#issue 04 part 2

[valenzinejjh]

IT'S TIME!!!!✨ The new issue of #ValenZine is here, and it's a big one! Dive into everything, from Jaehyun's solo debut to his first steps as a movie actor. Plus, discover surprise articles from oceanairstream and teddyangeles127 (on X)—and so much more! This issue is packed with love, dedication, and hard work. We can't wait for you to enjoy it!💖 . · ˚✧ This is PART 2, please don't forget to check PART 1✧˚ · . 🔗: tinyurl.com/flip-v-01-i-04-eng

[kazutteoks]

GO FOR IT! 𝜗𝜚 ; masterlist

the one were heeseung and you have been rivals since you started hogwarts, and only takes one event that will turn your world upside down to realize what heeseung's presence in your life truly means for you. you have to do something! you just have to go for it!

pairing: ravenclaw prefect!lee heeseung x ravenclaw prefect f!reader

content: harry potter au , social media au , written parts , rivals to friends to lovers , bickering , friendly rivalry , (something i consider)humor , a tiny bit of angst (school pressure, expectations, fear of failure, yk typical of ravenclaws) , drama lots of drama , peeves mentioned (a lot) , heeseung is a great emotional support , reader is called snow for funsies , reader last name is ashbourne , heeseung is down bad but he knows how to hide it very well , tbh it's just heeseung and reader babysitting the ravenclaws and their friends while preparing to be head boy and head girl of hogwarts , but actually there's a plot , eventually reader is so down bad (as she should) , he fell first but she fell painfully harder , and that's it, that's all.

featuring: the rest of enhypen, bts jungkook and taehyung, nct 127 doyoung, johnny and yuta, ateez seonghwa, yunho, yeosang and san, njz hyein, boynextdoor taesan, txt soobin and beomgyu, p1harmony keeho, zerobaseone gyuvin, hanbin and yujin, riize anton, ive wonyoung, aespa karina, illit yunah and wonhee.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⋆. 𐙚 ˚ - read more undercut! ˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ ₊

warnings: this is the beginning of a series i've decided to call enha-gwarts (so original i love myself sm /pat pat), timestamps and dates are not relevant so please ignore it, minecraft references cz ima freak, lots of harry potter world references, lots of swearing, mention of insecurities, anxiety, self-sabotaging thoughts, kms/kys jokes, threat jokes(?, daddy issues jokes idk, modern hogwarts, nothing has really sense i swear it's not that deep believe me (😔🙏🏻), english is NOT my first language, I'm still learning, please excuse any mistakes or nonsenses! lmk if i miss something!

updates: monday , thursday , saturday

start date: 2025/04/19

end date: tba!

༺ ⚝ ; taglist is open!

a/n: lately i've been reading a lot of enhypen hp!au, and after rewatching the harry potter saga last week i really needed to make my own, hope everyone likes my little baby.💗

PROFILES:

0A. purebloods and daddy issues

0B. hogwarts boyband

0C. ravenclaw coven

0D. sides

CHAPTERS:

1. yuta's favourite student

2. i am a supporter

3. you can laugh, but you will cry

4. you were what

4.1 the sleeping charm incident

5. first hw with....

6. oh...

7. you two need to talk

8. coven meeting

9. kicking my feet, twirling my hair

10. come get your brat kid

11. pookie is missing

12. and the drama begins

12.1 worry about it later

13. winter break is over

14. idk what's wrong with me

15. you just have to believe in yourself

16. calm before the storm

17. you think?

18. year is over and we're still the same (1.09k wc)

19. literally flabbergasted

20. the storm (0.5k wc)

21. i failed

22. life looks different from here

23. something weird

24. it's time

25. we're here to help

26. three times i really noticed you before i realized (3.9k wc)

27. first things first

28. take what belongs to u (5.32k wc)

29. muggle date

30. our tradition

31. fulltime professors, midtime cupids

32.

33.

34.

35.

mtba!

❗ this is a work of mere fiction, the characters attitudes do not reflect at all the artist's personality here mentioned

© kazutteoks 2025.

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

do you have a masterlist?

i do now 👉👉

👇

nsfw content is marked per post.

everything mine | desktop only: everything mine but chronological

stories snippets everything Gaz everything Soap everything Ghost everything Price everything multi-141 and poly 141 everything Alejandro everything KorTac everything Hesh and Keegan tag games/ask games

---series masterlists---

soulmate Soap

gym partner Gaz

post-apocalypse au

shark mermen 141 AU

---other series---

pick up lines

at Gaz: looking good.

at Soap: do you have a mirror in your pants? because i can see myself in them.

at Soap: what’s the difference between an enzyme and a hormone? you can’t hear an enzyme.

at Soap: do you like magic? because I’ve got a rabbit and a wand we can use.

^ follow-up: i think you broke me. / would you rather i broke your bed instead?

at Gaz: call me bunny, cause i wanna bounce on your lap

^ follow-up in the car

messy sexual tension Gaz

01: Gaz making things sexual on purpose 02: Gaz being jealous 03: Gaz getting your lewd selfie 04: …

soft dom gaz (wholesome route)

01: falling into bed with soft dom Gaz 02: waking up next to soft dom Gaz

soft dom gaz (toxic route)

01: flirting with Gaz on the job 02: spreading rumors about dating Gaz 03: spreading rumors about dating Gaz, part 2 snippet: you like it when Gaz bullies you snippet: Gaz isn’t gonna fix you <3 snippet: Gaz “savior complex” Garrick

TF-141 and free use medic reader

free use + rough sex + group sex

Soap is pissed

Ghost and Gaz protective over you

Ghost teaching Soap how to take care of their toy

with Alejandro

first time meeting Ghost

Ghost + coworkers with benefits, part 1

Ghost + coworkers with benefits, part 2

dark courtly love au

01. a courtly love au, but unhinged 02. Ghost is a weapon

witch!reader and familiars!141 au

snippet: witch of the wilds reader shapeshifter familiars 141 tormenting witch reader, part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 + epilogue

---misc by character---

Soap

“And why would a medic need a call sign?”

Soap is a munch, but it’s not for your benefit

meeting best friend Soap at the airport (hurt/comfort)

Soap indulging himself on you

Gaz

Gaz plays tank; you play healer

snippet: Gaz bites you bites you bites you bites y

Price

smutty collab: Price impolitely asking for your attention

Nikto

Nikto and honeypot reader (a la red sparrow)

Hesh

offering to help Hesh out with his virginity

Keegan

snippet: let me divorce you

snippet: ex-husband keegan

Captain MacTavish

treating you like an unruly kitten

^ soft counterpart: when you keep fighting him anyway

multi

snippet: thinkin about a reader who is a people-pleaser in bed (with TF141)

snippet: people-pleaser reader + Horangi (+ KorTac)

snippet: TF141’s reactions to “can you get this thing off the top shelf for me?”

snippet: TF141’s reactions to “want me to paint your nails?”

snippet: topping Gaz and Ghost

^ follow up snippet: biting Gaz and Ghost

snippet: TF141’s favorite sexy clothes on you

snippet: TF141 protecting you because you’re their asset

snippet: TF141 with a Japanese/bilingual reader

totally failed at making a cake for the boys

if the military wanted you to have a wife, they'd issue you one

snippet: TF141 + cars

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#RedForEd rides again in LA

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on WEDNESDAY (Apr 2), and in BLOOMINGTON on FRIDAY (Apr 4). More tour dates here.

The LA Teachers' Union is going on strike.

Fuck.

Yes.

