#only for the HTML to not work?? and then nothing showed up??

[valeriianz]

9 Albums That Made Me ✨

tagged by @seiya-starsniper @virgo-dream & @tj-dragonblade

first of all, please excuse the terrible image quality (and lines) i made this in MS paint and it took WAY TOO LONG!

anyway, i agonized over this one because, like Seiya, i define my life more in songs than albums. sure i bought CDs as a kid, but it was always only to pick through the tracks i liked and burn a mixtape. but each of these albums i like almost if not completely cover-to-cover, and they each remind me of a moment or turning point in my life.

(not tagging anyone because this trend seems to have died and i havent a clue who did this already lol)

[spiders-around]

YOU MUST MAKE A WEBSITE

Oh wow, look at that! YET ANOTHER post urging you to make a webbed site! What a completely new thing that people haven't made a thousand masterposts for already!!

• Making a website might look scary. It is Not.

At first, I too thought making a website was too much work. It really isn't! It turns out that all you need is

an HTML file,

a web hosting service and

w3schools tutorials,

and that's about it!

This post will point you towards these resources, and others I found useful while figuring out how to make a website.

• VERY QUICK EXPLANATIONS:

What's HTML and CSS?

HTML is the content of your webpage, the skeleton of it. What shows up in a webpage is what's written in the HTML file!

CSS is the way the HTML is styled; the colour of the background and the letters, the size of elements, the font, all that!

Do I absolutely NEED JavaScript for a website?

Not at all! You don't need to worry about learning it before getting started.

• What do I make a website for? What do I put in there?

ANYTHING AND ALMOST EVERYTHING. Here's some ideas for pages from a post of mine were I was very normal about websites:

You can make a page that's only pictures of your pets.

You can make an interactive adventure.

You can make your own academic blog full of your own essays or articles.

You can just post a ton of art or make a full music page.

You can make a blog and infodump eternally, give book reccs and reviews. You can host a thousand virtual pets and nothing else.

Upload entire books in a single html file. Make a wikipedia for your ocs. Make a fake site for a random fictional place (restaurant, hotel, whatever). You can make a thousand fanpages/shrines about your favorite media. You can upload your own webcomic and make it all like a fancy website and shit.

I could keep going but, for the sake of "brevity", I won't.

• WEBSITE EXAMPLES!

If I started listing the websites I know, this post would be bottomless. Here's only seven:

https://publictransit.neocities.org/ - A webbed site, for sure

https://ribo.zone/ - A personal site

https://leusyth.neocities.org/ - An art archive

https://solaria.neocities.org/ - Personal website with A Lot of stuff (it'll come up in a bit, because it offers web making resources)

https://hog.neocities.org/ - The Hogsite

https://thegardenofmadeline.neocities.org/ - Another personal site! It also has a web resources page and has made another masterpost like this one (but better)

https://spiders.neocities.org/ - My own website, which must be weird to see in mobile . sorry

• You've convinced me. I want a webbed site. Where do I start?

https://neocities.org/

FIRST OF ALL: Neocities. It is a free web hosting service, and it's the one I and the sites I linked use!

When I first started, my website was a black page with red letters and a drawing, and nothing else! It was like that for a month, till i started picking up on how to do things.

Here's what helped me get an idea of how to make things work:

https://sadgrl.online/learn/articles/beginners-guide-neocities

An absolute beginners guide to neocities -- while when you make an account there you get a tutorial page from the site, this one's extra support for that.

https://www.w3schools.com/

Learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript and MANY other coding things for free. All the tutorial/reference pages have live testing windows for you to mess with!! helped me a LOT while figuring this stuff out!

https://htmlcheatsheet.com/

https://htmlcheatsheet.com/css/

Cheatsheets for HTML and CSS, respectively. It includes a JavaScript one too!

https://sadgrl.online/webmastery/

Sadgrl's webmastery resources! Also includes the next resource listed here:

https://sadgrl.online/projects/layout-builder/

Sadgrl's layout builder; not a lot of customization at a first glance, but I've seen wildly different websites all using it as a base, plus it works using CSS Flexbox, so it generates a responsive layout!

(basically, a responsive layout is one that translates well in different sized screens)

https://www.tumblr.com/fysa/728086939730919424/wikitable-code?source=share

Tumblr user fysa made this layout imitating a wiki page!

https://brackets.io/

At some point, you might want to do things outside the Neocities code editor and get one outside the site. I recommend Brackets, because my old as fuck computer can run that and absolutely nothing else apparently, and it works wonderfully! Though I recommend either turning off the code autocomplete or using it after a good while of already using the Neocities code editor, so you get used to coding on your own.

http://www.unit-conversion.info/texttools/text-to-html/

Turn your text into HTML code! i use this kind of pages for my lengthy blog entries that I don't feel like formatting myself.

https://imagecompressor.com/

COMPRESS YOUR IMAGES.

The heavier an image is, the more your site weighs and the more time your page will spend loading. You don't want that, specially if your site is heavy on graphics. This might help!

https://solaria.neocities.org/guides

Some CSS, JavaScript and Accessibility guides! Worth checking out!

https://eloquentjavascript.net/

This is a free, interactive book for learning JavaScript! NOTE: It is very intuitive, but JavaScript is HARD!! I still haven't learned much of it, and my website does fine without so don't worry if you end up not doing much with it. It's still useful + the exercises are fun.

And now, accessories!

• Silly stuff for your page :]

https://gifypet.neocities.org/

Make a virtual pet, copy the code and paste it in your HTML file! You'll get a little guy in your webbed site :]

https://www.wikplayer.com/

Music player for your website!

http://www.mf2fm.com/rv/

JavaScript silly effects for your site :]

https://blinkies.neocities.org/geoblinkies

Blinkie search engine!

https://www.cbox.ws/

Add a chatbox to your site!!

https://momg.neocities.org/

Infinite gallery of gifs. i've spent hours in there looking at moving pictures and out of them all, the ONLY gif i actually ended up using on my site was a rotating tomato slice. it is still there. trapped.

https://wrender.neocities.org/tarotinstructions

A widget that gives you a random tarot card!

https://www.websudoku.com/widget.php

Sudoku widget!

That's about it for now! I don't know how to end this!!! Remember to have fun and google everything you don't know :]

[shehimin]

Edgaring time!

Tutorial on how to make your own responsive Edgar :D I will try to explain it in really basic terms, like you’ve never touched a puter (which if you’re making this… I’m sure you’ve touched plenty of computers amirite??? EL APLAUSO SEÑOOOREEES).

If you have some experience I tried to highlight the most important things so you won’t have to read everything, this is literally building a website but easier.

I will only show how to make him move like this:

Disclaimer: I’m a yapper.

Choosing an engine First of all you’ll need something that will allow you to display a responsive background, I used LivelyWallpaper since it’s free and open-source (we love open-source).

Choosing an IDE Next is having any IDE to make some silly code! (Unless you can rawdog code… Which would be honestly impressive and you need to slide in my DMs and we will make out) I use Visual Studio!!!

So now that we have those two things we just need to set up the structure we will use.

Project structure

We will now create our project, which I will call “Edgar”, we will include some things inside as follows:

Edgar

img (folder that will contain images) - thumbnail.png (I literally just have a png of his face :]) - [some svgs…]

face.js (script that will make him interactive)

index.html (script that structures his face!)

LivelyInfo,json (script that LivelyWallpaper uses to display your new wallpaper)

style.css (script we will use to paint him!)

