#not 100% confirmed for this campaign but also pretty much

[spikeinthepunch]

2023 pup baby!!!

[szhmidty]

They are closing ranks around the confirmed pornbot

Hm, I'm not sure "confirmed" pornbot is the appropriate language here. The blog in question was known to post porn and known to send sugar daddy messages to random people.

There are real users who do that. If you run a porn blog, you'll run into them. The sticking point for me was that @honoratacarnage, the user who highlighted the sugar daddy spam, is not a porn blog: they're an art blog, and pretty much entirely SFW from what I can tell. Real users who want to roleplay as a sugar daddy don't generally spam random blogs with those messages; it's a waste of time. They spam other porn blogs run by young women, since those young women are more likely to be receptive to such messages. Like, the language "you’re pretty enough to be my sugar baby" just doesn't make sense when I don't think honoratacarnage has ever posted a photo of themselves (I checked their blog archive; there are no photos of them in the photos section). That, to me, heavily implies a bot or scammer who's fishing.

The real smoking gun would be to get a look at the kinds of porn basel-1995 was posting. Pornbots will post what is basically link spam: post after post after post of generic porn with links to cam sites or the like. Real users will sometimes reblog these --- sometimes the generic porn is just good --- but even then it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a bot and a real user from a cursory glance.[1] But, without that smoking gun, I don't think I can be 100% certain they're a bot.

Bot or not, I do think it's fair to call them a scammer. Scattershot "Pretty Babygirl, I Want To Be Your Sugar Daddy" is a common scam tactic: you ingratiate yourself with flattery and promises of money, get their bank details under the guise of needing it to wire over the money, and run off with as much as you can get. I've known people who fell for it, and scams like it. The difference between a scammer and bot is academic in this context; either way I don't think they should be on the vetted list.

But I don't run the list, I don't like how the list is promoted and organized even if I approved of the vetting process, and one of the vetters claims to have a contact in Gaza who can vouch for basel-1995. It's weird and messy. Without being able to audit their process myself, I'm not confident their vetting process actually works, and the whole thing is half moot for me since I believe I can do more good by just donating to aid organizations anyway.

If you do want to donate directly to a palestinian's crowdfunding campaign, I would suggest looking into Operation Olive Branch or Gaza Funds. I can't exactly vouch for either vetting process either, but it's a safe bet each has more resources to vet than random tumblr blogs do, and I'm not aware of any funds that are extremely likely to be scams on their lists.

Also, counter-intuitive as it may be, find a fund that is near completion to donate to.

1: This is actually an irritation of mine. People will get really upset about blank blogs following them, accusing them of being bots. Blank blogs aren't bots: the point of a bot is to generate links for people to click on and follow. They're there for SEO spam and brute forcing engagement through volume. A blank blog doesn't do that. The blank blogs are just lurkers, which is fine. Let them be while they get comfortable and they'll start posting and putting up a real bio/blog header when they feel like it.

[wrongcaitlyn]

i know i would have been campaigning soooo hard for nico to get egot status. ALSO him getting that tony for something similar to hadestown makes so much sense i think that’s actually pretty doable for him. maybe him getting it from being involved in a original score ??

also about tlt musical being snubbed at the tony’s was the worst thing ever!!! chris mccarrell 100% deserved that nomination, the fact that his category only had 1 nominee just proves that they did not want him to win at all

lowkey i might end up not making it a full sequel, but just like a one or two shot epilogue sort of thing?? bc the more i think abt it, the more i NEED nico to get egot status. like he just is THAT guy

ik that writing a musical is very very different from writing a song/album but i think he’d def do it right, probably coming up with the concept on his own and then reaching out to someone who’s written musicals before/knows what they’re doing (aka not me, which is probably my biggest reason for being hesitant abt confirming a third long fic in the series)

and LITERALLY I WAS LOOKING IT UP BEING LIKE??? IT WAS LITERALLY ONE OF THE ONLY OPTIONS FOR A NOMINATION, THE ONLY ONE FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, AND IT DIDNT GET IT??? i mean ive only listened to a few of the songs on the soundtrack (again, not rlly a musical theater person, just personal taste i mostly stick to pop😭) but imo it def deserved it :// rip to the tlt musical fans who have been in the trenches im new here😭😭

[topsurgerystuff]

Okay I’ve never actually posted my own, brand new post on the internet before so I’m kinda nervous but bear with me. I guess I’ll start by putting all my little links and such. I’m sure most people already know about these but fuck it what do I know.

The GALAP is where I got the therapist who gave me the little letter that tells them I’m trans. It’s got a list of therapists who have agreed to give out free letters that iirc are sorted by state. It’s down as of right now but it says they hope to be back up by April 30th 2024. I live in Texas so there was only one for me but she was real cool, she did the evaluation but made it clear that it was only because she legally had to and that she would give me the letter regardless, it was 100% free and it was over telehealth so I didn’t have to go anywhere.

https://www.thegalap.org/need-a-letter/directory

Folx Health does all kinds of stuff. They do gender affirming care as well as just regular doctor shit and they have guys in every state and they take a lot of insurance but their membership is SO GODDAMN EXPENSIVE. If you’re Jeff FUcking Bezoso well here you go I guess.

https://www.folxhealth.com/

Legacy Health is the same as Folx but much more affordable and only in Texas. Sorry if you don’t live in Texas.

https://www.legacycommunityhealth.org/contact-us/

Trans in the South is a directory of all kinds of trans-affirming health and legal service providers. It also has a guide on how to fund your transition and its got a list of grants you can apply for too. Never noticed that before, might do that shit.

https://southernequality.org/resources/transinthesouth/

Trans Legal Aid of Texas has volunteer attorneys that will help you get and do the paperwork to change all your legal info but you gotta live in Texas sorry sorry.

https://translegalaidtx.com/

Also I don’t have a link for them but Dr. Daniel Freet and Dr. Rachel Goldstein did my top surgery at Memorial Hermann. They did a great job, they were so nice to me, they didn’t question my decision at all and the whole experience start to finish was pretty nice. The wait was forEVER but they are really fucking busy and they’re booked like crazy so. Understandable. Unfortunately, the full cost of my surgery is ~$17,000 and my insurance, who initially said they would cover it, decided they would actually wait until we get the bill before deciding to cover it and since the bill arrived they’ve been dead silent but [screaming in agony] its fine. My incision scars are nice and straight, I have very little dog earing going on and its flattened over time. I’m a little chunky so that’s impressive. It’s only been 5 months and I have full mobility, it only took me about 2 months to get there. My nips are a little ugly but they are intact and they are recognizable as nips. More on that in a later post though. Overall, 10/10, would recommend. End post.

[shurlycurly]

Some things I had to say about the article that propably anyone will read but I want to say them out loud (I added some thoughts, yes I keep thinking about it)

1. I knew about this case back in may 2022 and started to read all I can about the accusations. By that time I was not a huge fan, only know him because of CMBYN and SN and praised his performance. Up to this point, I think that what we read about the AirMail article is a confirmation of some things his fandom has already said during those years:

- The lack of proof and inconsistencies of his accusers and how stalker one of them was from day one.

- The fact that his ex was part of the smear campaign and how a destructive person she is.

2. It also confirmed something that was pretty obvious, although some people believed it was not true: the affair, the cheating

- Was he a cheater? Yes he was, did he fucked up the marriage? I believe so but I think a relationship is about two people too. Thus, we would never know 100% what happened behind the scene. My conclusion is that none of them was a saint in the relationship, and it was toxic.

- Does it make him a bad, horrible despicable person? I think what it makes him is more a terrible partner, a toxic one, considering his explanation in the article about his other relashionships.

3. In the article it also stated things that were shocking and actually sad for me.

- The attempt of drowning: I have to say that when the "docu" was release last year I thought about how impactfull was going to be for him, mentally and emotionally. And that it could be the end for him, in terms that at some point we would wake up one day to find out he was gone. Well, by reading that he though about it, at the beginning of the scandal, really moved me.

- The sexual trauma he had as a child and how that leaded to his view of sex, it was really unfortunate. Was it a PR way to get forgiveness? As the article stated, is a common tactick, but I am not 100% sure it was the intention because also in the article, he stated that episode is not an excuse for his behaviour towards those women, it was more to find out the origin of his personal problems and the way he saw sex.

- I want to comment somthing here, since I have been reading about it yesterday: his sexuality. I think this topic is nobody's business. Whether some say the article is "forcing" readers to believe he is straight, to me, it is non sense. The article is not about his sexuality is about his personal traumas, issues, mistakes, his side of the story in terms of the accusations. When it was mentioned that "he had never had sex with a man" it was related to the colombian guy and Effie's comments.

