#valuable potential employee

[gudguy1a]

The Makings of a VALUABLE Employee that Any/All Employers Should Want

The following are characteristics and areas that I have always believed in and still continue to believe in. They are aspects that every employee should be striving to achieve in any line of work. I know this fairly well, to the detriment of folks around me in my social/work circles because of having sacrificed so much personal time from when I gained my first grad degree and then later…

[tossawary]

One of my personal nitpicks for historical fantasy is a lack of servants, staff, subordinates, and... idk... subjects? Like, their absence is not... a total dealbreaker for me, depending on the situations the characters are in and whether or not I can just assume that other people are there in the background... but so many of the protagonists in historical fantasy stuff are higher-ranking (very often royalty), and/or have busy jobs, and/or have enormous houses that would necessitate having at least part-time staff.

Like, girl, you should have a maid! WHERE is your chaperone?! WHO is driving this carriage?! Where are your footmen? Are you trying to imply that a WEALTHY DUCHESS is taking a CAB?! You know that you probably have tenants, right? Where is your steward?! Where is your lawyer? Your accountant?! (Like, yeah, you're not going to have your lawyer living in your house, but you HAVE one, right???)

Or, man, you're supposed to be a military commander and you don't even have a single secretary?! Where is your SQUIRE?! (In the spirit of historical fiction, I am jumping wildly across time periods with every sentence here.) Man, I know you aren't looking after your own boots. Where are your GUARDS?! Who set up this tent for you?! Who is looking after your horse?! Who is making and carrying the incredibly valuable maps people are recklessly stabbing daggers into?!

SOMEONE has to be scrubbing these floors and delivering the mail and cooking the meals and doing laundry, and they're probably all DIFFERENT people! My dentist has at least three different receptionists and we can't even get ONE for our court wizard here? A sorcerer's apprentice to take notes? Someone like Sherlock Holmes could get away with just having a housekeeper and taking taxis, sure, but your character is supposed to be a KING?! Why is he answering his own front door? He's going to get assassinated. His SERVANTS should have SERVANTS.

Like, yes, I understand that a lot of servants in certain places at certain times were supposed to make their labor invisible, but there have always been servants who still had to interact directly with the masters of the house?! Yeah, there are potentially really messy ethics here, class divisions are bullshit, but I don't think that completely ignoring the reality that humans have ALWAYS been doing work for other humans is better than just including some well-paid and well-treated servants and employees? Because a complete absence of them, especially where logically for the worldbuilding there MUST be servants (and probably exploited servants, or worse, for some particular worldbuilds to work), often makes me think that your main characters just don't care enough to notice the "lower class" people or know their names.

Also, even Frodo Baggins had a gardener and Samwise Gamgee might be the best damn character in the story?! Sam saved the world?! Servants are PEOPLE. Servants are often the funniest and most interesting characters, tbh, with the most to say about a society and its workings (yes, Discworld is a very good book series, highly recommend), and also the joke of some romantic scene being carefully orchestrated by a stage crew of servants frantically diving into bushes to stay out of sight never gets old to me. Teamwork makes the dream work!

I don't want to gatekeep historical fiction, especially not historical fantasy, because the worlds don't necessarily have to conform to our own and may have magic and characters are often in very unique circumstances, but... sometimes I pick up a story and it's like... "Author, please tell me that you know there is a difference between a butler and a valet?!"

[roboticutie]

Reccomendation algorithms are something we KNOW contribute massively to alt-right pipeline social issues. They also act as incentives for companies to trade, sell, and sometimes steal user data for marketing schemes and sponsors.

Elon musk just blew up twitter by biasing its recommendation feed towards his posts by 1000X more than anyone else's (not an exaggeration, thats the actual approximate number he ordered, one thousand times more likely to appear on your feed). YouTube creators, including LegalEagle himself in the video above, say with vast consistency that the algorithm de-incentivises them to be creative, take risks, and have fun. It's an incentive to do the same thing over and over until the next trend rolls in from the ether, killing all attempt at professional creativity. I've heard of viewers complain that same algorithm does not listen to user input about what they do and do not want to see, and often shows inappropriate or offensive things. If you watch, comment, or react to ONE video you don't like, you are bombarded with them routinely for at least a full week- it works AGAINST the viewer's best interests.

I'm not sure this is a bad thing. It could be skewed or pushed too far into territory that COULD cause the kind of damage warned about, but as it stands, the decimation of algorithmically recommended content alone may be a net-positive. It may even do some damage to echo chambers and open people up to seeing more things they didn't think they'd like or appreciate, but do.

Hey remember when Tumblr banned porn and everyone fled to Twitter and the internet by and large became that much more insufferable? Yeah well, we’re about to get the sequel no one’s been waiting for

A recent lawsuit is calling into question the very law that makes user-generated content possible on the internet and it’s going before a bunch of old people who have no idea how the internet works. If Section 230 gets repealed or modified, the internet as we know it will radically change forever. Content policing will be that much worse; and either the guidelines will be so restrictive it’ll squeeze the life out of their sites, or sites will close their doors all together by not being able to meet the moderation demand and not wanting to risk being liable. 

Unlike SOPA way back in the day, this one is quietly flying under everyone’s radar so there’s no big pushback like last time, so there is a very real possibility this goes down in the worst way possible. So Yeah Ya’ll may want to start saving your favorite content if you feel it’s going to go bye-bye

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

If you consume a certain type of online content about friendship (often in the form of “10 signs of a fake friend” and similar), you may almost get to the conclusion that anyone who is not your best friend is your enemy - or at the very least, that any friend who doesn’t know *everything* about you is entirely worthless to your life and you would be better off cutting them out.

That’s a pretty radical view of human relationships, and it would ultimately cost you a lot of joyful social interactions if you strictly adhered to it. 

Unless you barricade yourself in your room and never leave it (which would be pretty awful for your mental health), you will end up in situations where you have regular interactions with people who are not your best friend ever. The ability to be friendly to those people, to enjoy those connections, isn’t “fake” or “toxic”. It’s an important source of positive social interactions and a valuable tool to fight loneliness.

If you have a constant social circle, these may be the friends (or partners, family members etc) of your friends, those “I’m not directly friends with Rose but I’m friends with Lisa and Lisa is friends with Rose” situations. But even if you do not have a circle like that (because you don’t make friends easily, you have social anxiety etc.), there will most likely be some “casually friendly” people in your life, as these are often simply the people who happen to be at the same place at the same time as you: colleagues, classmates, neighbors, people at places you frequent (employees in stores, patients in group therapy etc.), or even just the guy who waits for the same bus as you do every Monday morning. 

These people wouldn’t be the first one you’d call if you need help with a potentially life changing decision. They don’t know all your deepest secrets, fears and desires, they may not even be able to name your favorite color (or hey, maybe not even your name), and they certainly won’t be able to list all your identity labels, political beliefs, medical diagnoses, traumatic experiences and sexual fantasies - but they don’t need to. 

It’s wonderful if you have a best friend (or another close relationship) who fulfills that role of being someone you’d trust blindly, someone who knows you inside and out. But not everyone you are friendly with needs to be that for you. There’s enough other roles. Acquaintances, work friends, casual friends, small-talk friends… those roles aren’t worthless. They won’t be the one you call at 3 am after a breakup, but they can inject a bit of joy in your everyday life. They can offer friendly interactions that come with no pressure to go beyond the surface (something that’s valuable in itself! It would be very exhausting if everyone already knew everything about you and every conversation had to be deep and philosophical). 

Plus, only knowing each other in one context has its advantages: your best friend may not know anything about the printer issue in your office but your office friend sure does! And if you met someone in a crime novel forum and all you ever talk about is crime novels, is that really negative? Isn’t it beautiful to know someone who shares your passion for that genre and is always happy to talk about it? 

