#(and rip my algorithm lol)

[tangents-within-tangents]

I can't believe people still say The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch are "just kids shows" when whatever this show is literally exists:

analysis of target audiences below (there's a TL;DR don't worry)

Okay so the whole "it's just for kids" fallacy/excuse/conversation stopper is such an issue as it is. Here's a good video about it, I'll probably do a whole rant at some point, but in short: the level of storytelling merit, emotional depth, and thematic exploration a work can and should achieve has never been limited by it's target audience/age group, nor it's storytelling medium. (And if you don't think that's true, try to tell me Pixar has never made you cry, go on)

So it doesn't matter if it was made for kids or not. There's nothing wrong with that and anyone can enjoy it anyway. But what I actually wanna talk about here is not the merits of "kids shows" but the misconception on what "kid show" even means.

For one thing, I think when some people say "it's a kids show" they are lumping anything from like Winnie the Pooh to Avatar: the Last Airbender into the same category, and that's just not how it works. The above example demonstrates that not all kids shows/stories are the same anyway (partially bc level of development/education changes drastically between the ages of like 3 and 12, and these are things that are really taken into account in the publishing industry).

I found Disney's ratings guide and I think this should clear some things up:

For reference:

Young Jedi Adventures is listed as TV-Y

Clone Wars (2003), Rebels, and Resistance are TV-Y7-FV

Clone Wars, Bad Batch, and the Tales of the Jedi/Empire are TV-PG

Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Kenobi, Book of Boba Fett, Andor, and Acolyte are all TV-14

And if we put that in context with the films:

The Clone Wars (2008) film and the Original and Prequel trilogy are PG except for Revenge of the Sith which is PG-13 along with the Sequel trilogy, Rogue One and Solo.

So basically TCW and TBB are considered by Disney's own system to be about the same level as most of the films. They are 4 degrees away from 'Young Jedi Adventures' and only 1 degree lower than the live-action shows. Which frankly feels like we got some animation bias going on since all the live-action shows are automatically in one category (which is silly as is and undue here anyway (here have another video) esp since the Clone Wars animation style is clearly meant to be older/more realistic). But regardless, it's literally right there:

And again there is nothing wrong with TCW/TBB being kids shows, but some internet-ers dismiss it as "made for 7 year olds" and that's just objectively not true. Strictly from this system (which idk how it compares to whatever system Cartoon Network used when it aired) you could say the TV-PG might mean 8-13 years old (which is a wide range tbh, there's a big difference between being 8 and being 13), but since TV-G says "suitable for ALL ages" it's also not limited to that.

Also if TCW was aimed for ~8-13 year old's back in 2008 then those same people, who TBB was clearly meant for based on the marketing, were ~21-26 when it premiered in 2021 (and I think that is definitely reflected in writing).

Age of the protagonist is another a good indicator, though it's not a strict rule (i.e. Ender's Game and To Kill a Mockingbird have younger pov characters but are clearly meant for older audiences) and we have a wide range in these shows (Ahsoka 14, Anakin 20, Obi-wan 35, Clones early 20s, Omega ??? 10ish?? idk it's unclear) and time passes. (And while a lot of TBB is filtered through Omega's perspective, there's also plenty of scenes/subplots/episodes where she isn't even there. Also I doubt anyone would call TLOU a kids show just bc Ellie is 14)

But also target audience is a lot more than just content ratings. Note how the first few ratings above say "this program is designed for" the age group, while after TV-G it's about if it contains anything that could be unsuitable for age groups. And ratings can be pretty vague and arbitrary, especially since they change over time (like I get RotS but I could not tell you what makes the Sequels PG-13 compared to the PG films. And why is 13 the age we draw the line at? And why is it 14 for TV instead?)

I think TCW confuses a lot of people because it jumps around a lot; some episodes are about Jar Jar or the droids, and then some are, you know, Umbara. But on a rewatch, even some of the more serious episodes like the Citadel or Kadavo arc still tend to have a more juvenile or simplistic tone/writing style, like repeating information a lot or joking in the middle of the mission (like right after Echo died, hello?!). This actually feels like a writing issue to me, like maybe the writers weren't very clear on what they were going for. (Reminds me also of the only episode I watched of the live-action Atla, where compared to the original it increased the violence/death, but also dumbed down the exposition and didn't seem to trust the audience) Though there is also a clear difference between the seasons, again because the audience and characters are growing up as time goes on. I don't think TBB really had that issue though. It never talked down and it was much more tonally consistent, even in the lower stakes episodes.

Personally TBB feels generally grittier than TCW, though it doesn't really have any of the dark/gruesome deaths and "this is a kids show?!?!" moments like TCW (i.e. clones getting airlocked, decapitated, cut in half by doors, squished by Grievous, and whatever the ever living eff Colt's death was). Though actually come to think of it, there are a few things (like Crosshair killing civilians, the electro suicide pills, and the clone on Tantiss who got skewered (rip)) but I don't think they stand out as much, maybe because they're given the proper weight so they fit the tone rather than feeling out of place. Well, most of the time at least...

Like the friendly fire incident is probably one of the heaviest moments in TCW but I don't see it in those compilations, maybe because the characters respond appropriately and it fits within the Umbara arc. Verses when stuff happens in the middle of lighter more childish plot lines that feel more shocking because they are somewhat brushed off.

