#like i HAVE improved and that i can CONTINUE to improve

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Return to office and dying on the job

Denise Prudhomme's bosses at Wells Fargo insisted that the in-person camaraderie of their offices warranted a mandatory return-to-office policy, but when she died at her desk in her Tempe, AZ office, no one noticed for four days.

That was in August. Now, Wells Fargo United has published a statement on her death, one that vibrates with anger at the callously selective surveillance that Wells Fargo inflicts on its workforce:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WellsFargoUnited/comments/1fnp9fa/please_print_and_take_to_your_managersite_leader/

The union points out that Wells Fargo workers are subjected to continuous, fine-grained on-the-job surveillance from a variety of bossware tools that count their keystrokes and create tables of the distancess their mice cross each day:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

Wells Fargo's message to its workforce is, "You can't be trusted," a policy that Wells Fargo doubled down on with its Return to Office mandate. Return to Office is often pitched as a chance to improve teamwork, communication, and human connection with your co-workers, and there's no arguing with the idea that spending some time in person with people can help improve working relationships (I attended a week-long, all-hands, staff retreat for EFF earlier this month and it was fantastic, primarily due to its in-person nature).

But our bosses don't want us back in the office because they enjoy our company, nor because they're so excited about having hired such a swell bunch of folks and can't wait to see how we all get along together. As John Quiggin writes, the biggest reason to force us back to the office is to get a bunch of us to quit:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/26/in-their-plaintive-call-for-a-return-to-the-office-ceos-reveal-how-little-they-are-needed

As one of Musk's toadies put it in a private message before the Twitter takeover, "Sharpen your blades boys. 2 day a week Office requirement = 20% voluntary departures":

https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/29/elon-musk-texts-discovery-twitter/

The other reason to spy on us is because they don't trust us. Remember all the panic about "quiet quitting" and "no one wants to work"? Bosses' hypothesis was that eking out a bare minimum living on from a couple of small-dollar covid stimulus checks was preferable to working for them for a full paycheck.

Every accusation is a a confession. When your boss tells you that he thinks that you can't be trusted to do a good job without total, constant surveillance, he's really saying, "I only bother to do my CEO job when I'm afraid of getting fired':

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

As Wells Fargo United notes, Wells Fargo employees like Denise Prudhomme are spied on from the moment they set foot in the building until the moment they clock out (and sometimes the spying continues when you're off the clock):

Wells Fargo monitors our every move and keystroke using remote, electronic technologies—purportedly to evaluate our productivity—and will fire us if we are caught not making enough keystrokes on our computers.

The Arizona Republic coverage notes further that Prudhomme had to log her comings and goings from the Wells Fargo offices with a badge, so Wells Fargo could see that Prudhomme had entered the premises four days before, but hadn't left:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2024/09/23/wells-fargo-employees-union-responds-death-tempe-woman/75352015007/

Wells Fargo has mandated in-person working, even when that means crossing a state line to be closer to the office. They've created "hub cities" where workers are supposed to turn up. This may sound convivial, but Prudhomme was the only member of her team working out of the Tempe hub, so she was being asked to leave her home, travel long distances, and spend her days in a distant corner of the building where no one ventured for periods of (at least) four days at a time.

Bosses are so convinced that they themselves would goof off if they could that they fixate on forcing employees to spend their days in the office, no matter what the cost. Back in March 2020, Charter CEO Tom Rutledge – then the highest-paid CEO in America – instituted a policy that every back office staffer had to work in person at his call centers. This was the most deadly phase of the pandemic, there was no PPE to speak of, we didn't understand transmission very well, and vaccines didn't exist yet. Charter is a telecommunications company and it was booming as workers across America upgraded their broadband so they could work from home, and the CEO's response was to ban remote work. His customer service centers were superspreading charnel houses:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#sociopathy

That Wells Fargo would leave a dead employee at her desk for four days is par for the course for the third-largest commercial bank in America. This is Wells Fargo, remember, the company that forced its low-level bank staff to open two million fake accounts in order to steal from their customers and defraud their shareholders, then fired and blackballed staff who complained:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/26/495454165/ex-wells-fargo-employees-sue-allege-they-were-punished-for-not-breaking-law

