#4: Help Wikipedia create

[bwv572]

The wikipedia article for dead internet theory is one of the best examples I've seen of just how retarded wikipedia has become. The entire article was created just to dismiss the concept as a conspiracy theory. This is the opening sentence:

The dead Internet theory is an online conspiracy theory that asserts, due to a coordinated and intentional effort, the Internet now consists mainly of bot activity and automatically generated content manipulated by algorithmic curation to control the population and minimize organic human activity.[1][2][3][4][5] 

And you might think to yourself, wait, there's nothing about this phenomenon that requires a conspiracy. That bots would eventually outnumber humans is the inevitable product of 30+ years of bot and AI development, helped by the fact that just one person can run 100+ bots. We all know bot farms exist and that states have their hand in AI development, but just as many bots are run by normal people, and no amount of this is actually coordinated for some larger explicitly stated end: it's actually complete chaos with no end goal, with individual actors working for fun, for research, or for whatever other benefit, with no real concern for how their botting affects other networks or "civilians".

And the talk page thought of all these points. The editors responded to the above objection with "we have reliable sources that call it a conspiracy theory. Check those citations".

The more obvious position, the one actually used by the people who came up with the term to begin with, wouldn't have ever stated itself as "not a conspiracy", because no conspiracy was even being alleged, thus no "reliable sources" can be cited with the explicit claim "the following theory is not intended to be a conspiracy theory"

The kicker is that you click the reliable sources they quote, and the first one never alleges a conspiracy to begin with, it posits that it is a "speculation about the future of the internet". The second article calls it a "conspiracy theory", but in the colloquial sense of an "out there idea", which is a usage I have always hated. For instance, people call "bigfoot" a conspiracy theory - a conspiracy is a secret coordinated plan to commit a crime - that some big humanoid animal lives in the woods is not a plan to commit a crime. The "conspiracy theory" that "the moon isn't real" isn't a plan to commit a crime. These are just memes.

But, a "reliable source" written by a millennial woman used the term as a meme and now wikipedia cites it as an actual conspiracy and you're not allowed to change that framing unless you join a wikipedia council and vote to completely overhaul the editorial framing of this article.

There are much worse instances of this, but this is a good example of how retarded this all is because you don't really need a position on the article to understand that you don't need to frame it in that way for any of the information in the article to make sense.

[enlightenedfeline]

How to navigate researching things for your writing:

Research can be hard and you can often get swept away and forget what you were even looking for in the first place, in this post I'll share the process I like to use when I need to research something for my writing.

First off I'll start this post by saying that I am as unmotivated as someone can get when it comes to doing research for writing, and as a crime writer I need to research a lot of things.

1- A good start is always to narrow it down to exactly what you want to research, make your questions as specific as possible so you don't fall down a rabbit hole of looking at unnecessary information just to find what you want.

2- If you can't narrow it down or aren't sure specifically what you're looking for, do the opposite of what I stated above, make your question as short and general as possible, so you can get all the possible answers, and when you find the one that relates most closely to the topic you actually wanna research, use the information in it to create a very specific question.

3- Use the FUCK out of reddit, and quora too, although I find that as a crime writer, most of the sketchy information I actually want is on reddit and not anywhere else. Your answer probably isn't on google, especially not now that they're relying on AI, another good website for more history related stuff is ofc the infamous Wikipedia, but I personally haven't had to use it often. But seriously, Reddit, read all the relevant posts you can find because you will probably find the answer you want, and if you don't, asking the question yourself is always an option.

4- Interest and curiousity is good, but it won't help you if you're in the middle of a scene and get carried away. Ground yourself, find what you want and get out, if you read something and you're interested in knowing more, please just bookmark the tab and get back to your scene with your newfound answer.

5- Images are very very helpful in research, especially when describing weapons, just find yourself a labeled image on google and go crazy! Same thing applies to human anatomy, either images or visualizations work when you need them.

6- Sometimes, for more complex topics, you will not find one straight answer, not on reddit, quora, wikipedia, nowhere. You will need to put information together and fill in the gaps yourself, if you're in the middle of writing a scene when this happens do not stop to put the information together! Finish your scene with what information you have, correctness isn't important, set a time to do your research and put your answer together, and when you've finished that go back and edit the scene!

The final piece of advice I will leave you with is to just focus, as I just stated, correctness doesn't matter in the first draft of the scene, you can go back and fix it as many times as your little heart desires, but you absolutely cannot get back the flow you lost because you got distracted.

So focus, if you find what you need right away, great! If you don't, justs set time aside to do it later, what matters first and foremost is to get the information on the page and fix it later.

Maybe some of this advice will help, maybe it won't, either way, I hope this feline has enlightened you!

[thesimstree]

10+ unique templates to enhance your The Sims story

An easy way to make your sim’s profile stand out in the sea of family trees and dynasty channels is to use a variety of visual templates. We think these are perfect for character diary entries, adding flair to descriptions, sim galleries, or even the entire family. Of course they’re also great for your sims-themed social media.

In most cases working with templates requires only basic Photoshop skills. We’ve put together a selection of character profile templates, chat and story layouts, passports, travel tickets, and much more! Download your favorite designs below, create something unique, and share your vibrant sim stories with us on the platform. By the way, all these templates are perfect for using in your Sim's diary on TheSimsTree.

Character/sim card template for Photoshop by @cosmicamos-archive

A basic character profile styled in the spirit of our favorite game. It’s super easy to use in-game icons to quickly fill out your sim’s profile, all while keeping it fresh and original.

"Character in 5 Minutes" Template for Adobe Photoshop by @nulevhroma

A quick and fun questionnaire to reveal your sim’s personality in new ways. The prompts are thoughtfully selected, but you can easily tweak them or add your own ideas.

Character Sheet Template for Canva by thesimbience

An incredibly cute profile template where you can even showcase your favorite outfits for your sim. It's also a great place to highlight hobbies, work, and favorite spots.

Sim Character Sheet for Canva by @stormistargazer

This template is perfect for capturing all the most important details about your sim. You’ll need to decide what truly defines their biography and personality.

Kids’ questionnaire template for Adobe Photoshop by Ephiemera

A nostalgic throwback to the fun of filling out friend questionnaires in school. Why not let your sims enjoy the same experience? Plus it’s a great way for you to get to know them better. 

Of course this isn’t just for kids – see an example design by DiVet below.

Simstagram Story Overlay for Photoshop by @honeycombsims

As they say, “If it’s not on Simstagram, it didn’t happen”. This applies to your sims too! Don’t leave their journals without travel or event stories – your followers won’t forgive you!

Playlist Template for Adobe Photoshop by DiVet

Perfect for those who love fleshing out their characters on every level. Your sim’s favorite music can add more depth and life to their personality.

Text Messaging Template for Photoshop by @kouukie

An amazing way to tell a character’s story – just like forwarding texts to your friends for advice. After all, important decisions often happen in messages, and your sims are no exception.

Wikipedia Template for Photoshop by @lucky-content

In our Sims worlds full of characters and events, some deserve their own Wikipedia page. Movie stars, legendary scientists, infamous criminals, city founders, or the heads of ancient families – this template highlights just how unique your sim or event is.

Criminal Case File Template for Photoshop by @nulevhroma

Not all dynasty members are peaceful, some love to party, cause chaos, or even commit crimes. A police dossier on your sim is a great way to enhance their story.

Let's Travel (Template Pack) by gingenr

If your family members travel often, this pack is for you! Create realistic tickets for planes, trains, or buses. Designing tickets for an upcoming trip is such a delightful touch.

Passport - sims 4 worlds - emtpy PNG by gingenr

Where there’s travel, there are passports. This atmospheric pack includes passport templates for each Sims town. Passports aren’t just for travel, they can come in handy for jobs, weddings, or even police encounters…

Ultimate social bunny templates for Photoshop by pxlverse

No Sim story is complete without posts from their in-game social networks. This beautiful template helps immerse your readers in your sim’s journey.

[kwebtv]

TV Guide - May 8 - 14, 1965

Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005)  Film and television omedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series Gilligan’s Island, and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Denver made his television debut in 1957, playing a small part in one episode of The Silent Service (S01 E37: “The Loss of the Tang”). While teaching at Corpus Christi in 1958, Denver was permitted to audition for a role on the sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis as a favor to his sister, who was a secretary on the production lot. He got the role and left teaching the following year to become a regular on the series. From 1959 to 1963, he appeared on the series as Maynard G. Krebs, the teenaged beatnik best friend of Dobie Gillis, played by Dwayne Hickman. After filming the first three episodes, Denver received his draft notice, and was briefly written out of the script and replaced, but he was designated 4-F due to an old neck injury and returned to Dobie Gillis having missed only one episode. Denver later reprised his Maynard G. Krebs role in the television sequels Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? (1977) and Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988).

During his time on Dobie Gillis, Denver appeared on the NBC interview program, Here’s Hollywood. In 1963, Denver played his only major dramatic role on television, as a physician (Dr. Paul Garrett) in one episode of Dr. Kildare, telecast on October 10, 1963; the episode, “If You Can’t Believe the Truth …”, also featured Barbara Eden and Ken Berry. Between the end of Dobie Gillis and the start of Gilligan’s Island, Denver appeared in an episode of The Farmer’s Daughter and in the final episode of The Danny Thomas Show. He also had a one-episode role replacing the actor who played Dudley A. “Dud” Wash, the fiancé of Charlene Darling of the Darlings, on The Andy Griffith Show which was aired March 30, 1964. This was done by the network to promote Denver’s face and make him more familiar to the viewing audience since Gilligan’s Island was about to go on air.

