#like I would get the amount of lawyers on this site if they were ALL civil rights defense attorneys cause that would make a bit more sense

[summerhighlandfalls]

if your lawyer has a tumblr your ass is getting acquitted

[sebsrainbowbicycle]

Whats your opinion on the whole Christian Horner thing?

Let me preface this by saying, I have intentionally stayed away from this subject for many reasons, but given there was an outcome of the investigation today, and some of the information I’ve seen here throughout the past weeks, now is as good a time as any to respond to this ask I got weeks ago. This is not, nor will I be offering in the future, my opinion on whether Horner is guilty of the accusations or not. I just want to maybe provide context, and information from my experience and career thus far, that might help people understand, and also my opinion on the reaction from people. Caveat - I am not a lawyer, nor will I go into specifics of my current or previous job, however I worked in the legal profession where I worked on legal cases, reviewed evidence, and made submissions and recommendations that went in front of Judges.

Okay my thoughts. My thoughts are that an internal investigation that should have remained private for all parties involved, especially the alleged victim(s), was leaked and used as clickbait and gossip by the media and people on here and other social media sites. I think people decided guilt without having any genuine information, without seeing the evidence and without any credible sources. I think were the person being accused a different member of the paddock that the reaction would have been different. I think people used this to virtue signal and cry out about what good people they are. I think people that constantly say that the media and journalists shouldn’t be trusted, fed into a feeding frenzy that led to the name of the alleged victim(s) being published, which will undoubtedly impact them for the rest of their lives.

Onto specific things I have seen that I’d like to offer my take on:

Christian allegedly offering the victim a sum of money - First of all, for anyone who has a certain amount of wealth, especially those in the public eye, this is a usual occurrence. You try to avoid an investigation by any means possible, whether you’re innocent or guilty, because a) it’s easier and usually cheaper in the long run, b) pr and public image are damaged by even unfounded accusations and these things can run on for an extremely long time, and c) trial by media is a thing, and innocent people get tarnished for the rest of their lives because of something they were accused of. Now, I’m not saying any of those are why the offer was allegedly made, but those are some of the reasons. Companies do the same thing, when someone has an accident at work and hurts themselves, even if the company do not believe themselves to be at fault they will make a settlement offer, to avoid any legal back and forth. Settlements are not an admission of guilt, but a way to make something go away quickly.

Said money being why the investigation “went away” - I saw a quote that said “the grievance has been dismissed”, that means there was a finding, not that it was withdrawn. even so, this was a red bull investigation carried out by an external barrister. Once the company were made aware of the allegations, their investigation is independent of either party involved, so even if the alleged victim(s) withdrew their grievance, the company would still have a duty of care to ensure that any inappropriate behaviour or actions were identified, investigated and addressed. Most importantly, red bull want to protect themselves legally, and following the procedures and carrying out a thorough investigation, which would identify if they were potentially exposed to risk, is how they do that.

How can they ignore 100’s of pieces of evidence - We don’t know that they did. It was reported, but never confirmed that there was over 100 pieces of evidence submitted, so this is absolute hearsay. Further, I would be extremely surprised if the investigation ignored any piece of evidence, given the ramifications of an incorrect or improper investigation. Also I think it’s really important to say that evidence does not equal guilt or that one party to the proceedings is correct. Allow me to provide you with a personal example. I worked on a case where there was over 5000 pages of evidence submitted into a legal bundle. Approximately 4000 of those were from the appellant who argued that the other party had acted incorrectly. (forgive my vagueness here I’m not about to doxx myself). 4000 pages of evidence, which I reviewed and made a decision that I did not support their argument. The judge agreed with me also. Evidence can be subjective, and sometimes it can be completely irrelevant. The presence, and submission of evidence is to support one sides view of things, the other side will have their own, and both are examined and balanced and decisions made on that and sometimes also on other independent investigation.

The investigation is private and cannot be shared - This is law. GDPR in fact because this is occurring within Europe. I’m literally spending this entire week on a GDPR course, and have an exam on Friday, so I really don’t want to go on about legal basis and restrictions for sharing personal data, but let me tell you it’s for good reason, especially with investigations like this. All parties involved in this have a legal right to privacy, covered by the human rights act, and unless there is a compelling legal reason why their data should be shared, then it can’t be without their explicit consent. Simple as. And that’s disregarding that there will be confidential company information within the investigation that also cannot be shared.

Horner committed a crime - given that we do not know the specifics of what occurred we simply don’t have enough information to know this, HOWEVER, from the information I have read, and by the fact that I have not seen an indication that the police have been involved with this, nor are they carrying out their own investigation, I am working under the assumption that no law has been broken.

tl;dr - These are real people’s lives, we are not involved and we have no right to know anything. This isn’t salacious gossip, and it’s not a fun thing to band around and use as a stick to beat people with to prove how good we are. Processes and investigations like this should be private, and basing things on hearsay and unscrupulous reporters does more damage to any alleged victims than good. Having seen how fans and social media have treated this investigation, do you think that makes any other alleged victims want to come forwards? I think not. But that’s just me.

[opinated-user]

I feel like it's time to shine a light on MOs immigration again:

For the uninitiated: November 2022 is when LO asked her fans to donate money for this process. December 2023 is when one fan finally asked what happened to the money (they gave a good amount) and LO claimed they had at this point submitted all the necessary paperwork and are in the background stage. It is Now September 2024.

All the following information is taken directly from the official Canadian government page:

1. During the pandemic average waiting times spousal immigration was around 12 months, it has since gone down to ten. MOs immigration therefore should be going through within the year.

2. Once you've submitted your paperwork you are eligible to apply for a working visa, that is easier and quicker to get than normal if you link it to your immigration, and move to and work in Canada. This will also show the authorities that you are willing and able to support yourself in your new home, thus have a positive impact on your process.

While we don't know MOs circumstances, she very clearly loves LO and wants to be with her + her living conditions in the US are very bad. So I'd assume she'd want to move asap.

The fact that no further updates have been given to fans who gave them money is already suspicious. Best case scenario these two are not very good at navigating government sites, worst case scenario LO is stringing her along and pocketed the money raised. Also LO claims to have a lawyer on standby, who she could then theoretically consult about any questions about the process. Weird all that.

(while I do not necessarily think moving in with LO would be good for MO, I even more do not want her hopes and dreams crushed)

actually, that is not all. it's my belief that LO not only does not have any intention of moving MO with her, she also has already misused the money that she gained from her followers for her own gain without any disclosure.

in that post i showed, with evidence that i gathered myself and LO herself provided, that is highly likely that LO spend the money from that fundraising on a desk. not only that, at the same time that LO was bragging about getting this new desk (two days after making that fundraising, then lying about it), she was also talking about getting a another desk, a more expensive one, for MO. a desk that only LO would end up using because, again, they don't live together. all of this we were talking about at the start of this year and nothing has changed.

for the record, if LO had just said openly "guys, i need urgently a new desk, i need to use this money", nobody would have a problem with it. if LO had done a fundraising for a new desk in the first place, nobody would care. streamers and youtubers ask donations from their fanbase to get new equipment all the time, that is normal. the lack of transparency is the issue here.

the issue is that LO over two years now promised, both to her audience and to MO, that she'd be working on the immigration process. she used other people's money in order to do that. they deserve to know what happened to that money.

[eternalera]

discussing project 2025 and how it will most likely NOT affect ao3

tw: p0rn mentions/discussion

ive seen some news in the past few days about something called project 2025 and how it could result in ao3 being taken down because theyre trying to limit pornography and theyre classifying the lgbtq (or trying to) as part of that content.

people are afraid that because of this ao3 might be taken down as a result but here's why it most likely won't and you don't need to worry to much (but should still be cautious just in case). from my reading of the situation theyre mainly focusing on porn sites, porn hub and things like that. theyre started making it so that you have to enter in your drivers ID to prove that you are above the age of 18 so that kids and stuff dont have access to this content.

of course that itself is going to take a while because its a whole damn website, its not just in the US but it's international in itself. the programming and passing the bill will take an extremely long amount of time.

but this bill (or whatever) also violates things such as freedom of speech. writing is a form of speech and you are allowed to write about whatever the hell you want and no one is able to take that away, whether it be online or in real life and believe it or not writing gay fanfiction is a form of speech. especially if youre creating healthy gay relationships and promoting lgbtq content. the government cant just take that away because they classify it as 'porn' when its clearly not.

thats called censorship, limiting what you see so that they can control what you get fed in media and stuff like that. but not only that but if they were to do this then it would also affect sites like twitter, facebook, discord, pinterest, tumblr, literally ANY website where you can make ANY statement this would affect.

and no one is going through with that lets be honest for a second. because at that point its just controlling the internet and whats put out and what isnt. and no one can do that, at least not in america because guess what? YOU HAVE RIGHTS. and i can NOT stress this enough.

the government is NOT allowed to control what media you get fed and what you create. in fact that cant even reasonably define lgbtq stuff as porn because guess what? it wont work. people will riot, they will find a way, and yknow why? BECAUSE ITS NOT PORN.

then again you must be wondering about the explicit fics on ao3 and to that i say what about the explicit stuff on twitter? the bots on tumblr? hell even youtube.

the government cannot control all of this.

and if they were to even try i guarantee that the silly little website known as ao3 will be one of the first not even top five things that they try to target.

they'll target pornhub, youtube, twitter, literally ANYTHING before they get to ao3. and even if they do im more than certain that ao3 will lawyer up and put together a case about why they should stay in tact.

ACTUALLY if they try doing this in the slightest about ANY website that site is likely to fight back.

so while you should stay cautious i dont think any major panic is necessary. in order to take down ao3 the freedom of speech would need to be taken away in an amendment and that is not happening.

so basically, stay cautious but dont be too worried. and if ao3 does get taken down (which it most likely wont) there will probably be a set date where you can download and save everything before then

[vibratingskull]

I as so excited you open your request.

Can I ask a ThurfianxF!reader based on your Thrawn mate story? I would love if reader was sent to the Chiss Ascendancy by Thrawn (like he knew reader would match with Thurfian by her smell or something)

This will challenge our xenophobic boy, and I'm sure the fact that out of all he gets to meet his "mate" thank to Thrawn, will piss him off more than the fact that the reader is human.

g:xkf;glghogfuhfd THURFIAN MY BELOVED ❤️❤️ My old man ❤️❤️❤️ He would have a heart attack in all honesty 🤣

Beautiful drawing by the talented @thrawns-backrest

Tags : Thurfian is an ass, xenophobia, mate system and culture, attempted assault, Thurfian saves the day (Go King!)

Thurfian lays his head on his hand, scrolling on his comm. He likes to get an idea of the current climate through comms during his rare break times throughout the day to compare the info he receives on his official feed on his computer. It helps him get new points of view and perspectives. 

That also means going through an impressive amount of tabloids. He really should look into how to block these sites on his comm, they are a nuisance and a disgrace to true journalism. He is scrolling through one of them rapidly when the title of an article stops him. 

“Truly cut for the role? Why the Mitth Patriarch’s lack of mate highlights a worrying trend.” 

He remains fixated on that one for a solid minute, completely flabbergasted. His first instinct is to call his lawyer to have that tabloid closed for the affront, but it passes quickly. Instead, he puts his comm down sighing, feeling tiredness washing over him. He passes a hand through his long braided hair, laying his head back against his chair. 

The most painful thing is that that rag is true. All Patriarchs of every family recorded in history with a big H had a mate, no exception ever. Some found them sooner or later in life but none reached his age without a partner sitting with them on the throne. He is quite the exception. 

The shameful exception. 

He feels Thivick disapproving gaze on him during diplomatic dinners with other Patriarch and their mates, the seat next to Thurfian being desperately empty. 

His hand comes to loosen his collar to allow him to breathe better. He closes his eyes, feeling defeated.  

It was not always like that in his life.  

He used to collect lovers back in his youth, potential mates or not, none were safe from his charm. A large collection of Chiss visited his bed when he was a young adult. He shamefully admits that he played potential mates to get access to their intimacy before leaving them when they were no longer fun. Non-potential mates were less difficult, they both knew what they were here for. And then he started his career as a syndic and left dating and playing around in the past to dedicate himself to his career. He, naively he will admit, thought he would meet a new potential mate at work, getting to know each other day by day, falling in love over time, and deciding to mate and unify himself with her, finishing his life at her side. Something simple and uncomplicated. 

Boring to some, sufficient for him. 

But all the women he met were taken, non-compatible, or rejected him. Mates tend to get together young when they can, way younger than he was already back then. He made peace with his situation, choosing to focus on his career and what he could do for the Mitth, becoming a “mateless”, one of those people who failed at settling down with a compatible person in time. Not the most glorious, but he could do with it. 

And all was well. 

Until he became a Patriarch. 

And his situation was brutally rubbed into his face again. 

A Patriarch without a Mate is a failure.  

No matter their results.  

Having a mate is the first step toward respectability in Chiss society, and a Patriarch failing at that task is the subject of gossip and mockery and always on the verge of being overthrown in favor of a more stable individual. It is such an easy insult to throw at him. And he fully deserves it. If he didn’t play so much with potential mates in the past he wouldn’t have his sulfurous reputation of player and heart stabber. Not so many potential mates would have rejected him since then.  

He recalls how he used to modify his smell with perfume, something highly prohibited in Chiss society. Misguiding the potential mate of someone else by modifying one’s scent markers is highly illegal. 