4. About her ex, I might be honest, at the beginning I really was on her side. I mean, if you find out your husband cheated for so long, and started to have questionable behaviour and also is acussed of something so delicate. How would I feel? I would have felt terrible, disapointed, I wont even wanted to know about him anymore. But there are also some points:

-After reading about her and now confirming it through this article. My empathy for her dissapeared completely . In fact, I find her anmoying and somebody whose obsession to show her perfect-imperfect life makes her fake and irritating.

- Her way to react to everything: its really disapointing coming from someone who had everything on her side to be the smarter one. And it confirm the idea of "being older does not makes you more mature". Since she is older than him, but if she was mature or more clever she would have handle the situation better. Okey, as I said, the impact of a cheating specially after so many years can make you do things. He is the father of her children, embarrasing him for being a cheater would have been enough.

- But take it further to create this whole campaign for years and confabulate with the mistresses and accused him of r@p* and violance towards his children, leading to distroying his career, was too much.

- What I wonder is why? If you know your partner cheeted on you for years, why stay with him? Is more powerfull your intention to have the perfect family than separarte from a person that clearly does not love you anymore? Did he promissed he wont cheat again but keep doing it? Was it all about the money? We would never know for sure.

5. His process of healing. It is good to know that he is working on It, that he made peace with himself and his is finding his way to have a normal living. It Is his right, even after his wrongdoings, he has the right to start over and make a reflextion of this actions. Is people going to forgive him? I dont think so nor I think he should care about that. if he is fine is enough because unfortunatelly people in sm are toxic.

6. About the way he reflected on his actions. I think it is mature from him to take responsability. That is what anyone who made mistakes should do, but here I have some comments:

- I do not understand how people are mad or critize him. What did they expect? That he accepted he rape people, that he is cannibal? The article was his side of the story, and explain his version and supported it with information. Is the same way those women have done the last 2 years.

- About his comparison with RDJ and others. I think every story is different but in general I understand that what he meant was that those people struggle but at the end they change and are better now.

- there is one thing I did not like about and it was the "hero' death" comment. I like Armie. He seems like a genuine, honest person who had and is dealing with his issues. But I dont think it was good to compare his situation to "heros's death" since it make it look like he is the "hero" which clearly he wasn't nor isn't. Jus saying that you have to hit rock bottom to later start again for good would have been enough.

7. His friends. I have read that some questioned the way his friends commented about Armie. In my personal opinion, his friends are good ones. If I were one of his friends I would definetely talk to him and tell him how an ashole he was, I would even being disapointed, in addition to the fact that I would asking him if he raped somebody or not. Even more, if I warned him and at the end did the opposite, I would tell him "I told you". Does it make me a bad friend? I dont think so. A bad friend would have been if I leave him alone, or didnt support him, didn't try to help him to understand that what he did was wrong. A true friend tells you when you fucked up, but that does not mean they will leave you. I think they are those kind of friends.

8. About his career. I wish he come back. As I said I really like the way he act. For me, he has the qualities to be a good actor and he loves it. (The part that really broke me was when he said: "they didnt want me to act, but also they dont want me to have a normal life either"). In addition, I think:

- if that happen or not we dont know. Many did not like him before the scandal, less they do now. There is nothing he can do and I dont think HW would do anything.

- If Luca or any independent director cast him would be really nice. Based on his performances, he perfomes better on this type of films than the big budget ones.

- But at the same time, I think: if I were him and after being treated that way in the industry I work for 10 years, would I really wanted to comeback? If so I would have to see all those people who turn their backs on me or make fun of me or did not say anything when I needed the most. Personally I would felt weird.

9. About the reaction of people and the media. Well there is not too much to say:

- Show biz media really covered the most controvertial things, left aside the most important parts. In general, they kept the same narrative otherwise they would be seem as unbias and as bad journalism. Does it surprised me? Nop.

- But what I really congratulate Armie is for not choosing them as the media to release his side of the story. It was pretty smart I might say. I enjoy the idea of how Variety, Hollywood reporter and the rest might have been feeling to find out that he give the exclusive to the AirMail.

- about the people, well it does not suprised me how hypocrites people are in sm. The way they wish him d*ad and do not want to hear the side of his story, confirm how less interested are in knowing the whole picture compared to how eager are to distroy people.

10. About justice, I hope those people get the consecuentes of their actions. It is not fair for the Metoo movement and any sa survivor to have people who stained the cause and such delicate matter for their convenience and mental problems. Armie said he emotionally abused those women therefore he is paying the consecuences. It is time for the rest to get the same.

In general it was an interested article and I am really happy that he decided to talk. It was his right and also I think it was necessary.

If people believe him or not, that is another story.

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 2 episode 8: echo tree OR more like incel tree amirite

sam is the "nice melons" npc bc of course he is

imagine the twins using their old tricks to duck the guards and it doesn't work bc that was over a decade ago

hello Elf Guard Matt

"we're his children" (derogatory)

"I've known many people with money and titles. They are definitely not worth you."

VELORA

the twins are not immune to velora and neither am I

"your father will be pleased to see you" I doubt that

"if you'd notified me you'd be gracing us with your presence" has this man never heard of an emergency

"if you've come for my money - or my goats - I don't have any!" wilhand

"real vestments!" I don't know why that's so adorable to me but here we are

"did you forget to eat??" eating is one of the three things grog actually knows how to do

"hi, pop-pop. I fucked up" me every time I call my parents

"what can syngorn do for you?" directed very specifically at percy, fuck everybody else

oh I just realized he's probably shitty about keyleth too, since she's also a half-elf

a second-generation half-elf, at that

my partner: does he not realize vax is wearing deathwalker's ward me: he doesn't care, that's human shit

"do you have any idea the burden your sudden arrival has caused my family?" I regret to inform you that this is in fact also your family

and now we know what role vex played in this emotional abuse hellpit

"you might just wanna avert your eyes" she literally confirmed that grog's dick didn't get acided off for him

if that's how scanlan 'works both ends' I am terribly sorry for any of his partners

it took me three watches to realize he's whistling Pull My Beads Of Love

percy spending that whole meeting trying desperately to figure out which House he could give to Vex without Cass shanking him

"what does 'fuck you' mean?" little pitchers have big ears

(didn't they on-purpose teach her the word 'shit' in the campaign)

if we get byroden flashbacks are they gonna be exu-compliant

"somehow I feel like it hurt me more" relationships! with! abusive! parents! are! complicated!

ew, tree gunk

he finally called her stubby, I can die happy

I knew where they were going as soon as he said "stimulation"

big "not a good enough reason to use the word 'penetrate'" energy

I enjoy Transition Frog

garmelie: don't submit to his voice vex, already extremely emotionally compromised: ✔✔

look, I don't claim to be a perfect parent, but I don't think I could look at something a child made for me with their own two tiny little hands and just casually break it in front of them

not even just my child. any child.

yeah, come to think of it, even vax doesn't Get It, bc he never wanted syldor's approval, or at least got over the want very quickly.

(fun fact, every time I type or say "syldor" I have to force myself not to say "isildur"

look at this. this is insane. I'm obsessed with this shot.

the feywild is using all of percy's black powder, he better hope victor survived.

I'm glad we got the "if I could pull the blood of him from my veins" line but it was so, so good when she was yelling it at her dad

vax now is not the time to ask keyleth to touch your butt

"dear broken vex'ahlia" if the word 'broken' is literally in your proposal there might be something fucked up about it mb

vex: my heart is someone else's percy: oh? do I know them?

incel tree saundor

"how do you fight a tree?" with a druid

I reluctantly admit him making the arrows out of his palm is pretty cool

I also love a good upside-down arrow shot

vex Jungle Sliding for her life

god I love keyleth so much

the way it springs open inside the stab wound is A+

mala: of course it survived, bc percy 100% expected her to stab a man with it

"he is who he's always been" "I know. and so am I." I am foaming at the mouth over this, at vex knowing she needs to work on parts of herself before she can actually confront her dad

there is SO MUCH nuance and middle ground between "still being actively abused" and "full no-contact" but it's more viscerally satisfying to show the Salt The Earth Behind You fight instead of the long, slow, painful work of attempting reconciliation

tl;dr reconciliation is a thing and I wish more stories used it even though it's complicated and subjective

"I usually hate the theater"

"how did that appear? how did tvs just appear? and really old tvs, based on the make and the year?"

this motherfucker

"he killed me with them" grog backstory GROG BACKSTORY

westruun is my favorite arc okay, I apologize for nothing

[waitingforwinterwinds]

A Clash of Kings - 10 DAVOS I (pages 132-148)

Davos watches gods burn on the beach, then has an ale and gets a lore drop from Salladhor Saan before Stannis calls Davos to show off his attempt at a (100% true) smear campaign.