All of those scripts are just literally like a “.txt” file but instead of “.txt” we use “.js”, “.html”, etc… You know? We just write stuff and tell the puter it’s in “.{language}”, nothing fancy.

index.html

Basically the way you build his silly little face! Here’s the code:

<!doctype html> <html>     <head>         <meta charset="utf-8">         <title>Face!</title>         <link rel = "stylesheet" type = "text/css" href = "style.css">     </head>     <body>         <div class="area">             <div class="face">                 <div class="eyes">                     <div class="eyeR"></div>                     <div class="eyeL"></div>                 </div>                 <div class="mouth"></div>             </div>         </div>         <script src="face.js"></script>     </body> </html>

Ok so now some of you will be thinking “Why would you use eyeR and eyeL? Just use eye!“ and you’d be right but I’m a dummy who couldn’t handle making two different instances of the same object and altering it… It’s scary but if you can do it, please please please teach me ;0;!!!

Area comes in handy to the caress function we will implement in the next module (script)! It encapsulates face.

Face just contains the elements inside, trust me it made sense but i can’t remember why…

Eyes contains each different eye, probably here because I wanted to reuse code and it did not work out and when I kept going I was too scared to restructure it.

EyeR/EyeL are the eyes! We will paint them in the “.css”.

Mouth, like the eyeR/eyeL, will be used in the “.css”.

face.js

Here I will only show how to make it so he feels you mouse on top of him! Too ashamed of how I coded the kisses… Believe me, it’s not pretty at all and so sooo repetitive…

// ######################### // ##      CONSTANTS      ## // ######################### const area = document.querySelector('.area'); const face = document.querySelector('.face'); const mouth = document.querySelector('.mouth'); const eyeL = document.querySelector('.eyeL'); const eyeR = document.querySelector('.eyeR'); // ######################### // ##     CARESS HIM      ## // ######################### // When the mouse enters the area the face will follow the mouse area.addEventListener('mousemove', (event) => {     const rect = area.getBoundingClientRect();     const x = event.clientX - rect.left;     const y = event.clientY - rect.top;     face.style.left = `${x}px`;     face.style.top = `${y}px`; }); // When the mouse leaves the area the face will return to the original position area.addEventListener('mouseout', () => {     face.style.left = '50%';     face.style.top = '50%'; });

God bless my past self for explaining it so well, but tbf it’s really simple,,

style.css

body {     padding: 0;     margin: 0;     background: #c9c368;     overflow: hidden; } .area {     width: 55vh;     height: 55vh;     position: absolute;     top: 50%;     left: 50%;     transform: translate(-50%,-50%);     background: transparent;     display: flex; } .face {     width: 55vh;     height: 55vh;     position: absolute;     top: 50%;     left: 50%;     transform: translate(-50%,-50%);     background: transparent;     display: flex;     justify-content: center;     align-items: center;     transition: 0.5s ease-out; } .mouth {     width: 75vh;     height: 70vh;     position: absolute;     bottom: 5vh;     background: transparent;     border-radius: 100%;     border: 1vh solid #000;     border-color: transparent transparent black transparent;     pointer-events: none;     animation: mouth-sad 3s 420s  forwards step-end; } .face:hover .mouth {     animation: mouth-happy 0.5s forwards; } .eyes {     position: relative;     bottom: 27%;     display: flex;   } .eyes .eyeR {     position: relative;     width: 13vh;     height: 13vh;     display: block;     background: black;     margin-right: 11vh;     border-radius: 50%;     transition: 1s ease } .face:hover .eyeR {     transform: translateY(10vh);      border-radius: 20px 100% 20px 100%; } .eyes .eyeL {     position: relative;     width: 13vh;     height: 13vh;     display: block;     background: black;     margin-left: 11vh;     border-radius: 50%;     transition: 1s ease; } .face:hover .eyeL {     transform: translateY(10vh);     border-radius: 100% 20px 100% 20px; } @keyframes mouth-happy {     0% {         background-color: transparent;         height: 70vh;         width: 75vh;     }     100% {         border-radius: 0 0 25% 25%;         transform: translateY(-10vh);     } } @keyframes mouth-sad {     12.5%{         height: 35vh;         width: 67vh;     }     25% {         height: 10vh;         width: 60vh;     }     37.5% {         width: 53vh;         border-radius: 0%;         border-bottom-color: black;     }     50% {         width: 60vh;         height: 10vh;         transform: translateY(11vh);         border-radius: 100%;         border-color: black transparent transparent transparent;     }     62.5% {         width: 64vh;         height: 20vh;         transform: translateY(21vh);     }     75% {         width: 69vh;         height: 40vh;         transform: translateY(41vh);     }     87.5% {         width: 75vh;         height: 70vh;         transform: translateY(71vh);     }     100% {         width: 77vh;         height: 90vh;         border-color: black transparent transparent transparent;         transform: translateY(91vh);     } }

I didn’t show it but this also makes it so if you don’t pay attention to him he will get sad (mouth-sad, tried to make it as accurate to the movie as possible, that’s why it’s choppy!)

The .hover is what makes him go like a creature when you hover over him, if you want to change it just… Change it! If you’d rather him always have the same expression, delete it!

Anyway, lots of easy stuff, lots of code that I didn’t reuse and I probably should’ve (the eyes!!! Can someone please tell me a way I can just… Mirror the other or something…? There must be a way!!!) So now this is when we do a thinking exercise in which you think about me as like someone who is kind of dumb and take some pity on me.

LivelyInfo.json

{   "AppVersion": "1.0.0.0",   "Title": "Edgar",   "Thumbnail": "img/thumbnail.png",   "Preview": "thumbnail.png",   "Desc": "It's me!.",   "Author": "Champagne?",   "License": "",   "Type": 1,   "FileName": "index.html" }

Easy stuff!!! 

Conclusion

This could've been a project on git but i'm not ready and we're already finished. I'm curious about how this will be seen on mobile and PC,,, i'm not one to post here.

Sorry if I rambled too much or if i didn't explain something good enough! If you have any doubts please don't hesitate to ask.

And if you add any functionality to my code or see improvements please please please tell me, or make your own post!

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/766611758459879424/youtube-just-showed-me-the-most-dumb-video-essay?source=share

Youtube fed you that swill and you actually watched it? And then you read the comments?? That's why the algorithm is like this. Feeding people hateful garbage makes them stick around.

Log out (If you very much like features that are only available logged in, just make a second google account to use for youtube and nothing else)

Download Firefox https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/windows/

Go into the privacy settings and set Enhanced Tracking Protection to "strict"

Install an adblocker, I like ublock origin https://ublockorigin.com/

Optionally, install some more anti-track addons, like Privacy Badger or Duckduckgo's privacy essentials

Install the container addon and set one up to qurantine youtube away from everything else https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account-containers/

Now what you have is a box that has youtube in it and literally nothing else. No ads, no personal information, no creepy stalkerware, no ability for other websites to see in the box, or for youtube to see out of it.

And now the fun part. Use the adblocker to nuke the entire sidebar and endcard overlays. Just select these with the eyedropper from the adblock extension, preview it to make sure you're not blocking more than you mean to, and bam, it's like three clicks and and you'll never see it again, it's beautiful.

Do this and you can watch all the videos you please and will NEVER have the algorithm shove some misogynistic garbage in your face because it crunched some math and knows that users with your profile are stasticsally likely to spend time on the side when served that sort of trash.

You can also use the adblocker to get rid of the entire comments section, or to nuke any design element or feature that you find annoying or ugly. It's called an adblocker, but it blocks anything based on URLs and HTML strings. The posibilites are endless, freeing, and beautiful. I use adblockers for aesthetics and accesibility at least as much as for actual ads.

I do this with every website I use regularily, including tumblr (though only the worst few [including youtube] have dedicated quarantine containers). It's a few steps to set up, but once you have the extensions installed and know how to use them, nuking algorithmic feeds and making sure that you only see what you actually want to see takes like ten seconds.

And no, before you say you have to use the app, this does work on mobile. Download Firefox for mobile, install the adblocker, install the anti-trackers, and use youtube in the browser instead of the app because taking an extra three seconds to load and having a slightly less optimized layout is worth not being unundated with advertisements and hate.

