone you love is out there, and they have no money, and they’re not answering their phone.

I’m making things sound bad when it’s never all rain clouds y’know, I love this community! I love our love! The good times surely are good. Butch community, baby, I don’t regret one minute. I love you so much, I always have and I always will. I just want you safe.

I just want this to be over. I just want people to leave us alone. I can’t understand why they wont just leave us alone. I can’t understand why anyone could look at another person the way they look at us.

[daytaker]

Potential Weaponization of Anti-Ship Culture to Justify Personal Discomfort - An Essay

TW: mentions of shipping minors, censored use of words often used in the context of shipping minors by those who dislike it, some devil's advocation, a critical look at the motivations behind a multilayered and multifaceted movement that includes many people who are there for diverse reasons and whose disliked ships range from "literally there's nothing wrong with this" to "the most toxic and abusive thing imaginable" so please don't take this as me saying everyone's views within anti-culture are morally or ethically equivalent because they aren't, also simping over an anime man, but I'm not sorry for that because he's beautiful. And also potential kavetham slander but it isn't really slander because I never claim that there's actually anything wrong with the ship, but if seeing me say "i don't like that" might upset you maybe give this one a miss.

The reason I was thinking about this subject at all is because of this video essay, which I encourage you to watch if you're at all interested in this sort of thing:

Fandom Policing, Purity Culture and the Death of Media Literacy by E

(also i call this an essay in a tongue-in-cheek way but it's lowkey the length of an actual essay so strap in i guess.)

So I've been playing hella Genshin Impact again lately.

I want to marry Kaveh. I want him carnally. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that, actually, I am already married to Kaveh in every sense of the word besides legally. Additionally, I should probably mention that I'm probably the least polyamorous person alive. I simply could never share in a relationship. I would inevitably have a favorite and it would be an ugly mess. I mention this because it provides a bit of context as to why I feel so sad that my husband Kaveh is so ubiquitously shipped with whats-his-name, because I am deeply and intensely in love with him, so seeing him with another man hurts me on a very deep level, and I cannot nor do I want to engage in the mental gymnastics of an imaginary polycule.

So all that said, I was sitting alone, stewing over my dislike of this ship, and something occurred to me. Something disturbing. Because as much as I don't ship this particular thing, there's nothing wrong with the ship. The characters are adults, they're not related, there's no abuse, they just canonically act as if they don't like each other while having a more complicated relationship. You know the type. They're very popular. I've never liked ships between characters that don't get along in canon, so even if I wasn't madly in love with Kaveh, I don't think I'd be a fan of this particular ship. What I'm getting at is this:

What if I gave into my darker impulses and acted like the worst of the antis? I could come up with some rationale for why this extremely popular ship is actually extremely toxic and validate my own discomfort over seeing my lawfully wedded husband getting dicked down by some dude. I could say, "Financial abuse! Kaveh could never be in a consensual relationship with a man who could literally make him homeless on a whim!" I could say "My precious baby is being manipulated by a man who is in a position of power over him due to my baby's decision to value his art over all else and hurling himself into bankruptcy like a moron!"

Then I could declare that the ship is toxic; therefore those who ship it are toxic; therefore those who warn about its toxicity are protecting others from toxic influences. I am morally good. I am protecting the internet from nastiness.

Of course that would be very silly and extremely manipulative of me, because there's nothing inherently wrong with shipping two adults from a piece of fictional media, even when their dynamic is a lot more dubious than the one between these two.

But this brings me back to what I was thinking about before... That is to say, my deep, gut discomfort with the ship for entirely personal reasons. A lot of people, myself included, seem to feel like we need to have logical reasons behind our likes and dislikes. It's not enough just to feel a certain way. We need to be able to defend our views against nay-sayers. This is particularly true when you dislike something, because when you go out into a crowd (the internet) and start broadcasting that you don't like something, it's seen as a little inflammatory.

And with good reason! If I didn't think of all this stuff I wanna talk about, I would have kept my thoughts on this ship completely to myself, because my negativity really couldn't do anything but antagonize people who do like the ship.

I wonder to what extent our culture of extremism has bled into our media consumption even on such an unimportant level as shipping. If I find out someone I know votes Republican, that will change my entire perspective on them. But sometimes we take something like that and translate it to stuff that's a lot less important. Like, "If I find out someone ships two teenagers, that will change my entire perspective on them." (I'm not here to get into the ethics of shipping minors, but I'm willing to stick my neck out enough to say that the above example wouldn't be something I'd be horrified to discover about a friend or acquaintance. A lot of media stars teenage characters, it's just the reality of what we consume, and when people consume media, people ship the characters, it just happens.)

But what if you didn't actually care that they were teenagers, in your heart of hearts? What if you just...didn't like the ship, because you shipped one of them with somebody else, or you headcanon that one of them is gay, or straight, or ace, or whatever? But you're sick of seeing this stupid ship everywhere, and has anyone even considered the fact that these characters are minors? In a sense, by shipping them, you're s*xualizing minors. So in a sense, anyone who likes this ship is okay with s*xualizing minors. So in a sense, anyone who likes this ship is okay with p*dophelia. So in a sense, anyone who likes this ship is a p*dophile. And now, you can hate that ship openly and rather than being an asshole who's ruining people's day, you're a crusader for morality.

You are morally good. You are protecting the internet from nastiness.

Okay, now for my disclaimers, because I'm a fearful netizen!