Following the cancellation of Dobie Gillis, Denver landed the title role on the sitcom Gilligan’s Island, which ran for three seasons (1964–67) on CBS, and became a staple of later syndication. His role as the well-meaning but bumbling first mate among a small group of shipwrecked castaways became the one for which he is most remembered. During the run, Denver privately went out of his way to help his co-stars who warmly appreciated his efforts, such as successfully demanding that Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells be included in the series’ opening credits and insisting that Wells get an equal share of the series’ publicity with Tina Louise. A decade after the series was cancelled, Denver played Gilligan in the made-for-TV reunion movies Rescue from Gilligan’s Island (1978), The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island (1979), and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island (1981). He also lent his voice to the animated series The New Adventures of Gilligan and its sequel Gilligan’s Planet. During the 1980s, he reprised the character of Gilligan for numerous cameo appearances, including episodes of ALF, Meego and Baywatch.

After Gilligan’s Island, Denver went on to star on other TV comedy series, including The Good Guys (1968–1970), Dusty’s Trail (1973-1974) (a show similar to Gilligan’s Island, involving a lost wagon train headed to California), and the Sid and Marty Krofft children’s program Far Out Space Nuts (1975). Four episodes of Dusty’s Trail were later combined to create a feature film, The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976).

Denver’s other television roles included guest appearances on multiple episodes of Love, American Style; The Love Boat; and Fantasy Island. In 1983, he starred in the television pilot The Invisible Woman as the bumbling mad scientist uncle of the title character. (Wikipedia)

Tina Louise (nee Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island. Louise is the last surviving cast member.

She began her career on stage in the mid-1950s before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God's Little Acre for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

She also had a recurring role on the primetime soap opera Dallas.

In 1962, she guest-starred on the situation comedy The Real McCoys, portraying a country girl from West Virginia in the episode "Grandpa Pygmalion".

In the fall of 1984, she succeeded Jo Ann Pflug as Taylor Chapin on the syndicated soap opera Rituals. (Wikipedia)

[suudbe]

hi! i hope you don’t mind me asking but what happened with Akatsuki? im very out of the enstars loop so i feel a bit lost in understanding what all is going on 😅 feel free to ignore me if you don’t want to explain!

No problem at all! I'll explain to the best of my ability.

Recently, Enstars added 5 new idols. One of the new idols is Taki Ibuki and he is from Okinawa and is Ryukyuan. When Japan colonized the Ryukyu Kingdom, they forced the people to assimilate into Japanese culture. This process is called Japanization.

So, when rumors came out about the Ryukyuan character Ibuki possibly joining Akatsuki, a unit focused on Traditional Japanese aesthetics, people who know that history immediately called out the implications of writing such a thing. The head writer is known to write indigenous characters disrespectfully, but surely he wouldn't go this far?

It's been stated in several Akatsuki stories that Keito, Kuro, and Souma want it to only be them. There is a heavy emphasis on them having a bond stronger than blood. This is gonna be a one-off collab that leads to something bigger maybe Ibuki will go solo! Literally anything else BUT this please.

What followed was a story that mischaracterized every Akatsuki member. It was like all character development was reversed, for Keito, it seemed like he was a completely different dude.

The Enstars official twitter released a message to "Please not spoil the last few chapters for at least 4 days 🥺" they've never done this to my knowledge. It was blatant damage control for the shitstorm they had created themselves. Ibuki was brought into Akatsuki. What followed the next few hours were QRTs in all different languages absolutely GOING IN on Happyele, as they should. I saw so many people mourning the future of the franchise, many more leaving altogether, so much sadness and anger.

People connected the dots of releasing a Rei along with the event, since he's very very popular, and also announcing the PJSK collab. These would build up hype so maybe people would overlook it or it would draw them back in or some shit.

If I'm to sum it up in one sentence I'd say that Akatsuki was blatantly mischaracterized so they could fit their racist narrative of Indigenous people being "primitive" or "fixable" and needing to assimilate into Japanese culture.

Hopefully I explained the gist of it, I have a hard time phrasing and I've been told I explain things a bit unorganized. Here's a link to a twitter thread that most certainly explains way better than I could and two Wikipedia links that helped me learn.

A thread by @/gitsunegal on twitter written Oct. 10th when the rumors started. The last tweet in the thread is after the announcement, Jan 3rd.

A Wikipedia article on Japanization, contains summaries of not only Okinawa but also other areas that experienced Japan's colonization.

A Wikipedia article on the History of the Ryukyu Islands, I'd like to specifically point out the section Okinawa Prefecture, 1879–1937. Starting at the section Battle of Okinawa, the article discusses heavy topics such as rape, violence, and death.

If I missed anything or if any information is inaccurate please feel free to correct me or add on.

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Might be wrong about this, but the snake statue in The Next Prince episode 4 looks to be based off of a real Naga religious statue at the Monkuware Thao Wessuwan Temple in Chiang Mai, which I only know because Pompam Niti (GMMTV actor) posted a pic of going to worship at it earlier today. And even if it’s not specifically based on this statue, it’s still interesting and relevant to The Next Prince to know the tradition around the serpentine Naga figures in the region.

Here’s the only Anglo resource on it I found after a bit of digging. If nothing else, you can enjoy the incredible butch Australian social worker giving the video tour.

It’s interesting to see how The Next Prince, with it’s explicit commentaries on colonialism and European culture so far, seems to be playing with the negative cultural associations with snakes born from Abrahamic religious traditions that much of the international audience grew up with. Snakes are manipulative, evil, satanic since the garden of Eden. Are we meant to apply those values to the Phuchongphisut family in the same way we’re meant to make those connections to Slytherin in HP?

Meanwhile, Thailand’s traditions around the serpents, along with much of South and Southeast Asia, is linked to the Naga figure that we see above. I’m just grabbing this info from Wikipedia so I’m glad to hear more insight from people with more familiarly. According to the wiki article, Naga’s are divine beings that can take the form of snakes, humans, or half-snake/half-humans. As in much of religion outside of the Abrahamic traditions, nagas aren’t essentially good or bad.

Some beliefs that might help in appreciating The Next Prince (we’ll see 🤷🏻‍♀️):

1. Their role as followers of one of The Four Heavenly Kings (4 kings sound familiar?), Virupaksa, who guards the Western direction

2. Like the Phuchongphisut family crest, the nagas are depicted with gems and jewelry, as they hail from the underworld (caverns included), where precious stones can be found.

3. Their also sometimes depicted holding Amrita, an elixir for immortality, which seems significant after the last conversation between Charan and the King, about the myth of the one mortal and one immortal Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, in the constellation—another western myth contrasted with the South Asian beliefs of that same constellation, Mithuna, which in addition to the meaning of twins, also apparently refers to coupling up romantically and sexually, but specifically as a male and female pair, adding a-whole-nother layer of implications to the king shoving that painting in Charan’s face.

4. The story in the Lotus Sutra of Longyu, or the dragon girl, who upon listening to the Lotus Sutra be read aloud, transforms into a male Bodhisattva. It’s a story that’s been argued to either prove or disprove one had to be male to reach Buddhahood. The gender politics sound like they could mesh well with TNP.

The Next Prince’s juxtaposition of European cultural legacies against the South Asian cultural beliefs creates such a rich narrative tension for me. I’m looking forward to all the meta it’s gonna inspire and hope others pick up on everything it’s doing. So glad Domundi seems to have spent their hefty investment on the writing as well as the rest of the production!

[illuminatedferret]

I've always thought it strange that the Fang Xin Guoshi mask didn't become a cursed artifact. Sure, Ruoye probably served double duty as a sponge for the Dianxia juice during the long years down under, but I can't believe the mask had the temerity not to pick up on the vibes of near endless suffering in a pitch black coffin Xie Lian put himself in. I know he got the silver from a yao, which sounds like a beast that cultivated to a higher form, but would it be odd if it fused with Xie Lian's blood to become a higher spirit? I've been bouncing around an idea about the mask getting turbo charged if Ruoye got left out as part of some Yong' An funeral custom and now Xie Lian has two blatantly cursed fashion accessories.

I mean, in a way it did become cursed, what with the whole... -gestures at Ghost King's Birthday Extra-. But I'm guessing from you mentioning it becoming a higher spirit that you're talking about it becoming a sort of conscious spiritual tool like Ruoye, not simply a cursed artifact. And I LOVE the attitude you're giving the mask here, like it had the audacity NOT to become a spiritual tool?! Haha.

The silver came from a yao, you're right. It's... hm. I suppose it could have been a sort of spiritual animal. It was something supernatural, for sure, although what, I couldn't say. If it helps, think of yao as youkai- as a matter of fact, Wikipedia tells me youkai is a transliteration of the full Chinese term, yaoguai. But that's why it had the spiritual capabilities it did: beyond its ability to absorb Xie Lian's blood, it was also able "to reflect magic and shield the wearer's body and life." Actually, now I'm wondering if it might have mitigated some of the harm Xie Lian experienced being nailed to a coffin and buried alive...

I have a couple thoughts about it becoming a spiritual tool. Ultimately, I mean, if you like the idea, I think you should go for it! The world is your oyster, and I think an AU where Xie Lian's got a spooky mask that can probably do some freaky stuff is really cool. But if I was looking to justify why it doesn't become one in canon, I think my reasoning would be that there just wasn't enough sacrificed to empower the mask. Ruoye was born from the sacrifices of three people: the lives of Xie Lian's parents, and Xie Lian's blood. We know from Hua Cheng creating Eming that lives aren't necessary to create a spiritual tool from a blood sacrifice, but we also see that Xie Lian's blood and agony, in the absolute depths of his despair, at his lowest point, was not enough by itself to create Ruoye. And while the coffin was definitely not a happy time for Xie Lian, I am of the opinion that Xie Lian never fell to the same level of despair and agony in the coffin that he did back in Book 4- or, perhaps it's that he never reached the same sort of despair. Different types of suffering.

Anyway, my point is that Xie Lian's time in the coffin isn't really set up to be enough to create a spiritual tool. That's my impression, at least. I could go further into my thoughts on what I suspect about MXTX's authorial intent and motivations and spiritual tools as a trope, but I don't want to turn this into a ramblefest, so I'll leave it here. I do think it would be fun to explore this sort of thing in a fic or something, though. I'd love to see how people would approach the idea of the Fangxin mask developing its own spirit.