You can also root your phone and install adblockers that work with apps, but that's a more involved process and takes more effort and knowledge than simply installing a new browser and using an eyedropper tool to select a sidebar.

--

[cannedpickledpeaches]

Insert Your Name (11)

Mafia!Jade Leech x Mafia!Reader

Link to series masterlist!

Notes and TW: Congratulations! You have successfully made it all about you (positive). This series will have mentions of blood, violence, crime (kidnapping, attempted assassination, extortion), and harassment, as one might expect from a mafia AU. Please enjoy!

Sorry that the tags haven't been working for the past couple of posts! I had to go in and edit the html for each individual one T-T please forgive me

Tags: @guava-enjoyer @itszzmoon @twstsandturns @myteacupisempty @rou-luxe @chikitasmol @night-shadowblood-writes2 @haveneulalie @owodi

A strange sense of satisfaction fills you as surprise fills the man’s face, but you don’t show it. You need to see this through. If you’re powerless in the face of his ability, you simply need to borrow his power. So what if he’s akin to a god? All you need to do is bring him to your side. Whoever that author is, whoever took over (Y/N)’s body—maybe they aren’t capable of using such an asset effectively. However, you’re confident you won’t let that advantage go to waste.

The man hums in thought. “I suppose it could be done without much fanfare. I would simply need to shift my attention to your experiences and abandon the current story. However, you would need to have your story recorded somewhere, in whatever form you may wish for it to take.”

You understand what he’s getting at. A story needs a medium, just like that manuscript. There are many options: on film, as a novel, as a collage of pictures. No strict rules exist for expression of self.

“I’ll keep a journal. Every day, I’ll write an entry, and I’ll also use it as a planner. This way, my ‘story’ will have the events that occurred in my life, how they affected my ‘character development,’ and also outline how I expect the story to ‘progress.’ Is that good enough?”

You still don’t think of yourself as a fictional character. You’re real, in every aspect, to yourself. But that doesn’t matter right now. Functionally, you’re a character to this man. You’ll use that assumption to put yourself in the most advantageous position.

“Yes, that would be a rather interesting way to tell your story. There are indeed many stories that were written in the form of diary entries, so this is not an issue at all. This would, in fact, make things easier for me. I would not have to go through the paperwork and expend energy to bring someone from another world since you already exist in Twisted Wonderland as an established character. There is just one thing you should know before you make this decision.”

“Tell me.” Of course there are strings attached. There always are. You prepare yourself. Self-sacrifice in small amounts is necessary, of course, but if there’s anything you can negotiate with . . . .

“I will have to take the previous author’s soul out of (Y/N)’s body. (Y/N)’s soul will regain control of her own body, since it was never removed, only dormant. Since the author’s original body cannot function without a soul, she cannot return to her world. It will disappear, never to be recovered, lost to the fabric of what forms this space. Are you still willing to proceed?”

“Is that it?” You expected something else. This has nothing to do with you giving up anything. In fact, it could even be considered a bonus. This woman whose story made your life and relationships exceedingly difficult will disappear down to the traces of her soul. It’s an easy decision. “Of course.”

“How cold-hearted you are.” He chuckles down at his teacup. It never seems to drain empty no matter how he sips it. “That is not an undesirable quality in protagonists, although they often do not have a happy ending in fairytales.”

“Is that supposed to deter me or something?” You stay resolute. “My future was always uncertain no matter if it’s a story or not. I’m in the mafia. I’ve come to terms that horrible things could happen at any moment because of the nature of my job a long, long time ago. It’s my responsibility to plan so that I reduce those chances as much as possible. And you’re going to help me.”

“Yes, I am.” He glances at the fireplace, which has burned down to glowing red embers. “Perhaps you should count yourself lucky that you are under my jurisdiction. I am partial to tragic endings, but I also do not mind if an amoral character triumphs in the end. Some of my peers would adamantly ensure it does not happen.”

You furrow your brows. This is not the first time he brought up something being under his “jurisdiction.” However, this is the first time he’s mentioned “peers” instead of “characters.”

“There are others like you?”

“Yes, of course. Twisted Wonderland is filled with too many stories for me to manage on my own. Since you are mainly involved with the Leech Mafia and stories of the Coral Sea, you fall under my jurisdiction.”

It makes sense. This man compared himself to a god, but he isn’t one. He isn’t omnipotent or omniscient.

“Who are they?”

He tilts his head. “You would not know us even if I told you.”

“I’m curious. Tell me anyway.”

“Such a curious character.” He glances at the embers again. “Alright, I see no harm in it. My peers overseeing Twisted Wonderland include Walt Disney, the Brothers Grimm, Hanna Diyab, Victor Hugo, and Lewis Carroll, among others.”

None of these names ring a bell. It is just a list of names, but having more information is never a bad thing.

“And your name? I should know how to address you.”

“Oh, I have not yet introduced myself to you? My apologies, I must be turning forgetful in my old age.” He laughs at himself in a good-natured manner. “My name is Hans Christian Anderson. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

You introduce yourself as well. He extends a hand to you. When your hands connect in a firm handshake, the new deal you’ve made feels solidified.

Anderson looks at the fireplace one more time. The light has died completely, the little room lit only by the moonlight pouring in the window. With a gentle but decisive clap of his hands, he stands from his armchair.

“That was a fruitful discussion, and I thank you for your patience and understanding. I fear time has run out, however, and so I will be sending you back shortly. I’ll place you right back where you came from: at the moment when I brought you here.”

“Hold on!” Too soon, too sudden. You still have so much to say. He holds up a hand, stopping your protests.

“If you’d like to communicate with me, simply write a request for it in your new journal. I wish you best of luck.”

And with that, the world goes white again.

This is the story of a girl whose name is no longer hers. A girl so common that she may as well be a faceless background character in another person’s story. A girl who wishes, more than anything, to be the protagonist of a love story that will sweep her off her feet and solve all her problems.

Her family is normal. Her friends, too. And so is she. It isn’t enough for her. The world inside that game she plays is so magical, so whimsical, so perfect. The characters are handsome, powerful, clever, funny, or rich, or some combination of those qualities. If she enters this world, surely all those wonderful characters would treat her as someone special. They’d love and revere her unconditionally. She pines for a man who would love her and her shortcomings in their entirety, no matter what she does.

The beauty about fictional characters is that because they are fictional, they can be whatever she wants them to be. She can wholeheartedly believe they’ll love her, and there is nothing wrong with that. But she isn’t satisfied with that alone. It needs to be real.

Desperately, she writes a story revolving around a faceless, flawless main character who she desperately wishes she could be. Everyday, the writing consumes her, dragging her into a fantasy of bliss. She begins to resent her reality. Nobody in real life will love her the correct way. Nobody can be as good as the characters she pours her love and headcanons on. She doesn’t consider how love can be gradual, nor does realize someone might have to get to know her before loving her. After all, in her fanfiction, the perfect mafioso loves her main character upon the first meeting and devotes himself with no questions asked. Isn’t that the ideal love?

One day, a miracle occurs. She meets a man who offers to make her story into her reality. Jumping on the chance to live her perfectly crafted life of happiness, she agrees. Finally. Finally, she will be loved the way she wants.

At first, everything went perfectly. Real life follows her fanfiction to the letter. Jade is charming, Floyd is endearing, and a string of coincidences leads her to meet Vil, another handsome bachelor. Love surrounds her at every turn. All she needs in this life are the handsome men who give her special treatment. After all, this body, this life—(Y/N)—was created by her, for her use. All of the previous relationships this body entertained no longer matter. They aren’t hers, anyway.

The polaroids that occupied her nightstand are probably in a landfill somewhere. The aesthetic was cute, befitting the tastes of a character she modelled after herself, but the person in them is irrelevant. Some side character she’s never going to see again. No matter; she’ll eventually replace those polaroids with cute photos of herself and her new love. (Y/N)—no, the placeholder—has served its purpose. It will not miss those useless decorations since it will never again have its own consciousness.

