#geek a long 2020

[2busyatchb4urshist-alt]

I Gave In

I was scrolling Pinterest (strike one) and started looking at knitting patterns (strike two) because I’m a yarn gremlin and who doesn’t need a plethora of patterns to chose from. I found a D&D scarf. So simple. It is squares that you sew together. So easy. I told myself I would save it for a later day (strike three). I didn’t. I got the pattern (https://lattesandllamas.com/geek-a-week-faq/geek-a-long-squares/), which is just the 2020 Geek-a-Long. D&D themed. I’m currently making the bard symbol square. I plan on making the classes (and maybe the ‘crit happens’) into a jacket. It’s all in my head, man.

[twistedpink]

I fricking love this account aaaaaaa. Can you do Idia with a streamer reader? Like we know he wouldn’t want to be on camera but I would love to read about him being supportive to them behind the scenes. Always making sure they have the best streaming set up, buying their merch, banning creeps from their chat.

This prompt has been sitting in my brain since 2020 prime Haikyuu (iykyk)

Even getting kicked across the multiverse isn’t enough to stop the twitch grind, and you figure money’s money no matter what it’s called. All you need for this venture’s a sweet gaming setup and a dedicated mod- Lucky you know where to get both of those >:)

Mod!Idia that gets mega trigger happy when he goes on a banning spree,, Any other mods you hire down the line use his name like a curse when they go through the hundreds of unban requests. He’s that bad. “Gloomerai” wouldn’t take it any other way though, after all the chat is extra behaved when he’s online. The OG’s say he can taste fear..

Mod!Idia only wants to support your career :( He’s the QOL update! The meta support! It’s not like you need the sweats he’s banning (or doxxing), Idia “reinvests” by being one of your few merch collectors, and even out of those simps he’ll always be your #1 spender fan!!

Mod!Idia that’s obsessed with streamer!Reader,, After he becomes your first “henchhuman” (your lingo is all Grim themed, isn’t his streamer bias genius??) all he can care about is you. After a long day of anxiously checking your engagement, he waves your concerns by being the “stats guy”- It’s not like he’s making fanart yes he is don’t listen, so are you really gonna rip away his only hobby? All of his lock screens and pfps slowly become references to your content, and he’s a very active member of community blogs- but no one can know he’s your favourite mod, or else they’d come to him with their creepystalkerquestions!! (The only reason he doesn’t ask them is that it’s common knowledge to him. Yknow, the regular stuff like your favourite game or hip circumference in cm <3)

Please don’t fire him, there’s so much more for Idia to do!! What will the fandom say? He’s the famous “the hand” now! They’ll miss his cameos when he gets you water or holds your shoulder during scary games :( You could never in a gazillion years convince him to make his own channel, but he’s plenty willing to piggyback off your “extrovert buff”. Besides, he needs this job to monitor his social experiment. “The science of streamers on top of geeks” <3

[bcacstuff]

Tobias Menzies: 'The royals live a lifetime like they're on reality TV'

INTERVIEW As he stars with Brad Pitt in F1, the British actor talks about his role in The Crown, his hippy childhood – and why he has just the right face to play baddies

“Like theatre on steroids” is how Tobias Menzies describes shooting his first scene with Brad Pitt on the grid at Silverstone for this summer’s blockbuster movie, F1. “We did it before a real race, because there would be no other way to capture that atmosphere of adrenalin and chaos… the rev and squeal of tension… the roaring depth of 50,000 spectators.”

The 50-year-old British actor – best known for playing Prince Philip in The Crown (2019-2020) and Frank/Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall in historical time travel drama Outlander (2014-19) – says the race organisers could only give the film crew seven minutes to nail the moment when his character (smarmy Formula One team board director Peter Banning) meets Pitt’s reckless old rock star of a driver (Sonny Hayes) before the latter steps into his car to screech through one of the film’s many high-speed track sequences.

Tobias Menzies, right, as Peter Banning, a tech bro-style racing executive, with Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes (Photo: Warner Bros/Apple TV+)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski – who also brought us Top Gun: Maverick – F1: The Movie is an unabashed bro-fantasy in which a man old enough to be his rivals’ grandfather uses his superior experience and timeless reflexes to beat the boys at their high-tech games. And like Top Gun: Maverick, it relies heavily on the daredevil charisma of an A-List star to pull viewers along for the ride. But catch it in a big multiplex and it’s impossible not to find yourself sinking low into your seat, throwing your body into the chicanes and clutching your popcorn like a steering wheel. 

“I don’t own a car myself,” says the gentle, watchful Menzies, “and I still don’t find myself taken with the sport. But I found the whole, dramatic world of F1 really interesting. I was surprised how small – like children – many of the drivers are. Obviously that makes sense because they’re like jockeys and every pound counts. I got interested in the strategies they use, both on the track and off of it.”

Menzies found playing Prince Phillip in ‘The Crown’ gave him a deeper compassion for the royals as humans (Photo: Sophie Mutevelian/Netflix)

He trained a beady eye on the money men in the corporate boxes and noticed they were “very expensively dressed in soft leisure wear in soft colours”. So although Peter Banning “was written as a wily British gentleman, all suited and booted”, he approached the filmmakers to suggest the character might be “more of a tech bro, because that culture has crossed the Atlantic”.

Over coffee in a North London cafe, he explains that “I thought Banning would be one of those guys who talks about ‘wellness’ in a really weird way… A man who sees a weird conjunction between ‘wellness’ and massive corporate power in a way that I find quite repulsive.” Hence those hippy bracelets? “Yes! I’m glad you noticed the bracelets.”

There’s an interesting power struggle between Banning’s money and Hayes’s physical prowess that pries open tensions seething within the patriarchy. Does Menzies think the wealthy geeks still feel they need to prove something to the jocks? Like when Elon Musk challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight? “Yes. That was so strange. I don’t really understand it. But I guess there are old wired ideas about power and masculinity that they fall for…” he laughs and the distinctive long lines that bracket his mouth bend, briefly.

Menzies suspects his “strange face grooves… or the world’s longest dimples” may be the reason he’s so often cast as baddies: from Brutus in HBO’s Rome (2005-07) to the powder-keg patriarch in Alexander Zeldin’s reimagining of Antigone at the National Theatre last year. These lines – which he said “appeared on my cheeks in my mid-teens, maybe as part of a growth spurt because nobody else in my family has them” – can be usefully twisted into the service of a character’s cunning or cruelty. 

Menzies and Brad Pitt at the European premiere of ‘F1: The Movie’ at NoMad London this week (Photo: Dave Benett/Getty for Apple TV+)

“One of the reasons I’m an actor,” he says, “is to access an arena in which you can turn the dark and difficult stuff into something interesting, a conversation, an art. I find the process of representing dark or troubling or uncomfortable material cathartic.”