[deceit-and-knowledge]

(CONSENT IS ATTRACTIVE KIDS)

He is oh so desperate Recluse, why not assist in such matters? The desperation on a high figure such as the Fount of knowledge himself is more than a praise if not a begging plea for more

He's right under your finger tips Recluse, if you're willing to go into the deep end with him. He's there practically begging for you to help, assist, lending a help hand. His soul jam is there~

Desperation is always quite intriguing~

Ask tho. Make sure he is truly okay with it

-forgotten Cream 🍦

ooc: so intially I was going to make a separate story post about this butttttt~~~ lmao. You're a sacrifice bro :3

SUGGESTIVE WARNING

But the ending is cute~

If you need a TLDR/idwrt just ask

t: *pulls sage onto him* (sage was on top of him)

...are you sure..?

f: *rapidly nodding*

t: I mean YOU.....

f: o-oh um.. y... yes... I'm sure.. *sits up*

t: ..... we're not.... y'know..

f: OH NO NO! I'm... not ready for THAT yet..... I'll only do that with the cookie that places a ring on my finger~

So! ...um.....

t: ...do you reckon we could do this somewhere more comfortable..? Or do you like the hard floor?

f: that would require going a comfortable location.. and um... I'm afraid my mood is preventing me from using my powers...

t: that's a lie.. but okay....

Alright.. well I offer 4 things. I can run your thigh, rub your soul jam, I can bite you or choke y-

f: CHOKE ME!

t: ....???

f: um. Ahem.. choke me please!

t: I'm going to do the opposite because you're FAR too excited to be semi deprived of oxygen..

*pulls sage closer to him and rubs his soul jam*

f: *shivers, gripping onto recluse's chest*

p-please..

t: really..?

f: please! I can't get it off my head.. I-I'll do anything!

t: anything?

f: anything!!

t: if I choke you, you have to walk for a full day, no floating. Strengthen your legs on your own..

f: DEAL! please please please.. hard please!

t: *feels like he's created a monster* ....alright.. *places hand on sages throat*

f: .......*enjoying this a tad too much, bestie chill*

t: *squeezes harder*

f: *grips tighter onto recluse* *coughs* ..haaaha..haha..

t: why do you like this..

f: it....it's...just....thrilling.....ha.. *panting*

t: hm....... I geuss if I'm doing something you like..do something I like...

f: ...huh..

t: *sighs* ...I can't believe I'm saying this........admittedly... I like pain.. especially being stabbed.. <- blog owner had to look a specific Wikipedia for this

f: w-what-

t: I'm literally choking you and you're questioning me for liking pain!? Get your priorities straight..

f: I don't want to hurt you..

t: *sigh* fine.. <- embarassed he admitted that for nothing

I'm bored though....

f: ....*coughs* ...w...what if i.. *rubs recluse's wings*

t: huh.......*flinches* ...

f: haah..ha...ha.....h-harder..

t: *chokes harder*

...how long do I have to do this for my hands are getting tired.. you're lasting alot longer than last time..

f: *pulls his hand away and catches his breath* *coughs* ...hm.. I am.. weird..... Well it's not like I NEED to do laundry! But that was fine... unfortunately I still have that rather painful edge..

butt~ thank you anyway recluse!

t: you're welcome..?

f: *looking into recluse's eyes*

t: *looking up at sage's*

f: .... Recluse.. can I be honest.. given what we've been doing, how we've been behaving towards one another, what really are we...

t: friends with benefits clearly..

f: .... W-well.. i.. I envisioned a much more grandiose locale for this but.. i.. I'm tired of this confusion..

Recluse..

t: hm..?

f: I...I.....I wish to court you.. be my.. prince! My lufend, My boyfriend!

t: w-what..? Y-You're.. boyfriend..? *Nearly fucking crying at being called a boy specific term*

f: I'm tired of this tension and awkwardness between us because we aren't courting..

I... I love you! You love me! Court me please..

t: i..*sits up*

f: *gets off recluse, blushing*

t: .....*caresses sage's cheek* ....i.. I will court you.. you'll be my princess from that one play..

f: y-you're the jester? You'll call up to my window for me to come see you?

t: I'll even throw rocks..

f: y-you know the play!? Recluse! *Hugs him*

t: you're obsessed with it of course I took time out learn about it..

...*kisses sage*

f: ..!?

...

*kisses recluse back*

ooc: CROWD GOES WILD THEY'RE DATING!!!

[sfstranslations]

hi! thank you for all of your wonderful translations ^^ however may i ask what resources you use? i am trying to translate stories as well but i dont have much experience and was wondering if you have any books or videos to recommend

(Disclaimer that most resources I can provide will by nature be tailored to Korean translation.)

If you mean resources for translating itself:

For a machine translator, Papago is the main one I rely on. Of course, learning the language yourself remains your best bet and one I would strongly advise over solely MTLing, because there's a lot that machine translation misses, so you'll have to essentially rewrite the text anyway to include nuances, implied meanings of idioms that the MTL translated literally, speech patterns, and more. You also have Google Translate among others, of course, but I find it misses the mark even more often than Papago.

Naver Dictionary will save your life. Of course, you can also look words up on Wiktionary, and also just actual Korean Wikipedia. Namu Wiki can be somewhat useful on occasion but it's rarely if ever got decent citations so don't over-rely on it.

Hinative is very helpful for confirming specific words including slang with native speakers! This one is a cross-language resource.

The Korean Wiki Project also has some useful reference pages, such as the ones on online slang and body part-related idioms.

If you mean resources for learning Korean, then I am definitely not the best person to go to for advice, because the way I did it was just frogboiling myself in 370 chapters of My S-Ranks over the course of 4 years and then slowly realizing I didn't need the MTL to finish processing before I understood what the Korean was saying anymore, which is neither a fast nor simple method 😅

Of course, for the early basics like the writing system and basic grammar, I used Duolingo and the Talk To Me In Korean podcast; here's the latter's SoundCloud with the lessons organized by level. I only listened to a few lessons, but my sister who listened to the whole thing is fluent in Korean! (And also one of the editors/quality checkers I rope in from time to time.)

One thing I would definitely recommend is to make sure you're balancing your exposure to written/spoken forms of the language. I am very much a reader over a listener, and my sister very much a speaker over a writer, so we frequently run into issues where I can't recognize a word she's saying because its pronunciation differs from the actual written spelling and I've only ever seen the latter. And that then creates problems when I need to research something that's in an audio format and can't understand what they're saying. Listening to music and watching shows in your target language can make the balancing process both fun and instructive :)

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I remember any other resources, I'll come back to add them. I hope this is what you were looking for!

[skylermadness]

Permanent Summer Position (Poolguard TF/MC)

(Original Date of Upload: June 4, 2024)

Original Description:

First and foremost, poolguards are a species created and owned by Deadringer.Art.  The reference page for them can be found here. So this was a TF I've actually been wanting to write for a good few months now. Poolguards are a really intriguing species and the amount of information I could gather from the reference images and stuff Deadringer had uploaded felt like enough for me to do a proper write out of one. Especially since the mention that air was a nanite transmission system meant that I could finally settle on an easy trigger that became the compressed air one. Although I still feel like there may be a few inaccuracies here or there, but I tried to make this story align as properly to the concepts Deadringer has built as I can. Even if a lot of things are just little references and stuff. Also, funny thing, this is the first time I've written any kind of inflatable TF! Had to look up what a pooltoy nozzle was called once and Wikipedia gave me "oral inflation valve". This isn't related to the previous paragraph at all I just thought it would be funny to share. Many of the poolguards featured at the end of this story are actual ones owned by a few of my close friends! None of them have Tumblr accounts though. Story is rated Mature for bulge growth mentions.

   The sweltering summer heat encompassed Mike’s form as he made his way across the vast beach. Stray beads of sweat dribbled down the young man’s head and the warm air lapped at the skin of his arms thanks to the short sleeves of his button-up. Adding to the mild levels of uncomfortableness he was experiencing he could feel sand in his shoes. At least it was relatively early in the day so not many people were around, much less near where Mike was making his way towards.

   As he walked he gave his phone a cursory glance, one of many he's had since he got here. He had constantly been looking back at an e-mail he had received regarding an application he had sent in a short while back for a voluntary lifeguard position. It was a rather unorthodox choice for Mike seeing as he was generally not the most into outdoor activities or interaction with others on a frequent basis. But also he knew he had to work on his people skills some more and this felt like a good way to do so. Plus it came with free on the job training!

   As for the e-mail he received it was fairly standard, even if it was entirely in lowercase. Mainly just an indicator that he had been accepted for the position and that he started on what is now the current date. He was also given the location of the employee specific beachside changing booth, which was why he was checking his phone so often. Although in truth that didn't help much since the stretch of sand-covered land looked the same everywhere. But hey, he was starting to see a row of wooden-lookings off in the distance, so that meant he had to be closing in on it.

   Mike’s pace quickened by just a little bit, the young man casually wiping his forehead of some sweat as he did so. “Glad that e-mail said they'll be giving me something different to wear. The sand in my shoes is starting to kill me actually… actually wait, will I have to go barefoot for this-”

   It didn't take very long for him to arrive at the row of changing rooms, Mike having spent the minute or so of his walk dwelling on stray thoughts and concerns about his future job. Once he had gotten there however he was surprised to find a severe lack of other lifeguards around, alongside noting a massive tower of some kind that was roughly thirty or so yards away. He didn't focus on the tower much though as he was thinking that even the head lifeguard should be somewhere nearby to greet him, especially if this was where the employees usually hung around.

   “Maybe I'm early?” Mike reasoned, glancing at his phone yet again to confirm which booth his stuff should be in. He nervously followed that statement with a concerned, “Or maybe I'm late…”

   The hinges of the wooden booth’s creaked as Mike opened it. The insides of it was basically what you'd expect from a beach changing room. Wooden, rectangular, a raised portion in the back of it that presumably functioned as a seat, plus a metallic bar screwed to the leftward wall to hold for balancing. Atop the seating block was an open cardboard box with Mike’s name written on it.