Now I want to be very clear and say that I'm NOT suggesting that this is secretly the reason why anyone hates any ship. Plenty of ships are nasty for all sorts of reasons. Though I would encourage readers to consider whether that nastiness is grounds for a call-out rather than simply blacklisting it.

Also, some people have strong negative reactions to ships that might seem unproblematic or at least not that awful for reasons that aren't just "it goes against my headcanon" or "I'm lawfully married to Kaveh how dare you". Some people might see real life trauma reflected in ship dynamics that aren't inherently "gross" to other people.

Basically, I want to acknowledge that this is a specific look at a specific subsection of shipping purity culture, and I'm not claiming to examine every potentiality of the issue with complete nuance. But I do want to assert that this is a nuanced issue, and encourage people to discuss it with each other in good faith, not assuming that the other party is intentionally ignoring a perspective or trying to harm or silence another group.

[bracketsoffear]

Chicken, Chicken (R.L. Stine) "Everyone in Goshen Falls knows about weird Vanessa. She dresses all in black. Wears black lipstick. And puts spells on people. At least, that's what they say. Crystal and her brother, Cole, know you can't believe everything you hear. But that was before they made Vanessa mad. Before she whispered that strange warning, "Chicken chicken." Because now something really weird has happened. Crystal's lips have turned as hard as a bird's beak. And Cole has started growing ugly white feathers all over his body… "

-People turning into chickens! -Detailed descriptions of how grossly biological chickens are! -A cliffhanger where we think the narrator's mom is going to kill and eat her!"

Blimpo (Dale E. Basye) "After his second escape from Bea "Elsa" Bubb, the Principal of Darkness, Milton Fauster makes his way to Blimpo—the circle of the otherworldly reform school, Heck, where he's sure his friend Virgil is sentenced. Virgil's only crime is being, well, plump. Milton has to wonder if that's really enough to justify eternal darnation. And what Milton finds in Blimpo horrifies him. The overweight dead kids spend most of their time running on giant human hamster wheels called DREADmills that detect and exploit their deepest fears. The rest they spend eating Hambone Hank's barbecue—mystery meat that is delicious, but suspiciously (to Milton, anyway) haunting . Every classroom has a huge TV screen showing happy thin people who taunt Blimpo residents with a perfection they will never attain.

Meanwhile, at her new job in the devil's Infernship program, Milton's sister, Marlo, knows all about trying to achieve perfection. And failing miserably. Can Milton get himself and Virgil out of Blimpo in time to rescue Marlo, too? Or is Fauster the next delicacy on Bea "Elsa" Bubb's menu?"

[screechthemighty]

Okay, part two of my Second Read of Trigun notes! We'll see if I get to the TriMax notes tonight, lol, but they are coming next. Those notes will be a lot more incoherent since that was a first readthrough and I had Many Thoughts.

Trigun Notes: Volume 2

Trigun #2.1: Blood and Thunder

Weirdly enough, NML has normal-looking pigeons in the manga

BLUESUMMERS YOU BITCH

Bluesummers aware that Vash’s pacifism is related to Rem’s sacrifice, throws that in his face and says it holds him back–not inaccurate, but RUDE. [Note: does he know this from Knives whining about her? Interesting thought that Knives has complained about his mom to his codependent right hand man]

So Vash is just hanging out and Bluesummers shows up, makes a ton of threats, leaves a severed head and waltzes off…what an intro.

Monev in that basement for 20+ years, corresponds roughly to the Stampede timeline of 20 from his return home to his confrontation with Vash @ the Windmill

Trigun #2.2: Diablo

“You could say that we’re caretakers of these seeds” - another element to Vash being so protective of humanity

“If [Alex] were alive today, I’m sure he’d do the same.” Rem haunted by Alex’s death like Vash will be haunted by hers

Interesting that we never clearly see Knives’ face in the flashbacks and he’s not even visible until he gloats about killing Rem

“Humans are ridiculous. They waste their lives on foolish feelings.” Hi, pot, meet kettle

Vash goes from angry and brooding to smiling (still sad, but smiling) the second Milly enters, but she again catches a glimpse of what’s underneath. Straight up decides she doesn’t want to touch that, though (can’t blame her!) [Note: still obsessed with how observant she is!!!]

Trigun #2.3: Fragile

Content Warnings: Just barely covered anime nudity

“Be still and listen when people are speaking to you” Knives: condescending in every timeline

“No. I’m the one who’s dangerous…hurry up…come and get me!” My dude is in pain and still has the guts to think that…love him

“If I shoot him now, then she’ll die” which stage of grief is this

So he was 100% about to shoot Monev before he remembered Rem…this bad boy can fit so much rage in him

Trigun #2.4: Scars

“Why does so much trouble follow this man? What kind of fate is he carrying?” His identical twin brother sucks, next question

Tiddy grill some kind of protective measure, maybe?

Meryl asks why Vash doesn’t just put away his guns and hide; Vash cites his inability to save Rem and the fact that he hasn’t settled the score with Knives as the reason why he can’t. [Future note: oooooggggh trimax made this worse too]

“I have only two choices: to die or let others die?! Rem didn’t sacrifice herself for that!” he is SO not just talking about himself here.

“From now on, I’m hunting you!” Run, bitch!!!!