The executive who ran that swindle got a $125 million bonus:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/09/wells-fargo-ceos-teflon-don-act-backfires-at-senate-hearing-i-take-full-responsibility-means-anything-but.html

And the CEO got $200 million:

https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/21/investing/wells-fargo-fired-workers-retaliation-fake-accounts/index.html

It's not like Wells Fargo treats its workers badly but does well by everyone else. Remember, those fake accounts existed as part of a fraud on the company's investors. The company went on to steal $76m from its customers on currency conversions. They also foreclosed on customers who were up to date on their mortgages, seizing and selling off all their possessions. They argued that when bosses pressured tellers into forging customers on fraudulent account-opening paperwork, that those customers had lost their right to sue, since the fraudulent paperwork had a binding arbitration clause. When they finally agreed to pay restitution to their victims, they made the payments opt-in, ensuring that most of the millions of people they stole from would never get their money back.

They stole millions with fraudulent "home warranties." They stole millions from small businesses with fake credit-card fees. They defrauded 800,000 customers through an insurance scam, and stole 25,000 customers' cars with illegal repos. They led the pre-2008 pack on mis-selling deceptive mortgages that blew up and triggered the foreclosure epidemic. They loaned vast sums to Trump, who slashed their taxes, and then they fired 26.000 workers and did a $40.6B stock buyback. They stole 525 homes from mortgage borrowers and blamed it on a "computer glitch":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/29/jubilance/#too-big-to-jail

Given all this, two things are obvious: first, if anyone is going to be monitored for crimes, fraud and scams, it should be Wells Fargo, not its workers. Second, Wells Fargo's surveillance system exists solely to terrorize workers, not to help them. As Wells Fargo United writes:

We demand improved safety precautions that are not punitive or cause further stress for employees. The solution is not more monitoring, but ensuring that we are all connected to a supportive work environment instead of warehoused away in a back office.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/27/sharpen-your-blades-boys/#disciplinary-technology

[hadiasuudb]

🆘🆘🆘Don't skip, please help you improve your health!!🆘 🍉 🇵🇸.

Hello, my name is Hadia Saud. I lost my husband, Moamen Akl, the bodybuilding champion

We lived a happy life, we had a house and a gym. He participated in international tournaments held in Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, China and others and contributed to his winning many titles.

But since October 7, our club has been destroyed. Then my husband was martyred in an air strike, and after that my mother, who worked in an institution that exploited her private needs, was martyred. “I lost my father, who was a tailor, and my brothers as well, and now I take care of my younger brothers.” Talaat (15 years old), Khalil (14 years old), Ritaj (10 years old), Sobhi (9 years old), and Tayseer (6 years old) suffered an eye injury that required an expensive surgery. Zahra (5 years old) never stops resisting psychological pressure and bedwetting.

We are now in northern Gaza and we suffer from a loss of security in food, drink, clothing and medicine

We are threatened with death every minute, from the continuous bombing that has not stopped.

Since October 7, we have been displaced more than several times after being bombed. Our house was completely destroyed, and we are now in a school for displaced people. We suffer from skin diseases due to the lack of water and the lack of drinking water. There is no place for us in these crowded and displaced places, and there is no support for us and my brothers in the north.

I also need your donations so that we can escape death and travel for survival treatment, as travel costs are very high. Help me and my fellow children so that we can escape death and start over in a better place.

Please hope it grows

Every day I face a difficult life. There is nothing that I am still the support for my brothers in everything after my father and mother, and in everything in this life.

I try to provide some food for at least half of the morning every day for my brothers, and my battle to obtain clean drinking water, if any, is still ongoing, as we are on the cusp of a normal winter. How can I do this? Let us bring clothes and a cover to protect us from the cold weather

The daily struggle to survive in the hope of reaching a decent life. I address this request and ask for basic assistance for us in trying to travel for me and my brothers and to perform an urgent operation for my injured brother before he loses his eye.