-

"Lord of Light, we offer you these false gods, these seven who are one, and him the enemy. Take them and cast your light upon us, for the night is dark and full of terrors." ... "For the night is dark and full of terrors,"Selyse and her queen's men replied. Should I speak the words as well? Davos wondered. Do I owe Stannis that much? Is this fiery god truly his own?

TNiDaFoT = 🥛🥛

... There's a heat wave here okay? I need all the hydration I can get. Water is just so quenchy. The quenchiest.

The burning gods cast a pretty light, wreathed in their robes of shifting flames, red and orange and yellow. Septon Barre had once told Davos how they'd been carved from the masts of the ships that had carried the first Targaryens from Valyria. Over the centuries they'd been painted and repainted, gilded, silvered, jeweled.

Why does this feel like some kind of ominous hint towards Dany and the followers of R'hllor? (And not in a "you like fire, I like fire, did we just become best friends?" kind of way. Even though there's the theory she's Azor Ahai, "beloved of R'hllor")

The Maiden lay athwart the Warrior, her arms widespread as if to embrace him. The Mother seemed almost to shudder as the flames came licking up her face. A longsword had been thrust through her heart, and its leather grip was alive with flame. The Father was on the bottom, the first to fall. Davos watched the hand of the Stranger writhe and curl as the fingers blackened and fell away one by one, reduced to so much glowing charcoal.

*Knowing Ned died first, Catelyn's fate, and that Jon's hand was burned pretty badly, combined with remembering once seeing a video essay on the Stark fam representing the Seven in some capacity:* I'm sure it's fiiiine. Not at all foreshadowing. *laughs nervously*

"Under the sea, smoke rises in bubbles, and flames burn green and blue and black," Patchface sang somewhere.

Still kinda sounds like an underwater volcanic region...

"As to that father," Dale said, "I mislike these water casks they've given me for Wraith. Green pine. The water will spoil on a voyage of any length." "I got the same for Lady Marya," said Allard. "The queen's men have laid claim to all the seasoned wood."

You'd think folks living on an island, would take better care of their sailors, but no. Classist snobs everywhere.

"Pirate," said Davos. "You have no wives, only concubines, and you have been well paid for every day and every ship." "Only in promises," said Salladhor Saan mournfully. "Good ser, it is gold I crave, not words on papers." He popped a grape into his mouth. "You'll have your gold when we take the treasury in King's Landing. No man in the Seven Kingdom's is more honorable than Stannis Baratheon. He will keep his word."

... so who wants to tell them about the 6 million gold debt the Crown (Littlefinger and Bobby B) accrued?

Also: it's not quite how i pronounce the name, but as I was reading, I just called Salladhor Saan 'Salad Whore' by accident.

... all this talk of Azor Ahai has given me the crackspiracies. At first I was like Burning blade + sword of light > Obi-wan Kenobi's lightsaber > Obi is Azor Ah... waaaait. AA killed his wife for power OH MY GOSH > Anakin Skywalker is Azor Ahai Confirmed!

🔍I've solved it, everyone else go home. (Joking)

When he thought of Nissa Nissa, it was his own Marya he pictured, a good-natured plump woman with sagging breasts and a kindly smile, the best woman in the world. He tried to picture himself driving a sword through her, and shuddered. I am not made of the stuff of heroes, he decided. If that was the price of a magic sword, it was more than he cared to pay.

Davos is just, such a good bloke. Good Husband, good father, good friend. At this point, I think he's got the best chance for Westeros' Best Father Ever award.

"- It seemed to me as I watched the fire this morning that I was looking at a dozen beautiful dancers, maidens garbed in yellow silk spinning and swirling before a great king. -"

*thinking of the tv show* Gasp! The Sandsnakes? That'd be a fun twist, it was a real vision, but an assassination and not a homage, or just not Stannis.

"When I was a lad I found an injured goshawk an nursed her back to health. Proudwing, I named her. (...) Time and again I would take her hawking, but she never flew higher than the treetops. -"

Awww, Proudwing has separation anxiety and a trauma induced fear of heights. Look at Stannis having a humanising moment... and then ruining it with his plotting.

[feathers-fallen-on-riverdale]

Season 1 Episode 3: Chapter 3 - Body Double GRUNDY'S CORPSE IN THE PALM OF MY-

[Ep. Statues: Already Watched/First Time Watching + Remember/Vaguely/Don't Remeber]

Cheryl you dramatic ass hoe. You literally just said "I'm guilty" in front of your entire class made a whole scene and only waited to elaborate until you got cuffed and taken to a secluded room???! This girl has zero brain cells she just fakes it till she makes it.

Also did they even read her her rights?

I WAS RIGHT HE WAS GONNA RUN AWAY. WITH POLLY(?).

I think she was pregnant but how could I have possibly forgotten such a big detail (says person who has forgoten all the big details up until now).

..... I don't remember much of Cheryl's parents (expect that Cheryl's mother was a dominatrix? Please tell me that's a hallucination) but wow from that 1 scene they said "Fuck subtlety. We are evil mustach twirling villains".

Okay but Alice seems to represent the very real treat of media coverage being pushed by a personal agenda to be a smear campaign.

HOWEVER I know the cw writers aren't that good, so this is a Supernatural brand of accidental good writing.

Fuck ya Archie lets goooo! Ignore Grunkle, confess what you know! Expose her!

Me when he didn't expose Grangle ^^^

Hold up Veronica's dating outside the polycule? I don't remember this!

Betty: Juggy 😘😍😍😊😊

Me:

I got past the cringe and into the emotional hits. Now it's 50/50

They bounce off each other well, they have half decent chemistry. Realising why the fandom fandom latched onto Bughead as the het ship of choice.

Also they are both bi4bi.

Chuck is being suspiciously nice. And they're really speed running this shit....

Okay Grungly not only are you being a crazy freak about Archie coming forward about information (which anybody would have applauded him for and he left your name out) but you're using your power dynamic to punish him for it? Get the fuck out. This woman makes my skin crawl.

"Sticky maple, it's exactly what it sounds like." Mmmmh no it's not. That doesn't elaborate anything at all. Man allos are..

I'm feeling a deep seated glee at Veronica's reaction and that Kevin and Betty 100% support her.

She just... burst in there. Okay. Love that for her! No hesitation no "omg she saw him naked and got all flustered" nah my girl just body slammed him outta the way like Cruella on a highway. Veronica road rages confirmed. Also.

SHE'S HOLDING BETTY'S HAND!

Wait so the first official use of "B & V" is by a slut shaming asshole named Chuck Clayton???? Okay.... how about no. And canon is what I want :)

But man I love the use of "B & V". Sounds like the name of a bed and breakfast. Hmmmm maybe after the show is over Betty and Veronica move to Vermont, open a charming B&B called "B & V's Bed and Breakfast" like another CW queer couple?

Love that Betty snapped at Chuck. Zero hesitation no longer gives half a shit about seeing a dick. Claws out for her girlfriend.

"The betas you dated in New York" ........... RED FLAG ALERT 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩also a really funny one cause you're probably thinking "who in their right mind talks like this"? And then you realise... yeah every teenage fuck boy.

I am actually so concerned. Please somebody talk to Weatherbee about getting these guys thier shots I think they've got rabies. Why the fuck else are they barking?

😑🤨 Doiley is giving alt-right redit incel.

"Anything you want *bites lip* except for my body"

The mf sitting beside her, just trying to graduate high school and get the hell outta here:

Ohhh the pussycats arc. Pretty sure 1 of them quits and bands with Archie.

Wasn't she like, the Gargoyle King's no. 1 groupie?

My support group maker Betty headcanon is being furthered here.

Cheryl??? Girl do you have a story you'd like to share with the class?

Me, pointing to the Cheryl Bitch-O'Meter ready to slide it higher: Honey you can't keep doing this. I can't defend you.

Cheryl: Sluts

I mean they (the writers) aren't doing this whole "we're gonna tackle a social issue experienced by teens, mostly girls" thing great per say, but the intent is there... I think. And it kinda hits when Ethel mentions that she went to the Principle and he didn't do shit.

Cheryl: Proof that what, boys will be boys?