   “These things are not claustrophobia-friendly,” Mike joked to himself as he fully stepped into the booth. He listened to the door behind him creak shut, the room now illuminated by sunlight pouring through a rectangular slit that was situated high above the apex of the door.

   The relatively small size of the changing booth meant that the contents of the cardboard box was spoiled to Mike in just a few seconds. Although it would be more accurate to say there was a lack of contents within the container since it only had a single object in it.

   “Hm?” Mike outstretched a hand to pick up the item and bring it up towards him. It was a pure white metallic cylinder, the material of it warmed by the summer heat. Turning it around also revealed the actual contents of said cylinder, the wording seemingly hand-drawn. “Poolguard-Grade Compressed Air…?”

   And beneath that was just a simple sentence that said, ‘Apply any amount anywhere.’

   “Uhh, what is… huh??”

   Mike was confused to say the least. He knew was going to be provided with some kind of job package, but this was not on his list of expectations. He was expecting sunscreen, some kind of uniform, maybe a pair of sandals. Perhaps even a booklet that went over some basics he'd need to know before training. Nowhere in his mind could he fully grasp why a canister of compressed air would be useful for a job like this.

   “This is so weird- and apply it??”

   The more irrational side of his brain wanted to say that this was some kind of special waterproofing or something. But such a prospect was an absurd thought even for him. Especially since, again, he wasn't given anything else!

   Mike let out a sigh as be came up with one last potential answer. “Maybe this is just some kind of stupid prank.”

   He wasn't sure if he should be happy or annoyed about the prospect of signing up to work alongside a bunch of beach bros if that's the case. It could go either way depending on their personalities he presumed. Although the prospect of being surrounded by a bunch of beefy guys…

   He shook his head. “You haven't even met them yet you shouldn't be… augh, whatever. If it's a prank I guess there'd be no harm in spraying some on me for fun or something.”

   Mike stared at the can for another few seconds. “Maybe make it a, ‘haha, you got me,’ moment!” He then started to shake it, mainly as a force of habit with him and containers. “Cement myself as a fun guy. Yeah, that could work!”

   After a few seconds of shaking and talking to himself, Mike was finally ready to apply air to his body. He slipped the canister down in his hand so he could position a finger over the trigger of it. Then, with only a moment of hesitation, he pulled it.

   The feeling that ensued was… just that of having some air blow over the skin of his arm. That was it really. No ‘surprise it was something else entirely’ or anything like that. It was quite literally just compressed air.

   “...does feel kind of nice though,” he admitted, continuing to spray air up and down his arm and hand just to feel the very small breeze the nozzle created. After a few seconds of doing it to his right arm he switched hands the canister was in so he could spray his left one as well, all just to balance the sensation of it. “Man this looks stupid, eheh.”

   Another more few seconds passed before he finally lost the sensory enjoyment of spraying air on his body. That and he was starting to realize his finger was feeling a little stiff. It was an odd feeling since he was only holding the trigger for roughly ten seconds, but he still decided this was body telling him that he should probably stop. However the stiffness didn't end even after he put the canister down. If anything it felt like a majority of his fingers on both hands were being filled with this sensation.

   Curious why he was feeling such a thing, Mike looked down at his hands. Once he did so he would begin to bear witness to something very, very strange. “Jeez, what the hell is going… on… uhh…”

   In that instant Mike was granted the sight of the fingers on both hands swelling. Each digit seemed to just grow thicker in front of his very eyes. That hadn't even been the only thing that happened to them either as the wider each finger became, the smaller the gaps between them got. And the smaller the gaps got, the more his fingers pressed up to each other. They had practically been squeezing into each other as four fingers on each hand (the thumb not being included) had seemingly merged with each other.

   Once the merging had commenced it was becoming evident to him that something else was happening as well. A different shade of color was entering into his skin, his typically ivory-leaning pigmentation rapidly shifting to a more tanned appearance. All the while it seemed as if his flesh was altering by rapidly smoothing over. The texture of it was heavily altering beyond what could be considered skin anymore. This would be further accentuated by the fact the only indicator his mitts had ever had separate fingers were a series of lines that ran down the upper portion of them.

   Many of these changes were running down the rest of his hands as well. Tan and texture enveloping as his palms bloated up more and more. This had seemed to cause some kind of increase in length and width within each hand, alongside by certain thickness. This was also when Mike finally took notice of a rapidly budding hollowness within his hands as they continued to lose their fleshy appearance. This was coinciding with the fact that the more his changes seemed to go prominent the more it seemed as if they were inflating more than swelling. Something proven by the way his thumb finally fattened up and altered to fit the rest of these massive mittens he now called hands. Just inflating to become a massive tanned sausage of a digit, gaining somewhat of a roundness as it did so.

   “W-what happened to my hands!?” Mike exclaimed out of shock and concern. He held out an arm and backed up a little bit before bumping into the door. “They’re huge, a-and it's-” he used the other hand to just rub the outstretched one, “...made of plastic?”

   He wasn't sure if that would be correct really. Barring the fact he was surprised he still had a sense of touch, the actual texture of them felt more akin to that of a pooltoy. A smooth, plasticky vinyl texture if he wanted to try and take a stab at describing it. Although he didn't have much time to focus on that as his peripherals caught on to the sight of his arms beginning to thicken up.

   “Crap, it's spreading-”

   In truth this spread was happening to a rather lengthy segment of both arms. Every spot where the skin was exposed was swelling up as the tone of it all yet again took on the same tan his hands had. The weirder part was despite the complete smoothness his arms were taking on, the effects of inflation had a certain appearance it seemed to be attempting to emulate. This was a bit more tangible on his forearms, their skinniness subsiding rapidly as they got consumed by a bloating that was almost akin to a spontaneous growth in muscle. A presentation that was so thick and bulky, and yet it had a sensation of being relatively light in weight. He had also taken note of a series of lines etching on the new materials of his arms. There were four lines, and all of them had varying lengths. They also had a clean painted linearity that was rather similar to the makeshift finger dividers on his hands. Although the lines on his forearms looked like some attempt at mimicking arm hair more than anything.

   As for the rest of his arms…

   The jointedness of his elbows was something that remained constant. Even as the nigh-emptiness filled the region and the skin got transmogrified into something clearly inorganic. Meanwhile the alterations in his upper arms had been mimicking that of the limb’s lower half. In this case however it would seem the changes were not just constrained to the exposed parts of himself. This was proven by the fact that as both areas inflated it was very rapidly filling out the short sleeves of his shirt. The shifting skin pressed up tight against the white fabric, and said fabric was smoothed out before promptly getting tighter over his arms. 

   Mike got clued into this rather quickly, his attention diverting to witness his shirt’s sleeves attempt to contain his swelling form. He could already tell it was going to be futile, though. The diameter of both arms was increasing well beyond the capacity of what his sleeves could contain. Especially with how much his shoulders were broadening from this transformation, which was causing even more stress on the material of his shirt. It only took just a few seconds after his sleeves had initially filled before splits and tearing ran vertically and horizontally across each one. They could just no longer contain his now ‘beefier’ arms.

   Mike let out a panicked squeak at the sound of his shirt tearing. The sight of his tanned ‘skin’ swelling through it was not necessarily pleasant for him. Especially since he was trying to register some way to potentially end the transformation. The rate of change was rather quick for him though, and he could already feel an odd pressure in his chest as the front of his shirt began rising.

   “Fuckin’-” his voice cracked for a second, followed by a cough to clear it. “What was in that canister!?”

   He took a step away from the door with the intent to inspect the compressed air can again, but a sudden dizziness caused him to quickly lose balance and stumble forward a bit. He managed to take hold of the metal beam on the booth’s side before he had the chance to slam his head onto the sitting box though. “Damn it- A-at least I still have flexibility in my hands…” He glanced at the one holding the bar, then looked away and at the floor after realizing how weird the mitt looked curled around it. 

   Looking at the floor made him realize two things though. One of those things was that his chest was bigger to the point the buttons of his shirt were beginning to strain in their eyelets. The other thing was…

   “Is the floor gettin’-” another cough. “-farther? A-and did my voice… ugh, what's happening to me!?”

   Evidently, a lot was happening! Especially since the transformation jumping to his torso was also proving to have some interesting effects on his body. Even if there wasn't too much that was different about the execution of the changes.

   This was evident with what had been going on with his chest. The region was inflating in the same manner as to how everything else had been, swelling larger and pushing what had once been his pectorals forward with each passing second. The smoothness remained all-compassing as whatever cleavage Mike could've had was filled as his internals hollowed out and filled with something that continued his form’s constant inflation. However the concurrent shifting of his skin was undergoing a rather different change in comparison to what happened to his arms.

   While his skin’s composition still took on the plastic-vinyl form, the coloration of it had shifted even more drastically. Instead of taking on a tan complexion it developed an unnatural bright red hue. This shade of red was quick to wash over his expanding chest, and it was easily wrapping itself around his back at the same time. Mike was even taking notice of it once his chest finally got larger enough to break two buttons off his shirt. Although the sight of it had effectively stunned him, subduing a proper reaction immediately.

   His gaze just stayed fixated on his chest. More and more buttons scattered as the sides of his shirt slowly split open to reveal his smooth, red body. He had even realized that a small bump was rising from something that was beneath his shirt. This bump was positioned in the upper region of where his left pec was, and with the placket of his shirt steadily being pushed towards it by his still-inflating torso it wouldn't take too long to reveal just what it was. He just had to wait a few… more… seconds…

   Then a few more seconds of stunned silence as the nature of the bump was finally revealed to him.

   “…is that a pooltoy valve?”

   Sitting on what had been Mike’s left pec was indeed the plastic, white, called nozzle of a pooltoy valve. The weirdness didn't stop there either as a white, plus-shaped marking had seemed to form on the ‘skin’ surrounding the valve. And now that his shirt had been fully busted open and his chest was at full view he could fully see one other very noticeable to the area. Painted across his chest in bold, white lettering was a single word: ‘LIFEGUARD’.