The last time the LA teachers struck was in the midst of the 2019 #RedForEd wave, which kicked off during the last Trump presidency. All across the country, teachers walked out – even in states where they were legally prohibited from doing so. These strikes were hugely successful, because communities across the nation rallied around their teachers, and the teachers returned the favor, making community justice part of their goals.

This was true across America, but it was especially true in Los Angeles, where the teachers were militant, united, relentless, and brilliant. The story of the 2019 LA Teachers' Strike is recounted in Jane McAlevey's essential 2021 book A Collective Bargain, which recounts her history as a union organizer on multiple successful unionization drives and strikes, including that fateful teachers' strike:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

McAlevey learned her tactics from a lineage of organizers who predated the legalization of unions and the National Labor Relations Act. Accordingly, her organizing method didn't rely on bosses obeying the law, or governments sticking up for workers. She fought for victories that were won by pure worker power. The 2019 LA teachers' strike is a fantastic example, a literal textbook case about rallying support from the entire shop – including affiliated workers, like bus-drivers – and then broadening that massive support by bringing in related trades (the LA charter school teachers walked out with their public school comrades), and the community.

The LA teachers' community organizing was incredible. They worked with community groups to understand what LA families really needed, and made those families' demands into union demands. The LA teachers' demands included:

in-school social workers;

parks and green-spaces in or near every LA public school; and

a total ban on ICE agents shaking down parents at the school gates.

Environmental justice, immigration justice, racial justice – these issues were every bit as important to the LA teachers in 2019 as wages, working conditions and vacation pay. And. They. WON.

Not only did the LA teachers win everything they struck for, they built an enduring community organization that ran a massive get out of the vote effort for the 2020 elections and flipped two seats for Democrats, securing Biden's Congressional majority.

So now the teachers are walking out again, and while their demands include wage increases (the greedinflation crisis wiped out many of the gains won in the 2019 strike – though imagine how much worse things would be without those gains!), the demands also include a slate of bold, no-fucks-given, material measures to fight back agains the Trump administration and its fascism:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-26/l-a-teachers-union-pursues-salary-hike-progressive-goals-amid-trump-agenda

This time around, the LA teachers are demanding:

"targeted investment in the recruitment and retention of BIPOC, multilingual and immigrant educators and service providers" – that's right, the DEI stuff that makes Trump's incipient aneurysm throb visibly in his temple (keep throbbing, li'l guy, I believe in you!).

"support for, defense and expansion of the school district’s Black Student Achievement Plan and Ethnic Studies" – the same programs that make wrestling faildaughter Linda McMahon get the fantods.

“strengthened policies to support LGBTQIA+ students, educators and staff” – take that, Elon.

"increased support for immigrant students and families, with and without documentation, including support for newcomers" – up yours, Stephen Miller, you pencilneck Hitler wannabe.

Where'd all these demands come from? 665 meetings that solicited input from "students, parents and other community members." In other words, these are our demands – the demands of Angelenos.

Trump is a scab. Musk is a scab. They hate unions. They've put the National Labor Relations Board into a coma, illegally firing a board member so that the board no longer has a quorum and can no longer take most actions. But the tactics the LA teachers used to organize their victory under the last Trump regime didn't rely on the NLRB – it relied on worker power. That power is only stronger today. The NLRB exists because workers built power when unions were illegal. Killing the NLRB doesn't kill worker power. Worker power comes from workers, not the government:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/29/which-side-are-you-on-2/#strike-three-yer-out

Now that Trump has canceled labor laws, all bets are off. Trump is illegally breaking the contracts of federal workers, as a prelude to eliminating unions nationwide. As Hamilton Nolan writes, this is the time to take a stand:

It is unreasonable to run around demanding a general strike every time a single union gets in a hard fight. It is not unreasonable to demand a general strike when the very existence of unions is under direct attack by a government that cares nothing about us, and does not respect our contracts, and is attempting to throw in the trash the union contracts covering hundreds of thousands of our fellow union members, as a step towards doing the same thing to millions more of our fellow union members. This is the bombing of Pearl Harbor, against the labor movement. Will we say, “We are filing a lawsuit against this illegal bombing, and we will keep you all updated as it progresses?” Will we say, “Pearl Harbor is way out in Hawaii. I’m glad those bombs didn’t fall where I live.” These are the terms that the union world needs to be thinking in, right now. This is not an exaggeration. If we do not go to war, the husk of American unions that emerges at the end of the Trump administration will be, probably, about half as big as it was when the Trump administration started, and immeasurably weaker. That is not an acceptable outcome if you believe that increasing organized labor’s strength is the key to saving this country, which it is.

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-are-going-to-take-everything

McAlevey – who died in 2024 – agreed with Nolan. She wrote vibrantly about how union organizing, and the solidarity it nurtures, was the key to a revitalized democracy and a nation that truly takes care of its people, rather than lining them up in billionaires' feedlots.

I gotta go. I'm on my way to a Tesla protest. Maybe you could find one near you to join, too:

https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/teslatakedown

But if I don't see you at this one, I'll see you on the picket line – with the LA teachers, the federal workers, and everyone else who's taking a stand against this scab presidency.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/29/jane-mcalevey/#trump-is-a-scab

[phone4pills]

𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒕!chris gets a new camera and records memories that he can play back when you’re not around

When you’d bought the camera and given it to Chris for New Year’s he was over the moon. And of course so were you now that you’d figured out a way to record memories and store them on a USB stick. Then you could upload them to Chris’ ROM.

CLIP 01 — 0:19

you had an hour left before the science fair opens. the sports hall at your college was bustling with excitement and exploration. you had spent so many late nights with Chris building the parts of the mini rocket and testing them to make sure that they would no doubt work on the day of the showing. Chris, who had tagged along was filming you as you paced about making sure everything was in place. he was just about to say something when your face dropped. “a part is missing. Chris put that fucking camera down and help me find it!”

CLIP 02 — 0:05

you’re busy working away on one of your assignments and Chris is just all over you. the short clip shows when he comes at you from behind, wrapping an arm around your front and you give his head a scratch, kissing his face.

CLIP 03 — 0:32

the sun peaked through the window as Chris tiptoed into your room. it was finally the weekend and you warned him you were going to sleep until the late morning, around 11. Chris got closer to your bedside, trying not to giggle and he reached to pull the cover off you. before he could even touch the duvet, your hand clawed down around his wrist and with a good amount of effort, you pulled his weight down on the bed, stroking his hair as he lay sprawled over you. then you took the camera, shut it off, and placed it on the nightstand. p.s the two of you slept until 2 pm.

CLIP 04 — 0:24

a late nights drive to McDonald’s turns into a shit show when Chris can’t help himself and drinks down your whole cup of Pepsi. the drive home is silent as Chris clutches the camera with a pout, completely unaware that it’s recording as you speed down the lane towards your house, the last thing caught in the audio being “c’mon. gotta get that stuff out of you before you become dangerous.”

CLIP 05 — 0:45

it’s no surprise that the longest clip is Chris admiring you whilst you do the simplest of tasks. you hum away, watching the pasta boil on the stove as Cigarettes After Sex with lays in the background. and your robot boy watches intently, a lazy smile on his face as though it were superglued there. there’s a small view of the Pokémon cards he’d been organising that lay in order of rarity and issue on the table. this clip is Chris’ favourite because it reflects your time together almost perfectly. just the two of you, getting on with your lives. but it was so much more meaningful when you were in each other’s presence. it was so much more comforting.

while I’ve been procrastinating on writing actual fics, here’s a little idea I had recently. hopefully robot!Chris will be making a MASSIVE comeback this year. and I encourage you guys to write your own robot!Chris ideas and blurbs as long as you tag me !! inspired by @kiemiu ‘s ‘vids your bf sends you’ works LOVE THEM SM.