Back in 2022, Outlander star Sam Heughan said he felt “betrayed” by the creative team who asked him to film a nude scene in which his character was raped by Menzies’s character. The scene was cut from the episode when Heughan argued that his full frontal nudity “sexualised a horrific experience”. Today, Menzies says he’s glad Heughan was heard. He’s sympathetic to “the pressures on Sam, early in his career”. The consent of actors in such scenes is “essential”, he says.

But he’s also not keen on viewers being “shielded from darkness: drama without darkness is anodyne.” He points out that “we use fairy stories as a way of introducing kids to the fact that the world is a complicated and scary place sometimes. It isn’t all happiness.”

Menzies’s own childhood sounds pretty cool, though. Born in London, he’s the elder son of a drama-teacher mother and BBC Radio producer father. “They were 70s hippies,” he says, so he spent his early years in their Victorian flat watching vinyl spin on the record player at the end of the hall. He smiles gently, recalling the album sleeves. “The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street. Kraftwerk’s Man Machine.”

They divorced when he was six and his mother moved with Menzies and his younger brother Luke (now a solicitor) to Kent, where the boys attended a Steiner school – a type of independent school with a holistic educational style and an emphasis on creativity. “I got a lot from that,” he says. Although he was more interested in tennis than acting as a boy, he says he was always an enthusiastic student – “a hand-up kinda kid”. He adds that “at Steiner schools you get used to standing up and reciting poems with the class. It normalises performance.” His mother took him to see lots of experimental, physical theatre and dance, which led him to audition for Rada barefoot. “I liked getting my shoes and socks off,” he says.

As ‘Black Jack’ Randall in historical time travel drama ‘Outlander’ (Photo: Aimee Spinks/Sony Pictures/Channel 4)

“I’ve always been the kind of actor who has ideas about how I need to do things. So when I did Rome – my first big TV series – I was knocking on the show runner’s door and suggesting Brutus needed to be more agitated and fearful after killing Caesar. That scene was originally written quite sedately, and I think one of the problems with TV can be that you’re often asked to come into scenes and deliver info without the apparent need for it. If you can weave more character into that plot then it starts to spark.”

Did he have any input into how he portrayed Prince Philip in The Crown? “That was different because he was a real person,” says Menzies. “But yes, I brought some thoughts to the moon landing episode. I felt the scene where Philip met the astronauts needed more ups and downs – first he had the hope that these men would meet a part of him that was lost, then he had the heartbreak of realising that they’re just kids who’ve been trained to go into space.” He sighs and tugs on his baseball cap.

As a “small ‘r’ republican”, Menzies thinks “it would be more grown-up of us as a country not to have all that [monarchy] sat on top of our country”. But he found filming the series gave him a “deeper compassion” for the royals as humans. “Do I agree with Prince Philip’s politics, many of his views? No. But I think he was a really thoughtful, smart guy. If he hadn’t married the Queen he would have had a very successful career in the navy. He put all that misplaced reforming energy into an institution which did not welcome it.”

Menzies also shudders at the way the royals live “a lifetime like they’re on reality TV”. He’s had his own brushes with celebrity gossip after he was reported to be dating Kristin Scott Thomas in 2005. He hasn’t ever discussed his private life in print and wince-nods a little when I ask if he gets recognised more on the streets since The Crown. “But I can still get around,” he shrugs, gesturing to cafe life flowing obliviously around us.

Unlike Brad Pitt? “Yeah,” nods Menzies, polishing off his drink. “The rest of us could go out for a bite to eat,” he says. “But Brad – who, despite being every bit as charismatic as you’d expect, seemed to be a lovely guy, quite un-statusy and a very easy-going scene partner – was just stuck in the hotel.” Menzies shakes his head. “I don’t know how he copes with that at all.”

[girldriveroscar]

2024 lando v 2020 oscar — yesss let’s talk about it!! My only question is would 2020 oscar convert to his 2024 ways instantaneously due to the lando™️ effect… (aka coming face to face with his long time crush🫤thinking about all the pre-mclaren landoscar interactions). But given the answer is no. Yes, I need to see it

Also i noticed prema oscar is sooo different from him in McLaren, with lando. Theres a lot of natural/obvious reasons why buttt imo he’s just different with Lando in general. Oscar always seems pretty static and not overly outwardly fond, even towards ppl he clearly likes, like Logan on that Williams podcast, Mark Webber, etc. But with Lando— he’s giving affected, amused, accommodating, etc.

OK TO NOT MAKE THIS THE LONGEST REPLY EVER. Here's my awfully parasocial analysis of Oscars' easy affection towards Lando, but I wanted to jus keep this a reply to the RPF bits hehe.

ngl I do fear no Oscar cld survive the Lando effecttm but also, for sakes sake, pre-prema Oscar who's not yet used to accommodating to the needs of a whole team of other people wld definitely be a little more selfish and sharp methinks.

2020 Oscar geeking over the fact that funny likable Lando is now really hot and kinda mean (Lando has an age complex and thinks any Oscar is a challenge esp one who's even younger) So when Lando whines that His Oscar changed breakfasts to match Lando's preference, '20 Oscar remarks that the guy sounds like a total pushover.

And bc Oscar is still a Bit of a fanboy he fumbles to turn his dorky charisma up around the guy who's stream clips are still half his camera roll. But put him in front of any other successful F1 driver and it's game time, he's ready to use that confidence to make a name for himself.

and Lando can't decide between crying bc he misses his pushover Oscar or teaching the kid a lesson about his role in their team, or begging Oscar to direct his boyish flirtations to him instead of Charles who's always been unthinkingly nice to every rookie But Lando (extra salt in the wound) (Oscar's doing it on purpose to see how far he can push Lando before Lando does something about it.) I just imagine '20 Oscar to be much more conniving with the knowledge that Lando's kinda a mess about him. Payback for him getting really hot and having complexes that prevent Oscar from the easy top he should be getting given the chance circumstance.)

[vague-humanoid]

The list of Pinkerton injustices against the working class spans centuries, and as a new report from Motherboard appears to show, the agency is keeping up with the times. The Pinkertons, who are now a subsidiary of Swedish security company Securitas AB, are reportedly cozying up to 2020’s version of the Gilded Age robber baron: Silicon Valley tech bosses like billionaire vampire Jeff Bezos, who has hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to reportedly surveil workers in at least one of Amazon’s European warehouses and infiltrate its worksite, according to documents obtained by the publication. There is a dreadful sort of irony to the idea that today’s innovation-obsessed captains of industry really are taking a page from their Gilded Age forebears by hiring the Pinkertons, and that a plutocrat is still a plutocrat whether he’s wearing a top hat or garish swim trunks. As for the Pinkertons themselves, these former union-busting mercenaries of old are not only alive and well, they appear to have been repurposed into a nightmarish data-driven geek squad. (An Amazon spokesperson acknowledged that the company hired the Pinkertons, but told Motherboard that those workers were used “to secure high-value shipments in transit.” “We do not use our partners to gather intelligence on warehouse workers,” the spokesperson said. “All activities we undertake are fully in line with local laws and conducted with the full knowledge and support of local authorities.")

