#so I posted as a tiktok/reel without the book

[hazieash]

What has he done

[theeternalwomb]

their favorite things about you 💐

Hey, welcome back! I recently added to my list of readings i offer on my booking site so go check that out as well as my official business hours (that are also in my pinned tarot reading info post right here), I posted them over on my Instagram and TikTok as well as my site. If you haven’t been on my Instagram today (@cookiefacetarot) I would go check it out, today I posted a mini divine masculine and divine feminine update in preparation for my in-depth one that I’ll be posting here tomorrow as well as morning message and the daily quote per usual. I’m excited for this reading today, I love to do love readings and they get such a beautiful reaction from the collective. I’m missing my own divine masculine very much right now so sometimes when I do these readings and I’m apart of one of the piles, it gives me heart ache lol, lol well anyways, enjoy! I love you, book a personal reading with me if you wish! 🤍

***

i.

Your person loves how smart you are and how skilled you are. You could be good at many things or have a really broad skill set and just be overall very intelligent and your person finds this so attractive. They know you’re destined for good things and they may even brag about you to others. Like, when you finally get recognition for something that you do or when you finally reach your highest level of success within your life this person is going to be at the grocery store talking to the cash register like “I knew her/him before she/he was famous.” I’m hearing this person is really proud of you too or they want you to make them proud. They’re excited for you because they know you’re about to do big things with your life. They also like how decided you are or seemed to be, you have your mind made up about many things in your life and you won’t accept anything less than that. I feel like if you’ve known your person for a long time or you’ve been in love with your person for a long time and they know about it they also find it incredibly attractive how much you like them or love them. You could be very romantic at heart and have heavy Scorpio placements like a Scorpio Venus or Mars or even a Scorpio stellium. I’m not extremely educated on astrology but that’s what I heard a Scorpio stellium I looked it up and that’s exactly what energy I was feeling so I know what I’m talking about. You can be very selective and picky in your life as well and this person really eats that up.

You make them feel like a luxury item, like a must-have. Yes, your person loves how romantic you are too, you could be a hopeless romantic, you could really see things through a rose-tinted glass, or just overall really give off this seductive air of romance and your person loves it. I also see them saying that you’re very charming and persuasive, something about you really falls into archetypes of the girl next door, the mother, the maiden, the mystic, and the lover. You may even resonate with the high priestess card in major arcana. You’ve got it all is what this person really likes about you. You could be very versatile, you could be very sweet and gentle yet sexy and alluring. You really reel this person in. This person thinks you’re magic, this person knows your magic and they know everyone else knows it. I’m hearing the siren as well. This person knows you’re of very high value and it makes them feel very special and safe to know that you chose them, emphasis on the word chose because they know you’re not the type to need anyone. You desire them, you care for them, you comfort them. They ask, could I ask for anything more???

This person likes that you’re independent and you’ve got your own stuff, your own life, your own hobbies. With or without them you flourish, you don’t give them the energy that you want to leech off of them because you don’t have to regardless of whatever circumstances you may face in your life. It makes this person want to be a man about it and take over and take care of you. This person also likes your voice or believes you’re a beautiful speaker or communicator. Clear boundaries, clear communication. Crystal. You’re not confusing, you’re not complicated, you don’t do mix signals. What you see is what you get with you and they love that. You are who you say you are. You live an honest life. You make an honest living. This person also really likes the high-maintenance energy you give off. You’re expensive. Very pretty, trophy wife energy. “She get money. Her body tea. She super thick. She super pretty.” Lmao like you’re all that and a bag of chips. You’re this person's wish fulfillment. It’s always been you. They keep their eye on the prize and the prize has always been you.

They also like that you’re always changing, healing, and growing. You guys are resilient and strong and this person really likes that about you. No matter what life throws at you, you can catch it and turn it into light and energy. This person also really likes that you’re introverted or a bit of a lone wolf as well. This person may be the same way. They may crave social interaction or like to be around people so they attempt to put themselves in the position to be around others but in spirit, they’re truly lone wolves and they’re very different from everyone else and can’t/won’t blend in no matter how hard they try and they feel like you’re the same. They relate to you. This could be a high-level soul mate or a twin flame but for many of you, this is a twin flame connection. This person honors you the way that one honors themselves when they are in the energy of self-love. It’s unconditional, it’s irreplaceable. They have the energy of trying to stuff their heart inside of yours to keep it safe like a locket. You may own a locket or be attracted to sentimental/romantic pieces of jewelry as well.

They also like how anti-drama you are or how peaceful your energy is. You protect your peace above all else. You only invest your time and energy into good things. People may try to fight you or start things with you and you make them feel stupid and irrelevant by not entertaining them or paying them any mind.

***

ii.

Hearing “at your best” -Aaliyah. This person feels very safe with you their favorite thing about you is the way they feel when their around you because your energy is so calm and steady regardless of what’s going on around you or in your life. This person also feels like you’re very successful or have a lot going for yourself or have the potential to continue to be great and get so much better as time goes on, this person really believes in you and wants the best for you I’m hearing. Just even without reading the cards I can tell you mean so much to this person and you make this person feel very steady when the world around them is crashing down, this person loves you, they adore you, they genuinely care for you, all they do is care for you. That’s all they want to do all day is care for you, love you, give themselves over to you and do things for you.

This person also loves how like…(I want to say aggressive but that’s not the right word!!) and I don’t want to code switch either but that’s the only way I can say it because I don’t know how to say it any way else, you’re really about it, you pop shit lmao. This person feels very safe and protected by you. They could’ve witnessed you take control of situations and squash drama and conflict when it’s really necessary by whooping some ass and they know if they needed to be protected or if something was going on you’d be able to protect them and defend against anything that could cause them harm. You could also be very strong as well, this person admires your physical strength or is very attracted to your body/body type. I’m hearing you’ve always been this persons type. They saw you one time and everything changed.

This person also loves how emotional or sensitive you are or even compassionate and understanding with others, people with different backgrounds and experiences. You care for people and it shows. Or you’re kind and giving and you’re emotionally in tune and you’re naturally very sensitive and empathetic. You could be a water sign or have heavy water in your chart. This person loves how much heart you have especially if you’re a man. The way society criticizes a man with a heart. You’re the only living boy she knows. You’re the only living boy in the whole entire world. I think also your person may have a lot of opinions on society and the way it’s harmful views, expectations and values affect the people in it and this person admires you and loves your authenticity and your beauty and your heart. You’re a breathe of fresh air for this person. You’re one in a million.

In a world of 7 billion people, this person is only thinking of and looking at you. Imagine that. What you did to this person to make them love you this way we’ll never know but it’s deep and swampy, it’s fast. If you’re not capable you’re sinking into it. This person loves how different you are and how much you stick out like a sore thumb lol. You don’t fit in anywhere and this person loves that about you. You’re only there’s. You belong nowhere but in their embrace. You may also be someone who has a lot of fears and has a lot of worries and I think this person on a very deep level not only relates to you but loves that about you because this person understands the significance of fear, they understand to fear means that you’re trying to survive in a world that is hard to you, that’s impatient with you, and that wants to eat you up and pull you every which way and they feel that very deeply that truth resonates with them. They don’t want you to worry and be afraid but you’re the person who makes them not feel so alone in the whole big wide world.

This person loves that your grip on reality is practically non existent. You live in your own little world, in your own little bubble. They love that distant dreamy look in your eye that you have. They also love the way you love them. You and this person could share a connection or love each other and it’s known by both of you because it’s undeniable and it’s hard to miss. This person may believe they love you more than you love them but I think I’m getting that you love them more than they will ever know. More than the two of you can fathom. It’s cosmic.