- ©phone4pills

[kyri45]

Is it q&a time?

It's q&a time, it is.

✨SBP: Second Star Q&A! 22/04✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If it’s not answered here, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@dezzyboo ha chiesto: Hi kryi I wanted to ask. In the new part when Mac got upset was that because potentially doing the ritual it had weakend him and so when tang spoke it hurt his ear or did he get upset because he could tell the ritual failed

because the ritual failed.

@elle-the-fan1 ha chiesto: okay. Here is me guessing the stone egg name and gender. If it’s a girl her name has to be Yuebei Xing. If it’s a boy it could be Wei-Chen or Pāramitā, (Depending if you wanna go either Journey To The South or American Born Chinese) HOWEVER!! ….If it’s twins there names could be either Jidu and Luohou or the more popular Rumble and Savage. If it’s triplets, it would be Yuebei Xing, Luohou, and Jidu…..any of the ways work. For me anyways.

good guess to all of them except for Rumble and Savage, who are shadow clones in the AU and already made an appearance .

@goldenunicornmaster ha chiesto: Love the update! I love that everyone is getting involved contributing energy to the new egg. Really shows how big the monkies’ family is. Neither are alone anymore. Sandy tearing up really got me, he’s so sweet and he’s gonna be a great uncle. Also Red! I see you! Definitely getting some ideas of a potential kid ideas with MK in the future. I see you ya aren’t slick.

Oh yes, Red is totally thinking of that (but they are too young to even marry, so yeah)

@pan999flo ha chiesto: Ever considered of drawing Ao Bing once? I thought about him because I always see how cool you draw Nezha etc.

Thank you! Maybe in the future, I liked the movie.

@autism-autobot ha chiesto: We've seen how Macaque acts when he's injured and Wukong's response to that, but what would happen if the roles were reversed? Wukong is injured and behaves a certain way because of it, and Macaque reacts to it.

Wukong would be a drama queen about it for the attention. Mac would be both annoyed for that and angry bc he got himself hurt.

@injuvanillafruit ha chiesto: Hey Kyri 👋, Can you share with us your shadowpeach headcannons. The past and present ones to be exact.

I'll give u just 2 cause I'm too tired and I aint got the time:

Past-> The 2 of them had an almost co-dependency at some point, the ones that even when they argued they would come back to the other because they didn't had a healthy way to be able to solve their own issues by having me-time.

Present-> Macaque still goes almost everyday at his dojo, but Wukong sends one of his clones around midday to quickly check on him and give him kisses (although he gets jealous if the clone start to be too touchy.)

@shevijra ha chiesto: Will you ever draw a fankid for Red Son and MK? And maybe their parents (every single one) reaction to them, or to the news that MK is pregnant or smth. Love your art as always!

yes. once

@twilight-bai-he ha chiesto: Do lmk gang ( Mei, MK, Wukong, Macaque, Red son etc) get emotional when watching movies/TV shows ?

Mei not as always, MK literally everytime. Macaque is more composed and Wukong will try to hide it. Red Son once cried watching star wars: the return of the Jedi.

@chernobylcatfish09 ha chiesto: I’m currently reading your shadowpeach bio parent au for the first time bc it seems to be completed now (I may be wrong, I am pretty lackluster in the smarts department), absolutely delicious btw But question, this ain’t an important question this is just for for funzies: If wukong and macaque collected anything together, what would it be? (examples being like figures, different coin types, plushies, discs of something, anything like that)

I think Macaque is one of those who would collect dools. Or statues. While Wukong kids of collects every single kind of his own merch.

@yourlocalclown-emily ha chiesto: Fav Spicynoodles fics?🙏

I guess Happy and Provided For

@stinkyexhaust ha chiesto: Will Kai also inherit MK's monkey powers?

Some. Not all of them. Actually in terms of powers he's much more Red Son than MK.

@internet-grab-my-tumblr ha chiesto: Am I the only one who thinks it’d be really funny if while everyone is focused on the ShadowPeach baby drama, IronBull decided they also want another kid but don’t bother telling anyone and just…pop up in a few months like “hey we made one too” with no warning and everyone freaks out? And then the ShadowPeach baby gets a buddy to grow up with and Red Son is unexpectedly a big brother too …I may or may not have an IronBull OC I could turn into that theoretical baby lol

it would be so much in character of them bc I bet they went "oh our arch-enemies are having a kid? Then we will have one as well and it will be even MORE powerful than theirs and they shall battle once reached the adulthood!"

@drpepperlover545 ha chiesto: Question, if the baby is born will the celestial realm find out?

Eventually yes, they can't hide them forever.

@selein13 ha chiesto: So... how did wukong and macaque react to the courtnapping tie? Also, how long was Mei laughing at them before she was able to get enough composure back to untie them?

they untied them a couple of hours later. Mac already foresaw how it would have happened and Wukong just laughed and told his kid good job.

@pettrainer ha chiesto: Hi just lil curious will you do a spin off of a time-skip? Like thousand or a few hundreds in the future ( whatever you think is far enough ) of the monkey family. Like what’s going on in there live, who doing what, or if Mac/Wuk have baby # 4 or 5, lol I can see them having a big family, but of course if that’s how you want your story to go.

mmmmhhh probably not. Might write something instead.

@weaverpop ha chiesto: Would Nezha ever take over as Jade emperor? I mean, he IS the rightful heir bc he’s the grandkid of the previous Jade Emp.

he is WHAT?

@loverfella ha chiesto: Sooo what would happen if there was a scenario where Wukong gets jealous and what would he do? I've seen so much Macaque getting jealous I wanna know what would happen if Wukong was the one that got jealous. Same goes for Mk, what would happen if he saw someone flirting with Red Son (I ADORE YOUR ART OMG ITS SO GOOD AIEBEJDJWJSJ)

@quesocheeso made a lot of lovely shadowpeach comics featuring jealous Wukong.

@macaquethemoon ha chiesto: QUICKKKKKKK QUESTION who do you ship more with MK outside of the comic? Mei x mk Or Redson X MK Or chimera(forgot how to say it) Redson x MK x Mei ALSO IM SO INLOVE WITH YOUR ART STYLE AND COMIC LOVIES

red son x MK

@epicloversposts ha chiesto: Hiya just wanted to ask would Macaque ever use the secret knowledge of Wukongs and Mk's weakness against them if he ever catches them trying to over train themselves? Or would he just join them instead?

yes he would. (playfully of course)

@sugerstem ha chiesto: About the ShadowPeach Bio Parent AU, I didn’t see Ne Zha at the coronation, was he not invited or not allowed? My guess is that he wasn’t allowed or too busy but I think surely he would’ve gotten an invite (I say hopefully)

He was the person tlaking to Guanyin

@autism-autobot ha chiesto: How'd the honeymoon go? (Assuming shadowpeach had one)

They went to the othe side of FFM and made it every monkeys problem.

@anxiousbb-witch ha chiesto: Thank you Kyri for making this wonderful AU and for introducing me to LMK with it! It was a roller-coaster of emotions and I still blame you for every tear dropped and everytime I almost snapped my phone in half with your wonderful art and storytelling.

aww thank you!