Of course an office friend or a crime novel friend can also become a best friend over the years. There are plenty of people who meet in a specific context, bond in that context and gradually develop a relationship out of that context as well. But one-context friends still enrich your life. 

Even if that context is purely “we say hi when we see each other at the bus stop”, it’s a positive social interaction - and those will bring color and joy into both of your lives. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[sundew199]

Quiet

a/n: uh based on this thought I had 🤭

tags: f!reader x reiner, oral f!recieving, slight voyeurism, smut, Reiner's a freak but we already knew that. Barely any plot

3.2k words

Running a fairly successful company at your age was no small feat. After the dedication to took to earn the respect from other business moguls and prove that you weren't just another wannabe dreamer, going out of your way to prove you were capable of running a successful company. There were ups and downs, which were to be expected, but there was one person who kept you steady and focused on the end goal.

Reiner had been working at one of your competitor's companies at the time you met him, leaving a lasting impression. Your initial plan was to use him for insider information, because who doesn't do that in the business world. He gladly accepted for whatever reason you didn't know at the time, later finding out it was because he liked you and saw your potential. The friendship grew into something more when he left the competitor to come work for you, giving your company that extra kick to solidify your name in the business world. You gave him the position of vice president without a second thought, Reiner was smart and very well rounded when it came to the economy and trade values, without him it was hard to say where your company might be today.

Of course the business relationship the two of you formed didn't end there, blossomed into something more. After about a year of working together, Reiner asked you out on a date and you had no inclination to decline. That night was the beginning of your romantic relationship with him, now living together and engaged, running the company you started from the ground up, together.

Recently, you've been working from home, hosting meetings with your board and valuable employees, saving you so much time from having to drive downtown every morning. Reiner would go in more often than you would, but he had the day off today and what a stroke of luck it was that it was the same day as your monthly board meeting.

"You're not going to take all damn morning are you?"

His breath tickled your ear as he spoke, holding you to his chest in a loving squeeze, not ready for you to leave bed just yet.

"Hopefully not, but I can't make any promises." Turning to kiss his lips, running tender fingers in the back of his scalp. He hummed lowly, beginning to haul you onto his lap before you placed a gentle hand on his chest.

"I need to get ready."

"Just real quick." Palming your ass cheek while giving it a squeeze, an attempt to entice you to stay in bed and help with his morning problem. You would any other day, but you missed your first two alarms and any longer in bed could result in you being late to your own meeting,

"After." Giving a breathy laugh and sliding out from his arms and off the bed to the bathroom to look halfway decent for your employees. You could hear Reiner huffing from the bed still, dramatically expressing his annoyance with you leaving his grasp so quickly. He always played it up for fun, never doing it to be manipulative only to get a few laughs.

Since the meeting would be held over Zoom in the quietness of your home office, there wasn't really a need for you to dress up all the way, a nice shirt and some jewelry would sell the facade of you being dressed completely in business casual. You made a point to peck his lips on your way out of the bedroom, intentionally swaying your hips in the scandalous short shorts you wore to be a tease and biting back a laugh.

Grabbing a quick cup of coffee and the notepad with company docs paper clipped to the side, you sauntered to the office, deciding to leave the door open a crack. There were just about five minutes to spare to get logged in, open the portal for everyone to join and make this the quickest monthly meeting yet. You would admit the thought of Reiner having his way with you like he always did most mornings made you antsy to get this done quickly.

"Morning everyone!" Chirping as soon as the last person was seen to join the meeting, forcing yourself to be a bit more cheery today in hopes it wouldn't drag things on for too long.

Everyone greeted you back, some forcing a happy face as it wasn't exactly how they wanted to spend their mornings, while the rest seemed to be chipper or doing a better job at faking it.

All you needed to go over with them was the budget for the remainder of the year and a few upcoming projects that needed a few approvals before getting them up and running. Your lead marketing and public relations for the company took the initiative of getting you up to date on whether the marketing strategies suggested by none other than Reiner were working and playing in the company's favor. She droned on, reading directly from a report she put together before this, making it impossible to focus on what she was saying. Based just on this, the meeting unfortunately may take up a good portion of your morning, exactly what you didn't want.

All you could do after marketing wrapped up and the chief of accounting began his own spiel was scribble on the notepad next to your desktop, pretending to be writing notes. In truth you were thinking about Reiner and how badly you wanted to climb back into bed and ride his dick till he couldn't cum anymore. Fuck, that would be nice right about now, ease the ache rising between your legs the more you thought about splitting yourself on top of him.

"If we can improve sales and beat the monthly quota, there would be room and more leverage for giving the green light to these potential marketing projects, don't you agree?"

Snapping up at the question from your chief of accounting did you realize you were daydreaming, barely catching what they were discussing. Quickly you pushed aside your notepad and forced yourself to focus and come up with a believable answer.

"Yes absolutely. How are we looking for sales this month." Diverting the conversation to the head of sales, ensuring there'd be less of a chance to make a fool of yourself from the lack of attention you had at the moment. He nodded on the other side of the screen, clearing his throat and reaching for the report he had to present this month.

Letting out a small breath of relief at your save, you reluctantly brought the notepad closer again, to actually take notes. And you did, conjuring up ways to help the sales department exceed the monthly quota until you noticed your office door being pushed open. A tuff of blonde made the heat rise in your veins, personal desires pushing forward and drowning out the discussion currently being held.

He stood on the other side of your desk, behind the monitor and out of view, mouthing a question to you. Reiner asked if it was going well, briefly switching to business mode and then back to the fire simmering inside him, lips curling in a smirk. You gave him a subtle nod, one only he could make out and forced your eyes back to the screen to dial back into the discussion.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw him leave, shutting the door halfway and giving the impression he was off to do something else. But the moment he left, you wish he stay for some reason, just seeing him walk in shirtless in low hanging pajama pants had you clenching your legs together. You wanted - no needed him. Needed him down between your legs eating you out like he was starved. God he could work wonders with that fucking mouth of his, have you trembling and forcing multiple orgasms out of you without breaking a sweat.

Focus.

You needed to focus. The more you let your mind wonder, the longer this meeting could take and keep you from satisfying the hunger.

The glare from the sun peering in from the windows behind you casted onto your monitor, prompting you to pull the blinds down and dim the room a bit. Tucking one of your legs under you, adjusting in your seat, you saw the door open again, refusing to look knowing it was Reiner and listen to the conversation between your head of sales and marketing. Right, you were still discussing how to beat the monthly quota, Jesus this actually might take forever.

Without warning a hand grabbed you by the ankle, startling you and making you jolt. No one seemed to notice in the meeting, giving you a second to look down and see Reiner crawling under your desk to you. What the fuck was he doing? And why now of all times.

With one of your ankles still in his grasp, he reached to grab the other, untucking it from where you sat on it, spreading your legs apart wide. You felt incredibly hot all of a sudden, watching his face inch closer and closer to in between your spread legs. Reiner let out a small sigh, releasing one of your ankles to pull at the waistband of your shorts.

Quickly, you looked back towards the screen, gripping his wrist to stop him and to turn off your camera and mic, telling your staff to give you one moment and to carry on.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Hissing, an edge of irritation in your words.

"Nothing. Just...pretend I'm not here, and don't be too loud alright? Can't keep yourself muted and off camera for long sweetheart." Kissing your inner thigh deftly, twisting his wrist out of your hand and pulling your shorts and panties down. Thankfully you hadn't reached to turn your mic and camera back on as he did so or the expression on your face would be a dead giveaway. Reiner sighed again at the sight of your glistening folds, tucking his bottom lip into his teeth and releasing with a whisper of a chuckle. Experimentally, he rolled his tongue out, bringing it to swipe over your slit. You shuttered, gasping and hooking one of your legs over the arm of your desk chair while he held the other away.

"Get back to your meeting baby." Reiner instructed, kissing your slit and flicking his tongue over your entrance.

