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Never use Surfshark VPN

I just wanted to make this post to warn yall about it, I am not a tech genius but I wanted to get a vpn and surfshark was one I knew about so i subscribed to them because it seemed ok, that was where I fucked up.

fast forward a year and now I am trying to cancel my yearly auto-renewing subscription which costs 70 fuckin bucks, didnt find much use in surfshark as it was too laggy when using its vpn services so i go to billing and try to cancel.

there was no cancel button so that was odd, and you cant turn off auto-renew so i figure ill just get rid of my card info so it cant charge me.

i cant or at least i cant figure out how.

I go to help and find the cancellation area after scrolling past why you should keep the subscription and it tells me to contact their live support to cancel, It requires my name and gmail, I know for a fact my gmail is correct but it says its wrong and that my name is wrong no matter how many ways I enter it and I cant find a possible username anywhere on the site i could use. Its for all practical reasons impossible for me to cancel, not just the fact I cant even talk to customer support, but the people on reddit that do, talk to a bot and then the agents take months to actually turn off the subscription so it charges again and there is no refunds.

dont use surfshark VPN

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Who the fuck needs Tumblr anymore I'm just going to be looking at lamp posts from now on

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they should invent joints that don’t hurt

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Ma'am did you seriously just gainax while crushing a woman to death

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too busy thinking about hentai to look at hentai or play hentai games

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ppl b like "oh no another platform (pixiv) is banning hentai!!!"

things are definitely escalating and not getting better... but they aren't exactly getting as bad as people think they are

hold on while I make a post that's way too fucking long

"pixiv is banning porn" not really. the new policies for US/UK users, and US/UK users only, specifically call out nsfw of minors and gore and rape and extreme violence and art that is discriminatory. regardless of if you think that stuff should be prohibited or not, the following is true:

that stuff historically has not been seen as legal in the US/UK (this is gonna sound insane, but read up about the incident revolving around a game called "rapelay". that incident irreversibly changed the hentai publishing scene and is the source of why so many japanese hentai creators/publishers opt not to release their work overseas)

as such, it makes sense for pixiv to hide such content to continue providing service to users in those regions

such content is still available to users outside of the US/UK

to determine whether or not you are in the US/UK, there is dropdown that asks you what region you're in. you can change this on your own and as often as you want. it's completely self-reported

so far pixiv has been getting away with censoring/removing as little content as possible

in many other cases, governments have simply restricted access to sites (e.g. nhentai in france). this is preventative of that

other truths:

everything pixiv is restricting in the US/UK is currently prohibited as paid content on all of their services. you can sell physical and digital merch on pixiv booth, you can host subscriber-only content on pixiv fanbox, you can make "requests" which are commissions directly handled by pixiv: all of these allegedly prohibit nsfw of minors and extreme expressions like gore

"allegedly" bc (don't tell the payment processors) they really don't. maybe for physical merch they'll enforce it, idk, but I've seen such content still being provided behind fanbox paywalls. don't ask don't tell type shit going on. if you don't get reported and don't tag your work with prohibited tags, you're usually fine (even when the content itself is in clear violation of the policies (or uhhh antiquated laws in the case of genital censorship))

other sites are getting hit by restrictions as well. dlsite, which still provides equal service to users worldwide (wherever it isn't banned) recently had all of its international credit card support taken away from it

however, there are workarounds. you cannot use credit cards on the dlsite website but you get directed to a convenient "3rd party" website at checkout where you can buy dlsite point cards with credit cards. not ideal but still viable

for both of these "we'll let you get away with it until someone complains" type of systems it really requires that people who don't want to see the systems don't see them, either on purpose on by accident. well that's an issue when one of the techniques is to obscure what you're doing by avoiding relevant terminology. but it's offset when there's a barrier to get there in the first place. e.g. guro is hidden behind an opt-out r-18g filter. and well, the content I'm describing is a fraction of what the services have to offer anyway

but I'm like 3 degrees off topic at this point what I'm trying to say is that freaks find a way (that's good) but the commercial viability is getting worse (that's bad)

this situation is how I see it in japan but I know the situation is more dire elsewhere, e.g. in places like s korea. but this is alongside other issues which may or may not take priority