@craftyphilosophercreator ha chiesto: Are we going to see Bai He and Mk interact anytime soon? I'm curious about their relationship with each other.

maybe, I haven't planned much yet

@amc-2-wild ha chiesto: So side question. Who did you get to voice act for the comic finale you posted on YouTube? Also, I absolutely loved your comic, enjoyed the ride and I can't wait to see what else you create (been following the ISAT AU some and everything you do is amazing thank you-)

@hyperwukong012 as Sun Wukong

Ender as Red Son

@sam-i-am-27 as Mei

@wee-dopey as MK and Macaque

@shevijra ha chiesto: Heya Kyri! Did you perhaps watched the latest Nezha? Even if not, does your AU has Ao Bing, Nezha's boyf- I MEAN- best friend? I'm curious what would happen if our celestial monkey, or/and Mei met Bing, what would happen? He is such a sweetheart, I bet he would be happy for Macaque and Wukong about *you know what* Anyway, I love your works, your sense of humor and your gayness. Be well, my friend!

Well, don't know why he would be happy actually but yeah i watched the movies. Glad you like my sense of humor ahah.

@nanayobiznes ha chiesto: can we perhaps see bai he's fit during the coronation? :]

uuuhhhhh I'm so sorry but unfortunately i really don't have the time to draw that as well rn.

[mooshlovely]

Nein Again Episode 8

"I mean yeah sure, I worship him sure, he's more like my best friend" (13) In hind sight its so obvious that Artagan isn't like, an actual god. Also so many cute Traveler moments in this episode.

"I have killed people before in defense, but not like that" yeah sorry Caleb but that's a lie (14)

"I did not see a vision, I saw a burning person" (22) When you think about it, the fact that this didn't fuck everybody up is pretty crazy. I don't have any fire trauma but think I would also be pretty upset if I burned someone to death

I love everything about the early conversations in this episode. The arguments about who gets what loot, side stepping around Caleb's trauma, Caleb being so excited to use identify, the goggles <3

They're such meddlers. For no reason other than being assholes, they are already planning on trying to intercept whatever the Baumbachs and the Gentlemen are doing. Tbh part of why the Nein are so fun, they were always very good at just giving themselves silly little quests to do (58)

The Mighty Nein! After watching how hard bell's hells struggled to come up with a name, its actually remarkably how fast they settled on Mighty Nein (1:04) And the Mighty part is so accurate. Truly no one doing it like them

This is peak Jester, I love the moments when she suddenly breaks out a clever and devious plan. She plays dumb a lot of time and then out of nowhere she's blackmailing a starosta (1:12)

Jester backstory <3 (1:21)

Caleb and Beau's completely different views on parents. "Your father is your father" vs "sometimes father's are disappointing" (1:23)

Nott: "Are we sure we want to leave this place? People like us here." Jester: "It's only a matter of time before they don't" (1:25)

"Take them out! Take them out!" Oh shit this is about the residuum crystals (2:29) Followed by Beau with absolutely no tact: "One day we're going to have a real big talk about your issues"

…why are they still keeping the rotting manticore head? (2:32)

Beau shitting on the empire, Nott vaguely supporting it, and Caleb staying silent because he loves and hates it at the same time (2:39)

Pumat! (3:11)

Caleb is so endearing every time he finds a magic shop (3:12)

[mayimkjs]

I figured out what train Mikoto takes in Double

But before I get into the meat of this, let me explain how I'm doing this post. First, I'll be going over the basics. I will be then going over everything that has been bolded.

There will be a part 2 to this post where I try to triangulate his actions through out MeMe.

So I started at Shibuya Station since the image on his mugshot board was taken in Shibuya.

I then narrowed it down to the Saikyō Line or the Yamanote Line. Both of which are standard commuter lines operated by JR East. So then I looked at what the trains look like and the train that is currently in use for the Yamanote Line looks almost identical to the one in Double.

The train that is currently in use is the E235 series which was first rolled out on November 30th 2015 and recalled the same day due to a number of issues including problems with door close indicators. It was later reintroduced on March 7th 2016. As of January 20th 2020, it has been the only type on train in service on the Yamanote Line.

The line is known to be overcrowded due to being a circle and hitting all of the major locations in Tokyo. It starts and ends most commonly at Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa but can also start/stop at Ikebukuro Station in Toshima. Some trains start from Tamachi Station in Minato in the mornings and end at Shinagawa Station in Minato in the evenings. Trains run from 04:26 to 01:04 the next day and there are a total of 30 stations in the loop. The outside of the loop gose clockwise and the inside goes counter clockwise.

Yamanote roughly translates to foothills. After WW2, all of the train place cards were romanized, and because 山手 reads as Yamate, the line was mistranslated until the 70s.

All of the stations located in the Shibuya Ward are Ebisu, Shibuya, Harajuku and Yoyogi. Part of the line is shared with the Tōhoku and Tōkaidō Main Lines. From Tabata Station in Kita to Tōkyō Station in Chiyoda are shared by the Tōhoku Main Line. From Yūrakuchō Station in Chiyoda to Takanawa Gateway Station in Minato are shared by the Tōkaidō Main Line.

The line was first was opened on March 1st 1885, operating between Shinagawa Station in Minato and Akabane Station in Kita. The second part was opened on April 1st 1903, operating between Ikebukuro Station in Toshima and Tabata Station in Kita as a seperate line. On October 12th 1909, the 2 lines were merged, which created the present day Yamanote line. The full loop was completed in 1919 with the addition of Tōkyō Station in Chiyoda, and 1925 with the addition of Akihabara Station in Chiyoda.

The picture on his card is specifically from Ebisu. But the station seen in Double doesn't match up with the Yamanote Line platforms as they are island platforms, not side platforms. If he was at Ebisu Station, He would likely be at JR platform 1. This one is directed to Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. Shibuya only has island platforms and one of Yoyogi's and Harajuku's platforms are also islands. Out of the remaining platforms in the Shibuya portion of the line, Harajuku platform 2 looks the closest. It would also make sense that he would be in Harajuku due to his interests.

The line being a circle makes sense with the theme of Double; a never ending train that never stops. And the technical issues with the doors adds to this feeling of being trapped. The train also being overcrowded matches up with what it's like in the beginning of Double. However, the train soon is completely empty.

[seoul-bros]

Jikook Week 70 Complete (08/04 -15/04/2025)

Jikook have finalized their 70th week and it's time to look back at this week in 2021. Run BTS 136 and 137 were out this week.

It was the Entertainment Quiz Show Parts 1 & 2. Suga was out with his shoulder issues but as usual they made sure he wasn't forgotten.

It was a points make prizes kind of quiz and as usual beef and wine were the most sort after gifts.

There's a discussion on teams and Jungkook opts for staying right where they are (I see what you did there JK) but also manages to make a dent in Jimin's pride in the process (think big picture Jimin)

The final teams are J-Hope awesome Jin (2seok), 1,2,3 fighting (Vmon) and Jiminie-wah Jungkookie (jikook)........

but not before J-Hope asks, with a wicked twinkle in his eye, "Why isn't it Jungkookie Jiminie wah?"

Jimin's face is pure "You've been terribly rude Jung Hoseok, What's to be done about that?"

Round 1: Nonsense Quiz - Lots of play on words and jikook are running behind until Jimin answers a question and JK is overjoyed.

Tae gets three right but loses the points on the last question to Jikook because he forgot to use his team name before giving the answer.

Round 2 Beeper Code - Most of this went right over my head. They had to guess what the beeper codes meant. Jikook got a couple right including this one associated with a Younha song.

