#longgg post

[white-spectre]

Non show watcher, Im confused, all these vague posts about an ending of th season. I know the show has changed alot alot, but did they hve siuan die durng the lanfear moraine disappearance? Because thatll be a big departure if they exclude the stilling plot. I guess since they made them active lesbians, from what ive heard, they may give the stilling/garreth bryne subplot to a different character. sorry if im misunderstanding, just the posts have been pretty vague on what actually happened just people have strong feelings apparently

Hello! Sorry for vague-blogging, I think people were trying to not spoil the ending in case anyone didn't have a chance to watch it yet but it's been a few days so I'm sure the cat is out of the bag for most people that follow the series. (this ended up being longer than I anticipated but I do love to yap and this is one of my obsessions right now!)

Anyway, to answer you question, the show ended up killing off Siuan immediately following Elaida's Tower coup. This stirred up a lot of emotions for some people and there's been some people saying that now the show should be cancelled, or the show is playing into the "kill the gays" trope, or that they are just killing off POC characters etc etc... There is definitely a less positive vibe from Tumblr after the season 3 finale than before, but I will give you my thoughts on why I thought it was a good season finale, and you can parse them as you will.

It is definitely a big departure from the books, as you said, but it seems that they are setting up at least part of Siuan's post-stilling storyline to be continued on by Leanne (it was unclear in the season finale if she was actually stilled or just shielded, but it's fairly certain that she survived). The Gareth Brynne relationship would fit in well with Leanne's post-stilling storyline from the book series, as she became more interested in men and (if I'm remembering right) ended up choosing Green as her second ajah later on. I think it would add a really good martyr aspect to the rebel Aes Sedai/Salidar crew, and having Leanne be the rallying point would fit well.

Also the writing REALLY amped up the Moiraine/Siuan relationship from "pillow friends as novices" with maybe a little more subtext in the book series, to "in a committed relationship for 20+ years" in the show, and there are many wonderful, emotional scenes in the show that solidify this. To have Siuan follow the Gareth Brynne relationship arc after building up her relationship with Moiraine for three seasons would have been weird at best, and a big slap in the face to wlw relationships at worst. Another BIG thing to keep in mind is that it was confirmed that Sophie Okonedo (Who played Siuan), had other acting opportunities that she had to move on to, and they wanted to give her a well-written exit without just disappearing the character for 1-2 seasons without explanation.

A lot of people have fears that the show is using POC and LGBT characters as cannon fodder/convenient death plot advancement, and it is not a completely unreasonable fear. Most people in their late 20s/30s can remember when TV (in America at least, I can't speak for other countries) rarely had LGBT or POC characters, and the few characters that were shown were typically portrayed as comic relief, or stereotypical trope side characters, or characters that were killed off quickly to advance the plot for the straight white main characters. The fear that your queer/POC fav is going to die randomly is pretty deeply ingrained in a lot of people, and it's hard to shake off. That being said, I don't think that is happening with Wheel of Time AT ALL. For the entirety of season 3, there have been signs that the Moiraine/Siuan relationship was not going to end happily. Moiraine's visions in Rhuidean showed that only one possible turning of the wheel among dozens/hundreds of possibilities ended with her and Siuan happy together. Scenes at the tower have been showing that Siuan's approval was slipping and that Elaida wanted revenge for being overlooked when the Amyrlin was decided. Killing Siuan when they did cemented the Moiraine/Siuan relationship as being something worth dying for in the viewers mind, and they did it in such a powerful way that it felt much more uplifting of LGBT relationships than if they had just let it fizzle out to make way for another romance plot with Siuan/Gareth.

Siuan is not the only POC/LGBT death this season either, Loial was killed in Episode 7, and Ihvon in the season 3 premier. From what I gather, Emmanuel Imani (who played Ihvon) also had other work opportunities and had to move on from the show. The Ihvon/Alanna/Maksim poly relationship was excellent to see, and I am glad that they did not shy away from the poly representation. It was a real relationship that had real ups and downs, just like any relationship, and I thought they did it justice. Loial's death was unfortunate, but I can understand it from the plot of the books why it happened. He was a good character, but his story arc did not necessarily add a lot to the main plot. That being said, Hammed Animashaun did a wonderful job portraying him and suffered through what I can only imagine as hundreds of hours of makeup and prosthetic work to create the character.