So where did it all go wrong? Perhaps it was wrong from the start. She should have cursed that old man for scamming her. Her happy ending was never a guarantee. How dare a throwaway side character upend her perfect, fairy tale ending? Is that even allowed? They’re all just characters anyway. How can they steal from a real person?

Until the very end, she couldn’t see anyone around her as anything other than characters in a story. Maybe if she did, she might have gotten the love she wanted. Now, she disappears, having never achieved the goal she so desperately grasped at. Like seafoam, her hopes and yearning for love bubbles and disappears.

Hans Christian Anderson places a book into an empty spot on one of his many shelves. He has always been fond of tragedies. As for this new story that’s unfolding . . . who’s to say how it will end? He’s a patient man. With a smile, he settles into an armchair and sips from a cup of tea. He’s looking forward to it. When it eventually ends, like all stories inevitably do, he’ll shelve it and find another story to bring to life.

The world suddenly flashes into focus. The sun’s dying embers flicker on the sea. Sand shifts between your toes. Fingers graze your neck. Before you can activate your Signature Spell, (Y/N) crashes into you and you both topple over into a bed of sand. Bloodlust raises the hairs on the back of your neck. But it isn’t coming from (Y/N). Instead, you instinctively wrap one arm around her and hold the other one out in front of you, shielding her from Jade.

“Wait, wait! Jade, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

He freezes. One of his hands stops a centimeter away from (Y/N)’s hair. She doesn’t react. Slowly, you lay back down, heaving a sigh. You shift her face to the side so that she doesn’t suffocate in your shoulder. Her eyelashes flutter against her cheekbones, complementing the slow rise and fall of her ribs.

“See? She’s asleep.”

Jade furrows his brows. “I fail to understand. Most importantly, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah.” You chuckle, staring up at the stars that unveil themselves in the darkening sky. “I’m just a little tired.”

You explain everything to him. He seems skeptical, but eventually, he accepts it. He sits in the sand next to you, his hand covering yours. You pretend not to notice, but it offers a soothing calm to your exhausted mind.

“I’m sorry,” you say, glancing at his side profile. “Even if I write that Vil Schoenheit will cure your parents, it might not happen because of continuity issues. Maybe (Y/N) will still be able to convince him.”

“That’s alright.” He catches your gaze. “It would make the story progress more smoothly if we continue with our talks with Walrus.”

He accepted it so quickly. For that matter, so did you. You wonder briefly if there is something at play that makes you accept the reality of your situation as fact—if it’s because you’re a character after all—but that’s all speculation. Not worth your time and energy to figure out.

“Bottom line is, this is my story now. So I’ll make sure the curse on your parents is dispelled.”

“How reliable.” Jade gives you a gentle smile, one that causes an unfamiliar stirring in your chest. “Thank you. What would you like in recompense?”

You weren’t expecting him to offer anything at all. But since he offered, you aren’t one to refuse.

“Money.”

His quiet laughter blends in with the sound of rushing waves.

“No hesitation at all, I see. Of course, I will pay you adequately for your invaluable help.”

“I also want something else.” You fiddle with the strands of (Y/N)’s hair. “I’d like a vacation. Just a week or two after everything settles down so I can go back to my hometown with my mom.”

“Is that what the money is for?”

“Yeah.” Your heart feels a little lighter. “You should visit the Coral Sea after your parents wake up as well. I’m sure you’ll want to spend time with them.”

A pause. You scrutinize Jade’s expression in the low light, but his expression is wholly unfamiliar to you. He almost looks . . . nervous.

“Would you come with us?”

You blink. “Don’t you want to spend time with just your family?”

“Yes, but my parents would be delighted to have you over again. You have not been to our home under the sea in a long time, and I would be more than happy to show you around again.”

“It won’t be a bother?”

“Far from it.” His thumb rubs softly against the back of your hand. “I . . . We are very fond of you.”

You can’t help but think there’s an ulterior motive, but you accept. This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve travelled to their home under the sea, and this most likely won’t be the last.

Suddenly, (Y/N) shifts on your chest. A soft noise escapes her lips as though she’s finally awakened from a long nap. Her bleary eyes find yours. Kind, lovely, and gentle eyes. The eyes of the (Y/N) you know and love, the eyes of your friend.

“Huh? Are we on the beach? What happened?”

A relieved laugh bubbles out of your throat and you hug her tightly. Confused but sweet, she reciprocates with reassuring pats to your arm.

“Yeah, we’re on the beach. Let’s get you home.” You sit up and smile as she fusses over the sand in your hair. Normalcy is slowly but surely returning. “I’ll tell you everything on the way there.”

[sgiandubh]

Labor of love

I was very interested to see what S told Mark Gillespie on the last episode of the latter's WhiskyCast podcast, @bat-cat-reader immediately shared with us.

It was a most instructive 35 minutes. I listened to all of it, because I wanted to also hear Gillespie's tasting notes forThe Sassenach. And I regret nothing: once you get past the traditional (and a bit obnoxious) 'why The Sassenach?' question, you're in for some interesting news.

You can listen to it here, by the way:

Before anything, who is Mark Gillespie?

One of the most respected professionals in the very small world of alcohol specialized podcasters, with a 37 years work experience in media and broadcasting, spanning household names such as CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Gallup and MSNBC. But also, and this I found very interesting, given the current context, the owner of CaskMedia, a firm specialized not only in media production, but also marketing and PR.

The podcast was recorded at The Metropolitan Club's library, moments before the Keepers of the Quaich dinner, where S was a keynote speaker. So not 'just there for the Haggis Ceremony ' - a 'guest of honor' is never invited just for the show, people should have known better, eh?

S's 7 minutes interview starts at the 09:32 mark. Comments in brackets are mine.

Gillespie surely doesn't like to beat around the bush and after the customary niceties, asks a million-dollar question:

MG: 'I have to ask: did you have the troubles (problems?) in Germany straightened up?'

SH: ' Ha, ha, ha [not an organic giggle, but hey - gotta do what you gotta do, eh?]. Well, I am not entirely sure I should talk about it [speaks very quickly and through his teeth - visibly annoyed/nervous; not entirely sure I got it all correctly, so feel free to amend in comments], ah... ummm... not as yet... not as yet...ummm...we did fall into an issue with the name Sassenach, which was similar to a big brand in the US... ah!... in Germany, sorry... of a beer brand... I...I personally don't see the similarity [neither do I, S...neither do I], but I am sure once people taste our whisky, they'll know what it is, whatever the name is on it.'

Yes, this interview was probably rehearsed. Yes, Gillespie might have sent the questions to S/his people in advance for reviewing. No, he could not speak about a legally complicated situation before the final settlement with that Schoppingen beer brewer (penalties are probably still to be fixed and paid, but I will check that, so don't take my word for Gospel truth, yet). I will write separately about this whole thing, because I still think that was a very questionable decision of the EUIPO. Not because it royally pisses me off (so fucking unfair!), but because I really fail to see the proper legal reasoning and basis for it. His answer was perfect, under the circumstances. Absolutely perfect.

Anyways, FWIW, it would seem some sort of solution has already been found ('whatever the name is on it') and that most probably would be to rebrand it. And sell it on the German/EU market under a new name.

Lallybroch (https://trademarks.justia.com/981/67/lallybroch-98167525.html), perhaps? Time will tell, but that could explain this recent trademark application I didn't have time to properly look into, yet:

Further ahead (and fast forward through the cask version release, these things bore me to death), we land on another (as yet) unexploded ordnance:

MG: 'I have to mention your show MIK that you do with Graham McTavish, you visited a bunch of distilleries during that one... any visit in particular stands out?'