Round 3 - Dialect Quiz - They have to guess what expressions mean in different dialects and things get really animated. RM in particular is a comedy genius in this round and has Jimin and J-Hope, in particular, rolling about in laughter.

Round 4 - Song Round - Guess the song after 1 second - Tae again kills it but JK has his moment too. He rings his mum to guess a Young Turks song and we are blessed with this beautifully domestic exchange from the jikook archives. Yes JK's mum said she loved Jimin and he is so so happy about that.

Round 5 - Guess the children's song - This round is a great example of BTS chaos and charisma. Just pure vibe.

Round 6 - Guess the lyrics by the online translator + mixed lyrics The score at the end of Round 6 had Jikook in the lead with 360, followed by Taejoon with 235 and 2seok with 185.

Final round - Charades - The producers of the show have this fairly annoying habit of giving the team in last place the chance to turn the tables at the last minute and that is exactly what happens here.

2seok win a inordinate amount of points in the last round leaving everyone else in the dust and them with the Korean beef.

Such a great episode. They didn't slow down even for a minute, great group dynamics and it is always a pleasure to see jikook on the same team, close together and conspiratorial, except when they are sharing smiles or raucous laughter. I wonder if Run BTS has run its course or whether they will be reinstating it in their portfolio of entertainment. Episodes like this one would be very welcome.

Post Date: 15/04/2025

[ofmdrecaps]

02/01-04/2025 Daily OFMD REcap

TLDR; Happy Belated Birthday Samba! Rhys Darby; Vico Ortiz; Ruibo Qian; Anapela Polata'ivao; OFMD Craft Fair; TellTale TV Voting; Fan Spotlight: Gay Pirate News Hours; Love Notes;

= Samba Schutte's Birthday! =

Happy belated birthday to our beloved Roach (2/1)!

Source: Samba's IG

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys was out with Rosie and Buttons at the Love Hurts World Premiere!

Source: Rosie's Instagram

Source: Getty Images via Moosh

Rhys was back on Substack with a silly video he did with Buttons with a Banksy art piece!

Source: Rhys' Paid Substack

Episode #103: The Oarfish Issue is up on Spotify!

Source: Rhys' Instagram Stories

If you're in Brisbane, Australia there's an extra show that's been added to Rhys' lineup! Check it out here!

Source: Rhys' Instagram Stories

= Vico Ortiz =

Full interview with That Part With Mo Heart featuring Vico is up on youtube!

Source: Vico's Bsky

Also a new episode of the Today In Gay Podcast!

Source: Today In Gay's Substack

= Ruibo Qian =

Our dear Pirate Queen shared some pictures from her childhood and other wonderful memories!

Source: Ruibo's IG / 2

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

A quick preview of the Tinā film!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @tinathefilm

Source: Tina The Film IG

= Hugo Pierre Martin =

New episode of The Diaries of Netovicius the Vampire! https://www.netovampire.com/

Source: Hugo's Bsky

== OFMD Craft Fair ==

Are you crafty and wanna donate to the #OFMDCraftFair? Our friend @veeagainsttheday has posted some helpful info (sorry for the lateness of this) 02/10 is the last day for creators to sign up! Learn more on the craft fair's carrd or post here:

Source: Veeagainsttheday's Tumblr

== Tell Tale TV Voting ==

It does require an email sign up, but you can submit the couples you love the most! Let's get Ed and Stede some love!

https://telltaletv.com/2025/02/nominate-your-favorite-tv-couples-from-the-past-25-years/

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Gay Pirate News Hour =

New episode of Gay Pirate News Hour aired on Feb 1!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Youtube

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. We're coming up on a new week here soon. I know the past few have been doozies. Something I wanted to remind you of tonight... is just how fucking powerful you are.

You continue to get through every goddamn day like a fucking champ. Whether you are crying or sleeping or busting ass, you are still here and I am so damn proud of you.

You mean something. You matter, and you would be surprised how much you can survive when you have to.

So no matter what, you keep going, okay? If you need to take some time off, if you need to rest, or reach out for help-- do it, do what you need to do. If you feel unsafe, reach out, there are a lot of groups out there who can help.

We love you, we want you to be happy, and be yourself, and most of all we want you to be safe.

You are made of love, and kindness, and that is so much stronger than any hate thrown your way.

You are beautiful. Don't forget that.

Source: The Latest Kate's bsky

Source: Illustory Bsky

[transspeciesculture]

We keep mentioning how transspecies as a term has existed long before the radqueer & transID communities formed, and started claiming it as part of those communities despite it's actual usage within nonhuman/fictional/unusual human species identifying spaces and objections from said spaces.

As a sort of quick thing to back this up, here are some examples before the year of 2020 (estimated beginnings of the radqueer/transID community)!

All of this excludes troll posting/mockery, and is focused on NH/FICT community's discussions. Some additional content warnings are provided for some of the e-mails, however.

This is not extensive, feel free to show us any other finds (excluding alt.horror.werewolves e-mails, we've already scoured trough everything. There is actually more mentions via that, but all from the same person).

Mentions of term:

01 - "Gender-bender" e-mail, 1999. Included in this section due to the unclearness of if the original author of the e-mail identifies as otherkin or transspecies personally.

[Link] [Link 2] [Archive] [Archive 2]

02 - "On cosmic surgery and personal identity" e-mail, 2005

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

03 - "Da Jakkal's work revisited" e-mail, 1999. Warning: has some outdated terminology/beliefs.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

04 - "Re: Introduction" e-mail, 2002

[Link] [Archive]

05 - "Re: Shifters: in need of Help." e-mail, 1999. Warning: thread has mentions of an un-nameable native American creature.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

06 - "Re: Musing of the Week" e-mail, 1999

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

06 - "Re: define were" e-mail, 1997. Warning: thread has mentions of an un-nameable native American creature. (This is the second time we've have to issue this CW. Sucks.)

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

07 - "Re: Fun with Faith" e-mail, 1997. Same warning as above, unfourtunately.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

08 - "Re: Questions on Were's/Shifting/etc" e-mail 1997. Same warning, a lot of early instances of the word being used seem to all be from this one being, sorry.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

09 - "Re: Slithering into AHWW" e-mail, 1997

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

10 - "Re: Odd Dreams" e-mail, 1998

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

11 - "Shifters: WereBreeds" e-mail, 1999. Warning: has some outdated terminology.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

12 - "On the appropriation of trans narratives by therianthropes" article, 2013. Contrary to the title, it is supportive. It does mention the native creature again due to excerpting an AHWW member's ramblings, so thread with caution.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

13 - "An Introduction to Animality" article, 2009

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

Usage of term for clear self identification (flags and symbols are included):

01 - "Re: A question to everyone out there" e-mail, 1997. Warning once again for mentions of an un-nameable native American creature, and questionable identity that may or may not be considered cultural appropriation (we have no place to say as we are not native). Still, it is an clear account of identification with the label and experiences that'd come to be associated with it.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

02 - "Chewing and biting (and intro)" e-mail, 1999. The poster at the time of posting already specifies that they do not identify with the label anymore, but used to.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

03 - "Transspecies Pride stamp" flag/pride graphic, 2017.

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

04 - "Transspecies Flag" flag, 2018

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

05 - "Why I call myself Transspecies" personal article, 2018

[Link] [Archive] [Archive 2]

06 - "Gender: Furry II (Now With More Scales)

[Archive]

07 - "Real Dragons: Transspeciesism" article, 2001

[Archive]

[worldstarz]

persona 3 spoilers (part 2!)

pairing: shinjiro aragaki x fem!reader

tags: angst

a/n: continuation of this post. i will edit this as soon as i wake up in the morning but i told myself i will not go to bed until this leaves my drafts bc it’s been marinating for like five days. also what is the title of this two part thing??