This person believes that you have a very beautiful and strong souls purpose even if they aren’t spiritual or don’t use those types of terms they know that on a soul level, on a subconscious level and this person believes in you the way someone believes in a religious deity. We are all said to be created in Gods image but to this person you are the only person really truly created in Gods image. If god wasn’t said to be in the sky they would whole heartedly believe that God was down here standing right in front of them. You are a divine being. An earth angel in disguise but they see right through it.

You could have a very long intricate past with this person and this person reflects on those memories everyday. This person is very nostalgic for your entire existence. Certain smells, certain weather conditions, songs, they all remind them of you and all of your glory.

***

iii.

You give this person very long term commitment vibes you’re wife or husband vibes to this person, they see themselves having a family with you, they see as someone very safe,kind, and protective and they find this really attractive and beautiful. They also see you as a very lucky or fortunate person, you have a lot of skills or you know how to do something special or you have the opportunity to do something very special in life and this person really admires that. This person also sees you as someone who has nothing to lose I think as well. Or you’re someone who could quickly recover or still have the world in the palm of their hands if you did lose something or if you ever had to get rid of something. I feel like this person may feel this way about you and your personal relationships. You could be someone who carries on gracefully after a break up or after you’ve had to kick someone out of your life and this person finds this really attractive and admirable about you. You could be very secure in yourself and really able to bend and twist with your life and all of its circumstances.

This person feels as though you change with the seasons and that you’re only capable of positive transformation or blossoming even more. I think you could do no wrong in this persons eyes or this person perceives you to have a very prosperous and fulfilling life. This person feels how emotionally stable and in tune you are or at least they perceive you to be that way. You and this person could be opposites and they may come from a very hectic like or have a very hectic past and have a lot of instability and unreliable people in their lives, potentially even family members and parental figures and you’re a beacon of hope for this person you represent the possibility of stability and good energy and peace and this is this persons favorite thing about you. You’re the calm after the storm. You’re the one calm thing in the storm. You’re the smell of the wet pavement after it rains. This person could also often feel very stagnant and stuck in their lives at time and they look up to you and admire your fluid movement and ability to change and be flexible. I hear this person telling me that even if you did have a rough time growing up or if bad things did happened to you, you didn’t let the world make you hard or change the person you were.

This person may also appreciate and value the energy of self love and self respect that you exude. This person not only loves you but they admire you and you inspire them to be better or truly make them believe that there are good things to have within this world even when things are hard. You teach this person gratitude. You teach this person thankfulness. This person could also really love your work ethic or ambition. You are a wish fulfillment for this person and this person believes you’re truly made of hopes and dreams.

***

Hope you guys loved this reading and it was wonderful for you and gave you some much needed insight and comfort. I’ll see you guys tomorrow over on my Instagram 💋 I love you, gonna go do something else, I swear I broke my finger or gave myself arthritis last night.

[regulusrules]

Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatma Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Fatma Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, specifically male travelers, had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

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

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

[starshaped-bulletwound]

The Power of Overstimulation: Sensory Overload as a Tool to Ware Us Down.

I have been off of instagram and Snapchat for upwards of about a month, and I’m forming many thoughts, not all cohesive or concise, on this idea that overstimulation via social media could be a tool to ware down movements.

Let’s look back on the early days of YouTube. When beheadings from other countries or cursed videos were posted, they almost instantly went viral because of their shock value. The same video would last us several years of referencing, quoting, and conversation. Even to this day we make references to some of those videos every now and then.

Fast forward to the further development of apps like instagram, vine (RIP), the growing popularity of tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat, and more. Seemingly our interest seemed very focused on long form content, watching 40 minute-2 hour long YouTube videos. But one day, the app Musical.ly was bought out and became what we now know as TikTok. We had a sudden uprising in short form content, similar to vine, but with an even more specialized and sensitive algorithm.

While most social media felt like a cigarette, with us having to go out of our way to find the content we want, TikTok was like a fat rip of a vape. Constant dopamine at your fingertips, anywhere and anytime and in any flavor you wanted.

There was no denying that social media was bad for us before this, but suddenly we got TikTok and it actually kind of started to feel like I was in one of those boomer memes about how kids are glued to their phones.

Then instagram got reels, YouTube got shorts, and Facebook also hopped on the train. It was a short form content apocalypse (this is meant to be hyperbole but you get the idea).

As someone who has been staunchly addicted to their phone and specifically to TikTok and reels for years now, I finally elected to make the decision to take a total break from social media, and using Facebook (which I usually find boring anyways aside from marketplace) and Tumblr, a platform that provides less overstimulation compared to the aforementioned apps, after having deleted my TikTok account altogether almost a year ago.

I have specifically gotten to choose when I read the news or receive news, I have been able to sit with my own boredom, and have truly and honestly become more comfortable being out of the know. Personally I have seen massive improvements in my mental health and also feel more intentional about staying updated on international and national issues most important to me at the moment.

I want to be clear that I don’t want this to come off as me trying to avert my eyes from the crises happening. But it is so that I can see the latest news with a clear head, and have the attention span and energy to go do something about it without feeling burnt out and hopeless.

Furthermore, being off of social media has actually given me more time and energy to engage with long form content as a whole, whether that is movies, TV episodes, or just books and YouTube videos. It’s not all returning at one time, but it is coming back slowly but surely. I have been spending time doing my hobbies, and sitting outside, and doing all the things our parents said would make us less depressed and while it doesn’t cure my every concern, it definitely helps.

But why the hell am I rambling about all of this?

I wonder how much more effective we could be if we could break our bonds with social media? Specifically those that have fallen to short form content brainrot.

What if we utilized the time we’d normally spend on social media and go volunteer for a local organization? What if we took that time and read more theory? What if we took that time and started a community based group like a reading club or a crafting circle?

I didn’t realize how much time I wasted on social media til I got off and realized how much I open my phone to check it, how often I began just not knowing what to do because I’d normally go on instagram to look at reels, how frequently I’d reach for my phone and go “oh yeah, I’m not on there anymore”. There is so much time in a day that we could create meaning within our community to keep it going, and still have energy left to stay updated on important issues like Palestine or U.S. politics, and it is stolen from our fingertips and from our heads daily because we doomscroll and call that “staying updated”.

I don’t think it’s a stretch of the mind to say that social media, run by tech oligarchs and billionaires, seeks to overstimulate us as a method of sedation. But I wonder how far we can take that? If phones really are an ultimate evil? If social media is an ultimate evil? If the damage is irreparable or if we could possibly heal our relationship with the tech world in some meaningful way?

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Feb 1, 2025

I do not much like the destruction of books. As a form of protest, it conjures sinister images from the past, most notably the Pathé news reels of brownshirts and students gathered around a pyre in Berlin’s Opernplatz under the watchful eye of Joseph Goebbels. The Nazis had raided libraries, universities and other private collections to harvest works by political dissidents, sexologists, “degenerate” artists and any others deemed to be “un-German”. Books by Left-wing authors such as Karl Marx, Bertolt Brecht and Rosa Luxemburg were publicly incinerated, along with fictional works by the likes of Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. This was philistinism in its purest form.

The symbolism of a burning book is, therefore, the repudiation of the very notion of freedom. And yet this same freedom means that we must be able to burn books if we so desire. The Nazis, of course, were destroying the property of others, an authoritarian act designed to eliminate whole branches of thought. This is not to be conflated with an individual who chooses to vandalise his or her own property. The trans activists who burn J.K. Rowling’s books and post the footage online are making fools of themselves, but they are also exercising their right to do so in a free society.

