#Design Graphic Design Other Service

[shootingstarrfish]

DOES MY FAVORITE 33 YEAR OLD BOBBY GRILL (gender neutral) HAVE A JOB???????

yeah his job is being cute <3

[beesorcery]

i redesigned this shirt and now you can put it on your body

here it is, the final culmination of my fun cool graphic design project where i replace cities with 8balls!! If you want to follow along the process you can check out these posts: one, two, and three :D

if you are interested in wearing this as a shirt i made a teepublic! (edit for anyone who remembers this: the teepublic listing got dmca’d lol. however,) you can also download the files from google drive if you would like to print the design yourself

thanks for following along!! i have really had a lot of fun doing this (and just following 2our in general, the vibes were sweet) and i'm glad other people enjoyed it too :)

(better quality images under the cut <3)

[mars-ipan]

hello this is john printer. good luck with the storm and the next couple of years in general. whatever may transpire, do not lose sight of the importance of fictional men making out, because when things get tough, fujoing out helps surprisingly often. with that, i do sincerely root for 2025 being your year.

o7 AYE AYE BOSS ! THE YAOI GRIND (<- yaoi grinding???) NEVER STOPS

[the-returnofartemis]

THE TENTH HOUSE: ANSWERING THE CALL TO WEALTH

the 10th house (10H) is arguably one of the most important houses in astrology, closely tied to your midheaven (MC), which represents your public image, reputation, and the way you are recognized in the world. it symbolizes your legacy, the energy others associate with you, and the role you naturally embody in society. however, understanding your career path goes beyond than just identifying the sign in your 10th house. to gain a deeper insight, you should also analyze its planetary ruler and the house it occupies, as these factors will give you a better idea about the careers that align with your natural strengths.

below is a guide shared by astrokit, along with some additional insights i’ve added, highlighting careers based on planetary placements in the 10th house, as well as the house placements of its planetary ruler, to help you align with your destined career path!

➶ ➴ if you follow vedic astrology, I recommend analyzing the 10H in the navamsha (D9) and dashamsha (D10) charts alongside the 10H in the rashi (D1) chart. combining insights from all three, along with the nakshatra ruler of the 10H will give a more well-rounded understanding of the career best suited for you.

CAREERS BY PLANETS IN THE 10H

sun: leadership, authority, government, politician, fame, boss, CEO

moon: women, hospitality, nursing, children, restaurants, commerce, mass media, public relations, travel

mercury: media, writer, communications, teacher, editor, author, transportation, craftsmanship, marketing

venus: arts, music, beauty, luxury, jeweler, entertainment, tourism, hotel management, design, graphics, fashion

mars: fitness, sports, entrepreneur, law enforcement, surgeon, doctor, engineer, military, sculptor, carpenter, cook

jupiter: law, teaching, travel, advertising, education, charity

saturn: organizations, metal industry, agriculture, service, labor, construction

north node (rahu): internet, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, research, engineer, innovation, electricity, sales, photography

south node (ketu): religion, spirituality, metaphysics, renunciation, research, charity, astrology, diviniation

uranus: science, electronics, internet, astrology, innovation, inventions, technology, crypto

pluto: research, insurance, surveillance, risk-management, death, investigator

neptune: photographer, movies, entertainment, drugs, poetry, music, liquids, alcohol

CAREERS BY THE 10H RULING PLANET THROUGH THE HOUSES

1H: self-employment, brand ambassador, entrepreneur

2H: banking, finance, investments, assets, consulting, teaching, writing, restaurants, speaking, vocals, dentistry, property, family legacy

3H: communication, marketing, social media, sales, writing, publishing, advertising, blogging, media, authorship, teaching (early education)

4H: asset management, real estate, vehicles, water, family, women, hospitality

5H: movies, films, glamour, stockbroker, education, authority, fame, children, romance, dating, hobbies

6H: health, service, law, labor, food, waiters, doctors, crime, justice, litigation

7H: law, business, commerce, exchange, consulting, public relations, marriage, therapist, designer, interior design, wedding industry, event planning, counselors

8H: insurance, social work, psychology, sex industry, occult, security, espionage, surveillance, taxes, death industry, divorce, research

9H: teaching (university), travel industry, hospitality, law, religion, foreign exchange, wedding industry, event planning

10H: leadership, government, politics, manager, CEO, presidency, public figure

11H: finance, networking, social media, acting, entertainment industry, parties/event planning

12H: charity, social work, hospitals, prisons, travel, foreign lands, mental health industry, artist, musician, import/export

if you’ve made it this far, i hope you enjoyed this little corner of my world. thank you for reading and please feel free to share your thoughts! always remember to love yourself as if it’s your greatest romance.

the pictures featured in this post are from pinterest.

until next time,

artemis x

[audacityinblack]

URGENT HELP NEEDED: Neurodivergent Disabled Queer Family of 4 (3yo and 9yo) Needs Rent and Survival Funds By Next Week

You may recall a month ago that I was raising money to help my family move. While we were successfully able to do that, they have been unsuccessful at finding work, and many of the financial resources they've been hoping for have fallen through. I've helped in all the ways I am able, contributing some to their power and fuel bills.