Trigun #2.5: Slaughter Cafe

Content Warnings: Mention of rape and sex slavery, onscreen gore

Okay, I don’t condone murder but these dudes were SO asking for it

Irony  of the guy formerly denied all autonomy turning that back on those who hurt him? [Note: I feel like there’s a lot to unpack here actually]

Legato blaming Vash for him losing his patience…buddy you can say you have trauma and a grudge, that’s justifiable! [Note: Honestly, this moment strikes me as interesting in light of him condemning those who “let” him be violated as the same as those who hurt him…or does he figure that it doesn’t matter if he kills them now because they’ll die later, so him intervening in the moment is just a lapse of judgment? Again lot to unpack here]

Trigun #2.6: Gathering of the Devils

“[Legato’s] eyes were bottomless. I couldn’t read any truth in there.” -Vash

WOLFWOOD!!!

“That’s one well-prepared dead guy” Nightow sir…Don’t

“I’m a priest” Everyone: X to doubt

“Let me guess, your life’s full of nothing but trouble” Yeah, WW, you could say that

Wolfwood: It’s not exactly like that Me: Oh, I know

I also get SUPER nervous about the Eye having confessionals like. What in the blackmail material [Note: They never do end up doing anything with this outside of it being a signifier of Christianity–a smokescreen on Wolfwood’s part, maybe? To seem like a regular priest? Though with the EoM being a more widespread cult in Stampede timeline, I feel like you could still do something with that]

Vash indicating that the orphans shouldn’t steal because WW has no money himself–wouldn’t have snitched if he had?

“I see you hurtin’ and grinnin’ just to bear it.” HHHHHH…calling him out within seconds! Seeing the true nature of another! Flipping that cross timelines!!!

Trigun #2.7: Eye of Invisibility

Honestly obsessed with the design of manga!Jeneora Rock

Can’t tell if that’s supposed to be blood or cremation smoke…both options bad

Update, it’s probably blood

How did I only just now notice he never fixed his arm…he’s LITERALLY about to beat her one-handed

Trigun #2.8: Fifth Moon

Content Warnings: Suicide by fall, gore, anime nudity (Knives has no visible dick), suicidal thoughts

Screams internally

LBR Vash wasn’t just using the pain in his finger

So WW is already dissatisfied with the work he’s doing and having second thoughts, but also convinced he can’t get out–”If I run, I’ll be devoured” [Future note: You give up so easily, Wolfwood]

Meryl smacking the shit out of Vash when he tries to get her to run…gutsy play LMAO

Crazy-eyed, long-haired Knives is 100% on my s2 wishlist NGL

Took a second read to see but uhh yeah “shattered” is a good way to describe that spine

Insert that tumblr post about this somehow still meaning Legato is his favorite here

WW watching all this like “what the actual hell did I walk into” is the only comedy I get

“You’ve hurt so many more than you’ve killed, and compare that to all the destruction you’ve caused…so shouldn’t you point that thing somewhere else?” SHUT up you weird gaslighting man!!!

I MISSED ON A FIRST READ THAT HE SHOT HIS OWN LEGS TO CHANGE THE ANGLE, AY YO??

“Maybe we–I–should have never been born” OOF

“Is this from the Hand of God? Answer me, Vash the Stampede!” Buddy he doesn’t have an answer to that

Trigun: Day In, Day Out

“Mr. John P. Smith (Alias)” Vash…

“He made it through another day with no casualties! Well done!” Lmaoo

Also the fact that he plays with the neighborhood kids…Baby

Trigun: Pilot

Vash encouraging her to keep looking–”I don’t think you’re stupid enough to ignore those on whom your life was built?”--bit of projecting? Especially WRT his feelings on Rem as the foundation of this world?

“How’s it feel, Sheriff? Being at the mercy of a stray mutt?” (Vash) Absolute BANGER

“Vash the STampede. A man whose name means ‘reckless.’” Sure does, damn

[undercovercannibal]

Hey, boys. Would you mind giving me and US Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens a moment, please?

RAYLAN GIVENS and BOYD CROWDER in JUSTIFIED 3.04 ✰ The Devil You Know

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

[Sorry I'm a night late... had a VERY bad work-shift]

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter. Better yet! Check out “Heart of the Game, Fredonia” - they can sell you those D12’s with the symbols on them! Get in contact with them on Facebook, shipping to the U.S. only, and tell them “Shujin Tribble” sentcha. “Hail, Hail, Fredonia!” Home of the Blue Devil!

OH, there’s for sure a theme to this week’s ‘Scopes, but we’ll be damned if we’re about to let you all know just WHAT it is. After all, the LAST time we told you about the secret messages you had such a fun time trying to discover what it was, right? Your only clue is: Baseball Bat Religion. And so we’re clear, you can only ever win this contest ONCE.

Aries 

There are stores in the US and Canada called “Dollar General”, who don’t have a picture of a General as a mascot, oddly enough. How about you start your OWN chain of similar stores, called “Spend A Buck” - with a pirate as your mascot, drawn in the style of “The Scream”, named “Buck-an-Ear”. Yes, this is a Fozzy Bear level Dad Joke, but we don’t care. It’s funny to us. So This Week… Don’t sell a whole bunch of different things, just Corn on the Cob… “Buck An Ear”! If that’s not appealing you could always just make grits.