Me, already adding 2 bow and arrows to the meter: yah no. That's enough. It's giving pick me girl

Jughead pulling a Batman got me going like, "oh no, my pathetic bi trans emo boys, they're multiplying".

Of fucking course the gun scare was caused by a fucking idiotic teen with unbridled access to firearms. God help me I don't live in a country where that's a problem but even I can pick up the subtext, it's hitting me in the face like a 2x4.

Okay the scene where Josie is like "you can't write our experience" and Archie is like "shit you're right my bad" is actually very good but ik for a fact that one shitty lyric suggestion from gingerbread later will flip that shit over so fast.

Aaaand I was right. Flipped so fast.

"Just how depraved is this town"

Like I promise you Veronica you're gonna wish it stopped it here.

"A B&E with B&V" lovely alliteration there Cheryl.

"Trev told Valerie, who told Josie, who told Ginger, who told Tina who told me". Okay damn. But far more realistic than I expected. It's a highschool there are no secrets. The only thing I simply refuse to believe is that that the chain of Chinese whispers is that solid or effective.

I wonder how many students hear about the wild shit this lot get up to and just go "Absoulty not. It's our circus sure. But I, as a monkey am not being paid enough for this. Or at all."

"Polly grew up too fast. I don't want to blah blah blah"

"I like it." Oh the helicopter mother damage it showing.

Okay who has a pool in that small a town?

OH the black bob wig my Absoulte Enemy.

Easy on the drinks there Alice- OH she just bitch slapped her huh? Now I feel like I'm just watching the real housewives.

Okay Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. Secret meeting at the masked ball I see you.

OH Fred. "What made you take such an interest in my son?" Get HER ASS FRED 🔪😡🤬

"Park avenue princess to cater waiter" exhibit ... idk H of reasons Alice is actually Karen; disrespect of customer service/servers.

😬 hold up. Thier drugging him?! And those are- okay. Who is writing these scripts??!

Betty... nah.

OH Fred Andrews... this show doesn't deserve you.

Betty, Betty. Denial is a river... ya know.

Okay but can we talk about the fact that only Hermione (Veronica's mom) showed up to negotiate with Weatherbee? Betty's mother? Not even in the shot. How much you will to get that she was willing to leave Betty high and dry, on her own, as an extra punishment.

"Betty and Veronica, now B&V, maybe forever, were forged" BERONICA SWEEP.

ANDREW. WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING.

FINALLY. THE BOMB HAS. GONE. OFF.

~

Archie ab shot count (per episode then added together per season): None this episode but we'll put an honourary 0.5 in there for Chuck.

Cheryl's Bitch-O'Meter: 🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹|🏹 I know this is supposed to be an episode of growth and what not. But the slut shaming and just... general *indicates vaguely* merits this in my opinion.

Is it a bird? A plane? No it's a new headcannon pulled right out of thin air! :

bi4bi Bughead

Veronica has road rage

B&V's B&B (destiel paralle)

Reddit incel Doyley

Tag list (you can ask to be added [or removed]: @youre-only-gay-once

[leonard-chia]

MDA 20009 Digital Communities Third Blog Post Week 7

Topic : What are the dangers of the reliance of social media for public health campaign ?

Hey there! 👋 Today, we're diving into the week 7 topic, lets start !

As social media takes over more aspects of our lives, it’s no surprise that it’s become a popular tool for public health campaigns. Social platforms offer massive reach, are super accessible, and make it easy to tailor messages for different audiences. But, as much as social media seems like a no-brainer for spreading health information, relying on it too much actually has some pretty big downsides. Let’s break down the risks and limitations of using social media as the main stage for public health messages.

1. Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation

Social media is everywhere these days, and while it’s a great way to stay informed, it also comes with a big downside: the rapid spread of misinformation about health.

Think back to the COVID-19 pandemic. As people searched for answers, social media exploded with posts about supposed cures and prevention methods, many of which had no scientific backing (Barua, 2020). These myths went viral so quickly that they often overshadowed accurate, trusted information, making it harder for people to know what to believe.

he intentional spread of false information, or "disinformation." Unlike simple rumours (Lewandowsky 2012), disinformation is often shared on purpose, sometimes for political or financial reasons.

A good example is how some anti-vaccine groups use social media to push misleading information about vaccines. Their posts create fear and doubt, which can lead people to skip vaccinations altogether. This kind of disinformation isn’t just misleading, it can actually harm public health by reducing vaccine uptake and putting more people at risk.

2. Echo Chambers and Confirmation Bias

Ever notice how social media tends to show us posts and videos that fit what we already believe? That’s no accident, it's the algorithms at work, creating what's called an "echo chamber." In these spaces, people mostly see content that reinforces their views, making it less likely they’ll come across or accept ideas that don’t align with theirs (Cabianca, Hammond & Gutierrez 2020).

This is a real challenge for public health campaigns, as it can limit how far accurate information spreads, especially when people are mostly seeing messages that reinforce their existing beliefs or even contradict health advice.I’ve seen this happen in my own life. Some people, for example, are extremely attached to certain perspectives and will debate passionately with others, insisting they’re 100% right. Take the case of some Chinese Malaysians who feel strongly if someone criticizes China, even though they were born and raised in Malaysia. It surprises me, as I’m also a Malaysian Chinese but don’t feel any strong personal connection to China; to me, what happens there isn’t really my business. It just goes to show how powerful

3. Privacy Concerns and Trust Issues

These campaigns often gather data to personalize their messages and reach the right people. But with growing concerns about privacy and data misuse, some folks find this approach a bit too intrusive, and it can create distrust. This has become especially relevant as people’s trust in social media companies has taken a dive in recent years.

So, a reminder always be cautious about what you share online! You may have good intentions, but not everyone on social media does. A little privacy and critical thinking before believe goes a long way.

4. Limited Access and Digital Divide

Social media is definitely a powerful way to spread messages, but it’s worth remembering that not everyone has easy access to it. According to (Petrosyan 2024) As of October 2024, there were 5.52 billion internet users worldwide, which amounted to 67.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.22 billion, or 63.8 percent of the world's population, were social media users. Yes its majority of us but still not all of us.

Many older adults, low-income families, and people in rural areas face challenges like limited internet access. Relying solely on social media for health campaigns could leave these groups out, meaning key health information might not reach everyone who needs it. This can limit a campaign's impact and inclusivity. So, before diving in, always have a backup plan in place to ensure everyone stays informed!

5.  Difficulty in Verifying Credibility

the challenges with social media is that anyone can post health advice, making it hard to keep track of reliable sources. Public health campaigns often have to compete with voices from non-experts, and it’s not always easy for people to tell the difference between credible info and unverified advice.

This can weaken a campaign’s effectiveness, especially if people end up following inaccurate information. So, remember to stay cautious—think carefully before believing everything you see on social media!

6. Overemphasis on Self-Promotion by Influencers

https://www.reddit.com/r/clevelandcavs/comments/2dsolj/lebron_does_the_als_ice_bucket_challenge/?rdt=39240

" Lebron James Ice bucket challenge"

Influencers are often brought on board to spread health messages in some campaigns. This can definitely help reach a wider audience, but there’s a catch. If influencers don’t really know the topic or focus more on self-promotion than accuracy, the message can get lost. Plus, if followers sense that an influencer is just doing it for a pay check, trust in the message can take a big hit. It’s a reminder to stay mindful—don’t underestimate how social media can sometimes lead us down the wrong path with misleading information.

Conclusion

Social media is a great tool for public health campaign outreach, but relying on it too much has its risks. To avoid these pitfalls, public health campaigns should make social media just one part of a bigger strategy. Combining it with traditional media, community engagement, and partnerships with trusted local organizations creates a balanced approach. This way, campaigns can reach more people, cut down on misinformation, and make sure important health information stays accessible and reliable.

Reference

Barua, Z, Barua, S, Aktar, S, Kabir, N & Li, M 2020, ‘Effects of misinformation on COVID-19 individual responses and recommendations for resilience of disastrous consequences of misinformation’, Progress in Disaster Science, vol. 8, no. 8, p. 100119.

Lewandowsky, S, Ecker, UKH, Seifert, CM, Schwarz, N & Cook, J 2012, ‘Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing’, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 106–131.

Cabianca, P, Hammond, P & Gutierrez, M 2020, ‘What is a Social Media Echo Chamber?’, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, viewed <https://advertising.utexas.edu/news/what-social-media-echo-chamber>.

Petrosyan, A 2024, ‘Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of July 2024’, Statista, viewed <https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/>.