   “Bro…” he whispered beneath a breath in astonishment. He then blinked a few times in confusion at the statement, but disregarded it for the time being. Mainly because his brain was focused on the fact he was apparently becoming some weird inflatable lifeguard thing! 

   “I-I didn't sign up for this! Nor would I want a uniform stuck to-” a sudden cough interrupted him for a second before he continued, “-my bod, man!”

    The changes still showed no sign of stopping either. He watched the floor get further away as more inches continued to pile onto his relatively short stature. He could feel the lower half of his button-up strain against his body, his torso seemingly catching up in its inflation process as well. The confirmation that his organs were being atomized into air was not exactly the most comforting of thoughts to him either as he felt that.

   It was unavoidable, though. Even more buttons broke away from his shirt, the thin plastic discs hitting the floor constantly as his swelling torso destroyed what had remained of his shirt’s placket. The same red that tinged his chest enveloped the increasingly inorganic ‘skin’ of his torso. At the same time the entire region seemed to flatten, and this flatness created somewhat of an incline that led up to his chest. The most overt change came to his belly-button however as once the inflation kicked his navel just filled, in a way. The internals of it rose until it was at the same level as the rest of his torso giving it a proper consistency. This had also been accompanied by more hair loss around the region as the wave of polyvinyl rushed further down his body.

   This meant the button of his jeans would begin to strain, the circumference of his waist becoming wider to fit the rest of his hefty body. However the sensations that caught Mike’s attention the most were those happening directly below the waist. Most specifically on his groin and on his rear.

   This was already becoming quite tangible as a roundness had begun to formulate in the front end of his pants, and the fly of his legwear noticeably split open at the pressure this was creating. The sensation that accompanied this had forced a flush in Mike’s cheeks as he felt the nerves in his crotch get stimulated by this. It wasn't the most intense feeling though as whatever went on down there was causing a mixture of strange sensations. As if his external organs were being squished together and meshed into one, almost a similar feeling of pressure that had encompassed his hand prior. Although it only facilitated more growth as his groin became one singular object, the roundness of it furthering in prominence to such an end that the zipper initially holding his jeans shut finally snapped open. The front end of underwear still held together though, but he could already tell that he was sporting quite the bulge now.

   Meanwhile his backend was changing at the exact same time. The seat of his pants was getting noticeably smoother, his rear swelling up as air got pumped into it. Rounder the region had become as well, and some kind of fusing occurred as the crack that bisected his buttocks seemed to seal itself shut. This had prompted the roundness to become singular rather than double as the two cheeks merged into one. Of course much like his frontend, his rear ended up developing a prominence on his form extremely quickly. The size of it would even cause a small rip to tear down the middle seam in his legwear alongside a mixture of pressures causing the behind of his undergarments to rip as well. This revealed more of the same red, semi-plastic material his skin had become.

   “Dude, that's…” he blinked a few times. He was still flustered, a certain level of eroticism present now. He didn't want to let it become overwhelming though and there was something in his brain telling him not to. Focus on something else, anything else. “W-wait, my voice…”

   It's not like he hadn't noticed it in the past few minutes. Those little bits of deepening that had been occurring little by little, the odd laid-back tone that was layering onto it, the fact he kept adding little bits of vernacular that he had never used unironically once in his life. It's just now it was finally dawning on him just how prominent it was getting. How frequent these shifts in his voice were becoming as it was practically overtaking what had been his former meek and somewhat nasally vocal pattern.

   “How much of me is gonna change from this, man!?” he exclaimed in frustration. Such a tone sounded oddly out of place for the vocal cadence he was being forced to adopt. He could already sense something in his brain telling him to chill out and just let all of this pass its course. Such a notion still felt odd, but it's not like he knew any way to put this to an end.

   His thoughts then broke at the sound of his pants tearing some more. Looking down again he held his leg out to inspect it. Unsurprisingly, even more inflation. It also seemed like that sensation of height gain was speeding up by just a little bit more as well. “At least I’m gettin’ taller, heh. No longer gonna be a little bro~”

   For once he didn't grimace at his usage of the term bro. Although he would still end up grimacing anyway as his ears caught the sound of what seemed to be two voices approaching the booths.

   “You remember which booth he said he put the new guy in?”

   “Three, probably.”

   Another squeak escaped Mike’s throat. Did the guy that hired him send some people to check on him? And why do their voices have the same beach bro tone that he was adopting!?

   Another series of rips pierced the air of the booth. Of course the changes weren't stopping! He could practically feel the sheer nothingness enveloping the entirety of his legs the more he just stood around and talked to himself. His eyes were still fixed to his legs too, so he could see just how much his pants had filled up by the swelling in his legs. There had also been so many tears in his jeans by this point as well that it allowed him to get some kind of visuals as to what had become of his legs. The same red of his ‘uniform’ having overtaken the upper portion of his thigh. What seemed to be white markings on the outer ends of his thigh which he realized were plus-shaped as the holes grew larger in size. There seemed to be a white line that formed across the middle of his upper legs, and everywhere below that line his PVC-ified skin had gone back to the tanned tone it had on his arms. The tears over the crus of his legs got more prominent, and the bottom ends of his pants had risen up his legs quite substantially that they were now halfway up the region. This allowed him to see the series of diagonal brown lines that inked his lower legs to mimic leg hair.

   “C’mon, calm yourself down, dude-”

   Then came a knock on his booth’s door.

   “Ey, is anyone in there?” a voice called. Deep and laid-back, eerily similar to his own although the tone was just slightly off enough to differentiate.

   Another voice then spoke up. “We’re just here to pick up a new recruit-” a pause, “Mike?”

   Multiple thoughts ran through Mike’s mind at an impossible to describe rate. Were these other lifeguards? Do they know this is happening to him? Would this be a good time to try and get some help from them!?

   “Gimme a sec, bros!” he suddenly blurted out with a level of confidence he knew he didn't have. “Still gettin’ ready!”

   A few seconds of silence from the other side of the door, then the first voice responds. “Sounds good, dude! We’ll just be waitin’ out here~”

   “...isn't that a little weird to do, bro?”

   “C’mon, man, someone’s gotta show ‘im the ropes!”

   Mike already started to tune out their conversation from that point and began to whisper to himself, momentary panic inciting within him. “Fuckin’ hell, why did I say that!? I-I need to- aurgh…”

   The hand holding the metal bar clutched it harder as the transforming man brought his other hand to the side of his hand. He was beginning to feel a bit woozy, an odd haziness steadily enveloping his mind with each passing second. 

   “Chillax bro, it'll be-” he started to say himself, a cool grin forming on his face for a few seconds before breaking as he stopped himself from finishing that sentence. “N-no, wait, I- fuck…”

   He blinked a few times, his thoughts getting increasingly more scattered as time passed. “Why can’t I… think straight…?” A few more blinks. “Feelin’ fuckin’ weird, dude…”

   All while this occurred the changes were overtaking Mike’s feet. The rapidly grew in size as air coarsed beneath the shifting skin. A tone of tan continued to cascade across the plastifying flesh as its gain in size forced it to press up against his shoes. There was a feeling of pressure in the footwear as it did so, both shoes trying to contain his inflating feet. This had resulted in them bulging out in all directions. Notably was the bulge in his toecap, which was shifting from five bumps to three to one rather quickly. This was mainly due to the fact that as his toes bloated up they had merged in a similar manner as his fingers had earlier. This had even included a series of lines where the toe divisions had once been.

   The weirdest part of his feet’s changes, however, was what happened in his soles. The bottom of his feet puffed out as a bright red overtook them alongside a series of thin lines that ran horizontal etching across them. This was accompanied by a bold black line running across the top of his feet. Particularly at the border between his toes and foot bridge, only seeming to break its straightness to create a notch in between the border of his big and index toes. By this point his shoes could no longer hold his much larger feet. Black cloth broke apart to reveal the now thick, perma-sandaled extremities, which had also put an end to the transformation on the lower half of his body.

   Meanwhile the changes were finally rising upwards and inching up his neck. Tanned PVC overtaking everything and the diameter widening thanks to the air that practically spilled out his now non-existent respiratory tract. His new neck size had clashed with the choker that Mike had usually worn, the leather band straining to keep itself strapped to it. Unfortunately since the neck accessory was only held by a simple buckle it wasn't that hard for it to just snap from all of the pressure. Once it did so, the sound of the choker clattering to the ground had simply just echoed through the booth.

   Mike seemed to not have noticed though. The fog in his brain had basically overwhelmed his mental state to the point his thoughts just constantly slipped from his grasp the moment they materialized. Or, more accurately, the thoughts that had leaned more towards associating with Mike. The ones that did remain were thoughts that had been extremely different from his usual ones. Most notably those heavily associated with that lifeguard job he signed up for. Although whatever was happening to his mind was scrubbing away the fact he even signed up for this job. This was coupled with the knowledge needed for this profession being dumped into his brain as well to a nigh-professional proficiency.

   “Uurgh, why’s it feelin’ like I was made for this now? I thought I… uh…”

   He continued to hold the side of his head in confusion. It was the one part of his body that seemed unchanged to any degree, still containing the human visage that was Mike. Then the changes in his skin started to creep onto the sides of his face. Layer onto his cheeks, beneath and onto his jaw, everywhere.

   The transformation enveloping his head was perhaps the weirdest segment of the entire series of bodily shifts. It did increase a bit in size to be more in-proportion with his larger size, and as the PVC took it over it seemed to take on a new shape. His jawline managed to chisel itself out a bit, angles reshaping under the material to become more square-like in appearance. Meanwhile the actual shape of his head seemed to lose some level of human-like definition as the structure seemed to completely smooth over. This had the most prominence with the appearance of his face from the front, it becoming increasingly more straight at the sides which gave it a more rectangular look.