The majority of the cast are POC, and that is huge, even today. I have posted previously about, as a young teen who grew up in a 95%+ white community, I just assumed when reading the books that pretty much everyone was white. That obviously doesn't make sense, as the books have characters from every corner of the WoT universe, and the characters travel all over the world. It says right in the beginning of The Eye of The World that the other folks in Emond's Field often commenting that Rand was only one around with light skin and red hair. That being said, characters die in the series. LOTS of characters die. And to say that none of the POC characters should be dying off because we need to keep representation in the show is just plain ridiculous. The death of a character doesn't erase their narrative in the series, or erase the actor's work, and certainly not every character is going to survive in a post-apocalyptic series.

I often have this conversation with my group of friends when an example comes up: a lot of people lack emotional maturity when consuming media. The Siuan situation and how some WoT fans have responded is an excellent example of this. Siuan was a fan favorite, and the moment she died, some people reacted as if the entire series was ruined. The series that they were SO excited about just one week ago for being an excellent adaptation from their favorite book series that they have read and enjoyed for years, that they loved because of the POC representation and the LGBT romances and the likeable, relatable character..... And they are ready to burn it down because their wlw fav was killed. Threatening to review bomb the series, trashing it on social media, going as far to blame Sophie Okonedo for "ruining the series" by requesting to be written out of the show. I understand that Siuan's death hurt. She was a great character and she had a lot longer story arc in the books but.... Grow up. Not only do you look incredibly childish with these opinions, but you are also hurting the future of television networks doing large scale future productions of fan-favorite shows for fear that if they make the tiniest change, the fanbase will turn on the show. I have posted in the past about how some people hate the Elder Scrolls games because they depict rampant racism and how it "promotes racism" by doing so. But in the premise of the game setting, racism is realistic, especially in Morrowind, where they are so secluded from the empire and their ways are so different from the other provinces. That doesn't mean it's GOOD or that you should defend racism because it's present, but it's believable in the context that it is written and helps to build a fictional world and explain the characters' actions. Writing a good story doesn't mean that the author agrees with the ethics presented in the story, or wants to promote the idea that they are conveying to the reader/viewer. It is up to YOU to parse this out.

I'm sure I could probably go on at even greater lengths, but I want to end with my thoughts so far on the series as a whole. I think every season so far has been a massive improvement on the previous season, and I think it has the opportunity to get even better. The acting has improved every season, and though the story doesn't follow the books very closely, I've enjoyed it immensely. The representation of POC/LGBT folks remains excellent. The special effects are excellent. I am ABSOLUTELY biased because I have read the book series several times over the last 15 years, but it is probably the best fantasy/scifi series I have ever watched.

In conclusion, the real problem here is Amazon and their refusal to renew the show in a timely manner. Unfortunately, if Amazon continues to wait a year (or two years, or more) in between greenlighting the next season renewal, the show will suffer for it. Actors are people that need to buy food and clothing and housing just like everyone else, and while the main characters probably make a pretty decent wage for their work and could hold on a yar or two between paychecks, I doubt that the side character actors are getting paid enough money to live on for several years while waiting for the possibility of another season whenever Amazon feels like renewing. They will be forced to leave and take other positions because, unfortunately, money makes the world go round. The same goes for the hundreds of makeup/styling/setbuilding crew. Amazon needs to stop dragging their feet if they want to retain the amazing actors and the team of people who work hard to make this show a reality.

Thank you for the ask!! I really didn't expect this to get so out of hand but I did enjoy writing it out :)

[just-a-little-silly]

New year, New Arundhati (??) [lmao not really but hey!! small redesign!!]

Taglist!!