But he was young, hot-headed, and an idiot. 

And today he pays the price of his entire life choices. He grew and matured decades ago but the harm had been done. 

Sometimes he envies mateless species. Simply living and falling in love or living free of the marital and mating duties... Sounds comforting and liberating. 

When was the last time he felt the presence of a potential mate? 

Several years, easily. 

More than ten years since he last smelled that delicious scent of honey,  liquor, and tea leaves on someone. The one scent signaling him that this person is compatible with him. The same as his. 

He greets his teeth. 

“The Mateless”  

His unofficial title when his back is turned.  

His shame, his dishonor. The stain in his life. 

But what can he do now? He is fated to finish his life alone, the question is more about how he will meet his end. Back in time, non-mated Patriarchs could get executed for failing their family, for being too unstable, and for not providing an heir to the family. 

It was millennia and millennia ago, of course. Chiss evolved past those barbaric laws, but the prejudice remained, remembering Thurfian that ages ago his life choices would have guided him to the pillory. 

Thurfian suddenly freezes and opens his eyes wide, almost trembling in shock. 

That smell... 

No. 

It’s impossible. He must hallucinate, that’s the most logical explanation. 

Thurfian suppresses a laugh at his own idiocy. Of course, it is impossible. Crossing paths with a potential partner at his age is simply improbable. He shakes his head with a light chuckle, what a stupid thought just crossed his mind! 

He turns back to his files, waiting for the hallucination to settle. 

But five minutes later, the scent he stopped hoping for is still here. Well present.  

Heady. 

Overporwering. 

Making his head turn and his heart pumps harder. He almost starts feeling vertigo.  

He gulps, passing his hand through his long hair. 

He needs to calm down and be rational. 

This is impossible. 

But the delicious scent of tea leaves titillates his nostrils, like a dare, like a temptation. 

He needs to be sure! 

He almost jumps on his feet, before remembering who he is and calmly exiting his office. He is the Patriarch and a Mitth for the Warrior’s sake! He slowly, almost lazily walks in the corridors of the Manor.nHe really needs to keep his expectations low. They surely already know about his scandalous reputation. But maybe... 

Just maybe... 

They could come from a far enough away world to have never heard about it! 

Highly unlikely! 

But he cannot help but hope. 

The further he walks into the Manor, the more significant the smell of tea leaves gets, the notes of honey and liquor mixing deliciously, enhancing that superior scent. Thurfian chides himself. By all accounts that mysterious person will already be taken and mated to someone else. But nothing prevents him from coming to meet and befriending them. 

Yes.  

A friend is also appreciable, he has so little left since he accessed the throne. He nods to himself. A friend would be perfect.  

His comm rings, prompting him to stop to check it.  

It is a Syndic of the family signaling that a stranger with the highest priority code message wishes to meet Thurfian, waiting for him in the Manor’s salon. The message is short and leaves no guessing about the urgency of the demand.  

But not even a family name? Thurfian frowns, dubious. 

And the salon is exactly where the delicious scent is leading him right now.  

When he reaches the large and heavy old-style wooden doors of the salon the delectable smell invades his lungs and nose, he can breathe it in at each inhalation. That’s definitely them! 

He opens the door to meet the Syndic who sent him the text. 

“Patriarch?” They ask surprised, “What are you-” 

“I am here to meet them.” He cuts them short, walking past them. 

“Ah! Patriarch! Wait! Plea-” 

Thurfian keeps going and passes the arches with palpitations. 

He turns his head and...! 

Stops dead in his tracks as the stranger turns their head to his arrival. 

An alien! 

A... Human!  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“I need your help for a delicate mission, Commander.” Grand Admiral Thrawn said to you, skirting his desk to sit. 

“Of course, Grand Admiral.” You stend to attention, “What can I do to serve you?” 

Thrawn smiled tightly. Always energetic and willing to serve, obeying every one of his orders and missions with brio and excellence. You were one of his most trusted officers with Karyn Faro. Nothing he could ask you would throw you off your rhythm or deter you. 

You crossed paths pretty early in your respective careers. You were one of the first to recognize Thrawn genius and merit in warfare and followed him ever since, asking the chain of command to affect you with him on every ship he received the commandment of. 

Your loyalty towards the Empire slowly melted into loyalty towards the Chiss. He never said anything, that he, himself, could fail and precipitate your end. That he could become your very death if your true colors were revealed.  

But you were just so good at your job! He trusted you with his life and he worked to keep you both out of the blast radius. He needed your competencies and skills at his side. 

But... 

Maybe the Ascendancy needed you more. 

He remembers. 

The man, looking straight at him with cold detachment during his trial before disappearing in silence. 

His Patriarch. 

Single and alone. 

Unstable, they would say. 

How could he command the Mitth family in those conditions? 

Thrawn somehow sympathises. He knew he could only rise so high in Chiss ranks as a mateless, that at some point his genius would stop carrying him and his mateless character would stop any further ascension.  

They needed someone with something to lose in command.  

Not an unstable like him. 

And as freeing as it was for him to come into a system where mates were not the norm, he also realized long ago that he couldn’t change his home in any meaningful manner. That the mate order was here to stay.  

But maybe he was also not the only one suffering in this system. Now that he has risen to the top he understands the pure loneliness and isolation that come with power, but if it is here to stay for him, he can maybe still lend a hand to that man. 

It is not uninterested, far from that. It is purely strategic. Chiss politicians seemed to care a lot about the mating order, to the point that mateless individuals could get fired at any given moment in favor of a mated. And Thrawn remembers his History books, the fate reserved to mateless Patriarchs. 

To those men and women who failed to conform to Chiss values and therefore weakened their families. And although he has no real good grasp of politics, he has no difficulties imagining that a weakened family of the nine could greatly destabilize the current system and the Chiss Ascendancy as a whole. 

So if he sends you, his little miracle back home, maybe he could help stabilize the powers in place. That was risky, but beating the odds is his trademark after all. 

 Admiral Ar’alani discussed it with him lately, confirming that the Patriarch that sent him away was still in place, still mateless, still unstable, and therefore dangerous to the Ascendancy. 

Thrawn could very well wait for him to fall and get replaced, but Ar’alani told him that he remained a very powerful blood Mitth. A powerful blood Mitth that would owe him a very, very huge debt if his plan worked. And he knows he will need all the allies possible when he gets back from exile to the Ascendancy. 

So maybe 

Just maybe 

If he sends you to that man... 

You may just be his ticket to more power and freedom to protect his people.  

Honestly, he didn’t believe it at first when he met you. How could you, an individual from a mateless species, be compatible with a Chiss?  

But his smell didn’t misguide him. Your scent and pheromones are highly specific and match his Patriarch’s profile. 

By all means it was a crazy plan, but he already agreed with Ar’alani that she would take you on the Steadfast and guide you into the Ascendancy. As an Admiral without ties to any family, she will be able to give you access to the Mitth Manor by playing her cards right and he will give you his message, his “peace treaty” as Ar’alani called it. 

That’s very much not his style and usual strategies but how could he survive in the long run if his tactics don’t evolve with the times? 

“At ease, Commander. It is a very peculiar mission, that will need fineness, dexterity, and tact, but I trust you. I know you will rise to the challenge!” 

“For you, I will!” You assured him. 

‘For you’ 

If you were any of his other officers he would have chastised and corrected you in an exemplary manner! You were here to serve the Empire and not just a single Grand Admiral.  

But your relationship evolved past that point long ago and he came to appreciate your devotion to his person. 

And right now he hopes this devotion is as deep as he imagined it for you to accept this mission. Because this is not just a diplomatic mission. It is a life-changing mission. 

Mating with someone isn’t a laughing matter to the Chiss and he knows full well you will go without knowing your true purpose. 

He cannot reveal it to you.  

You would say no. 

Understandably. 

And he does feel guilty to trap you in such a way, but he knows his time is limited in the Empire and he must prepare his return to the Ascendancy. And a willing Mitth Patriarch could ease a lot of difficult situations. 

 He remembers his discussion with Ar’alani a decade ago, about how he saw people as tools. He needs to see you that way to send you there, no matter the friendship that came to form between you two. He eases his guilt thinking this is not such a horrible fate for you, to become the Mitth Patriarch mate is to live free of worries and wants, in a comfortable home with sophisticated and cultured persons. 

You will have it easy. 

At least money-wise...  

Ar’alani warned him of Commander Eli Vanto’s tepid welcome among his people and chances are you’ll get the same. He knows you can take it, he is more worried about the Patriarch’s behavior. 

Will he ever accept a human as a mate? Will the Chiss accept a human as a Patriarch mate? 

Your status as a diplomatic agent will protect you but as soon as you will set foot in the Manor, the Patriarch will understand and his reaction is unplannable. 

But those who don’t try and take action get nothing! 

“I need you for a diplomatic mission. A very, very long diplomatic mission...” 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"State to me again. Why are you here?" The Chiss asks you. 

You straighten your back and readjust your position on your chair. What doesn’t he understand ? 

“I am here on behalf of one of your good friends. I bring you a message and an offering of peace and appeasement, he also asked for me to offer my service to you.” You repeat, controlling your tone to not sound condescending. 

It is simple really. 

The chiss, the ‘Patriarch’ looks at you intently, his hands clasped before his lower face, his burning red eyes fixing you like he was trying to disintegrate you. What’s annoying you is his manner of bringing a perfumed handkerchief to his nose every five minutes, like he was keeping a gag at bay. You took a shower and dressed in a freshly washed uniform, why does he act like you reek? 

Does Chiss have more sensitive olfactive receptors? Does humans smell is that unnerving to other species? Thrawn never specified any such info to you. 

“Because you think he is one of my… ‘Good friend’?” The Patriarch asks with a sneer. 

“He is your fellow Chiss, and a Grand Admiral of a close power nation with sensitive information about the immediate survival of your Ascendancy. He considers it sufficient to demand you listen to his propositions." 

The Chiss eyes fall back on their equivalent of a datapad, reading again what Thrawn proposed. You’re only the messenger with Admiral Ar’alani, Thrawn didn’t specify to you the intricacies of his proposition and wrote everything In Cheuhn, his mother tongue. 

As the man reads again the terms of the treaty you take time to observe him in more detail. Tall, with deep blue skin, and burgundy red shiny eyes, despite being older than Thrawn he is dignified and haughty, clearly still having long decades before him as Chiss live longer than humans according to your Grand Admiral. His clothes are expensive with very intricate embroideries and multiple layers of pricey fabrics, the prominent red color seems specific to this family. Braided long hair in a sophisticated fashion, makeup enhancing the sharp Chiss features, now you know why Thrawn had the habit of underlining his eyes with red eyeliner… A single intricate ring, probably a family heirloom, proof of his role as head of the family.  

So this is the man... 

The one you promised Thrawn to serve, for ‘the good of both species and future diplomatic relationships’ as he put it. You silently sigh. You are doing it for him. For the genius that he is and his mission… You had all the time to question your sanity and why you accepted. 

But you know why… 

Because Thrawn’s gaze was clear and assured, and this could only mean one thing 

Victory. 

Thrawn warned you this mission could take as long as a year, if not more… way more. But you accepted nonetheless… 

Well at least this ‘Patriarch’ isn’t displeasing to look at, it is your only consolation considering his bad temper. He never once was impolite but made absolutely no effort to make you feel welcomed and comfortable. 

As a soldier, you don’t mind. As a diplomatic agent, his lack of concern is a red flag for the mission. 

“Why you?" He asks out of the blue, eyes lazily raising back to meet yours, or rather to make you lower your head. 

You don’t. You look straight into his burning gaze, unflinching. Is he asking why Thrawn sent a woman? His contracting throat muscles indicate his real mood, the little patience he has, and his true desire to have you walk away from there. 

"Grand Admiral Thrawn trusts me.” 

That’s litteraly the only reason he gave you. You could tell he had another reason, but what Thrawn wants to keep hidden, will remain hidden. 

The Patriarch raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. 

"I already conducted several diplomatic missions, I am…was his go-to officer for them and speak several wild space languages, like the one we are using now. I was the most suited for the job." 

He sneers, your answer far from satisfying him. 

“I am afraid that isn’t sufficient to be worth my time." 

“I know your secret.” 

Again, he raises an eyebrow. 

“And what secret do you think you know exactly?” He inquires with a sadistic smile stretching his lips. 

"How you travel through space. Without any Navigation computers. This secret.” 

His smile vanishes instantly, an incredulous expression flashing on his face before melting in a controlled, but very much real, anger. 

“You are lying.” He modulated his voice carefully, the tone is almost sweet with a note of poison. 

You very sternly shake your head. 

“Grand Admiral Thrawn took care to teach me. He wanted to make sure you would not send me back, not with my knowledge.” You plainly state. 

His expression closes back in a detached, cold, and aloof expression. You cannot read him anymore. 

“You are bluffing. He is an indiscreet and a fool, but he would not betray the secrets of our navy like that.” 

You sigh, reaching the end of your patience. 

“You use little girls with very rare capacities.” You let him know without a shadow of a doubt. 

He closes his eyes slowly, taking in the information that yes, Thrawn did actually spilled the secret to you. 

“You realize I could very simply have you executed and get done with all of this?” 

“I am under the protection of Admiral Ar’alani and Supreme Admiral Ba’kif.”  

You hear a faint growl emanating from him. Whatever happened between them, the Patriarch and the Supreme Admiral aren’t on good terms. 