Taurus 

Taking inspiration from THAT ‘Scope, let’s get you back into playing video games. “War Admiral” is an old-school terminal window game played against the computer, very like the tabletop game of Battleship. It used to be an easy enough game to play back in the day, but now that you can fill a 4K monitor with a terminal window, the playfield is huge! So This Week… The last-known copy of the program was on a BASF Audio Cassette Tape. So if you want it you’ll need to find a way to digitize it yourself.  

Gemini 

It’s been 42 years since it was released, meaning it’s the answer to everything! Expect to see “Lil E. Tee” to be re-released for a one-night command performance at your local movie theater sometime in early December. It’ll be a chance for families to go out holiday shopping, but take a break in the middle of the day away from the crowds. It’s rated PG, but all things considered it’s still a good family-friendly experience. So This Week… If you have kids with a peanut allergy, do NOT take them to see the movie! They WILL beg to try Reese’s Pieces.

Cancer Moon-Child 

Seems we’re just following up a long train of thought this week. You want to be sure that when you have a child all upset they can’t have Reese’s pieces that you “Justify” your veto carefully. Don’t tell them that they’ll get sick from it, because people get well again, usually. Couch it in the form of them needing to get a shot to keep them from being violently ill, going to the doctors, and not being allowed to get a lollipop after. Because E.R.’s usually don’t give those out. So This Week… Yes, there’s a story about a kid injecting himself with an Epi-Pen before eating a Reese’s Cup out of spite. We’re not sure if it’s a real story, but do you want to find out if your kid’s gunna be the one to actually try that? Be Careful.

Leo 

In the My Little Pony-Inspired fan videos of “Button’s Adventures” by Jan Animations, there is a character named Gibson; Button’s Brother. He, as you might guess, plays guitar in his band, but he’s not exactly good. There’s a question that needs answering; If he joined the Royal Guards and stayed in long enough could he eventually be “Lieut. Gibson”? So This Week… Here’s a guitar joke for you! What's the difference between a guitarist and a vacuum cleaner? When you unplug a vacuum it doesn't suck anymore. (*Beat Pause*) Sorry if the delivery was a little flat.

Virgo 

If you studied Earth Science and Meteorology enough you’d know about this next term and how it’s produced. A “Hill Gail” refers to a mid-sunny-day phenomenon of a sudden high-speed wind that climbs the sun-facing side of a hill. It’s because of this that the placement of wind farm windmills are congregated on hill tops. So This Week… Don’t believe everything you hear on the Internet about windmills. Some of them are fake. This one isn’t, but, you know.. Some OTHER ones are. 

Libra

We haven't given you a language or geography lesson in a long time, so it’s time to fix that with a two-fer. The term in German is “Donau” (“Dough - NAW”) which means “Danube”, the second-longest river in Europe. We don’t think you actually appreciate just how long this river is! If you started at its source in Germany and navigated all the way to the end at the Black Sea, you’d pass through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. So This Week… Even though the name is shorter, it’s longer than the Mississippi River. Quick Question! How many letters are in the name “Mississippi”? (*Beat Pause*) FOUR! The answer is Four. 

Scorpio 

For those of you who feel “Pensive” about that answer and think we’re cheating, Good Instincts! But no. We’re not cheating, just asking the question in a way that’s both accurate but misleading. So try this one on. Why do cemeteries have fences? Because everyone's dying to get in. So This Week… That’s the GOOD answer! Imagine if the answer was because they were trying to get OUT!

Sagittarius 

If Scorpio was pensive, we’re expecting you to have actual “Regret” for what you’re about to get. Just to make you more comfortable we promise you won’t get a dad joke. If you grab an insulated wire in your right hand, with your thumb in the direction of the current, your fingers will be wrapped around the direction of magnetic force. So This Week… If you grab an UNINSULATED wire with current in it you won’t be able to let go. Told you that insulation was important!

Capricorn 

Ok, ok. No more jokes. But how about something educational? You might’ve heard the name “Omar Khayyam” but do you know who that was? First off, that wasn’t his real name; that actually stretches about 18 syllables long and he made contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry back in the time of the Seljuk Empire. Why did THAT sound familiar? Because of Bill Wurtz’s animation, “History of the Entire World, I Guess”. So This Week… Do you know how old that video is? It was released in 2017 and almost popular enough to be credited in a different History Video soon, we bet. Go thank him for such a great video!

Aquarius 

There are some of you who are Cryptographically inclined and YOU are My People on this one! Take all the letters in the words “Bold Forbes” and re-arrange them in Numerical Order. Using those numbers in reverse, add two sets of nested parentheses so the outer one has an odd number of letters with an even number on the inner one. Finally use that as the beginning of an equation, solve for “B”, then put that into your graphing calculator. So This Week… You SHOULD end up with a Boy Kisser picture display for you. If you don’t know what that is, GOOD!

Pisces  

And finally, we know how you avoid hard alcohol, but this week, “Go for Gin”. There’s going to be reason enough for you to have it, and it’s not to drink straight. We know you’re going to try that home-made eggnog recipe again. Make sure you’ve got enough gin in there to kill off any nasties that might grow in there since, you know… Raw Egg. So This Week… Yes, we know it’s traditionally RUM  that you’d add in there, but… All Of The Rum’s Gone!

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know - or check out the Ko-Fi page ( https://ko-fi.com/icarusthelunarguard )! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Discord, and BLUESKY.

[ai-archive-for-all]

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐈?