I could keep writing but I got bored of this post a while ago. these are just the observations of someone whose hobby has been affected by all of this for a long time. and I'm tired of seeing oversimplifications of the situation

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pixiv banning r18 material in the us/uk is bad. really bad

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Dragons Fucking Car I (Relief), 2016     Jon Rafman

White Carrara Marble 152 x 126 x 20 cm 59 7/8 x 49 5/8 x 7 7/8 in                                    

[huzr]

Vocaloid Songs You Might Have Missed - December 2023

Welcome back to my blog. Just like that, it's the last post for the year... never mind that it's already 2024. But for this longtime fan, 2023 was the best year in ages for Vocaloid music.

Something I mentioned in an earlier entry is that so much Vocaloid music over the past few years has felt like bait for singers to cover. (And to paste their avatars over in the videos... I'm far from the first person to notice this!) I don't mention this entirely to be a hater, but to contrast with the type and quality of release I've seen this year. Many of the 'vtuber bait' songs I poke fun at are truly great and destined to live on forever in Vocaloid history, but I've always felt a difference between songs that use vocal synths in the absence of a human singer and those that lean into the synthetic nature of the voices and the characters that represent them.

Over the past few years, a renewed interest in idiosyncratic voicebanks like Adachi Rei, Utane Uta (entirely synthetic), and the MAIDLOIDs (derived from a h-game moan synthesis engine) has coincided with technological advancement: the entry of SynthV, Neutrino, and CeVIO voicebanks have been fuel for an explosion in new music -- a genuine Vocaloid renaissance.

SynthV Teto has been particularly instrumental in all this since her release in April. In mere months, SV Teto has catapulted at least one producer into online superstardom, and an associated reevaluation of UTAU Teto has seen her behind some of the biggest songs this year. Nostalgia was part of the reason 2023 was the Year of Teto, but the SynthV voicebank, which totally maintained Teto's character while shaking off the computer-y crunchiness, is an achievement well worth the fanfare it received. With December's release of SynthV GUMI, are we in for a similar treat in 2024?

Anyways, last month's post is here, and this month's is under the break.

P.S. Speaking of nostalgia... did you know that Dixie Flatline is back?

Full playlist here, individual tracks below.

心酔 / あすわど feat. 重音テト Standard voca-pop rock, but something about the stuttering drums and a finely tuned Teto is *chef's kiss* more than enough for me.

死んだっぽいぜ / クソ犬 feat. 知声 I'd never heard a Vocaloid producer take on this kind of rock, somewhat reminiscent of pre-Warner Devo and a dead ringer for ZAZEN BOYS at their best. I also never expected to hear a Maki cover of "Lithium," so this producer is my current king of breaking new ground.

アサルト / いおぎりょう feat. 知声 Ryo Iogi's Teto hyperpop from September is one of my favorite tracks of the year, and I've been anxious to hear something new from him. Like the last song on this list, Chis-A's voice lends itself well to a good grungy guitar riff.

かくほ / よかど feat. 足立レイ Like Chis-A, Rei's voice pairs naturally with a certain kind of music... usually the skittery electronic dance-pop kind, so it's refreshing to hear a Coaltar of the Deepers-esque song featuring her.

sh*ellll;gar~ey / あずきねこp feat. カゼヒキβ, 初音ミク Finally, Kazehiki Beta hyperpop!

エビチャーハン! (You’re Telling Me A SHRIMP Fried This Rice?!) / Jamie Paige feat. 初音ミク Jamie Paige is behind just about every English Vocaloid song that I like (sorry Crusher-P, but I'm not an edgy teenager anymore), so I wasn't surprised to love her celebration of the Snow Miku 2024 "Shrimpku" design. And it's always funny to hear Miku say fuck.

ルナシー / 報瀬 feat. 初音ミク, 重音テト There's something so satisfying about hearing a "traditional" vocasynth sing alongside one of the next-gen, realistic-sounding ones. I love getting hit back-to-back with a crunchy melismatic Miku call and Teto soaring smoothly in response, especially paired with an uptempo saxophone riff that makes me want to shout ᴶaᵃaˢₒⁿ ᴰₑʳᵤᵘᵤˡₒᵒₒᵒ.