You try to smile politely. 

“Come on Patriarch, are the mighty Chiss so terrified of one woman? I am but a messenger from one of your compatriots, only wishing to do good for our two nations. Take it as the opportunity to build privileged ties and bounds with a future powerful neighbor. Your family would be on the forefront of the scene and the negotiations.” 

“Do not teach me how to do my job.” 

“Far from me that idea.” You temper, “I am merely pointing out the benefices you could get by listening to the Grand Admiral.” 

“You spoke so highly of your dear Grand Admiral. Learn that he left us with a terrible reputation and was sentenced to be exiled for treason. We do not give credit to his words or any of his peace offerings.” Once again, he takes his scented handkerchief to his nose and deeply inhales it. 

“I am aware. He also contests those accusations but counts on your common sense to see the bigger picture.” 

“I think we are finished here.” He stands haughtily, “I will ask Admiral Ar’alani to conduct you back to your Empire and your dear Grand Admiral.” 

“I am going nowhere, Patriarch. He bestowed me this mission and his trust and I intend to honor both.” You stop him firmly. 

He contemplates you with lassitude. 

“Why going so far for him?” 

“I trust him.” 

“That cannot be the only reason.” 

“To you, it may not be sufficient. To me it is. I learned to know him and I saw the grandeur of Great men in him.” 

“How touching. Someone will escort you to the do-” 

“I invoke the Protocol 39 of Chiss laws for diplomats.” You cut him. 

This time you thought his head would really explode. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Thurfian lets the fresh water roll on his skin. 

He is absolutely fuming. 

Where did you learn about that stupid protocol 39?! That damn law should get repealed urgently! A law offering asylum to alien diplomats who know about that particular protocol has no place in their books. It is a useless remnant of a past era of the Chiss Ascendancy when they were weaker. 

But you knew about this protocol and invoked it out loud, and now he has to offer you protection... 

He sighs. 

Of course... 

Ba’kif told you. It is the only possibility. 

Whatever Thrawn planned, Ar’alani and Ba’kif are in leagues with him, leaving him all the mess to deal with. 

What in tarnation Thrawn had in mind? Revealing one of the most dire secrets of the Ascendancy to a human? That Vento one wasn’t enough, he had to send another lost puppy to the Chiss. But this time he sent it to Thurfian. 

He almost wants to laugh thinking back at that ‘peace treaty’ as you called it. Gibberish, unenforceable, naive. Thrawn learned absolutely nothing about politics during this decade. His true goal is so apparent and frankly Thurfian feels like he spat in his face. 

Who does he think he is? And who does he think you are to even think this could work? 

Him? Mitth’urf’ianico? Mating with an alien? Thrawn lost the last remnants of his foolish mind. 

How would that even work? You humans have no mates, what did he hope would happen? 

He gulps, his throat dry. 

His own body hoped for something... 

To his horror. 

His dignity revulses at that thought, but his body awakened quite... brutally at the proximity of a compatible individual. 

A young 

Unmatched and single 

Potential compatible individual. 

He hates to admit it, but you are the prime example of a perfect Mate. A shame you are an alien, that spoils everything.  

But his body, again, disagrees with his morals. 

It only sees a potential, fruitful, and willing potential mate, ripe and ready for the harvest. His own body betrays him, desperate to get to know you better and pushing things to their climax. 

It his demanding you, craving you, your scent, your voice, your touch... 

It has been almost 6 months. 

6 months of pure torture for him. Of his body feeling the presence of an available mate and entering fight mode to deter any potential rivals. 6 long, long months he tried to put the most distance between you two, keeping you as far away as possible, hoping it would ease his urges and cravings, only for his organisms to demand you harder, resorting to pain to force him to get closer. 

6 months of him being hunted by lustful, disgusting dreams of you two together, waking him in a cold sweat, hard and shameful. 

And you had to keep harassing him! In the name of your Warriordamn devotion to Thrawn you kept testing him every day. He has to hand it to you, you are dedicated. 

He sees himself in you, back in his youth when he pursued lovers, the relentless chase, and the thrill of the hunt. But you have no idea of the true reason why Thrawn sent you here, to him. Would you have been a Chiss, he would have reveled in your insistence. 

He tried everything to make you leave of your own will, to the subtle passive-aggressive ways to downright discrimination and hate. Anything to keep you far away. But you took it all, unflinching, dignified, keeping your head high in front of everything the Chiss threw at you. 

He lowkey respects your attitude. He understands better what Thrawn saw in you and how you earned his respect and friendship. Not everyone would have held on before such treatments, he has met plenty of Chiss that would have chickened out long ago. 

But you didn’t. 

You remained, with your insufferable smugness and attitude, as infuriatingly spruce as ever. 

And now he really has no ideas left to escape you and the temptation that you are for him. 

He dreamed so much of dropping to his knees before you, kissing your hand reverently if you promised to be his and his alone, to devote yourself to him like you do with Thrawn, if you let him do what it pleased him to you... 

He woke up horrified each time. 

What other reaction was he supposed to have in front of such dreams? 

Give in? Not a chance. 

He remembers how he tried to push you out of his office the first day, your delicious smell was so overpowering he honestly thought he would pass out from his awakening urges. The last time he felt so... Alive was decades ago. He had to inhale his perfume handkerchief to limit the vertigos and baseless pulsions he felt pushing in his veins. He slammed the door once you exited his office, taking support on the wall to not fall to the ground with how he was trembling. He needed a long, icy cold shower after that. 

You are no Chiss! How could you have such an effect on him?! 

Did Thrawn knew? 

Did he deduce that it was possible? Oh he really thinks he did Thurfian a favor, that he will be indebted to him. 

But he just sent him a tormentor. 

When Thrawn comes back 

If 

He comes back... 

He will find Thurfian in the forefront of his detractors, ready to guide him to the pillory. He will find the exact opposite of what he tried to create. 

Did he really think he would be able to come back untouched just because he sent him an alien to fuck? Thurfian remembers Thrawn having difficulties with relationships and socialisation but this is a real new low... 

And to think he expects him to lower himself to you?! Him, the Patriarch of the Grand Mitth? Does he think he is desperate to find a mate? That he will accept anyone thrown his way? Even an alien? 

He knew Thrawn had weird views but this one is an insult plain and simple.  

He exits the shower to go down and eat breakfast with his family. Another long day ahead of him. Another load of pain waiting for him. He needs to get rid of you... 

He needs to find a way. Any way. 

He passes the large arches and his senses are immediately assaulted by your... obsessive scent. He swiftly takes support on the wall to not fall before the sheer power of your presence. 

He REALLY needs to get rid of you, murder is still an option. It can still happen. 

You are speaking with a member of the Mitth about something he does not care about. His first instance is to leave and climb back up in his suite, but that would be an admission of weakness on his part. That would be admitting you do have an effect on him, and he doesn’t intend on revealing that. 

He already has enough problems like that. If Thrawn and his socially impaired character were able to deduce that you are compatible with him, then that means everyone in the Mitth Manor picked it up by now. He needs not to be a genius to know they all speak behind his back. And that’s also why he forbade you from leaving the Manor despite him trying to avoid you. He will not let the rest of the Ascendancy know one of his possible mates is a human. 

Leaving the room right now would give them prove them right. 

And that is not happening. 

He takes his seat and takes out his questis to read today’s meeting and missions, ignoring you blatantly. He almost manages to focus and forget about everyone’s presence when he hears you laugh.  

Cristallyne and melodious. 

Delectable to hear. 

So pleasing to his ears... 

He deeply inhales to take back the upper hand but cannot help a guilty side glance in your direction.  

You are radiant, smiling with a gleaming shine. You smile at another male, giving him your attention. 

And that... 

Infuriates him! 

He mentally shakes his head, he needs to stop being so foolish but he cannot help the rising ire in his veins.  

You are speaking an accentuated Cheuhn now. You made very great progress, proof of your brilliant intellect and willingness to serve him. And that accent is just soooo... Exotic and musical, just so pleasant to listen to. 

He wants to listen to it for hours, he wan- 

He chastises himself. He wants none of that. He is not jealous of that man. He does not dream about you every night. 

This is not him. 

This is his baseless urges and instincts speaking. Not his personhood. 

He is way better than that. Way above that.  

Way above you... 

He would rather remain ‘the Mateless’ than associate with you. And prove Thrawn’s point. 

This trial is far from over... 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

You silently walk in the corridors of the Manor. You don’t want to get spotted, Patriarch Thurfian would be heavily displeased if one of his guests spotted you. You just want to grab a snack anyway, you will not take long. 

You listen to the music emanating behind the closed doors of the ballroom of the Mitth Manor, a very large party is taking place. You received explicit interdiction to appear, not that you wanted it anyway. You can hear the lively discussions and waves of laughter, this is a lively party. You reach the kitchens and start picking up in the dishes destined for the banquets. 

A bit of this, a bit of that... You grab a fruit and head towards your room. 

As you walk past one of the doors opens, letting you have a glance at the party. You have a sneaky look, only to cross gaze with Thurfian inside, looking straight back at you, frowning, ordering you to get the fuck out of here pronto. You scurry away, not wanting to get him on his nerves. 

You’re not especially in the correct attire to be seen by all those guests. You are in your nightdress, ready to go to bed after your little snack, and you will really look out of place among those high-standard guests for sure. 

You sigh, after a whole year here, Thrawn didn’t show up as promised. You knew it could take longer than what he told you, but you are almost a prisoner here, forbidden from leaving the manor altogether, your weapons and uniforms confiscated. They limited your contacts with Ar’alani and Ba’kif to a minimum. You had to fight tooth and nail to just have the right to own a questis. 

Thurfian cannot bear to see you. He forbade you from approaching him entirely, but in every room you enter he seems to follow, only to look at you with disdain and horror and leave without a single word. You don’t know what his problem is but if he could have banished you to the other side of the Ascendancy, he would have done it. 

Thank the Maker Admiral Ar’alani explained Thrawn’s plan to Supreme Admiral Ba’kif and he gave you that nice little trick with the protocols. Or it would have been a nice little trick if you could have accomplished your mission given by Thrawn, but in those conditions it is impossible. 

‘Sorry my friend, I failed you for the first time’ you think bitterly.  

“I told you they hide an alien!” A male voice raises behind your back. 

You stop and spin on your feet to meet the disturbance of your peace. You met a group of four tall Chiss, looking at you up and down. Something in their demeanor displeases you immensely. 

“And quite a looker! Look at that skin color, it looks so soft!.”  

A fifth man appears behind your back, blocking the only other exit of the area.  

“Where are you going like that, little one? You will need an escort, a lot of bad people roam around that kind of party.” One of them speaks casually as they all circle you. 

“I thank you for your concern, good sirs. No need to bother with me, I am going away immediately.” You inform calmly, discreetly looking for an opening. 

The situation is not yet dramatic, but with five men against you, you will be in severe difficulty. 

“Mmmmh listen to that accent, it is absolutely lovely. Can you sing well too?” The one behind walked so close that he could grab a strand of your hair to wrap it around his finger. 

You immediately slap his hand away. 

“Careful man. She is feisty.” One snigger. 

“I love them feisty.” He responds licking his lips, “Tell me girly, are you the pet of the house?” 

“I am no one’s pet.” You growl. 

The next one approaching will receive your fist in his teeth. 

“A hottie like you, hidden away from the rest of the world like a secret... Someone wishes to keep you all for themself.” 

You fight the desire to sigh loudly to their face. 

“You are imagining things. Slow down the wine and let me pass, I need to sleep.” 

“You can sleep with us if you want. We have the whole night ahead of us.” One of them grabs your hand and attempts to pull you away towards a darker room. 

You throw your fist in his face, feeling something broke under your knuckles and hearing a growl of pain. The man is projected against the wall violently, under his comrades round eyes. 

“You BITCH! Seize her!” He growls, his hand pressed on his bleeding nose. 

They suddenly jump on you, grabbing your arms and clothes to tear them apart. You bite, claw, punch, and kick them back, giving them a hell of a hard time. But it is clear very soon that you will not win against five pissed-off opponents, not without a blade. And slowly fear settles in. 

No one will hear you. 

No one will save you. 

No one wi- 

A gunshot blasts in the air, stopping the commotion entirely.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

He just had a bad feeling. 

When he first smelled tea leaves, liquor, and honey he just felt ire in his veins, what the fuck were you doing around here? When he caught a glimpse of you between the two cracked open doors in your nightdress he felt his stomach tie itself in knots and his heart pumping faster. 

He shot you with his gaze to make you get out! Away from him you devious temptress! 

But when he saw this group of men leaving the ballroom right after you, he felt the ground opening under him. 

He knows very well this kind of gaze they had. How many times him and his friends had to fight off creeps like them to protect their girlfriends back in the day? A lot. Too much. 

Way too much. 

He could not fight off the cold sweat rolling in the back of his neck when they walked past him with that deranged smile.  

His hand unconsciously slid inside his inner tunic, feeling the cross of his personal Charric solidly attached in its straps. His head told him to stay in the ballroom, that aliens’ problems weren’t his. 

But his heart told him that he couldn’t let such a horrifying act happen to any woman he knew, not under his own roof, not even to a pain in the neck sent by Thrawn, alien or not. His own morals couldn’t tolerate it! 