But also here's the thing. I think people get really fixated on the darkness/violence/death thing, but it isn't actually as big a deal as we tend to think. Like you'll find "this is a kid's show?!?" compilations for so many shows like these (with a similar age range, like Gravity Falls) that are just anything remotely creepy or intense or related to death, as if kids can't handle anything at all. Like I'll admit it's surprising sometimes (Infinity Train traumatized me bro lol) but most of the time I think we're underestimating kids. Like do you remember being 12? It's not that young.

There just seems to be this misconceived barrier, like the argument goes: "Clone Wars is just a kid show" "No it's not, look at this death scene!" But like there's death scenes in Disney movies all the time, you know? I think that's also why we get so many of these MA animated shows (i.e. Invincible and Vox Machina) that feel the need to overdo the blood and gore to like prove themselves as adult shows (bc again, animation bias).

As a writer that's just not really where the distinction is. This came up in my 'Writing for Children and Adolescents' class and we were all a little surprised when our professor said that death/violence is actually fine for middle-grade (8-12, the 'golden age of reading' and probably the equivalent to TV-PG). Like think of stories with ~12 year old protagonists like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Gregor the Overlander (tho Suzanne could stand to tone that one down imo lol). Basically, violence is okay actually. And most of the TCW and TBB characters are way older than middle-grade.

(Also I think the difference is usually more in the delivery. Like death and violence being more implied (no blood, or cutting away/seen with shadows), and themes/emotions generally being more clear, simple and stated upfront rather than more nuance, subtle and subtextual. (And tbh writing for kids is actually usually a lot harder btw))

The distinction we did learn about that has been most insightful for me has a lot more to with the story itself: what topics and themes does the story deal with? And what age group/phase of life does that speak to?

For example, Love You Forever is a picture book (generally considered 3-6 yr old range) but it deals with topics that are clearly aimed for an adult. It follows the parental character until they are on their death bed being taken care by their kid, that's not something a 6 year old would care about or relate to. That's why age of protagonist typically aligns too, bc they will be dealing with/worried about things that the reader is dealing with in their life too (like high school struggles vs career and family struggles etc).

Aaaand this post has (once again) gotten away from me lol so I don't feel the need to analyze all of the topics and themes in TCW and TBB, but basically look at what is being explored and how it is being talked about (since a lot of things, esp with war, aren't necessarily age exclusionary) and that can give you a good idea. I think it's clear TBB generally deals with things in a more nuanced and complex way than TCW (most of it at least, honestly the difference between seasons is stark). And there is a main emphasis on family and parenthood, especially with the very end speaking to both young adults growing up and moving out, and the parents letting them go.

TL;DR:

-Animation doesn't automatically equal for kids

-For kids doesn't equal lesser

-Not all kids media is the same bc not all age groups are the same

-Violence doesn't necessarily equal NOT for kids

-Age of protagonist and themes/topics are a better indicator

-The Clone Wars is def middle grade, and The Bad Batch is probably more YA to adult

-But nothing is exclusionary regardless

[gutsfics]

tbh i think that the "is ai generated content art" argument is roughly the same as "is Duchamp's Fountain art". i think that the argument of if its art is what makes it art, because it is invoking some kind of feeling. starting a conversation. if that makes sense?

that being said, absolutely there is a time and a place for it (ie not replacing the work of paid artists). and it should only be trained on artsts who have consented to it.

i dont want to read fiction made by ai bc if you didn't take the time to write something, why should i take the time to read it? and for non fiction, it'll be riddled with incorrect facts because an algorithm "decided" that this word is the most likely to go next in the sentence based on what it's database says, even if its factually incorrect.

one of my favorite pieces of art is an ai image that was sent to a company that makes paint-by-numbers, and then filled out by a person. the artist, tumblr user rigatonidanza, asks "is this art? at what point does it become art? can it never be art because its ai, or because its paint by numbers? is it art because it elicits a response from the viewer?"

the point of art is to make you think, and to make you feel. does it stop being art if its not made by human hands, the way algorithmically generated images are? is it not art if its something mass produced, made for intentions other than what the artist uses it for, like Fountain? even if looking at it makes you feel something? anything? even if that "something" is a negative emotion?

all that said. if you use generative algorithms as an excuse to not pay real artists, you are a human tar pit. may you always immedeatly stub your toe after it stops hurting from the last time you stubbed it.

[itmegaygrump]

i know it's not their fault but god i hate when game grumps go through a phase of "bleeping" out swear words on random series

[mellamellamella]

saw a really cool sketch/drawing the other day and liked it and then I was like "I can just reblog it instead" so I think I unliked it but then didn't reblog it so now I can't find it and basically I think it's the end of the world probably

[bodybeyondstories]

story prompt: a brand of jockstrap quickly becomes the gold standard amongst college and professional athletics because the competitive price structure that makes them cheaper to buy in bulk than any other brand. The fit is different than everything else on the market too. These jockstraps keep their butts so high and tight it's almost as if they're bigger. Are their butts bigger? That could explain the number of pants-splitting wardrobe malfunctions that are afflicting athletes across all sports. Say nothing of the guys who like the little lift and have started wearing the jocks under their street clothes too

Ok I've actually been thinking about a similar thing for a while because occasionally my Insta feed is inundated with these ads for perky butt pants, which look like low quality chinos that are just well fitted in the back I guess, but I always feel like the algorithm is being shady.

1239 words

_______________________________

[Nadir: I left you a gift on the entry table, try 'em on 😛]

[Carlos: Are these those perky butt jockstraps I keep seeing ads for?]