[weaselbug]

my problems with all halo games i have played all the way through.

this shit has been weighing on me for the past few days because i have nothing else to do with my life right now because its summer and i have no summer classes.

but the original bungie halo games aren't masterpieces of story telling or gameplay. thats right I said it.

halo 1:

first four missions are fucking great. no issues, then after that. all the levels are either 1, re used (which I dont exactly have an issue with.) or 2, repetitive as all hell.

like, attack on the control room is legit the same room copy and pasted over and over again, same with two betrayals, and the library (which makes me want to quit every single time i play halo 1)

slow and most of the guns are overshadowed by the pistol. i like the pistol, but why the hell would i pick up most other guns when most enemies and players die to the pistol?

spawn camping is way too easy.

halo 2:

all the enemies either kill you in one hit, or are too large in number or both, and dont die fast enough.

since duel wielding exists, half of all the guns require you to do it without doing some sort of damage to someone.

some people might put this as a plus, but i really dont, the sword is inconsistent and annoying to use. you have no idea if you are going to get slingshot into next week or its going to do no damage. though through my experience its velocity, which is the dumbest thing to do with a sword.

stories pretty good, unless you forget about how the UNSC knew where prophet was hanging out.

the bosses are ok, they aren't really much different to any other enemy other than the fact they can kill you really fast, or are invincible.

this game feels slow, slow waiting for your shields to recharge, the movement speed, the gondolas and the elevators. it just feels like i could be shooting more bad guys but i'm waiting...

also the crunch for this game was so bad that its used THE thing on what not to do when making a game, which is bungies fault. everyone sweeps this under the rug because "good video game!" and yeah, it is a good video game, but lives shouldn't have been reduced to "i live in an office cubical" to get good game.

bungie was never a good company before this, the only reason these old games arent filled with microtransactions and battle passes is because of the time they were made.

halo 3:

the story isn't that great. and johnson dying is kind dumb, because he had plot armor before it, but then dies from one measely laser beem.

i dont really like the fact that some of the weapons are slow projectile based, i just dont like it.

the vehicles feel, like im driving on pavement 100% of the time, i dont feel like im driving on rocks and dirt, i dont feel like my car is going to flip if i turn to sharp.

i feel like halo 3 was when the game's fun was lost because the competitiveness was over incentivized. and really, confirms my theory that the second that any ranked mode appears in a game, the game gets way less fun then it could be just because of the fact now a subsection of the fanbase is obsessed with meaningless rank.

halo reach:

the moment to moment level design is kind of forgettable. not really many main gameplay moments i remember. other than new alaxandria, thats great.

i feel like they should have had a little bit less characters so we could have more time for each one so each death could feel more impactful, but otherwise its great for what they were trying to go for.

they a little bit went in the other direction for competitiveness, with bloom and stuff. but i love the armor abilities like sprint, jet pack, bubble shield/healing zone, and invisible/raydar jammer. but i really hate armor lock, its good for anti-splattering, but i wish it didnt have such a fight ending feel to it.

halo 4:

halo 4 is 100% the worst one out of the bunch, but thats not to say its a bad game! it has a fun multiplayer. but, the campaign is filled with bullet sponges, one hit kills, and enemies with attacks with instakills (where have we heard that!!!)

multiplayer has the same issues as halo reach where the game has too many overpowered abilities and and not enough fun abilities.

the story is dumb, they just hit you with exposition, and its under developed.

but the character study is great! master chief is a sad boy and I love it! he should be sad, he got his live taken away! but really, thats all i can say that is good about halo 4, just its been done to death.

while im still playing through halo infinte, i can tell by the few hours ive been playing it, its on par with the better halo games! love the DK throwing, and the grapple hook. but the story feels lacking, but the characters feel ok!

i mostly made this because of the annoying constant anger in the halo community that has pretty much pushed me away from actually wanting to interact with some of the fans. its just tiresome, i just want to play a video game without favoritism, blind negativity/positivity, or just blind love for old bungie.

it was probably horrid to work at bungie btw. while didn't have the issues that 343 had, but they still overworked their workers, and 100% would have done those greedy stuff that 343 is doing now.

[ashleyvbaird]

Podcast Script

I have been slowly but surely working on a final draft of my script for the podcast episode. At this stage I would say I have the majority of it written and confirmed, however, I am giving myself room in that if I start to record it and find that it isn't flowing as smooth as I'd like or if it isn't making sense I can tweak the script to fix any of these issues. I had planned to record it earlier this week but covid has gotten in the way of that ! So I am hoping that by Wednesday I will at least have a short snippet I can submit for my work in progress.

For now, here is the first two or three minutes I have of my script that I will be turning in as my work in progress:

Welcome and Intro:

Welcome in to this week's episode of dropping the F Bomb, hosted by myself, Ashley. Before we get started, today's instalment is brought to you in partnership with the Be Safe Not Sorry campaign, who are taking a stand against the opioid crisis through their many resources and ads. So a big thank you to them and if you're interested in finding out more about their ongoing work, be sure to check out besafenotsorry.co.nz. Now, on to the main event. Actually, another thing I will say before we get into it is that this podcast will be dealing with some pretty heavy topics such as substance abuse, overdoses, addiction, so if anything along those lines is triggering to you, just keep in mind that they will be discussed. Again if you need resources about where you can go for help Be Safe Not Sorry is a great place to start. So, you may have just heard me mention the opioid crisis and if you're thinking ‘well what exactly is that’, keep listening because that is the focus of this episode and I will be explaining this and more.

Start of Main Points:

The opioid crisis, or on a smaller scale the Fentanyl crisis, is the rapid increase we have seen in the abuse and misuse of the class of drugs known as opioids. Fentanyl specifically is a synthetic opioid most comparable to morphine, the main difference being that Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more powerful than the latter. It is a prescription drug typically used to treat patients with severe pain, however, it is also a drug that is made and used illegally, which is what I will be looking into today. In terms of its physical form, when prescribed by a doctor, Fentanyl can be given through a shot, a patch on the skin or even as a lozenge. In the case of illicitly manufactured Fentanyl, which is made synthetically in labs, its form varies from a powder, to a liquid, but the most common and most deadly is a pill that is often made to look like other common opioids. This last form is the most dangerous and the reason why there has been such a spike in Fentanyl related overdoses and deaths. This is because many people may be unaware they are taking Fentanyl-laced pills, being that it is almost impossible to tell whether drugs have any level of Fentanyl in them unless tested with Fentanyl test strips. Fentanyl is often mixed with other drugs such as heroin, MDMA and cocaine because of its extreme potency and how little of it is needed in order to produce a high. This also means it is much cheaper than alternatives because of how powerful just a small amount can be. That is just the basics of the drug and all of what I've just said explains why it has become such an issue for young people and if it wasn't already clear, it is a very deadly issue.

[astrobstrd]

So I hate to be the person who goes on some long winded reply to offhanded comments on a Tumblr post but this phenomenon and the self-satisfied Only A Dipshit Would Fall For This attitude has been bugging the hell out of me since I saw it. I absolutely felt like some of these were fake, but I've seen some of these go around for years as if they were real. Trying to actually find any of this out? Kind of a pain in the ass! A lot of clickbait articles, lame r/gaming threads and tweets that lead largely nowhere. Tried my best, and this is what I've got:

1st image: ❌ This one has been regurgitated everywhere. Reposts on Reddit, Twitter, fucking eBaumsworld, and other sites with attention grabbing headlines like Twelve Playstation Ads That Wouldn't Fly Today And Will Fucking Blow Your Mind! It's a fake photoshoot done by @notshysmith on Twitter back in 2021. It's convincing enough, and I've gotta say it's a cool set of pics, but it is a fake.

2nd image: ✔️ I am pretty much 100% certain this is real. The anecdotal evidence of "I swear I saw this as a kid!!" gets less and less valid every day, but I really do remember seeing this one in magazines when I was younger. And to support that: here's a link to a (sort of dubious) ad archiving website that surfaces the market said ads were served to, names of copywriters, art directors, ad agencies responsible and so on. It points to the names of a few people whom show up in other places attributed to advertising, sometimes even the same ad or similar ones. While they don't show up a ton on Google, Jorge Carreño and Eric Helias are the art director and copywriter involved in a few Playstation 2 ads from the time, despite not explicitly being listed in some of the aforementioned links, and TBWA is a legitimate ad agency in Paris that's still active. Here's a link to Behance that links both the "Sleepless Nights" ad and the "Realism" heart ad back. Could this be a case of misattribution? I can't rule it out 100%, but I wholeheartedly doubt it.