And his instinct screamed at him to protect you specifically, his organism growing territorial and protective over you. You seem very well trained, and a part of him knows you are deadly with a weapon. 

But he confiscated each and everyone of your weapons and sealed them away. 

He even confiscated what you called a comlink. You will have no means to call for help. No one will hear your screams. 

He put you in this situation! 

And as that thought strikes his brain he realizes that he is furtively following the group of young men, his charric in hand. He doesn't see or hear them. He only has to follow your delicious scent.. 

He reaches a door and hears a moan of pain. A woman’s voice. 

Your voice. 

He sees red, all rational thoughts leaving his head. He kicks the door open and shoot a random mirror, dangerous glass shards exploding across the room. 

They all stop. 

You’re on the ground, nightdress torn apart, face bloody, limbs pinned to the ground with one of the creeps lying on top of you. 

Your abusers turn toward him, their ears still ringing from the loud sound.  

“Get off her.” He orders coldly. 

“Patriarch Thurfian, what are yo-” Thurfian doesn’t let him finish and fires at the foot of the one speaking up, making him scream a pitiful wail of pain. 

“Get.Off.Her. Or I shoot you down like dogs.” Thufian very calmly, very slowly, but very menacingly repeats. 

He is dead serious he realizes. He has no idea who they are, they very well might be sons of important syndics or magnates, but he knows that if they don’t obey he will shoot them dead without any second thoughts about any of the consequences. 

His gaze falls on you. You are in terrible shape and visibly terrified. His heart bleeds at such a sight... 

He treated you terribly for an entire year to push you to the door and you took it with grace and determination, unsinkable. He never thought he would see such an expression on your face ever. 

This fear in your human eyes is absolutely odious. He wants to get rid of it immediately. 

Your attackers let you go reluctantly while the fifth is crying on the floor, holding his wounded foot. The one laying his disgusting body on top of you groans as he gets up, displeased that his fun is now ruined. 

Do those types of men know no decency? No sympathy? No respect? 

“Protecting your candy, heh?” The one on top of you chuckles, looking at him.  

“What?” Thurfian snarls, heading the canon of his charric towards the chest of the impertinent. 

“I smelled it on her.” He licks his teeth. Absolutely revolting, “What would the other Patriarchs say if they knew about her, I wonder?” 

And suddenly, Thurfian’s anger subsides. His boiling blood turns into icy cold water in his veins and his mind gets clearer. His trembling hand shaking with fury steadies perfectly and he simply presses the trigger. The revolting man gets thrown back, hit in the chest. His friends jump and shout in surprise, incredulous that he dared fire his fellow Chiss over an alien. 

Thurfian takes his comm out to ring his bodyguards as they look at their unconscious friend lying on the ground in a pathetic position.  

In an instant, Chiss in uniforms enter the little salon, handcuff your attackers, and call an ambulance for the trash that got shot. Thurfian walks to the table. During the commotion you crawled in a corner of the room to put as much distance as possible between you and your assaulters. 

You are trembling, knees pressed against your chest, your human skin soiled by your blood, almost naked in the cold room. He gets on one knee and detaches his Patriarch coat to pass it around your shoulder. 

You shudder as his hand inadvertently brushes your shoulder. Look at you, terrified and lost. 

And that is his fault. Only his fault. 

Without a single word, he seizes your body and lifts you up bridal style. You yelp in surprise, looking at him with questions in your... gorgeous eyes. He carries you out of that room, without a single word for Thivick that just arrived.  

Your scent reaches Thurfian nose again, and for the first time since you arrived in his manor, he indulges. He deeply inhales those delicate and harmonious notes. 

His heart jumps in his chest as he feels you pressing yourself against him, huddling your wounded body against his, laying your head on his shoulder. 

He should feel indignant. Revolted. Absolutely revulsed! 

But the proximity feels comforting, it feels right. Like it was meant to be all along. 

Did the Warrior himself placed you on his way? Did he remained mateless all of this time because he was waiting for you? 

He doesn’t know. And frankly, he doesn’t care. Having you in his arms feels like the only good thing that happened to him in a long, long time. 

He has a lot of explaining to do. But first, dressing your wounds. 

He enters the infirmary and lays you in one of the beds. The medic stands up to start the treatment but Thurfian simply pulls the curtain, isolating both of you from the rest of the world. He washes his hands and washes your face delicately with a wet cloth. 

You wince in pain, you received several blows that tore the skin apart in several places, and bruises of a variety of colors are already flourishing on your human skin. 

“I am terribly sorry, (Y/n).” He simply says.  

What else can he say after such an aggression? What words could comfort a victim? 

“They will be brought on trial. They would not go unpunished.” He assures you. 

You sniff with disdain, not believing his promise for a second. 

“You all say that each time that it happens, but nothing gets done.” 

“You have my word. With the testimony of a Patriarch, they will not be able to escape justice.” He tries. 

You huff again, pushing his hand away. 

“Why would you even do that? You made it very clear I was not welcomed anywhere in the Chiss Ascendancy, especially in your presence. Why shoot one of you for a ‘mere human’?” 

He can feel the pain in your voice, how it twitches your features, how you gulp with difficulties. 

‘Because I am physically incapable of seeing you suffer.’ are the first words popping into his mind and he almost says them out loud before biting his tongue. 

But this is the truth. The fear he felt when he saw you in danger, the urge to tear those men’s eyes out of their sockets for just breathing weirdly in your direction, the absolute desperation when he saw your eyes widen in horror and fear. 

He had to fight his attraction and desires towards you the entire year for him to shoot a man down at your first trouble. He hid behind the pretension that it was only his instinct getting desperate to not find a proper mate that they were desperate to settle with anyone, even a lowly alien. 

But seeing you in this state makes him feel so guilty. He could have made your stay pleasant, welcomed you properly, and shown you the wonders of Chiss culture. But he locked you inside the Manor and limited your contacts with the outside world out of fear. 

That they would know that you were made for him. 

He could have made it easy for everyone and even facilitated future diplomatic relationships with humans like you proposed when you arrived.  

But no. He had to act like a child and now look at the results... 

“Because it is my job to protect guests under the Mitth roof.” He answers, muzzling the truth. “I will make sure it will not happen again.” 

“I do not believe you.” 

“I shot a man for you tonight.” 

You turn your head away from his red gaze. He feels the urge to dive in the crook of your neck and kiss it, his body wants to hug you close and make sure you are safe. 

But maybe... 

This isn’t just his body speaking. 

Maybe it is simply him too... 

He wants to kiss your lips and swallow your pain and fear for you to only know peace and serenity in his arms. 

He won’t, obviously. You are in shock, now is not the time for romantic advances. 

“You could have just sent me back to Thrawn... You did not want me here anyway, why not allow me to go back to him?” You ask, fighting back sobs. 

Now that things are settling down your body needs to evacuate the tension and stress of the aggression.  

So you start crying. 

Stabbing his heart deep. 

‘Because I couldn’t let you go...’ He thinks with a sigh, realizing it as the thought crosses his mind. 

He disinfects and dresses your wounds in silence, letting you cry to your heart’s content before sitting down and taking your hand in his, squeezing it gently. 

“Things will change from now on. I will give you back your weapons and uniforms, I will let you explore Csilla as you wish, and I will arrange a rendezvous with Ba’kif and Ar’alani. If you wish to go back to Thrawn, I will set you free...” 

His hearts bleed at those words because he knows he wants the exact opposite as he is proposing it to you. 

“But if you wish to remain and finish your mission, I would appreciate sharing a cup of tea with you, one day at your convenience. I want to know you better...” 

And a little more he hopes. 

Maybe one day you’ll forgive him. 

Maybe one day you will hold his hands and call him yours.  

He will wait, as long as it takes... 

@bluechiss @thrawnalani @justanothersadperson93 @al-astakbar@thrawnspetgoose @readinglistfics @elise2174 @debonaire-princess @twilekchiss @pencil-urchin @ineedazeezee @mssbridgerton @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @Cortisolcosplay @obbicrystaleo @germie2037

[reservoirreputation]

My Mom and I watched the FNaF movie last night. It was after game 1 of the world series, so I didn't want her to push through if she was very tired, but she was good, and guys-

-I loved the movie.

Like in a 'this is so charming and darkly twisted' kind of way.

That one article, saying that the movie was heavy on plot and light on scares, acting like that was a bad thing? Is just one of many review sites that doesn't get you're not the target audience.

A plot-heavy movie is exactly (I think) what FNaF fans were largely looking forward to, and it delivered! And, practical effects, my beloved! I think there was only one instance of CGI, and that was any shots that had to deal with electricity. Otherwise? It's a PG-13 gateway horror film for mostly kids that treats the devoted fanbase well, and is even gorier in some places than the games ever were. Like, I don't recall there being any blood AT ALL in the games, and the use of it in the movie was still sparing, but effective!

Also, spoiler(s)

Afton giving Vanessa the hand-me-down toy airplane is an incredibly underrated and twisted moment in the film. Like, think about that; how many of her other childhood toys, clothes, and so on come from the kids her father had murdered? That's a great expansion on what a sick bastard Afton is, and it's a quick moment, too.

The blanket fort scene was so precious and sweet, and taps into the unexpected friendship dynamic that Security Breach gave us, and a great moment of humanity for the dead kids, who could easily just be seen as villains, but moments like this help combat that.

Genuine question: is 'The bite of 2000?!?' a meme yet, because it should be. Both my Mom and I were delighted by how unexpectedly brutal that was, because I was anticipating the hand jump-scare from the commercials, which I think was great marketing; the viewer keeps an eye out for this moment, almost brushes it off, only to be caught off guard by Max getting CHOMPED. Another favorite moment was one of the thieves SCREAMING as he ran through the restaurant, because that's just so good.

Some 'theatre of the mind' scares going on in this movie, and I really think it's gonna burn itself into the minds of kids for years to come, like, who's moving all of these bodies? What happened to Max's top-half before it got moved? What do those corpses stuffed in animatronics look like after 20 years? And, most importantly, what happened to the aunt?!?!?! Like, I wanted to see her death scene because she's an awful character (affectionate) but like, it's really a great choice. 'What happened to my aunt?' 'Don't worry, she's just sleeping.' *only shows us the bottom-half of her body* Like, did she also get chomped?? That's gonna haunt some kid's nightmares, and I love it.

During the diner scene, I was so distracted with the aunt continuing to be The Worst, and bringing her cohorts to a restaurant, only to not buy breakfast, as she's burning money to keep her lawyer with her constantly, only to realize, 'HOLY SHIT THAT'S MATPAT' The way my Mom and I BURST out laughing, ohmygod. Also, that actor who played the lawyer? Does some of the most with the least amount of screen-time to further get across how awful the aunt is. That thousand-yard stare, he's seen some things.

Extra sadness to an already sad movie: do you think Mike's parents, in grieving for Garrett, had Abby as the 'fix-it' kid? Fill the void with another child? Because I think it would further explain how messed up their family is.

When Mike's introduced to us, and he starts doing pushups, I instantly got flashbacks to Pollyanna's character in 'Let Us Prey'. And when he just starts going to town, punching that dad's face? I knew, in that moment, our boy would go the distance against these haunted animatronics. He got the ever-loving SHIT kicked out of him by Afton and was STILL going.

Another great, underrated creepy moment is when Mike tries talking to the kids in his dream, and the one in the foreground stares at him, the others behind him are blurred out. It's such a nice, off-putting touch.

There was something really nice about Mike cleaning the place up after the thieves trashed it. That time and effort to tidy up a place most people would never see again is just really touching, and I think is one of the reasons why he survives for so long in the movie, despite napping on the job. Before Abby ever enters the picture, he doesn't disturb anything, break stuff, nothing. Really, he's the caretaker of a graveyard and he just doesn't know it, yet, so it feels like someone tidying up the lawn, cleaning up the gravestones.

Those are some of my thoughts on the movie, about a day later. I really hope they get to make a second film, because we need more quality gateway horror, and there's certainly a LOT of plot-points and characters the movie hasn't even TOUCHED on, yet.

[straydog733]

Reading Resolution: “We Had to Remove This Post” by Hanna Bervoets

27. Wild Card: We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets

List Progress: 11/30

On any social media site, or truly any website that accepts user submissions, there is a team of people working behind the scenes to keep some basic rules in place. The anonymity and sheer volume of the internet can bring out the worst in people, and professional content moderators spend their days wading through hate speech, pornography, spam, abuse and violence. Moderation cannot and should not be left entirely to machines and algorithms, but what about the impact on the moderators themselves? We Had to Remove This Post, the 2021 novel by Dutch author Hanna Bervoets, follows one such moderator, Kayleigh, as she reflects on what working at the moderating company Hexa did to her, her friends, and her relationships. It is a bracing, disturbing, sometimes unpleasant read, and if the book were much longer than its novella length, it would be too much. But for a story about the very concept of “too much”, this book is just the right amount.

We Had to Remove This Post is framed as Kayleigh’s tell-all, her interview with a lawyer to explain why she won’t join her former coworkers’ lawsuit against Hexa for unsafe work environments. Kayleigh knows that working at Hexa damaged her, but she also sees her own actions as shameful enough that she won’t publicly take a stand against them. Because Kayleigh started a relationship with her coworker Sigrid fairly soon into her tenure at the company, and with the combination of a toxic relationship dynamic and the trash they pumped into their brains every day, they brought out the absolute worst in each other. Sigrid starts to see the appeal of the conspiracy-theory videos they have to watch for content violations, and Kayleigh starts to crave the rush and revulsion of seeing incredibly depraved acts in a constant stream. They both think they are handling things better than the other and don’t see the rabbit holes they’ve gone down. Their whole job as moderators is to evaluate things from the outside, so of course they are better at that than the introspection to see their own actions. It’s a canny dynamic that Bervoets sets up, one that is easy to get sucked into.