In the last 2 years or so AI generative platforms have become a hit. A huge boom that is used to create all sorts of knowledge, content, companionship etc. Some of it however has turned out bad, wrong or even downright evil, while other has actually brought comfort, and care to the users and overall generally good stuff.  Think ChatGTP, You.com, Gencraft, Lummini, Midjourney are just samples in the grand scheme of AI tools on the internet. And since their creation the AI art, writing, bots, deep fakes etc such have expanded tremendously. 

AI stuff is everywhere; whether you know and like it or not. 

But, like everything out there, especially a new piece of technology, it has raised mixed feelings. And justifiably so. A lot of the generative sites mentioned above use models such as DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion and other models . Which exact data sources these models build on is however unclear (See Dennis, 2022). Which is the biggest ethical issue with AI art (and to a certain extent AI Writing). This data could come from open source data and data submitted and willingly for the AI to be trained on, but a lot of the time it is trained on art from real artists and authors who have not consented to it. This makes AI art and content problematic since it is used for commercial use.

However, if I may be the devil's advocate. I think this is a much bigger issue for original works and published creations and in commercial setting than Tumblr and fan creations at large. Why? Because legally speaking (although it depends where you are of course, I can only speak from European context at large) but fanfiction and fanart by itself can be seen as copyright infringement into the original works copyright. By legal definition, copyright infringement occurs when:

Too much of the original works elements are copied, uses the characters or distinct elemets from the original work or that the new works characters or distinct elements are too similar to the original work, alternatively that the new work competes on the same market as the original work (AI Archive translation & simplification)

So, in other words, basically the entire fanfiction and fanart community could be and would be shut down if the original works creators wanted it to. Still it is (mostly) allowed to exist because we don’t claim to own the works, we don’t compete with the original creations market (aka do it not for money) but rather try showing appreciation for the original works art. It’s a thin line to say the least and even with that thin line, only, maybe a handful of works would be considered individual enough not to be copyright infringement. 

Do you get where I’m going with this? If we cry too much, especially in the fandom community about AI infringement, what is to say that governing institutions will not make another serious purge attempt at us all, AI and non AI creators that breach the strict definition of copyright (I doubt it will happen). Rather on a deeper level, I don’t think the issue is so much about AI itself, but rather how it is used. 

More precisely, the problematic issue when a fanfiction/fanart creator uses AI content and do not declare their AI use (which is also something Dennis mentions). For example omitting the information all together anywhere on their blog, or, worse yet, denying that they used AI to create their content such as a fic or picture. I know I am guilty of including it on the blog but not under every post where AI had a small insignificant part of the total work (part in a banner for a fanfiction) and I’m definitely going to be even more transparent about it in the future. 

I encourage you to do the same, while also considering that, maybe, within the context of tumblr and fandom work we shouldn’t be talking about ‘good creator not using AI’ or ‘bad creator using AI’ but rather be open and honest about how and why AI was used in our works. And on a larger field advocate and motivate companies to create data sets that do not infringe into content creators rights, but instead create a possibility for writers, authors and artists to submit their pieces into the data set to create a more ethical use of it. 

Because only when we’re honest about how and why we use AI can we start tackling all of the underlying issues AI has.

See Sources & Additional info below:

Steve Dennis (2022) "The AI Art Debate: Excitement, Fear and Ethics"

Kavya Goyal (2024) "Exploring GenCraft.ai | An Overview"

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 | 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 & 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 | 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 & 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬

[linkreactionx]

dissociating (16/03/24)

I had a conception and it didn't go well

I had a conception and it landed me in hell

the devil laughs me all the way to my grave

shakes his head but then finally caves

in: “I find it immensely amusing how they so deeply believed

every lie you sold to them for the price of your soul as you lived.”

I can't stand to stand on a podium, appraisal my anxious anointment

just to become one of those stories drenched in disappointment.

(my life's work in shameful dereliction anointed

I had no expectations - so why am I disappointed?)

they had a dainty picture they hung high and glorified

they had such high hopes, now they're

m o r t i f i e d

I can hear them littering my head, though they're hardly news

the bunch of critically attuned, one-star google reviews:

“she is a fantastic inquirer but if I may raise a counterpoint

it is clear she never learns; and perhaps that is the only reason

she has survived, at present as well as every time before it,

rather than to improve on it, better it, she chooses to ignore it.”

“her perpetual state of d i s s o c i a t i o n once again seems to persist,

look at her, acknowledge the absurdity of her - she regularly forgets she exists.”

“your kindness is but issued from her crocodile tears of gold.”

“stop littering her with praise - it's really getting old.”

the calm before the storm is a lie

all the enthusiasm that goes to die

is that issued from blood-curdling anxiety.

the calm after the storm is a given

all previous grievances forgiven

a sense of gratitude and goodwill burgeons.

bewildered by quantities, inspirited by words, bewitched by art

oh you pessimistic mind, you ungrounded soul, you hopeful heart.

feelings are not impulses seeking to reform, undergone in vain

all feelings, none excluded, are nothing but ceaseless pain

(if happiness lasts then it is littered with bullet holes

sadness hurts too much to see it's value as a whole

anger doesn't so much burn hot as it adds insult to injury

but in empathy no purport is ever handled gingerly)

mirror, mirror, tell me

w h y

every time you slip up, say you hate me, eyes

red and complection mad,

(it cracks)

you successfully prove a point I

didn't heretofore know I had.

what's one mistake in a situation of ever-present kindness?