[Nadir: Yeah probably lol. A friend of mine got a sponsorship deal or whatever and they basically threw a case of these at him. I think they kind of work, they're all over my socials]

[Carlos: All of those guys already have nice asses, this is Marketing 101. You flood everyone's social media feeds with athletes and fitness influencers who are already stacked so you can make the claim that *your* special jockstrap has some cutting edge butt lifting technology. Then every faux butt model follows suit, it becomes a ubiquitous gay fashion piece, and the money rolls in until the next fad]

[Nadir: Ok, fair enough. But in the meantime would it hurt to look a little more caked up?]

[Carlos: You're not wrong 👀]

Carlos sighed at his phone, then at the pile of individually packaged jockstraps on the coffee table that his roommate left for him. It wasn't like he cared all that much. He was more so just annoyed at the progression of ads and sponsorship deals preying on queer men's perpetual body image crises. What looked like a regular jockstrap with tighter bands seemed to suddenly be everywhere. Of course personal trainers and athletes with huge followings were ripe for sponsorship deals to build out a market, but now he was seeing random dudes with generally unremarkable figures post in these things like they were life changing.

But they do look good, he admitted to himself, thinking about a friend of his who for years was incapable of putting on any mass, yet suddenly his private stories featured him in nothing but these jocks framing a delectable bubble butt that came seemingly out of nowhere. He held the packaging in his hands. And they seem functional. And I've been needing to re-up on gym gear for a while. And and and... he thought to himself, finally relenting and ripping open the plastic cover.

They were cute, higher quality than expected, but mostly resembled every other jockstrap on the market. He whipped off his underwear right there in the living room and slid on the jock. It was surprisingly comfortable, so much so that he didn't know why he'd been wearing any other underwear all this time.

Not to mention his ass looked great. He had a pretty dedicated workout routine and was so stranger to some heavy deadlifts, but as he turned toward the full length mirror, he almost gasped at the bubble that stood out behind him. He didn't even know he had that much ass to work with. He gave it a shake just to make sure it was real.

"I knew you'd like it," said Nadir, beaming as he entered through the front door.

And he did. He wore them to the gym the next morning, and the next, and the next. They immediately became a staple in his workout gear, and he was having some of the best leg days he'd had in maybe ever. The only issue was keeping himself from leering at his own dump truck in the mirror, or at the other gymgoers who had obviously also gotten the memo about these booty enhancing jocks. He was more than happy to let go of his previous cynicism and learn to love this new fad for however long it lasted.

The way they lifted his butt made a statement, his ass becoming the main attraction in any pair of pants he wore. After a while, he couldn't shake the feeling that his derriere was holding on to some of the added umph even without the jock. He chalked it up to the added confidence producing serious gains in the gym, confirmed when, in the middle of a set of deep squats, he felt an unexpected breeze across his butt cheeks.

He'd been noticing how significant his progress had been, but didn't think it was enough to blow out the seat of his gym shorts in broad daylight. He didn't even know that was a thing that really happened. He tried to cover his ample posterior as his face flushed with embarrassment, but after a quick glance around, realized that everyone around was largely unconcerned. In fact, there were a few others casually finishing their workouts with split seams. He did the same.

"Don't sweat it," said Nadir later that day. "It's been happening to me all the time." He had always had a shapely bottom, carefully constructed through his budding career as a personal trainer, yet in recent weeks Carlos couldn't help but notice it inflating well out of proportion, his follower count and engagement inflating along with it. "At my gym, these are basically optional now," he added, pulling at the hem of a pair of gym shorts that strained for dear life across his comical bubble butt, the bottom third of his cheeks spilling out, framed by the straps of his jock.

It was a look coming back in style, booty shorts that looked woefully incapable of full coverage. Carlos had just donated a bunch of old pairs that he could've sworn fit fine just a few months ago, but now dug into his cheeks halfway down.

Nadir's pants optional policy had been catching on across the more professional, private, influencer-heavy gyms, a pragmatic way of extending the longevity of gym shorts that didn't stand a chance against the juicy pumps emphasized by these now ubiquitous jockstraps. It wasn't uncommon, and was slowly becoming fashionable, to see people walking around with their cheeks exposed, seat of their pants fluttering in the breeze like accidentally assless chaps.

Unfortunately, many day jobs weren't yet so lax with their dress codes, producing a menswear crisis of over-stressed seams, constant tailoring, and increasingly frequent instances of catastrophic failure. It became obvious who had been influenced into wearing these jockstraps not just at the gym but in their day to day, their disproportionately round butts bursting through the fabric of slacks and khakis whenever they bent down too fast, or more often encased in much more forgiving spandex or very loose sweats. A serious bubble butt had basically become the norm, to the point where navigating through the crowd at circuit parties meant risking being crushed to death by a gauntlet of jock-encased oversized glutes.

Carlos, with a blessed work from home gig, had taken to wearing mostly nothing below the belt for the sake of comfort, his massive globes spilling out over the edges of the stool at his desk as he plugged away on his laptop. His phone pinged with a text from Nadir.

[Nadir: Can you check for a package? I'm expecting some new product they asked me to demo. Feel free to check it out, I think they sent extras!]

Sure enough, there was a package on the porch with a thank you note for Nadir and some guidelines for the kinds of posts he should make to feature their product. His fitness career had really taken off in recent months, which Carlos was glad to see. He opened the packaging and pulled out a stretchy tank top that promised to "Lift, frame, and enhance your pecs!"

Again with this, he scoffed, turning the fabric over in his fingers. Might as well take it for a spin. It is push day.

[ghouljams]

I got put in horny jail too, and I blame/commiserate with you.