These donations will be used for food and medicine and will be used for travel and treatment...

I endured this life like no one else did. Wrestling, days and my spirit to be steadfast for my brothers

I ask you to support me so that I can get rid of this fear that clouds my mind and thinking

Your donations and assistance can speak greatly in our lives

We thank you from our hearts for your generosity and support. I need your support to motivate us for the time, which will give me hope for me and all my brothers and end the difficulties until this collective gathering ends

🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘

Each (55 Swedish krona = 5 dollars)

100 dollars = 1100 kroner

It will make a difference 🙏🍉 Be the one to help us

Every donation can make a real difference and give us hope until this war ends.

Our team at #GazaVetters has rigorously vetted and approved this campaign, earning it a spot on our official list at #65 .

https://gofund.me/643f45d0

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

I’m by no means any sort of expert on any animal’s behavior so please feel free to ignore this random observation/ opinion.

But something I find interesting about people defending Moo Deng’s treatment is the frequent assertion that her keepers love her, as if that excuses everything. I honestly don’t doubt that her keepers love her, but that doesn’t mean their actions are appropriate.

To me it’s reminiscent of someone cornering and petting a dog against it’s will because “I just LOVE dogs!!!”. Loving the animal doesn’t mean you can’t inadvertently harm them with your actions.

Idk, I just have a lot of feelings on this and this was my attempt to sum them up. Hope it makes some sort of sense 😅

Oh yeah tell me about it! I appreciate you sharing this because I feel like I'm going insane when I see people being given the same information as I have and drawing a totally different conclusion from it.

Like... it's not okay just because they harass her a little bit. That's... not how that works.

Also I find the "trust the keeper" argument super ironic coming from someone who worked with dolphins - the species in human care that EVERYONE has an opinion on. And you'll tell people "hey, trust me on this. I see these dolphins every day. They participate in their own health care and don't do something if they don't want to. They are objectively in good welfare based on all the current data we have of what that looks like. I do behaviour records every day to prove this. And if I didn't think they were doing well, I'd be fighting tooth and nail to improve their lives or I would leave my job." (which I have done, btw)

And I'll still be told I'm enslaving dolphins and I do it for the money (when it was free labour - yay for animal industry exploitation - or absolutely bugger all). Trust the keeper... unless I watch a biased documentary packed full of misinformation. Then I know *more* than the keeper will and the keeper is just a moron who doesn't need a science degree and years of unpaid internship experience for this job!

But if it's a cute animal that has no preconceptions established of their welfare in human care? It's free game to coo over. Sure the keeper just dropped that squirming, panicking baby hippo he was trying to force into a tub! But he has so much experience because someone on reddit said so! It's actually all just desentisation! (not how desensisation works ever)

Can you tell I'm frustrated? Yeah...

Anyway I am usually the first in line to defend a zoo and their keepers - I know it's not easy to work in a zoo that's underresourced or in an education vaccum. But I'm going to call out bad handling when I see it. Especially when it's reinforced by social media clout and is being encouraged to continue by people justifying it as "desenitisation" or "actions of an experienced keeper."

[dakyaire]

New Cookie Run Kingdom update preview(for people who don't understand korean)

Before I continue, please consider some things: I'm not the best with korean, so I may have missed various things. Furthermore, I skimmed through the whole livestream because it was 2 hours long, so that might have also caused me skip some stuff.

Another thing before I begin:

COUPON CODE: KINGDOMLIVE2409

Coupon code that's active right now! Go use it asap!

edit: Link to coupon website

Now, to start:

First off, Burning Spice:

Looking at the flaming wheel, it seems just like Mystic flour, Burning Spice will have design changes with promotions.

This also popped up so I assume that you will be able to get this for your mycookie. They will also have more mycookie accesories related to GCC(didn't screenshot, sorry)

Here's a picture of the soulstone

Second, new cookies and costumes:

Tiger Nutmeg(I think, from the leaks) and Smoked Cheese will arrive. However, note that the bottom caption says that THREE epic cookies are coming in this update, so just wait and see.