   What had been the strangest of the changes was how it all affected his actual facial features. When everything had been smoothed over by his shifting skin, that included just about everything on his face. Polyvinyl cascaded over his mouth, the once open orifice getting replaced with a perfectly painted mouth that somehow managed to retain the expressiveness of his formerly organic one. A tan enveloped his nose as it practically shrunk—flattened—right into his face, only leaving an outline of a nose in its wake. His ears protruded prominently out the sides of his head as they inflated with the air that was rapidly filling his whole head. What had happened to his mouth had also happened to his eyes, painted PVC overwriting them to make them large circular additions to his flat face. 

   Then there was the last of his hair. It was already obvious that it was going to become artificial, especially considering the various lines of alternating length drawing themselves onto his jawline in an attempt to emulate stubble. The hairs of his eyebrows practically sunk into the new material of his ‘skin’, brown fuzz becoming black ink with ease while they maintained some level of thickness. There were also the thin sideburns that inked onto the sides of his head.

   Meanwhile, the actual hair that adorned his scalp was more properly assimilated into the new material of his form. His hair lost its prominent fluffiness as well as all the follicles got properly merged into the PVC. Coloration was severely shifting, brown tone being almost completely overtaken by a blonde one. Although the areas that closely bordered his ‘skin’ retained their brownness.  It also seemed like his hair lost the initial style it had previously possessed, the thick mess seeming to be forced into a strange attempt to replicate a more swept-back style. This had resulted in it taking on the same flat smoothness the rest of his body had, with one exception being on the back of his head over his neck’s nape where instead a few brown bumps inflated in an attempt to at least try and retain some level of his hair’s previous fluffiness. There had also been a single clump of hair that curled over his forehead which would end up getting rapidly inflated. This caused it to obtain a more balloony appearance, transforming into quite the thick attempt at recreating the hair curl with PVC.

   And all while his head morphed, his mind had been altering alongside it. The constant amount of air surrounding, replacing his brain was doing a number on his thought process. And that number was probably zero for the amount of brain cells he was about to have…

   “I was panickin’ over somethin’, right?” he muttered. “Can't remember what though, man…” 

   So much concern and worry was just being washed away and replaced with a calmer mindset. A calmer personality even as all that reserved neuroticism that he had once possessed was dispelled into nothing but the air in his body. Instead it had been replaced with a loud, confident extroversion that completely contrasted who he had been before.

   Then there came another knock at the door. “Doin’ alright in there, Mike-bro?”

   “Mike…?” the sentient inflatable repeated. His identity felt just as scattered as everything else had been, but something about that name just felt off to him. Incorrect. 

   He was prompted to try and piece together something at that moment. All his mind could properly revolve around was an overwhelming duty towards his job as a lifeguard. There was a sensation of that being his only purpose in his life now. His personality was modeled around it, his very identity was modeled around it. The air in his head could only really register a mindset of a beach bro with a goal to help others. That was all it seemed to have in there, anything that existed prior having effectively been dispersed into the nitrogen and oxygen that composed of his insides. He was a poolguard after all!

   And the moment he came to that conclusion was the moment he turned around to open the door. A cool, confident grin was plastered on his flat face as he hung out the doorway. “The name’s Mick, broskis!”

   Outside the door of the newly minted poolguard's booth had been two other poolguards. Right outside of it was one wearing orange-tinted sunglasses that barely concealed that fact they were missing an eye, alongside possessing thick ‘hair’ whose blondeness faded into a deep purple. Meanwhile a few feet away and standing on the beach was one with noticeably blue irises and hair inflated in such a manner that it mimicked a manbun.

   “Ey, this bro turned out to be quite the cutie, Preston!” the purple and blonde haired one exclaimed.

   The manbunned one, Preston, seemed to nod in agreement. “Can't disagree with you there, Austin-dude.”

   Austin let out a low chuckle. “So you're the newbie we've been sent to bring in?” 

   Mick stared into Austin’s eyes (or well, crossmark and eye) for a few seconds. He can't remember shit right now, so... “I think so, bro!”

   “Well then why don’t’cha get your butt outta there?” Austin rhetorically asked, his smile having that same chill aura as Mick’s. He then continued to speak as he stepped away from the threshold of the booth. “Gotta bring you up to the tower to get some photos of ya’!”

   Mick walked forward, his PVC sandals leaving the wood of the changing room and stepping into the beach’s sand. “Sounds great, dudes! Mind showin’ me around as well?” He then let out an oddly relaxed laugh. “No matter how hard I think I just can't remember anything!”

   “Of course, bro!” Austin agreed as he slung his arm around Mick to pull the other towards him. “We’ve all been there! That's why we were sent here to getcha~”

  Mick nodded. “Dope!”

   Austin led Mick away from the booth and towards the tower that was positioned at the furthest end of the beach. Preston was about to follow, but noticed something on the floor of the now open changing booth. He stepped up to the structure and stretched out a hand to pick up the object. “Ey, Mick!” he yelled, “This thing yours, bro?”

   Mick and Austin stopped to turn to look at Preston. Mick specifically squinted in order to see what Preston was holding. It was some kind of collar thing with a gold buckle and a red jewel dangling from a ring on that buckle.

   Mick had probably spent a good thirty seconds just staring at the object as it glistened in the late morning sun. But no matter how long he stared at it he just couldn't dredge up any sense of familiarity or attachment to it. “Heck if I know, dude. Thing looks nothin’ like anything I've seen!”

   Preston nodded. “A’ight, a’ight,” he then gently threw the collar thing into the box that was already in the booth. “Another dude’ll get it,” he said to himself before turning to join Mick and Austin in their trek to the tower.

   It had only been a three minute walk from the changing booths to the towering structure that had resided at the beach’s end. The short trek was filled with a surprising amount of conversation between the three poolguards as Austin and Preston gave Mick the rundown of his job here at this beach. Not that the newly minted guard didn't have the knowledge for the position, but he sure was oblivious in regards to the overall area. At least for the time being.

   “-most of the beach’s visitors are on the other end,” Austin explained to an eager-looking Mick. “And we’ll introduce you to some of your fellow bros soon- some of which are over there!”

   Standing a few feet outside the tower entrance were two more conversing poolguards. One’s hair was inflated to appear like a mohawk which also seemed to have noticeably green highlights at its base. The other was wearing a normal pair of glasses, his hair somewhat spiked with a noticeably higher amount of brown than blonde in its coloration.

   The trio walked up to the duo, Preston being the first one to walk up to them and speak. “Hope you two aren’t slacking off, dudes,” he stated, an uncharacteristically authoritative tone in his voice.

   A momentary pause filled the air as the three looked at each other, then it was shattered as they all laughed. “Like you'd care about that, dude,” the mohawked one retorted.

   “Yeah, you're right!” Preston replied with a smile. He backed up to regroup with the other two.

   Austin then brought Mick forward. “Brock, Gabe, say hello to today’s newbie!” 

   Mick then calmly waved. “Hey broskis.”

   The green and blonde haired one, Brock, walked forward to also stand beside Mick while stretching an arm to clasp his shoulder. Meanwhile the bespectacled one, Gabe, just waved back.

   “Wasn't aware we were gettin’ a new guy!” Brock exclaimed, casually flicking his gaze up and down Mick’s form. “Man, now I won't be the only one with a forehead curl.”

   “Preston’s right there, Brock, you never were the only one with that,” Gabe pointed out.

   “Yeah, but look at how thick the new guy’s is!” Brock playfully flicked Mick’s hair curl with a thumb. 

   “I'm a little surprised it doesn't just go over my eye, heh,” Mick remarked.

   “That would be Austin’s thing,” Preston said, eyeing the poolguard in question.

   “Bro’s doesn't bend over that far either,” Gabe corrected.

   Austin rolled his eye. “I'm tryin’, dudes!”

   The five of them laughed in unison at their riffing before Mick steered everything on track again. “Austin said I had to get some pics taken or somethin’.”

   “Yeah, Mick here needs to get an ID!” Austin said, lightly squeezing Mick’s side as he spoke. 

   Brock unhanded Mick and started to speak while walking back towards Gabe. “Our bro Gabe here should be able to handle all that stuff!”

   “Yup!” Gabe nodded affirmatively. “Just need an ID, a whistle, and you'll be good to go, bro!”

   Mick beamed. “Awesome! Thanks a ton, dudes!”

   Mick’s excitement was quite insurmountable. He may not have known fully who he was or how he got here, but he did know one thing. He's got his bros and he's got his job! That's all that mattered to him, and that's all he feels like should matter.

[quidam-vir]

The Latin Collaborative & Creative Internet

Welcome to my little reference post! I love all the crowd sourced places and places of creative expression on the Internet. I especially love when small communities, like Latin speakers, come together and do cool things. I want to shout-out some of these Latin-specific projects and places just to spread possibilities for the wide-reaching īnsolitī hominēs around the globe. Grow community resources, express yourself or have something fun to do if you're bored.

1. Software Translations (Launchpad)

Over at launchpad they crowdsource translations for a bunch of open source software. Think of your favorite open source software and chances are it'll be on there and you could help make a Latin version. Applications range from Blender to Chromium to Ubuntu to a Dice Roller or Tetris clone

I have the dream of assembling a team of good Latin translators to complete the translation of Linux Mint and help create the first major operating system entirely in Latin.

2. Victionarium

Love Wiktionary? I know I do. How about Wiktionary in Latin? Create definitions and dictionary entries for Latin words, in Latin. The more it's built up, the better this resource would be for learning new words.

Helping add Latin words or forms to the English Wiktionary is also helpful, sed scīlicet the Latin one needs in more.

3. Vicipaedia

Another Wikimedia project, who could've guessed? The Latin Wikipedia, Vicipaedia, is another great resource and one that could use more contributors. If you are knowledgeable, willing to learn, and good at Latin writing, try it out!