On guys: legitimately, how do you date these days? Where do you even meet guys? Ideally want to avoid apps. 🫣

I have literally never struck up a convo with a stranger at a place where it led somewhere.

I met Mr. Ghoul on Tinder, my sister met her boyfriend at work (yikes) and her roommate met her man at a work event for my sister's work lol

So dating is weird.

On avoiding apps: apps put out what you put into them, I was dating on the apps for a long time. It's going to throw a lot of people your way with very little filter in the hopes that something will be interesting to you. So it's a lot of working with the algorithm and also curating your potential matches. It allows you to be pickier than you could irl which is good for some people and not great for others. It's not for everyone, but I also think apps get a bad rap.

On meeting people organically: you can meet people anywhere if you have the desire for it. You'll have to be fairly extroverted about the process because striking up conversations with the intent of getting their number or asking them out takes a lot of balls. My cousin met one of their partners at a store, and grabbed her number while she was checking them out. Don't hit on store employees, but like that's the vibe, you just gotta rip the band-aid off and hope that the person is interested. Finding people irl is going to be awkward and you'll have to find your groove with it, but you just gotta talk to people and take the chance.

My advice is always if you are interested in someone, you have to make the move. Waiting around for someone to ask you out is fine and dandy when it happens but it rarely happens. Mostly because men are so fucking stupid and bad at picking up when people are interested in them, so if you want to date a man you have to tell him.

[olderthannetfic]

You recently mentioned that you've been out since your teens. As a person who managed to overlook a shitton of signs and only realized she was bi in her early 20s, I am wondering how you realized you were bi and also how you found out bisexuality exists?

Sorry if the phrasing sounds weird, I only noticed I was bi because I stumbled over the term on tumblr in 2016 and was like "oh, that's possible??" and then my earlier identity crises during my teens due to feeling attracted to multiple genders and being like "I'm crushing on [female person]. Am I lesbian? Nah, I've also felt attracted to [male person]. But I can't be straight either because this attraction feels the exact same. Am I broken?" were suddenly resolved with the realization that bi is also an option and that I'm not broken due to zigzagging between heterosexuality and homosexuality, but rather just bisexual. In retrospect, it's absolutely ridiculous that it took me so long, considering that as a kid I had crushes on Anna and Carter and Doctor from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, and Vitani from Lion King 2, and back in primary school, I used to go to the kids' section in the library and look at the first pages of a sci-fi comic which had one or two women get out of a lab or space station thingy and go bathe in the nude in the first few pages. I don't remember what it was called or what it was about, but tbh I'd love to find it and actually read it properly this time lol.

--

Horniness. The hornier you are, the easier it is to notice.

But also... well...

The 80s were all about combating the AIDS crisis and trying to get basic recognition of the humanity of gay people (at least in the US circles I was familiar with). The 90s saw the rise of a much more organized bi rights movement.

And then we backslid.

In the 2000s and 2010s, interest in bisexuality as a distinct thing fell off a cliff as far as I can tell. The "hey, it's not just cis gays and lesbians" energy moved first to trans topics and then to asexuality but without bisexuality joining the stodgy old guard.

The 90s were different. I was hitting my teens just as Anything That Moves hit its stride. I bought that shit at the bookstore. Yeah, this was the Bay Area, but they carried it at all the regular bookstores, not just the gay ones.

On Usenet where I spent a lot of my tween years, one of the big groups was soc.bi. I even spotted them having an in-person meetup in a restaurant in Berkeley where I happened to be having dinner with my parents. I didn't go say hi because I was like 14.

My big eureka moment, though, was on alt.tv.x-files when two groups were having a satirical argument about who enjoyed The X-Files more: people who got to lust over David Duchovny or people who got to lust over Gillian Anderson. Someone showed up and was like "Hah! I get to enjoy it twice as much as all of you! I'm bi!"

I was like "That's a thing????" I'd grown up with very liberal parents and lesbian neighbors, but like a lot of boomers, my mom was pro-gay and deeply clueless about all other queerness.

--

So the answer is unsupervised internet access in an age with no algorithms plus things like bisexual magazines actually existing.

RIP Anything That Moves.

[drowxiv]

It has been months and I'm still fighting some ridiculous content labels.

I've only successfully had the content label slapped on Durafein's "scandalously exposed shoulder" removed.

Almost every instance of Durafein shirtless is flagged and most of Viedyn's shirtless gposes are flagged as well. I take the biggest issue with those because in every single flagged screenshot they're clearly wearing pants. So the issue is that their chest is exposed. Except, especially this time of year, I can't go outside without seeing a guy shirtless with my own two eyeballs. I'm in walking distance of two pools lol. Every retail store still selling magazines is pushing covers plastered with shirtless guys and don't even get me started on the advertisements for deodorant, food, fragrance, fashion, and prescription medications that have featured shirtless men. (Shout-out to my deodorant brand Old spice)

I'm honestly tired of companies implementing poorly programmed overzealous algorithms in an attempt to please "The Great Google Empire" especially when they're doing it to "bring an app into compliance" and they enshittify their entire service on every platform to do it.

This is one of those ridiculous things that can only be done on the internet because if anyone were to go into a grocery store and start ripping magazines off the shelves while screaming "ADULT CONTENT" they'd be regarded as unwell at best.

[lakia-chan]

Science & Faith

A parallel case study of how Alhaitham is like in love.

pairing: alhaitham x gn!reader

contains: fluff, stream of consciousness

word count: 722 words

a/n: i feel that most people either write alhaitham as loving rationally or irrationally and stick with it. but i love exploring both sides depending on my mood lol. (also yes the title is a rip off of The Script) ANYWAYS!! my very first fic!! i haven't properly written since i was like 12 so here's my debut i guess lol. i wanna take requests but felt that i needed to write something first y'know? my blog is kinda empty right now so just ignore and feel free to send in anything or interact!!