Then there's the epic costumes on the right, which I have no idea what theme it's based off of; it's probably not related to this update.

These concept arts were also shown. Moonlight and Frost Queen will both be getting legendary grade costumes in december.

This picture, you may have seen before from Braveverse or from other reposts. It was said on stream that from this picture, Gingerbrave, Sea Fairy and Wind Archer will be getting costumes in 2025. The other two will not get it due to complications(?)(also considering that FSC isn't in kingdom yet...)

Golden Cheese Cookie will also be getting an awakened form. It says taht as long as you participate in the event, you will get Awakened GCC for free guaranteed.

Third, new Beast Raid:

It says that it's a destructive god that consumes fear on the small text.

Beast Raid will also be getting a Master Difficulty, with an exclusive design for the monster too.

Fourth, future plans:

Still under development, there will be an update that will release many new epics and a story related to it. This is also related to arena. I skimmed this part too much cuz I couldn't understand it well, I apologize.

There will also be a new mode called cookie adventure. This is still in development. You can probably tell what it is.

For the upcoming anniversaries, the devs plan on releasing two major characters: for the 4th, Shadow Milk cookie. For the 5th, Dark Enchantress Cookie.

The list in the middle reads:

(20)25 improvement items:

improvement on kingdom production

island decorations

mine(?)

Champions League

More guild content

MyCookie Battle

(they explained some stuff for SMC but I couldn't understand well...)

There will also be this thing. It says "Island decorating" on the top.

Translation: Let me randomly decorate islands with various vegetation. It's small but it's my own precious space. Let's go to (my) friend's island.

I think that's all the major things! There were SO MANY small but promising improvements that I couldn't add, I'm sorry! The small things that I can recall were better rewards, new improvements in arena, guild, and kingdom(+ etc.), and also better chances for rarer characters(ancients, beasts, etc.).

Please let me know if I missed anything! I'll be happy to add more.

Livestream link here:

[stolenviolet]

I saw in your baby death au story explanation that Harry can't sleep alone unless he has the doors open (correct me if I'm wrong). If I'm correct, does that mean Voldemort and Harry sleep in the same bed sometimes? And if not, how did Voldmort notice the specifics something like that?

Ah, good question!

He can sleep alone, but not very well (the door being open helps a bit but overall he just needs someone there with him). Even when he got his own room at the Dursley's, he had Hedwig to keep him company.

And like I said, there's no 'sleeping' together for quite a while, so how DID Voldemort notice?

The short answer:

They live in the same house (an agreement that was reached by the two of them, more for convenience sake, as they raise Thomas) so it would be odd if Voldemort hadn't noticed it eventually.

The long answer:

During the first two or three years of living under the same roof, Harry never slept anywhere besides the nursey. At first, Voldemort chalked it up as some sort of paternal instinct to protect Thomas. (most likely from Voldemort himself) However, while retiring to his own chambers in the evening, he always found it curious that Harry would leave the door slightly cracked.

'Would it not make more sense to have the door closed?,' he thought, 'The sound of it opening would surely be enough to wake him if someone were to enter the room...'

He shook his head, 'Perhaps the boy was clever enough to cast the appropriate spells to do so instead.'

He tested this theory once by walking into the room late one night and standing directly by the crib. Annoyingly, Harry never did stir from his slumber on the chaise lounge he had claimed in lieu of an actual bed. Both him and the baby remained fast asleep, completely unaware of the powerful wizard looming in the darkness so close by.

Voldemort honestly didn't know whether to be insulted (as he was clearly not viewed as a threat) or disappointed in the fact that there were, indeed, no protection or alarm spells in the room.

A problem he quickly remedied himself for the sake of the spawn's well-being, as it appears his 'Ma' would not be roused if an intruder were to somehow break past the home's already impressive wards.

And so Harry continued to sleep in the same room as his son, with the door slightly ajar, until Thomas was old enough to have his own bed.

This is when Voldemort began to notice that Harry did not take well to sleeping alone at night.