[schumigrace]

I saw your Hyper Specific Alonso Poll and I’m SO curious about what the figurine is that he used to carry with him and what the story is with the pictures and why he carried it with him?

Hello!

Short answer: he's a massive nerd

The little figurine he always carried around is actually a figure of Asbel, a character from the JRPG "Tales of Graces", although Fernando named him Tomita (idk if nano ever played the game or if he just liked Tomita, but considering how much of a geek he is, especially about Japan, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the former)

We first met Tomita in around 2012, and then he stopped posting him for a while before his brief resurgence in 2020

As for why, I have no idea. I gave up trying to understand this man a long time ago. I think he was just a bit of a mascot tbh. But he had said in interviews at the time that he never went anywhere without Tomita

I think that's everything? @seafoampearlygirl and her Fernando lore masterpost is usually my go-to for things like this

[raspberry-and-friends]

Name: Princess Luna Sparkle

Gender: Genderfluid (she/he/they/neos)

Sexuality: Lesbian

Partner(s): Princess Twilight Sparkle

Children: Princess Raspberry Sparkle (19) and Princess Ophelia Supernova Sparkle (16)

Headcanons and disclaimers below the cut 👇👇

💙 Is a biiit of a comic book/superhero geek. She and Twilight attend the San Deneighgo (get it??? San De-neigh-go!) Comic Con every year, as well as every Marevel (Marvel) event they can. Her favorite character is Loki, which is precisely why she just about lost her mind when Celestia announced that their son was to be named after the Norse deity.

💙 Has severe PTSD from her time as Nightmare Moon and being imprisoned for 1,000 years. Twilight often wakes up to her wife sobbing on their balcony as she lowers the Moon each night. She never blamed Celestia for what happened to her, though, and believes it would be unfair to expose her sister to even more guilt and stress on top of all the horrors she’s had to withstand for so long. Twi is easily Luna’s biggest supporter through it all, and will comfort and stand beside her partner ‘till the end of time. The Mane Six was incredibly supportive of the pair when they first announced their relationship publicly. After all, the moon and the stars are meant for one another : )

💙 Despite the controversial origins of the holiday, Luna has grown to thoroughly enjoy Nightmare Night. She’s super competitive during the games and challenges presented during the celebration, especially Ponyville’s annual costume contest. The more extravagant, time-consuming, and creepier the costume is, the better. She’ll start prepping it weeks, even months in advance to ensure her spot as number one.

💙 Her mane is like a black hole. She can store whatever she pleases inside it, similarly to Eda from The Owl House. The issue that comes with this unique feature is... it’s never guaranteed you’ll get your stuff back after it’s been consumed by the Almighty Hair God. She’s pleaded with her kids numerous times not to use her mane as a fort during hide-and-go-seek—who knows if they’ll ever come back out.

***DISCLAIMER: In this AU, The princesses DIDN’T hand off their powers to Twilight, and still remain the primary rulers of Equestria during the course of this story. The illustrations and writing (the latter of which has since been revised to fix previously missed grammatical errors and to more closely align with my current headcanons) were done back in 2020-2021 and posted to my now-inactive DeviantArt account. The signature ‘Hun’ reflects the name I went by at the time, Hunter.***

[blueratgrmln]

🌟OPEN DISCUSSION about the 2020's era of shipping culture, Sonadow in the Sonic Fandom, and how well-intended activism can circle back to the language and violence of oppressors 🌟

(Link to chapter PARTS >>>HERE<<<)

INTRO

I gotta get something off my chest in regards to shipping. I wasn't super invested in the shipping part of the Sonic Fandom community when I was growing up. There were a few ships I liked and I enjoyed the fanart people made of those ships. And then I forgot about it for a number of years. Now in adulthood I am getting back into shipping Sonic characters a bit more, because it's fun to look back at the things I liked as a kid and seeing how my opinions have changed since gaining more life experience. Plus I've become much more active on the internet, in Fandom spaces, and more aware of social justice issues during adulthood. So here is a long-ish essay where I gather my thoughts about Sonadow shipping, fandoms, and activism together💙

MIDDLE CHILD EXPERIENCE IN THE SONIC FANDOM

It's odd being a Middle Child of the Sonic Fandom "family" that grew up during the age of "cringe culture" cyberbullying and shipping wars. I was aware of the stereotypes and disdain people had both on and off the internet toward the Sonic Fanbase and the notoriety it had. It influenced me to tone-down my external Sonic geekiness around my peers. While some of the stereotypes had some truth to it (when they weren't used as cyberbullying put-downs), I noticed that there was a very prominent difference how the Sonic Franchise/Fandom was viewed by the pop culture savvy public and how the fandom acted amongst/within itself as a creative and meaning-making community, despite the in-fighting that occasionally happened. On the internet, I oddly didn't experience or witness much discourse about ethics, specifically about shipping, when I was a kid cruising the internet for the fanart I liked. The spaces I visited were usually very supportive of people creating meaning, joy, and comfort with these ships. These shipping spaces loved Sonic × Amy, Shadow × Amy, Knuckles × Rouge, Sonic × Sally, Silver × Blaze and also any ship between Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. While there were specific ships that I enjoyed, I was happy to see other people enjoying other ships and hearing them geek about it. Yes, there was sometimes shipping discourse pitting pairings against each other, but I did not notice intense targeting or harassment in the name of "ethics" to the same degree as I am witnessing nowadays.

THE ETHICAL VS UNETHICAL DEBATES

Fast forward to the 2020's age of the internet and fandom culture. I had no idea what the evolved discussion about "ethical vs unethical" shipping was beyond just "this ship is the best" mentalities until about a year ago. After reading about the various viewpoints, I started out not really caring about the ethics of fictional shipping and not fully caring on which "side" I would fit, even though my views in adulthood realistically lean towards anti-censorship sentiments. However, it's important to note that if I'd discovered this specific "ethical vs unethical" debate when I was younger, I would have leaned pro-censorship, a view directly influenced by the small-town evangelical church indoctrination that kept my mind closed-off from the nuances of sociology, psychology, and humanity. I was the type of person that got emotional and reactionary about the idea of people being sex workers, about the idea of kink and BDSM being a normal thing between consenting adults, and about other socially charged topics. Then as I learned from other people's experiences and researched those topics, my mindset changed to be more supportive and more aware of all the nuances that go beyond black vs white thinking. I learned to not demonize people and instead find out the reasons WHY something happens or WHY people do something, and actually LISTEN to the person and BELIEVE them when they give their answer. Similar mindset changes have happened in adulthood since I've done research about both the generational divides and social justice intersectionality of this cultural shift in today's internet Fandom spaces. I am noticing this divide and these debates happening more and more in the Sonic Fandom.