Your existence is a phenomenon.

Scientifically, you check all the boxes. Your unparalleled beauty that would make the divine envious, your pleasant demeanor that makes the coldest hearts thaw, and your soft gaze that engulfs your target.

Despite all his flaws and yours not, you've decided to grace him with your affections and time. The one in a million idyllic scenario that he concluded was only theoretically possible.

He's knowingly a rude, uncaring hermit that grimaces at the grievances and noise of the people that surround him. Yet, you have never once been the subject of his ire. Somehow, you're never too loud, never too proud and always so understanding of his disposition. It's as if you’ve cracked the code that is him, a skillful balancing act of not too much and not too little. Everything there is that makes up you compliments him, from the melodious inflections of your voice, your easy gait and the click of your heels, to the things that pique your interest that you speak so passionately about. You neither annoy nor bore him, something he’s unused to.

You're the missing piece in the complicated puzzle of his life, something he didn't even know he yearned for until your arrival. You fall into place easily, with all his awkward corners and sharp protrusions.

It just feels so right. You just feel so right.

You've jump started his heart into life, something he didn't think would happen in this lifetime, and it truly feels as if he was created solely to meet and love you.

The people of Sumeru City mourn the fact that you've decided on him out of all your potential suitors. And his own personal friends wonder about the intricacies of the seemingly odd pairing.

He feels quite the opposite. You decode all the errors of his mind, turn the negatives into positives. It's as if you're the missing variable in the formula, and the perfect solution you and him. To him, it is inconceivable that he could be with anyone other than you.

He will continue to love you so, because rationally, you just make sense.

Your existence is an anomaly.

Despite all the empirical evidence that you're just so wholly different from him and that he should find no reason to, he loves you.

Your charming image, the twinkle in your eyes, and the teasing lilt in your sinful cadence mess up the neat lines in his head, break the code in the already failing system that is his heart before you. Until the only thing that makes sense is you, loving you.

There's nothing to decode, to analyse, when it just feels so right in the depths of his chest to be with you. It's unfathomable that something that feels this right could be wrong.

Unknowingly, he has accepted you and your anomalies into the ecosystem of his mind. Thoughts of you become entangled in the web of information and pure logic he operates on. You become part of the algorithm. You're a part of him, mind, body and soul.

Now, your smile that sends his heartbeat into overdrive is part of the procedure, the tips of his reddening ears an expected outcome when conversing with you.

It's absolutely ridiculous.

It's decidedly bad for him, with the way he humiliates himself in your presence and throws caution to the wind when you're concerned. Terrible for his reputation too, might he add, with how he indulges in nonsensical mannerisms to please your whims and ignoring his ethos of order and rationality.

The people of Sumeru City constantly speculate how a mismatched pair came to be, scrutinising his actions and concocting wild assumptions. Even his own personal friends are in doubt, how far does the cliché of opposites attract truly go?

Truthfully, he feels the same. You've made the man who functioned on logic and numericals crumble at your feet, ensnaring him in the trap that is you. He's a man gone insane, having consumed the forbidden knowledge of loving you.

You're a curiosity to him, the way you've made him experience and embrace the irrationality of human nature. Under your guidance, he now believes in something as superficial as fate and coincidence, rather than calculated chances and statistics.

He will continue to love you so, because irrationally, you just make sense.

strictly do not repost or plagarise my works on any social media platforms. likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated!!

[charmedreincarnation]

https://www.tumblr.com/charmedreincarnation/735781939655622656/httpswwwtumblrcomcharmedreincarnation7357809

I don't think you have to stray too far to get to the wrong parts in reddit. It's filled with borderline predators who say disgusting things and justify themselves "cus shes 18". They act like such hornyfucks..just go to oldschoolcool or r/pics wherever theres a picture of a skinny girl/woman they have to act like creeps or rip any woman who doesn't fit the beauty standard to shreds. i know the general narrative is that women are bitchy and insecure jealous and all men are so lighthearted humorous and fun but then you see most of their comments and you understand why women had to struggle with their rights so much in the past and also in the present. They can be so nasty,mean, vile and just downright vulgar

girl I hate men (not my anons ofc but ykwim)you don’t have to tell me twice. I especially hate the basement dwellers on Reddit. Honestly with the internet, freaks can come together and be even more annoying vile freaks together lol. Plus Reddit is one large echo chamber depending on where you are depends which type you get. I suggest keeping it cute. Im barely on there and stay along the informational and spiritual aspects of Reddit. Just general advice though… as someone who used to mindlessly scroll and find and argue with idiots, incels, misogynistic barnacle heads, racists, etc.I promise you there is no point arguing with souless buttfucks lol. Most of their lives suck and that’s the the reason they can be so chronically online and stupid with no repercussions.

What you feed your mind is so important and also creates your perception. I’m not even talking about the law of assumption rn but yes that too but in general. Spend too much time around that stuff and you’ll find yourself being very nihilistic and violent. And because of your algorithm the more your angirly click, the more you see it, and the more people you think are like that! When I come across that stuff now I’m lowkey shocked because to me those people can’t engage or interact with me because I choose to not be aware of them. But then I recently downloaded instagram and omg both the men and women are misogynistic bitter losers, so I have to stop being aware of them as well which is hard bc it’s everywhere 💀 but in reality I don’t see or experience any of that sort of stuff in the real world, so let them have the internet it’s not real anyways.