He would often find the 'boy-who-lived' looking quite dead on his feet, with heavy bags under his eyes, constantly drifting in and out of conversations.

After a good two or so weeks of this, Voldemort had finally had enough and decided to confronted him. Unsurprisingly, he was quickly brushed off, and the subject was changed almost immediately. No matter how many times he tried, he was always met with the same sort of response.

'Why do you even care?'

'Yes, I'm getting enough sleep. Stop asking, it's weird.'

'So what if I get nightmares, your probably the cause of most of them anyway!'

'I'm fine! Don't you have an animal or person or-or something to go torture other than me? Just-...just leave me alone...'

Needless to say, this was getting him no where and apart from drugging the boy with a sleeping draught every night, Voldemort was almost at his wits end.

That was unit one morning Harry came down from his room for breakfast looking fairly well-rested with a chipper-than-normal attitude.

Voldemort was puzzled.

What had changed? Did he just have one good night without anything haunting his dreams? Surely that was bound to happen at some point, but it was unlikely to be a regular occurrence.

However, weeks ticked by and Harry's eyes seemed brighter and his mood rapidly began to improve. He even started to engage in somewhat pleasant small talk when the two found themselves alone for more then five minutes at a time.

It was all very welcome and highly suspicious.

So, being the curious man that he was, Voldemort decided it was once again time to lurk about in the middle of the night for the cause of this sudden change in behavior.

And what he found, as he stood in the threshold of Harry's room, took him by surprise.

There, on the plush four poster bed coiled up next to his sleeping prophesized enemy, was Nagini.

Sensing his presence, she raised her large head to regard her master, who remained fixed in the doorway.

'Master's mate was in dire need of comfort. Nagini has decided she will be the one to provide it.'

Voldemort did not correct her, too busy trying to determine what exactly he was feeling in that moment to give her a proper response.

'...He is also very warm and a far better cuddler than master.'

That snapped him out of his thoughts long enough for him to huff out a quick, 'Don't be rude, Nagini.' To which she replied with a series of hisses that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

He sighed, and foolishly hoped she didn't notice the darkening of his cheeks.

'Very well, you may continue to provide...comfort. Thank you, my Nagini.'

She nodded once and went back to resting her head next to Harry's on his pillow.

He stayed in the doorway a while longer, observing the last two pieces of his soul huddled close to one another, before finally turning to walk silently back to his own room.

--

Nagini: you suck at cuddling and you're a terrible mate.

Voldemort:

--

Thanks for the ask, anon! ❤️

[x3dh]

Payton Gendron's Protips

Protip: at the day of the attack roll the driver car seat all the way back and have the seat slightly angled so you can shoot from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock, shooting to the left is impossible to do without physically getting up and sitting on the middle console. Don't even attempt to shoot at your 8 o'clock unless in passenger seat. Can shoot in all positions while holding gun as a right dominant. Also when taking shotgun from the seat, raise the gun first then bring it out so it doesn't get stuck, and have the passenger seat all the way back without headrest for maximum coverage.

Protip: when adding the RAM cards make sure it is all the way seated, this may take more force than you would think.

Protip: Around blacks don't relax

Protip: when shooting always wear appropriate shooting glasses, ear plugs and ear muffs, I understand its a bit annoying but trust me, its worth it

Protip: with earpro get high cuts that can attach to the helmet.

Protip: Make sure you have the right tools for the job, I tried unscrewing the bolts by using my gerber multi tool and thumb for 40 minutes until I decided to get 2 small screwdrivers from my dad's toolbox, which got the the bolts off in 5

Protip: For a long barreled rifle or shotgun, get a decent 1 piece cleaning rod made of carbon fiber. Aluminum rods suck and break easily, and rods that come apart have too many weak points. The cleaning rod I use is a cheap hoppes one but if I were to continue cleaning guns for life then I would get a one piece

protip: dont put oil in your mags, it will only attract junk

protip: actually test ya guns and bombs for function before making an attack, otherwise you look retarded

Protip: Pedophilia is NEVER ACCEPTABLE or JUSTIFIABLE, If you lust for children then please seek therapy.