4. LibriVox

Are you one of the few that enjoy and are confident speaking Latin? Even if you're not, practice makes perfect! LibriVox is well known for a host of free audiobooks, and this includes ones in Latin. They could certainly use more volunteers for the language, no matter which pronunciation system or cadence you prefer.

Places with a 'Latin' Post Setting

There are a few places you can write or post where you specifically can mark a post as being in Latin, and filter accordingly. Any I run across will be put below

1. AO3

Not a huge surprise—unlike the 99 currently existing Latin fics.

2. BlueSky

The Twitter clone from a while back has a language search and select with Latin (and some other old languages too)

If anyone has anymore places/projects to add, subtus narrā mihi!

[thefactcollector]

A bunch of things about Spider-Man, Part 2:

Miles Morales, created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli (with input from Axel Alonso), was the second Spider-Man to appear in Ultimate Marvel, and the third main Spider-Man overall.

Place of origin: Brooklyn, New York, Earth-1610

Ethnicity: Afro-Puerto Rican

Family: Rio Morales (mother), Jefferson Davis (father), Aaron Davis (the Prowler; uncle)

First appeared: August 2011 (Ultimate Comics: Fallout #4)

Movies: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024)

Voiced by: Donald Glover in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated television series and Shameik Moore in the Spider-Verse animated movies.

3 facts about Miles:

The initial reactions to Miles' introduction as a new Spider-Man was mixed. Stan Lee and many others approved of the creation of a positive role model for children of color. Others were upset at the replacement of Peter Parker and saw it as an attempt by Marvel Comics to exhibit political correctness. On the other hand, The Washington Post called for the new character to be judged on the quality of the stories, which were getting positive reviews.

According to Bendis, because of Miles' father and uncle's past as thieves, he wonders if criminal behavior is hardwired into his DNA, so he questions whether he is essentially a good person or not. It doesn't help that his uncle Aaron says "You are just like me" to Miles as he dies.

Miles gets to know Peter Parker's loved ones, May Parker, Gwen, and MJ, who know of his secret identity and give him Parker's web shooters.

[Main source: Miles Morales on Wikipedia]

[felixravinstills]

Coriolanus Snow & Felix Ravinstill: What's in a name?

o puer, qui omnia nomini debes. / Oh, boy, who owes all to a name.

Creator's Notes:

I actually really need to be doing grown up stuff right now, so if I'm weirdly silent after I post this, that's why! Unfortunately, I got hit by inspiration, so my attention has been split. The final piece of the puzzle that I started putting together since writing Tu Fui, Ego Eris finally dropped into my lap!

Latin quote from Cicero's Philippics (13.11): Cicero ascribes the quote to Mark Antony referring to Octavius (later known as Augustus Caesar)

Gifs created by me from TBOSAS movie

English translation of felix taken from Lewis & Short's 4th possible definition.

Quote from TBOSAS Ch. 4

Screenshot from the Wikipedia page for "Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus"

Screenshot from the Wikipedia page for "cognomen"

Quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (Act 1, Scene 2)

Quote from TBOSAS' epilogue

Illustration of Romulus killing Remus (unable to find a proper source for it. If you know where exactly it's from (book, artist, not all the website reposts I saw), let me know! I got this image from an Ebay seller with prints).

...

I've contemplated potential Cain-Abel parallels between these two, but the Romulus-Remus parallel that struck me like a bolt from the blue really blew my mind. It actually really matches with this webweaving(?) because Romulus and Remus did disagree about the naming of the city... Anyway, while making this, I lowkey forgot that Felix's Death-by-Coriolanus-Arranged-Car-"Accident" isn't canon.

I was tempted to quote Shakespeare's Coriolanus for when the titular character receives his cognomen instead of the Wikipedia pages, but I think this helps emphasize the name bestowed because of deeds idea without any distraction from the point. Also putting the two Wikipedia pages really emphasizes it... rip the second screenshot having smaller text, but that's the page layout's fault, and I'm too lazy to fix it.

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 4

1750 – France Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot are caught having sex in public for which they are arrested. A year later they were executed. There was general surprise in France at the severity of their sentence. Their execution was the last in France for consensual sodomy.

1877 – Marsden Hartley (d.1943) was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley was born in Lewiston, Maine, where his English parents had settled.

In 1898, at age 22, Hartley moved to New York City to study painting at the New York School of Art. Hartley was a great admirer of Albert Pinkham Ryder and visited his studio in Greenwich Village as often as possible. His friendship with Ryder inspired Hartley to view art as a spiritual quest.

Hartley first traveled to Europe in April 1912, and he became acquainted with Gertude Stein's circle of avante-garde writers and artists in Paris. Stein, along with Hart Crane and Sherwood Anderson, encouraged Hartley to write as well as paint.

Finnish-Yankee sauna

In 1913, Hartley moved to Berlin, where he continued to paint. Many of Hartley's Berlin paintings were further inspired by the German military pageantry then on display, though his view of this subject changed after the outbreak of World War I, once war was no longer "a romantic but a real reality." The earliest of his Berlin paintings were shown in the landmark 1913 Armory Show in New York.

In Berlin, Hartley developed a close relationship with a Prussian lieutenant, Karl von Freyburg, who was the cousin of Hartley's friend Arnold Ronnebeck. References to Freyburg were a recurring motif in Hartley's work, most notably in Portrait of a German Officer (1914). Freyburg's subsequent death during the war hit Hartley hard, and he afterward idealized their relationship. Many scholars believe Hartley to have been gay, and have interpreted his work regarding Freyburg as embodying his homosexual feelings for him.

Portrait of a German Soldier

In addition to being considered one of the foremost American painters of the first half of the 20th century, Hartley also wrote poems, essays, and stories.

Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy is a story based on two periods he spent in 1935 and 1936 with the Mason family in the Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, fishing community of East Point Island. Hartley, then in his late 50s, found there both an innocent, unrestrained love and the sense of family he had been seeking since his unhappy childhood in Maine. The impact of this experience lasted until his death in 1943 and helped widen the scope of his mature works, which included numerous portrayals of the Masons.

He wrote of the Masons, "Five magnificent chapters out of an amazing, human book, these beautiful human beings, loving, tender, strong, courageous, dutiful, kind, so like the salt of the sea, the grit of the earth, the sheer face of the cliff." In Cleophas and His Own, written in Nova Scotia in the fall of 1936, Hartley expresses his immense grief at the tragic drowning of the Mason sons. The independent filmmaker Michael Maglaras has created a feature film Cleophas and His Own, released in 2005, which uses a personal testament by Hartley as its screenplay.

1946 – Arthur Conley aka Lee Roberts (d.2003) was a U.S. soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".

Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964 – "Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae" – on the Atlanta based record label, National Recording Company.

In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore's Ru-Jac Records) and released "I'm a Lonely Stranger". When Otis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding's own fledgling label Jotis Records, as only its second release. Conley met Redding in 1967. Together they rewrote the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" into "Sweet Soul Music", which, at Redding's insistence, was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. "Sweet Soul Music" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

After several years of hits singles in the early 1970s, he relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, settling in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in spring 1977. At the beginning of 1980 he had some major performances as Lee Roberts and the Sweaters in the Ganzenhoef, Paradiso, De Melkweg and the Concertgebouw, and was highly successful. At the end of 1980 he moved to the Dutch village of Ruurlo, legally changing his name to Lee Roberts — his middle name and his mother's maiden name. He promoted new music via his Art-Con Productions company. Amongst the bands he promoted was the heavy metal band Shockwave from The Hague. A live performance on January 8, 1980, featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters, was released as an album entitled Soulin' in 1988.

Conley was gay, and several music writers have said that his homosexuality was a bar to greater success in the United States and one of the reasons behind his move to Europe and his eventual name change. In 2014, rock historian Ed Ward wrote, "[Conley] headed to Amsterdam and changed his name to Lee Roberts. Nobody knew 'Lee Roberts,' and at last Conley was able to live in peace with a secret he had hidden – or thought he had – for his entire career: he was gay. But nobody in Holland cared."

Conley died from intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands aged 57 in November 2003. He was buried in Vorden.

1960 – Michael Stipe has been the lead singer, lyricist, and composer for the successful rock band R.E.M. for over two decades. Among his best-known songs is "Losing My Religion," which rose to number 4 on the United States rock charts in 1991. He has also become involved in film and now has his own production companies.

The child of a career military officer, John Michael Stipe, born in Decatur, Georgia, grew up on bases around the United States and also in Germany, and spent his high school years in Illinois.

Stipe returned to Georgia for college, enrolling as an art student at the University of Georgia in 1978. There he met fellow alternative music fans Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry. Within a year all four had dropped out of college to forge a career as a rock band, R.E.M.

They went on a concert tour and in 1980 put out their first single, "Radio Free Europe." Its success, particularly on college radio stations, won them a recording contract. Their first full-length album, Murmur (1983), was chosen as Album of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

Stipe's vigor on stage contributed to the success of R.E.M.'s concerts. He interacted with the audience and charged about with boundless energy. He blasted his often dark and brooding lyrics into the microphone with such force that they were frequently barely intelligible.

In addition to composing and performing, Stipe has also directed several of R.E.M.'s music videos and oversees the creation of their album covers.

By 2004 the band had recorded nearly twenty albums with collective sales of almost fifty million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful in the history of rock music.

With the success of the albums Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), R.E.M. became mainstream music stars. Around 1992, rumors that Stipe had contracted HIV began to circulate. According to Stipe, he did not start the rumor and he does not know who did.

Not that I can tell. I wore a hat that said 'White House Stop AIDS'. I'm skinny. I've always been skinny, except in 1985 when I looked like Marlon Brando, the last time I shaved my head. I was really sick then. Eating potatoes. I think AIDS hysteria would obviously and naturally extend to people who are media figures and anybody of indecipherable or unpronounced sexuality. Anybody who looks gaunt, for whatever reason. Anybody who is associated, for whatever reason - whether it's a hat, or the way I carry myself -as being queer-friendly.