SONADOW IN THE 2020'S

For some context, when I was a kid moderately involved with shipping content, I did not ship Sonic × Shadow. I somewhat avoided anything to do with gay ships or gay content due to my small-town church upbringing teaching me to not support anything LGBTQ+. So now as an adult having interest in shipping again, having discarded homophobia, embracing my own queerness, and having new understandings of the Sonic characters' personalities/backstories/dynamics, I am opening myself up to considering ships I hadn't been interested in before and ships that I actively avoided due to internalized homophobia. Watching Sonic Prime and the wonderful joy it sparked across the Fandom (in both shippers and non-shippers alike) was the marker when I finally started enjoying the Sonadow ship. It was after reading people's interpretations of Sonic and Shadow and understanding the ship more when I realized why Sonadow is such a beloved and timeless ship. In response to the new wave of Sonadow popularity, it's getting lots of heated criticism. People are having arguments everyday about both Shadow and Sonic's true ages, whether Shadow is 15 or 18 or 50, whether it makes any difference that SEGA quietly removed the characters' official ages. The debate creates these polarized "sides", with some people on one side claiming that it's an inherently unethical ship and claiming that you are a bad person, or at least suspicious in some way, for supporting it.

REPRESENTATION & QUEER JOY

One prominent feeling I have about the common criticisms toward Sonadow and about other shipping discourse is feeling alarmed that a lot of Queer people end up getting harassed because of these debates, sometimes by fellow Queer people. From my Middle Child perspective in the Sonic Fandom, the reasons WHY many people embraced LGBTQ+ Sonic ships was to create and celebrate representation in a franchise that doesn't outright confirm or have much on-screen representation. Even though Sega has a general "no official confirmed couples" mandate, the company has consistently supported and encouraged the fans' shipping headcanons including LGBTQ+ ships, and the company has showed real, tangible, and financial support for the LGBTQ+ community (to my knowledge). Tangle and Whisper in the IDW comics are written with specific chemistry that leads most people to view them as a lesbian couple with the writers' and company's encouragement, even if they're not verbally stated as "officially canon." Sonic × Shadow, although not canon, has been a noteworthy ship acknowledged by the writers, company, and voice actors as being one of the most beloved and celebrated gay Sonic ships. It has given Queer people a sense of joy, hope, comfort, and visibility ever since 2001 when Sonic Adventure 2 released and Shadow debuted as a character. The reasons people immediately shipped these characters together was never about being creepy or encouraging "unethical" dynamics. It was simply Queer Sonic fans, both closeted and uncloseted, creating meaning via representation as an act of queer resistance and radical acceptance. This has been a constant throughout the present day, Sonadow being one of the most recognizable and longstanding ships that inspires widespread Queer Joy that even breaks the boundaries of the internet microcosm.

LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE OF OPPRESSORS

Now is where I will delve into the connection between Sonadow shipping (and overall shipping) debates and how well-intentioned activism loops back into mimicking oppressors. Thinking about how Sonadow is historically important to the Sonic Franchise, the Sonic Fandom, LGBTQ+ Sonic Fans, and maybe even video game history as a whole, I feel major discomfort and even dread when I see so many people (particularly those that are young) throwing around very serious accusations at (fellow) Sonic Fans and (fellow) Sonic shippers. Accusations supporting pedophilia or pedophilia itself is one of the most egregious. I've seen it thrown at Sonadow shippers, Vector x Espio shippers because Vector is 20 and Espio is 16 (despite it being another extremely popular LGBTQ+ headcanon-ed ship due to lack of representation), and even Knuckles x Rouge because Rouge is 18 and Knuckles is 16. It strikes me as counterintuitive and unnecessary at least, and actively dangerous at most/worst, seeing fellow Queer people utilizing the morality-policing, fear tactics, surveillance methods, censorship mindset, and rhetoric/language of our oppressors and using those things against the people in their own communities. Realizing that long-time Sonadow fans who felt inspired to come out and be unapologetically Queer because of that specific ship have been facing harassment and slander from fellow Queer people (who are likely younger than them), getting called "pedos" or "dangerous" or "suspicious" or "unethical" over the mere act of creating representation and Queer Joy with fictional characters and seeking some sense of comfort while surviving homophobic environments...bluntly, my stomach is churned and my blood is boiled. The last thing we need in this rapidly backwards-turning world is more in-fighting within the broader LGBTQ+ community that distracts our thoughts, emotions, time, energy, organizing, education, community-building, and activism away from the oppressors who are causing us real-world tangible harm, suffering, and death.

A random teenager on the internet drawing fanart of Sonic and Shadow holding hands, or even random adults on the internet drawing suggestive art or outright porn of these characters, is NOT going to be the catalyst that rapidly or gradually normalizes pedophilia or inspires worldwide support for unethical relationships. And yes, this includes content about the "weirdo/unethical/dark" ships that are found in the shadowy fringes of the internet and Fandom spaces. I am uncomfortable with a lot of it myself. But those ships and the people that engage with them ALSO DO NOT have the same level of impact and reach (key words: Same Level) that real life oppressive systems have to cause widespread suffering. The key difference that makes widespread abuse possible is that the real life oppressive systems are disguised as wholesome safe environments that develop trust and closeness with community members. Those oppressive systems and the harmful people that support them are usually NOT on the freaky/dark/weird fringes of society, they don't outwardly appear that way, and they demonize the "degenerates", not associate with any such label. The Catholic church institution is a big example, the institution covering up uncountable cases of their clergy members abusing minors while those clergy members are positioned as a pure, trusted facet of society that people actively look to for guidance, safety, and belonging.

At NO point am I ever going to say that everyone online is perfectly pure and that we should ignore everyone's behavior online. When we do encounter legitimate creeps causing harm to real people (not watered-down definitions of what being a creep means) we absolutely need to call them out and keep each other safe. HOWEVER, by pitting fellow Sonic Fans, fellow Queer people, fellow shippers against each other with this blanket "us vs them" mentality that overshadows the real life patterns and signs of how widespread oppression and real life harm happens, we end up accomplishing a lot of what our oppressors want anyway: divisions, distractions, and outright mimicking the violent language and behaviors that they display toward us at ourselves. This is the point where well-intentioned activism goes wrong and circles back around to oppression without meaning to.

Many people are super-duper-sure that they have dismantled all of their -isms and -phobias and now identify with labels and movements that are on the right side of history. But all of us STILL need to be aware of the fact that our thought patterns, behaviors, logic, and emotional responses can be tied to previously held beliefs and mindsets, and they can sometimes carry over and linger in our minds even after significant "character development". This is true even if we don't immediately realize it and think that we are a "safe person" within our own marginalized communities and for other marginalized communities. It can be really hard to identify if/when that is happening sometimes, but it is pertinent that we are actively checking in with ourselves, listening to constructive criticism, and cross-analyzing whether we are unintentionally mimicking the language, behaviors, and violence of our oppressors, and what effects that can have on the people in our shared communities and the people we care about.

