#ope it was 2015 that's why I couldn't find it

[uswnt5]

https://preath-things.tumblr.com/post/175103679595/sugarfile-christen-press-swerving-the-entire

for all to watch

yes!!

[moongothic]

So a few weeks ago I ran into this, old, old Crocodile meta post from 2015, the OP of which hasn't been active on Tumbr (at least on that account) since 2018. And this post (along with some of the OP's other posts) has been living in my head rent free since then.

There was just something there about seeing these old meta posts, completely detached from the current state of the story, the fandom and the Crocodad Propaganda... It just made for a truly refreshing read, but they also had such great observations about Crocodile I hadn't even thought about or noticed*, and somewhat most importantly... validating my own feelings/observations about things I've been kind of afraid to vocalize myself lest I apper completely delulu. Like I dunno I do worry sometimes if I'm just reading into things too much just to make massive reaches to get The Reading of the character that happens to support the Crocodad theory specifically, instead of trying to get a more objective reading instead. So seeing someone else make either those exact same or similar observations nearly 10 years before I did is so validating, and really just made me want to discuss some of those things.

*(Like this whole post about how "DON!" is often used to add emphasis and show the true beliefs of characters, and how Crocodile doesn't really say things with a DON!, almost like his heart isn't in most of the things he does or says. I dunno it was such a good read)

Sidenote: I do want to quickly comment that I don't agree with the OP on some of their readings about stuff, and more importantly, due to the age of the both the original posts and the OP not being active anymore, I didn't want to, like... Treat them as if they just posted it recently and interact with the posts as such. (I dunno, when people go digging through my decade old main blog and start reblogging shit I posted in like 2014 it just. I dunno, it's just kind of uncomfortable. Like you're allowed to browse my past but I wished people let my ancient cringe stay in the past. But that's just me) Like for example I feel like OP has a fundamental misunderstanding what being "trans" really even means (thus I don't agree with their take on trans Croc), but again, OP's take is old and so I don't want to hold it against them. They could have grown since then and come to better understand what being trans means, and regardless of that they don't have to buy into the theory either. And I absolutely do not want anyone to start trying to pester them about it or anything (again, they posted these things nearly 10 years ago), regardless of if they're still active or not. But yeah, that's why this is a whole separate post rather than a reblog with commentary.

So OP in their post speculated how in this moment (chap 206), based on the face he makes and the serious look he gives to Luffy, Crocodile seems to find the idea of someone being willing to die for someone else's sake absolutely incomprehensible, as if he's trying to wrap his head around the mere concept. That, or he used to know what it was like to hold someone/something that dear to you, but has long forgotten what it was like

Rereading this arc a while back I couldn't help but to take notice of this panel too and that unusual, somber(?) look on Crocodile's face. But because I'm a Crocodad Truther, of course I couldn't help but to feel that this was a face of recognition, of Crocodile understanding Luffy exactly in this moment, that willingness to do anything for a loved one. Especially because I have been speculating Crocodile might've been doing all of this with the goal of nuking the World Government out of orbit to protect his long lost baby boy (it's just that he simply finds Luffy's insistence on protecting this random ass princess from a random ass country he has zero ties to ridiculous, as opposed to like, doing all of this to protect immidiate, close family)

So again, despite the different reading it is validating as hell to see someone else think this panel in particular was odd. But the more I thought about it, I did kind of start leaning towards OP's reading. Now this one was originally pointed out by opbackgrounds, how in this scene (chapter 196) while Crocodile is meant to be laughing and mocking the royal guard for "throwing their lives away" to protect Cobra, he isn't actually smiling. We don't even get to see his full face with his eyes blacked out, so we don't get to see Crocodile's true feelings in this scene

And that does kind of reframe what he says in the second panel. For a long time I wondered if the implication was that Crocodile does actually value people's lives more than he lets on (especially with his seeming willingness to blow up a million people in a violent, orchestraded coup), just having a "small sacrifice for the greater good" kinda outlook (as we know, casualties can't be avoided in war, Croco and Luffy both agree on that) (where as I would IMAGINE Dragon having a more "no sacrifices, we have to save as many people as possible" kinda principle)

But now, looking at these two moments together, and knowing Crocodile has trust issues for unknown reasons, there is also that option that, perhaps... No one has ever shown that kind of loyalty towards him, a willingness to follow him to the grave or support him, to stay by his side? And if so, maybe, in these two scenes, Crocodile does recognize that kind of deep loyalty and trust and love, and has to cope with the fact that he has and may never experience it himself, that he's doomed to be alone, surrounded only by people who "respect him" out of fear (something that could be extra painful while knowing someone had just recently betrayed him by leaking his info to ruin his plans/after figuring out it was Robin, his very literal partner in crime. Like talk about rubbing salt into a wound).