@queengiuliettafirstlady @ike-garden2024 @sh0jun @welp-back-on-my-bs @colourless-hydrangeas @oda-princess @obeymetalesandikemen

Yippee!! And as always please let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list💛!!

More about Aru under the cut!!

To be entirely honest, there isn’t much I’m changing about her apart from her appearance (slightly). I also feel like I could have done a better job talking about things than I did in her previous bio but for the most part, things stay the same. I might just not be great at writing these lmao.

I want to emphasize that Aru is playful, warm, and at times, silly though she can be distant at first. Yes, the transition to the Sengoku Era was rough and Arundhati is fundamentally changed by it ( I believe anyone would be) but while she does become distant / detached at first, she manages to overcome that in time. Her “ruthlessness” and “tunnel vision” (as I put it in this post) all stem from the fact that she was thrown into a hostile world so unlike anything she’s ever known.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that she spent two years with her first mentor/guardian/teacher/boss Mochizuki Chiyome and even though she ended up being a mother-figure to Aru, was not particularly motherly. Chiyome’s training was harsh and it is somewhat of a miracle that Aru could pick up anything at all but it gave her the necessary skills to survive as a ninja in the Sengoku Era.

However, Aru at heart ( and to those who are close to her) is a compassionate person though she struggles to express it initially but give her time and she will find a way to show you she cares by taking the time to learn what it is you like. She’s observant, awkward and if she’s just met you but stick around long enough and you’ll see that she’s actually pretty silly, playful and genuine too.

Now for some Arundhati trivia because it’s important to me:

• She LOVES thrifting

• She has insanely sharp hearing.

• Very fast, agile. Not as strong. She can use a sword pretty well but she really does prefer her poisons.

• Has horrid handwriting. Even Yoshimoto, a man who manages to find beauty in almost everything, is taken aback.

• Her handwriting is so bad that Shingen came close to hiring a member of the Mitsumono specifically to decipher Aru’s reports because they were starting to drive him up a wall.

• The part of her backstory where she’s engaged to a man named Gaël remains the same (you can read more about it here though its not very much as I haven’t written all of it out)

Its worth mentioning that it was an extremely toxic relationship (I simply don’t go in depth in the previous writing of it) that had been falling apart for a long, long time.

• She’s strategic but sometimes said strategy will go out the door if she’s hit with an intense emotion. It’s rare but it happens and when it does, she has to rely solely on whatever skills she has at her disposal to get out of the mess she threw herself into.

(Im bolding the next one bc its so so important (= funny) to me)

• She can keep up with Sasuke’s STEM jokes. Has used physics related pick up lines on him before.

ie. “Sasuke, are you a quasar? …because you’re the hottest thing in the known universe.”

And that’s when he knew she was the one.

They really match each other’s freak in every sense.

Though there are moments where he’ll fluster her and she’ll shut down + vice versa.

• She has tattoos!!

—> A sun design on her left shoulder. Her name written in Tamil in her grandmother’s handwriting on the back of her hand. An intricate flower and another sun pattern on the right side of her hip going down her thigh (a pretty large tattoo at that.)

• She’s allergic to peaches. (but she has eaten some to prove a point to Kenshin. she regretted it afterwards).

[I’ll add more later!!]

[shamefulzombie]

Just me reacting to V Rising because I'm damn JOYOUS RN

A short gameplay trailer, it's so PEAK...now moving on the official website, Oakveil ✨

New area, Oakveil Woodlands!

Hey queen 🌹🌹🌹 Curious on how her boss fight will go

NEW ENEMY FACTION AND NEW V BLOODS, no reveal yet ooo

This is very important to me. (I fuckign love Dunley bosses) That makes 7 new bosses soon, holy I am fed 🤑

New Dunley Farmlands bosses!! One at the horse track and one at the Colosseum,

What makes me so interested in how are their lore goes in game, "Too skilled to dispose of, but too insufferable to endure his company" That's so funny 😭 I feel bad whenever someone deals with Erwin. Gaius also interests me, another ghost? What fully happened to him? Ooo I can't wait...also that colosseum is also Simon's pathwalk, wonder if they fight

New combat thing for those who love to fight other people 🔥 I think you get this from Gaius

NEW WEAPONS, 100 gonna use the Twinblades, [Claws for Lucian, Twinblades for Athanavierr, Throwing Daggers for Evangeline]

possibly there will be a new fella i will make hmmm, gonna name them Lysander...