This is a distinction worth bearing in mind when we consider the murder of anti-Islam campaigner Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man who had been awaiting a verdict in Sweden for the crime of “agitation against an ethnic or national group”. Momika had publicly burned a number of copies of the Quran during the summer of 2023. He was shot dead during or just before a live stream on TikTok at his home in Södertälje on Wednesday. The details are as of yet unclear, but there are suggestions that the assassination may have involved a foreign power.

Momika had been granted temporary residence in Sweden in 2018, although his frustration with his adopted country’s lacklustre commitment to freedom of speech led him to seek asylum in Norway in March 2024. After just a few weeks, the Norwegian authorities had him deported back to Sweden. According to Momika, the prosecutor in his trial had been seeking his extradition back to Iraq because of his criticisms of Islam. Back in August, he had posted the following on X: “Sweden and Norway have identified me as a threat to their security. Yes, I am a threat to the Islamization project of the West, which is being pursued by your Leftist communist government that is deceiving the citizens and making the country Islamic. So I have come to awaken the people and thwart the Islamization project of the West, and I will not be afraid of you.”

In cases of this kind, it has become depressingly inevitable that commentators will seek to blame the victim. After the publication of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses in 1988, the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa calling for the author’s murder. Instead of taking a united stance against a foreign regime threatening the life of a British citizen, pundits and politicians engaged in endless debates about whether Rushdie had brought this on himself. Crime novelist John Le Carré stated that “there is no law in life or nature that says great religions may be insulted with impunity”, and that “there is no absolute standard of free speech in any society”. It should go without saying that powerful theocrats do not require protection from the hurtful words of novelists.

Last month was the 10th anniversary of the massacre at the offices of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Initially, world leaders were united in their condemnation of terrorists who had butchered cartoonists for drawing satirical caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Thousands gathered at vigils and held placards bearing the words “Je Suis Charlie”. PEN America — an organisation devoted to the principle of free expression — created a “courage award” for Charlie Hebdo. That was until dozens of members of PEN, including writers such as Joyce Carol Oates and Junot Díaz, signed an open letter in protest. Charlie Hebdo, they claimed, had mocked a “section of the French population that is already marginalized, embattled and victimized”. This was, of course, to misidentify the target. The cartoonists weren’t “punching down” at the Muslim minority, but rather “punching up” at the authoritarianism of institutionalised religion.

We never seem to learn that appeasement of religious extremists only makes them stronger. Our collective failure to take a firm stance for artistic liberty in the Rushdie affair has made it more difficult to uphold the principle today. That Momika was on trial in the first place suggests that Sweden’s commitment to freedom of expression has been subordinated to the creed of multiculturalism. According to the BBC, following Momika’s campaigns in 2023 the Swedish government had “pledged to explore legal means of abolishing protests that involve burning texts in certain circumstances”. Yet Momika’s copies of the Quran were his own property, and he was free to dispose of them as he wished. We might take the view that his method of protest is insensitive or provocative, but in a free society such behaviour is a matter of individual conscience.

The victim-blamers have been predictably vocal. Within hours of the news of Momika’s murder, television personality Bushra Shaikh posted the following on X: “Some of you may disagree but the public desecration of any holy book should be viewed as a hate crime and the offender should face consequences”. She later clarified that by “face consequences” she was not supporting murder, but rather the principle that the “government decides on the punishment”. And yet Shaikh’s logic defeats itself. Her post has been widely interpreted as hate-filled and authoritarian. Does this mean that, if the government were to designate the public advocacy of blasphemy laws a “hate crime”, she would be content to be prosecuted?

Those who endorse authoritarianism, in other words, are laying a trap for themselves. If we look to the state to punish our detractors, where does that leave us when the values of those in power no longer align with our own? Momika has been blamed for the riots and the international diplomatic rows that ensued following his campaigns, but the peaceful protester is not responsible for those who break the law in response. Last summer, the Guardian published a piece that presented his Quran-burning as evidence of a “racism crisis”. One of the Swedish Muslim interviewees was quoted as saying: “I understand you are allowed to think and feel what you want, this is a free country, but there must be boundaries. It’s such a pity that it has happened so many times and Sweden doesn’t seem to learn from its mistakes.”

Those of us who still believe in liberal values will baulk at the suggestion — and the implied threat — in claiming that we are mistaken to support freedom of expression. Moreover, there is nothing racist about burning a copy of the Quran. Islam is a belief-system, not a race. The criminalisation of “Islamophobia” makes about as much sense as prosecuting citizens for “Marxistophobia” or “Freemarketcapitalismophobia”. Had Momika burned a copy of The Communist Manifesto, would there be calls to modify the law to see him incarcerated?

Increasingly, Western societies are pandering to religious zealots who are willing to resort to violence to achieve their aims. Members of the ruling class are undeniably afraid. During Prime Minister’s Questions in November 2024, the Labour MP for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley, Tahir Ali, asked Keir Starmer whether he would establish “measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions”. Starmer replied: “I agree that desecration is awful and should be condemned across the House. We are, as I said before, committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division, including Islamophobia in all its forms.” A better response would have been: “Blasphemy laws are incompatible with the values of a free country.”

It is undeniably the case that Islamic theocracies are intolerant to dissent, but we have only ourselves to blame if we capitulate to pressure from foreign powers to undermine our commitment to secularism. Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan, for instance, blamed the radicalisation of Islamic terrorists on the French president Emmanuel Macron’s tolerance for the right of citizens to blaspheme against Islam. In October 2020, he tweeted: “President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, incl his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam & our Prophet PBUH.” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey even cited Momika’s Quran-burning in an attempt to scupper Sweden’s bid to join Nato in 2023.

But blasphemy only makes sense to the faithful. Stéphane Charbonnier (known as “Charb”), the cartoonist and editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo who was among the victims of the 2015 atrocity, addressed this point in an “open letter” completed just two days before his death. “God is only sacred to those who believe in him,” he wrote. “If you wish to insult or offend God, you have to be sure that he exists… In France, a religion is nothing more than a collection of texts, traditions, and customs that it is perfectly legitimate to criticize. Sticking a clown nose on Marx is no more offensive or scandalous than popping the same schnoz on Muhammad.”=

This is the spirit of secularism — the French tradition of laïcité — that other countries in the western world should emulate. The problem is not the complaints from those who seek the implementation of sharia in democratic nations, but those in power who fail to reject such demands unequivocally. The murder of Salwan Momika should be a wake-up call for the West. Continued appeasement will only guarantee further bloodshed. For all the short-term risks of defending free speech, our long-term security depends upon it.

--

==

"Why can't you just comply with our authoritarian religious codes?"

Because you want me to. Your religious codes are for you, not me.

This is literally terrorism. We are supposed to be afraid of what will happen to us if we don't submit to Islamic totalitarianism. That is reason enough to not just resist, but actively oppose and defy Islamic totalitarian demands.