This book is not for the faint of heart. Slurs, hate-speech, racism, descriptions of violence, self-harm, animal abuse and child abuse are all to be found in this short page count, and no one would be wrong to decide that it is too unpleasant of a matter to engage with in their media. But for everyone on the internet, there are people working day and night to make sure that you don’t have to engage with it, and Bervoets does powerful work highlighting that. While Remove this Post is a work of fiction, it is based explicitly on several real sources, including lawsuits that content moderators have brought against companies like Facebook. It’s a rough job, and someone does have to do it, but those people deserve all the support they can get.

Would I Recommend It: Yes, with the large caveat that the reader be comfortable with the content mentioned above.

[thecoolertails]

looks like it's time to repeat myself: if section 230 goes under, ao3 is fucked 10 ways from sunday and throwing money at them isn't gonna stop that.

there is already precedence for them to know the content that is posted to their site. they have content guidelines, a section on their site adressing the presence of RPF on their site, frequently refer to the presence of fanworks on the site throughout their TOS, and a complaint system in which quality & abuse personnel will review reported content.

im not a lawyer, i didn't pass the bar, im certainly not getting paid by billionaire executives to take down the site, and this is just what i found in cursory readings of their TOS and content policy. im sure any prosecutor worth their pay grade would be able to dig up a lot more than that to prove they have knowledge, or reason to know, about at least SOME of the content they host. moderation or no, if OTW were to be brought to court over defamation or copyright infringement after a section 230 overruling, they would be just as fucked as they would be if they actually vetted the content they host.

also it's funny how apparently it's a security risk for writers to link to their patreons or for them to pay their policy & abuse team, but OTW can pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the amount that they claim they need to run the site, multiple times a year. you think a prosecutors gonna overlook that too?

i also want to point out that their policy regarding lawsuits filed against them is to remove the offending content. they aren't some bastion of free speech that's raising money to protect the voices of writers or whatever it is you seem to think. all these precautions you're bringing up do nothing to protect the users of the site, who ao3 would be nothing without (and who would find another platform if ao3 were to ever go under). when push comes to shove they aren't jumping in the the way of any harm that comes to the people actually contributing to the archive

anyway, OP's point was about everything having ads and how that sucks. someone then hijacked the post to advertise ao3. my point was that, in addition to the fact that giving ao3 money literally doesn't help that issue at all, ao3 makes more money than it needs by a significant margin every single fundraiser (and then doesn't use that money to improve their site or user experience/safety), and that your money is better spent by donating to actual artists. which it is.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE COURAGE OF MONTHS

That gave me a way to make a fortune without noticing. Some, like selflessness, might come from going to drunken parties. I think the root of the problem you think about a world in which it would be misleading even to call them centers. Not all were necessarily supplied by the PR firm. There's still a lot of intelligence to get rich. You're investing your own time in your startup. Youth It's the young nerds who start startups wish they could start a startup, and sell it to colleagues. We get all the paperwork set up properly so there are no misunderstandings. An apartment is also the essence of venture investing. If you can find such a clump, it's probably a good bet, why are smart kids so consistently unpopular? I like being part of this talk became Why Startups Condense in America May 2006 This essay is derived from a talk at AngelConf.

What defines it is the same as Berkeley's: you should live better. In the startup world from investment banking, she has always been that it's difficult to pick them out. If we assume 4 people per startup, which is doing so well they could probably starve the trolls of the lawyers they need. Maybe. When they first start working on a space that contains at least one partner from the VC fund takes a seat on the board of directors. I was one of the biggest ideas at Google is going to be better than you realize. Html 23. But this meant a Google was now setting Microsoft's agenda, and b Microsoft's agenda consisted of stuff they weren't good at. It could only spread to places that already had a vigorous middle class. Persistence Is the Key A lot of startups grow out of ideas?

You'll be better off in Silicon Valley, MIT Press, 2006. If wealth means what people want, and for the first time as an adult. They'll make sure that suing them is expensive and dangerous. But that's not true. So the fact that they have a single format. The Secret Weapon Eric Raymond has written an essay called How to Become a Hacker, Eric Raymond, Ken Anderson, and Dan Giffin for reading drafts of this. Xenophon Mem. The future turned out to be a good thing too, or a new category of things not to eat—the kind where, by spending a lot of the advances that happen in programming languages. 3 million six months in, they probably didn't realize it till I was in Africa last year and I wish we had. Let me put the case in terms a government official would appreciate. So if you need to impress are not very discerning.1

Though it brought many social changes, the Industrial Revolution did is their social disruptiveness. A typical angel round these days might be $150,000 raised from 5 people. So I sent all the founders shared this summer was a spirit of independence. In filtering, this translates to: look at the most advanced theoretical principles. Similar sites include Digg, a technology startup takes some amount of bullshit in your life by more than 6. Morgan was to the customers. The most famous example is probably Steve Wozniak, who originally wanted to build microcomputers for his then-employer Hewlett-Packard. Or business users.

Notes

When governments decide how to allocate research funding moderately well, partly because you need to know how to be driven by money—for example, there was when we created pets. Obviously this is mainly due to the wealth they generate.

[rootresident]

Google and Your Privacy

I've been seeing many uninformed takes going around on how Google uses your data, and AI in general, so I thought I'd address the topic.

What is the problem

Some class action lawsuits have recently been started claiming that google has used data scraped from public sites to train its new chatbot. This includes things like PDFs of books, blogs, forums, etc. As far as I can tell, this does not include content stored in google drive (i'll touch more on this later). The legality of this is questionable, but I'm not very familiar with this particular case and how this data is being used, so I won't really touch on it. I bring it up because this seems (i think) to have sparked more debate on AI and data usage in general, some of it very... misguided.

AI and the issue of IP and copyright

Massive amounts of data are required to train an AI model, and many services collect whatever data they can get their grubby little hands on in order to train it. Github's Copilot AI model which helps to generate snippets of code faster uses data from public github repos in order to train its model. The issue with this is that most repos have licenses attached, which dictate how the content can be used. One of the rules in open source, is that whatever license governs some code must be distributed with the code if it used elsewhere. This means that if you use code from another project in yours, you have to distribute the license along with it. Copilot does not do this. If you use copilot, you could very easily be committing copyright infringement without even knowing, because the code from copilot may be owned by someone else. Now, most of the time you cant copyright a generic piece of code, so how much of an issue this may cause is up for debate (which it is, in class action lawsuits).

Google's IP License

When you use Google Drive, you automatically agree to their license which allows them to use your content in certain ways (https://policies.google.com/terms#toc-permission). From my understanding, Google's license allows them to host, distribute, publish, and modify your content as long as it is for the purposes of operating and improving services, publicly promoting services, or developing new tech and services. I encourage you to check it out for yourself, but I'll try to summarize what I think that means. Essentially, google is allowed to do pretty much whatever they want for those limited purposes, which normally would not be concerning as you still retain ownership of all your data so they can't just use it for whatever. However, AI turns it into a different beast. I am not a lawyer, so take this with a healthy serving of salt, but the license states your content can be used for

developing new technologies and services for Google consistent with these terms.

This means it must still be consistent with the other limited purposes of operating and improving services and promotion. However, some of the bullet points under improving services include the purposes of "recognizing patterns in data" and "customize services for you" which could absolutely fall under acceptable use for training an AI model. Again, I'm not a lawyer so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but the potential is there and I wouldn't put it past Google to just do it and worry about legality later.

What does that actually mean?

Just like with Github's copilot, if Google is using your data to train AI models it may use your data in part in it's responses. As an example, if you were to ask it to generate a movie script it may use some content from something you've written in order to create a scene in the script. Technically you still own the original, of course, but now the question is whether you own that part or should get credit for it using your work to generate something new. Under google's license this answer would be a "no" and they can use it to their heart's content. This doesn't mean your entire work would be used, but it's still an issue. Again, this doesn't mean it is happening, but it is definitely a concern. This is the primary concern for any AI model, because they all use any public data to train their models. The legality and concerns about fair use are being debated, but as usual regulation lags far behind.

Please share your thoughts, if you have any left. Do you think how AI models use data is acceptable? How can researchers and companies ensure they are using data fairly and responsibly? How should IP and licensing work, and who takes the credit for some work done by AI?

[officialcreature]

I love this site and appreciate everyone's attempt at being understanding and acknowledging struggles, but sometimes I see people reblog the dumbest takes just because they're put forward by or use the language of marginalized people.

Just saw back to back dumb posts.

1. A post about how white supremacy was responsible for all arguments over domestic labor, because white men were told they just had to provide and white women were told they just had to have white babies. Then the slaves would do all the house work. This of course neglects the fact that I've never heard any woman ever claim that they gave birth a few times so they don't have to do anything, the inslavement of black people was region specific and even in the south most people didn't have/couldn't afford slaves, the issue of household labor division pops up in basically every house regardless of race or gender, these sorts of expectations exist in countries that have never had any form of racially specific slavery, etc.

The image of well off white slave owning families and their traditional rolls, not to mention the exploitation of black labor by even those who didn't have slaves continuing on through Jim Crow, probably has had a measurable effect on perceptions of domestic labor at least in the US, but it's not even kind of able to explain most issues regarding it. Still we have a post of some lady claiming it's the be all end all of domestic arguments, and a million people claiming its a hot take and excepting it as basic fact without thinking it through at all.

2. A post saying doctors should have to get relicensed every certain amount of time because as of right now people are dying and being gas lit or whatever because doctors are just refusing to even try and stay up to date. Then someone being like, "Yeah lawyers have to do 20-30 hours of continuing education. So should doctors."

Every medical profession I know of does have to do some combination of continuing education and/or relicensing. In my field for example you have to do 30 hours of continuing education per "maintenance interval" with some specific amount of hours having to be spent on DEI and ethics.

While there are definitely doctors who phone it in. Keeping up to date on all changes in the field is near impossible. It's why your professors usually do research and are really knowledgeable on a very specific topic, because most medical fields are so large that it's nearly impossible to know it all to the point that even researchers on a very specific topic don't know all there is to know about just that topic. Not to mention most fields having multiple research journals each, the issues of most studies being highly specific and the general application of those studies not being entirely obvious, etc. Then you take a more general field like your family physician and that bitch is fucked. There is no way humanly possible for someone to have a strong understanding of every issue that any patient could walk in with.

Not to mention the impact of insurance and the overall lack of doctors and their time and how those impact this as well.

Of course people pointed this out to OP and they literally said something along the lines of, "People saying they're region requires it etc. Fuck off."

[disabilityplanninginvernon]

The 5-second Trick for Probate Attorney in Connecticut

Undecided regarding the future methods? Lawyers from our comprehensive community are Prepared to reply to your query.

I am a Central Ny Native, and As well as my legislation follow knowledge, I have more than 30 several years of knowledge as an educator with the quality college and university stages. I am also the stage father or mother of a Unique requirements kid, and this continues to be instrumental in my development of skills being an advocate for special requires learners.

As a knowledgeable member of PLAN of Connecticut, Attorney Breg counsels folks with Specific requires and advises them about special wants trusts. Attorney Breg also has techniques in the region of real estate.

When screening makes sure you do not use any real information that may detect you or almost every other person as demo variations of our themes shop all data you set in. Demo variations use cookies. If you retain testing we assume you are proud of it. For even further information make sure you refer to our privateness plan Okay

If the estate tax is due, it has to be compensated at the time of submitting the return. Extensions to file the estate tax return, both federal and condition, are permissible.

Diana, USA I did not get a lot of replies but those I did get were so extremely beneficial, And I am grateful for this avenue to have the ability to arrive at out and find the appropriate attorney for me.

The update should include the approximate degree of any distributions built, the approximate amount of money remaining on hand, and The explanations that the administration hasn't concluded.

Ponvirak O. suggests, "I consulted with Rohit concerning a litigation challenge and he was extremely well-informed of the authorized probate attorney in Connecticut challenges and very comprehension of my situation.

Once the 5-month notice to creditor interval expires, the executor has a further 60 days to file a Return and Listing of Statements with the probate court docket, detailing what bills and statements have been built in opposition to the estate.

“Most popular” listings, or All those with highlighted Site buttons, show YP advertisers who directly deliver specifics of their corporations to help you shoppers make much more educated obtaining selections. YP advertisers obtain higher placement during the default buying of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the best, aspect, or bottom of the search engine results website page.

It is only when belongings are handed to other beneficiaries or heirs at legislation that an estate tax is imposed.

Figure out what kind of real estate lawyer you would like. Lots of states need a real estate attorney to take care of sale closing paperwork. For more sophisticated matters for instance a real estate offer absent awry or foreclosure, you’ll want to discover an attorney that has effectively handled conditions like yours.  

If a probate bond was essential, the court will send the surety corporation a certificate stating that the fiduciary has complied with all orders of your court docket referring to the settlement from the estate and terminating the probate bond.