Artifacts weapons are more pretty now, and applies more to their titles + new potions

new blood type: Corrupted, and you can now mix the blood types, and new passive abilities for powers!

i dont have to constantly walk back and forth to my chest when i craft now phew,,, and ABLE TO MERGE JEWELS, LEGENDARY WEAPONS!! NEW STABLE FOR MY PRECIOUS HORSES, Athanavierr needs them for emotional support

i can now dominate any creature now, only for blood i presume, and new sawmill and decor ooo!

i fuckign love Aleksandria Migova's soundtrack, i cant wait for how Oakveil will sound

and lastly, new DLC pack! it's so cunty, i love purple <3

I can't wait for ALL OF THIS, April 28 gotta come fast wbdhjsbk

okay ty for watching my insanity

[fishyfutaba]

[geolato]

a year and a bit too late maybe, but here you go, have a nun and a demon boy

please don't repost these anywhere thank youu

Extra!

(edit: idk wtf happened with this gif why is tumblr blurring her!!! let her shine in all her pixelated glory!!! istg)

[me-and-michael]

“The only thing I’ve really watched lately is a couple of movies and like stranger things I guess,” I say to my friends.

little did they know I did not “just watch stranger things.”

[just-a-little-silly]

Ikemen Sengoku: Arundhati☀️

A Character Profile (Sort of)

Taglist!

@queengiuliettafirstlady @ike-garden2024 @sh0jun @welp-back-on-my-bs @colourless-hydrangeas @oda-princess @obeymetalesandikemen

Thank you guys for liking Arundhati <33 It means the world!! And as always please let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list!!

Name: Arundhati Ayyadurai

Brief Profile.

Meanings:

•Arundhati- Washed by the rays of the sun

•Ayyadurai- Clever

‘Aru’ - [A shortened version of her first name.]

A name she allows those who struggle to pronounce ‘Arundhati’ call her + used by most (if not all) acquaintances and close friends.

Date of Birth: February 5th.

Place of Birth: Kerala, India.

Positions/Occupations:

[Former]: Undergrad at California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

She got a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and double majored in Aerospace Engineering.

[Former]: Model.

An international ambassador for luxury brands [ie. Chanel, Dior, Prada, etc]. Her responsibilities included participating in model campaigning for companies, attending shows and managing brand publicity. She enjoyed her work quite a bit and started working at the age of 20.

[Current]: Kunoichi.

She’s worked for several spy masters of the Sengoku Era. Notably, Mochizuki Chiyome and Takeda Shingen. She currently serves as one of Shingen’s famed Mitsumono.

Current + Most Notable Relationships with the Canon Cast:

Sarutobi/Mikumo Sasuke: Her canon partner.

Arundhati’s main ship is with Sasuke.

Takeda Shingen: Shingen is a father figure to Arundhati and in turn he sees her as a daughter.

Uesugi Kenshin: Kenshin and Arundhati come to see each other as siblings. Oftentimes he will call her his kunoichi (much to Shingen’s ever so slight displeasure considering she is one of his Mitsumono).

—> In truth, Arundhati is both a Mitsumono and a Nokizaru (unofficial but everyone who knows her also knows that she’s just as loyal to Kenshin).

*More will be added later on.

• Alternate AU ships: There are alternate versions of events where Arundhati ends up with the following warlords/characters:

Oda Nobunaga and Date Masamune.

Admittedly, these ships are yet to be explored in depth (I just think the dynamics are interesting.)

More Notable Details:

• Arundhati’s main titles are “Bronze Blade” (her more initial title) and “Kunoichi of The Shining Sun” (what people call her the more prolific she gets).

• Arundhati wears a mask when in her ninja attire for the sake of total anonymity.