They need:

$800 for rent

$150 for electric

$90 for fuel

anything else for food, meds and other survival needs

Goal: $1000

p: paypal.me/audacenoire c: $audacenoire v: @ audacenoire k: ko-fi.com/audacenoire

These are close friends of mine that I have known for at least ten years, who helped me escape a domestic abuse situation and more since then. It's painful for me to have to watch them struggle like this after they literally saved my life. This is their three year old's first time facing hardship, and I can't bear the thought of her suffering the way I did at her age.

I had originally been planning to move not long after them, but this situation has forced me to put off my move to help them. My needs as of now are met and I'm fine, the worst that will happen to me is that I have to live in this apartment for some more time.

My gigs:

I perform a number of small services for a fee. Please DM me for details.

Tarot and oracle card readings: $5 per card, $10 for a three card general spread

Graphic design: I can make icons, banners, blog headers and other small assets. DM for more information

Proofreading/Editing/Beta Reading: $5 per 500 words

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read this far. Anything you can give will be appreciated, even if all you can do is share this post.

[sam-keeper]

Hey Look At This Comic: Smut Peddler Presents Pitch Black

I can't remember how we got on the subject of the comics that my friends Iris Jay and Nero Villagallos O'Reilly did for an old Iron Circus april fools bit. maybe we were chatting about Megan Delyani's blank frame comic Spaces, which I wrote a whole review of last year, but it might just as easily have been talking about comic structure generally. cause we're huge nerds. being a huge nerd, I was all over the premise of the joke: a fake kickstarter for a Smut Peddler volume full of comics with all blacked out panels.

it's a great gag, a full webpage duping the Kickstarter layout, with a fun tongue in cheek explanation: comics don't leave enough up to the imagination, there aren't enough interpretive gaps for the reader, so to fix that Smut Peddler will publish a bunch of Pitch Black comics where YOU have to provide the visuals. Joke, maybe, but it lends credence to frame-focused models of comics reading: it's not the images that make something a comic, but the breakdown of page space into discrete units. So goes one theory, anyway. How do these pages fare without their images?

Lin Visel deploys a regular grid of long, thin columns, with a kind of horizontal capital at the top. The speech bubbles drive a lot of the action here and there's a sense of simultaneous movement across the bottom, with the bubbles breaking the panel borders at the top and the sound effects flowing into each other below. So, there's an interesting division between the upper strip, which is relatively subdued, a moment of reassurance that exists almost in its own zone before the rush of the bottom. And, as we'll see with a bunch of the others, in the absence of images the style of the text, the shape of the word balloons, and the font colors all become more crucial to conveying what's happening (sex, to be clear). That's already a lot going on with a series of black panels.

I love how Iris's comic bakes an explanation for the blacked out panels into its narrative. The apparently dominant character gloats that her streaming site won't let her actually display the brutal force-fem pegging she's giving to some shitty gamer bro. Sure enough, at the bottom of that panel there's a black and white video control interface and LIVE signal. Text alone and the design of the speech bubbles transforms the whole diegesis of that second panel, from the floating omniscient "camera" of the other panels to a webcam. Which is crazy because don't forget, there is no diegesis at all. It's all black!

There's so many great touches in this. I love the fact that the tongue in cheek panel containing the "guy's" internal monologue ("I can feel my epic skills draining away with every thrust... along with my masculinity!") is not just a second panel on the upper strip but an inset, separating out this moment of more intimate first person experience from the more remote view of implied fucking. And look at the flowers in the final orgasmic speech bubble! This is a total tangent but I feel like a lot of older attempts at structuralist comics decomposition wanted a firm line between the panel, the image, the characters, the speech bubbles, and so on. But comic elements can constantly interpenetrate, with the apparent domain of text becoming more complex graphical elements. Also, what a cute way to depict orgasming so hard you get turned into a girl. Head full of flowers. :)

It's incredible what you can achieve without breaking Tumblr's draconian terms of service at all.

Robin Tess offers a more straightfoward humorous panel, which lets me catch my breath after Iris's hot and heavy speech bubbles. Yet, this could have been a straightfoward 2 x 3 grid, couldn't it? 6 panels? Instead, this joke about over-engineered jargon names for what could just as easily have been called a "fuckmachine" (left delightfully up to the imagination) gets its core pacing from an irregular panel format. The premise is introduced in a big splashy full-strip panel at the top, the elaboration takes up the middle row, and then the bottom, in two equal panels, displays the two part punchline. I like the subtle way the middle row panels get progressively smaller. It increases the tension as we move toward the release of the punchlines, in a way that could be easily obscured by the panel contents if the page wasn't all blacked out in this way. Like Delyani's work, it makes me want to see notable comics blacked out. It could offer a whole new perspective on the medium's language.