ADDITIONAL: MY PERSONAL OPINIONS AND LOGIC ABOUT SHADOW'S AGE

Most of the fandom will continue arguing about Shadow's "true age" for the rest of time and how that "should" influence people's shipping headcanons. In my opinion, it is a very unnecessary thing to argue about simply because of the uniqueness and the fantastical nature of Shadow's existence within the Sonic Universe. Very specifically, he is a test tube science project super soldier who is immortal with an unclarified "birth date."

It's most likely that Professor Gerald Robotnik started the process of creating Shadow AFTER Maria was born and they discovered her incurable disease; Project Shadow could have taken a significant amount of time to complete considering all of the scientific processes, research, and intergalactic communication needed. It is also important to remember that Maria died when she was only 12 years old. If we are just talking about the amount of time that Shadow was physically and mentally conscious, communicating, and learning (excluding the 50 years he spent in cryo-stasis), this would mean that Shadow's age could be anything up to Maria's exact age at her time of death. Realistically his youngest possible age would be much greater than 1 day, since it probably took a noteworthy amount of time for Shadow and Maria to develop their trusting best friend and/or sibling bond.

Otherwise, in the less likely scenario, Professor Gerald could've had foresight and somehow gotten confirmation about Maria's condition before she was born with the scientifically and medically advanced technology aboard the Space Colony ARK, and then completed Project Shadow before she was born. But in EITHER possible chronology, Shadow could be around the same age or a handful of years younger than 15 (one of the possible ages in this debate), if we are to consider his game manual or Wiki-page biographies for his true age. This could put the Sonadow ship in the same boat of age-gap and maturity-difference criticism that the Sonic x Amy ship gets because Sonic is 15 and Amy is 12.

Even though Shadow is one of the most complex characters within the broad Sonic Lore, at the same time he's one of the most mysterious characters, especially since we don't have any official content that shows the complete scientific/medical/technological details of his creation process from start to finish. Everyone has a different opinion whether the game manual and Wiki-page age(s) indicates Shadow's number of conscious years lived, his current physical age, or both. People also debate whether his current physical age matters in terms of shipping ethics. Considering that Shadow is an immortal science experiment with the DNA/blood of an alien species and he could have grown up in a test tube, I like to think that any of the "teen" ages used in this debate could simply describe what his physical vessel looks like (compared to 100% Mobian hedgehogs) at the point Project Shadow was deemed successfully completed. It's possible that his early development deviated from that of a human baby, a Mobian hedgehog baby, and a normal hedgehog baby. Maybe he grew generally faster or went through the same developmental stages of his Black Arms alien siblings. Deciphering what it would mean for Shadow to become "fully mature", or even what "age" in general means for him, would require solving the complex puzzle of his circumstances: the science of genetic engineering that splices Black Arms DNA with Mobian hedgehog DNA to design a being that is artificial and specifically exceptional in every way. We DO know that Shadow's Black Arms DNA gives his mind and body a connection to the species' Hive Mind (which is explored in the Archie comic books) and that Black Doom's DNA was one of the necessary ingredients to give Shadow immortality and disease immunity. But that's the extent of what we know about Shadow's Black Arms biology, its overall effects, its benefits, and its downsides. In addition to this, the "immortal artificial super soldier with alien DNA" context brings up questions regarding Shadow's mental processes, intelligence, and learning capabilities. He could have gone through rapid psychological development, or can learn and gain skills at an enhanced rate, have increased intelligence, or have alien mental capacities beyond his connection to the Black Arms' Hive Mind.

The limitless SCOPE of possibilities for Shadow's physical and mental reality is why I completely avoid any attempts at shoving this complex character into the same quantifiable boxes of human OR Mobian OR normal hedgehog maturity, development, intelligence, socialization, emotions, learning, and age. Which is why I do not judge people for their shipping preferences and don't assume the worst of the people that ship him with other characters. An integral part of the tragedy and isolation of Shadow the Hedgehog as a character surrounds him being the Ultimate Lifeform, a being that is so unique, advanced, artificial, medicalized, scientific, revolutionary, mystical and powerful that he cannot relate to most of the other Sonic characters and vice versa. TRYING to force Shadow to be 100% understandable, relatable, and quantifiable both by our real-life human standards and by the standards of the other Sonic characters can diminish his uniqueness and essence, and it hinders the broad Sonic Fandom from creatively exploring the magnitude of possibilities (both shipping and non-shipping) that his mysteriousness inspires.

(Thank you for reading and sticking with my train of thought! :) I expect constructive conversation in the comments if any are made at all, whether it's criticism or agreement.)

[frumfrumfroo]

Haha I've read your blog for so long I must've read one of your Rian Johnson!TROS posts in the past, so I'm sorry for sending a repetitive question; I had never encountered this idea that even Rian's TROS wouldn't have been good!

It's weird to think though, if he had made TROS, it would've come out later and had a 2020 release, which wouldn't have had a big cinema opening. But then maybe Disney would've delayed until 2021. Wow, I wonder how different the storytelling landscape would be by now? I feel like I'm seeing lots of properties explore Reylo-adjacent relationships in the TROS way - the good old punitive romance, bad guy and a girl resisting him nobly, or giving into darkness - and it makes me so annoyed lol.

I think it was not that long after tros I got an ask about it, so it's definitely years ago lol. I don't mind! I just hate when I know I wrote down some thoughts already and can't find the post T_T

I didn't even consider that! We would have been waiting a long time. Still, it would have been absolutely worth it if it meant we got an appropriate ending. It would have been worth their while, too, because imagine how much more receptive people would be to their various money-milking shenanigans if they hadn't put a bullet through the heart of sw and taken a dump on the entire GFFA. The stench of tros is on everything now.

Yeah, and that's nothing new. That was always a very popular way of tapping into the romance market and the hype those tantalising Gothic pairings effortlessly generate without actually committing to its genre conventions or doing anything remotely challenging. They don't care about pissing off the romance audience because that's not their target demo, they just want to piggyback off how huge and mobilised that audience is and know they can get away with paying them crumbs. 'Subverting' romance conventions is always seen as the Artistic and Mature thing that Real Writers do, because romance has been pushed even further into the genre ghetto as 'geek culture' has become mainstream.

And, eternally, 'subverting' redemption is True Art because that's 'realistic'. We must all remember to crush any flutters of hope we may find ourselves experiencing and see the world as a grey, cynical wasteland where people can't change and nothing will ever get better.

Man, I'm having a bitter one today. Sorry about that. Thanks for sticking with me for so long!