God you were teetering on the edge of killing him or shoving his face into your pussy, not even sure how you were going to make it the rest of the meeting with him down there. Sure the easiest solution would be to shove him away and make him wait, but he was already down there making out with your pussy in such an oddly tender way, there was no way you were going to stop him.

Reluctantly pressing the mic and camera options, you adjusted slightly in your seat and cleared your throat.

"Sorry, had to take care of something real quick." Bashfully apologizing with a white light, feeling the vibrating chuckle from Reiner on your folds.

"No problem. We came up with a plan to inexpensively bring in more sales and would like to know what you think." The head of sales spoke with a proud smile.

"Sure go ahead. After if we need to, go over what project management has and HR." Forcing out as steadily as you could, keeping the needy whine at bay as Reiner swirled the tip of his tongue over your clit, slowly.

"Great." A couple people said in unison, turning all their focus back to the head of sales. He spoke enthusiastically about the plan to you and everyone else and from what you could focus on, it all sounded great so far.

Reiner's mouth moved away from your clit, and back down to your now dripping entrance. You were good at putting on a face and you hoped in this case no one suspected anything, even though your legs were beginning to shake off camera. He hummed into your flesh, dipping his tongue around and in your entrance, lapping up your arousal with hunger. He was purposely taking his time, teasing you with light touches and slow movements, driving you to near insanity.

"Taste so good." He whispered, shoving his tongue inside, pressing his face into your cunt with the tip of his nose bumping your clit.

All you could do was chew on the inside of your cheek, strain your face to remain unfazed to stay professional. The hand not holding your leg back came into play once he had his fill of fucking you with his tongue, middle finger swiping over your slick folds, toying with the idea of shoving it in. To muffle the moan nearly slipping out, you cleared your throat, reaching down to grip his hair harshly, only for him to roll his eyes into the back of his head and quietly hiss. He knew what he was doing by showing his enjoyment and you decided that you were going to kill him once this meeting wrapped up.

"I think that plan is excellent, I say we implement it immediately after this meeting." Steadying your voice perfectly much to your surprise, smiling warmly to your staff. "Do we have anything from product management?"

"Just a few items of discussion, I won't take long, promise." The man chuckled, seeing some of the others rolling their eyes and trying to keep yours from doing the same, for one reason or another. As soon as he began to speak, Reiner slipped his middle finger into your entrance, pulling it back out to start a rhythmic pump. You clench his hair harder instead of moaning, hoping and praying the head of product management kept his promise.

Daring to sneak a glance down between your legs, you regretted it once Reiner's glazed over eyes met yours, appearing drunk and holding himself back. He slipped his finger out, dipped it into his mouth to suck it clean and only to shove it back in with his ring finger this time. Maybe instead of killing him you could fire him, or write him up. He wouldn't care, he was getting too much enjoyment out of this to worry about if you'd actually reprimand him. Deep down you knew you wouldn't, but it was tempting.

Looking back up to the screen and seeing mouths move but no words reaching your ears, you knew you were fucked. Monthly meetings were important, but not that important, not with the way Reiner's two thick fingers pumped in and out of you slowly as his tongue flattened over your clit repeatedly. You couldn't see him, though you knew he had the dirties smirk on his face right now and your emotions were at war with each other or whether to be mad or not.

The next five minutes went by painfully slow, product management continuously getting side tracked in his own words, allowing you to redirect the irritation to him instead of the man sucking on your clit. Reiner alternated between harsh sucks and gentle, keeping his fingers moving in and out with ease, using the slick arousal to his advantage. Your legs were violently trembling, a tell tale sign you were close, along with the constant chewing of your bottom lip. You wanted to cum yes, but you wanted to cum screaming Reiner's name and not swallowing it for the sake of the meeting still going on.

"You can cum if you want, I'm not stopping you." He whispered coming off your clit, meeting your eyes and catching his slick cover lips and chin, how he swiped his tongue on his bottom lip to greedily taste it.

At your breaking point with just about everything, you released the tight grip on his hair, sucking in a sharp breath.

"I'm going to have to cut this meeting short." Sternly interrupting product management. "If you have any question please email me, have a great rest of your day."

Faster than you could process, you clicked the bright red "end" button on the corner of your screen, leaving absolutely no room for anyone to say anything. If they had a problem with it, oh well, you didn't care and you owned the company entirely and could do what you want.

"Fuck, please I'm so close." Whining as soon as the you closed the last of the zoom tabs on your screen, slouching deep in your desk chair nearly to the edge.

"Mm, missed hearing you." Chuckling back and wasting no time latching back onto your clit, bending the fingers inside of you to flutter in a 'c'mere' motion, sending you arching off of the chair.

Reiner groaned right on your clit when you gripped his hair again, pushing him harder into you. He swirled and flicked his tongue behind closed lips, locking eyes with you and moving his fingers to search for that spongy spot deep inside you.

"Right there, oh my god, fuck!" Exclaiming right as he found your g-spot, having to hold onto the arms of the chair for stability as the lower half of your body raised entirely. Reiner's hand holding you back by the thigh moved to hold you down at the hips.

"That's it baby," Encouraging with a raspy satisfied voice, coming off your clit with a pop and a deep chuckle, working his fingers even fast, causing your slick arousal to stream down his palm and down to his wrist.

Everything in your body was shaking, mind going blank and vision hazy as an intense orgasm approached closer and closer. You whined and writhed in the chair like you were trying to get away, like it was all too much and not enough at the same time.

"Doin' so good, need you to cum sweetheart." Almost growling out the sentence, going back to your clit to harshly suck, tipping you over the edge right then and there.

Stars littered your vision as you came, going slack in the desk chair and feeling a hand prevent you from slipping off entirely. Reiner waited a moment before slipping his drenched fingers out for you to gain your bearing a bit, removing them slowly when you began to sit up. He swiped his tongue over both just barely before pushing your chair back to give him room to stand.

"Open." Softly instructing, dipping the two fingers coated in your arousal into your mouth to clean them off. His lower stomach tightened, the muscle there clenching noticeably as you sucked his fingers like you would his dick, giving him that dangerous doe eyed expression as you did so.

"Sorry about the meeting." Uttering softly when you popped his fingers out of your mouth.

"No you're not." Amusement dripping in your words as you reached for your abandoned shorts and panties from under the desk, smacking them to his chest.

"You're right I'm not." Wrapping an arm around your waist and hoisting you up to lock your legs around his midsection, carrying you out of the office. "In fact I was trying to find a way to fuck you during that meeting, but couldn't think of how"

"Reiner!" Feigning the disapproval in your tone and laughing as did he, heading for the bedroom to fuck the absolute life out of you, but that didn't need to be said to know.

[victoriansecret]

Servants and Upward Mobility

This is focused on paid servants in England in the mid-late 18th century. One thing I find fascinating about the structure of domestic service roles was the existence of what essentially we might call a career ladder today. It was not uncommon for a servant to start their career near the bottom of the hierarchy as, say, a boot boy who cleans the shoes and boots of the household, or the scullery maid who does all the dirty kitchen work like scrubbing iron cooking vessels or plucking chickens, but progressively move up the list to better positions.