3rd image: ✔️ Surprisingly to me, this one also appears to be real. Here's a link to another ad archiving site with proper attribution. Another TBWA joint, the art direction is attributed to a one Christian Finucane, who you can google and find his very real IG page, as well as other print ads he did for Sony at the time. Jon Skinner was the copywriter and also, as far as I can tell, has worked in the Australian ad biz for a long while. Seems pretty real to me

4th image: ❌ I couldn't for the life of me find any attribution or credit for this one outside of random Twitter posts, from which some even repeat the claim that the 8th image here is a fake. UNTIL I found a link to another tweet with the unedited image of Devon Aoki that claims to be for a beauty & lifestyle magazine named Jalouse. Jalouse, as far as I can tell, is a smaller French publication for which this photo was done, and it was then mocked up as a fake PS2 ad by... someone. Here's an eBay listing for the issue this shoot was done for.

The slogan "whenever, wherever, forever" was actually used by Sony in the past, just for the record.

5th image: ✔️ Again, I really do think this one is real, but I'm iffier on it. There's an AdsSpot listing for it that links the work back to Christian Finucane, Jon Skinner, and Whybin\TBWA. Jon Bader is also listed as the photographer, who is a Sydney-based photographer with a pretty extensive advertising portfolio. This ad is absent, but I really only think this portfolio goes back only so far. I do genuinely think this is real, but can't provide sufficiently convincing evidence outside of one AdsSpot page. If anyone who might see this has confirmation or can tell me it's bullshit, let me know.

6th image: ✔️ A little more confident on this one. The same wordpress blog I linked in the second image's description cites this as an ad just named RUBIK, and links to other similarly dark and grungy ads of the same campaign. The ads are tied to BBDO Chile, an advertising agency in Chile that returns credible hits upon Googling. Joaquin Bascunan and Cristian Schinadeerman, (no really valuable hits for this name,) were both creative directors on this one and I also don't really have any reason to doubt the veracity of this one.

So, here's the part where I have to tackle some things I've had doubts on while figuring all this out: Adforum, who I've cited and been thumbing through for a lot of verifying information, is also a site whose legitimacy I struggled to confirm at first. The wikipedia article for it is currently tagged as "[containing content] that is written like an advertisement," and ultimately feels slapdash. The credits on certain pieces are freely available, while some of the more dubious pieces I've researched have them locked behind a subscription fee. Hervé de Clerck, its founder, has a relatively recently updated Twitter and Linkedin profile, a YouTube video I was able to track down where he spoke about responsibility in advertising, and Adforum has Wayback machine screenshots dating back to 2000. It seems like this is an above-board site that is employing a really shitty business model that, either purposefully or not, obfuscates information about ads. It muddies this whole process in a way that is incredibly frustrating and makes me doubt, really, any information I see on the internet even further.

AdsSpot is even harder to discern, but they seem to be an arm of LiveAD, a Brazilian ad agency. (Reference 7 in this Wiki article links back to an AdsSpot hit which seems to imply ownership or involvement.) Once again, they ALSO lock full credits for most of their ads behind a subscription fee.

But, both sites have lead me to ostensibly real people who've worked in advertising, copywriting and photography who I have no reason to suspect are made up for the sake of fluffing a fake ad agency's website or to spread misinformation on what is ultimately a niche topic. There's still, however, this doubt that runs through me on every search I make regarding this topic now. Old video game print ads aren't a completely ignored form of 'lost media,' but they're definitely not as well archived as they could be, and there's so little clear information on a lot of these more "controversial" ads. I think for the ones I've claimed to have pretty strong confidence in being real are just cases of poor archival, unclear attribution, or both. I realize there's some hypocrisy in continuing to just go about testing the rest of these images, but I feel like I kind of have to now. I'm this fucking deep!

7th image: ✔️ As I linked in the 2nd image's description, here's that same Behance posting linked directly to Jose Carreno on this one. For whatever reason, the caption/title of the piece in the upper left has been wiped from this one, and some color correction's been done on it here, but again, I don't have any reason to doubt this one. I'm saying legit until proven otherwise.

8th image: ❌ Same as the 4th image. This is a photo of Naomi Campbell for a different publication that's been done up with a faux PS2 ad style. Definitely faked. REALLY cool pieces of art though.

Jesus christ I swear I didn't mean for this post to be this long but I really got it in me that I wouldn't half-ass this and found it really interesting to trace all this shit back as far as I could. Video game ads, like literally all advertising, have always been "mass market weird" and provocative to varying degrees and I don't think it's hard to believe that old shit like this is real. I mean, yes, David Lynch did in fact produce commercials for Sony. No, he did not do every weird PS2 ad you saw. No, I still don't know if these fucking panty sniffing French PS2 ads are real but I really wouldn't rule it out. Maybe I'll figure that one out some other time

Vintage PlayStation 2 ads

Instagram @vrtlworld

[burr-ell]

Honestly, imodna would be a good ship if the shippers/stans weren’t so damn insufferable. I also hate how they act like they are already canon and you can’t ship Imogen or Laudna with anyone else in the group. People got so mad when the conversation in the dust storm happened with Ashton and Laudna because people thought they were flirting. Or when on the first episode of 4 sided dive Marisha asked Robbie if Dorian’s crush was on Imogen, people got so mad at that! I also hate that they call them lesbians when THEY HAVE BOTH EXPRESSED HAVING FEELINGS FOR BOYS! Why can’t they be bi? Or Pan? I also hate how people read into Laura’s micro expressions/ movements, like last episode with the whole leaning shit “oh what was that lean Laura?!! Imogen wanted to kiss Laudna because look at Laura’s lean!” I dread the day that Imogen or Laudna fall in love with someone that’s not each other(especially if that person is a man.) because Marisha and Laura will harassed and hated because they didn’t give the people what they wanted.

oof. that's some frustration you really needed to vent, nonnie, and honestly i get it. full disclosure—my mutuals who are into imo/dna are all lovely, and none of them engage in this behavior. if imo/dna becomes canon, i'll be happy for (and potentially even happy with) fans like that. but enough shippers are doing things like this that it's becoming more and more of a source of frustration and friction as the campaign goes on.

i think a lot of fandom—in general, not just cr—still doesn't want to acknowledge that at the end of the day, they are looking at things like shippers, with a particular kind of confirmation bias. it doesn't make them necessarily wrong or right, but as easy as it can be to get swept up in it, i think it's important to take a step back every once in awhile and re-evaluate.

now admittedly, generally speaking, it takes a lot for me to get really invested in a ship; i usually only have one or two per fandom, even fandoms with tons of characters. i'm generally pretty passive about most ships if it's not the otp; like, vax/leth and pike/lan, for example, didn't need to be romantic endgame for me to enjoy CR1 (and honestly might have been more interesting to me if they hadn't), but perc/ahlia absolutely made the show for me and i honestly think them being together actively strengthens the narrative as a whole.

i say all that to say that for the most part, i very much consider myself to be along for the ride with respect to most relationships in most fandoms. if such-and-such pairing happens, great; if they don't, okay. and with CR in particular, it's such a long-form medium that i know going in that any romance is going to take a while, and most of them probably won't just reach out and grab me.

and as such, it absolutely baffles me to have seen shippers insisting, from the moment the characters first appeared in episode 1, that not only are imogen and laudna canon endgame, they're basically already together and just haven't admitted it yet. i feel this way about dor/ym and callow/moore as well—i saw a post making the rounds that claimed that all three of those ships are "not canon YET but let's be real" and like...why would you set yourself up for disappointment like that? because yeah! all three of those ships could be endgame! but they could also not be endgame. we're less than 40 episodes into a campaign that'll probably run well into the 100s.

i also fully agree with you re: the microexpressions and the cherrypicking, and i feel like a microcosm of this issue can be found in a conversation imogen has with orym early on—shippers latched onto the fact that imogen compares laudna's thoughts to music, something that finally brought her peace after the chaos of the world around her, and completely ignored the part immediately after where imogen says that the rest of the party also feels like that to her. i didn't even know that imogen said that about the whole party until i watched the episode, and to me it's an example of how shippers tend to warp canon interactions to suit a particular narrative in such a way that they become almost entirely divorced from their context.

and from the outside looking in, what confuses me about this sort of thing is like...didn't y'all already go through this? because if my understanding is correct, c2 ship discourse was full to the brim with beau/jes and wido/jest fans dissecting "laura's microexpressions" to prove that jester was for sure in love with our fave, really you guys we swear...and then not only was that not true, but jester also didn't even know about beau or caleb's feelings to acknowledge them at all, and from the actual words that came out of laura's mouth in various OOC moments like on TM, laura just...really really wanted to romance her husband's character in her dnd game and like, that's it. there was never going to be another romantic option for jester as long as fjord was on the table, and that was something that shippers always should have been taking into account.

laudna and imogen are canonically deeply important to each other. they love and appreciate each other very much. that love and appreciation could turn into a lovely romance with a great dynamic, and i certainly don't blame people for being invested in it. but it also could not be romantic endgame, and they remain friends or even get with other people. and as you said, fandom can and will turn nasty about their ships being sunk; we've already seen it happen. there's a certain smug, entitled undercurrent from that particular corner that i have very little patience with, and while i think there's something to be said for deciding to enjoy things in spite of the fandom and just be a cranky old curmudgeon shooing the wank out with a broom, i also understand the response of just "...aight, imma head out".