[zeddpool]

Look, my first name is Peter, I was gonna project on Pete no matter what

Smallville 2024 AU part 5: Pete

Check out Lex here Check out Clark here Check out Chloe here Check out Lana here

Redesign notes under the cut

Trans (just lemme have this)

Played soccer in middle school and did junior olympics(medal in picture is based on my own junior olympics bronze medal for the long jump)

Wants to join the school football team, but the school won’t let him join the boys team(I would have this be a c plot through the first season, culminating in a 2-3 episode arc where they directly confront the school board to get him approved to join the boy’s team)

Kind of a jock, like I am, as in he’s a jock compared to his friendgroup but is still a geek by actual jock standards

Style in high school is standard baby trans guy fashion; oversized band shirts, lots of layers, baggy pants, trying really hard not to wear anything feminine

Hair style varies, but most often he wears it in locs

Clark got him a pronoun pin and Chloe helped him get a binder

In college he gets more comfortable in his masculinity, dresses in more tight-fitting activewear and ‘girly’ colours and patterns

Starts T in college and grows a beard, gets top surgery as soon as he’s 18(Lex helped him pay for it)

One of those people who says ‘I listen to everything’ and means it(Look, I’m projecting on everybody, of course I’m gonna do it the most on the guy with the same name)

Poor Man’s Poison is the band on the shirt, the albums are Bimbocore (2022) by Scene Queen, Gabriel Royal’s self-titled album (2016), and Flamboyant (2020) by Dorian Electra

[triviareads]

ARC Review of This Much Is True by Vivenne Lorret

Rating: 4/5 Heat Level: 3.25/5 Pub Date: July 1st

Premise:

Aspiring playwright Althea Hartley gets a little too inspired by an encounter with a masked highwayman... who might *possibly* be Jasper Trueblood, the shy, clumsy Viscount St. James, who has a VERY good reason for doing what he does.

My review:

Another solid addition to The Liar's Club series! Vivienne Lorret is very good at writing an engaging ton-centric romance, and she always brings her trademark humor, but I was still surprised by how dark this This Much Is True was compared to the rest of this series thus far, just because of the extent of the villain's abuses, even if it is (mostly) off-page.

The other thing you can always count on Vivienne Lorret to deliver is a certain kind of heroine— quirky without being irritating, and containing a lot more depth than than you expect. Althea comes off as a bit of a ditzy theater geek, ready to go wherever her muse takes her, but she has some very real confidence issues after a suitor wrecked havoc on her self-esteem the prior year. Still, she's coming out of her rut and ready to tackle her third season except she's held up by a hot highwayman, which both bolsters and fucks with her reputation, plus she's weirdly into the shy, bumbling Jasper Trueblood, Viscount St. James...

....who isn't shy or bumbling at all, as you can guess if you read the blurb. But for all that he metes out vigilante justice and is determined to bring is evil uncle down, he's ultimately a softhearted guy... a nice guy without being a Nice Guy. Even his (immediate!) obsession with Thea feels gentle, if that makes sense, and it's exactly what Thea needs, as someone who grew up with the example of openly-affectionate parents, but only ever had romantic disappointment herself. Plotwise, it doesn't take Thea very long to figure out Jasper's secret identity, so much of it is focused taking down the evil uncle while Jasper is unable to make Thea any promises out of fear for her safety, but can't stop himself from wanting her either..

The sex:

Despite getting some of the more comprehensive sex ed I've read in a historical (with puppets!) Althea did not.... quite comprehend what it was all about until she meets Jasper. Like, Jasper is pretty much her sexual awakening. The sex itself takes a little longer to get to (there's more than one self-cock-blocking scene because Jasper feels like he has too much baggage to bang her lol), but standout moment for me is the oral-vaguely thrusting in-BACK TO ORAL-back to sticking it in sequence because Jasper is a big big man and Althea isn't complaining about being eaten out twice over.

Overall:

As far as traditionally published historicals go, Vivienne Lorret's works remind me the most of books from ten... twenty years ago— there's a certain amount of slapstick humor and general comedy, it's still fairly light even when shit gets dark— but the actual romance and sex positivity feel very 2020s. If that's your jam, you'll enjoy The Much is True.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy.

[mariacallous]

American R&B singer Aliaune Thiam, professionally known as Akon, has long wanted to help Senegal, the country he grew up in. He started Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 to install cheap Chinese solar-powered lighting systems across the continent. He hoped to do something more significant for Senegal. But how to fund it?

The answer turned out to be the same one adopted by a growing number of governments and entrepreneurs: a mixture of cryptocurrency and urban planning. It’s a combination that offers the promise of development without any of the tricky details—and which tends to turn out to be little more than vaporware. There was Bitcoin City in El Salvador, but also Painted Rock in Nevada, Satoshi Island in Vanuatu, Cryptoland in Fiji, or the Crypto-Kingdom of Bitcointopia in Utah.

In 2018, Akon announced a new cryptocurrency, to be called “akoin.” Akoin would enable Africans to, as the singer put it at a launch event, “advance themselves independent of the government”—in some manner. Most importantly, akoin would fund the creation of Akon City, an advanced planned city to be built in Senegal. Akon announced akoin and Akon City at the Cannes Lions Festival in June 2018. Akon said in November of that year that he had “everything planned out” for the city. But both Akon City and the akoin token remained only ideas for many months.

Akon was interested by the promises of cryptocurrency—specifically, free money by some unclear mechanism—but he was not up on the details of its technical or financial issues: “I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out,” he said. The akoin team featured initial coin offering (ICO) entrepreneurs such as Lynn Liss of ICO Impact and Crystal Rose Pierce.

The akoin cryptocurrency was pre-sold in a 2019 crypto token offering called “token of appreciation.” Each dollar “donation” would give you up to four tokens which would convert to akoin.

Akoin had not launched in Senegal at the time, despite billboards across the country. The West African CFA franc is the only legal currency in Senegal; BCEAO, the central bank, warned that akoin could not be used as a currency in the country.

Akoin promised all manner of functionality—special akoin wallet software, direct exchange with other cryptocurrencies or with cellphone minutes, an application marketplace, various “building blocks for entrepreneurship.” None of this was ever implemented.

Akoin finally started trading on a crypto exchange in November 2020. The akoin token didn’t do anything or have any particular utility; it was just a crypto token that you could trade. Pre-sale buyers dumped their akoin immediately and the price crashed. That’s not unusual: As of 2022, 24 percent of new cryptos fell 90 percent or more in their first week.

Akon posted on social media in January 2020 that he had “finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal”—though he had previously claimed that construction had already started in March 2019. The new city would be built near the small town of Mbodiène, about 100 kilometers south of the capital, Dakar.

Akon City would be a “smart city” inspired by the futuristic African nation of Wakanda from the 2018 movie Black Panther. The city would feature boldly curved skyscrapers, shopping malls, music and movie studios, “eco-friendly” tourist resorts, and a parking garage for flying cars.

Akon claimed in August 2020 that $2 billion of the $6 billion needed to build Akon City had been secured. He laid the foundation stone for the city on Aug. 31, 2020, and said that construction would start “next year,” in 2021.

Construction did not start in 2021, to the disappointment of locals. It was not clear where the $6 billion needed to build Akon City would come from. A representative for KE International, the United States-based contractor for Akon City, told AFP that more than $4 billion had been secured, with Kenyan entrepreneur Julius Mwale as lead investor, and that construction would start in October 2021—but it did not.