In 1994, with questions still swirling about his sexuality, Stipe described himself as "an equal opportunity lech," and said he did not define himself as gay, straight, or bisexual, but that he was attracted to, and had relationships with, both men and women.

In 1995, he appeared on the cover of Out magazine. Stipe described himself as a "queer artist" in Time in 2001 and revealed that he had been in a relationship with "an amazing man" for three years at that point. Stipe reiterated this in a 2004 interview with Butt magazine. When asked if he ever declares himself as gay, Stipe stated, "I don't. I think there's a line drawn between gay and queer, and for me, queer describes something that's more inclusive of the grey areas."

In 1999, author Douglas A. Martin published a novel, Outline of My Lover, in which the narrator has a six-year romantic relationship with the unnamed lead singer of a successful Athens, Georgia-based, rock band; the book was widely speculated, and later confirmed by its author, to have been a roman à clef based on a real relationship between Martin and Stipe. The two had previously collaborated on two books, both in 1998: The Haiku Year (for which the two had both contributed haikai) and Martin's book of poetry Servicing the Salamander (for which Stipe took the cover photograph).

1965 – Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

Horwood is best known as a judge on the popular BBC dancing series Strictly Come Dancing, and until 13 November 2021, as he tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the following week's show, had been the only judge to have appeared in every edition since its inception. He is often seen performing ballroom and Latin routines including, in 2019, a performance themed around Hello, Dolly!.

Horwood has a waxwork in Madame Tussauds Blackpool which has been on display since July 2018. On 20 July 2021, Horwood was given an Honorary Doctor of Arts by the University of Winchester at Winchester Cathedral.

He was born in Ballarat, Australia. His father Phil was a former Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant whose alcoholism had "torn their family apart". He started his career as a dancer in Melbourne, then moved to London to take advantage of the greater opportunities available there and to dance competitively. In 1989, he moved to the UK from Australia, and on 20 August 2011, he became a British citizen.

Revel is Horwood's middle name; it is not double barrelled. In his autobiography, Horwood reveals that at the age of 17, he made money by appearing as a drag queen in bars and clubs and that his relationship with an unnamed celebrity was akin to prostitution.

Horwood was married to Jane Horwood from 1990 to 1992. In December 2014, Horwood informed a reporter from OK! magazine that 'I was bisexual for a long time. I flitted between men and women quite a lot between the ages of 17 and 26. My wife Jane left me for another man. Then I fell in love with a bloke. I have been gay ever since.' His former partner Damon Scott had been a runner up on Britain's Got Talent.

Since early 2018, Horwood has been in a relationship with horticulturist Jonathan Myring. In April 2020 Horwood and Myring announced their engagement. The pair, who met on Tinder, became engaged while in Tasmania.

Horwood became a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society in 2009. In this, he has found common ground with Camilla, Queen Consort, the Society's Royal patron (whose mother, like his, had bone disease). The two of them danced the cha-cha-cha together, on a school visit to mark National Osteoporosis Day in 2009.

In January 2015, Horwood revealed on ITV's Loose Women that he suffered from anorexia and body dysmorphia as a teenager and young dancer, as a result of trying to make himself look like other young men, and other dancers in particular.The 14th British series of Who Do You Think You Are? featured Horwood's ancestry in the second episode; in this, his family history research took him home to Australia, where he discovered that his family tree traces to Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Essex in England. Horwood found out that he is not the first dancer in his family, and that he is descended from gold prospectors that went bankrupt before becoming rich on finding a 250-ounce (7.1 kg) gold nugget. He also learnt further that his great-great-grandfather, Moses Horwood, who is revealed in the programme to have been a petty criminal from England, was convicted at the Gloucestershire assizes and transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1841. Criminal records identified by TheGenealogist include a transportation document for Moses Horwood, showing he departed England on 1 December 1841 on board a ship called the John Brewer.

1970 – Christopher Klucsarits, better known as Chris Kanyon (d.2010), US Professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, under the ring names Kanyon and Mortis.

In 2006, after Kanyon's release from WWE, he began a gimmick in which he was an openly homosexual pro wrestler. This included a publicity stunt wherein he stated that WWE released him from his contract because of his sexuality. Kanyon later told reporters and even stated on a number of radio interviews, that this was just a publicity stunt and he was heterosexual. However, he later retracted these statements and acknowledged that he was in fact homosexual.

Before his death Kanyon was working on a book, Wrestling Reality, with Ryan Clark. The book was released November 1, 2011, and it features Kanyon's struggles as a closeted gay man as a prominent theme.

1984 – Illinois repeals its "lewd fondling or caress" law, more than two decades after repealing its sodomy law.

1997 – A British tabloid accuses Conservative M.P. Jerry Hayes of having an affair in 1991 with a then-18-year-old male. At the time, 18 was under the age of consent.

[tacosandtouchtanks]

Welcome to #ZekinaWeek2024

20th May 2024 - 26th May 2024

Day 1: cinema Day 2: heist Day 3: let it drop Day 4: [free space]  Day 5: snacks Day 6: bully Day 7: friendship

RULES:

How do I participate?

Create something related to the prompts and our OTP, upload it and enjoy that you created something.

But I can’t draw…

Don’t worry! There is so much more you can do!

All forms of media/art are allowed! Editing a video, writing a fanfiction, formulating a headcanon or an analysis. Editing a graphic or a creating a moodboard. Recording an audio or a musical composition, creating a playlist of songs, get out your cosplay or do a photo shooting with some merch you own, maybe give a recommendation to a fanart or fanfiction! Let’s get creative! Everything is welcome!

Don’t be shy with liking and reblogging each other’s work.

Will you reblog my work?

Heck yeah! Please use the hashtag #ZekinaWeek24 as the first tag or mention this blog in your description @tacosandtouchtanks

Why Zekina and not Zina?

Glad you asked, phantom person that I use as a stand-in! Zināʾ (زِنَاء) or zinah (زِنًى or زِنًا) is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse. (Wikipedia)

I think it would be disrespectful towards islamic peoples believes to use it as a ship name as well as considering the meaning “unlawful sex” of all kinds… I don’t think it would be a good ship name.

Meanwhile Zekina is only a name and surname in a couple of countries, so basically free for grabs! Let’s go with that!

Rules:

Everyone is welcome to participate.

This is an event to celebrate the romantic involvement of Tina and Zeke from the show Bob’s Burgers, but portrayals of them as friends are welcome too! (But no other ships with either of them.)

No reposting of other peoples work! (Sharing a link is fine, using graphics and scenes from the show is also fine.)

You do not need to have a tumblr blog to participate. However, if you are not blogging on tumblr and would like to see your work featured on this blog, I need you to submit it. (You can stay anonymous if you want to)

Sharing links to your works from other social media sites (Ao3, twitter, instagram) as a submission is absolutely fine

Don’t worry if you’re no native speaker. Use the language you feel most comfortable with!

(I don’t feel like it should have to be said but…) No bashing on other artists’ works or harassing others. Zeke and Tina would never approve of bullying, and neither will I.

Please help to spread the word with spreading this post.

Have fun! <3

Questions?

[aokozaki]

RE: Previous anons: Okay, so, there are 2,688 articles in the English Wikipedia category “2005 births”. This seems excessive, and maybe it is, but it seems almost all of these articles are about footballers and cricketers, and I don’t go there. There are 1,636 articles in the category “2006 births”, which is probably a proportional dropoff relative to the number of articles about 19-20 year olds. There are 832 articles in “2007 births”, which again is a pretty steep decline. For “2008 births” there are less than half again, at 376. For “2009 births” it’s 174 articles. Footballers still seem to be the plurality of entries at this point, although they’re far less dominant (note that roughly a quarter of the total articles on English Wikipedia are biographies of footballers, at least if one excludes all the articles about random geographic features in Iran that were mass created by a bot and may or may not have been deleted by now). For “2010 births” there are 108 entries, with very few appearing to be footballers at this point. A far greater proportion of the entries are also redirects at this point, for example to articles about films that child actors have appeared in. “2011 births” has 50 entries, and at this point probably a majority are redirects. “2012 births” has 38 entries, and frankly quite a few of these look like astroturf promotional articles posted by talent agencies, which may well get deleted soon. “2013 births” has 22 entries and “2014 births” has 21 entires, marking a distinct levelling off in the decline compared to previous years. A lot of these seem to be the children of celebrities or aristocrats, and it’s honestly surprising some of them haven’t been deleted and their URLs salted yet. “2015 births” marks another decline, with 12 entries. “2016 births” marks the first increase, with 14 entries, although 8 of these are redirects. “2017 births” only has 4 entries, and 3 of these are redirects. “2018 births” has 14 entries, with the only two that look like particularly legitimate entries both sadly being about children who are now deceased, marking a general trend of martyrs, murder victims, victims of structural and state violence, and victims of rare diseases regularly appearing in these categories. “2019 births” has 5 entries, 3 of which are redirects. “2020 births” has 10 entries, with 6 being redirects. “2021 births” basically just seems to be a list of celebrity’s children plus an article about a chess prodigy. “2022 births” has 2 entries, both redirects, one of which just seems to be about the day that the WHO estimated the world population reached 8 billion. “2023 births” has 3 entries, 2 of which are redirects, and all of which regard members of royal families. “2024 births” has 1 entry, about a member of the Jordanian royal family, so technically there is at least one article about a literal baby on the English Wikipedia, although it will probably be deleted and converted to a redirect to an article about said baby’s parents or the Jordanian royal family as a whole once more scrupulous editors notice it exists. “2025 births” has 2 entries, both of which are redirects to pages about members of royal families. So overall, it seems that the main conclusion to draw here is that monarchists are weirdos who are obsessed with the children of strangers? The chess prodigy born in 2021 may just about warrant a Wikipedia article, although personally I think the article looks fairly promotional. Sadly, the most recent birth to have garnered an unambiguously warranted article is probably Hind Rajab. I don’t know if that helps you or either of your previous anons at all.

Anon, thank you, this is a fascinating look at random data. Love that kinda shit.