And y'know, that is an extremely sad reading and I feel so bad for my poor little meow meow (that man needs a hug so bad), but also that doesn't really add to pushing The Crocodad Agenda, which is very unfortunate. Especially because I feel like between the two readings, Crocodile recognizing loyalty no one will ever show him (and being hurt by the fact) feels like a more comprehensive and simple reading, than if one is about him showing he doesn't fully believe in what he's doing is right and the other about him relating to Luffy on a deeper level.

But then, as OP pointed out in their post, for the entirety of page 2 of Chapter 207 while Luffy is keeling over from the poison finally kicking in, Crocodile looks like he's fully letting down his walls to express genuine relief, as if the those beliefs Croc had carried and convinced himself were true were just confirmed

What're his beliefs again? That trust in others is worthless, and you can not afford to have ideals if you're weak, great strenght being the only thing that allows you, if not straight up justifies you, in doing whatever you please? Now, maybe it's just me, but if Crocodile was showing relief here over his belief that trusting others is worthless after being reminded time and time again of the love and loyalty the Strawhats have for each other and the Alabastan kingdom has for everyone in it (etc)... I dunno, I feel like that would be kind of weak, if that's where Crocodile's internalized beliefs were wavering. But if Crocodile's whole Utopia-plan had been about destroying the WG to protect his baby boy (and release the whole world from the WG's oppressive rule while he's at it) at whatever cost, while he deep inside knew what he was doing was fucked up beyond belief... Yeah, Crocodile trying to convince himself what he was doing was "justified" would make sense. Him having his beliefs potentially even waver a little bit through out this whole ordeal would make sense. Crocodile in this moment experiencing relief that what he had told himself was the righteous would make sense.

Everybody remember's Doflamingo's speech from Marineford, about how history is written by the victors and its them who decide what is right and what is wrong- the winner becomes "justice" itself. Vegapunk kind of called back to this concept during his broadcast too, and yeah, Crocodile did kind of introduce us to it back in Alabasta. If he had won, he would have been "justified" in what he had done, because it'd be him who'd be deciding what's right and what's wrong.

Now I don't really have anything else to add to that post in particular (though I absolutely love the reading on the Crocodile vs Robin part and now that I've read it I can't unsee nor disagree with it), but OP did make a separate post speculating about some of design decisions Oda made regarding Crocodile, starting with discussing the logo for Baroque Works. And they pointed this out

Bro wrote this in 2015, they have no idea, oh my god, dude had no clue whatsoever

So quickly looking that one up and yeah, wings have sometimes been used to represent the sun (most commonly with the sun, as a winged sun?) and yeah, that actually has a lot of meaning in the current state of the series re: God of Liberation the Sun God Nika. But what's more is that this is actually the SECOND time we're actually finding a way to link Crocodile to sun-symbolism, the other being Crocodile being a reference to the Egyptian god Sobek (protector god, god of military, go to Wikipedia), who has an alternative form (/fusion with Ra) called Sobek-Ra, where he is a sun god. And what was Crocodile trying to do in Alabasta if not falsely "liberate" the country from its original rule. Also worth noting is that seemingly the winged sun was most commonly used in Egyptian iconography, so if Oda ever did research Egyptian mythology for inspiration in Alabasta (which, considdering the sheer amount of Stuff in the story as a whole is more than likely), then it is very possible he could have read about the winged sun and used it intentionally.

But what I do find interesting is that, yeah, wings kinda are a symbol one would considder "heroic" or related to "freedom". And, as I have been going on and on about, if Crocodile's ultimate goal in creating his funny little "utopia" was to overthrow the World Government and "free" the whole world of their rule. Like. That really lines up with the whole symbolism with the sun and the liberation and the freedom and shit, like. Why does it line up so neatly good dear god

I dunno how to end this post, these were just a few little things that I had been thinking about after coming across OP's blog and, yeah, just wanted to discuss them.

Again, OP hasn't been active for years, but if they did suddenly come back please don't bother them or god forbid harrass them/try to get them to change their mind about trans Croco. Just don't start shit, please.

End of post byeeeeeeee

[decepti-thots]

i would be super interesting in hearing your thoughts on the first trans tf character actually! transgender, textual and subtextual, in transformers is something i've been thinking about a lot recently

Personally, I do count it as Classics/Recordicons Howlback- for those not aware, the strip I'm referring to is this one.