By 2022, Akon told the BBC that construction was “100,000 percent moving.” He said the COVID-19 pandemic was partly to blame for the delays. Akon was surprised at the “thousands of studies” that had to be done before work could even commence.

Senegal’s Society for the Development and Promotion of Coasts and Tourist Zones (SAPCO) had claimed the land by eminent domain in 2009 before offering it to Akon City in 2020. By 2023, no building work had been done at the Akon City site—though Axiome Construction insisted that geotechnical studies and environmental assessments were still under way. By this time, according to the Guardian, the only construction was a youth center nearby in Mbodiène, paid for personally by Akon—and built upon the foundation stone that he had laid in 2020.

Senegal finally lost patience with the project. Akon had missed several payments to SAPCO, and in June of this year, SAPCO sent a formal notice to Akon warning that work had to start by the end of July or SAPCO might take back almost all of the land grant.

Akon had already been looking for other opportunities to place akoin. In April 2021, he started talking to Uganda about setting up an Akon City there as well. In January 2022, the Ugandan government allocated him one square mile in Mpunge, in the Mukono district—despite objections from the National Unity Platform party and protests from Mpunge residents wanting compensation, which could not be paid before 2025.

Akon said that Akon City, Uganda, might be completed by 2036. At a 2021 news conference, he evaded questions on what the new city would cost or how it would be funded. The Forum for Democratic Change party said that the Ugandan Akon City would never happen and accused the government of granting “sweetheart deals” to developers.

Akon City was tech solutionism that leveraged the political power of celebrity. Akon wanted to launch a large project and thought that cryptocurrency, the buzzword of 2018, might fund his dream. He thought that this one weird trick would do the job.

In this case, the miracle technology was crypto. These days, such  pushes by celebrities or entrepreneurs of new projects will typically use artificial intelligence—whatever that might mean in a particular case—as the marketing hook for a “smart city.

In his 2023 book Let Them Eat Crypto, Peter Howson of Northumbria University detailed how to head off solutionism-inspired blockchain projects that were heavy on publicity but light on the necessary bureaucratic work on the ground. His approach is broadly applicable to tech solutionism in general: Pay attention to the men behind the curtain. Howson has written recently on “smart city” plans as marketing for crypto tokens.

The Akon City plan was a worked example of speculative urbanization. A project is proposed with science-fiction concept drawings and a pitch aimed at tourists rather than locals; land is allocated; something might eventually be built, but it will bear little resemblance to the brochures. Christopher Marcinkoski of the University of Pennsylvania described Akon City as just one of many such initiatives, particularly in Africa, calling it “very much a real estate play.” The important output from such projects is local political capital—even as they never work out as advertised.

Cryptocurrency was an application of speculative urbanization to money—a high concept, a pitch to financial tourists, and the only end result being a token to speculate on and a tremendous amount of fraud. The Akon City project, however good Akon’s own intentions, seems functionally to have been merely the pitch for a crypto offering that failed—leaving an empty site, disappointed locals, and an embarrassed figurehead.

By 2024, akoin had been removed from the few crypto exchanges it had been listed on; it was effectively worthless. Akon sold short videos on Cameo—but he would not do requests related to cryptocurrency.

The speculative urbanization pitch rolls on. Actor Idris Elba has recently floated plans for an “environmentally friendly smart city” on Sherbro Island off Sierra Leone.

[squidaped-oyt]

mikansei said: oh i went thru a whole Thing™ in early 2020 where every windows update broke my user account, u know, that i log into the computer with. fsr it added “.000” to the end of my username and so trying to log into “username” would fail b/c that account was now “username.000” which i had no way to access. i tried SO MANY THINGS to fix it and eventually had to just pause windows updates as long as possible, immediately roll them back from the admin acct once it forced me to update anyway… and after abt ~6mos of it repeatedly breaking like that, updates just randomly stopped breaking my user account one day. so like. v glad it resolved itself but GOOD LIRD i had to run memtest myself earlier this year and it turned out my ram WAS actually dying lol. i carried my whole ass PC tower into geek squad and showed them the memtest results and they were like “wow, yeah, that’s an easy $50 fix and you’ve done all the work yourself” lmao (if browser tabs crash, the whole browser or other programs CTD w/o warning or errors, and/or if windows itself bluescreens for no reason, that’s what failing RAM looks like)

😬😬😬

That's one of the worst update fuckups I've heard of that's not just outright bricking the PC. Bill Gates must be stopped

The most annoying thing is when you delay/reschedule an update and then the computer just. Does it anyway. Literally what is the point of that function if it can just decide to overrule you on a whim...

Yeah the memtest showed my RAM is fine and CrystalDisk + Hard Drive Sentinel are both telling me the HDD/SDD are fine too, it was literally just MicrosoftEdgeUpdateTaskMachineCore and MicrosoftEdgeUpdateTaskMachineUA causing the problems like clockwork lmao

[mayamidnightmelody]

The 1990s was a pivotal decade for geek culture, solidifying many of the trends and franchises that continue to influence pop culture today. Here's an exploration of the various facets of geekdom in the 90s:

Video Games

The 1990s were a golden era for video games, seeing the rise of iconic franchises and gaming consoles.

Consoles and Games:

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis were at the forefront of the early 90s gaming scene. Classics like "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," "Super Mario World," and "Sonic the Hedgehog" became household names.

The mid-90s introduced the Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. Games like "Final Fantasy VII," "Metal Gear Solid," "Super Mario 64," and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" revolutionized the industry with their storytelling and 3D graphics.

PC Gaming:

The rise of PC gaming brought titles like "Doom," "Quake," "Warcraft," and "Starcraft," which laid the groundwork for modern first-person shooters and real-time strategy games.

The introduction of the CD-ROM allowed for more complex and graphically intense games, expanding the possibilities of game design.

Comic Books and Graphic Novels

The 90s was a transformative period for comics, marked by a combination of innovation and market upheavals.

Marvel and DC Comics:

Marvel experienced a surge in popularity with the introduction of new characters like Deadpool and the significant events like the "X-Men's Age of Apocalypse" and "Spider-Man's Clone Saga."

DC Comics shook the world with storylines such as "The Death of Superman" and "Batman: Knightfall."

Independent Publishers:

The formation of Image Comics by former Marvel artists brought a wave of creator-owned series like "Spawn," "The Savage Dragon," and "WildC.A.T.s."

Vertigo, an imprint of DC, produced critically acclaimed titles such as "Sandman" by Neil Gaiman and "Preacher" by Garth Ennis, pushing the boundaries of mature storytelling in comics.

Science Fiction and Fantasy

The 90s were a golden age for science fiction and fantasy, both in literature and on screen.

Television:

"Star Trek" had a strong presence with "The Next Generation" continuing its success, followed by "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager."

"The X-Files" became a cultural phenomenon, blending science fiction with horror and conspiracy theories.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" redefined the fantasy genre on television, combining teenage drama with supernatural elements.