Protip: Dont do drugs

Protip: Record your answers and passwords in a secure place, also if you forget your password make sure to write down each attempt so you don't type the same false password twice

Said this before but protip: Be there for your children

Protip: Be prepared for shit to happen

Protip: For ICW plates ALWAYS use the proper backing material.

Protip: BE THERE FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND NEVER MAKE THEM FEEL BAD FOR COMING TO YOU

Protip: Make sure to take care of yourself and personal items. It might seem easy to just be lazy and not but trust me you're life will be so much better. Exercise, brush your teeth, and clean yourself often. Same thing applies with cars and such too, they're investments and can last you for a long time if you take care of it

Protip: Do not stay in an unmoving car. Be aggressive when fighting in the store

Protip: NEVER shoot someone else's reloads, and know what is reloaded and what is not reloaded ammunition

Protip: Don't buy chinesium gun parts, there is NO actually good quality anonidized red parts, or decent scopes from NCstar. You are just wasting money that can be saved up for actually decent gun parts

Protip: NEVER stick your finger in the chamber when there is a bolt under pressure behind it, you will somehow fuck your finger up

Protip: Test your equipment and make sure they work properly. John Earnest apparantly had a jam in his gun that he didn’t even shoot before. Stephen Balliet’s luty didn’t function properly as well. Brenton had one failure to extract but he was quite smart and got it out quickly.

Also look at what people did before tou, I’m trying to find info on other mass shooters and see what they did and what to improve on. r/masskillers is very helpful. Imagine if I went in on March 15 not knowing my gun wasn't properly lubed and I had a failure to feed on every shot I took, that would be quite embarrassing

Protip: don’t go in areas where blacks are the majority.

Protip: Don't cheap out, make sure to get GOOD quality parts. Spending money on worse parts will likely leave you dissatisfied and with less money that could have rather been towards higher quality parts.

Protip: "extra spring power" magazines are a SCAM. Just get the standard power ones or magazines from a reliable company and you will be fine

Protip: Shit happens and you can't change the past, but you can learn from it. Don't try to make the same mistakes twice.

Oh and protip: bullets point upwards after going through a front car windshield

Protip: Don't put excessive use on your gloves, don't do stupid things like hip fire a traditional shotgun with them, do not abuse them

Protip: Don't abuse your gear. Take care of them and they will take care of you

Protip: Don't buy strange cheap ammo. You may be satisifed with the price but the quality you will not. | think the cheapest you should go is wolf/tula/barnaul steel case ammo. For example: Don't buy Romanian or Guatemalan shit. Then again maybe that's not applicable at your time. Steel case ammo is going out the door soon cause fag governments

Protip: keep it to yourself and there are no problems

Protip: Get good quality sleep, you're day will be much better. It may be easy to just stay up consoooming on your phone or something, but it will be worth it

Also protip: you never really learn something until you talk about it or teach it to someone else

Prove to me that white genocide isn’t real, prove to me that blacks are equivalrnt in the brain to whites, prove to me that the elite has any other goal than to line their pockets with cash. Protip: you can’t. I’m not delusional, I am only saying the truth

Protip: DO NOT use rifle bore solvent that is 40 years old, it will coat your barrel and turn it brown, idk if that's dangerous but it doesn't look right

OH, and protip: you always get more for yourself by helping other people

Protip: ALICE webbing should be on the outmost of your body, it doesn't work underneath a plate carrier

Oh and protip: Record everything you can and continue making memes and other shitposts, like you already do. Thanks guys G\

x

[byoldervine]

Writing Tips - Plan Out Your Editing

I don’t just mean once you get to that stage; I’m not done with my first draft yet and have no instant need to worry about editing yet

I mean that, while you’re in the drafting stage, you should make a mental note (or even a physical one, ideally!) of things that you’ll want to look out for when you come back to it with an editing mindset. It can be easier to catch some of these things in the moment because you’re already there and seeing what’s working and what isn’t