...oh god this got longgggg, i will cut this to save all your dashes.

Willis actually talks about it here on Tumblr, basically saying he had been avoiding female characters in writing those strips for a while because while there are a couple of lasses in that continuity, the general rule of thumb was that everyone was supposed to be 'genderless' (which unfortunately in Classics continuity was actually just 'man as a default', because of course it was). And then he decided this was pretty daft of him because why couldn't a 'genderless society' just. Like. Decide 'hey, being a girl sounds neat' or whatever and then Be A Girl if they wanted. Which is pretty much what IDW would eventually retcon in as an explanation for how a robot species conceives of gender.

But since this is basically just a word of god situation, some folks argue this doesn't 'count'. Personally, despite not usually paying much attention to 'word of god', I count it because I think you have to give a certain amount of leeway when looking at the context it was being done in; if a creative wants a queer character or concept in there for a franchise where asking permission for that is required and yields uncertain results, insisting 'word of god doesn't ever count' strikes me as ungenerous. But true, Howlback is never canonized on panel as trans, so I see what people mean.

And then one elephant in the room in this whole discussion is... IDW Arcee. Spotlight Arcee is not a 'trans narrative' just because it leans on some very, very nasty transphobic tropes, and for many years IDW Arcee was not really treated as trans even by writers trying to do better by her than that shitty-ass comic. But as of the last ever issue of IDW1, and yes I really mean it was made 100% confirmed in the last ever comic for folks who didn't read exRiD btw, Barber managed to retcon it so Arcee was definitively, in-universe trans the whole time. And the Jhiaxus stuff didn't even have to be thrown out to do it. So is Arcee the 'first canon trans character'? Do we go from the date of OP #25, or from her Spotlight appearance? I personally go somewhere in the middle- Barber functionally treats her as trans throughout exRiD, he just never quite finds room to fit in an unambiguous mention- but that muddies stuff a lot. Some people argue IDW Arcee is the first canon trans character because she is both on-page trans and was introduced earlier, even if the confirmation of her as trans came way later, and very much in spite of what happened at the beginning.

And of course in between Barber taking over Arcee and him canonizing her as For Real Trans, we have Lug and Anode in Lost Light. This is on the page, it is explicitly unambiguously trans, and for some folks both of those things are needed for First Trans Character credentials. Meaning that they feel Lug and Anode, in 2016, were the actual honest-to-god first trans characters in TF, since they may not count Arcee's earlier appearances since at the time they were written, she wasn't yet trans. (Edit: amendment regarding a precursor to them is here.)

But then, what about the AVP stuff? Well after Howlback was word of god-ed as trans and before the above from Barber on the page in IDW, back in 2015 AVP, which is considered canon material, got asked about if any characters were trans. And answered in the affirmative! Notably, these are all little nods to characters who for various reasons have Stuff going on with their canon genders, e.g. G1 Overlord being nodded to as genderfluid because that character in the anime he originates from is basically 'created from' a man and a woman who are a married couple. (G1 Overlord is weird.) Also, Archadis was originally designed to be a female character and then swapped to male, which gets a nod as a trans man character, that sort of thing. These are technically not 'word of god', as AVP, despite functionally being a way to canonize word of god stuff, is in-universe fiction of its own and considered as such. I have seen at least one argument, therefore, that the 2015 AVP stuff constitutes the first unambiguous in-fiction depiction of explicitly trans characters in TF, as it predates all the above bar Howlback, who they don't count. But I've also seen some people say AVP is actually just a word of god machine and not canon as a result! So some people say none of the trans stuff in there is Real Canon!

...and you could really take it further and therefore look at which of those characters would be the earliest to debut in-fiction and I think that means you could make the claim the first ever canon trans character in TF is indeed G1 Overlord, which would be mostly very silly to do, but funny, so I think someone oughta.

Anyway. All this is to say, there's a lot of contenders for who is first, and probably more characters you can definitively call 'trans' in SOME context than many folks realize!

[mgarmagedon]

What would you change in rid15 If you could?