Now I am not very sure if that question was the best possible one, since that SAG-AFTRA strike is still an ongoing situation. And his answer was quite clever, changing the focus on their visit to Laphroaig's distillery on Islay and waxing lyrical about the casks, the peat, the landscape, etc. But other than a perfunctory and logical 'we', I heard absolutely nothing about McTavish, and it could have been so damn easy to further change the subject and mention his bourbon, with a few kind words. Therefore, I think things are pretty obviously not exactly on the sunny side, between the two. And I guess we all know why.

To end this long post on a cheerful note, I almost forgot to mention something very important. Answering a listener's question about Sassenach not being available in Rhode Island/part of New Jersey, S said something very interesting: 'obviously you can get it online, (...) we've just signed a deal with Southern Glazer's, so we're rolling it out. It is a limited batch, so you know, every year we do do a release and it is very limited, so it does tend to sell out pretty quick. But yes, it is available (...), but obviously you're not gonna see it in every bar, restaurant or retailer, because we just don't have enough of it. But online you can get it and great delivery service, it's very quick.'

I am taking two things home from this last answer: demand exceeds supply, which is both a blessing (solid yield, room for expansion) and a curse (lackadaisical market presence). On short to mid term, distribution will concentrate on the online market, with the help of Southern Glazer's superb infrastructure.

Remember the older guy he had lunch with in MIA, in May? You should, if you didn't focus on Mordor's inept babble about shirts, ballerinas and the like. That guy was instrumental into arranging the deal with Southern Glazer's. Just the biggest wine and spirits distributor on the US market, mind you.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

That company was founded in Florida. Its HQ is still in MIA. He didn't go there because he was looking for ballerinas at his birthday dinner. He went there because when these people are available to meet you, well: you leave everything aside and you damn GO.

Now who the hell is writing fanfiction, eh? You really should be ashamed, madam.

I rest my case.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Object permanence

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in SAN DIEGO at MYSTERIOUS GALAXY on Mar 24, and in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on Apr 2. More tour dates here.

#20yrsago Orrin Hatch is head of new IP subcommitee https://www.technewsworld.com/story/hatch-to-lead-senate-panel-on-intellectual-property-41548.html

#20yrsago Hollywood stars look like crap in high-def https://web.archive.org/web/20050324045011/http://www.onhd.tv/thelist.htm

#20yrsago Self-replicating 3D printers https://web.archive.org/web/20050410074636/https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns/?id=dn7165

#20yrsago Andre Norton, RIP https://web.archive.org/web/20050318045717/https://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/03/17/obit.norton.ap/index.html

#15yrsago YouTube: Viacom secretly posted its videos even as they sued us for not taking down Viacom videos https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/broadcast-yourself/

#15yrsago Entertainment industry sours on term “pirate” — too sexy https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/03/piracy-sounds-too-sexy-say-rightsholders/

#15yrsago Is the UK record industry arrogant or stupid? https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/mar/18/digital-economy-bill-calculated-loss

#10yrsago J. Edgar Hoover palled around with a suspected commie spy https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2015/feb/26/fbi-files-congressman-dickstein-show-close-relatio/

#10yrsago DRM for woo: “light therapy” mask’s LED only works 30 times https://www.techdirt.com/2015/03/18/drm-how-to-make-30000-hour-led-bulbs/

#10yrsago Canadian court hands a gimme to copyright trolls https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/03/defending-privacy-doesnt-pay-federal-court-issues-ruling-in-voltage-teksavvy-costs/

#10yrsago Clinton’s sensitive email was passed through a third-party spam filtering service https://web.archive.org/web/20150317223142/http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2015/03/16/breaking-news-spam-filtering-service-had-access-to-clinton-classified-emails/comment-page-1/

#10yrsago Following the key Trans-Pacific Partnership senator with a 30′ blimp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKzwB8GhN0

#5yrsago Plague precautions from 1665 https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#hello-1665

#5yrsago How to make your own toilet paper https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#diy-tp

#5yrsago If nothing is for sale, how will covid stimulus work? https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#covid-stimulus

#5yrsago 3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#patently-absurd

#5yrsago Epidemiology and public health in 14 minutes https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#explainer

#5yrsago Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#repandybiggs

#5yrsago How to split a single ventilator for four patients https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#ventilator-sharing

#5yrsago John Green's mutual aid manifesto https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#nerdfighters

#5yrsago American Airlines blew billions, now it wants a bailout https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#aa-crashes

#5yrsago MAGA firefighters dismiss coronavirus as Democrat hoax https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#trump-virus

#5yrsago Charter orders all workers to keep showing up https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#sociopathy

[simnostalgia]

I've recently learned how to scrape websites that require a login. This took a lot of work and seemed to have very little documentation online so I decided to go ahead and write my own tutorial on how to do it.

We're using HTTrack as I think that Cyotek does basically the same thing but it's just more complicated. Plus, I'm more familiar with HTTrack and I like the way it works.

So first thing you'll do is give your project a name. This name is what the file that stores your scrape information will be called. If you need to come back to this later, you'll find that file.

Also, be sure to pick a good file-location for your scrape. It's a pain to have to restart a scrape (even if it's not from scratch) because you ran out of room on a drive. I have a secondary drive, so I'll put my scrape data there.

Next you'll put in your WEBSITE NAME and you'll hit "SET OPTIONS..."

This is where things get a little bit complicated. So when the window pops up you'll hit 'browser ID' in the tabs menu up top. You'll see this screen.

What you're doing here is giving the program the cookies that you're using to log in. You'll need two things. You'll need your cookie and the ID of your browser. To do this you'll need to go to the website you plan to scrape and log in.

Once you're logged in press F12. You'll see a page pop up at the bottom of your screen on Firefox. I believe that for chrome it's on the side. I'll be using Firefox for this demonstration but everything is located in basically the same place so if you don't have Firefox don't worry.

So you'll need to click on some link within the website. You should see the area below be populated by items. Click on one and then click 'header' and then scroll down until  you see cookies and browser id. Just copy those and put those into the corresponding text boxes in HTTrack! Be sure to add "Cookies: " before you paste your cookie text. Also make sure you have ONE space between the colon and the cookie.

Next we're going to make two stops and make sure that we hit a few more smaller options before we add the rule set. First, we'll make a stop at LINKS and click GET NON-HTML LINKS and next we'll go and find the page where we turn on "TOLERANT REQUESTS", turn on "ACCEPT COOKIES"  and select "DO NOT FOLLOW ROBOTS.TXT"

This will make sure that you're not overloading the servers, that you're getting everything from the scrape and NOT just pages, and that you're not following the websites indexing bot rules for Googlebots. Basically you want to get the pages that the website tells Google not to index!

Okay, last section. This part is a little difficult so be sure to read carefully!

So when I first started trying to do this, I kept having an issue where I kept getting logged out. I worked for hours until I realized that it's because the scraper was clicking "log out' to scrape the information and logging itself out! I tried to exclude the link by simply adding it to an exclude list but then I realized that wasn't enough.

So instead, I decided to only download certain files.  So I'm going to show you how to do that. First I want to show you the two buttons over to the side. These will help you add rules. However, once you get good at this you'll be able to write your own by hand or copy and past a rule set that you like from a text file. That's what I did!

Here is my pre-written rule set. Basically this just tells the downloader that I want ALL images, I want any item that includes the following keyword, and the -* means that I want NOTHING ELSE. The 'attach' means that I'll get all .zip files and images that are attached since the website that I'm scraping has attachments with the word 'attach' in the URL.

It would probably be a good time to look at your website and find out what key words are important if you haven't already. You can base your rule set off of mine if you want!

WARNING: It is VERY important that you add -* at the END of the list or else it will basically ignore ALL of your rules. And anything added AFTER it will ALSO be ignored.

Good to go!