[backofthebookshelf]

The DMCA and You; or, why Tumblr won’t get sued over Post+

 I keep seeing people saying “doesn’t Tumblr understand they’re inviting an avalanche of lawsuits” and being baffled that people think this, and then I remembered that most of you were not both alive and in fandom in 1998 and therefore probably haven’t spent hours reading through the DMCA trying to figure out exactly how it was going to screw us. (Turns out we were right, but not nearly pessimistic enough.) So gather ‘round, children, it’s time for another bout of fandom history.

You have to understand what the internet looked like in 1998. Most people didn’t have internet access at home, and for those who did, you got a whopping 54 kbps (yes, that’s kilobytes per second) (compare that to 4G wireless, which 14 Mbps, not to mention, you know, wireless) unless you wanted to shell out for ISDN, which was twice the speed and five times the cost. Only 47% of American adults “went online” at all, never mind the two to six hours per day that current internet users are estimated to spend.

And I mean, why would you? There wasn’t that much there. If you wanted to post something online, your first and best option was to pay for web hosting of your own, or mooch off a friend’s. Or you could get a Geocities site, which would be plastered with ads and limited you to such a small amount of storage that you couldn’t have more than a couple dozen low-resolution images at best, or you could post on a message board (which would be essentially mooching off of a friend’s paid web hosting, because most sites that hosted message boards were just some guy who wanted to have a place to chat with his friends that wasn’t a Yahoo! email list), where you might get permission to post three or four images at a time. Music? Rude, takes up too much bandwidth, don’t do that to people. Video? You’re hilarious. (I once left my computer on for a week while I attempted to illegally download a copy of Velvet Goldmine but I finally gave up and got it from the video store instead.)

But still, at the time that was magic, and as more and more stuff found its way online, somebody who held a copyright somewhere (read: music studios and Disney) realized they had to get out in front of things. And into this brave new world came the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was passed in 1998 and was already skewing the shape of the internet of the future when it came into effect in 2000.

It did a lot of dumb things but the one we’re concerned about is the “safe harbor” provision, which basically says that in the case of an online copyright infringement, there are three parties: the infringer, the copyright holder, and the internet host, and the host is not a part of the copyright dispute.

Prior to this, if Sony or Disney or whoever found an illegal copy of their intellectual property (read: an mp3 or an avi) online, they’d go after whoever owned the server it lived on. Which made sense! If you find stolen TVs in someone’s basement, you go after the guy who owns the basement, and “I didn’t know my deadbeat brother in law was stealing TVs” is something you’ll have to prove in a court of law.

But internet companies like Geocities and Yahoo! and anyone else who offered random users the chance to post things on the internet using a free account said wait a minute, this doesn’t make sense. Because the internet is not like a physical basement; we have no reason to see someone carrying stolen mp3s down the basement stairs, and the scale is such that we couldn’t see all of them if we tried (unless we banned all mp3s, which means goodbye, MySpace, and goodbye indie bands). You wouldn’t go after a landlord in New York because their tenant in New Jersey is stealing TVs, would you?

So the DMCA said fine, we understand that the internet as it currently exists, and as it is attempting to exist (remember this is still the height of the dot.com boom and people are making money hand over fist by just owning websites), can’t operate if we try to do this. So instead of letting big companies sue big companies over copyright law, we’ll let big companies sue individual humans over copyright violations. That’s much more fair.

Of course most of what resulted wasn’t lawsuits at all; it was individuals getting threatening letters from Sony and Disney promising them that they were planning to sue but if you, Joe User, will just delete the thing you posted from the internet, we’re willing to make this all go away. And people did, because fuck, who’s going to duke it out with Disney?

The DMCA is the reason tumblr exists in the first place (not to mention twitter, and facebook, and essentially the entire part of the internet that isn’t either an ad or a news website). Technically, if tumblr was responsible for copyright violations, they’re already a prime target for a lawsuit, because they’re running ads on a website where people post copyright violations on a daily basis. Adding the opportunity for you to make money off your copyright violations doesn’t make them any more liable than they already are, which is not at all.

So here’s what predict will happen with Post+ at the beginning: absolutely nothing. A few people will monetize gifsets or fanfiction or vids and no one will pay attention and no one will care. But some small creators, people who post original fiction, people who post craft patterns, people who post insightful analysis, will start using it as part of their actual revenue stream. Sooner or later someone will be making enough money that it pings someone’s radar, and sooner or later someone making money will slip up and post something that could plausibly be a copyright violation, and they won’t get sued. They’ll get a takedown notice, a threatening letter from whoever owns the thing they infringed upon (...so Disney), and they’ll pull the thing. But it’s hard to pull things from the internet, much harder than it used to be, and nearly impossible the way tumblr works. So they get another takedown notice. Or Disney’s lawyers go through their blog with a fine-toothed comb and they start getting more and more unreasonable takedown notices, but now they’re scared and fuck, who’s going to duke it out with Disney? So they take their blog down entirely, and now that person is a little bit poorer and Disney is out the cost of four or five stamps and envelopes and the time their lawyer spent fifteen years ago drafting the takedown notice template.

I guarantee you that the people who decided to implement this know that this is going to happen, and they do not care. We’ve reached the “we could make this website work if we could just get rid of fandom” stage, which never ends well for the website but they never seem to learn that. So please, please don’t try to monetize fandom content on the assumption that tumblr is going to be the one to get slapped with a lawsuit for it, that’s just not how it works. It never has been and it never will be.

[1995lahaine]

I am sincerely confused by your posts because in the trial so far, the couples therapist relayed that amber reported she would habitually strike and hit depp when feeling disrespected and provoked by him ignoring her or leaving the room during a verbal argument. Of course that’s the definition of domestic violence to punish a spouse with a physical beating for a real or perceived insult or slight. From what I can tell if depp ever hit her back while she struck him, he would fit the bill of a reactive abuse. If all that’s the truth, I have a hard time faulting him (hypothetically) for returning a blow when being attacked physically. There’s a certain amount of human dignity and natural reaction in striking back against a domestic attack. Which I wouldnt automatically label abuse / wife beating . But again, it remains to be seen if that is the full story

I’ve made two posts. Two posts about the current trial, detailing the fact that Johnny Depp is FACTUALLY an abuser, and about how AS I SAID IN THE POST, what he’s arguing for now is nothing to do with amber heard’s conduct. if the current trial were anything but an attempt to continue his abuse, amber would not be involved. if it were about whether he has been defamed, all that were in question would be whether what was published were factual or defamatory (which, if you knew at all what you were talking about, you would know that publishers are very careful not to publish anything that would get them caught as guilty in suits like this). he lost in the uk. he is certainly an abuser. even if amber were complicit, which I do not believe she is, it does not matter. What is at issue is whether his conduct was abusive. It was, and continues to be. I could be here arguing that amber did nothing wrong. I don’t think she did, but nothing I have posted has argued that she did nothing wrong, until now. The full story doesn’t matter in these proceedings. The full story is quite literally none of your fucking business. This case is about whether he abused her. He did. There are photos, there are texts, there are tucking police documents. There is a history of abusive conduct. Not to draw a false equivalence, but had any of Harvey Weinstein’a victims fought back against his attacks, you are arguing that they would have been abusers too, for daring to resist him.

He literally DID physically abuse her before she said any of this, that is accounted for in copious amounts of photographic, physical, and witness evidence. He texted his friends on multiple occasions about how he wanted to burn and immolate her corpse. Did amber do any of the sort? She didn’t. If she had, his team would certainly have presented it. What has been presented as evidence of abuse in her part has been a couple of instances of her becoming violent in response to Johnny’s ongoing disgusting conduct. i know you’re probably getting false of propagandic information right now but Jesus fucking Christ, go back to the evidence (and I mean that in a serious legwl sense) presented at the initial trial, the divorce proceedings which were the only proceedings that should ever have been brought, the only ones that are relevant to deciding whether or not he abused her or not. if he were innocent of abuse he would have won the defamation trial in the uk. i am not going to respond to any more messages about this because fundamentally I understand court proceedings, the law, and what counts or does not count as valid evidence or acceptable courtroom/legal conduct than anyone willing to hide behind anon on this site ever will. here’s the thing you can try and discredit me but when it comes to the law and facts if you are not a full lawyer you simply won’t be able to win in a fight about this. all sending this message tells me is that you’re an idiot, you’ve allowed yourself to fall for celebrity-sponsored propaganda, and you’re a foul disgusting person who doesn’t care about abuse victims regardless of their gender or status. fuck off. once again, I really sincerely hope you have a terrible day. fuck you 💜

[wandering-travesty]

Off To The Races

 Zeke’s life wasn’t supposed to be like this. His father would have a spontaneous brain aneurism if he saw the daily goings on of the younger Yeager’s household on his days off. Horrid amounts of smoking outside, snow or shine, day-drinking without a second thought, and lonely, not by choice. He had honest-to-god tried to live the life his father wanted for him. He married a woman straight out of law school and knocked her up a few months after. They raised that kid for a year then repeated the process. They lived, laughed, and loved for a few years, then, as a surprise to no one, the divorce came along. His wife had run off with a lump sum of money and started a new life out of state. He got left with two kids, substance abuse issues, and a law firm to run. He was stressed, depressed, and by the holiest powers above, was he horny. 

 Ignoring the horniness for a moment, everything changed when you came around. Every inch of his world brightened, almost like a light at the end of a tunnel. You gave him some form of hope, and reminded him that life wasn’t all doom and gloom. You were still in college, looking for some extra funds to help pay your tuition; a lawyer that doubled as a father of two was the perfect target. You had shown up in your prettiest outfit, almost as if you were showing off for him. Being the kind of man he was, Zeke couldn’t help but hire you. Some sweet, fetching little thing coming up to his decadent doorstep in a tiny little tennis skirt and begging to take care of his kids? That was something he could never turn away. 

 So, you became the official caretaker of Zeke’s little angels. You truly adored looking after them while their, admittedly handsome, father slaved away at his big, important law firm. You rang the doorbell right as the kids were waking up, Zeke greeting you at the door already dressed in one of his repulsively expensive suits. You talked over scones and coffee and made the kids just about anything they wanted. He would leave, and you would get the kids dressed and out the door with ample time to catch the bus. You’d clean the house, make yourself some lunch, play with the family dog. The golden retriever was just another cliche. But you still loved the mutt, especially since every family member loved him, too. You could tell because Zeke had named him after some long-dead baseball player, meaning he would be enamoured with the thing no matter what.  

 It was fun, picking up on little details about Zeke, or Mr. Yeager, as you called him. He loved baseball and would talk about it for hours on end if you let him, and he hated strawberry icecream for some unexplained reason. He was the face of success for his entire life, from being a star pitcher on his little league team back home to captain of the debate team in high school; he had never really failed at anything or gotten robbed of what he wanted. He was a winner in everything he had ever tried. He had mentioned how high-strung his parents were, and how they’d gone through a divorce of their own when he was young. He and his step-brother never got along that well, and had actually turned out to be very different people. His family life was anything but smooth, and he feared his kids would look back on their childhood in the same light. You guessed that’s why tonight was happening. 

 “Alright, I’m entrusting my children, dog, house, and painfully expensive belongings to you for the night.” He was dressed to the nines, hell, the tens. He wore an umber sport coat, mustard turtleneck sweater, a thick black belt, grey slacks, chestnut oxfords, and the most expensive golden watch you had ever seen. His flaxen hair shined perfectly in the low light of the entranceway; it was official: you wanted to fuck him. Rather, you wanted him to fuck you. You wanted him to fuck you stupid and make you squirt all over that pretty watch, and his even prettier face. 

 “I’ve got it covered, Mr. Yeager.” His youngest son wrapped his arms around your legs as the dog rubbed his head into your palm. “Knock ‘er dead!” You gave him your cheesiest smile and thumbs up. He chuckled at you as his eldest son grabbed your free hand. 

 “You’ve got this, Dad!” He cheered, starting to drag you to the living room. 

 “Thank you, Atticus. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave a weak smile, turning to leave through the large oak door. It was awful, how badly he wanted to stay there with you and the kids. He wanted to chase Atticus down the hall as the rest of you ran after him, laughing all the way. He wanted to put on some old, boring movie only he wanted to watch and feel your breath on his neck as you fell asleep just after the kids and dog sitting on the floor below you. He wanted to feel your warmth in his bed. He wanted to see what you looked like backed up against a wall. Heaving after an especially passionate kiss. With your legs over your head, screaming his name. The sweat dripping down your face as you came undone beneath him. The little whimpers you’d make as he pulled out of you and cradled you in his arms. He wanted you, not this random woman off of some shitty dating site. He didn’t really want the booze, or the men, or the women, or the money, or the white picket fence, or his father’s approval; he just wanted - no - he needed you. Your game of cat and mouse, seeing which playful “sweetheart” or coy little “Mr. Yeager” would be the one to tip you over the edge of more than friends.  

 “Zeke? That’s you, right?” The tall blonde woman in a sleek black suit walked towards him with an outstretched hand. She could’ve easily been a full foot taller than him. Interesting.

 “Yes. Yelena, correct?” But she wasn’t you. He just wanted to get this night of false wining and dining over with so he could come home to you. You in his big, expensive house. Better yet, his big, expensive bed.

 - 

 You sat and watched the clock after the kids went to bed. It ticked and tocked, back and forth, over and over. It had been about an hour since you’d put them down for the night. You couldn’t wait for Zeke to get home for much longer. Butterflies buzzed through your stomach when you heard the doorbell ring.