A sketch of her mask:

• Arundhati is very proud of being Indian and almost always tries to incorporate her culture into her attire and accessories.

• She speaks fluent English, French, Tamil and Japanese

• Arundhati’s main motifs and symbolisms all relate back to the sun.

• Since all the canon IkeSen characters have animals, Arundhati’s would be a lioness named Mihira.

Brief Background (pertaining to how she traveled back in time):

Aru’s story starts in Paris where she was finalizing arrangements for her marriage to one of her closest college friends and Michelin star chef, Gaël.

She’d been dating Gaël for a few years at that point and didn’t think twice when accepting his proposal. However, their relationship hadn’t always been the best but both parties were trying to ignore how fast it was all falling apart in lieu of focusing on their respective careers.

It all truly burns down when Aru gets a message from her manager informing her of a particularly amazing opportunity to take part in a modeling campaign and establish her own makeup line based in Kyoto. She found it absolutely perfect since both her father and elder sister Ichiyo were based there (context: Aru’s mother, Janaki Ayyadurai, divorced Aru’s father and remarried a Japanese businessman, Harue Akiyama, when Arundhati was eight. Harue coincidentally had a daughter named Ichiyo. Arundhati and Ichiyo became two peas in a pod in record time and have been each other's closest confidants ever since). Ecstatic, she ran into Gaël’s arms when he came home from work that day to tell him the news. Yes, it would mean pushing back dates of their engagement by a few months, potentially close to a year but that wasn’t too much to ask, was it? After all, the opportunity Aru had in front of her wasn’t likely to pop up again. To her it was now or never and she thought Gaël would be supportive.

Gaël was not supportive.

Gaël was furious.

He lashed out at Aru with venomous words, questioning why she refused to get a “legitimate job” with her degree that she’d worked so hard for. In the end, he proposed an ultimatum: the job or being his bride. Heartbroken and rather furious herself, Aru was forced to realize just how awful her relationship with Gaël really was, how little he valued her and how unhappy she was through it all. She ended up breaking off the marriage, the engagement, all of it, then and there.

She booked the next available flight to Kyoto and was off.

She arrived in Kyoto in the wee hours of the morning, entirely unaware that by midnight of that very day, she would find herself 500 years in the past.

But before that, a party.

Arundhati had texted a group chat of her closest, most valued people in her life (apart from her parents) about the situation. She needed good drinks and her loved ones. And thus, she found herself surrounded by friends and cheer in the penthouse apartment her father had bought for her and her sister, overlooking the sparkling cityscape of Kyoto.

That night, after a few too many drinks, the group found themselves wandering the city. They come across the Honnoji monument when thunder claps in the distance and lightning flashes across the sky. A torrent of rain whips down upon them all and in a matter of moments, they’re gone, separated, sent tumbling through time and space- spread far and wide across the Sengoku Era (also yes, the others in the group are all my other OCs for this verse).

Arundhati arrived in the province of Iga in the year of 1578.

(this would be roughly around the time Sasuke arrives in Echigo and four years before Mai in Azuchi).

Now, “arrived” is a rather plain way to put it. You see, she actually happens to crash straight through the roof of one Mochizuki Chiyome’s home. Chiyome would go on to become one of Arundhati’s very first mentors. She teaches Arundhati all the ninja arts in her possession, shaping her to be a legendary kunoichi. While her life is an undeniably dangerous one, it’s also quiet, still and on a good day, tranquil.

That changes two years into her time in the Sengoku Era.

Takeda Shingen, a famed warlord characterized by his brutality in battle and vast, interconnected network of spies, the Mitsumono, comes to hear about some “bronze blade”.

In all honesty, he thought it to be some funky, insane new weapon at first until he heard various accounts and realized they were just about an insanely talented ninja. A ninja who was ridiculously hard to find.

Yet the second the tracks point towards Iga, he’s able to contact someone who most certainly knows quite a lot about this “bronze blade”.