HUGE SPOILER WARNING FOR OCTOBER IN PERSONA 3 !!!

———

it still smells like him.

the room is barren. shinjiro never wanted to leave his mark on the world, trying to erase his own existence. but, as you lie on the sheets that have yet to be changed, the subtle musky scent engulfs you.

“it still smells like him,” you repeat your thoughts aloud, as if by addressing it would make it permanent.

maybe this was weird. if he were here, standing before you, he would be staring down at you with a quirked brow. “what the hell are you doing?”

why did he come to your room that night? what purpose did he have, knowing his own fate?

you try not to cry. you’ve cried enough already, and the image of shinjiro in your head would certainly scold you, telling you to just get up and get some food with him.

but he’s not here.

sure, it’s not what he would’ve wanted, but you make yourself comfortable on his bed. it’s the least he could do after confessing his desire for you, knowing he would die the same day.

lying on your back, you allow your mind to wander. why does it feel like you’re the only one stuck in the past? how has everyone been able to bounce back so quickly? hell, akihiko is basically his brother and he’s already moved on. speaking of moving on, amada’s completely—

fuck, what is wrong with you?

for the past few days, you tried to block these festering thoughts. being open minded was what lead you to be so close to shinjiro. akihiko just processes his grief differently, while amada was just a kid blinded by revenge.

but still…

you sit up abruptly. he wouldn’t want this.

you swing your legs over the edge of the bed and plant your feet on the ground. he wouldn’t want this.

you stand up, smoothing over your clothes. he wouldn’t want this.

but what the hell do you even know about him? how do you know what he would want? you couldn’t even become close enough to figure out what plagued his mind during his every waking moment. maybe if you did, you would’ve been able to stop—

no. he wouldn’t want this either.

just like how he would want akihiko, amada, and everyone else to come together and move on. he would not want you beating yourself up over something you weren’t involved in.

you take a deep breath in, then out. in. out. okay. you’ve got this. this is your last day to be in his room before everything is moved out. all that will remain is the memory of him. everyone else already got a turn a few days ago, so this is your last chance to preserve whatever fragments of him are left in here.

the drawer to his desk is slightly ajar. out of respect for his privacy, you begin to shut it, but something oddly familiar peaks out.

is that…?

with wide eyes and shaky hands, you reach in.

it’s a photo of the two of you, back when shinjiro still went to school, before you had any ideas about why he came to class everyday all beat up.

you’re smiling, holding up a peace sign, while shinjiro glared at the camera. it was a picture taken to commemorate the end of junior high school—one that took a lot of convincing for him to agree to.

on the back, sprawled in your handwriting, you wrote;

“shinjiro,

i found this picture of us from the last day of junior high! it’s weird how much time has passed.

have you been eating well? how is your sleep? are you still growing out your hair? i know you’re not feeling well, but as soon as your health improves, we should hang out again.

also, i miss seeing you in class. hurry up and get better! i need someone to talk to!

-[name]

11/04/08”

it takes you a second, but you do remember writing this. judging by the date, it was roughly a month after he took his leave of absence, citing medical issues. you didn’t have much contact with him outside of school, so you relied on akihiko to transport the photo to him.

you crouch down, trying to get ahold of your emotions. you’ve done enough crying. he wouldn’t want you to waste so many tears on him.

but haven’t you been ignoring his wishes already?

you bury your face in your hands in a pathetic attempt to muffle your sobs. physically, nobody was in here. but for you, shinjiro was everywhere. in this room, in the hallways, in the lounge, on the streets, at school—he followed you everywhere. your morale bent under the weight of his memory.

only now do you realize there will come a day where you will have known the grief longer than you have known him.

but this pain is better than never knowing him in the first place.

shinjiro, who secretly cooked meals for koromaru.

shinjiro, who never let you go to bed on an empty stomach.

shinjiro, who tried to push you away, but failed.

shinjiro, who held you close hours before his death.

shinjiro, who didn’t want to leave his mark on the world, but left a mark on you.

the grief will never go away. you will carry it with you wherever you go, and the weight of it will never diminish. but, you can grow around it. you will grow around it.

because that’s what he would’ve wanted.

[izukumidoriyashusband]

Katsuki Bakugou

🏈 | Touchdown

Katsuki Bakugou x Reader (Fluff)

WC: 673

CW: Injuries, swearing, tackling.

… <3

(Name of University is fake and if there is one named it, I didn’t know. All of my writings are fiction and for entertainment purposes only. I do not claim to own any characters. Pt 2 of replacement for Izuku soon and the last part of confession).

Katsuki’s championship game was coming up in football. Quinnth P. University out in Houston, Texas. It was as hot as two sinners in church. The heat all in his football gear.

They’re by two points . They just got a pick. Why the fuck aren’t they up more? What the fuck is the score? Has he not been calculating it right? He’s lost in the game. Lost. He hears nothing.

He’s mad.

Katsuki’s parents couldn’t come out for the game due to some issues with their flight being delayed, they’d be there after although. His girl wasn’t here. His love. He didn’t know why, you just said you couldn’t make it. Personal issues. That’s what really made him mad and when he questioned it, you told him you had to talk later. On his day? What the fuck.

He didn’t know. He didn’t.

That previous day, you sent out a message to his school. It accidentally ended up in the admissions office because you didn’t email the Dean but admissions but you eventually got in contact with the Dean.

Y/N Reese (Ynreese21@gmail.com)

4:04 PM

Good afternoon, Mr. Twynn.

I hope I’m not bothering you. I’m the girlfriend of Katsuki Bakugou and…

—-

It went from there.

<>

They’re up by one point. Intersection was made previously. Katsuki goes long. He’s running until he gets to 50 yards.

The ball is spinning and silence fills the stands. It’s like he was the only person there. He saw multiple people running towards him. That ball is slow moving in time. He felt like his breath left his body when it reached him and he caught in.

He ran through a guy. He’s cocky and chuckled to himself. Motherfuckers came from the right so he ran further left. He pushed one of their teammates with his shoulders, unintentionally using him as a human shield because he blocked about five of the guys chasing after Katsuki.

He’s heavy breathing. Sweat running down his face. His body feels like it’s moving on its own. He juked the fuck out of one guy and that end zone was his. Someone was there. He didn’t care. He put his shoulders up and ran through them. His legs didn’t want to stop.

He stomped hard on the ground multiple times before coming to a complete stop. Finally the sound came back into his ears. The game was done and he heard the cheers. Damn. DAMN.

His teammates around him, touching him with a mere pat on the back and some shoving with excitement. He’s catching his breath as Izuku points to his coach. The only thing in his view was you.

Standing next to the coach, he pushed Izuku out of his way and ran.

Stomp. Stomp. He didn’t even fully get to you before he reached and grabbed you. A forceful pull towards himself and lifted you up. Spin then down. He hugged you so tight you thought you’d pass out.

“Kats.”

“Love.”

He held you like he was scared that you were nothing but his imagination. As if he felt you fading in his arms but you were real. This moment was real. He took deep breaths. “You told me you weren’t coming.” “I know what I said.”

Silence. A comfortable silence. He breathed in your scent to remind himself that you were still there. That you were here.

“Can we go?” Katsuki looked at you.

“After the party for you all. I’ll spend the whole night with you.”