[bibibi-tchx]

Twitter has been RIPPING ppl apart for not liking the new storyline,, but like it rlly does have an assault undertone with it and it’s a rlly uncomfortable storyline why don’t Twitter get that 😭

i dont like twt that much purely bcus the amount of people who just stick to an opinion and refuse to see the otherside- of course this is common everywhere but twts algorithm makes me more mad than boomwhackers

ANYWAYS

seriously the story has taken such a dark tone now, where liv is being praised for assaulting a character who canonically lacks the true capabilities to think for himself, and has suffered abuse at the hands of his father

kafaybe i must stress

of course people are going to be uncomfy with it- you can see the lack of consent from dom’s character, and it is sickening that they wld even think to write that in

bcus the fanbase is mainly cis men who have been raised in ways to ignore their fellow men- the whole stupid belief that men cannot speak up (which they can, and anyone who disagrees with men being able to also be victims can kindly get off my blog) they wont view it as assault, and therefore we have another will graham type situation where a character begins to get so misconstrued to the point where he is unrecognisable both to the fandom and to the actor themself

its a horrible cycle and tbh im so disappointed in triple h- sure its nothing compared to the gore that we are beginning to see be resurfaced, but a company who preaches modern views should not be encouraging a storyline where a male victim is unable to recieve the help he needs

the whole thing proper mugs me off ugh

ty blue for submitting this cus i feel like im going insane lols <3 stay safe <3

[iminyourbookshelf]

QSMP community positivity because the streamer awards made me so happy

(under the cut because it's going to be A LOT)

QSMP Digital Artist - Ate and left NO crumbs ever omg. The amount of detail, varying styles, and epic scenes are my favorite. The variety of art styles for QSMP artist is like just going to a buffet to browse and they're all special little dishes made with so much love.

QSMP Tradtional Artist - HOW CAN YOU DRAW/PAINT SOME OF THIS STUFF?? Watercolor paintings of QSMP bulids, notebook spreads with cute little details, the fact that you can draw traditionally at all. All so talented.

QSMP Beginner Artist - NEVER GET DISCOURAGED <33. Everyone was a beginner at some point and seeing people improve over time with their art is so cool. I consider myself still a beginner even though I've been drawing for a couple years now lol. There is still so much for me to learn, and the fact how kind the qsmp art community is makes me so happy. Keep improving, your art looks great <3

QSMP Fanfiction Authors - I don't know whether to compliment you or ask for my therapy payment (/lh). So many authors have ripped my heart out and left it out to dry and others are like a bucket of fluff and joy. I love both of these. The writing quality is genuinely amazing on so many of these. I love to visualize when reading and with all the details it's basically just watching a movie.

QSMP Web Weavers - You guys are AMAZING. Finding so many quotes, transcripts, fanarts, aesthetic photos, and being able to combine them in a way that represents characters so well is beautiful. Not to mention the fact how your able to put credits for everything in an easy to find way??? Perfect.

QSMP Moodboards/Stimboard makers - These are so cute aaaa. I love seeing them, all the little collections of photos or gifs of characters I like is very fun.

QSMP Poll Accounts - I LIVE for taking polls. It's just fun to have a place to put an opinion you had for yourself that you didn't know how to put unprompted on your own post. Seeing results after a while also makes me happy to see what as a general consensus the fandom is on.

QSMBLR and QSMPTWT users - Transferring information from one hellsite to the other, I admire anyone who can survive in the discourse trenches and come back with account updates.

QSMP Clip accounts - I love seeing silly clips of cubitos, and especially those with transcripts and translations. It's a lot of effort and I admire that. Gives me so much info I would've missed otherwise.

QSMP translators - As someone still currently learning the other languages, it is so helpful when people translate it. Sometimes your brain just hurts and you can only read your native language. Also anyone who translates things from English to other languages, yes please make it for other speakers.

QSMP Multi-Shippers - It's so fun to see these, yes give your cubito 7 different romantic/platonic partners. You guys collect ships like Pokémon and it is inspiring

QSMP Cosplayers - I respect cosplayers so much. The wigs, the makeup, the costume, the PROPS?? All take so much work it's amazing to see final products. I reccently tried making a scythe for one I want to do, and I was struggling. Y'all are so cool.

QSMP Character Analysis Posts - Keeping fanfiction accuracy and my personal view on characters as close to canon as possible. These help so much when I need to look for a character I haven't watched much and easy to read.

QSMP Livebloggers - Save me from losing track of lore when I'm busy. I swear some of you just never sleep (please do but thank you for information). The amount of stuff I can figure out from vague post of combined livebloggers makes it much easier to know what's happening. Most of my mutual liveblog a lot and it saves me so much time <3

QSMP Rebloggers - KEEPING THIS FANDOM ALIVE‼️‼️ Tumblrs algorithm is based on reblogs, accounts that are just lurkers rb stuff ily. Hell yeah man, take all the cool stuff and share it.

QSMP Animatics - Movie night exists because of you guys!! Sometimes you all make me want to sob violently or laugh till I can't breathe. The differences in each video is so fun to see. The effort in each one is just beautiful too, animatics are NOT easy.

QSMP Editors - The fact that people can take a cube game and turn into epic/sad/cute edits with a few clips, transitions, and audios astounds me. You guys are so cool and I love seeing them. Also the fanart edits are so sick, finding the best ones to match.