Part of why this was the case was that it was typical in England to hire servants for one year terms at a time. Often they'd be hired at festivals on the quarter days of the year, which as part of the festivities would often include what today we'd call a job fair. For some reason, Michaelmas (September 29) seems to be the most common as far as I can tell. I had never really thought about why that might be until I started planning this post, and I now wonder if it might have something to do with that being right around when harvest time usually comes in England. I could easily imagine people, especially young people, being on the cusp of another labourious harvest and thinking that maybe they could find another job instead. Related tangent: There are a number of remarks in the period that servants from the northern parts of England were considered to be much more respectful than servants from more populated, urban areas. Those communities were (at least considered to be) a lot stricter about remembering one's place and respecting your social 'betters', and their behaviour as servants was believed to reflect that. Some people would actively have their agents look to hire people from those rural areas, and apparently it was easy to attract potential employees: there are a number of remarks about how when a fancy carriage would drive through a small town, with the fancily-liveried footmen riding on the back, it would bring young people to stare in awe and want to be part of that. Which as someone whose interest in domestic service started in part because of my obsession with livery, I can understand. Anyway, back to the main point: because they often served one-year terms, there was an annual chance for both parties - the servant and the served - to review and determine how to move forward. A servant who was favoured might negotiate for a new position in the household, at least one step higher on the ladder (if not more), and they had leverage because they could leave the field entirely or possibly go off to a new household and find a higher position there. There was also a practice of asking for your master or mistress to provide a "character", essentially what we would today call a reference: a letter to show potential employers detailing their behaviour and skill in their role. Certainly there were times that some employers refused to give a good character, and sometimes that was explicitly because they wanted to keep the servant because they were a valuable asset to their household, but it was considered part of the obligation of the master class to be honest in these.

And it is not at all uncommon to find people who have served many different people/households throughout their career. The most I have seen is 28, although that's slightly misleading: that was a man who decided he wanted to travel, so hired himself to gentleman going on journeys for the duration of the trips, many of which were only a couple months. (The book he published, which he wrote about his travels and the "exotic" places and people he encountered, is interesting, and for my purposes super helpful because he turned out to be a narcissist and wrote a lot about himself, including his career as a servant. It's the only quasi-memoir of a paid servant from this time I am aware of. I might write a post about it/him sometime. I digress.) [continued in next post]

[genshin-hsr-rambles]

do you think the gems they’re named after can spoil stuff about the stone hearts?

I wouldn’t say spoil per se, but it certainly gives some insight into their character due to it being the whole basis of their concept. Allow me to elaborate.

Topaz is generally associated with wealth, a perfect concept to introduce the audience to the IPC through. It is believed to heal and promote strength/vitality, tying into Topaz’s lore regarding her planet’s deterioration with the IPC restoring its ‘health’ and the strength of the people in turn. Also tying into her planet’s lore is the fact that in its natural state, common topaz is traditionally colourless. It is the heat or radiation treatment that gives it its colour, reflecting how the IPC’s grooming of Topaz and her entire planet’s citizens into IPC employees largely shaped who she is today. In Feng Shui, topaz is viewed as a stone of nobility, love, passion and purpose. These aspects reflect in Topaz’s personality, with her love of animals and passionate drive for work and customer satisfaction.

Aventurine primarily symbolises good fortune, again tying in with the core concept of the IPC. Green aventurine in particular is said to be a stone of opportunity and good luck, linking with Aventurine’s infallible luck and subsequent (self-destructive) gambling tendencies. More blatantly, it is known as the ‘gambler’s stone’ since it is believed to bring fortune in games of chance. Interestingly enough, aventurine is associated with the planet Mercury, named after the Roman god of wealth, good fortune, commerce, fertility, and thievery. These aspects tie into Aventurine’s ethnicity as an Avgin, the poor reputation of his people and their mother goddess’ blessing. Cruelly ironic, some believe it to represent self-love, and it is cheaper than most gemstones.

Jade holds symbolism of purity, harmony and protection, referencing Jade’s false guise of sincerity to seal her deals. It is a very valuable and sought-after gem, translating into Jade’s status. East Asia covet jade for its cultural and spiritual affiliations, serving as a metaphor for virtue, wisdom, truth, and Heaven and Earth. This is most likely where Jade Lilith/Eve dual symbolism was derived from. Jade is actually an umbrella term for two silicate minerals, nephrite and jadeite. Again, this seems to be inspiration for her two-faced nature. As of the time of this post, we do not know much about her past and as such it cannot be determined how interlinked it is with her stone.

From the three playable Stonehearts (as of the time of this post), we can clearly see that their lore is deeply interwoven with the symbolism of their gems. They are, in a sense, the embodiment of their Stoneheart namesake. So can it spoil the next Stonehearts? Without context, probably not. But we can still speculate, right?

Obsidian is heavily associated with blocking, absorbing and/or transforming negative energy. It isn’t actually a mineral, rather volcanic glass, typically classified as igneous rock or a mineraloid. For a long time, obsidian was primarily used in the creation of weapons, not jewellery. Referred to as the stone of clarity, it is beloved to release spiritual blockages and draw out stress and tension. Obsidian is naturally quite sharp, and as such some consider it to be capable of piercing into darkness to reveal the truth itself. Like her namesake, Obsidian could be one to cut through false pleasantries in favour of the raw truth, no matter how violent or unpleasant. She certainly seemed quite eager for a bloodbath in the Stoneheart trailer, perhaps due to having an affinity for the true nature of people being revealed and to tie into the primary purpose of obsidian being weaponry. The transformation and absorption of negative energy aspect could potentially relate to the vampire symbolism she seems to has.

Agate generally symbolises strength, protection and courage. It is believed to protect people from negative energy and enhance communication. Ironic, considering Agate is the only Stoneheart who doesn’t communicate at all in the Stoneheart trailer. In Greek mythology, it is linked to the earth mother, Gaia, and symbolises strength and stability. Interestingly, agate is formed within lava and is primarily found in areas with high volcanic activity. Its colour is dependent on the presence of other surrounding minerals. This is interesting because it seems that Agate and Obsidian share some common ground in terms of creation. Perhaps the characters will share similar views or characteristics too, explaining why Obsidian was allowed to vote on Agate’s behalf. The mineral agate being dependent on other minerals seems to further strengthen the idea of Agate possessing some form connections with another Stoneheart (seemingly Obsidian from the little information we have, but could be anyone).

Pearl signifies innocence and faith. It is believed to enhance personal integrity, inhibits immodest behaviour and bring truth forward. Pearl is often used in bridal jewellery as it can symbolise beauty and new beginnings. The gem is of organic origin but is not organic material, perhaps inspiring her existence as an Intellitron, alive but not technically living. We do seem to have enough information on Pearl to link her to her gemstone, another aspect being she seems to hold justice as a primary value. This seems to lie in the pearl’s symbolism of truth and integrity. Perhaps Pearl still believes in an inherent good in the world too, tying into the gemstone representing purity and innocence.

Sapphire is considered to be a stone of wisdom, royalty, prophecy and divine favour. It is a symbol of power and strength, often connected to religious symbolism. From what we’ve seen of Sapphire, this seems to check out. They value oaths above all else and exude an air of righteousness. Much like Pearl, they seem to have a strong set of morals. It is worth noting that sapphire is the second hardest natural mineral, second only to diamonds. So Sapphire has the potential to be one of the strongest Stonehearts in terms of raw power.

Amber is rather obviously associated with natural warmth, but also cleansing and renewal. As far as I have researched, its symbolism seems to revolve around protection and positivity. Consisting of fossilised tree resin, amber is classified as an organic gemstone and isn’t technically a gemstone at all (potentially similar to yet opposite of Pearl?). It was historically believed to bring good luck to warriors in battle and could be used to assist in creating balanced decision-making. The latest aspect may possibly have influenced Amber’s seeming neutrality in the Stonehearts trailer. Bringing good luck to warriors in battle could translate to avoiding conflict altogether, so all parties involved will not lose any prospects. Judging by the gem’s symbolism, Amber seems to be a bit of an outlier amongst the Stonehearts and perhaps that’s why she has yet to show her face.

Sugilite is a stone that drains unwanted connections and evil thoughts. Thought to be a nurturing gemstone, it promotes positive emotions and installs a deep satisfaction of freedom. In great contrast, Feng Shui depicts sugilite as possessing high Yang energy. It is full of emotion, passion and action. This could potentially reflect Sugilite’s personality, driven by passionate desires behind a mask of apathy. Regarding the satisfaction aspect, perhaps Sugilite lives in chase of fulfilment, hence the feast imagery in the Stonehearts trailer.