Don’t be shy to make a list of everything as you go; not worrying about editing until it’s time to edit can also mean writing down your concerns so that you can take them off your mind a little as you continue. There’s nothing wrong with making your editing job a little easier down the line when you already have ideas of what to look out for

My personal plan once I reach the editing stage is to start with a very brief edit of each chapter - just correcting SPAG mistakes or making those single sentence improvements or whatever - while also making notes of any big changes I want to come through and make. Then once I address a general edit, I’ll go back through everything and focus on the specific overarching issues I’ve noted down, such as maybe pacing or character voice or something like that. I want it all to be planned out so I’m not just aimlessly reading back through it not knowing what needs changing

[hxlcyon]

i love my piano professor SM

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

I imagine barnaby trying to be all cool and flirting with howyd subtly but his smoke gives him away fjsns

he thinks he's smooth smh...

[unironicallytes]

Whenever you see an old post of mine that bears the sentiment "I haven't played ESO, I'm not really interested in an Elder Scrolls MMO tbh lol" know that I was wrong. I was a fool and I was wrong.

[lord-squiggletits]

Y'know the thing about writing feral/unhinged versions of Orion/Optimus, is that you can't go too far into the feral/unhinged direction to a point where OP's core character traits are lost or become too diminished. After all, in a multiple-continuity franchise like TF, part of what makes the stories make sense is that even if details change (sometimes major details), the characters are still recognizably themselves to one degree or another. (Although this isn't always the case due to executive meddling or some characters being such blank slates from their initial G1 appearances that there's basically nothing to model them off of, but I digress.)

It's pretty much another reason why I love IDW1 Optimus, bc he literally is a canonical feral/unhinged Optimus who's unhinged as a direct consequence of who he is as a person and what he's been through. Like, he still has those fundamental character traits of trying his best to be moral and make good choices, trying to be a role model, etc, except after 4 million years of war and untreated depression he's basically holding onto his sense of self by his fingertips. So when he "goes feral" e.g. losing his temper and beating up/killing people or saying hurtful things, he's feral in a way that's directly tied to his normal personality and not just as a random quirk he has.

IDW OP's feral moments arise from the gaps between "Optimus' attempts to be who he thinks he needs to be" and "the reality of the world that he can't fix/seems to only make worse" that cause him to lose hope, or become cynical, or lose his temper. But in this case, the unhinged-ness makes perfect sense because it arises out of Optimus trying and failing to be the best person or to make the most morally good choices he's trying to make. Basically, the "feral/unhinged" label is just another way of me trying to say that he's not just unhinged because he's weird or because he's a bad person, but because it's an emotional reaction (more like an emotional explosion due to pent-up emotions) to the context he exists in.

I'd also say that IDW OP's personality being generally reserved/stoic and (trying to be) noble works in tandem with those moments he has of going feral because it makes him more realistic. His psyche is treated in a way where the writers are like, "Hey what if the pressure of having to be everyone's idol and be the best person in the galaxy at all times actually broke Optimus down mentally and emotionally?" It makes IDW OP far more relatable. Instead of naturally being a perfect Christ-like figure who never wavers in his morals or convictions and is just naturally a nice person who always has the wisest and best answer, being a good person is something that IDW OP has to consciously strive to be. Even when he feels like it's useless, or the cycle of violence will never stop, or any attempts he makes to help only ends up with things becoming worse.

And I feel like this does a service not only to IDW Optimus as a character, but also as a sort of moral/philosophical perspective for the reader to ponder upon? I feel like culture at large (or at least my experience of it) tends to believe that "goodness" in a person is simply an innate feature that people are born/not born with, and that being "good" means that you must be good at all times, both in your actions as well as the way you feel emotionally about yourself and the world. Like, there's a tendency for our vision of "a good person" to be good in every aspect at all times without having to try to be a good person. So I think IDW Optimus' character stands as a good example of how someone can be good at heart but still struggle to maintain those feelings of optimism and hope and justice. It's a good idea to have such a paragon of a character (in-universe and out-of-universe) be so conflicted and to even be mistaken, misguided, or make things worse because it shows that goodness is as much about "trying to behave/act in a way that is good" and not just "existing as an innately good person."