DAMN IT'S A TRAP QUESTION1!!11!1

Because I would change a lot of things! But not like "disney making live action of their old movies" kind of change, but more like "i love the concept and characters so much that I will give more info about them also fix story"

And for the sake of your time and my mental health, I won't start talking about EVERY ITTY BITTY TINY THING THAT MAKES ME MAD ANGRY Soo... I'm just gonna tell you about main things and focus mainly on 1 season :D AND THAT GONNA BE JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION WHAT WOULD AT LEAST A LITTLE FIXT THE SHOW, YOU CAN DISAGREE WITH ME

Firstly I would change OP by deleting him from the show, like let this old fart rest! I would show more of Primes heaven-Azgard, when he struggles with being a god (ofc I would change his design for more god looking, which he couldn't transformer anymore) and if it didn't work out, I would alternatively put Nemesis which could somehow got his own consciousness or just do another demantoid stuff (which could solve most problems with characters like fucking Soundwave), but I'm more focusing on just making OP a ghost who could just watch actions of Bee and try contact with him. As a bonus I would at the fact that OP could say only few words, because how hard for him is contacting with his son, and mainly show what he want to say! (maybe in sign language, after all canonically Bumblebee knows this language, because he could talk)

Add finally Drift as a main character, because at this point it's pissing me of when I see Windblade and OP in opening, WHEN DIRFT IS LONGER ON SCREEN THEN THEM BOTH. Also delete that bitch too, and as a replacement I would add Chromia or Arcee (but I'm more into Chromia idea)

FINALLY do some character development, because we practically know NOTHING about past of characters, besides of little part that was said in their dialogues (WHICH ARE CHANGING IN EVERY LANGUAGE, SO IN ENGLISH WE HAVE SMALL REFERENCE TO SUNNY, WHEN IN POLISH WE DON'T HAVE ANY). That's why i would delete few episodes to just put character development or just change those ep to just make them develop those idiots. I heard from my friend which read a fucking rid15 book about drift, where was just a little part of his past, but... IT SHOULD BE IN FUCKING SHOW, NOT IN A BOOK WHICH READ MY FRIEND AND 5 OTHER CHILDREN.

Ik (kinda out of topic, but hear me out) I'm aware that this show was made because Hasbro had big struggles with money at this time and that's why they chosen to just make so much money that they could and they made it more safe option (which failed sooooooooo hard XDDD) but like bro, VAs were writing episodes at some point!!! And they lost so much potential which I fell in love in this 2015... OK THAT WAS MY FULL RANT, LETS BACK TO THE LIST :DDDDDD

I'm aware too, that they had problems with licencing, that is why drift isn't bunny Drift and Sides is the best version of him ever. But for god sake those designs... I beg you change them, for something other IK you didn't have any money then, but PLS they look bad... Specially after you find out that they faces are 2D and backgrounds too (they tried do the same that is ind earth spark which is mix of 2D and 3D, but it looks weird.) And it's not only Drift and Sides problem, that's everyone problem!!! Like why Bee is so futuristic?! Isn't he should be old timer for them, and in first ep theoretically he should be still in his earth alt model... SO WHY HE HAS SO MUCH LEDS, LIKE FR, IK they wanted to make him adult, but it could be make better! Did you were even aware that Sides could be blue, and has more Sunny character because of licencing??? But his alt model sucks

I would also give a reason why human do LITTERALLY nothing with those dumb bitches! Like at this point should be like whole war army chasing for them? XDDD In my opinion after Optimus died and Ratchet came back to earth and grave after his dead husband, he was kicked back to Cybertron after few years, because government chosen that ALL cybertronians are threat... so yeah... And because of that Bee can't exit Crown city (Królewiec) and near by area of it, just because Alchemor, which is stack underwater of the city river, jams their signal. AND THAT'S WHY THEY NEED USE HUMAN HUMAN COMMUNICERS LIKE RADIO! AND THAT IS WHY THOSE STUPID AS BITCHES FROM CYBRTRON DIDN'T FOUND ANY OF THEM JUST LIKE THAT----- Yk it's just my stupid idea uwu

I think also making less episodic plot could make it better! Like more pokemon-like format it's cool, but... in this case it's not fitting at all.

FOR GOT SAKE WHY DID THEY USED MEGATRONUS?! BECAUSE THEY COULD HAVE MEGATRON??? It's for me a joke which is stupid as hell, Imo it should be Liege Maximo!!! After all he is in this continuity literally a Loki from MCU, why not use something new and leave Megatron dead.

For today I think that will be all, but there is still one more thing that pisses me of to te state that I'm asking like a crazy mad dog. Which is this scene:

It's so... so unemotional! Isn't Optimus be he his dearest friend and husband since ever??!?! And Bee isn't your little baby anymore?! I hate it so much like i can't breath!!! (sorry that i edited it a little bit, but i needed that) And to just end it nicely, I LOVE many many many things about rid15 too, but that doesn't mean that this show is just waste potential mainly and it makes me sad deeply when I see Earth Spark where is worse version of rid15 Bee having the similar relation with kids and everyone cares more about this, then the show that created it (and no i'm not talking about comics at all/srs)

Still love and hate rid15 😘😘😘

[treba-neco-napise]

(apologizing to the person I'm reblogging this post from for this) So, I don't know if it was what op was aiming at but I saw some people mentioning HPMOR in the comments and I really don't want to start an argument but I keep seeing posts shitting on Harry Poter and The Methods of Rationality (HPMOR) in my recommendations and I'm pretty sure most of the people have never read it or even actually tried looking it up so I'm going to say something.