Opal is considered to be a symbol of hope, purity and truth. Since opal possesses most colours of other gems, the Romans believed it was the most precious and powerful of all gemstones. Indigenous Australians believed it to symbolise a bridge between the earthly and the divine. This seems to align with what we know of Opal so far. I’d wager he’s a little full of himself, tying in with the Roman view of his namesake. Opal also appears to be something akin to the right hand of Diamond, essentially the bridge between the emanator and the other Stonehearts.

Diamond symbolises strength, love and health. They are often worn by leaders and people in power to represent invincibility. The diamond is also considered a symbol of light and brilliance; unconquerable; treasures, riches and intellectual knowledge. We know very little about Diamond, but this all does seem to align with the idea of the leader of the IPC’s Strategic Investment Department. A powerful, untouchable figure, seemingly benevolent and caring but really only in it for the money.

Of course, I’m no expert on gemstones and so this information should be taken with a grain of salt. But that is my take on what I believe we can learn about the non-playable Stonehearts (as of the time of this post, have faith guys) from their gems.

TL;DR: No, information about the Stonehearts can’t be spoiled by their namesake gems. It can be speculated though.

[rowena-rain]

Looking for some simple one-shot tomarry Bottom!Tom ideas plz 🙏 Tag your friends and make them give me some too ;)

Simple tomarry?? That’s a big ask :). But I shall try. Here are some random one-shot ideas organized by broader context. If anyone is interested in potentially writing any… let me know ❤️.

Time-Travelling!Harry convinces Professor Merrythought to retire a few years early and  becomes the new DADA professor to “keep a better eye” than Dumbledore did on Tom. Tom is obsessed with his new professor (obviously). (Except for the first one, these could also work as a same-age, Harry and Tom go to Hogwarts together, either time-travel or timeline-mashup.)

After a string of increasingly outlandish bad behavior by Tom, Harry is finally forced to give Tom detention even though he’s pretty sure he’s doing it on purpose to get him alone. Harry, honorable human that he is, tries very hard to think of a detention assignment that Tom can’t just turn into another ploy to seduce him. Tom takes that as a challenge.

Tom is the only Slytherin to choose to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. Harry, who doesn’t have family here either, feels bad. Tom feels an opportunity.

Harry catches Tom going into the second floor girl’s room in his fifth year and panics that he is about to find the Chamber. He makes a desperate attempt to distract him. It backfires. Optionally, it ends up with Tom bent over the sink, watching Harry pull his hair while fucking him in the mirror.

TWO Harrys from alternate timelines show up. One wants to raise/reform/guide Tom into a better version of himself. The other wants to kill him before he becomes Voldemort. Tom wants both of them.

Time-Travelling! Or Timeline-mashup!Harry and Borgin & Burkes-employee!Tom

Auror!Harry is undercover investigating the sale of illegal magical artifacts at Borgin & Burkes (or Time-traveller!Harry is just snooping on Tom). Either way, Tom knows this cute new guy is up to something. Fortunately, he knows how to be just bad enough to keep Harry’s attention focused on him without landing himself in Azkaban.

Time-travelling!Harry gets the locket and the cup from Hepzibah Smith to prevent Tom from getting them. Tom finds out. Now, he has a new, much prettier target to swindle. 

Tom is a con-man posing as a very expensive whore (either in place of or in addition to working at Borgin & Burkes). He’s not interested in degrading himself for these pathetic old losers, but he likes their cash and getting access to their collections of valuable magical artifacts. Auror!Harry poses as a client to find out why so many wealthy people seem to have had their memories altered lately. Tom is intrigued. He could maybe make an exception for this one. Well, he’ll still probably rob him, of course, but he might not have to modify his memory. 

Depressed Post-war!Harry raises reincarnated!Tom

Harry is left feeling empty and incomplete ever since Voldemort died. It’s a few years after the war, but he still can’t shake the feeling that something important is missing. Ginny thinks the solution is a baby. Ironically, Death agrees. Well, Harry is pretty sure that was just a dream where Death came and told Harry he really was Death’s Master and then gave him a strange offer to help. If he’s absolutely terrified a few weeks later when Ginny announces she’s finally pregnant after years of trying, that’s just… normal nerves from being a first-time father, right? (Lol, okay, that’s not really tomarry I guess since Tom isn’t even born yet. Either that or it’s definitely not just a one-shot ahhaa)

Okay, I seem to have gotten away from the “simple” assignment, so I’m going to stop now 😅. Also, a couple of them are calling to me. And I already said I wasn't going to start anything new until I finish the first arc of heir de la mort. Sighhh

Tagging @sweetalison007-blog because they always have a ton of tomarry prompts and @cindle-writes because I know they have a lot of bottom!Tom ideas in particular!

[lakesbian]

I keep seeing it mentioned that Coil has Lisa thoroughly in check, but I cant remember what that actually manifests as in-story. Is it general "you have outlived your usefulness" kinda pressure on all his direct underlings or does he have some leverage over her specifically? (Or both?)

this is almost certainly going to be an incomplete answer due to Forgetting Things, but i think the most basic summary is like. we see in her interlude that several of coil's employees successfully kidnap her and then give her a phone call from coil. one uses the ominous phrasing that they 'advise' she takes it, and it's explicitly noted (several times, in fact) that they're three adults holding guns. on the phone call, coil intentionally drops her legal name, and then says he's looking to buy her services. the usage of her legal name is a clear implied threat--it shows that he's valued having her power at his command enough to stalk her and uncover well-hidden information about her without her knowledge. lisa's power also tells her that, based on his "buy your services" phrasing, it's not really a negotiation. there's again repeated emphasis on the adults holding guns in the line prior to her saying she's listening.

essentially, it's clear that coil hunted her down, stalked her, uncovered dangerous amounts of private information about her, and then threatened her into working for him. she goes along with the offer immediately while maintaining false cheer/confidence because it's clear that doing so is how she can prevent him from escalating to hurting her. and he has many potential ways of doing that, whether it's physical violence (the people with guns), or more indirect violence (reporting her to authorities or what have you with her real name). he's got her under threat of harm, blackmail, all that. and he's doing all of this because her power is extremely useful and valuable to him. her behavior is that of someone going along with the lightest level of implied threats so that she doesn't have to find out what happens if he has to escalate to keep her under his thumb, because there's no way he would ever want to let her escape alive.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

What R# Means: The ABC's of Fear.

The grading system used by the OIAR is one of TMAGP's more central mysteries. The show is rife with administrative work that's obfuscated even to the employees that assign each case's rating.

I have my own theory about DPHW that I think is proving more and more likely each episode, but as of yet I don't think a comprehensive theory on CAT# or R# has been given. CAT# is still proving a hard to crack but I now think I can take a strong stab at the meaning behind R#.

Spoilers for TMAGP 1-7 below the cut.

For the people who aren't keeping close track of this I'll break down how those terms are used. Each incident the OIAR assesses is assigned a case number in the following format CAT#R#DPHW. CAT, short for Category, is assigned a value of 1, 2, 3, or any combination of those three digits (12, 13, etc.). R, short for Rank, are graded C, BC, B, AB, A, or S (potentially AS but it's not come up). For DPHW each letter is a category itself and replaced with a digit from 0-9 for its grading. So there are 6 separate statistics that the OIAR uses to assess each incident.

If I'm correct about DPHW it's a ranking based on the qualities the incident presents. That's obviously very valuable information. Because of how CAT# is formatted we know it's likely three non-mutually exclusive facets. I had some idea about what it could be but it's proving quite tricky to nail down.

However it's R# that is the topic of today's post and it's something I've had a few ideas on before. We know can assume from its formatting it's a linear scale. C is the "worst/weakest/etc." while S is the "best/strongest/etc.". Initially, I thought that R# was simply a straight forward ranking of potency or threat. Higher the rank, spookier the incident. Very early on that seemed like a strong idea. It was quickly disproven but I then had the idea that Rank was instead the scale of the effect. Higher the rank, wider the incident. Also quickly disproven.