It's way more realistic for a person to want to be good, try to be good, and sometimes/often fail than it is for them to just be a good person. I enjoy the fact that IDW Optimus is both a good person at heart, but also has to strive to be a good person and live up to other people's expectations of what they see in him. I like how he wants to be a good person and change society for the better, but he also spends a good amount of time either feeling hopeless and alone or being angry at/detached from other people because of how frustrated they make him. He's realistically portrayed as someone who wants to be good and hopeful and change things for the better, but is also mentally and emotionally broken by that burden because of how impossible it is for him to Fix Everything and be the Perfect Prime/Leader/Autobot that people see him as. It's this fascinating mixture of "yes, this is who he is as a person" but also "there are things he desires to be that he could never possibly become or live up to."

This got really far off based from feral/unhinged Optimus sdklfjaslkdlfkas. The TLDR is that if people want unhinged OP, I feel like they should give IDW OP a chance because he IS unhinged but he's unhinged in a way that's a realistic/thematic representation of how being an Absolute Good is impossible. And how being a good person isn't just about Existing And You Are A Good Person, but rather goodness is a constant state of flux in which you adjust, you make mistakes, you lose your temper and feel hopeless, but then you pick yourself up and try again.

Also IDW OP really likes climbing in dangerous wilderness and jumping out of flying vehicles which I think is very feral and sexy of him to do.

[mismefancy]

He suggested pancakes in the finale, so I'll draw pancakes for the father and daughter. : )

I'm not really in the Hazbin/Helluva fandom nor do I consume their content as often. There is also the fact the fact their type of content isn't my usual content...

But you know the drill: Family stuff convinces me of anything, lol. Lucifer became an instant favourite character of mine. He was absolutely hilarious to watch, his relationship with his daughter made me emotional, and his song "More than anything" absolutely wrecked me gosh darn it! :'D

And with the implication that he might become part of the main cast gives me so much excitement for season 2.

[creepyscritches]

Man it is worth pointing out that the ACA is a living piece of legislation. Like every year updated protocols and guidelines release to the whole industry from CMS (gov oversight) and I educate professionals in my field on the changes each time. It was built intentionally to be an evolving and improving system that can handle more and more people each year. The ACA is not a stone tablet; it's an arm of federally protected benefits like Medicare that is inherited and maintained and built up by sequential administrations. It is WORKING, it's so reassuring to see it become so intertwined with our American health care model that an entire wing of the industry is now dedicated to the ACA.

Yeah, we want a better health care system, of course we do!! That's why so many people dedicate their careers to supporting the ACA!!! THIS is the fish crawling onto land that can eventually become a health care system that treats us with dignity. We just have to keep evolving it into a more equitable and accessible option. I vote with my head mostly tuned into future health care + research policies and it makes my goals much clearer. Biden has spent 2 separate administrations leading the Cancer Moonshot research funding initiative that has contributed significantly to the boom in cancer breakthroughs. Trump suggested we drink bleach for covid. I trust one significantly more than the other to continue funding ACA and NIH initiatives and interests 🤷

[monster-noises]

Anyone out there got a solution for when you're feeling really stuck with your art and everyone and their mother tells you the solution is to do studies and figure drawings and other such things but even just thinking about doing those things makes you Spiral and want to Kill Yourself?

[britneyshakespeare]

i know i've been very culty on here about period underwear and reusable period products in general whenever i've brought up the topic in the last year or so but i mean it sincerely. i have never spent my money on a product that just simply improved my life so much. game-changing isn't even the beginning of it. i look forward to how much better my periods are now since i no longer have to depend on gross disposables. period underwear is the shit

[b4kuch1n]

dedramatization

transcript

this is, indeed, fanart for @metanoia-blues! just straight up aped a whole scene from the latest episode (ep. 70) to draw into comic form lol. what a time I chose to join back in on the journey