It was recommended to me two years ago by a few of my 30yo scientist friends (all of them really amazing people) because they loved Yudkowsky's work and when they found HPMOR, they decided to read it. And they devoured it. I'm currently, after two years, halfway through, because yes, it is huge, probably more than 2k pages if it was in paper (122 chapters and about 660k words), and some chapters are so long I'm in a cycle of giving up and picking it up again after a month. But as a fanfiction writer (and a writer in general), it's incredible writing. And so funny, there were lines I kept laughing at for minutes straight. You have no idea how skilled he is and he wrote this entire book, bordering with perfection in technique, in five years. There's a reason why it was translated into 11 languages, recorded as an audiobook and had a crowdfunding campaign to get published in paper.

I got interested in this so I did some short research instead of paying attention in a maths class and I'll be using resources mainly from Wikipedia because I couldn't find any other resource about him as a person and at least it has citations, I'm not claiming I'm right in any way so feel free to correct if you have more information. (information not being "a friend of a friend said he's an asshole")

LessWrong was a community blog he founded, "devoted to refining the art of human rationality" in February 2009 and where, about a month later in March, he wrote an article You're Calling *Who* A Cult Leader?, which I think speaks for itself in a way. In 2005 already, he interacted in a discussion under a Wikipedia article about himself, you can read it here. Of course, I guess nobody can testify if it was actually him and not someone pretending to be him. But from his writing generally and the fact that his work very much revolves around rationality - which is the last thing one needs to successfully lead a cult - he didn't seem to exactly revel in the image of having a cult dedicated to him. I didn't look into his current work but I presume the "cult era" was supposed to be early 2000s - 2015s when he was publishing HPMOR.

Yes, there are apparently thousands or more people loving his work and the strongly rational attitude towards life almost religiously and it could be called a cult of a persona. That doesn't mean he himself created it. He simply wrote things he wanted to write and people were interested in it, just like with many, many other creators. I don't think we should attribute the actions of fans to the author, fans are their own people with their own initiative.

If I had a nickel for every big name Harry Potter fanfic writer who started their own cult, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[if-it-isnt-cello]

Oct 9 (Stage 2)

Morning Session

Arsenii Mun (Russia) he’s studying in Juilliard right now

Rondo à la mazur in F major, Op. 5: entered confidently, without delay, but also without rush. I don’t know this piece well, but I know now why it’s “à la mazur“. He played it well, I think, a bit playful and dance-y, just like a mazur could sound like.

Waltz in E flat major, Op. 18: I guess it was “walczyk” (little waltz) rather than waltz ;) but then I think that’s the tempo everyone plays this piece?

Scherzo in B minor, Op 20: I couldn’t hear the “Julajże Jezuniu” motif so well in the middle part. I don’t think he really concentrated on the middle sounds (fifth (?) finger of the right hand plays octaves, or at leats higher, delicate notes). Good transition between the gentler and faster part.

Andante spianato and Polonaise in E flat major, Op. 22: at some point I was bound to write this, so I’m going to do it now: the left hand <3

Polonaise: I love how he put his left hand on the piano above the keyboard, and proceeded to play with his right hand like he was slamming it but with ease and absolute concentration at the same time 😂

Rec: Andante spianato and Polonaise

Szymon Nehring (Poland) (go Szymon!) honestly I’m surprised he decided to compete once again after reaching the final and being awarded a distinction and the audience prize in 2015. It won’t be easy for him---getting past the notion that he was here six years ago, that he needs to do it all again, compete with different pianists. Hard time mentally, I think.

Impromptu in G flat major, Op. 51: He started very calm. Out of the whole piece I got this impression: calmness, and flowing (river, etc.)

Polonaise-Fantasy in A flat major, Op. 61: ooh it really is a fantasy. Where’s the polonaise? 😅 Well, it’s very gentle. Almost like not a polonaise. But---it works. (So I guess we’re in the calm ambience today?)

Waltz in A flat major, Op. 64 No. 3: Quite playful, with interesting tempo changes---or dynamics changes that made the impression of tempo getting a bit faster.