Now I'm thinking it's graded on how hard it is to deny an incident's supernatural nature. Simply put, an outside observer can more readily find a believable rational explanation for an incident of lower rank than of higher rank. Either via their own conviction to believe the supernatural isn't real, or based on the story the OIAR cooks up to explain it.

For that to make sense it needs to tick two boxes. It needs to be able to be pre-assigned to an incident as all CAT#R#DPHW's seem to be, and it needs to be useful information to track. As they're operating under the assumption that CAT#R#DPHW's can be pre-assigned then they're operating under the assumption that each type of incident is relatively stable. Meaning that the likelihood that it can be rationally explained is also relatively stable. Tick 1. There is also a really strong reason for the OIAR to use this as a grade. They're the Office of Incident Assessment and Response, the Response Department might be dead but it was a part of the initial plan. Grading each incident on how likely they are to cause concern should the details go public is very useful for deciding how to approach any given case. Tick 2.

It being useful is all well and good but it does also need to have some evidence so let's look at our highest ranked incident to this point: CAT23RAB2155 - Transformation (Eye) -/- Trespass. A man grew eyes over his body. That's pretty tricky to explain away as a medical mystery. On the other end of the scale we've got CAT2RC1157 - Dolls (Watching), or CAT2RC3338 -Agglomeration (Miscellany) -/- Congregation†. Just a creepy doll and some crappy antiques. I think of all the incidents the one that's the least immediate fit is CAT3C7494 - Collection (Blood) -/- Musical. Most of that incident is very easy to slot in here. "It's just a violin that has sharp strings, so what?". But it's also a violin that made some people eat some other people. However, mass hysteria events do get reported every so often IRL and do have a very long history. So in the grand scheme of things I don't think the details of the event are necessarily all that outlandish. It's really in the realms of urban legend and witch hunts than it is definitive proof of the supernatural.

With all that out the way this is the broad strokes of how I could see this breaking down. C ranks are things you can entirely write off as urban legends, freak accidents, and stress. Potentially things that might not need any covering up at all. I think the majority of events people could entirely say didn't happen will end up in C. "Of course the doll wasn't watching you, dolls aren't alive". B ranks are things that are harder to entirely discount as things that happened but are themselves still relatively easy to excuse as mundane. "Sure, the circumstances of that blogger's disappearance are strange but people go missing all the time, doesn't mean a monster did it". We don't have any A ranks but given the AB rank we do have I'd say A's are things in which no rational explanation can account for it, and as such require more extensive covering up, if it indeed happened. "Okay, maybe the supernatural is real because people don't just grow eyes like that".

As I mentioned early, an S rank does exist. We've not seen this attributed to anything in the show yet and so it might prove to be a special case. However on Klaus' sheet‡ from the ARG it's attributed to an interesting incident. A CAT1RS[No DPHW] with the note Mr. B. And, well, if you know, you know.

From Klaus' sheet we also know that the higher ranked incidents happen less often than lower ones and that idea generally tracks with what we know of TMP and TMA. The supernatural tends to be something you can explain away. It often is explained away. Incredibly overt manifestations are a rarity.

This one will be a slow burn to see if it bears out. Much like with DPHW's it's only really interesting when things go against the theory. I'm not as certain on this one as I am the DPHW theory but I do think it's got legs with our current data.

† This did also feature people who seemed to erase their physical features from your memory after you interacted with them. This isn't something I mention in the theory because it's not taken into account by the header and case number. A major flaw in the OIAR's methodology here is that all incidents are only ever one thing. So the case number is based solely on the presence of lots of miscellaneous objects, rather than the mind-wiping people carrying them.

‡I have made an incident master doc here, containing all the current cases, their CAT#'s, R#'s, DPHW's, etc. It has about as much information on each as I think is reasonable, including who narrates it, a link to its episode, and any other relevant notes, as well as headers for incidents we didn't hear. Additionally it also contains the Klaus sheet (German and English) and links to it when an incident matches. It will be updated each episode after the episode is publicly available.

[jointhefediverse]

💫 Join the Fediverse! 💫

Greetings, fellow bloggers! We welcome you to join us in discovering, honoring, and promoting the potential future of social networking—commonly referred to as the "Fediverse."

The Fediverse, or Federation Universe, refers to a collective of online platforms that utilize the web protocol known as ActivityPub, which has set a standard of excellence in regards to both protecting and respecting users' online privacies.

There's a good chance in the past few years that you've caught wind of the fedi family's critically acclaimed Mastodon; however, there are many other unique platforms worth your consideration...

✨ Where To Begin?

Conveniently enough, from the minds of brilliant independent developers, there already likely exists a Fediverse equivalent to your favorite socials. Whether it's an opinion from the critics, or from the community alike—the following popular websites are commonly associated with one another:

Friendica 🐰 = Facebook Mastodon 🐘 = Twitter Pixelfed 🐼 = Instagram PeerTube 🐙 = YouTube Lemmy 🐭 = Reddit

It's worth mentioning, too, a few other sites and forks thereof that are worthy counterparts, which be: Pleroma 🦊 & Misskey 🐱, microblogs also similar to Twitter/Mastodon. Funkwhale 🐋 is a self-hosting audio streamer, which pays homage to the once-popular GrooveShark. For power users, Hubzilla 🐨 makes a great choice (alongside Friendica) when choosing macroblogging alternatives.

✨ To Be Clear...

To address the technicalities: aside from the "definitive" Fediverse clients, we will also be incorporating any platforms that utilize ActivityPub-adjacent protocols as well. These include, but are not limited to: diaspora*; AT Protocol (Bluesky 🦋); Nostr; OStatus; Matrix; Zot; etc. We will NOT be incorporating any decentralized sites that are either questionably or proven to be unethical. (AKA: Gab has been exiled.)

✨ Why Your Privacy Matters

You may ask yourself, as we once did, "Why does protecting my online privacy truly matter?" While it may seem innocent enough on the surface, would it change your mind that it's been officially shared by former corporate media employees that data is more valuable than money to these companies? Outside of the ethical concerns surrounding these concepts, there are many other reasons why protecting your data is critical, be it: security breaches which jeopardize your financial info and risk identity theft; continuing to feed algorithms which use psychological manipulation in attempts to sell you products; the risk of spyware hacking your webcams and microphones when you least expect it; amongst countless other possibilities that can and do happen to individuals on a constant basis. We wish it could all just be written off as a conspiracy... but, with a little research, you'll swiftly realize the validity of these claims are not to be ignored any longer. The solution? Taking the decentralized route.

✨ Our Mission For This Blog

Our mission for establishing this blog includes 3 core elements:

To serve as a hub which anybody can access in order to assist themselves in either: becoming a part of the Fediverse, gaining the resources/knowledge to convince others to do the very same, and providing updates on anything Fedi-related.

We are determined to do anything within our power to prevent what the future of the Internet could become if active social users continue tossing away their data, all while technologies are advancing at faster rates with each passing year. Basically we'd prefer not to live in a cyber-Dystopia at all costs.

Tumblr (Automattic) has expressed interest in switching their servers over to ActivityPub after Musk's acquisition of then-Twitter, and are officially in the transitional process of making this happen for all of us. We're hoping our collective efforts may at some point be recognized by @staff, which in turn will encourage their efforts and stand by their decision.

With that being stated, we hope you decide to follow us here, and decide to make the shift—as it is merely the beginning. We encourage you to send us any questions you may have, any personal suggestions, or corrections on any misinformation you may come across.