[ac3-76]

Lloyd Garmadon Headcannons

warnings: none😋

General

He's been doing graffiti since he was 9

he started when he saw a guy doing it while Darklys was on a field trip in Ninjago City

he thought it was really cool and left the group to talk to the guy

His Tag is either Neon Dragon or Neon Echo

He decided it had to have Neon in it because he uses neon in all of his works

People speculate that he's Neon Dragon/Echo but it's not confirmed, not even the other ninja know

He has a graffiti account on Instagram that has 37.8 million followers and is verified

He also really good at painting and sketching

He's just good at art in general

He watches personal attention ASMR to fall asleep

He's good at sewing

He pretty much never posts on his socials, but when he does they get more likes and views than the other ninjas posts

he's the quote "short guys have the prettiest faces and the sassiest attitudes"

he's so sassy

when the Ninjas do interviews people always talk about his sass attacks

there are compilations of him being sassy on tiktok, Instagram reels, and YouTube

Kai's the fan favorite for his looks and how often he posts, but lloyd is the fan favorite for personality and level of cuntiness

Literally everyone in Ninjago loves Lloyd(except the badguys but yk)

Out of all the ninjas he has the 2nd biggest arms(Cole has the biggest)

Girls go crazy for his arms

He's so respectful towards women

He can start a conversation with anyone about anything

He is SO SO SO good with kids

A mom of 2 will be taking the bus home from somewhere, her youngest kid is a couple months old and her oldest is 4 years old

The older ones throwing a tantrum and the youngest is crying and the moms stressed and embarrassed bc this is happening in public and she can't get her kids to calm down

Enter Lloyd "do you want some help?" Garmadon to offer his services

the mom gives him her oldest and in a matter of seconds the kid is happy and smiling

he's not even sure what he did to get the kid so happy

THEN, bc one is never enough🙄, "I can help calm that you down too if you want"

So the mom gives him the newborn and again in a couple seconds the newborn isn't crying

kids just love him🤷‍♀️

He has really unique insults

"your personality is like a wet napkin at a party"

"your fashion sense if like a blindfolded toddler picking out clothes"

"Your ideas are so dull, they make beige look vibrant"

"Your sense of humor is drier than a desert in a drought"

"You're as useful as a screen door in a submarine"

and you best bet they all make it into the Lloyd Garmadon sassy compilations

He has FAST comebacks, he never misses a beat with an insult

Dating

He does a HARD launch

people will be chilling thinking he's single and then one day BAM

he posts something on Instagram announcing he's in a relationship

its 10 pictures of you, him giving you flowers, you guys kissing, you guys cuddling

it's like if you searched relationship goals on Pinterest

and the caption is something like "Happy 1 year babe🫶🫶 I can't imagine my life without you"

everyone in the comments is shocked that he kept your relationship secret for a year

Except the ninjas

who are commenting things about being happy he's finally announced it

I know for a fact Kai would commet "I'm glad you finally announced this, I have hundreds of pictures of you two I've been needing to post🙄"

You're his muse

He does graffiti pieces inspired by you

He also tells you he's Neon Dragon/Echo

He tries to teach you how to do graffiti

He's the type to read and annotate books you like

Collarbone kisser

Helps you figure out fits

MATCHING OUTFITS.

He would embroider a little heart in your favorite color, or your favorite flower into the cuffs of all his hoodies

He doesn't care if you're taller or shorter than him, just don't be the same height as him and ur good

After what happend with Harumi he would struggle to believe you actually like him for a while

Even after you prove you really do like him, he still struggles to express how he feels about you and be completely honest with you

Secret or forbidden relationship trope

he fell first and harder

also soulmate trope

he pays attention to everything you do and knows ur needs, wants, and actions before you do

(yk when Elenor anticipated Chidis sneeze in The Good Place, yea he's Elenor, you're Chidi)

"No I have a partner" instead of "Sorry, I have a partner"

he has awful abandonment issues so he's either really clingy or he pushes you away and doesn't talk to you

He doesn't do sass attacks or insult you(to often)

Kai will be recording a vlog to post to YouTube and you'll say something stupid, Lloyd will look at you like he wants to insult you but be doesn't

The fans see that clip and go crazy

"Lloyd holding back his insult is how you know he's in love"

The ship edits go HARD

[ibetitdoes]

I wanna say more about the tiktok->xiaohongshu (little red book) migration without cluttering OPs post more, so.

it makes perfect sense btw that no tiktok users would move to tumblr. it's entirely a fast past video doomscrolling app, they would simply not have fun here. it's an easier jump for Twitter and reddit users, who are already having text-based fun, but this isn't what tiktok ppl are looking for.

Instagram reels is also not a suitable home because there's already a very well established community and vibe. not to mention most people are already using or have used both, and consciously choose one over the other. they have whole different cultures going on.

and YouTube shorts would just be embarrassing lol

xiaohongshu is new though, there's no established English-speaking/American community there. not to mention some ppl find it funny were moving to an Even More Chinese app, considering the goal of the tiktok ban is so China can't have our lucrative user data lmao

anyways I haven't figured out how to make an account yet but I'm a tiktok user so. I'm starting mandarin finally <3

[josiebelladonna]

god, instagram has gotten so hostile to artists now.

first of all, they insist that you “create content”, when a.) art =/= content; and b.) there’s just something so smarmy about the way “content” shows up in everything now. it’s very inhuman and synthetic sounding, like you’re just pushing something out the door for the likes, not because you have a story to tell or you do something out of the kindness of your heart.

i hate what they’ve done to stories now—or rather what they’re about to, i haven’t been on there in over a week. see, i actually thought that was a cool little addendum, because i could share things like wips, but also posts that caught my eye or posts i want to support—what made it cool was the privacy of it all. it lasted 24 hours and then it goes away. i got away with posting some dark and erotic art and also some sweet moments between me and alex on live because of the privacy of stories. they’ve got this whole section on your profile now solely dedicated to stories à la reels or the short-lived “ig tv.” never mind completely cluttering the page with more shit and continually bogging everything down for a second: they’re not private anymore, i.e., because i’m as fiery and controversial as i am, i’m a drama magnet (though 99% of the time, it’s not even my fault—people just don’t know what to do with me). i felt like i was playing with fire last year posting the art from the first book of seasons grey: i won’t make it out of the inferno alive now. i know what people are like. i know what women are like, especially when there’s a man involved.

i hate how EVERYTHING is a video now. tumblr is really bad with this (though when i share a video, it’s either something that makes me laugh or something i find interesting; too many of you post videos because video apps have scrambled your brain and those who run websites see that, hey, you like videos, let’s make everything into a video); instagram is utterly rife with this. what used to be a photo app is now just a tiktok clone—“tiktok lite” or “the diet coke version of tiktok” as i call it. you not only have to “create content”, but you apparently have to have the attention span of a gnat to be on there, and jesus christ on a bike, it is so exhausting after a time. i deal with enough tiktok bullshit on ao3 with people abusing the tags/not knowing how it works or how to even string a cohesive sentence together. i also deal with enough tiktok bullshit on here with the same things and people getting all up on their high horse on how they “curate their experience”, like holy shit, do you want an award or something? i don’t need more of it, and especially on a place that should’ve been for me and people like me.

i also am just sick and tired of seeing how much better everyone has it. i know, i know, “it’s just a highlight reel”. but… that very sentiment is coming out of the mouths of the same people posting said highlight reels. why should i believe you when you actively contribute to that sentiment? i get that human nature is complex, but do you really expect me to believe you when you try and convince me that you’re being “real” or “authentic” when you deliberately choose to show me the “good stuff” only? it’s so billie eilish, too, preaching about “authenticity” but there’s simultaneously something off about the whole thing.

i also can’t bear the fact that alex is with someone literally putting him in physical danger/doing fuck all to keep him safe from potential diseases and injuries. there’s no way around it: it’s abuse. it’s abuse, and yeah, she’s one to talk about animals bearing the brunt of all our problems, too. for two years now, i’ve suspected that she’s mentally abusing him, but now we can check off the physical aspect, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think about, especially when i know she’s running testament’s social accounts now—and i have a sneaking suspicion that it’s because of my flirting with alex and i can say without even thinking twice about it that the feelings are mutual. maddy backed me into a corner for literally absolutely no goddamn reason other than out of her own paranoia and insecurities, and now that instagram has completely stripped away my right to privacy, i can’t afford to be on there now, not just as an artist but as someone who’s sexual. control freaks hate losing control, it’s the one thing they’re afraid of… so i’m going to let the machine do that for me. skynet became self-aware to the point it was unstoppable: instagram is headed that way on the back of tiktok. enjoy the control you have now, bitch. i flirt because it’s fun and cute and also sweet and i know it makes him feel good, but she’s apparently way too dumb to realize this. for someone who’s supposedly “brilliant” and “smart”, she sure is dumb.

before chris died, i was thinking of shuttering my old account—and then he did, and suddenly, i found a reason. back then, i felt like the place was getting barren and i also felt short-changed, like “i thought this would be a place for me, now i’m seeing that it’s only good for you when you’re mega-talented and have followers built in.” and that was back then. but if I hated what it was becoming back in 2017, I really hate what it’s become now.