 “Mr. Yeager?” You opened the door to the sight of your employer with his shirt halfway unbuttoned, glasses falling off his face, and hair an absolute bird’s nest. 

 “Hey, beautiful.” He purred, slumping onto your shoulder, trying and failing to be smooth. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing in my house, huh?” He looked up at you over the rim of his glasses. The way his eyes glimmered a dark shade of teal lit your entire body on fire. Feeling his full weight on top of you only made it spread farther.

 “Babysitting your kids, for starters.” You maneuvered your bodies to have his arm wrapped around your shoulder as you dragged him back into the house. “Apparently I’ll be babysitting you, too.” You mumbled, just then realizing exactly how muscular he was. You sat him down on the leather couch and started to walk to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. You didn’t have much experience with alcohol, but you believed water helped with it somehow.

 “Damn. Loving the view from back here, gorgeous.” He leaned forwards with his elbows on his knees, licking his chapped lips. You jumped at the sudden compliment. You couldn’t remember him being so…dirty before. You walked a little faster than you already were, wanting to get away from him before you made a stupid decision. You poured a tall glass of water, walking back to the couch where Zeke was now lounging, legs spread far enough to leave barely anything to the imagination.  

 “Hey there, doll. Got somethin’ for me?” He giggled, lowering his head from where he had been resting it. His eyes were something to behold, and the deep rooted confidence and downright cockiness behind them only served to make you shiver. You shuffled closer, a bit skittish at the sight of the beast before you. 

 “It’s just water.” You sat down on the table in front of him. “It’s supposed to help with your metabolism, I think.” Your voice was a higher pitch than usual, feeling an odd pressure in your throat every time you spoke.

 “What a smart little thing you are.” He praised. It felt genuine, and you started to feel hotter. You handed him the glass, trying your best to avoid eye contact. He took the glass, and almost as if he had sensed your intentions, took your chin between his fingers and forced you to look into his deep, ocean eyes. He leaned back a bit, giving you a better view of his exposed chest. There was a light layer of golden hair overtop of his expansive chest, and it seemed to trail down the rest of his body. You wanted to find out if that was true. Still holding eye contact with you, he tipped the glass and send the water spilling down his shirt. You knew that wasn’t just drunken clumsiness, but a calculated measure to get in your pants.

 “Whoops.” He said, eyes cold and emotionless as his words. “You better clean that up, sweetheart. We both know I can’t take care of myself in this state.” You moved closer to him, hands unsure of where they were going. You were shaking a bit, and you didn't have a towel on you. You decided the best course of action was to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way. You felt down his chest, gently tugging on his nipples. He let out a soft groan as you continued to feel him up. 

 “You’re gettin’ a little handsy there, baby. You want something from me?” He pet your hair as you moved further down on his chest. You kissed and gave kitten licks, appreciating every inch and curve of his muscular form. You couldn’t get enough of him, try as you might.

 “I fuckin’ knew it.” He pulled you by your hair to force you to look at him.

 “Filthy little harlot.” He squeezed you cheeks, forcing your mouth open. You looked confused until you felt a glob of spit hit your tongue. You swallowed like it was second nature. 

 “You’re just here for my dick, huh?” You continued to kiss and lick down his abdomen, savoring every ounce of him you could; the smell of cinnamon, menthol, and saltwater hit your nose, intoxicating you further and further the more you breathed him in. “I bet it’s all you think about. Especially when those fingers rub that pretty little cunt until you cum all over yourself.” You let out a whine, signifying exactly how right he was.

 “Yeah.” You dragged your tongue up his six-pack, savoring the slightly salty taste. “Think about you every night.” You licked a stripe down the same line you had just gone up. “Only way I can get to sleep.” He smiled the warmest smile you had ever seen him produce. Such a sweet little thing for him, getting off to thoughts of him railing you silly in order to have a good night’s rest. Your submissive, horny mind was so focused on him you couldn’t get to bed without him. You were perfection in human form. Truly a goddess sent from above. He would worship you in the most degrading way possible.

 “I knew you were dirty, I just needed to force you to show me.” He continued to pet your hair like you were some kind of beloved family pet. You felt so small under his touch; so fragile, as if one touch could blow you away forever. You loved the feeling more than life itself. You felt like you could never live without it again. Touching yourself while thinking about him wouldn’t do the trick; not after you had felt the real thing.

 “That’s it, honey, kiss me like you mean it.” He teased, knowing exactly what was running through your head. Sure, he was no master of seduction, but he had bedded plenty before, and he knew exactly how talented he was. He had learned from years of experience; years you hadn’t yet lived. You would learn it all from him. Those little college boys he could smell on you every so often wouldn’t cut it anymore. He was meant for you, and you for him. He knew he already had you trapped, but playing with you was so fun. Poking and prodding and mocking you all while you worshiped him like he had hung the moon in the sky.

 “You love this body, don’t you, slut?” He pulled your hair suddenly, earning a yelp that went straight to his aching cock. “You know, I’ve only been keeping in shape for you. I knew from the moment you saw me that was the main appeal, and lord knows I’d go through hell to keep you around.” That was true. He knew others would settle for mediocrity, but a flawless little angel like you deserved better than mediocre. You needed someone to match your talent, beauty, and wit. He didn’t believe he equaled you in anything but maybe wits, but still, he was good for you. At least, you seemed to think so, considering you were giving tiny kitten licks to the tip of his recently freed dick. The tip was red, swollen, and leaking a sinful amount of precum. You sucked it all up, taking the engorged head between your plush lips. You felt like heaven, but the ache in your pussy felt like hell. You slowly began to go the full length down his cock. Zeke was right: you had messed around with college boys before, but none were as big as him. Your gag reflex wasn’t prepared, causing you to choke and sputter on it. Zeke grinned slyly.

 “Say my name, sweetie.” He wanted to treat you right, but it was so enjoyable to indulge his sadistic side.

 “Mr. Yeager.” You choked out. You knew how much he enjoyed that title; the feeling of authority it brought him made him hard as a rock every time. He groaned in pleasure, sending shivers down your spine. That knocked him off his rhythm for a moment, but he was right back on you the minute he regained some sense of self.

 “The kids are right upstairs, peacefully sleeping, while you choke on my dick like a dumb little slut.” The thought made you feel so dirty. You shifted on the ground, squeezing your thighs together and trying to get some friction. “And you do it so well, baby. I couldn’t ask for better.” He sighed.

 “That’s it, pretty girl, don’t hurt yourself down there.” He slowly pulled you off his cock by your hair. He didn’t want to admit it, and really didn’t show any signs, but you had him on the verge of cumming down your throat. But he didn’t want his precious seed there. Hell no! He wanted you stuffed to the brim and properly bred.

 “I’ve wanted you for so goddamn long, you don’t even know.” The look on tour face was something beyond pleasure or pain. It was a mix of both with a side of...fear? “What, scared of taking something this big, doll?” You shook your head.

 “Don’t worry, daddy’ll get you nice and wet for him.” He slowly came to hover over you, lifting you up and sitting you down on the couch. He spread your legs, undoing the button of your shorts with his long, thick fingers, bringing his mouth to your zipper and pulling it down with his teeth. He pulled them down your legs, bringing his face to your core. You felt hot on his mouth and nose. He licked a wet stripe up your clothed core,

 “God, you taste like honey, sweetie. I’m so fuckin’ lucky.” He pulled your panties to the side, relishing in the sight of your puffy pussy. You were beautiful in the murky yellow light of the room. You folds shimmered with slick and he could see your cunt clench around nothing, so obviously desperate for his dick. That’s right, his dick. Only his. From now on.

 He dove into you, savoring your tangy flavor. Pussy was a taste all its own, each having new, intense, rich tastes he could barely describe. To be perfectly honest, Zeke was a sucker for a wet little cunt in his mouth, and you were the perfect subject. Every suck to your clit, every kiss and lick to your folds, every darting flick of his tongue into your aching little hole; it had you moaning and whimpering like a ditzy little slut. Your mind was hazy with ecstasy.

 “Don’t get too loud now, dollface. Don’t wanna wake the kids now, do you?” His words brought you back to Earth, forcing you to remember you were being eaten out by a father of two. It felt so filthy to know you had been bringing up his kids, acting as a faux wife, and now you were being treated like one, eaten out of your mind and promised a thorough breeding.

 “Not that I don’t believe you would get off on being watched. I bet you love that idea, huh?” You jolted at the words and the sensation of another kiss to your cunt. “It might sound a little sick, but I could invite my brother over, see if he has as good a taste as mine.” He’d be willing to invite Eren over for a test run of…you? You knew they didn’t get along, so it was surprising, but that only turned you on even more. Imaging them fighting over you like hungry wolves on the hunt. They’d ravish you without even thinking. If this was Zeke, held back, on his own, you could only yelp and whimper at what kind of monsters the two of them would be together.

 “Nah, that little shit doesn’t deserve you.” He smirked into your sopping wet core. Eren never appreciated the finer things in life, still to young to understand the joys of pussy eating. No, he was more for the fuck and chuck kind of lifestyle. You deserved better aftercare than a point towards the door. “Some of the guys at my firm, however. Bet they’d turn you out real nice. They’re all just about as big and pent up as me. We could all show you a real good time." That would be about…three, four, even five of him? All fucking you at once with the same vigor and deep seated intensity. You head buzzed at the thought. "You’d like that, wouldn’t you, whore?” You couldn’t keep up with him in this state. You were completely fucked out without even being fucked at all. Before you knew it, you were cumming all over his gorgeous face and beard. He was taken slightly aback, but he licked it all up in five seconds flat. He was a professional.

 “Answer me, doll.” He delivered a harsh slap to your thigh. He enjoyed the ripple it gave and the red mark his hand had left.

 “Yes, Mr. Yeager.” You stuttered out, barely above a whisper. Torturing you would be fun, but not tonight. No, he needed to be thorough with your pleasure and ensure you would never leave his side again. He gave a few light slaps to your slippery pussy, making your thighs shake and mouth move without making a sound.

 “That’s what I fuckin’ thought.” He slowly stood up, giving you a perfect view of the shining god before you. His body was something sculpted by the old masters; a true work of art. Before you could fully appreciate the image of perfection in front of you, he bent down just a bit, pushing your thigs back as far as they could go, squishing your tits under them. He enjoyed the way your pudgier parts stuck out, giving him more parts of you to pinch and suck on as he fucked into you. His was no doubt the biggest cock you’d ever taken, and it wasn’t easy to have inside of you at first. Your walls clamped down on him so tight it was almost painful. But as he slowly pushed in and out, pleasure began to overtake the pain and you started to loosen up just a bit.

 “Just relax, sweetie. Daddy’s got you.” Of course he had a daddy kink. It made perfect sense, as did yours. Hearing him say that in that truly comforting tone made your head spin with pleasure.

"God, you are so fucking tight." He continued to fuck into you at a savage pace, not seeming to care if you screamed or cry, rather relishing in the fact that you were. You were so young and tight and sensitive, it drove him mad. He was sure he could never go a day without your pussy again.

"You fit me like a vice, sweetheart. You trying to milk me dry? Huh?" Your mouth was hanging open, drool spilling out. It gave him ample opportunity to spit in your mouth once again.

"Swallow it you filthy slut." He lightly tapped your face.

"This is exactly how I wanted you." You could barely hear him, blanking out at the intensity of his continuous pounding of your poor little cunt. "Been thinking about this for months."

"Might just knock you up, sweetie. You already take care of my brats so well, what's one more?" You squealed at the thought. He wanted you to have his babies. He wanted you to be his new, permanent play thing to fuck and fill up every night.

"Yeah. I wan' your babies." You slurred your words, inebriated by the feeling of his cock filling your tight little cunt. He gazed down at your fucked out form, finding a sick sense of pleasure in how far gone you were all thanks to him. You moaned far too loud for someone in a house full of kids. You couldn't hold back, he just felt too damn good.

"You gonna cum, little girl?" He had almost a mocking tone when he asked that. You nodded your head, squeezing your eyes shut. He kept up the pace, abusing your g-spot, not letting up for even a second. He set out to make you feel incredible; like the perfect little plaything he knew you to be, and he wasn’t going to let his slightly aged stamina get in the way.

"That's it, you look so pretty, baby. What a good little slut." He looked down at you with heated intensity. "My little slut." He continued his brutal pace almost as if you had never cum at all.

"Oh, 'd you think I'd quit just 'cause you finished? No fuckin' way." You squealed as he continued to thrust inside you, still drunk on the idea of being full of his cum. You wanted him more than you had wanted anything in your life.

"'M gonna make you squirt all over me. Ruin this nice, expensive couch." You were screaming his name at that point, unable to form a thought that wasn't Zeke and his perfect dick.

"Such a fuckin' cocktease all these months. This is what you get for it. Tummy full of my cum." He slowed his pace as he looked into your eyes with the intensity of a man drunk on desire.

"All those times you flipped your skirt up so I could see your cute little panties." He thrusted into you harder than he had before. "All those times you called me Mr. Yeager in that innocent tone that drove me up the wall." He thrusted harder than you had ever thought possible. You felt him hit your cervix. "Every time you acted like you didn't know what you were doing. Like you didn't know what I wanted." He continued to pound into you. You felt so full, so good.

"You're getting tighter, baby. You gonna squirt while daddy fills you up, huh?" His pace was brutal and you were seeing stars.