(a cat amongst pigeons)

and what's kindness in a situation of troubling maleficence?

(but a stroke of wind)

lost in my own eyes through the prism of another's admiration.

if you speak too quietly they won't hear you

if you sing off-key they will tune you out

if you laugh too loud they will laugh off the joke

but you scream too quietly, they will not hear you.

you scream

h e l p

too quietly, they will never hear you.

we haven't yet broken the system; but there simply must be

someone actually evil somewhere high on the top shelf

otherwise we good people are nothing if not fooling ourselves

in thinking our maleficent inflictions we chalk up to peace's wins

are justified, for they are but answering to another's cruel whims.

[kindtobechurlish]

One woman is storming around, something would “never happen”, and the reason why she likes me, her logic, her head, is what has me angry. “Not tonight”, and she doesn’t treat me like she treats other guys. And, now you see. Isn’t it sad? She came out, first, which is why she is storming around, and said she would marry me. I hadn’t yet made it about her, no need, but rather I made it about me. I made it about my enablement, and what I could do for her. After I did this, a fat bitch said I was wrong about some things, a white woman who needs to loose A LOT of weight and if she did she might have extra “skin” like an uncircumcised dick. Fat bitch said I was wrong for being a racist, and I had not yet thought about the prophecy of Lemuel. And, today you see Stonewall Jackson and the trees, with “ignorant Africans.” Now, you see someone with mental illness, things was so pleasant for fat bitch, why would she want any different as I am not a wanton? Where did she go? And there it is. Some guy is saying “the matrix” and it’s weird. I’m not getting onto that, what I am getting into is someone oppresses and woman storms around as a spinster, thornback, and my love only gives me the solution.

Some woman storming around, stumping around, she knows about Robert E. Lee’s prettiest sight, and like there is a field gang in the field there are these women who are TOO OLD to be that sight and I’m one man. You see negro nerd making the joke on me for three years, he got his Lori Harvey of the nation or viceroyalty, and I have Robert E. Lee’s prettiest sight but they are TOO OLD. Some thornback, spinster, she got married, and now I’m getting my fix and my kids can’t be like me. Woman storming around, I got heads on my body like a pig eating feeds, and it’s Robert E. Lee’s prettiest sight but it’s TOO OLD. Woman storming around, stumping around, and then another woman is stuck, and now you see TOO OLD. Some woman is beautiful to me, and I feel weird around 25 white girls and it is just me. “What am I doing here?”, and Robert E. Lee isn’t personified. I know what I worked for, if I have to take it there I’ll take it there, and you put two hands in pocket to say you are not in politics right now. I’m not white. You see TOO OLD, and now your classrooms aren’t black and white but all these people are half way there and they can only be black. Isn’t that funny? This makes you put both hands in pocket, just for you to think of white woman with black hair? You see it? “I’m white”, and dumb negroes won’t catchup. I’m not saying be more righteous than whites, I’m not righteous in my own eyes, but I say figure it out! Some guy has a fetish of belly buttons. He says he is obsessed, it is means for him to feed his baby - and he’s feeding his woman. I have Robert E. Lee’s prettiest sight, but too old, and that will make you take in information and “be better” as I’m on to Old Bed’s tricks! Same ol circus, OLD BED! You know field hands, and in that there is the field gang. Oxgang? You see it! Anglo-American law, you learn it, see it, and say, “I could have thought of that.” Well, you are white and I am black, that’s how it works! “Poor devils”, and many wouldn’t read to FIGHT! I have the prettiest sight, but TOO OLD, 25 heads on my body and I’m getting my fix. Behold, what could have healed the country, I begged you to talk Confederates before Trump and I just want to work in manufacturing, you can go off and be the voice and not a bad actor, only to see racism and it shows I’m not Rastus. I didn’t go to a high school either. I just walked, and in it I was able to get money. By my God I changed laws, and courts recognize it, and I got pony tails, clips, buns, pigtails, hair down, whatever, kissing my body and giving me my fix. You don’t want to talk Confederates?

I’d establish Egyptian culture, by Confederates, and woman is clear. She wants to feel like woman who stood before judge Judy, with other women, and there was one man justifying what he had in his mind. She wants that same image, but courts recognize it. Now, I have TOO OLD for prettiest sight and it’s racism. Christianity said pay caesar, and calling yourself white is like you calling yourself Christian, and BOOM. Woman get lifted up to her highest state, and now you see why she’s storming around as my love is content. The good wife, it ultimately is because of black dick and she’s enabled. “That never would happen” becomes “it would only happen if it was you and you weren’t on the internet”, and she’s storming around. I have the answers to be with her as I am, she imagines me giving her 20% of my pay every two weeks and I worship her in clandestine marriage, and you see a woman content with the truth as the other is just storming around. “I could use 125 dollars or so, 90 dollars, a week”, and it’s 400 dollars a month and she’s my wife. Storming around, just to see I’m really doing more than show I don’t need “treatment”, and it’s “not tonight”, woman content says the same. NOT TONIGHT.