[its-tea-time-darling]

reflections on fandom

(i didn't realize where i was going with this post when i started writing it but im happy my thoughts spelled out this way <3)

i've been looking at instagram more than usual the past few weeks (it's something about the very curated intense dopamine kick reels give the brain i think that is attractive when the brain can't make any dopamine itself but anyway), and something that really gets me is that there's no creations, or i should say 'content' on instagram that exists without monetary motives behind it.

and in a way i understand that very elaborate outdoor videos for example are hard to do when someone has to work a full time job to support themselves, and that it is a valid career choice in this day and age to be a content creator (just like writing for a home-decor magazine has traditionally been a job). but - and this isn't a new revelation i'm aware lol, i'm just reflecting on this for myself - it really isn't good for the brain to be exposed/ "consume" content like that. or rather engaging with this content needs a sort of. constant, conscious vigilance not to get drawn into consumerism.

i feel that way about bookstagram (is that its name haha) too, and would probably feel that way about booktok too if i had tiktok. that while connecting over love for books is wonderful, i don't think i could find profiles that talk about books but don't center around new appearances only, and where accounts after a certain follower count cannot survive without promoting books you should or could buy.

i *am* judging from afar here because i don't significantly engage with bookstagram, but i remember, particularly during a time where i didn't have a lot of money, feeling resentment for a culture that seemed to tie your love of reading to *buying*. while for me it was libraries or nothing.

i guess i have a yearning for places where i can find inspiration in ways not connected to monetary motives - which does bring me to tumblr, and to fandom.

to think that in this day and age, there are whole communities of people that center around something that generates no money, and that centers entirely around love. that people pour passion, time (so much time!) and resources into fandom is truly something that makes me believe in humanity.

maybe this ties back to my swissness haha, because "clubs" are such a big thing here, and many make the case that it's something that gives society as a whole a sense of community and connectedness. i don't know if the word 'club' transports what i mean, it means organizations where members come together to pursue some type of freetime activity such as music, sports, bird watching, anything. it's a cultural practice that has been developing in the direction of less and less people participating in it (the reasons that have been guessed for this are varied), but you know it touches me in a way that fandom is exactly that!

and it touches me specifically for my case, because i had been active in clubs all my life (from scouts to handball to environmental, feminist, students and queer clubs) until chronic illnesses put a stop to that part of my life. and then i found, you can guess it - fandom! or well, it found me. but really i am full of appreciation that i have found something, a hobby and a community, that has been such an enrichment for my life. and that it's accessible for me/possible for me to participate in it in a way that real life clubs wouldn't be anymore (at the moment, and for the foreseeable future).

it's easy for me to fall into the trap of thinking of fandom as 'silly', as a side thing, as not a 'real' hobby or not a 'real' community because it has no physical manifestations - or it can have by having fanworks printed - but in moments of clarity i do understand and can appreciate that it's just as real and ''worthy'' as the "real life", local clubs i used to be a part of.

[florasletter]

i am gonna rant, tomorrow is the oscars, i need to say something ive been wanting to say for a while

any fucking filmmaker that makes drama/comedy (taika, gunn, greta, etc) movies would make barbie, its easy marketing, hoards of money, its a low risk investiment since its a popular, PG 13 movie, colorfull, appealing for everyone, has all the IP to make money, WB is thirsty for good press and is swimming on money, they will give its full support, its a story everyone knows for 60 years of a ficctional character or a doll the whole world knows. i like barbie it was a good movie. greta did a wonderful job for what was giver her. period.

now tell me

a book about a historical controversial figure, boring ass talks abt nuclear war, ww2, communism and cold war, phsysics stuff, relased in 2006 and won a pulitzer prize.

no director dared to make a movie abt it. very high risk, why?

the pandemic and its inflation and new habits of consumption post super hero (very saturated) cinema era in an era quick shitty streaming movies bc they dont need theatrical release, little effort, just pump movies out, no control wheater is good or not no one (as many would think) would want a 3 hour movie, with heavy dialogue (bc it needs it to tell the story properly) with many black and white scenes, Rated R, nudity and s3xual representation scenes about this historical controversial figure. tiktok and reels era, most people are obssessed with a 30 seconds videos in their hands, keeping a very bad habit of zero attention span and quick serotonin, unable to enjoy the development of a full story that is longer than 30 without a pop music playing on the background can't go around marketing the movie like its super fun and colorfull for the entire family ahah cool, lets make it a competition like ahaha BARBIEMHEIMER ahah so fun lol why dont they get into it too? it would help their marketing bc lol who wanna watcha 3 hour R rated movie abt a physicist lmao get real!!! No buddy, you wanna scrutinize what happened the people of japan? this guy was scrutinized by its own country after everything he was asked to do? no, you cant market it like that, its harder, but thankfully the ppl making the movie ARE THE MARKETING. also the ppl saying "who cares abt nuclear war lmao, it wont happen" guess who just did a speech abt it the other day abt using them?? i am not gonna say his name yall know who it is. now invest 100mi on a movie like this. didnt see all the others directors around rushing to make a movie abt oppenheimer like chris did, he thought it was very interesting and passionate abt it, he had a vision for it, to contextualize yall: he has been wanting to make something biographical for years (will we ever see his howard hugues movie? thanks martin for doing it first??? will chris ever recover from this? poor bby). and ffs this movie didnt even use that much computer VFX, so much amazing pratical effects it didnt even an oscar nom for it, any other director could have done with the computer technology from 10 years ago. buddy literally asked for black and white imax films, no one did this before. buddy dark knight came out 16 years ago, the first movie shot in imax, back then there was 4 or 3 cameras in the world and this idiot i love even managed to break one of them during the shooting (see the behind the scenes of dark knight its amazing and hilarious). what other filmmaker is going this far for a biography? they could have made this movie but

they didnt make it. period.

i am not here to say that this is better than every other movie, oppenheimer should be forever praised (it is not in my sincere opinion chris' best movie, neither my fav of his) but this is for the ppl whining abt barbie and putting oppenheimer against it.

the reels i saw the other day "greta could make oppeneimer, but nolan couldnt make barbie" HONEY... WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS INFO? IS THIS SUPPOSED TO ME HER LOOK GOOD ? you are not helping her at all... if she can make oppenheimer why didnt she make it before? is it bc it would be hard to pitch? it wouldnt be easy to make money from it or get funded? it would just be another oscar winning box office flop? bc lets be real, many amazing oscar movies i love, they were commercial flops, and its ok, BUT YOU SEE IT RIGHT?

marvels endgame was a huge commercial movie and a great box office, no one here is screaming the russos to get noms

"ah its a groundbreaking movie bc of feminism"

honey please there's more groundbreaking movies better than barbie, are you fucking kidding me. this is the stuff that makes me ashamed of saying i am a feminist.

also who cares abt margot, isnt it abt to be feminism or is it white feminism ? i wanna see support for lilly gladstone who did and insane work in KOTFM than emma stone in PT.

i am biased, i am his fan afterall, i have no hate for the others, but i am a realist. chris has been making movies for 20 years, groundbreaking breathtaking beautiful stuff, i am not here to throw the party like "visionary director" but i wanna put things on the table, he has been way past what the academy considers cinema, he has been snubbed for so long it became ridiculous. he has been doing an imppecable work of supporting filmmaking and the theater industry, supporting the craftsmanship of filmmaking the studios' inverstors and companies look down on just for profits. to end my rant now, the last thing i wanna say is: i don't care if yall say "ah just another cis het white man winning/being nominated" yes honey, it is.

if anything, this is the "cis het white man" who you just can't believe has not won yet. insane right? he has been snubbed by other cis het white males who would believe it right? lmao

now i am done.

we take in the sheets tomorrow evening. have a great saturday yall

[matthewzkrause]

What 72 Days Without Social Media Really Looked Like.