QSMP Fan Video Creators - Stuff like the Federation Welcoming Workers Video, that one cucrucho cereal video, things like that. Quality is usually amazing and all the unique takes or camera work is epic. Idk what else fits in this genre but I just wanted to mention it.

QSMP RP Accounts - Seeing other people's takes on characters are so interesting and fun to see. RP is a skill I need to work on and it's done pretty well with these accounts. The amount of detail y'all can put is insane.

QSMP OC creators - Cringe culture is dead, I love seeing people make their little characters interact with eachother based on the QSMP. Keep it up and pls share it.

QSMP 3D Animators/Modelers - I never expirence more joy than when I see a 3D model of a qsmp rat spinning around. Also any 3D animators your dedication is insane. I tried learning 3D animation once and that was a STRUGGLE.

QSMP Vod savers/YT summaries -Actual lifesavers, there is no way I could've been apart of this community without them. Watching a few videos a day about what happened on the server makes it easier for me to actually do other things. Also that one person who made a QSMP2023 summary in UNDER 10 minutes, you are insane and did such a great job.

QSMP Accounts in Different Languages - QSMPBLR is heavily more English speaking than other languages, and when people main tag with post in different languages it makes me so happy. This was the point of the server, to let people post in whatever language they wanted. It's also fun for me to practice and try to translate it for myself.

I tried to get everything but please add if you have anything <3

[imanes]

the heights of excitement that my life has reached now that i have a satisfactory research workflow... indescribable. my everlasting gratitude goes to the three people who recommended i use zotero for both referencing and note-taking because it led my youtube algorithm to recommend using obsidian in parallel as well and since zotero has an obsidian plugin and obsidian has a zotero plugin... like the fact that it's all connected makes me feel giddy with excitement about the POSSIBILITIES... also now looking into zettelkasten as a method for note-taking. i am definitely more into setting up my research ecosystem and workflow than actually researching my topic lol i need to finish this literature review my sunday evening pls send help i need to come up by an outline too rip

[derrrskinner]

Sympathy for the Defiant - Chapter 3: Residual Heat

(...)

It’s been exactly 3 hours, 26 minutes and 11 seconds since shift has officially ended. The bullpen is dark and mostly silent other than the gentle whirr of computers and the soft buzz of a vending machine humming in the background. Everyone else went home hours ago.

Everyone but Connor.

He technically could—and did, for a long time—work 24 hours 7 days a week with no issue, but there were now laws that forbid overworking Androids in any and all fields, similar to how there’s a limit on how many hours a human can take up.

That didn’t stop Connor from extensively reviewing current and past investigation files, though.

He was still sitting behind a glowing screen with perfect posture and undying frantic research purposes.

Dozens of windows were open— photos, reports, psych evaluations, old mugshots, archived video footage. One name highlighted at the top of every document:

CADE F. RHOADES

He quickly scanned through what seemed like at least the hundredth report—Cade really made a name for himself at the Department—letting out a half-disturbed, half-impressed hum at a specific scene description that read ‘suspect resisted arrest after caught vandalizing an android-liberty themed statue, followed by ripping the arresting officers earring out using teeth’

After one quick yellow flicker on his temple, Connors hands shot straight back up on the keyboard, and he was lost in the next report already.

Eyes were locked, scanning at inhuman speeds.

Facial recognition algorithms, body language analysis from the interrogation, sound frequency breakdowns of Cade’s voice filled the screen.

He’s got a “emotional inconsistencies at mention of associates” subfolder.

A “likely hiding places if fleeing” document.

A half-finished psych profile. At least three sarcastically labeled files:

“Mr. Cool Band Guy”

“Definitely Not a Dealer (lol)”

“List of Times He Insulted Me (Ongoing)”

click Another tab opened. It's a paused freeze-frame of Cade smirking during the interrogation.

Connor tilted his head. LED spinning yellow once again.

‘Subject displays high levels of sarcasm... possible defense mechanism... elevated heart rate during mention of Hank Anderson... suppressed guilt? Regret? Romantic tension?’

He muttered to himself.

Faint, echoing footsteps joined the sound of the clicking keyboard after a few minutes, followed by an exhausted groan.

Hank was back from his sixth cigarette break, which was quite alarming considering the fact that he wasn’t even a smoker.

Well, not until tonight, at least.

The lieutenant stopped in the hallway, a look of pure ’I’m so fucking done with this shit’ on his face as he saw Connor still enthusiastically tap away on the screens.

Tomorrow—or, well, today—was meant to be his day off. He was supposed to be in bed and passed out by long now, but here he was, still at the department, babysitting his unofficially adopted android son.

He couldn’t just leave him there. Go home alone and hope that Connor doesn’t get jumped on his way back. He couldn’t take that chance when anti-android crimes were the highest since the revolution happened.

So Hank waited.

But his patience was starting to wear off.

’Connor.’

He sighed, tone soft but hinted with a parental harshness.

’Hank? I didn’t know you were still here.’ Connor didn’t even bother to look up from his work.

’You should go home. I noticed you showing an increase in insomniac behavior in the past week.’

Hank just sighed and rubbed his heavy eyes, slowly making his way behind Connors desk with sloppy steps.

’You know damn well I’m not leaving without you. I can’t let you walk home alone at this time of the day. It gets dangerous.’

The sincere, worrisome words seemed to snap Connor out of his trance. But only for a split second, just enough to glance back at Hank.

’I know you’re worried about my safety, and I appreciate it, but I assure you, I could and would protect myself if things went south.’

’Everyone says that until they get jumped from the back and get dragged away in a bodybag the next morning.’