Oh, if I wasn’t on the internet, and I just walked, to make you wonder, and I never was on the internet, I have lock and key. Now, people feel a little better about themselves just for you to see the storm! She got my attention, and she wanted to be uplifted. “She’s just being a white woman”, and “it never would happen” unless it’s me. Storming around. She never thought of things, just to think. Some spick is in kitchen, and if the spick learns language to be better than a hottentot then the spick can be in kitchen and keep getting better. Now, at 50, 5 star in New York City and poor people who can’t afford school are joining the army. Yea. Joe Biden’s emanation is, and they preach peace - it’s an insidious effect. Instead of McDonalds sweet tea, large, being two dollars (it changed), it’s five dollars, and they are making it about the cost of eggs and milk last year. “Be positive”. Negro woman!

An idiot is ready to see my analogy of the pig, and think it’s the same as a gold ring in the SNOUT of a pig is like a fair woman without discretion. She’s storming around, or being still, and I’m showing her I’m ready to marry. “It would never happen”, becomes it would only happen if it were me, as a woman is a thornback, spinster, and I have the solution in our love. Woman storming around, how awkward is marriage? All of these people go to the wedding, could not even know them that well, they could not like your wife or husband, and there is a pastor saying, “speak now or forever hold your peace.” Woman storming around, it’s awkward for a spinster, thornback, to get married for she is beyond the ordained age. Some woman who can’t dance, she starts spinning, and there it is. The wedding is awkward, woman storming around and I know her. Music plays she spins. Now, “marriage is awkward”, spinster, she’s wearing heels in a dress with drape over head. Her dad is giving her away, spinster. Woman still sees this and understands my love - beyond Robert E. Lee’s prettiest sight and TOO OLD. I engage clandestine marriage, and all of those people other woman wants there, making her storm, wouldn’t be there.. and I make love with her like I am making a daughter just to make it about her sucking my dick.

She gives her sign, woman storming around, woman still, she says she’s watching me. I can’t hide from her, my acts, so she feels like a god in me getting enthusiasm when I see her. “Not tonight”, storming around, still, and I don’t have her feet in my face with her on her back telling me she love me first night. That’s why I act like this. She come to love me, and I don’t have to physically pop her Cherry and I’m not bopping her upon the head. It wasn’t that serious, if that guy was me, and not on the internet, “ok, it would happen.” That’s your sign, and then people dream? Living outside of the self? Now, woman doesn’t treat them like she treats me, and she doesn’t want YOU to know she submitted to women surrounding my body like pigs feeding and I’m making out with my love because she married my first. Woman storming around doesn’t like thinking of housewife, the contrast of good wife, and me in my penury saying, “YOU GONE TALK ABOUT THE CONFEDERACY, SON OF A BITCH.”

[nalyra-dreaming]

Glad you seem to enjoy the books!

I'm going to go through your points real quick.

re the blocking: I have put (some of) the screenshots into the rant, what I mean here is that it has been said that the revisits would come, since the beginning - people claiming that this fact in and by itself is "bad writing" or "racism" will be what I will block. Because I'm tired. Like this isn't news. Any criticism of that in and by itself would need to be taken up with Rolin or Hannah, or the other writers, not me.

That does not mean that criticism wrt to the implementation of these revisits will be blocked (though we cannot even know them yet), and re the racial considerations @keybearer92 and others have mentioned and are concerned over are very valid and important points in the reblogs of the rant post. Which I agree with. But that is concern re the content/implementation of the revisits, not the revisits themselves. A different thing, imho.

we do not know what they will revisit, ONLY that it will include episode 5 and 7 at the very least. I have talked about episode 5, at length, I will not rehash it now, it's all in the rant and referred to links there, but there is a LOT to consider, it cannot be broken down to "just the abuse" here (though there is no "just" for abuse, but ther e IS a lot going on there)

Re Lilly: You said: "bruhh like what evils could she have committed to deserve death?"... doesn't really matter. Sorry to say it so harshly These vampires kill. KILL. Nightly. That includes Louis. Thousands and thousands before they left Nola And all of the vampires apply some kind of logic at times to justify their kills. Some kind of reasoning. I don't really have a skin in the game whether it was justified to kill Lilly or not or whatever justification, but it might be that the show will revisit it. We will see. There is no telling now, only the book background of the prostitutes being shady. (Also I'm not sure it was in one of my asks???)

I don't think I've made fun of people wanting Jacob and Assad in promos, what I have said iirc is that I love AMC for the tongue-in-cheek promotion of Loustat and The Devil's Minion, which are two of the main pairings. Loustat being the main pairing, as per the statement of Rolin & co

I am sorry if my Armand comment came across weirdly to you, but there is a history of "good and nice Armand" (troll) anons in my inbox roughly a year ago. If you do not know these my answer probably comes across rude, and I'm sorry. But there's... history with this.

As per your last point: "But when ppl point out that some things won’t work bc of the race (which again u agree w in ur rant + ur response) u talk ab how some fans who say this pair it w hurtful language." I ... don't agree that some things won't work bc of race. I agree that some things will be very problematic and need a lot of tact to pull of! That's something different. Same for the possible Merrick-like ending. That has a lot of traps in it as well. And I still see it looming, in-universe, story-wise. But... What do the people who think that the race change has to affect the basic story think will happen now that they're black? What do they think will actually change? Because there is nothing in the trailer, leaks or posters which would make me think they are changing even one major plot point. There are things that will happen no matter the race change. These things will need to happen in order to get to all the major emotional plot points, and they have already set some in stone. Claudia is dead. Louis "had" a daughter. For example. That is why I keep reiterating that these are still the same characters. Louis will still fail Claudia. Claudia will still have used Louis to kill Lestat. Armand will still kill Claudia to have Louis to himself. These are major plot points. That won't change. There will be a trial, we have already seen the posters, and Louis screaming. The Grand Guignol was not referenced for nothing, too, so the surgery is likely looming.