“Why are you speaking to me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m some child that doesn’t want you to leave.” Katsuki’s eyebrow furrowed.

“Do you need me to talk to you like a child?”

“Yn—“

“Awhh Katsukii, I’ll stay with you the whole night mmkay? And I’ll make sure—“

“Okay okay. Shut up. Cmon.”

He put his hand on your waist and walked with you, following behind his teammates.

“You did great, you know.”

“Trust, I know.”

“Okay cocky.”

“Mhm.”

“Kats.”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

…

“I love you too, Angel.”

Taking requests. @izukumidoriyashusband

[mostlysignssomeportents]

At long last, a meaningful step to protect Americans' privacy

This Saturday (19 Aug), I'm appearing at the San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. I'm on a 2:30PM panel called "Return From Retirement," followed by a signing:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks

Privacy raises some thorny, subtle and complex issues. It also raises some stupid-simple ones. The American surveillance industry's shell-game is founded on the deliberate confusion of the two, so that the most modest and sensible actions are posed as reductive, simplistic and unworkable.

Two pillars of the American surveillance industry are credit reporting bureaux and data brokers. Both are unbelievably sleazy, reckless and dangerous, and neither faces any real accountability, let alone regulation.

Remember Equifax, the company that doxed every adult in America and was given a mere wrist-slap, and now continues to assemble nonconsensual dossiers on every one of us, without any material oversight improvements?

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/07/20/equifax-settles-with-ftc-cfpb-states-and-consumer-class-actions-for-700m/

Equifax's competitors are no better. Experian doxed the nation again, in 2021:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/30/dox-the-world/#experian

It's hard to overstate how fucking scummy the credit reporting world is. Equifax invented the business in 1899, when, as the Retail Credit Company, it used private spies to track queers, political dissidents and "race mixers" so that banks and merchants could discriminate against them:

https://jacobin.com/2017/09/equifax-retail-credit-company-discrimination-loans

As awful as credit reporting is, the data broker industry makes it look like a paragon of virtue. If you want to target an ad to "Rural and Barely Making It" consumers, the brokers have you covered:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#axciom

More than 650,000 of these categories exist, allowing advertisers to target substance abusers, depressed teens, and people on the brink of bankruptcy:

https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/06/08/from-heavy-purchasers-of-pregnancy-tests-to-the-depression-prone-we-found-650000-ways-advertisers-label-you

These companies follow you everywhere, including to abortion clinics, and sell the data to just about anyone:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/07/safegraph-spies-and-lies/#theres-no-i-in-uterus

There are zillions of these data brokers, operating in an unregulated wild west industry. Many of them have been rolled up into tech giants (Oracle owns more than 80 brokers), while others merely do business with ad-tech giants like Google and Meta, who are some of their best customers.

As bad as these two sectors are, they're even worse in combination – the harms data brokers (sloppy, invasive) inflict on us when they supply credit bureaux (consequential, secretive, intransigent) are far worse than the sum of the harms of each.

And now for some good news. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, under the leadership of Rohit Chopra, has declared war on this alliance:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/16/cfpb-looks-to-restrict-the-sleazy-link-between-credit-reporting-agencies-and-data-brokers/

They've proposed new rules limiting the trade between brokers and bureaux, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, putting strict restrictions on the transfer of information between the two:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/15/tech/privacy-rules-data-brokers/index.html

As Karl Bode writes for Techdirt, this is long overdue and meaningful. Remember all the handwringing and chest-thumping about Tiktok stealing Americans' data to the Chinese military? China doesn't need Tiktok to get that data – it can buy it from data-brokers. For peanuts.

The CFPB action is part of a muscular style of governance that is characteristic of the best Biden appointees, who are some of the most principled and competent in living memory. These regulators have scoured the legislation that gives them the power to act on behalf of the American people and discovered an arsenal of action they can take:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

Alas, not all the Biden appointees have the will or the skill to pull this trick off. The corporate Dems' darlings are mired in #LearnedHelplessness, convinced that they can't – or shouldn't – use their prodigious powers to step in to curb corporate power:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

And it's true that privacy regulation faces stiff headwinds. Surveillance is a public-private partnership from hell. Cops and spies love to raid the surveillance industries' dossiers, treating them as an off-the-books, warrantless source of unconstitutional personal data on their targets:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/16/ring-ring-lapd-calling/#ring

These powerful state actors reliably intervene to hamstring attempts at privacy law, defending the massive profits raked in by data brokers and credit bureaux. These profits, meanwhile, can be mobilized as lobbying dollars that work lawmakers and regulators from the private sector side. Caught in the squeeze between powerful government actors (the true "Deep State") and a cartel of filthy rich private spies, lawmakers and regulators are frozen in place.

Or, at least, they were. The CFPB's discovery that it had the power all along to curb commercial surveillance follows on from the FTC's similar realization last summer:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/12/regulatory-uncapture/#conscious-uncoupling

I don't want to pretend that all privacy questions can be resolved with simple, bright-line rules. It's not clear who "owns" many classes of private data – does your mother own the fact that she gave birth to you, or do you? What if you disagree about such a disclosure – say, if you want to identify your mother as an abusive parent and she objects?

But there are so many stupid-simple privacy questions. Credit bureaux and data-brokers don't inhabit any kind of grey area. They simply should not exist. Getting rid of them is a project of years, but it starts with hacking away at their sources of profits, stripping them of defenses so we can finally annihilate them.

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and make a new, good internet to succeed the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[ms-m-astrologer]

2024 Libra New Moon/Eclipse

Wednesday, October 2, 06:49 UT, 10°04’ Libra

Chart erected for Washington, DC

Ordinarily I would rattle off the key phrase for a New Moon - but this one happens to be a solar eclipse, and it’s better not to mess with it. I’m including a lot of information from various sources, to help you make sense of it.

This series of eclipses (Saros Series 8 South) isn’t “fun” - in The Eagle and the Lark, astrologer Bernadette Brady wrote:

Separation and loss. To be parted. To finish something, and to feel sad at its completion. Physical injury is also possible through over-straining one’s strength. This is not the time to undertake strenuous physical activities.

Previous occurrences of this series happened on September 22, 2006, at 29° Virgo; September 11, 1988, at 19° Virgo; and August 31, 1970, at 8° Virgo.

This is also a South Node solar eclipse. The South Node indicates behaviors we have “maxed out” - we have learned everything there is to learn, and we have done everything there is to do; we can no longer make any progress or achieve any growth here. It’s time to reach out to that North Node, using its ruler (Mars/Cancer) for specifics.

Looking at the actual chart: there’s the eclipse, very closely conjunct not only Mercury but both Black Moons Lilith. This is a particular mentality of deliberately not seeing ourselves and others as we really are - of sugar-coating (Libra) reality.

In Finding Our Way through the Dark, Demetra George wrote of Black Moon Lilith:

She forces us to look at ourselves with utter, naked honesty and makes us demand the truth of things, from our families, partners, groups and governments. She is ruthless in destroying any of our life structures or relationships that are built upon a foundation of deception and disrespect, or do not express our true individuality or appropriate life path.

Note also that the eclipse is square both ends of an opposition between Mars/Cancer and Ceres/Capricorn. Nothing like a family member to cut through our crap, is there? But (on the other hand) there’s also familial pressure to “be” a certain way - to assume a particular role in the tribe - whether or not we’re actually suited to that role.