To keep it brief, Shingen and Chiyome are contacts of one another and he manages to get Chiyome to introduce Aru to him. Rather, he gets Chiyome to let him spectate a training session she takes part in anonymously.

It's worth noting that by this time Ichiyo had started a life in Echigo and had mentioned a few times that she had a sister who looked nothing like her, a foreigner and thus, Shingen knew right away that he was looking at Arundhati.

Things go very quickly from there. Shingen reveals his identity, the fact that he knows where Ichiyo is and that he is willing to take her in as a Mitsumono. She accepts and begins the new chapter of her life in the Sengoku Era in Echigo under the banner of the Takeda.

Aru is reunited with her sister and is a crushing, humongous, gargantuan disappointment to Kenshin who thought Shingen was going to bring back a funky blade to spar with. Arundhati responds to this by saying she would very much like the opportunity to kill him. Kanetsugu then recoils in horror and Kenshin has found an addition to his very small collection of favorite people.

—x—

Something I admittedly do not touch upon as much as I should is the effect that such a drastic life change has on Arundhati. This feels like a rather obvious point but I do want to mention it. Aru is light, she’s naturally a warm, welcoming, magnetic person. People find themselves drawn to her because she is charismatic and is able to charm a crowd with ease. At least that’s how she was before traveling to a much darker, much colder time.

Her experience as a ninja obviously reshapes her, changes very core things about her. Here, Aru is otherworldly, distant, detached- just as bright and eye-catching but unreachable, ethereal. Only a handful of people (the court of Echigo, and a few others) can see past that veil.

It’s also worth mentioning that Arundhati is not always a kind person, nor an understanding one (she tries to be but does fail at times), at least not right after the events of traveling back in time.

Even though she is perceptive and loyal, she can be equally as ruthless, have tunnel vision and has lost a part of her compassion throughout the years as a result of what she’d been through herself and what has been done to others. That being said, Arundhati grows. She learns to find the light she once lost and slowly becomes a new version of the person she once was.

[kaznar342]

:(

:(

[subiusa]

quick one of chicken wing

[poppyflavour]

some little things i noticed in yours designs of stickmans (i hope the quality of the pictures has not deteriorated)

also, in the post with the designs, you wrote that you have a lot more that you want to depict and ohhhhhh, I really look forward to when you have the time and energy to do it!!

and small question: is it possible to use them in our drawings (indicating your authorship of the designs)?

Oh boy I hope it's readable-

THE FACT THAT YOU TOOK YOUR TIME TO DO THIS IS SO!! AA!! lackofwords.exe

I got this in my inbox and I just kept reading through it and kicking my feet o(≧∀≦)o Like this is so nice of you 😭😭 I almost wanted to not answer it and cherish it forever

I tried to adress each of your notes (I failed to do the one with Mango and Purple's hair similarities but that's partially because what I had to say wasn't really about neither Purple or King in particular and I just was really tired) and explain or add onto them, so I hope you'll enjoy this!

And yeah you can use my desings, but credit and also tag me because I want to see your artwork! <3

[onedemoniclilly]

First long post of my own opinions and thoughts in a while, I kinda went down the rabbit hole 2 hours past my bedtime.

It's definetly a weird mixture of a train of consciousness in something resembling a short essay (thought piece?). But I haven't written an actual research essay in 5 years soooooo have some words.

My referencing format here is non existent and always a bit different every time. I could only do so much on a phone at 3am.

My first reblog had these tags:

<Start of Transcript>

#just experienced this for the first time online and realised its a Whole Thing

#(broke out the capitals - its bad)

#but wtf? the website wanted me to make an account just so i could read a bloody comic only because it "could" contain 18+ content???

#no you are not having my personal details??? no thank you???????

#yes i agree with the idea of having the act prevent children from accessing such content

#and yes it is hard to find an alternative way to confirm the person accessing sites is over 18

<End of Transcript>

Current facts I found that might be of notice:

The act was passed on 26 October 2023 under the government underneath the then Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak.

OFCOM (the body assigned to regulate media) can, at any time, issue a notice that requires the breaking of end-to-end encryption.