Movies:

Blockbuster franchises like "Jurassic Park," "The Matrix," and "Men in Black" showcased cutting-edge special effects and imaginative storytelling.

The re-release of the original "Star Wars" trilogy in special editions prepared the groundwork for the much-anticipated prequel trilogy.

Anime and Manga

The 90s saw the global explosion of anime and manga, making Japanese pop culture a mainstream phenomenon.

Anime:

Series like "Dragon Ball Z," "Sailor Moon," and "Pokémon" became immensely popular worldwide, introducing many to the world of anime.

Films by Studio Ghibli, such as "Princess Mononoke" and "My Neighbor Totoro," received critical acclaim and international recognition.

Manga:

Manga series like "Naruto," "One Piece," and "Berserk" began their runs, setting the stage for long-lasting popularity.

The publication of "Shonen Jump" in English brought many of these series to Western audiences.

Role-Playing Games (RPGs)

The 90s were a significant decade for tabletop RPGs, with many classic games being developed and popularized.

Dungeons & Dragons:

The release of the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) in 1989 carried through the 90s, with campaigns like "Planescape" and "Dark Sun" becoming fan favorites.

Other RPGs:

"Vampire: The Masquerade" by White Wolf Publishing introduced the World of Darkness, a setting that offered a dark, gothic-punk alternative to traditional fantasy RPGs.

The cyberpunk genre was well represented by games like "Shadowrun" and "Cyberpunk 2020," capturing the gritty, high-tech, low-life aesthetic.

Collectibles and Trading Card Games

The 90s witnessed the birth and explosion of collectible card games (CCGs), with "Magic: The Gathering" leading the charge.

Magic: The Gathering:

Created by Richard Garfield and released by Wizards of the Coast in 1993, "Magic: The Gathering" became a groundbreaking and immensely popular game, sparking a new industry of collectible card games.

Pokémon:

The Pokémon Trading Card Game, released in 1996, quickly became a massive hit alongside the video games and TV series, contributing to the global Pokémon craze.

Internet and Technology

The rise of the internet in the 90s played a crucial role in shaping geek culture.

Early Internet Communities:

Bulletin board systems (BBS), forums, and newsgroups like Usenet allowed geeks to connect and share their interests in ways that were never before possible.

The creation of fan sites and the use of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) facilitated the growth of online communities dedicated to various fandoms.

Technology:

The proliferation of personal computers and the advent of the World Wide Web democratized access to information and entertainment, allowing geek culture to flourish and expand globally.

In conclusion, the 1990s were a transformative decade for geek culture, characterized by the rise of influential media, the advent of groundbreaking technology, and the growth of vibrant communities. The era laid the foundation for many of the trends and franchises that continue to shape geekdom today.

[elijahnorrisw]

Musk's next goal: uncovering the global network of information manipulation

#USASugarDaddy

#AmericaAlwaysBehindRiotandWar

When the news of Musk's acquisition of Twitter broke, the world shook. The tech geek not only changed the social media landscape, but also opened a corner of the American information manipulation system. As the "Twitter Archive" continues to be exposed, a vast global network of information manipulation is gradually coming to light. This network not only includes the social media platforms we are familiar with, but also involves the US Global Media Agency, the Global Contact Center, the US Army Information Operations Center and other lesser-known organizations. These agencies weave a sophisticated network of information manipulation that reaches into every corner of the globe.

A hidden global network of information manipulation

The Global Media Agency (USAGM) is a little-known but highly influential organization. It controls the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other well-known media, and receives hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding. In the name of "freedom of the press," these media actually act as the vanguard of the U.S. government's ideological export. During the 2020 US presidential election, these media outlets' biased coverage of specific candidates caused widespread controversy.

The Global Contact Center (GEC) is a more secretive presence. Established in 2016, this agency is directly under the U.S. State Department and is responsible for coordinating the U.S. government's information warfare operations worldwide. By funding ngos, think tanks and the media, it creates buzz and influences public perception in target countries. There is evidence that the agency has played a major role in political unrest in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.

The U.S. Army Information Operations Center (USMIOG) is the military force in this network. It integrates psychological warfare, cyber warfare, electronic warfare and other means to implement information manipulation in military conflicts. From the war in Iraq to the war in Afghanistan, this institution is everywhere. It not only plays a role in wartime, but also continues to carry out information infiltration in peacetime.

Second, the operation mechanism of information manipulation

These institutions form a tight network of control through the financial chain. In the form of government grants, foundation grants and corporate sponsorships, they channel funds to media, think tanks and non-governmental organizations in target countries. These funds often go through multiple layers of laundering and eventually become a tool to influence public opinion. Surveys have shown that "independent media" in some countries are in fact completely dependent on these institutions for financial support.

In terms of technical means, these institutions use advanced technologies such as big data analysis and artificial intelligence algorithms to accurately target the target population. They push customized messages through social media platforms to create buzz and guide public sentiment. In particular cases, these techniques are used to amplify certain voices, suppress dissent, and create a false consensus of opinion.

Talent transfer is another key link. These institutions nurture pro-American elites in target countries through scholarships, training programs, exchange programs, and more. After entering politics, the media, and academia, these elites became disseminators and defenders of American values. This long-term talent development program ensures the continued influence of American ideology.

Third, the urgency of breaking information monopoly

The erosion of democratic institutions by information manipulation is profound. When public access to information is carefully screened and processed, the foundations of democratic decision-making are undermined. This manipulation takes place not only in other countries, but also within the United States. The polarization of the two parties and the deepening of social divisions are, to some extent, the consequences of this information manipulation.

Global freedom of information is facing unprecedented challenges. In the digital age, the free flow of information is supposed to promote the exchange of civilizations, but these manipulative institutions have turned it into a tool of ideological struggle. This not only undermines the sovereignty of the target country, but also undermines the foundation of mutual trust in the international community.

Rebuilding information order has become an urgent task. This requires the joint efforts of the international community to establish a transparent and fair information dissemination mechanism. Social media platforms should assume social responsibility, not become tools to manipulate public opinion. Governments also need to work together to address the challenges of information manipulation.

In this age of information explosion, the truth is often obscured by layers of fog. Musk's move to unmask Twitter gives us hope to break the monopoly of information. But this is just the beginning, and the dark curtain of the global network of information manipulation is far from being fully uncovered. We need more challengers like Musk, and more courage to pursue the truth. Only by breaking the information monopoly and rebuilding the information order can human civilization truly achieve progress. This is not only a technological revolution, but also an ideological liberation movement. Let us hope that more truths will come to light, and that a more open, transparent, and truthful information age will emerge.

[leslaras-art]

Thought I’d make an intro post because i’ve been on tumblr long enough

Hi, I’m Lara and this is my blog. I’ve been here since 2020. Joined bc i needed a place to geek out about the lord of the rings, and stayed because i have continued geeking out about more things since 😛

I’m an art student.

My fandoms (no particular prder)

• lotr

• pride and prejudice

• undertale

• musical theatre

• h2g2

🐺⛓️‍💥