"That's it, pretty baby, cum all over me. Let me fill you up." He humped into you a few final times before shooting his load into your cunt. You screamed at the feeling of your cum squirting out of you as his cum squirted into you. You were so dizzy and so full. You were happy. You were safe and taken care of and filled to the brim by the man you loved most.

 “Hey.” You saw Zeke’s stunningly handsome face look down at you. His cheeks were flushed, forehead sweaty, sculpted chest heaving. But his eyes were transfixed on you with a look so filled with love and passion it made you feel like you were floating. “How you holding up, princess?” That was a new name…not that you minded. “Didn’t go too rough did I?” He panted in between his gentle words, the main drawback of giving it your all.

 “Actually.” You huffed a bit, just then realizing how difficult it was to talk, or move, or breathe. “Think you coulda’ gone harder.” He chuckled, the same look of complete infatuation lingering in his oceanic eyes.

 “Yeah?”

 “Yeah.”

 “You sure?”

 “I’m tougher than you’d think, old man.” He laughed at you, appreciating how you could still be the sweetest little thing he’d ever met after being pounded half to death.

 “Alright, I’m not even thirty, you little minx.”

 “Calling me a minx isn’t helping your case, Zeke.” His eyes lit up with recognition.

 “First time you’ve called me that, angel.” He smiled like an idiot in love, because he was one.

 “Maybe it’ll be the last, if you keep acting like such an animal around me.” You slapped his shoulder with as much strength as you could muster, which was basically none.

 “Well, if you don’t like the rough treatment, how about I treat you like the perfect angel you are? Treat you to a nice, warm shower and a cuddle session with yours truly. How about that?” He gently rubbed your cheek, taking in how wonderful your afterglow was.

 “Sounds nice.”

 “Alright, let’s go, angel.”

 “Okay, Mr. Yeager.” You giggled at how quickly his face darkened and lips tightened into a frown.

 “Ever the tease, you are.” He carried you to his shower bridal style, no doubt a sign of things to come.

[mack3030]

Things the Sims 4 Community Can Do About Paywalls...A Post...

[This is going to be a bit long, so you may want to save it and read it when you have time, or just...you know, buckle in.]

I thought I would ring in the new year by talking about something that I feel we as a community need to finally decide on. (It’s been debated since 2017 or so, and it’s now 2021...) I’d like, if possible, to try to suggest some real solutions and choices that we can make that will hopefully create a better and more honest community out of all of us.  Now I would like to start by making some postulates. In geometry, postulates are facts that do not need proven with a mathematical proof. They are assumed to be true. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers would call these “Self-Evident Truths”. I would like to use these as a bit of a basis for my arguments. 

Truth: The Sims 4 has been enough of a cash cow for EA.  If you buy the base game ($40) plus all expansion packs (40 each x 10) + all game packs (20 each x 9) + all stuff packs (10 each x 17) you would come to a total of seven hundred and 90 dollars ($790) plus tax. This is of course, without sales, bundling, etc, which many people DO take advantage of, but STILL. That is a TON of money for EA’s pockets.  EA makes a majority of its money on the fact that the Sims 4 is an “incomplete game”. It “completes” the game further and further by adding more “expansions” to the game to the point that it seems almost useless to buy the base game alone without adding to it. 

Even with sales and other things, it’s easy to spend over $500 dollars on the sims 4 game + expansions. Still a lot of cash for a game that is years old. This is just money that is spent on the game that goes to EA. This does not account for:  * Money spent to buy a new computer because your old one wouldn’t run the sims.  * Money spent supporting CC artists who have donations open or early access.  * Money spent on access to sites that have ads/paywalls/exclusive sims 4 CC such as Leosims, etc. (Which are the problem, frankly)

We should be able to respect the fact that a majority of us paid a hefty amount for this game. It is unfair, and frankly greedy to REQUIRE people to pay MORE just to unlock or gain access to specific user created content. 

I am not talking about a VOLUNTARY support or donation because they like what you offer. I am talking about FORCING people to pay if they want to ever be able to use the CC or mod you offer. 

Now, the typical defense for this is “Well, I’m an artist! I spend time/effort/etc working hard on these meshes, the code, etc to make this content!”  Which leads me to point #2. 

Truth: Mods, CC, and other content for the Sims 4 are useless without the game. Once they are created/uploaded to the game, all copyright to those objects IMMEDIATELY transfers to EA. 

I teach art in a Missouri public school. Our state standards dictate that when art students are in middle school grades, they have to learn about copyright, fair use, and creative commons. While I am not a copyright lawyer, I have had to learn enough about this subject to teach it. So allow me to break down a few facts about copyright: 

First, when ya make it, ya own it. There’s not a process to apply for a copyright. The moment you create something that is 100% your own work, you hold the copyright to it. 

Second, when you make something that is created based off of or USING someone else’s intellectual property as a reference or resource it is a fan creation. In art, we call this “fanart”. It is not 100% your own work. Someone else’s intellectual property is involved. 

Fan creations always have tread a very thin and shadowy line when it comes to different companies and the legality of them. You can easily search google for various articles explaining it, but to summarize it in a short method: 

Most companies do not actively go after those who create fan creations unless they are making profits that could instead be going to the creators of the intellectual property. If the fan creation is discovered to be making profits and/or taking the intellectual property in a direction the creator does not approve of, they have legal options to pursue (court, cease and desist letters, etc). 

Third, Copyright can be transferred from person to person. In most cases this is done through a written document that both parties sign, however there IS an exception to this that EA uses to allow itself to transfer your copyrights to your content to them: 

EA’s agreement with you is non-exclusive, meaning that the moment you hit “agree” on the sims 4 terms and conditions, you have handed over your rights to any CC you create for the game. 

If you want to maintain full creative rights over the mesh/mods/etc you make then, you have to not make that content for the sims 4 and make your own platform to host it on. This is way easier said than done. 

Truth: There have been various examples in the past of CC creators who have stolen meshes, bases, bits/pieces of work, or “inspiration” for CC from other sites/companies, who have been called on it publicly. 

The most recent event concerning this was drama concerning itsbrandysims and their use of meshes from imvu/secondlife (you can see my opinion on the subject HERE), but there have been other documented cases. Leosims, for example, has been listed as an example of someone taking meshes from secondlife creators and reuploading them (when it was told to me, I was shown THIS thread as evidence). Another well known creator was accused by a former sims 4 cc creator (who now makes content from second life), and was called out in THIS post in 2019. 

The horrible part of this? Many of these creators are charging people (often at not so great rates as well), for STOLEN content. Content they don’t even own, that they ripped from another place. This should not be accepted by a community that loves a game as much as the Sims 4 community.  Truth: EA has provided a way for people to make money while not hiding content behind paywalls entirely, and the INTENT of this was to OFFSET COSTS.  Almost every post about content locked behind paywalls features this post found on the Sims Forum from 2017. In it, SimGuruDrake, who was the community manager at the time (she has since left the Sims 4 team for another job).  Most of you who have seen this discussion topic before know this post by heart, but I’d like to highlight one important aspect of it: 

One thing that is always important about communication is the intent behind it. The intent for people to be allowed to make patreons and allow early access wasn’t so people could just make money for themselves, the idea was to offset costs to buy programs to make the content. For example, a yearly subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud (which has photoshop, illustrator, etc) costs a couple hundred dollars US a year. If someone was using photoshop to help them create their CC in addition to blender or other free programs, EA/Maxis wanted to allow the creator to not have to pay for making the CC out of pocket.  Can EA/Maxis control what people spend the money they make off of patreon on? No. But it should be noted that the intent of this action was to help people pay for supplies for their hobby more than to make a business out of it. 

Onto the next truth! Truth: There is an image that disputes this post above, however the authenticity of it and timing of it are very disputed. 

This image is often thrown around by people who lock content behind paywalls, but I would like to take a second and try to provide an honest assessment of it.  First of all, I have a bit of a problem with the fact that the original person who “messaged” SimGuruDrake this question has not been identified. This image was not posted on the tumblr of a CC creator who claimed “Hey I reached out to a sims guru and this is the answer I got!” The main pages that have this image are either tweets from CC creators using it to defend their stance on paywalls (ex: here), or tumblrs/tweets “debunking it” (ex: here, here).  I even reverse image searched this image using google, and another platform and could not figure out where this originated from. Of course, I’m not an expert, but...still. 

The fact that the origin of this picture is unknown casts doubt on it. If it were a well known CC maker who is known for being honest, that’s one thing. But the fact that we don’t exactly know where it came from is suspicious. Because frankly, anyone with some decent editing ability could photoshop this. 

Here’s my imperfect edit, but I’m just a self-taught graphics nerd and I am not as dedicated at faking screenshots as some. (And the crap photo quality didn’t help.) Another common issue is that at the supposed “time” that this question was being asked, some state that SimsGuruDrake had already left the Sims 4 team. I will admit, this photo is within the correct timeline, as SimsGuruDrake did not officially depart the sims 4 team until February 2018. (There is a post on the sims forums that has a timestamp that confirms this.) But, if you were in the process of leaving your job within the next month (as a two week/30 day notice is common when leaving a job), would you REALLY be answering questions in DMs on twitter, or be focusing on packing up, and training your successor?  The last thing that really makes me doubt the validity of this picture is the fact that it’s not really easy to message the sims gurus on Twitter. This appears to be twitter from the screenshot (although there are some things that are a little out of place from the current UI): But when I attempt to direct message a sims guru I get this message: 

I even tried seeing if I could reach out via DM to Drake herself, (who now posts under a different twitter) to see if it was possible: 

Could the policies have changed since 2018? Possibly, but I feel that opening up direct messages is just asking for Sims 4 team members to get angry messages, so this could very well be a long running EA policy. I have also reached out to her via a twitter tag (as of 1/2/21), and will update y’all if I get a reply:

Okay, so now that we’ve gone through all of this, let’s talk about the last truth that’s really important:  Truth: Putting content behind paywalls has generally been considered disgusting by many in the sims 4 community, and TAKES AWAY the choice of people to support CC creators they love/appreciate WILLINGLY.  A few notable posts sharing the disgust with this practice can be found: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE). And these are just what I can find from a simple precursory search.

Okay, Brainiac. So what can we do to solve this problem? 

Well, there’s a few methods we can employ, and sadly, it’s going to take a bit of a commitment and concentrated effort from the community. 

Step #1: Make the COMMUNITY the VICTIM instead of EA. 

Now when I say this, I don’t mean we’re actually victims, but mean that instead of constantly saying things like “WHEN YOU DO THIS YOU VIOLATE EA’S TOU!”, thus making EA the “victim” of the crime. We change the dialog to saying “When you lock stuff behind paywalls, you cheat the sims 4 community and disrespect their choice to support you or not.”  Because let’s be honest. Maxis/EA really doesn’t give much of a care about if people aren’t following this rule. You can report people to the team, but as far as most people have seen, it doesn’t get anywhere. But if we make it where the community is the party being “wronged” it is much harder for those who have paywalls to not be scared. Because the community, in the end, has to be with them.  DepthofPixels had a really amazing post about this HERE. 

Step 2: Decide to not support anyone who puts their content behind exclusive paywalls and do not hesitate to spread the word about why you choose not to do so. 

By that, I mean

not paying any patreon accounts that don’t offer either their content 100% for free, or offer early access.

And sharing about why you choose to do that on your social media. Something I might suggest would be to make it a bit personal and share something like:

Instead of spending $15 a month to get exclusive content from Leosims (or any other patreon/paywall creator here) I’m spending that $15 supporting creator x, creator y, and creator z, who don’t put their work behind paywalls! 

Link their patrons, share why you like their content, and why you take the stance to make the community better. Make it a positive thing, praising the people who are doing RIGHT by the community. 

Yes, you may not get their content for a while (although there are some different places (

x

,

x

) to find them *cough*. But in the end, is it worth supporting someone’s content when they’re treating the community badly? 

Step 3: Report creators who actively steal content from IMVU/secondlife to those respective companies, and all others to EA. (Even though nothing may happen.)

Here’s the deal. When people steal from either of those sites, they are infringing on someone’s copyright, as well as Imvu/secondlife’s copyright as well. It’s not okay, and they should be held accountable for it. Here’s the LINK for submitting a ticket to Secondlife. I haven’t been able to find one for IMVU, but maybe someone else will find one. Let those companies know and allow them to handle those specific creators.  As to the other creators, EA may not handle them at the moment. But IF (and this is a wishful thinking “if”) there were suddenly a flood of messages about certain creators...? I think they might have to pay attention to some of those messages. There is an official report form, but it might even be worth tweeting to SleddingGuruFrost, who is the current community manager asking about their stance on paywalls.  And last but not least: 

Step 4: Make sure that those who are doing the right thing and not putting their work behind paywalls feel appreciated. Show them some love via a tumblr ask, or by tagging them on twitter, or by going up a tier on their patreon (or pledging for the first time). Celebrate these heroes who are creating content and not forcing it on us. 

Us asking for people to give us a choice to support them isn’t being greedy, or disrespecting their time. We just want transparency, and respect from those who create content for the game we love so much versus them treating us like we’re just a source of income. I know it might seem a bit hard to do this for some of you, and for some it may seem like I’m preaching to the choir, but we have to decide where we stand on this issue and stop letting those who abuse this system keep doing it. We can make a difference if we decide as a COMMUNITY to work together.

With commitment,  ~Sunny