"...then by dismissing the hurtful language you dismiss the notion that the suggestion would be racist or problematic in the first place which is very contradictory" What exactly do you mean here. That I dismiss the concerns? I don't! But to say now that revisits are bad writing and racist is not the same as criticizing the implementation of such a revisit. And, again, that is something we cannot even judge yet. Because we do not know yet how they will do it. Only that they will do it.

I hope my response is a bit more satisfying here. And of course your opinion matters.

But please know that I got a lot of shit (and we do have a troll!), and deliberate hate anons over the last 18 months, as a lot of blogs here. So if someone comes in as anon with some... let's say things that trigger memories, then the response is certainly different on anon than now.

Again not at all related to QOTD but related to stuff i see under the tags that’s been bothering me a lot. I was originally gonna send this as an ask but it might potentially not get answered so just gonna post. It’s in relation to this answered ask which i sent and just wanted to be more clear in what i meant. https://www.tumblr.com/nalyra-dreaming/742009291203035136/hey-i-originally-sent-this-ask-to-virginia-bc-a

@nalyra-dreaming Thanks for answering, and I’m gonna come off anon bc I think it’s more transparent that way, only was on anon bc didnt want to be potentially blocked and not see a response. Just wanna clear some things up. I did not read all the books, just the first couple and working my way up, but im aware of what happens bc idc ab spoilers etc. Also I like Loustat, i like jam I listen to the podcasts read the interviews etc etc so im aware of the things u might think that I’m not aware of. I know the characters are still the same, I know we’re gonna get revisits and personally I’m excited for them I love shows/movies where there’s a shift in perspective I think it’s so fun. However I do think they gotta be careful when doing the revisits bc some things would be problematic/racist, and I have read your rant which is why I say that you agree w this. You also agree with this in your response. What I’m confused about thooo is the contradiction in both your rant and your response to me where you say that “ if I‘m going to see anyone scream “bad writing“ or “Louis being made a liar or the memories revisited/changed is racism“ when the changes will hit I‘m just gonna block you.” And then say that it has nothing to do with the problematic directions the show could take to the revisits “because there are many traps there to consider because of the racial change”. And then say “but it’s not bad writing, or racism, if and when these things happen”. I don’t understand, what is it then? Or maybe we disagree about what would actually be a problematic way to revisit ep5? Would something have to be super explicitly racist for it to be considered problematic or bad?

As for listening to the Black cast and creators, I do and I agree with them as well? Jacob says Louis lies and I didn’t need him to say that for me to see it already in s1 like Louis’ lies ab tbe extent in which Claudia resented him, how much he loved Lestat to the point of not being able to kill him etc. I’m literally saying if he lies ab the ABUSE it would be badddd which is why I don’t think they’ll go that way, even if Louis lying ab things is canon (+++ how are things being canon suddenly an argument for why they wouldn’t be bad if adapted in the show??).

And then the other anon saying “why would it be bad if Lily was shady anyone of any race can be a villain” bruhh like what evils could she have committed to deserve death? (stealing and killing from her clients like the prostitutes in the book who lestat feels justified in killing? she’s a Black sex worker in 1910 New Orleans the show opens with Bricks literally being assaulted by a client if she had killed him I would have cheered so idk what would make lily evil enough to have deserved death that’s what i mean by thatt which is also another example of something being canon still being bad)

Also I realize the way I phrased my ask made it seem like I think the making fun of wanting jassad is weird bc it’s mean or something, which is not at all why I think it’s weird. Ppl specifically making fun of wanting to see two poc who are an important pairing in the show be paired in promos as well, that’s the weird part.

And I did not say at all that I think they’re gonna be wholesome bc they are POC, the fuck? Why did you have to do all that when discussing the jassad part of my comment? That’s also very weird. Like I know who Armand is and what he does, that doesn’t mean that I will stop being excited that the ppl playing the part are POC and no longer want to see them on my screen or do promos together…. I’m excited to see all that stuff play outtttttttt….. y am i supposed to only be excited for loustat…..?

As for the comments you got on your fic, I personally did not read your fic but I’m sure you write v well and I’m assuming the comments are super hurtful and unnecessary and things like “kys”, which I find the casual use of in online spaces in general very weird so I’m genuinely sorry that you received that in your inbox. However I’m talking about how even getting just a “hey that’s racist” would also be not a great thing to receive like no one wants to be called that. Getting anything negative at all in the inbox is not great so getting even wilder stuff is very hurtful, I get that, which is why I’m trying hard not to come off in any type of way that would suggest that. People saying I’m tired of this discourse, plz know this is in response to your rant as well as a lot of the asks ab the jassad pairing, not just for discourse’s sake. Personally, I think it’s important and interesting to discuss how changes in certain characters’ races could affect the story moving forward, and I like that you talk ab your theories for how they will adapt s2 that stuff is fun and very fandom like behavior. But when ppl point out that some things won’t work bc of the race (which again u agree w in ur rant + ur response) u talk ab how some fans who say this pair it w hurtful language and then by dismissing the hurtful language you dismiss the notion that the suggestion would be racist or problematic in the first place which is very contradictory. But I guess since I have not read all of Anne Rice’s work my opinion ain’t shit.