Andante spianato and Polonaise in E flat major, Op. 22: left hand again! Very lively. His polonaise was very elegant for me.

Rec: Polonaise-Fantasy

(And that’s my cue to leave, to go to the library and try to find info on that guy whose work I’ll be preparing to publish as my degree)

Việt Trung Nguyễn (Vietnam, Poland)

Prelude in F sharp major, Op. 28 No. 13:

Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60:

Waltz in F major, Op. 34 No. 3:

Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1:

Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53:

Rec:

Intermission: „Chopin Talk” with: Aimi Kobayashi

hosts: Rachel Naomi Kudo, Alessandro Tommasi

PR Intermission: out of short interviews with pianists they gathered i.e. that A. Mun didn't like to wake up at 7 a.m. and play at 10. Presenters' impressions: a bit cubist-y rondo; he couldn't contrast rondo and polonaise well and his recital was slightly monotonous. | S. Nehring: (interview) he was a bit more content about his recital than he was about the first stage. His whole programme is completely different than in 2015 and he himself said it's matured. In 2015 he didn't really "feel" Chopin, now he's more into this composer. He wants to grow as a pianist more than to win this comp, but perceives this comp as a good in a way that it allows you to get to know the composer really good. Presenters: after Mun's acceleration, Nehring came with calmness and sostenuto, unfortunately fantasy and onirism dominated the polonaise. | V.T. Nguyễn: nice, almost attaca, connection of prelude and barcarolle.

A bit of random trivia: right now it's almost 15 thousand people watching the comp live on YT.

Georgijs Osokins (Latvia)

Polonaise-Fantasy in A flat major, Op. 61:

Polonaise in B flat major [Op. 71 No. 2] WN 17:

Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 30 No. 4:

Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 3:

Waltz in F major, Op. 34 No. 3:

Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53: 

Rec:

Evren Ozel (United States)

Impromptu in A flat major, Op. 29:

Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44:

Waltz in A flat major, Op. 34 No. 1:

Impromptu in F sharp major, Op. 36:

Ballade in F minor, Op. 52:

Rec:

Kamil Pacholec (Poland)

Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44: I like how he changed the emotions between the parts/motifs: this one was playful, that one more gentle---and the polonaise was ebullient.

Impromptu in F sharp major, Op. 36:

Waltz in F major, Op. 34 No. 3:

Waltzes, Op. 64:

No. 2 in C sharp minor: sweet little piece.

No. 1 in D flat major: very motoric, I liked how he gradually built each phrase.

Scherzo in B flat minor, Op. 31: I liked the first theme, how it changed from tone to tone, with sudden dynamics changes etc.

Rec: Polonaise

PR 2: E. Ozel---"can you pass to the third stage only with impromptus?"; also apparently his polonaise (middle mazurka part) was too obvious. | K. Pacholec---good impromptu, great waltzes; F major not as well as Bunin, but good nevertheless.

"And now we thank you for now. *to fellow presenters* You look sad?... I've got a good news, at 5 p.m. they play Chopin once again." <3

[bellaaldamas]

This is a very unfortunate situation for many reasons, sadly. As someone who smoothly fits the "Tumblr old" title because my earlier accounts here (all of which are now deleted) were created less than a year after this site was launched (back when Karp was in charge) I observed a rapid shift in the way people interact with content on here. That happened after Tumblr did, in fact, become an "app" rather than a "site" in the eyes of the modern social media culture.

While the app for mobile had existed for awhile, a lot of people in 2015-2019 used it as a temporary substitute for the web/PC version when they couldn't access their computers from work or elsewhere. Many of the earlier posts even mention a commenter "being on their phone" to explain why they couldn't insert a link, a self edited image or a quote in a discussion or why they couldn't post a gifset at the moment (as far as prolific content creators go).

These days the "I'm on my phone" comment would look confusing at best. Because social media culture changed, economic situation worldwide changed and the internet adapted to it. Most social media is nowadays geared towards mobile apps because it is the ability to access internet through smartphones that made information and communication more accessible, as it should be. Meanwhile, owning a computer was a moderate luxury in the past and is a full blown luxury now, with the way pricing has changed. Needless to say a PC that can handle not just making gifsets in Photoshop but even loading them properly (as one scrolls through their dash), when they're not severely compressed in quality as they are on Tumblr mobile app, costs a fortune.

As the result, many people who engage with content on this app primarily or even completely via mobile don't have the sight of how much time and money it takes to create gifsets and graphics (and how expensive it actually is, in terms of necessary equipment).