I didn’t delete Instagram to be “that person.” No digital detox announcement. No holier-than-thou energy. I just… stopped opening the apps one day.

And then I didn’t go back. For 72 days.

No scrolling. No liking. No lurking. No pretending.

If you’ve ever wondered what life would feel like without the noise, the newsfeeds, the notifications— Here’s exactly what happened 👇

📱 Days 1–7: Withdrawal Is Real. Like, Really Real. I kept grabbing my phone like a nervous tick. My thumb literally tried to open the ghost of Instagram. It wasn’t even there anymore.

I felt twitchy. Uncomfortable. Like I was missing something important—even though I wasn’t.

But somewhere around Day 4, I heard something I hadn’t heard in forever: my own thoughts.

Not TikTok audios. Not someone else’s voiceover wisdom. Just… me.

🧠 Days 8–21: The Emotions Hit (Hard) When you stop drowning yourself in everyone else’s lives, you suddenly have to look at your own.

I felt lonely. I questioned my worth. I noticed how often I’d used social media to distract from real feelings.

But then something wild happened…

I started texting people. Calling friends. Going outside. Like, actually talking—not reacting to their Stories. It felt… real. Intimate. Slower. Better.

📚 Days 22–45: My Brain Started Coming Back Online No joke—I started reading books again. Not TikTok summaries. Not 2-minute productivity hacks. Real books. With chapters.

I could sit through a full movie without reaching for my phone. My focus stopped feeling broken. And the pressure to “be seen” or “stay relevant”? Gone.

💭 Days 46–65: The Big Questions Showed Up Once the noise quieted, the real questions started getting louder:

Who am I when I’m not being watched?

What do I create when no one’s clapping?

What am I chasing, and why?

I started journaling again. Dreaming again. Even getting bored—and guess what? Boredom breeds creativity.

🌱 Day 66–72: I Didn’t Miss It. Not Really. The funny thing? I didn’t feel “disconnected” anymore.

I felt reconnected. To my thoughts. To my time. To my people. To the present moment.

When I finally redownloaded Instagram, it felt… small. Loud, yes. But kind of empty.

So now? I’m back. But not the same.

I don’t scroll first thing in the morning. I don’t post unless I have something real to say. And I definitely don’t measure my worth in likes or reach.

🧍‍♀️ The Truth? You don’t realize how much social media shapes you… Until you step away and remember who you were before the algorithm started curating your identity.

You’re not behind. You’re not boring. You’re not missing out.

You’re just buried under a thousand voices that aren’t yours.

And once those voices fade, yours gets loud again.

TL;DR – What 72 Days Off Social Media Looked Like: Day 1: Withdrawal

Day 12: Loneliness + clarity

Day 30: Mental stillness

Day 50: Creativity returns

Day 72: Peace

Would I do it again? Yes. In a heartbeat.

💬 Thinking of Taking a Break? You don’t need to disappear for 72 days. Try 2. Or even just one. Let yourself feel awkward. Let your brain breathe.

Because you? You’re so much more than a highlight reel.

[developerwith1]

How to Instantly Download Social Media Videos Without Installing Anything

Ever stumbled upon a hilarious TikTok, a heartwarming Instagram reel, or a tutorial on YouTube and thought, “I wish I could save this right now”? You’re not alone. In 2025, content is king—but keeping it at your fingertips? That’s where the magic of instant online video downloading comes in.

And the best part? You don’t need to install a single thing.

Whether you’re a student, a content creator, or just someone who wants to rewatch that dance video without loading screens, this guide is for you. Let’s break it down, step by step.

1. Why People Download Social Media Videos

Let’s be honest—streaming eats up data and isn’t always reliable. Maybe you want to save a recipe tutorial for later, rewatch an inspiring speech offline, or share a reel with someone who’s not on Instagram.

Downloading lets you take content wherever, whenever—no buffering, no disappearing posts.

2. What Is a Free YouTube Video Downloader?

Think of it as your digital pocket knife. A free YouTube video downloader helps you grab videos from YouTube and other platforms by just pasting a URL—no software, no accounts, no strings attached.

But here's the kicker: it works not just for YouTube but often for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and more.

3. The Beauty of Online Tools – No Installs Needed

Installing software is so last decade. Why download an app just to grab a video?

Online downloaders are:

Instant

Browser-based

Free

Safe (if you pick the right ones)

They’re like the vending machine of the internet—you walk up, make a selection, and walk away with what you want.

4. Copy, Paste, Download – That Simple

Here’s the 3-step magic:

Copy the URL of the video you want

Paste it into your chosen downloader

Download it in your preferred format

In less than a minute, you have the content saved—no sign-up, no waitlist, no tech degree required.

5. Best Platforms Supported in 2025

Modern tools don’t stop at YouTube. The best online downloaders work across:

YouTube

Instagram (posts, reels, stories)

TikTok (with or without watermark)

Facebook

Twitter (now X)

Vimeo

Reddit

That’s like having one charger for all your gadgets—universal and simple.

6. Key Features to Look For

When choosing your go-to downloader, look for:

Multiple format options (MP4, MP3, etc.)

No watermark downloads

HD quality up to 4K

No annoying pop-ups

Mobile and desktop compatibility

Think of it as shopping for a car—you want speed, reliability, and comfort.

7. How to Download Without Watermarks

No one wants a big watermark screaming across their video. The top free YouTube video downloader tools offer:

Original content, unbranded

Clean clips for personal or professional use

Editable files for content creators

Make sure your tool mentions “no watermark”—or try a test download first.

8. File Formats and Quality Options

Need just the audio? Go MP3. Want a crisp full-HD video? Choose 1080p or 4K.

Quality options usually include:

360p for quick downloads

720p for mobile viewing

1080p or 4K for presentations or TV

It's like choosing a meal size—pick what satisfies your need without overloading your plate.

9. Top Free YouTube Video Downloader Sites

Here are some favorites in 2025:

SSYouTube – Simple and direct

Y2Mate – Multi-format support

SaveFrom.net – Works with many platforms

SnapInsta – Instagram-friendly

Ssstik – Great for watermark-free TikToks

These tools keep things clean, quick, and clutter-free.

10. Is It Legal to Download Social Videos?

Here’s the truth: Downloading for personal use is generally okay, but don’t:

Re-upload without permission

Sell or monetize downloaded content

Use copyrighted material in public projects

Treat downloads like borrowed books—read them, don’t publish them.

11. Mobile vs. Desktop: Which Works Better?

Both work great—just pick what suits your vibe:

Mobile: Quick and portable

Desktop: Easier for large files, editing, storage

Most downloaders are optimized for both. All you need is a browser and a link.