And you're scraping! I was using INSIMADULT as my test.

There are a few notes to keep in mind: This may take up to several days. You'll want to leave your computer on. Also, if you need to restart a scrape from a saved file, it still has to re-verify ALL of those links that it already downloaded. It's faster that starting from scratch but it still takes a while. It's better to just let it do it's thing all in one go.

Also, if you need to cancel a scrape but want all the data that is in the process of being added already then ONLY press cancel ONCE. If you press it twice it keeps all the temp files. Like I said, it's better to let it do its thing but if you need to stop it, only press cancel once. That way it can finish up the URLs already scanned before it closes.

[mariacallous]

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1810387774329204925.html

Joe Biden headed into the 2022 midterms with historically high numbers of voters saying the country and the economy were headed in the wrong direction. His approval ratings were at, or near, historic lows for a President in the midterms. Yet Dems did historically well. Why? Voters on both sides of the aisle believe their worldview is under threat and attack. The threat is existential. The candidates and party’s who lead the fights to protect them are far less important than the world view they’re trying to preserve.

This is why Republicans vote for the most flawed candidate in US history. No matter his deficiencies Trump is the candidate who fought and won for their side. Same for Biden. Elites and the media have been fueling an apocalyptic narrative for a decade. Why are they surprised that the base resents being told who they should be supporting because of a stylistic, or even substantive failing? For many pundits this is just a DC parlor game. Another exercise in following the insider herd mentality of politics. This hierarchal structure of politics has worked for most of our country’s history - but it’s collapsing in the digital age where voters are tired of being bullied by these gatekeepers. All politics is national now. The hierarchical structure of politics is gone. Republicans went through this process in 2016. A horrifically flawed candidate won a multi candidate field and became the nominee. The pundits & media said he could not win. The polling showed he could not win. Historical trend lines showed he could not win. He won.

Trump won because his base was intact. All campaigns in a negatively charged environment are base elections. If you don’t have a secure energized base you don’t have a campaign. You can’t appeal to swing or Independent voters until your base is secure. Ironically, the backlash of Dem base voters to the media and pundit meltdown might have the effect of firing up the base for Biden in a way nothing else could have. And if you have a fired up base four months before an election anyone saying you can’t win isn’t a serious person Biden has consistently outperformed his polling on Election Day throughout 2024, usually by wide margins. Trump has consistently underperformed his polling on Election Day throughout 2024, usually by wide margins. These are significant data points in assessing base support.

The recent polling shows Trump picking up GOP support. Ok, that’s expected. Same polls show Biden picking up Independent support. Extremely important data point. But what about Democrats? The after debate polls show Biden losing Dem support and going to…undecided. It’s a damn good bet that this vote comes back - probably very soon - but just in November. What’s the best way to get them back? Attack. Attack. Attack. For all the reasons outlined above there is every reason to believe that Biden begins to close the polling gap as Trump becomes the issue in the campaign. So when the naysayers point out Biden’s weaknesses and hammer them home continually they’re driving down Dem support levels

The WSJ poll shows Biden getting 86% of Dem voter support. Good numbers but down from 93% in February. If Biden consolidates this 7%+ of the base AND continues to pick up IND voters (both more likely than not) the race becomes not only competitive but begins to advantage him So when people ask “What’s the plan?” That’s the freakin plan. It all happens when the issue becomes Trump and the campaign goes on offense rather than listening to the arsonists lighting their own house on fire. This isn’t hypothetical btw. It’s predictable voter behavior. This isn’t some grand bank shot theory. It’s how voters are predisposed to vote anyway. The race is gonna bounce around for a bit. That’s normal. But it will consolidate along these lines and narrow.

Throwing a Hail Mary pass is sometimes a good idea in the last desparate throes of imminent defeat. But that’s never the case at the start of the second quarter. That’s essentially where the campaign is at.

[hightouch]

      there are 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 of things

        i want to 𝘴𝘢𝘺 to you but foremost …

                          𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘒𝘚 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦! 

indie & private role play blog for coordinator hikari dawn from pokemon diamond and pearl loved entirely by 𝓂ay

꒰  🎀  ꒱ 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 : wildbolt , spookymulti , mfingoak

      ⅰ.   guidelines are basic rp rules and are mandatory to follow. this is a highly selective mutuals only blog, minors under 18 and personals may not interact. this blog runs under a very low activity. i work a full time job that prevents me from being online most days, so please show some patience and respect for my responses. if you wish to have a serious correlation with my muse without delay, this is not the blog for you! i'm here to have fun with my friends, nothing more.

      ⅱ.   i will not be following to hubs or sides as this gets confusing to keep track of everyone, forgive me. i also won't follow if you post ooc content regarding life situations such as vents, this is for my personal health. @ / wildbolt is my one and only exclusive, but i am more than welcoming to become mains with anyone if we become close.

      ⅲ.   i love to ship and if our muses have enough dynamic and chemistry, then you can ask me if you would like to pair them up together in any way. that being said, i prefer it if our muses get to know each other through long enough character interactions. i am ship exclusive toward @ / wildbolt's ash, as pearlshipping has been my otp since i was a little girl. however this doesn't disregard that i won't ship with anyone else, just do not force anything on me if i don't like the idea of my muse being tied down with your own.

      ⅳ.   i use small text with html colorization in my posts. please keep our threads neat and accessible as well as how you format. i love to plot with my writing partners or wing things out. anything goes! when i answer an asked message, you can continue it as you see fit but please create a new post with the linked response. i can end up writing in multi paragraph length, there is no pressure to match. my only wish is not replying such length with only a couple sentences. this is a huge turnoff for me and assumes you have little to no interest and will cause a soft block from me.

      ⅴ.   under no circumstance will i allow nsfw to come into play as my muse is canonly underage. i may portray her older, but this is a safe space and will not parkour with relating subject. if i see any easing into this, it will end with in an immediate hard block. if pleasing a young girl is your time of fun, you need to touch grass.

      ⅵ.   furthermore, do not god mod and please no drama. having a busy life schedule outside of tumblr means i do not care for childlike behavior and will choose to ignore. you are welcome to talk in regard, but do not drag me into anything that is unrelated to me. i came back to tumblr rpc after 4+ years to write with friends and that is all i want to focus on. all edits were made by me, please enjoy thank you! ♡

[papercranesong]

Hello! I found I can't send you an ask, so I'll do it here! For the BTS writing ask game: 📝"what stages are you currently in your WIPs?" 🖊️"how does your magic system work?" 📖"what has surprised you about your WIPs?" 😭"what are the biggest challenges writing your WIPs?" ‼️"what has stayed consistent across all drafts?"

(Thanks @deadheaddaisy have switched the ask box on now oops 🤦🏻‍♀️)

📝"what stages are you currently in your WIPs?"  

Ok so this metaphor might not work but I’ll try it - I think my WIPs are generally like a vegetable patch in an allotment (a patch of green space for growing), some are just seeds with nothing to see (a story idea in my head), others are growing a little and showing leaves (a few scenes written here and there), some are getting near to producing fruit (drafted stories that are v rough but nearing fruition) and one I just harvested this morning i.e I posted a fic. 

But I think if you look at the allotment now it seems a bit bare and sparse cause it’s winter and cold - ditto with my brain  - probably like a lot of people at the moment, a bit tired - but a fallow field is never dormant and there’s magic stuff going on under the surface with the soil and things, so I have to remind myself it’s ok not to see a lot of fruit / do a lot of writing sometimes.

Hopefully that made some kind of sense!

🖊️"how does your magic system work?"  

Ok, interpreting this as my organisational system… It’s a bit haphazard to be honest. I just have a notes app on my phone that I write numerous little notes on and then drafts saved on AO3 (and a copy of the html code in my notes too). It’s a little precarious so I’m always interested how others do it so I can get tips!

📖"what has surprised you about your WIPs?"   