It's not conceivable to them because even Tumblr itself provides a "gif-maker" function exclusive to the mobile app. Therefore, the newcomers believe that content creators on here whose gifsets they routinely reblog simply use this function (which can hardly be called a "function" because it neither produces an acceptable quality nor provides any semi-usable tools to make thematic/parallel gifsets that statistically turn out to be the most reblogged on this site). Most of said newcomers don't even consider that content creators have to scrap by to acquire a laptop that would handle Photoshop or other graphic app that can produce results satisfactory enough for people to want to reblog their content.

Another - and, perhaps, the most disheartening - reason for reblog culture dying out is that gifsets in the form they exist on Tumblr are exclusive to this app/site. It is not the content you can share across multiple platforms to expand your follower base or even find like minded people in the fandom(s) you're in on other social media. Most people who never made gifs or gifsets genuinely do not comprehend how much effort goes into the process because the process is either not accessible to them (understandable given the cost of the equipment, not to mention ability privilege that is required to master any graphic program) or not worth the time and energy to become a part of.

Most users these days believe content creators either use the Tumblr mobile gif making app (sad laugh) or have some advanced, AI-esque graphic programs on their expensive PCs. Which ensure they don't spend much time on coloring and effects (after all, AI culture has made everyone believe any "artistic" effect can be applied in less than a second) and help accomplish the idea in one click (little do they know we still use a frame animation timeline in Photoshop to replace a background of a gif frame by frame).

The above is the main reason why experienced and skilled gif-makers like the OP are getting less reblogs than they would have years ago. While hobbyist/amateurs without much skill like myself don't even stand a chance against high quality content posted here, gif-makers who have genuine talent and abilities remain largely unnoticed as well. Because gif-making is not a palpable or obvious process. With writers and artists their follower base knows how much time and effort goes into their work because they can visualize it (some artists make process videos to help the cause). Giffing is an invisible work content creators are doing, with little to no pay off.

i miss the days when people would actually reblog shit on this app

[newdougsblog]

YOU EXPECT TO SEE A POST ABOUT PRIONS ON MY DASH AND NOT REPLY????

I was really excited when I saw this!!! Prion diseases are so cool.

While most of the OP's information is correct, I'd like to expand upon it and make some corrections. OP, I know your main goal was to educate people regarding the funerary practices of the Fore people, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to ramble about prions. I hope you don't take this the wrong way—I'm not trying to start a fight, but add on to your effort to properly educate people about prion diseases!!

I want to preface this by clarifying that I am by no means an expert on prions, but I do work in a prion lab, so I'd like to think that I kind of know my stuff!

I'm going to get into the nitty-gritty under the cut. This will include a detailed discussion of prion diseases (nothing too bad, I think).

OP provided a great explanation as to what prion diseases actually are, and I wanted to add on!

Plain old prion proteins are not infectious. Actually, we all have prion proteins, or PrP proteins, in our bodies! While their exact purpose is unclear, they are mainly expressed in the central nervous system but can be found throughout the body.

It might help to think of prion diseases like cancer but for proteins: While cancer is the result of mutated cells (well, mutated DNA), prion diseases are caused by misfolded (mutated) proteins (which can be caused by genetic mutations, but are largely sporadic or contracted via infectious material).

Mutated prion proteins, PrPˢᶜ, are resistant to normal methods of protein degradation, such as proteases, and can actively spread their misfolded conformation to other, normally-folded proteins. This results in an accumulation of PrPˢᶜ proteins.

Prions also have a very long incubation period in humans; it can take anywhere between 5 to 20 years for symptoms to develop after PrPˢᶜ proteins are first introduced to the body. It all kind of snowballs after the first symptoms appear, though. Prion diseases are also invariably fatal, so... if you get one, you're dead. I find it kind of cool that if you look up fatal diseases on Wikipedia, prion diseases are right there at the top.

OP is absolutely right in their statements regarding the origin of kuru. However, while the brain and spinal tissue are places with the highest concentration of prions, infectious tissues can be found anywhere in the body, as well as in bodily fluids, albeit to a lesser degree. That's why individuals who lived in the UK from 1980-1996 for 3+ months are unable to donate blood (if you want to know more about this, look into Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, AKA Mad Cow Disease). Research done in 2015 has also indicated that they can be transmitted via plants.