Some websites have either completely closed down due to the high cost of legal compliance or have instead chosen to block UK users (so far it's mainly been small sites)

The Act does cover abusive content or targeted abuse of the following characteristics: race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability or gender reassignment.

The Act also covers any content that invites hatred against people of a particular race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, those who have a disability or have the characteristic gender reassignment.

OFCOM states their definition of hate speech as: "All forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, social origin , gender, sex, gender reassignment, nationality, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, colour, genetic features, language, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth or age."

I haven't written an essay in years but this honestly might just get me started again.

So far, reading through the published leglislations and OFCOMs own statements, I can see the idea behind it and the effort they have taken to try and regulate online spaces better to aid young people, those who may be triggered by seeing such content and the general public from possibly accessing online material that could cause a negative shift (ecetera). But the method in which confirming you are a verified user of an online service provider (whether you are in the UK or not) [section 16 of the Online Safety Act 2023] I consider quite invasive and does not allow for the same level of privacy we had before the enactment of the act.

However, it also brings up the argument over if you should try and regulate spaces like the internet in the first place. There is a point in which if someone really wanted to access something, there are possible hoops (legal and illegal) to jump through to get there. As a counter-point, not everyone is able to jump said "hoops" without noticeable effort or sacrifice of their part.

Is there other methods to verifying ypur identity online? Yes, but they then to be more invasive. I have personally experienced one such incident when I was attempting to access my account on Douyin 斗音 but was required to enter my non-existant Chinese ID number to continue using their services and therefore lost the use of my account as well as a space in which I was learning Chinese e-culture (doom-scrolling until my brain shuts down in a different language).

Will all websites need me to verify my banking details or have me upload a picture? No, probably not. However, it does bring up the potential case of attempting to verify using a live facial analysis for age and just not obtaining the verification due to youthful genes and so on.

It is more likely that they will have an alternative mode of access due to the fact that many computers do not have webcams or people just don't want their faces analysed but it might just be the easiest way for sites. In addition, possibly needing to upload an ID with your name, age and face can be a safety concern too; or perhaps online banking details which could also be another safety concern or even just an access issue too.

Keep in mind too: IDs aren't necessary in the UK. Some people don't drive or are not learning to drive and so don't have a licence. People may not want nor need to travel internationally and so do not have a passport. It is not a legal requirement to have a form of ID on you at all times.

The internet is actually quite new (and always changing); there is still an ongoing discussion about how parents should go about being responsible for their child's access to the Internet.

I've personally subscribed to the whole "informed concequences" sort of mindset in which you are fully able to fuck around and find out but also research and know what consequences you might have (and also so I can say I told you so). However, that requires having access to information and the skills to adequately research and understand said consequences.

Sure, some of these verification checks may be harmless. With the rise in data leaks and digital data being stolen and sold, current geopolitical scene, and the NHS always being a bit funky - I wouldn't be surprised if data starts getting sold to insurance companies even more than it already has been and private health care taking a bigger stance within the UK.

also remember to check how the NHS handles your data - you are able to withdraw consent for a number of things with a single page form!

Also which pages require verification for access seems a hit murky. So far, tumblr and Ao3 are fine for me but as time goes by - we'll see.

I recognise that I am taking a bigger 'privacy concern' stance here. As much as I would like to support the UK Government on the rare instance they recognise hatred towards minorities and people with lesser influence simply because of their own person, it sadly seems to be a road paved to the-government-controls-everything destination wrapped in a we're-concerned-about-your-safety ribbon despite the (maybe) good intentions it was initially proposed with. sigh politics

I have so many thoughts about this and very little time left before I really need to consider sleeping but I will leave you with a few useful links.

Links:

The full legislation of the Online Safety Act 2023 (UK): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/contents

OFCOM's code [section 3] referring to "material that is likely to incite crime or disorder, reflecting Ofcom’s duty to prohibit the broadcast of this type of programming.": https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-standards/section-three-crime-disorder-hatred-abuse#:~:text=All%20forms%20of%20expression%20which,political%20or%20any%20other%20opinion%2C

As always, please fact check articles and sources. I have been wrong in the past with all my facts and I can still be wrong.