[captainsspnanon]

C3E27 - reaction

I love what Ashley is doing with Fearne.  It’s not quite an amnesia thing, but it’s clearly SOMETHING affecting her memory.  She never really dived into the lost time aspect with Yasha in too much depth (for as much as it influenced her actions), so I’m excited to see where she goes with this!

Interestingly, I’m not sure if that was Erika or Dusk stirring shit with asking Laudna asking on the date.

Wonderful scene with Imogen and Laudna.  Confirmed that the relationship is not currently romantic.  (look, I really don’t mind if it becomes romantic in the future, but I’m just so annoyed with people insisting that it’s absolutely 100% romantic now.  Ship away!  But right now?  Your ship is not (romantically) canon.)

SAM.  SAM.  Fucking thank you!!!!  I know that Sam will always end up bringing a ton of depth into his PCs, but it’s sometimes a struggling dealing with the surface level jokes until we get that depth.  Now we’re really starting to see shit go down with FCG, and he just feels more like a fleshed out PC (no pun intended).  (though I admit, I doubt they’d be acting this way if Sam didn’t know that Imogen and Laudna were already resolved XD)

Oh INNNNNTERESTING.  Dusk was pretty clearly eavesdropping, but then Liam fucked everything up by not know and instead engaging in RP, so how does this now work in game?  Erika seemed to have been confirmed to hear the entire convo, but now because of this, now Dusk has missed the entire convo?  Does Matt rule that they hear part of it?  I’d love to know how this bit works out mechanically.

Speaking of shipping, well boo there goes my Fearne/Orym ship and my Imogen/Orym ship.  Definitely was more heavy towards Fearne/Orym - one because I love the dynamics, and two because I DESPERATELY want more Liam/Ashley RP.  Give me moar, pls!!!!!  (hmmm, I think Orym is shipless for me now, as I’m not a Dorym shipper, and I’m feeling Ashton more with Fearne or Laudna.  Alright Matt, pull up an NPC for this boy to romance!  [I kid, I kid.  I have a strong feeling that Liam’s going to avoid romance this campaign considering how heavily it ended up impacting the past two, and he even went into C2 with the intention of not doing it] )

Can I just briefly mention how adorable Laura and Travis have been this campaign?  Vex and Grog had a little bit of the bickering, but I feel like Laura and Travis are having a BLAST leaning into it with Imogen and Chetney.  Just, you can tell their delighted every time they do it.

I am really really enjoying Ashton when he/Taliesin is not trying to be secretive as fuck.  Seriously, Ashton is so much more enjoyable when they’re in action, sharing information, having conversations.  I just get annoyed when they deflect shit that doesn’t need to be deflected. (coming back, the Clasp!  Confirmed!)

OTOHAN THULL.  Holy fuck, Matt is just going SO FUCKING HARD into plot this campaign.  It’s why it’s so weird that it does feel a bit slower paced, considering the plot shit is LIKE NON FREAKING STOP.

Once again, I love that Ashley is going full form this campaign.  SHE DESERVES IT.  I also love that everyone’s giving her shit for it, as if they all haven’t done it in one form or another in previous campaigns (or even in the current campaign, TRAVIS).

Not much to say during second half as it’s a lot of set up, but it’s fun set up to watch, and it doesn’t feel like it’s dragging.  Looking forwards to the race!  And poor Travis, I feel like he and I were on the exact same page.  Still into it, but adhd means that full focus wasn’t there.  I spent probably the last 40 minutes watching while also playing on my phone.  Still enjoying!  But couldn’t give it my full attention.  And if I’m right and he was experiencing that?  oh boy, it’s so much harder in person.

[suujatan]

Horrible, but not a surprising development, much to my ire.

Back in late October of 2023, Occupation Forces dropped missiles on Jabalia refugee camp that killed and injured hundreds of people, allegedly to take out a Hamas commander and destroy tunnels.

The flour massacres of this year also establish precedence in my eyes, as does the so-called "tragic mistake" that was the strike on the refugee camp in Rafah this May.

The fact they disguised themselves as humanitarian aid workers to carry out a Trojan horse operation feels like a twisting of the knife.

The fact that US special forces were involved just seems to confirm what some Palestinians on the ground were already reporting months ago, that American troops are operating in Gaza, not just American dual-citizens enlisted in the IOF.

And of course, outside of these horrifying atrocities that make the news, there is the more subtle horrors in between that we don't get to see, the day-to-day stress of trying to survive with little-to-no food or clean water, of never knowing when the next attack may occur, of when reception will go out, whether or not a missing loved one is dead or being detained in Abu Ghraib-type of prison camp (judging from their social media posts, I almost get the impression that a lot of IOF enlistees looked at the Abu Ghraib photos and thought "anything you can do I can do better!").

Israeli government has announced that their intent is to "completely wipe out" Hamas from the Gaza strip. Their official media accounts have been posting ads that state there to be no innocent civilians in Gaza, implying that everyone there is Hamas. Therefore, I am forced to conclude that they intend to wipe out the Strip's entire population.

Long term plan? Probably to plant settlements in the ethnically cleansed land, repeat the Gaza campaign in the West Bank, stick the tiny remnant Palestinian populations on a few small reserves, and basically whitewash the history of events. Maybe in 100 years, they'd do landback acknowledgements like we do in the US for the indigenous populations we genocided (and whose descendants are still struggling against marginalization)

Anyway, I'm documenting the stuff currently happening, the stuff that has happened, and the crap that politicians and spokespersons keep spewing. A lot of people now expressing horror at the Nuseirat Massacre were pretty adamant in defending the Occupying State's right "to defend itself" months ago and are just trying to save face as public opinion shifts.

A lot of politicians and media personalities who supported the Iraq War during the Bush administration were able to turn around and rehabilitate their image after the fact and continue having successful careers. I do not want to see that repeated here.

279+ Palestinians killed

698+ Palestinians injured

4 Israeli hostages recovered

I’m speechless

[kingwuko]

Wuko in the comics

Welcome to my first post discussing Wuko in the LoK comic books!

This first post will be discussing Turf Wars- which unfortunately does not feature Wu. But there are lots of excellent Mako moments, and there are some major plot points that carry over into the next comic trilogy.

Turf Wars is the first LoK comic trilogy released after the finale. Though it was released two and half years after the finale aired, it picks up right where we left off. While the creators confirmed after the finale aired that Korrasami was canon, the last moments of the animated series were a little ambiguous (on purpose, since this was a time when queer representation was just not considered "acceptable" in children's media-it was truly the only way they could get away with it). The comics definitively remove all ambiguity. Turf Wars features multiple frames of Korra and Asami kissing, holding hands, and coming out to their friends and family. 

The overarching plot of Turf Wars is a conflict over the land upon which the new spirit portal sets. There is also conflict between rival Triad gangs, the Triple Threats and the Creeping Crystals, over turf in Republic City following the chaos of Kuvira's invasion. These two sets of turf wars overlap when a business tycoon hires the Triple Threats to secure the spirit portal for him by driving others off. The new Leader of the Triple Threats, Tokuga, is attacked by a spirit defending the portal, causing him to gain a dragon-like appearance and a new agenda-seizing control of all Republic City. In the midst of all this there is a refugee crisis, a presidential election, and Korra and Asami trying to navigate their new relationship once they return to the real world with all their responsibilities.

Notable plot points and character developments:

Korra and Asami canon is confirmed (repeatedly)-They come out to family and their friends

Business owner Wonyong Keum, who owns the land upon which the new portal sits, demands everyone vacate so he can turn it into a tourist attraction for profit-prompting Korra to enter the Avatar state to temporarily drive him away.

An unhappy spirit requests Korra closes the portal to prevent exploitation of the spirit world.

Bolin joins Mako as his rookie detective partner.