12. Real-Life Scenarios Where Downloads Matter

Let’s paint a picture:

Travelers want playlists offline

Students save video lectures

Social media managers collect content for reuse

Parents download cartoons for kids on long drives

Whatever your story, offline videos make life easier.

13. Pro Tips to Speed Up Your Downloads

Want to be a download ninja?

Bookmark your favorite downloader

Use Chrome or Firefox for better stability

Pick lower quality for faster results

Delete old files to save space

Small habits = big gains.

14. Mistakes to Avoid When Downloading

Clicking fake “Download” buttons

Not checking file size

Downloading from shady sites

Ignoring copyright notices

Be smart, stay safe, and always double-check before clicking.

15. Final Thoughts – Keep What You Love, Easily

With the right free YouTube video downloader, you no longer need to chase content across the internet or fear losing that favorite clip. It’s all at your fingertips—fast, free, and install-free.

[veiilathiinks]

fuck you, happy world!

fuck you, happy world!

originally published on patreon, feb 9, 2024

kurt vonnegut once said: “i am a writer. this means that i made a career out of my mental illness”. and i am truly grateful that he hadn't lived to the present day. for, lo and behold, we are living in the happy world! and boy oh boy it is a detestable place.

“i've read your posts on the internet... why are you doing this, why are you so depressive, who is it going to help?” that is something i've been asked by a person who i've known for all of my life (i just started to wonder if this “knowing” wasn't in fact bidirectional). and it occurred to me: with all the make-believe freedom that we are having a privilege to, supposedly, enjoy in our modern high-tech independent lives (yes, sarcasm), we are not really allowed much. what we are allowed is simply to be helpers. nay, tools. listen, aren't we always expecting some kind of help to be offered by total strangers on the web? oh yes we do. and we are so used to taking it for granted, that we never as much as stop and think for a second, what hell it must be to be another person. we sure know what hell it is to be our good selves, no questions here. but as for other people, especially people that we connect to on the internet... let's be honest for a second: we don't give a damn. we simply demand, take and walk away. maybe it is fair, maybe it is supposed to be so, and maybe i would buy this pile of steaming manure if we were expecting to be treated back in the same manner. but that would be just too good to be true. we all need and demand respect, while barely ever showing any. that's ok, that's just us, human beings, you know, the vermin that crawls the earth, turning everything on their way into waste and dust, and keeps demanding for better conditions. that's no news. but hey, everyone wants to have their shiny moment, everyone wants to be a star of the show once in a while. and how would you get your dose of respect from a crowd of self-obsessed egotistical infantile narcissists? i think we can find the answer in a simple metaphor. how would you make a toddler like you? give the little leech a candy, of course! and the bigger and sweeter the candy the deeper the gratitude. and what if everyone around you is basically a toddler? look at them, these grown-ups, staring at their phones day and night, what are they doing there, writing a doctorate or calculating the orbit for a new spacecraft? or watching tiktoks and reels with morons farting on camera? what's your bet? i have a feeling that if you managed to read this text up to this moment, your bet is as gloomy as mine. and how do you please this crowd? what kind of candy must you give them for them to be grateful? how much candy will you have to supply? and how long will their gratitude last?

above all: do you really need their gratitude?

it is with a heavy heart and weeping eye i confirm that the majority of artists whose art i loved, cherished and respected have fallen victim to the happy world. and it makes me utterly sad. why? because art doesn't owe anything to anyone. art is only possible when it's created without a direct cause. art is the expression of the soul, the subconscious, the guts and the blood. when art is created on demand, when art is created for the sake of pleasing someone, it is no longer art. “music for working out”, “beats to study to”, “books to help you quit smoking” and all that excrement that fills the music and literary platforms – this is not art. spotify, meta and the rest of those corporate giants – these are not patrons of art, these are services, they serve. and when the artist tries to please the platform (or worse – the platform's algorithm) that makes the artist a servant of these services. a servant's servant. oh, i have a shorter and better word for it: slavery. so, my dear artists, if by any unbelievable ridiculous chance you are reading this, make a mental note to yourself: next time when you think that you should release 12 singles with 8 collaborations across the next 12 month in hopes to please the spotify algorithm, don't forget to remind yourself that you are doing it for your master. do you hear the whip swooshing? next time when you think that you desperately need to write a christmas song, because your distributor is nagging you, so you won't miss the annual trend, i want you to say aloud: “yes, master”. next time, when after writing a depressive song you feel an urgent need to make a motivational post where you explain your reasons for writing said depressive song and provide substantial evidence that said song not only helped you to conquer your depression, but above all was written with a clear intention to help your followers and subscribers to fight with their depression (of course one mustn't forget to add a link to some foundation to make one's claim to be a selfless helper more believable), i want you to end it with a sing-along with a choir of your peers “i owe my soul to the company store”. that will do it.

so what about us? are we here to motivate someone for something? are we here to provide advice? hell no. why are we doing it? because we can.

with all my heart i couldn't care less what anyone expects of me. i am an artist. i do what i do. if i feel so much pain that it spills out – i spill it out. if i can't contain my despair, why should i? why put lipstick on a pig? life is pain. the world is ugly. existence is meaningless. we are all here to suffer, die and be decomposed and forgotten. oh you don't like it? i'm sure there are going to be legions of cheerful spiritual people on the internet who would be more than happy to sell you the shiny wrapping of the happy world. i ain't one of those. i don't care. i've heard something about the #metoo movement. i'm starting my own movement. i'll call it the #countmeout movement. i refuse to trade honest art for motivational content. truth is scary. truth is ugly. we all suffer, why can't we just admit it? happiness is fleeting. “hope is the thing with feathers”, emily dickinson wrote. well, hopelessness is the beast with fangs. and despair is made of brick and mortar and it is here to stay. truth is made of pain and despair. happiness is fleeting, it passes in a heartbeat. pain lasts. and i salute those who refuse to hypocritically avert their faces, those who refuse to pretend, those who refuse to sell pink lies serving the corporate machine. and to the rest i say: fuck you, happy world!

i don't know if anyone reads these texts, and if anyone who read the first lines managed to keep up to this moment, but if you are still here, i want to say thank you. thank you for not demanding. thank you for letting me be myself.

my favorite artists, writers that shaped and keep shaping me, musicians whose music directed and influenced me are brutally honest. if there is anything i can vouch for, it is that i can smell dishonesty in art. and those most brutally honest, from schopenhauer to hesse, from remarque to vonnegut, from fitzgerald to orwell, those whose words still ring in my ears and make shivers run down my spine, they didn't try to please me, they didn't smooth out the rough edges, they didn't conceal their pain, their disappointment, their despair, and neither should i. in the name of all the great art that this ugly, unfair and unbearable world provided me with, i will keep spilling my pain out on paper and howl in anguish. and i have only one thing to ask of you, whoever you are: don't avert your eyes, don't look away, for this is all that we have, and the moment we stop paying attention to pain – that will be the end.

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[leelmaxinfotech]

Content Marketing in the Attention Economy: Grabbing Eyes in 3 Seconds or Less

In today’s digital age, where attention spans are shorter than ever, content marketing has become a battlefield for brands vying to capture their audience’s fleeting interest. According to a study by Microsoft, the average human attention span has dropped to just 8 seconds — shorter than that of a goldfish! This phenomenon, driven by the constant barrage of social media, emails, and digital distractions, has given rise to the "Attention Economy," where grabbing someone’s attention in the first 3 seconds is critical.

So, how can brands win in this fiercely competitive landscape? The answer lies in crafting content that is not only engaging but also tailored to the unique behaviors and preferences of today’s audiences.