I guess how much shorter they are (word count wise) than I realise! I only find out what the word count is when I paste it into ao3 ready for final edits and then I’m like “oh that felt a lot longer than it actually was” 🤦🏻‍♀️ 

😭"what are the biggest challenges writing your WIPs?"

Probably sometimes I write the same  characters in quite similar situations and it feels quite hard to keep things fresh, especially when I end up using the same words and ways to describe stuff. 

So I really appreciate being part of fandom culture on AO3, Tumblr etc, seeing people’s interpretation of characters and relationships, cause it helps me have new ideas and hopefully keep things fresh cause I’m coming at it from slightly a different angle. 

Thanks again for the ask @deadheaddaisy

[ericstoltz]

life update!!!!

hi hello friends good morning good afternoon good evening its that time of the month again! this isnt really a big life update like the last time bcs i just thought id list down a bunch of things ive had on my mind.

first of all, im very happy to announce that i was able to watch 16 movies last march !! exciting!! i know ive said the last time that i quit the bingewatching thing but HONESTLY im in a work from home setup and the only way to keep me inspired is by watching a movie ... i am yet to find other ways to stay inspired so watching movies will just do for now... ALSO im gonna try to update my newsletter for the first time this year and itll probably be about the movies that i saw this march that i liked ! im now comfortable with turning the newsletter to be more about movies bcs nothing major has been happening in my life lol . so pls stay tuned for that newsletter post if ur interested!

another thing is ive decided to make this blog more personal! for the past year ive made this blog to be more about movies and gifs and stuff, and as much as i love getting the notes and reading ppl's tags, im going to try and make this blog work for me this time :) hope it doesnt get annoying or something... im also in the process of fixing my about pages and tags and all. ive used tumblr since 2012 so im still struggling with the setup. LIKE yes i want to maximize the fact that you can edit html pages and its cute and lets me be creative but at the same time, im on my phone majority of the time . and i dont like being on my laptop after work because ive literally just been using a laptop the whole day. for work. im rly shy to post some stuff about me (bcs i havent done it before fr insert the tom hanks dialogue from joe vs the volcano abt doing some soul searching and coming to the conclusion that hes just boring so he stops doing it) so if u see me doing it as an attempt to fix the personal pages on my blog, im sorry! AAAND as for the gifs thing, im thinking of changing my film diary tag, one thing i really enjoy is taking note of dialogues i love from a movie so i might just do screenshots. i really miss making gifs even though most of the gifs i end up with are LQ , but it just really isnt feasible now . (also some movies are just so tempting to gif LIKEEE valley girl and everytime we say goodbye 😭😭 it physically hurts me that i cant gif josh whitehouse and tom hanks in those movies....)

ALSO im really very very happy that ive gained new followers recently. i enjoy chatting with you guys and get so happy whenever i get the notif that someone sent me an ask/message!! ive been idle on stan twt/fandoms in general so its been a really long time since ive actually... talked to people... it makes me really happy talking to u and im sorry if my happiness doesnt show in my replies/posts. as i said, its been a while since ive done this and i usually go on here as soon as im off work (when my brain is semi-fried and the words are not wording anymore) . i hope i dont come across as bored/uninterested :(

and it isnt just about fandoms too, im genuinely insterested what u guys are up to lately and all... (in a non stalker way). it just feels nice to have friends in general ^__^

SO YEA, i think thats about it :) if u've read this all until here ilysm! thanks for ur interest and lmk how ur day was! or just send me something u want to talk about !

have a nice day :)

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Terrifier (2016)

Terrifier (2016)

Not rated

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-terrifier-2016.html>

Score: 3 out of 5

Terrifier isn't a throwback to '80s slasher movies so much as it is a throwback to what the moral crusaders of the '80s thought slasher movies were like, done as the best possible version thereof. It's an unapologetic 85-minute parade of sleazy, mostly plotless violence and brutality that's chiefly anchored and elevated by its villain, Art the Clown, a slasher villain for the ages who not only delivers the goods but is brimming with personality even as he never speaks so much as a grunt, let alone a line of dialogue. His victims get next to no development beyond serving as meat bags for him to spill all over the ground, to the point where one could in fact argue for him as the film's real protagonist and viewpoint character. As a slasher, the actual story is nothing you haven't seen before and better, but when it comes to its killer, the grisly gore effects, the atmosphere that writer/director Damien Leone built here, and the streak of brutal nihilism running through it all, there's a lot to enjoy. Even with this movie's flaws, there's a reason why Art the Clown became a horror icon almost instantly after he debuted, and this is a hell of a demonstration as to why.

The plot is simple: on Halloween night, a guy named Art puts on a clown costume and heads out on the town to hack people up, his rampage eventually winding up at a grungy warehouse. That's pretty much it. Everybody in this movie can be summed up in a few words: the drunken party girl, her sober best friend, the best friend's sister who comes to pick them up, the pizzeria employees, the crazy lady, the janitor, and the janitor's co-worker/buddy. The acting, while not exceptional, wasn't outright dreadful either, with Jenna Kanell as the best friend Tara being a highlight who gets most of the heavy lifting in the horror sequences, but the characters were all so paper-thin, and the story's structure so wobbly, that it made the movie feel like a series of random events as characters constantly entered and exited the picture. There's a twist at the end regarding the true identity of a character from the prologue, and it's a pretty neat twist that shows how traumatizing it would be to go through a horror movie even if you survive, but it's not that spectacular in the grand scheme of things.

No, this movie is about one thing and one thing only: serving as a showcase for Art the Clown. Once I sat down to write this review, my mind went back to In a Violent Nature, a slasher deconstruction that was far more overt about telling a slasher story from the killer's point of view, though while that film was a lot more contemplative and self-serious, this one is shameless pulp and, in my opinion, a better film for it. Art's sexism has been toned down from his debut in All Hallows' Eve (he still inflicts horrible, sexualized violence on women, but he doesn't scrawl outright misogynistic slurs on their bodies), as have the supernatural elements of his character (he's portrayed as mostly just a normal human in a costume and makeup here), but his general depravity and sick sense of humor have not. He writes his name in feces on bathroom walls, he goes out of his way to make dying at his hands the most painful experience you can think of, and his kills are both extremely creative and incredibly pragmatic when he needs to be. Furthermore, he's one of the rare horror movie clowns who, beyond just looking creepy, actually does "clown stuff" on top of it, as in humorous gags meant for his own amusement and that of an unseen audience. They're gags that mostly work, too, with David Howard Thornton (replacing the since-retired Mike Giannelli) giving his silent character a ton of personality through his facial expressions and body language alone. An interaction with one character implies some kind of troubled past involving his mother, but other than that, what we see is what we get with him. He's a remorseless sadist who loves killing and is clearly having fun doing it, almost enough to make the shocking, disgusting nature of his actions feel something close to fun. He's scary, but charismatic at the same time. Once I realized that he was the film's real main character, complete with a scene where he has his back against the wall only to come back with a "heroic" second wind (i.e. a dirty trick he had up his sleeve of a sort that way too many slasher movies consider to be "cheating"), and started watching and reacting to the film as though he was, it clicked.

And when Art gets down to business, Damien Leone gets to show off his skills behind the camera. The stalk-and-chase sequences are all fairly well done in how they combine traditional slasher scares with Art's trademark dose of black comedy, with one highlight being a scene where one character tries to hide in a closet and Art makes it clear that she didn't have him fooled for a second -- namely, by pointing at the closet where she's hiding with a mocking smile on his face, knowing she can see him. Every kill is gratuitously violent and would be among the highlights in most other slasher flicks, involving some very creative use of otherwise old-fashioned slasher movie weapons like knives and hacksaws, while the grimy setting and low-budget aesthetic lend the affair the feel of something made in 1986 that I might've found buried deep in Blockbuster's horror aisle as a kid. The characters may not have had much going for them in terms of development or writing, but I was still able to place myself in their shoes and feel some genuine fear as they ran for their lives in the face of what Art had in store for them.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to modern throwbacks to the slashers of the '80s, Hatchet is still my gold standard, but Terrifier, while undoubtedly flawed, still has its gritty charms to it, not least of all in its killer. I can't say I didn't enjoy myself watching it.