From the Tender Hearts of, ✨💞 @disease & @faggotfungus 💞✨

[kitkatmonsterfox]

discussions on onces upon a witchlight of torbek character + the development around his team follow by Spoilers from eps 53

Despite how little the Duke/gorebek has in the story at hand, they manage to make him an interesting foe with the following connections that involves the doctos and the medication thay Prescribed to him that makes you wonder what connections it hold, though we probably won't be seeing him around for a while since torbek "lost" his memory of him and the suffering he endorsed he'll likely won't pop up for a while after the hiatus is finished but Nikkie can be unpredictable with her storys so I can't wait on how she pull the carpet when the series finally continues in fall

As for torbek's character, I love how he developed his personality. The whole Platonic bond between him and griko having like a brotherly bond, frost being patient with him on his antics / Decision making, gedion being sympathetic towards him knowing the situation he has gone through, wanting to help torbek to make sure the Contractions on his back won't become a problem to him, so he can prosses it easily. But as for kemy and him, it still a messy ride torbek see's kremyas a man who can do no wrong to later Questioning on the Actions he makes, for kreamy he still might still see him as an employee but with more Valuable / while also still seeing Potential threat in him of what the duke can do, + can't forget what happened in ep 31... but that is all I have for this ramble. My boy is finally growing a spine! What starts off as a joke and a sad character later becomes a permanent character on the team who is loved by all!!

[goldsasa]

Dear Sirs!

(or have some ladies also signed?)

A few days ago, you, Mr Musk, together with Mr Wozniak, Mr Mostaque and other signatories, published an open letter demanding a compulsory pause of at least six months for the development of the most powerful AI models worldwide.

This is the only way to ensure that the AI models contribute to the welfare of all humanity, you claim. As a small part of the whole of humanity, I would like to thank you very much for wanting to protect me. How kind! 🙏🏻

Allow me to make a few comments and ask a few questions in this context:

My first question that immediately came to mind:

Where was your open letter when research for the purpose of warfare started and weapon systems based on AI were developed, leading to unpredictable and uncontrollable conflicts?

AI-based threats have already been used in wars for some time, e.g. in the Ukraine war and Turkey. Speaking of the US, they are upgrading their MQ-9 combat drones with AI and have already used them to kill in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The victims of these attacks - don't they count as humanity threatened by AI?

I am confused! Please explain to me, when did the (general) welfare of humanity exist, which is now threatened and needs to be protected by you? I mean the good of humanity - outside your "super rich white old nerds Silicon Valley" filter bubble? And I have one more question:

Where was your open letter when Facebook's algorithms led to the spread of hate speech and misinformation about the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar?

Didn't the right to human welfare also apply to this population group? Why do you continue to remain silent on the inaction and non-transparent algorithms of Meta and Mr Zuckerberg? Why do you continue to allow hatred and agitation in the social media, which (at least initially) belonged to you without exception?

My further doubt relates to your person and your biography itself, dear Mr Musk.

You, known as a wealthy man with Asperger's syndrome and a penchant for interplanetary affairs, have commendably repeatedly expressed concern about the potentially destructive effects of AI robots in the past. I thank you for trying to save me from such a future. It really is a horrible idea!

And yet, Mr Musk, you yourself were not considered one of the great AI developers of Silicon Valley for a long time.

Your commitment to the field of artificial intelligence was initially rather poor. Your Tesla Autopilot is a remarkable AI software, but it was developed for a rather niche market.

I assume that you, Mr Musk, wanted to change that when you bought 73.5 million of Twitter's shares for almost $2.9 billion in April?

After all, to be able to play along with the AI development of the giants, you lacked one thing above all: access to a broad-based AI that is not limited to specific applications, as well as a comprehensive data set.

The way to access such a dataset was to own a large social network that collects information about the consumption patterns, leisure activities and communication patterns of its users, including their social interactions and political preferences.

Such collections about the behaviour of the rest of humanity are popular in your circles, aren't they?

By buying Twitter stock, you can give your undoubtedly fine AI professionals access to a valuable treasure trove of data and establish yourself as one of Silicon Valley's leading AI players.

Congratulations on your stock purchase and I hope my data is in good hands with you.

Speaking of your professionals, I'm interested to know why your employees have to work so hard when you are so concerned about the well-being of people?

I'm also surprised that after the pandemic your staff were no longer allowed to work in their home offices. Is working at home also detrimental to the well-being of humanity?

In the meantime, you have taken the Twitter platform off the stock market.

It was never about money for you, right? No, you're not like that. I believe you!

But maybe it was about data? These are often referred to as the "oil of our time". The data of a social network is like the ticket to be one of the most important AI developers in the AI market of the future.

At this point, I would like to thank you for releasing parts of Twitter's code for algorithmic timeline control as open source. Thanks to this transparency, I now also know that the Twitter algorithm has a preference for your Elon Musk posts. What an enrichment of my knowledge horizon!

And now, barely a year later, this is happening: OpenAi, a hitherto comparatively small company in which you have only been active as a donor and advisor since your exit in 2018, not only has enormous sources of money, but also the AI gamechanger par excellence - Chat GPT. And virtually overnight becomes one of the most important players in the race for the digital future. It was rumoured that your exit at the time was with the intention that they would take over the business? Is that true at all?

After all I have said, I am sure you understand why I have these questions for you, don't you?

I would like to know what a successful future looks like in your opinion? I'm afraid I'm not one of those people who can afford a $100,000 ticket to join you in colonising Mars. I will probably stay on Earth.

So far I have heard little, actually nothing, about your investments in climate projects and the preservation of the Earth.

That is why I ask you, as an advocate of all humanity, to work for the preservation of the Earth - with all the means at your disposal, that would certainly help.

If you don't want to do that, I would very much appreciate it if you would simply stop worrying about us, the rest of humanity. Perhaps we can manage to protect the world from marauding robots and a powerful artificial intelligence without you, your ambitions and your friends?

I have always been interested in people. That's why I studied social sciences and why today I ask people what they long for. Maybe I'm naive, but I think it's a good idea to ask the people themselves what they want before advocating for them.

The rest of the world - that is, the 99,9 percent - who are not billionaires like you, also have visions!

With the respect you deserve,

Susanne Gold

(just one of the remaining 99% percent whose welfare you care about).

[iri-desky]

OKAY SO. *GRABS YOUR SHOULDERS* ELEVATOR HITCH FANDOM!!

WITH NOWORKER GETTING POPULAR, AS A MULTISHIPPER I'M ELATED! THIS IS SUPER COOL AND I LOVE TO SEE THE FANDOM GET CREATIVE. BUT ALSO AS A MULTISHIPPER, IT'S MY DUTY TO REMIND YOU ALL OF THE OTHER SHIP YOU DON'T REMEMBER...AND NO, IT'S NOT COTAG!

It's Notag. Normal Guy x Protag.

I feel like the two have such an interesting dynamic and a potential for some great development we never saw in-game; given that Normal Guy only appears at the end of the game, it gives the opportunity for lots of creative post-game writing, from world building to extra character development. With the nervous guy with religious trauma & the dubiously human, dubiously monster, chipper man with angel allegories. It holds such a cool concept; the chipper normal guy, who's whole life is dedicated to his work and is implied to be created in the sole drive of such, with an eye on the nervous Protagonist who does not want to be here and desire autonomy, who's life is dedicated to LIVING. Just...living. He chose this job to live, because he needs it. He doesn't want to lose control and doesn't submit as easily as others, or grovel under his heel, and it fascinates the strange entity known as a "Normal Guy". Protagonist just barely managed to fly under the radar and dodge the bullet that was losing his identity, and Normal Guy was interested in it. Of course, there is no place for a life or feelings in work! It must be dedicated to his company, so some adjustments have to be made-- though, not as harshly as he had to somr other unruly employees-- it's almost like he's observing a specific rat in a lab experiment for it's unique behavior. He likes this specific rat. Protagonist amuses Normal Guy--perhaps this CEO doesnt care a lot, though he does indeed care sometimes; although, besides how valuable they are to the company, the only individual he finds fascinating regardless of Level is Protagonist. Protagonist hates Normal Guy and is just scared of him, yet braves his gaze every day at work--every last day. Yet, again, the man is intriguing to him--what even IS he? He's intimidating to him. He's constantly confused by Normal Guy, from how offhand his way of thinking is to all the weird things he says--"Are Your Lungs Working Alright?". To the typically logical Protagonist, he just wants to figure out this monster before said monster figures him out. But he doesn't want to care about Normal Guy. He'd rather die again than see his face again.