---

I had initially put some Wikipedia articles here as linked sources; however upon investigating the sources linked to the published pages, they were deemed to be framed in a certain light. One noted instance was the article on Stephen Parkinson (who had promoted the Online Safety Act [2023]), under the section "House of Lords (2019-present)" in which the Wikipedia page states that:

During an interview on Sky News on 31 May 2022, Lord Parkinson asserted that imperial measurements, which the government was proposing to reintroduce, are "universally understood"; and, when questioned, that there are 14 ounces in a pound (the actual number is 16) and that one pound corresponds to 250g (the actual number is 454).

Although initially causing a good chuckle, watching the initial news clip (linked below) shows that the questioning was in fact a "quick game" [Sky News] between the host and Parkinsons. Downing Street had claimed that the Imperial System was "universally understood".

Sky News, Stephen Parkinson on Imperial Measurements at 12 minutes into the video: https://youtu.be/qZRESVDQ_LY?si=9C9hzh9FnXvP3nmJ

Take this as an example to research your sources.

Reading the new checks that might come in due to the Online Safety Act in the UK and this is actually bullshit

[Image Transcript:

And how will I prove my age?

There’s a number of methods a site or app might use to ask you to confirm your age. They might do this check themselves or use another company to do the check. These methods include:

Facial age estimation – you show your face via photo or video, and technology analyses it to estimate your age. 

Open banking – you give permission for the age-check service to securely access information from your bank about whether you are over 18. The age-check service then confirms this with the site or app.

Digital identity services – these include digital identity wallets, which can securely store and share information which proves your age in a digital format.

Credit card age checks – you provide your credit card details and a payment processor checks if the card is valid. As you must be over 18 to obtain a credit card this shows you are over 18.

Email-based age estimation – you provide your email address, and technology analyses other online services where it has been used – such as banking or utility providers - to estimate your age.  

Mobile network operator age checks – you give your permission for an age-check service to confirm whether or not your mobile phone number has age filters applied to it. If there are no restrictions, this confirms you are over 18. 

Photo-ID matching – this is similar to a check when you show a document. For example, you upload an image of a document that shows your face and age, and an image of yourself at the same time – these are compared to confirm if the document is yours.

End Transcript.]

Not only is this such a fucking breach of privacy, but this is going to hurt adults in vulnerable and abusive situations. Some adults don’t have bank accounts or credit cards or even a fucking phone. I’m one of them. I could not give half of this information even if I wanted to. What the fuck is this. Fuck the UK government. This isn’t going to protect kids, this is just going to hurt adults, and I know full well when they say “sites that allow pornography” they’re going to be going after sites that have huge amounts of queer content, like tumblr and Ao3. Queer kids are gonna lose their fucking communities because of this shit. Abuse victims are going to lose online support systems because of this.

I’m genuinely fucked off about this, and worried about whether I’m going to lose every single one of my online friends. Anyone in the UK, please email your MP and sign this petition. It needs to reach 100k signatures to pass through Parliament.

I’m only hoping the backlash will be big enough for them to stop implementing these measures.

[draconesmundi]

To sum up my long tail post; if you are making a realistic giant flying animal, no tail/short tail is best. If you're having fun and getting whimsical with it, add a tail because dragons look good with tails and you shouldn't worry about the Thought Police being mean about unrealistic dragon designs. Of course it's a little unrealistic, it's a dragon!

[aw4rmplace]

Loved you more than everything, loved it more than anything, loved everything more than anything

[sidsledge]

✦ SIDSLEDGE // “Trátame suavemente” ‐ Cover by Soda Stereo.

vote sidsledge today!

Quiero que me trates suavemente Suavemente

[macdenlover]

SOMEBODY FUCKING SEDATE ME

[valeriele3]

The urge to go back to Ayato Aishi fics for that "In love with a yandere but the yandere loves someone else" bc idk HOW to find that specific kind of plot (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)