Zhu Li is running efforts to care for refugees who lost their homes during Kuvira’s attack and teams up with Asami to begin rebuilding homes for everyone displaced.

Tokuga is introduced as the leader of the Triple Threats, fighting for control of the streets with Jargala, the leader of the Creeping Crystals.

Kya reveals she is queer and gives us a history lesson on the context of LGBTQ+ history in the world.

Tokuga is attacked by the afore-mentioned spirit and his right arm and half his face become dragon-esque.

Raiko is a colossal idiot. He is way too focused on getting reelected and making his decisions based on what his campaign advisor suggests, rather than just, you know, governing his city. He calls the military to occupy the portal, prompting the Airbenders to peacefully protest.

Zhu Li runs against Raiko for the presidency. She rallies more protesters to protect the spirit portal while her husband films her for his newest project- a “docu-mover” which he presumably uses to influence the election. 

Asami and Keum are kidnapped by Tokuga and forced to make a poison gas device bring the city under Tokuga’s control.

The Krew manages to save the day of course, thanks to Asami’s wit, Korra’s unstoppable stubbornness, and back-up from Bolin and Mako. Except Mako, bless him, says he’ll “take care of Tokuga”, and then promptly loses him.

Tokuga mysteriously disappears into the spirit world.

Zhu Li wins the presidency.

Korra and Asami share a lovely, romantic moment where they exchange their first “I love you”s at the conclusion of the comic.

Mako scenes

There is no Wu in the Turf Wars comics (Unless you count one line of dialogue where it is mentioned that the Earth Kingdom is sending supplies to help the refugee situation) - however, there is plenty of Mako! Mako’s primary role in this series is as a detective trying to find and stop the Triads from waging their turf war in the city.

Our first scenes with Mako shows him back to being a detective- and his brother is his partner. He doesn’t seem super thrilled to be working with Bolin, but I think it’s just because he knows how his brother is- not that he doesn’t want to spend time with him. They are trying to track down the new leader of the triple threats and control gang activity. Mako’s arm is still in a sling, he’s got his usual brooding grumpy facial expression, and his hair is spiky again! He and Bolin arrest two-toed Ping and try to interrogate him. Two-toed Ping is weirdly proud of Mako and Bolin for rising up from being “nobodies” to a couple of “bigtime cops”.

They catch up with Korra and Asami, and the four of them are alerted by Jinora that the Triple threats are attacking the Airbenders that were meditating at the portal. Asami gets hurt in the battle and she and Korra share a kiss in front of everyone:

Look at Opal’s sweet face. She looks like she’s barely containing her excitement and is maybe squealing a bit, and she’s looking directly at Bolin which I think is a sweet moment to show their relationship. Bolin calls dibs on the first double date.

Mako probably needs time to process the information....

Mako and Bolin do some detective work to try and find Tokuga. There is an interesting scene where they are questioning Scoochy (We saw him in the first season, he’s the kid that told Korra and Mako the Bolin went to do some work for the triple threats before getting captured by equalists) Bolin tells Mako they should do “good cop, bad cop”, with Bolin being the good cop. Mako gets annoyed, and Bolin asks if he’s grumpy because his exes are dating. Mako insists he’s cool with it- though he’s got a distressed look on his face. They catch up to Scoochy and Bolin actually loses his temper and is rather menacing. Mako pulls Bolin back and genuinely connects with Scoochy- relating to his past, pushing him to do the right thing and help others. I really liked this moment because it shows how much character growth he’s had when you compare the way he treated Kai in season 3. (They are ultimately unsuccessful and Scoochy’s tip leads them to a room rigged with explosives- but I don’t think Scoochy knew that, I think he was fed false info).

There’s another touching scene, after Asami is kidnapped, where Mako notices how upset Korra seems as everyone is trying to form a plan to stop Tokuga. He steps aside to check in and see how she’s feeling. He comforts her’ empathizes with her, and reassures her that they are going to find Asami. At this point he seems to have fully processed that they are together and seems to fully accept it and is very supportive. Not easy considering the awkward position he’s in as both their exes. In this scene, Mako also informs Korra that he can’t firebend with his injured arm.

Mako and Bolin helps Korra to find Asami by requesting help from Jargala- in spite of the fact that Chief Beifong told them not to… They show up for Korra and Asami even if it means risking their jobs. They team up and fight the bad guys together, just like the old days.

We see many examples of how bad the damage is from Mako’s injury in the Colossus. He can’t bend with his left arm, it’s in a sling almost the whole comic, and he really doesn’t seem to be at the top of his game. He told Bolin he would take care of catching Tokuga, but apparently couldn’t and lost him. Mako’s injury is pretty bad and it’s probably really frustrating.

At the end, Bolin decides to quit the force (surprise. The guy loves to hop from calling to calling!). He makes a big dramatic speech to Mako, talking about how it’s time they go their separate ways. Mako is like “Um I’m going to see you at home in like two hours”, so it sounds like they are living together.

What all this might mean for Wuko

So now I’m going to try to tie things back into how all this affects the potential of Wuko- whether that’s for headcanons or fics or whatever- and just try to give you an idea of what this comic means for Wuko shippers.

Wu is governing in the Earth Kingdom right now. It is mentioned by Zhu Li that the Earth Kingdom sent supplies, so one can assume Wu has taken his place on the throne and the Earth Kingdom is in a stable enough position to be sending supplies to aid another nation. Nothing is mentioned about efforts to transform the Earth Kingdom into a democratic nation (we’ll get to that in the Ruins of the Empire comics).

Mako’s primary relationships that are explored are with his brother and with Korra. His relationship with Bolin is just as it always is. He loves his brother even if he is a little exhausted by his upbeat, enthusiastic attitude. We build up on his final interaction with Korra from the animated series and continue to firmly establish them as friends and amicable exes. Interestingly, we don’t get any meaningful Mako and Asami interactions. When he is comforting Korra, he relates to her by remembering how worried he was when Korra was kidnapped by Amon. He doesn't try to say “Yeah I’m really worried about Asami too”, which, to me is bizarre because he and Asami are friends too, right? I don’t know if we should read too much into it though- most likely it was just a writing choice that we aren’t meant to psycho-analyze- but it could also mean he is being careful with his words so that Korra doesn’t wonder if he still has feelings for Asami. The love triangle is completely resolved and Mako is out of the picture romantically with either of them and has no lingering romantic feelings. In other words, he is 100% ready available for a relationship with someone else.

The scene where Kya gives us a history lesson establishes how LGBTQ+ people are viewed in the world of LoK. In short, Korra and Asami are fully supported by their friends and family, and even their enemies acknowledge their relationship without any homophobic tones. The closest we get to homophobia is Korra's father, who, after expressing his happiness at their relationship, warns Korra to be cautious going forward because not everyone will be as understanding. Kya gives us a quick lesson on how same-gender relationships are viewed across the nations: The water tribe, being a patriarchal culture, expects discretion. The Earth Kingdom is not particularly accepting-Kya says that Avatar Kyoshi was bisexual but couldn't affect "real change" and that the earth kingdom is the slowest to accept change and is also militarily repressive (full disclosure I have not read the Kyoshi comics, maybe there is additional insight in those?). And in the fire nation, Sozin made same-gender relationships illegal when he took power (I hope Zuko undid all that when he became Firelord). The air nation is the only one that seems truly accepting-Kya paints a picture of total acceptance and says that Aang was supportive when she herself came out. Korra is worried that maybe her father was right, but Asami points out that a lot has changed over the years and everyone seems accepting, especially in Republic City. 

I think what we can take away from this as far as Wuko goes- is that in Republic City, same-gender relationships are not much of an issue, while in the Earth Kingdom it could be viewed negatively. One could make a case that Wu might have cause to be closeted, while Mako might not. (Feel free to reject this history canon and substitute your own. I’d just as soon say that no one in the avatar-verse cares if you aren’t cis or het).

In conclusion. Mako is just a guy trying very hard to be a good, supportive friend to his exes who are now dating each other. He loves them (platonically) he loves his brother, he’s kind and has matured a lot, but he still always has a grumpy look on his face so it’s time for him to move on and get together with Wu.

Well, that’s Turf Wars. I did cram the plot of three comic books into one post, so I certainly did not hit all the details. If you feel I missed something crucial, feel free to reblog with your own takes. Next I’ll discuss Ruins of the Empire, in which we get lots of Wu and potential Wuko moments, a sizable helping of angst and even some Wu & Korra friendship! RotE is a really fun comic trilogy and I’ll be breaking it down into multiple posts. Thanks for reading everyone!

Wuko In RotE part 1

Wuko in RotE part 2