Protagonist sees Normal Guy as some weird monster trying to control his life, and Normal Guy sees Protagonist as a new, strange, and interesting addition to the rat race.

And to see their interactions evolve would be so cool, man. There's so much potential.

THAT'S IT I'M DONE *rips my hands off your shoulders*

[berrymascarpone]

How does the Twelfth Squad work even

For some reason the weird mentor-mentee? Employee-boss? Twisted found family? relationship between Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his third seat Akon (who is, full disclosure, my fave for his long-suffering tolerance for 12th squad and shinigami shenanigans in general) has been sloshing around my brain recently, so I figured I’d write it out for my own reference. There’s not much shown regarding the relationship in canon, but here are the broad strokes.

1. Mayuri probably pulled Akon out of Maggot’s nest soon after he was tapped by Urahara to start the Shinigami Research Institute

Evidence: a) Akon is in Maggot’s nest when Urahara goes to recruit Mayuri, but for whatever reason Urahara doesn’t mention or seem to acknowledge his existence beyond just another prisoner. Also, Akon appears to be disassembling some kind of device and/or dissecting a small creature.

b) Some time after the establishment of the Shinigami Research Institute, Akon joins as Mayuri’s personal lab assistant, despite Akon being a child (or at least child-sized). They appear to have a cordial relationship, as opposed to Akon’s somewhat antagonistic relationship with Hiyori and dismissal of Urahara.

2. Mayuri appears to leave many of the day to day dealings of the 12th squad to Akon.

Evidence: a) Akon is most often seen directing other members of the SRDI when Mayuri is busy. Sometimes even when he’s not.

b) Other SRDI members have a lot of trust in him as a leader, possibly even more than their actual captain, which isn’t that unexpected considering Mayuri’s track record with underlings includes lots of explosions.

c) Akon is the one to give a report on the first Quincy attack in TYBW arc, despite Mayuri standing right there. (In the manga, he sends out a broadcast instead, which isn’t exactly the same, but shows he’s got enough authority for a PSA).

3. Akon shares Mayuri’s dubious morality regarding experimental subjects, but seems to care about the people close to him.

Evidence: a) Akon is present during Mayuri’s study of the Quincies. (I know this is anime only, but he’s not exactly opposed to it in the manga either)

B) he also was involved with the Nemuri project, which I don’t doubt was quite gruesome at times.

4. Akon does not always agree with Mayuri and sometimes takes things into his own hands, which Mayuri seems to tolerate.

a) Akon has cameras in Mayuri’s quarters, which Mayuri either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about

b) Akon makes the executive decision to call Ichigo and Urahara in Hueco Mundo, despite Mayuri saying that it’s unnecessary

In conclusion:

Although Mayuri is the main brainpower of the 12th squad, Akon is the one who keeps the lights on. Akon respects his captain but isn’t afraid to proceed with his own plan of action. Mayuri likely recognizes the usefulness of having someone take over the boring administrative tasks so he can go do his mad science and shit-talk the other captains while someone holds the squad together and remembers to clean out the biohazard trash often enough so that no weird mutant creatures grow out of it.

Besides the purely pragmatic aspects of their relationship, I also think there is mutual respect of each other’s skill. Akon's worked on a lot of Mayuri's big projects, including the Nemuri project, which was Mayuri's greatest dream and ambition. Even Kuna, who has probably been there almost as long as Akon, did not know about the Nemuri project until he brought it up.

On a more emotional level, I think they have a mutual understanding as well. Both were condemned by society and thrown into Maggot's Nest for their interests or their potential. They both have body modifications (Mayuri's ear situation and face paint, and Akon's horns which he definitely didn't have as a kid) that mark them as outsiders, deviant in some way from the rest of society, but proud of it. For them, the twelfth squad, and the SDRI in particular, is a refuge, a place where their ideas are seen as valuable instead of unnatural, where they can be admired instead of shunned and locked away in Maggot's nest.

In conclusion, though they may be dysfunctional and probably a bit too interested in dissection and human experimentation, Akon and Mayuri have tolerated and even respected each other for at least a hundred years. May they continue to do so (with minimal danger to the rest of society) for a hundred more.

[youthkenworld]

Everything Republican

Posted by 

Matthias S. Regen1y

“I Was Driving Completed Ballots from NY to Pennsylvania – So I Decided to Speak Up” — UPDATE: USPS Contract Truck Driver Who Transferred 288,000 FRAUDULENT BALLOTS from NY to PA Speaks at Presser

As reported earlier by Cassandra Fairbanks new election fraud whistleblowers came forward on Tuesday, including one who witnessed the shipping of an estimated 144,000-288,000 completed ballots across three state lines on October 21.

The new information was made public at a press conference by the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, a national constitutional litigation organization.

The Amistad Project said that they have sworn declarations that state over 300,000 ballots are at issue in Arizona, 548,000 in Michigan, 204,000 in Georgia, and over 121,000 in Pennsylvania. They claim that their evidence reveals multi-state illegal efforts by USPS workers to influence the election in at least three of six swing states.

The whistleblower statements include potentially hundreds of thousands of completed absentee ballots being transported across three state lines, and a trailer filled with ballots disappearing in Pennsylvania.

Attorney Phil Kline said, “130,000 to 280,000 completed ballots for the 2020 general election were shipped from Bethpage, NY, to Lancaster, PA, where those ballots and the trailer in which they were shipped disappeared.”

Truck driver Jesse Morgan was present at the press conference and spoke for 9 minutes about his unbelievable ordeal. Morgan was tasked with delivering completed ballots to Pennsylvania from New York state.

This was explosive testimony.

Jesse Morgan: In total I saw 24 gaylords, or large cardboard containers of ballots, loaded into my trailer. These gaylords contained plastic trays, I call them totes or trays of ballots stacked on top of each other. All the envelopes were the same size. I saw the envelopes had return addresses… They were complete ballots.”

Jesse went on to say that he sat in Harrisburg for hours and when he was told to leave the supervisor at the post office would not give him a slip or an overtime slip so he could get paid. Jesse said the manager-supervisor was “kinda rude.”

Jesse’s testimony today revealed that employees at the United States Post Office were in on the conspiracy to steal the votes.

The video ALREADY has 1 million views!

Jesse Morgan, a truck driver with USPS subcontractor says he was suspicious of his cargo load of 288,000 COMPLETED ballots: “I was driving completed ballots from New York to Pennsylvania. I didn’t know, so I decided to speak up.” pic.twitter.com/YYIiZL1V55 — Team Trump (@TeamTrump) December 1, 2020

UPDATE from reader Brian: Please pass this info along. I am a professional driver, and all companies have onboard computers in the trucks. They record miles, location, departure, and arrival times. This electronic log book will be a valuable resource to verify any movement of illegal ballots. This is more unbelievable at every turn. Contact me if more info is needed. Give info to all your other staff writers please.

Source:"I Was Driving Completed Ballots from NY to Pennsylvania - So I Decided to Speak Up" -- UPDATE: USPS Contract Truck Driver Who Transferred 288,000 FRAUDULENT BALLOTS from NY to PA Speaks at Presser (VIDEO)As reported earlier by Cassandra Fairbanks new election fraud whistleblowers came forward on Tuesday, including one who witnessed the shipping of an estimated 144,000-288,000 completed ballots across three state lines on October 21. The new information was made public at a press conference by the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, a national constitutional…https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/driving-completed-ballots-ny-pennsylvania-decided-speak-update-usps-contract-truck-driver-transferred-288000-fraudulent-ballots-ny-pa-speaks-presser/