ドキドキ / tiputica feat. AiSuu I can't find anything about this artist. They have a Twitter account with one post about this song, zero followers or follows, and that's it. If anyone out there has more information on this artist, hit me up.

マジカルメモリー / in the blue shirt feat. 初音ミク in the blue shirt isn't new to Vocaloid, but he's much more known among netlabel followers for his sunny, sample-driven plunderphonic pop. His Miku music follows that feeling.

今日のずんだはみなごろし / ちから feat. ずんだもん,東北ずん子, イタコ, きりたん, 四国めたん, ナクモ I barely know where to start with this one. Like, uh, most people who don't listen to Pentatonix, I'm not particularly fond of a certain brand of a capella music, but when it's done this well, with such a satisfying complexity of harmony and counterpoint, and for Zundamon's birthday of all occasions, how can you not fall in love?

サンタの眠る夜 / ぐーすかぽー feat. 初音ミク The holidays have just wrapped up, and while there's never any shortage of Vocaloid Christmas songs, ones that are actually enjoyable to listen to are few and far between... though I think there's a new market opening for New Years music!

Trajectory / ごーぶす feat. KAITO Hey, it's KAITO's first appearance on here! A chill ballad with a beautiful rnb chord progression.

え？ちょっと待って寒すぎない？ / asanuko feat. 鏡音レン Speaking of rnb, I think I've mentioned on here how much I love Rin for rnb/garage. asanuko's song is funny as hell, and I'm sure I'll be singing it under my breath as the winter chill continues to settle in, but mostly I'm impressed at how good Rin sounds for this kind of music.

夜空の再構成 / ヨハク feat. 初音ミク This style of song/video has been getting popular recently... electric piano, rapid-fire bass, intricate drum programming, synth leads that twist and turn around the melody, and all of the chord/time information you could ever hope for. A little showboating for music nerds, but it's stimulating enough and I do like it.

ボクにあいそうなはこ / MIDy feat. カゼヒキβ Finally, Kazehiki Beta hy-- wait a second.

ずんだ体育大学コール / さたぱんP feat. ずんだもん, 春日部つむぎ, WhiteCUL, 四国めたん, 白上虎太郎, 青山龍星 The Zundamon gods demand a sacrifice of joke songs, so here it is. See if you can count the references in the zunda dances.

＊･ﾟ+｡園にて.ﾟ / ukaihi feat. 初音ミク ukaihi is 3 for 3 on making it onto this list. I'm sure #4 will make it on here, too... if they don't become popular enough for most people to come across their music first!

絵空事���来 / 真島��ろ feat. 初音ミク Where the ukaihi song seemed to float, this one skips. 真島ゆろ is one of those producers who can change styles from song to song, and this take on a sasakure.uk-gone-lighthearted style is a winner.

ナイトランナー / d0tc0mmie feat. 重音テト Osaka mentioned... d0c0mmie did a great job capturing a feeling with this one. The laid back - but quick - drums bring back memories of running around Namba with friends way too late into the night.

ハイパー. / ikomai feat.Ciちゃんβ My favorite submission from #PVSF2023R -- so obviously the video is great, but the original track from ikomai blew me away. I think my taste in music is easily read from my blog posts, and this kind of song is nothing out of the ordinary for me, but the Jacob Collier style turnaround at 0:58 knocked me out.

エグい速度での俯瞰 / もっちりしたパン feat.可不, ナースロボ＿タイプT Nurse Robo Type T and Kafu doing what they do best -- talking and mirroring a superspeed jazz fusion piano riff.

NSFW Bonus - メスガキヨーデル / enunichime feat. 重音テト First of all, I have never heard a vocasynth yodel before, and I was not expecting it to sounds this good. Second of all, you can't be making songs about this white baby.

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Isn't Hannibal a bad person though?

I can't think of anything bad he did

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Blue Archive giving the player character a chat app thing is good for a lot of reasons a good few I've uploaded here but I also really love how for Reisa's first bond event she spends the thing super defensively insisting she has friends while asking you how to like, talk to people and then at the end she texts you this

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dsk

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