1. The Science of First Impressions

The first 3 seconds of your content are crucial. Whether it’s a social media post, a blog, or a video, your audience subconsciously evaluates whether it’s worth their time almost instantly. This means your opening hook needs to be powerful.

Use Strong Visuals: Posts with eye-catching visuals or videos are 40% more likely to be shared. For instance, Instagram carousels and TikTok’s vertical videos have redefined how people consume content.

Start with a Question or Bold Statement: Phrases like "Did you know…" or "What if I told you…" immediately pique curiosity.

2. Snackable Content: Bite-Sized Wins

In the Attention Economy, less is often more. Bite-sized content allows users to digest information quickly without feeling overwhelmed.

Micro-Videos: Platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have proven that 15-60 second videos outperform longer formats.

Infographics: Combine visual storytelling with data to deliver value-packed insights in a single glance.

Example: Canva’s free templates for creating infographics make it easier than ever for brands to communicate their message in seconds.

3. The Role of Emotions in Engagement

Content that evokes emotions — whether it’s laughter, surprise, or even nostalgia — is more likely to go viral. Research by Jonah Berger in his book Contagious found that high-arousal emotions drive shares.

Storytelling: Share relatable stories that resonate with your audience.

FOMO and Exclusivity: Limited-time offers and behind-the-scenes content trigger curiosity.

4. Personalization: Speak Directly to Your Audience

Consumers are more likely to engage with content that feels tailored to them. Personalized marketing generates 6 times higher transaction rates than generic messaging.

AI and Analytics: Use tools like HubSpot or Google Analytics to understand what type of content resonates with your audience.

Dynamic Content: Create adaptive campaigns that change based on user interaction.

5. Optimize for Mobile

Nearly 80% of global internet users access the web via mobile devices. If your content isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ve already lost the battle.

Responsive Design: Ensure your website, emails, and videos are optimized for smartphones.

Vertical Formats: Prioritize vertical video and image formats for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.

6. Data-Driven Iteration

Content marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Use data to refine your approach.

A/B Testing: Experiment with different headlines, visuals, and CTAs to see what performs best.

Engagement Metrics: Track likes, shares, comments, and time spent on content to gauge its impact.

Conclusion

In the Attention Economy, capturing and retaining interest isn’t just about creativity — it’s about understanding your audience and adapting to their behaviors. By leveraging powerful visuals, emotional storytelling, and data-driven personalization, brands can cut through the noise and make their content stand out in a sea of distractions. Remember, in this age of fleeting attention, every second counts.

[family-video]

Introduction

Hello, not sure if anyone would ever read this but I'll say it anyway. I'm tired of living like this. With AI, constant modernization, instant gratification, all of it. I know I'll sound old and bitter, but bear with me. Im 23 years old, and over a decade of my life has been owned by the internet.

When I was 11, I was given my first tablet. I used it mostly to play games, but I began obsessively scrolling on iFunny and Tumblr. If I wasn't doing that, then I was watching Youtube. I spent hours on it every day, cycling through the apps. Then when I was 13, I got my first smartphone. It somehow got even worse. I had access to every social media now, and I wanted every hour of my waking day spent scrolling on Instagram, snapchat, twitter, everything and anything I could download. I spent my years like this until I was 18, and COVID hit.

As I was bored in quarantine, I finally realized something-I felt empty. I was no longer surrounded by anyone, I had no one to prove myself to. I turned off my phone and reflected for awhile, and realized how deeply I missed life before social media.

Before I turned 11, I was truly living. And the world felt alive with me. Some might argue that perhaps I only felt that way because I was a child, but I disagree. I know there was a shift there. When I was a kid, before the internet entered my household, I woke up on the weekends- and did nothing. There was no phone to grab and immediately scroll on. I would lay, look at the ceiling, or glance at the ticking Hello Kitty clock mounted on the wall to know if it was too early to get up for the day. Once I was up, I would sit at the table and eat my breakfast. I would read my books, play on my DSi, or play with my littlest pet shop figures. I would go outside to blow bubbles, or sit in front of the TV to watch SpongeBob.

Then if my parents felt like going out to eat, we would. We would go to Texas Roadhouse and not mind the long wait, and then go to my favorite place in the world- Family Video. In there I would spend all my time looking at the video games before renting something I liked and going home.

I don't know if this makes sense, but things felt so alive. The world felt almost sparkly. Everywhere we went was busy, but no one seemed to mind.

However, now, I feel like things are dull. Dead. Again, I do not think this is because I am an adult.

Now I wake up, and I immediately grab my phone. Even when I try my best not to, I subconsciously do it. I read through my unimportant notifications and scroll on TikTok or instagram reels before thinking "What the hell am I doing? I need to get up!" When I do get up, I eat my breakfast while scrolling on twitter, reading unimportant things like celebrity drama.

Then if my boyfriend and I don't feel like going anywhere for the weekend, we sit, and we scroll, and we watch YouTube, and play Roblox. (Yes, I am aware I am too old for that. But playing Bloxy Bingo with my siblings is too much fun.) And if we feel like eating out, we don't even go out. We simply order off DoorDash, sit, and wait. And I plan on digging into this "instant gratification" thing in another post, but I will say that it feels so dull.

Another thing too is that both my boyfriend and I have anxiety- and going out to stores doesn't necessarily feel the same anymore. Ok, here is where I will hear someone out if they say "well it's cuz you were a kid!". Is it just me, or after COVID did everyone forget basic manners? I can't walk into Target without feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack. Everyone is cutting you off abruptly, or walking so quickly behind you they're almost stepping on your shoes. And NO ONE says excuse me. Sure we don't have to, but it would be a little nice if I had a clue that you were trying to get past me in an aisle without bumping my shoulder.

This stressful experience leads me to want to isolate myself further. And as I head to the car, sweat dripping down my forehead from damn near running to leave, I get a notification on my phone from my crime app telling me that there was a super terrible tragedy nearby that instills the feeling in me that I need to stay home.

I need to stay safe inside, continue door dashing, continue scrolling.

But I'm done with it. I have felt the desire to abandon this lifestyle for a couple of years now, but this time im going to do it- and I mean it.

I am going to live like its the 2000s again.

Yes, I am aware that I could never truly go back to the way things were before. And there are in fact modern things I want to keep in my life. Modern interests, etc. But what I mean is I don't only want to quit social media (besides Tumblr so I can write), but I want to go back to some of the technologies that genuinely worked just fine. In an ever changing world, I can appreciate that we make technological advances every single day. But maybe we don't need to.

I know this is long, and again I am unsure if anyone read this. But if they did, sorry for the rambling, and thank you for reading my thoughts.

So without further ado, here I go- back into my imaginary time machine.

[breewgrapes]

"Disregard the world, and run to see what you know is real"

- Take a chance with me by Niki

Despite the fact that this song is about love and crushes. It reminds me of life today, I only see people uses their phone and scroll in tiktok and reels as if their world is in the phone, i'm one of them. It made me wonder what would life feel like if I disappear and stop using social medias for a while?

Few weeks ago, I deactivated my accounts on instagram, twitter, tiktok, and even deleted the app. I can say that it was a good decision that I made. I only get to socialize with people that I see in real life and not with people I see on social medias. I gain more confidence in talking to people, and taking pictures without having a pressure to post it online. I don't even have to worry about what people might say. I had more time writing, painting, and reading books. Discovering things that I missed out, and exploring hobbies. There are times when I get bored, but this serves as an evidence that my life is peaceful. This is the peaceful life. The freedom I've been wanting to have. I explored places like cafes alone—I may look pathetic and friendless but being alone just made me realize so many things and see what the real world is supposed to look like.