Connor stopped typing, spinning around in his chair a perfect 180° like a guilty roomba. His expression shifted, LED flickering again.

His mouth fell open but he changed his mind the last second before letting the words form.

’You really should go and rest.’

Connors reply was hushed, his gaze low, avoiding the other mans. But Hank insisted.

‘So should you.’

A long stretch of silence followed. Connors inner conflict between efficiency and rest pushed all the other pop-ups in his mind aside.

He didn’t need sleep, but he sure craved it.

Since deviants became the norm amongst androids, a fascinating phenomenon was reported by research groups consistently—the mimicking of human biological functions, even if they were completely unnecessary for them.

Though sleep actually had its benefits, even for the synthetics; a low power state was entered, similar to the REM cycle in organic humans. This is when all the piled up necessary diagnostics and optimization procedures would be ran instead of inconveniencing the android throughout the day.

Disposal of corrupted or useless Data, cache cleaning, regulating all the experiences and emotions a deviant would have to process but was not programmed to go through.

Some still decided to discard ‘sleeping’ altogether and just go through the necessary maintenance as it came, but most of them aligned to the rhythm of their creators.

It all comes down to lifestyles and preferences in the end.

Hanks face slowly morphed from frustration to genuine concern as he noticed the absolute mayhem on Connors desktop—his usual organized, clean ways nowhere to be seen.

‘What the fuck are you going full cyber-Sherlock on that smartass drug dealer for anyways?

‘I’m constructing a behavioral profile for future reference.’

Connor answered right away, a proud smile curling on his lips before turning back towards the screen and begging to show off whatever he gathered by now

’Also compiling an updated psychological analysis to cross-reference with similar criminals behavior patterns and mapping his facial expressions to emotional triggers and—”

Hank listened for a few seconds in sheer disbelief, before placing a hand on Connors shoulder gently.

’Connor. Connor. CONNOR.’

Connors head abruptly snapped upwards at the distraction with a quiet, almost startled ’Yes?’

’You’re obsessed.’

His LED flickered again, in an almost offended manner. His face fell flat.

’I’m thorough.’

Hank just sighed, but longer than before.

’You’re terminal, my guy.’

He glanced through the screen one more time, only now pinpointing all the niche and bizarre analytics Connor has made.

’…You wrote a fucking essay on his posture?’

Connors determined little smirk reawakened, fully focused on the screen once again. ‘Yes. Slouched with intentional defiance, shoulders tense. Likely a learned coping habit. Possibly from street performance background.’

Each new word stole a little piece of Hanks already non-existent energy and possibly his soul too.

‘Mother of God…’ He muttered, hands covering his face like he was in unbearable agony—which, he might’ve been, in all honesty.

Connor didn’t seem to catch up on it, though, as he continued with the same level of enthusiasm.

‘I believe he may be lying about the extent of his involvement. I believe there’s more to his relationship with Kilo and his people. And I believe...’

Hank only pretended to listen to the rambling as he unhurriedly made his way to the other side of the table, shutting the computer down with one lazy movement.

Connor stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes jumping between the now transparent screen and Hanks dimly lit, smug face.

’That was absolutely not necessary.’

’Oh believe me, it was.’

Connor shot him a glare that tried to be mad, though he looked more like a defiant teenager than anything else.

Hank let a quiet snicker break the silence, patting him on the back.

’C’mon son, let’s get you home.’

(...)

I'm actually bawling my eyes out i wish Hank was real.

Full Chapter available on AO3 under the same title!

[tender-crescent]

Sometimes it’s hard to remember when you share your writing into the world, to not be so attached to how the world perceives it. I’ve been posting on TikTok recently to market my poetry book to the queer community and sort of lost the plot in posting about book stuff and when I finally posted my first actual spoken piece, no one liked it. Algorithm this, algorithm that, ugh. Definitely my fault for not just sticking to writing but WHY DOES IT HURT SO BAD?! Have any other authors struggled with this? Ego getting bruised? People only interested in your looks (if you’re on social media that way)? At least I ripped the bandaid off so my followers are going to be forced to listen and hopefully I can eventually reach the right people. This probably seems so out of touch/first world problem-ey, but just needed to vent. Oh the joy of having the innermost layers of your heart be perceived and rejected lol

[spurgie-cousin]

While we’re talking details in old Jrod posts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask if you know anything about the accidental “Teen Mom” facebook repost she refers to in the first screenshot? As a former avid TM viewer, I’m dying know to what one of them could have possibly done that Jill would find worthy of reposting lol

I was curious too because I'd heard of her doing that, but I've never seen what picture she used or how (plus like any good millennial i'm versed on the Teen Mom universe). So I looked up and down but couldn't find a screenshot, maybe it was before the time people were diligently preserving all of her snafus lol? Or maybe I just didn't look in the right places, so if anyone knows where to find that, let anon and I know

I'm guessing it was a picture of either someone pregnant or someone with a baby, maybe to help advertise a speaker for young moms or something? Although for the life of me I can't think of one of the Teen Moms that would live up to Jill's modesty standards, they're all pants-wearers at least lol, so that makes me even more curious about what kind of picture it was. Maybe in a hospital or something?

Also I'm sure the Google algorithm is different today than it was then, but I couldn't get any random images of the Teen moms without searching "young and pregnant" or "teen pregnancy" or some variation of that (RIP my search suggestions). Just searching "pregnant woman or women" or even "pregnant" brought up hundreds of stock images and a few real life maternity shoots of obviously adult women so. Personally, I choose to believe Jill was being very creepy with her search terms 👀