If we throw in the North Node/Aries, we have a Cardinal sign grand cross. Difficult aspects in Cardinal signs are indicative of issues and problems we have been aware of for some little time, but haven’t done anything to address. Steven Forrest wrote,

When the Grand Cross falls in the Cardinal Mode, its main strength lies in boldly initiating action and in attracting support, while the main forms of self-sabotage lie either in starting things that should never been started in the first place, or in failing to follow through on one’s inspired beginnings - the failure to finish what was started…. In the dark expression of Cardinal Grand Cross energy, this sickness manifests as endlessly beginning new projects in a spirit of hope that a new day is dawning, only to lose interest and focus for no obvious reason. (The Book of Air, pp 290-291)

So: let’s look at some of the more negative Libra traits:

Going along to get along

Manipulating people and situations to get one’s own way

“Peace at any price” (see: Neville Chamberlain)

Refusing to take a stand or to commit

Too “refined” and “aesthetic;” superficial

Opting for style over substance

I dunno - it just seems to me that if something must come to an end, maybe it should be something negative? Or maybe some behavior that worked like a charm back in 7th grade, but is no longer valid years later? If all we get out of this is learning how to pray for grace, that would be a good thing.

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[vvivacious101]

What about Eddie? - An Introspective

I have been giving this a lot of thought especially because I didn’t expect Eddie to be as severely sidelined as he has been in the last three episodes of 9-1-1. A lot of people have picked up on this, rabid Eddie fans and general audiences alike and they have good reason to.

This isn’t the Eddie Diaz show but this is the Eddie Diaz season!

The show doesn’t owe us narrative consistency (as a fan of Supernatural, I still bear the scars of this injustice) but it doesn’t mean that being narratively inconsistent doesn’t impact your show. You can choose to run your show into the ground (which recent evidence might indicate is happening to 9-1-1) but people can still point out that you are running your show into the ground.

Eddie Diaz

Eddie Diaz is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco. He is also apparently 9-1-1’s least liked character which makes it weird how he consistently manages to trend on Tumblr every week 9-1-1 airs especially considering the fact that he is only in 2 and three-quarters of the last three episodes.

Which begs the question – why is everyone so obsessed with Eddie?

There is actually a good reason for that and I brought data to prove it.

So, far season 8 has had 16 episodes the breakdown of storylines between characters is as follows:

[Disclaimer: A primary storyline implies that the storyline was the main focus of the episode it was part of. The plot points in italics are more likely to impact storytelling in future episodes, these tend to pull more emotional focus and are not purely plot-focused ones.]

Athena (Primary Storylines in Red, Rest in Black)

Athena, Dennis Jenkins and shenanigans in a Boeing (E01-03)

Rookie Cop (E07)

Cart Cop (E08)

Athena helps Maddie catch a serial killer and helps her deal with the consequences (E09-10, 12)

Athena meets her mother-in-law (E11)

Athena & Buck team up to rescue the trapped members of the 118 (E14-15)

Athena deals with her grief over Bobby (E16)

Buck (Primary Storylines in Pink, Rest in Purple)

Buck and Capt Gerrard (E01-04)

Buck helps Bobby get to Athena (E02)

Billy Boils (E05)

Buck & Tommy break up (E06)

Buck dealing with his abandonment issues (E09)

Buck dealing with the fact that Eddie is gone (E11)

Buck helping Eddie parent Chris (E12-13)

Athena & Buck team up to rescue the trapped members of the 118 (E14-15)

Eddie (Primary Storylines in Green, Rest in Blue)

Eddie & Chris on the outs (E01)

Eddie helps a father-son duo reconcile (E04)

Eddie goes to church (E06)

Eddie decides to move back to El Paso (E08)

Eddie deals with Buck acting out because he has abandonment issues (E09)

Eddie’s absence haunts the narrative (E11)

Eddie reconnects with Chris while standing up to his parents & proving to Buck that he isn't being abandoned (E12-13)

Bobby (Primary Storylines in Red, Rest in Black)

Bobby at the set of Hotshots (E01)

Bobby comes to help Athena (E02-03)

Bobby helps Hen takedown Councilwomen Ortiz (E04)

Bobby & Brad Torrence (E08)

Bobby’s mother (E11)

Bobby steps up to save Hen, Chimney & Ravi while he sacrifices himself (E14-15)

Maddie (Primary Storylines in Red, Rest in Black)

Maddie saves a mother-daughter duo with severe bee allergy (E01)

Maddie helps catch a serial killer (E09-10)

Maddie deals with the aftermath of her throat being slashed (E12)

Maddie helps the 118 navigate the lab (E14)

Hen (Primary Storylines in Orange, Rest in Pink)

Hen & Karen fail to get their foster license reinstated (E01)

Hen takes down Councilwomen Ortiz (E04)

Halloween & Denny’s NDE (E05)

Nearly everyone forgets Hen’s birthday (E12)

Hen steps up to save Chimney (E15)

Chimney (Primary Storylines in Pink, Rest in Purple)

Chimney takes down a tiger (E04)

Maddie is pregnant (E06)

Chimney nearly dies (E14-15)

Chimney deals with his survivor’s guilt (E16)

So, I started rating the storylines, a primary storyline gets a score of 3, if two characters share the primary storyline they both get a score of 2.5 each. A secondary storyline gets a score of 2 and a tertiary storyline gets a score of 1. If two characters share a secondary storyline they both get a score of 1.5 each. Since this is an ensemble show, certain characters might have character beats that are important despite not being a part of plots A, B or C – it does happen especially in the contained mini-arcs, then they get a score of 0.5 each in episodes where there are clear plots A, B & C and 1 each in episodes where the primary arc is the emergency itself and there are no clear plots A, B & C.

I made two charts based on this calculation, firstly including all possible storylines irrespective of their impact on the season’s arc and a second one which negates any storyline that doesn’t have an overall bearing on the season’s arc. Most of Athena’s storylines are contained to her character and don’t impact the rest of the 118. Therefore despite being the character with the most primary storylines in season 8, the impact of those storylines doesn’t ripple down to other characters on the show and therefore tends to be less meaningful. Take the rookie cop storyline which was a brutal testament to police brutality but despite having a very depressing outlook the fact that it doesn’t impact any other main character means that for the most part, nobody will remember it as the season progresses.

If we remove everyone who isn't in the top three (for reference that is Athena, Buck & Eddie in that order) we get this:

If you only chart character beats that impact the arc of the season you get this graph.

Again, recharting with only the top three (which are Eddie, Athena & Buck in that order):

All this depicts that while Eddie isn’t the most important character on 9-1-1, in season 8 he has had an uncharacteristic impact on the season’s arc and that’s the reason why it feels so weird that we aren’t focusing on him any longer. I feel like anyone who is just a casual viewer of the show might also be left wondering about Eddie because so far he was the unmistakable emotional core of season 8 of 9-1-1 and all of a sudden it feels like we have been left hanging. We all went on a journey with Eddie and at the moment, it feels like the show has forgotten to address it and that's the reason it stands out – it’s because it's WEIRD. It's narratively inconsistent at least for season 8 of 9-1-1.

This is also the reason why despite Angela Bassett being number one on the call sheet and definitely the most prominent actor on the show (for good reason), Buck feels more like the main character of 9-1-1 because as audiences we care more about emotional arcs than purely plot based ones and Buck has been the emotional core of this show since it started. Again the fact is that besides Athena, he is the one with the most plot focus. Eddie is the outlier this season, I feel like if I was charting this for any other season he would be down there with the majority of the characters but this season deliberately chose to centre Eddie. So, for anyone wondering why it seems like anybody only seems to care about him is because the show told us to, and we can't keep ignoring it any longer.