[dark-falz]

Kinda personal but about Tumblr

I just wanna say I'm probably gonna pick Tumblr back up as my main and now only social because I can't stand Instagram anymore and that's all that was left.

Since the editor change hasn't effected my gif quality (Tho I'll no longer be dealing with HTML cause it's a different headache with this editor I feel) and this blog is the main reason I'm even still on this site, if you see a follow from me after years of interaction through here but nothing else, it's because I felt I was never active enough to bother, cause I didn't look at my dash.

Now there's other PSO content so. More reason to look at my dash. And I need something that isn't Instagram to scroll idly when my dogs don't show up at work lmao.

So? Thanks Phantasy Star fandom for making the NSFW ban irrelevant to me 🙃🥰 (why I stopped using tumblr and why my old account kept getting shadowbanned and i made a new one but still fuck u tumblr for not letting me appreciate hot nakey anime grills the same)

[ne0nwithazero]

With the recent news in regards to Tumblr, it's just really disappointing but I guess also expected that things would turn out like this

I predict that nothing much will be changing, website layout-wise, but the bot problem will get consistently worse, moderation will find ways to get worse, and the website either becomes inhospitable or by some miracle, gets some sudden surge in popularity that will cause the staff to try and invest in it again

Regardless of the outcome, I don't really have much hope either way

Tumblr and Twitter are my only active social media as both have the only format I'm able to tolerate using (With such intense curating on Twitter that I'm aggressively making sure my timeline only shows things I Want to see and any post out of line gets send to the void LOL)

Instagram is one of the most miserable platforms for me to use, I feel like I use mine out of obligation to remind people that I exist

Tiktok is an Absolutely Not, I am not subjecting my mind to that, and I do have a Bluesky, but I can't really bring myself to use it since it's basically Twitter but without my follower base and harder to curate

My Neocities has felt the most rewarding because it's allowed me to enjoy my work regardless of how many people see it (And somehow people have still come across it so that's fun!)

But it can get lonely because I do understand the learning curve to learning HTML/CSS can be difficult for people (But so worth it, I swear!!)

Social media just feels so hostile nowadays to anyone who just isn't interested in the fast-paced TikTok format that everything wants to adopt nowadays...

Tumblr is the only place where people actively engage with and respond to what I post, so it's disheartening to hear all that's happening. Other social media just isn't rewarding and it overall just brings so much unneeded stress that my RSD absolutely does not need

This may age poorly, but right now, my Discord server is the best way for keeping up with my work as I post stuff there way earlier than anywhere else (Or sometimes only post to the server and nowhere else)

Here's hoping for a better internet...

[virginmarychangbininthemegaverse]

Changbin Rosary in Stray Kids "MEGAVERSE" MV

I literally made this whole blog only to show everybody my investigation on Changbin rosary in the MEGAVERSE MV because I'm FK obsessed with rosaries and I wanted to replicate it. Finally I can't but stay tuned to the end (pun not intended) to now why.

(Disclaimer: I love Stray Kids music but I don't consider myself for the moment a Stay, so I maybe mess up the names, I will try not, and I have no fucking clue about the Stray Kids lore, I suppose this one is about some type of multiversal Christian elevator. It's a joke, I know there is more but I find it funny to describe this like this the same way I describe ATEEZ as multiversal flying pirates with evil doppelgangers trying to dismantle a dictatorial dystopia with some type of illegal contraband ring of bullets in hot chilly peppers while actively killing people. I swear someday I'll learn the Stray Kids lore bc I really like their music)

(Disclaimer 2: I'm a multi and a legally Christian atheist. If you don't like me being a multi or an atheist, find peace by blocking me as God intended. Thanks! ❤️❤️)

NOW WITH THE ROSARY

For the easy part, if you zoom in on the rosary, you can see it's made out of white hearts. Make sense actually when you see that the hearts have some protagonism in the MV. And because I highly doubt that they made this rosary from scratch bead to bead like I do I searched on Aliexpress and SURPRISE I found it!

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005003973327676.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2esp

You can see it even has the same centre with the halo on the Virgin Mary's head. I know in the MV it can look like gold but is the illumination. Changbin's rosary is totally silver. Now the difficult part. You can see there are differences. BECAUSE THEY TOOK THIS ROSARY AND THEY FRANKENSTEIN IT WITH OTHER THING. I couldn't understand initially the pendant part. It's too long, I don't understand what that word means, and the beads made no sense to me. And the crucifix is actually different, they also changed it.

Here you can see the different parts. At first, I thought they added some type of chain between the pendant beads and after the beads another elongation with that word, like some type of independent DIY work. But those beads also didn't make sense because they were too close to each other and that would have meant too much work that only I like to do. And after I realised those beads were not hearts. Like, it's a totally different pendant. And then I realised that the Behind the Scenes video of this MV existed and OMG THANK GOD FOR THIS AMEN because you could see much better the rosary. Because I swear I couldn't see what that word was: Fero? Feno? Nop. Here you have it.

Okay, the word is FenG with some type of diamond incrustation and a sans serif typography. That resolved absolutely nothing for me because I tried to search for something related to FenG and all I had for a day was Feng Shui results.

Then I saw the chain: it's a very typical curb chain usually marketed to the male bad boy street silver vibe. Personally I find it's an elegant chain but it's true that the general vide of a curb chain it's "bad boy". Perfect, now we have bad boy Virgen Mary repartiendo hostias that I'm very sure would kick Herodes ass with all God's force. So I thought "Yeah, that's easy, I can find a curb chain and Frankenstein everything together". But then, telling all this to a friend I had a fucking revelation. Bellow the Virgin Mary centre you can see a HOOK. So I thought OMG the pendant part has to be some type of bracelet with the word FenG that they throw in the rosary and call it a day. Well, I found nothing. But then, while I was in the toilet, EUREKA, I found it! I don't know why it didn't cross my mind that that part could be a necklace instead of a bracelet but I found it absolutely on accident:

It's apparently a dissected part of the FCW Diamond Necklace from the Feng Chen Wang Fall/Winter 2022 Collection. It's not anymore on the FenG CHen WANG official shop (I had to use WayBackMachine to see the original one bc some of the versions I found were clearly replicas bc the curb chain and the pearls were different) and it's not cheap to buy in other shops. That's why I'm not going to be able to replicate this one because I don't have 300 or 150 USD to do this (that's the price they are selling it now). Sorry.

But this is still interesting. The part that they used in the rosary is the FenG part until the hook with the pearls. EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE NOW. Like, I'm sure they had the original necklace hanging around for a past MV and they did the Frankenstein rosary that we can see in the MV. So now Virgin Mary Changbin has a luxury 300 USD rosary on his neck. Cool.

Now the final part. The crucifix. Well, I have no clue so I'm gonna give you an alternative with an explanation.

Repeat with me, IT'S SILVER. Not gold. Now the form. As you can see it's not the same as the Aliexpress one I found. This one had the centre with some type of aura or petals, so I suppose they pasted another crucifix that they had in the studio. Surely, and bc in some parts it looks like it has some time of bling bling, it's from some expensive jewellery they had in there. Or maybe it's a cheap crucifix they found on the internet like the original heart rosary. And that's what I did. I researched. I don't think I found the original but I found an alternative.

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/32945065283.html

So this is the end of my TED Talk on Changbin rosary in the Megaverse MV, how it was made, and how you can replicate it if you found a replica of the FenG necklace.

Thank you for listening!