None of this information is meant to scare anyone—as OP said, the chances of you developing a prion disease are extremely rare.

stop saying "cannibalism causes prion diseases" this is a common misconception

gonna preface this by saying I'm not trying to be weird or edgy here I just have an interest in diseases and find it frustrating to constantly see people spreading misinformation abt how they originate and spread

this misconception comes from an epidemic of kuru, a type of prion disease (you might also seem em referred to as TSEs) that broke out among the Fore people of Papau New Guinea in the 1950s. until colonial rule, the Fore people practiced a form of funerary cannibalism in which a loved one's flesh, including organs, would be consumed after they died. this practice isn't exclusive to the Fore, and has no profound inherent dangers; cooking and eating human flesh doesn't have any more health risks associated with it than eating the flesh of an animal. what started the epidemic wasn't the practice of cannibalism, but rather a stroke of incredibly, incredibly bad luck.

(more under the cut; there's cannibalism and disease talk, but nothing graphic.)

a prion disease is caused by infectious prions in the brain. this is a type of misfolded protein that can cause other proteins to become misfolded as well. the misfolding of these proteins results in a deadly neurodegenerative disease. CJD (creutzfeldt-jakob disease), one type of prion disease, is capable of spontaneously occuring in otherwise healthy individuals with no family history of the disease; this is likely what happened to one unfortunate member of the Fore community. most of the time, only contact with brain and spinal tissue transmit this prion disease, so the women and children who traditionally ate these tissues soon began to present symptoms of the disease. the rest is fairly self explanatory; the community has no experience whatsoever with the disease, so doesn't know how to stop the spread; the afflicted die, and when they are eaten, the disease spreads to a new set of people, they die, the disease spreads more, et cetera. this continues until the practice of funerary cannibalism is brought to an end, and the last known sufferer of the disease dies in 2009.

so there's a couple things to note here. firstly, CJD, the disease that likely struck the initial sufferer, is incredibly rare. it affects roughly one in a million people, and only 85% of these cases are the result of spontaneous generation. secondly, the only reason that it was able to spread to such a degree is because cannibalism was practiced regularly in this culture. to act as though any cannibalism (ESPECIALLY in a culture where cannibalism is not normal) will lead to prion disease is absolutely absurd. the likelihood of even encountering someone with a prion disease is wildly low, and even then, if the brain and spinal tissue are avoided, the disease most likely won't transmit between the consumer and the person being eaten.

ultimately, saying that cannibalism will give you a prion disease is as absurd as saying that going to the doctor for a blood transfusion is going to give you HIV. blood transfusion might be capable of spreading HIV, but in normal circumstances, this will not happen. there is nothing inherent to blood transfusion that causes HIV, just as there's nothing inherent to cannibalism that causes prion diseases. yes, cannibalism would most likely give you a prion disease; if you happened to live in a community that already regularly practiced cannibalism, where a prion disease was already running rampant. yes, cannibalism will give you a prion disease; if you happen to stumble into one of the one people per million who has one, fail to recognize a single symptom that might deter you, and then choose to eat brain or spinal tissue rather than meat.

once again, this isn't trying to be some weird edgy cannibalism joke, i just think it's important that people have an understanding of where diseases come from and how they spread. kudos if you read this whole tangent

[s4pphoiduser]

uh sorry op for adding this

people love to say "oh they had it coming" "it's karma for the rohingya genocide" ...you Know it wasn't carried out by the civillians, right? the military never lost power, not even from 2015 to 2020 when nld was the ruling party. do you know the political climate in third world countries like myanmar? everyone's too scared of the military to protest or anything because they shoot to kill on sight. they took over in 1962 and then again in 1988 and this is the second/third time older generations have lived through their shit. it was the military who commited the genocide and dassk denied it so im not defending any of them. i'm saying that it's wrong to wish this on people. we do not have to suffer for the crimes of the military and the ruling party.

since we heard the news when we woke up on february 1st we've all been scared and careful, staying inside because of the military supporters and making sure no one protests because that would make things escalate. it's scary to just wake up one day, in a time you thought this couldn't happen anymore, and then find out the military has detained our leaders and taken away people who dared to speak out against their actions, to unknown places. we don't know what happens next and our minds are all filled with what ifs and worst case scenarios.

dassk has her faults and im not saying she's perfect. i'm saying that no one in this country can be a better leader than her and our president, U Win Myint, because no one in the country is educated enough on these matters. wanna know why? because we were cut off from the world for years and only the rich (the military families) were given good education. 1962 was a nightmare. 1988 was a bloody massacre. if these events take place again there's really no chance of the country recovering.

we're all hoping and praying it will not come to this. it's only day two (of them being in power for at least one year) and i keep trying not to breakdown from this overwhelming dread that had settled in my fucking bones at dawn on feb 1st.

I don't know if you guys have been hearing about what's happening in Myanmar, but here's a succinct video.