Speaking of which, Nero uses a series of tall regular panels that suddenly POP into one that seems to squirt across the page, the other panels moved to allow for the white negative space to show off the irregular splash of the panel edge. This could be the silhouette of literal fluid, but I also like the idea of a frame that just has this kind of irregular energy. The comic structure itself becoming unruly and fluid to highlight a climax is a staple of many comic genres, but I'd say that I see it deployed most consistently by adult creators, who seem more willing to throw page literalism to the wind in order to achieve heightened expressivity. And once again we've got this escalation to a climactic panel. Typing this up I actually realized I don't have a specific idea of what I think the visual for these panels is or should be. Part of the excitement comes from filling in the blanks, to be sure, but that's true of any comic, which requires us to engage in closure to make sense of the transition from panel to panel. No, it's the drama of the reveal of the vibe plug one character apparently has been hiding, the invitation to intimacy, and finally the release, all achieved through dialogue physically arranged on the page. I don't think this would really make sense at all without the visuals that ARE there--the buzzing sound effect that moves across panel borders and is simultaneous to rather than sequentially arranged between lines of dialogue, and the incredibly suggestive final panel shape. Even without apparent visuals, this is visual storytelling.

Abby Howard wraps things up with the most abstract of the pieces, one that doesn't use frames at all but implies panel contents simply through the convention of word balloon tails. The result is a disorienting dark mass. It's hard to know what exactly is happening here and actually I'm having a hard time imagining what the last visual is "supposed" to be. It sort of is what it is: groping claw marks raking a black void. It's part of the april fool's joke, but it's a creepy one, and it feeds into the final joke of the page: that all this overthinking, all this trying to make sense of black panels, has worn you out, made you vulnerable to the Dark. Well, looking at everything I typed up here, I can't deny the inevitability of this end. Time to get in the maw!

Actually I think this end uncovers the close relationship that comics and hypertext narratives or more experimentally formatted texts have to one another: the space on the page becomes, itself, a signifying element and a way to direct the flow of the story. It's a shame that this is, I think, still considered a bit gimmicky in the realm of professional publishing and criticism. We have all these tools we've barely employed for storytelling, made far more accessible than in the days of having to manually set type!

Well, maybe it'll all have its day in the sun, or I suppose night in its new moon, soon enough. With an increasingly puritanical treatment of sexuality in society and on the internet, maybe we'll ALL have to black the action out of our comics and leave the frames to imply what we socially no longer want to see.

Pitch Black: Comics Code Authority approved!

you can read more reviews in the Hey Look At This Comic tag and support me on Patreon at least until they get my ass for being an adult writing about comics for other adults.

[st4rtar0t]

Describing your love trope with your future spouse as a writer

Pick a picture

MASTERLIST ☆ PAID SERVICES

LONG POST AHEAD!

Pictures belong to their rightful owners, I only own the content of this post.

Picture 1

Arranged blind date

I stared at my reflection, the dress clinging to my frame in a way that was both flattering and unfamiliar. It had been months since I’d worn anything other than sweatpants and old t-shirts. My heart pounded as I thought about the evening ahead. What had I let Emma talk me into?

“Trust me, y/n,” she had said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “You deserve someone who treats you right. This guy is perfect for you.”

I wanted to believe her. After all, Emma knew me better than anyone. She had seen me through the worst of my relationship with Adam, watched as I shrank into myself, convinced I was unworthy of love and respect. She had been my rock when I finally walked away.

Now, she was determined to help me move on, even if it meant dragging me into the world of blind dates.

“You look stunning,” Emma said, stepping into my bedroom. Her smile was warm and reassuring. “And you’ll be fine. Just be yourself.”

I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. “What if he’s... I don’t know, another Adam?”

Emma shook her head firmly. “He’s not. Trust me. I’ve known him for years. He’s kind, funny, and he’s been through his own share of heartbreak. You two will understand each other.”

Taking a deep breath, I followed Emma out the door and into her car. As she drove, I gazed out the window, my mind a swirl of anxiety and hope. The city lights blurred past, a cacophony of life that felt distant and unreal.

We arrived at the restaurant, a cozy little place with warm lighting and the comforting aroma of home-cooked meals. Emma squeezed my hand. “He’s waiting at table five. Go on, I’ll be right here if you need me.”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”

As I approached table five, I saw him. He was looking down at his menu, but there was something about him that immediately put me at ease. He had an air of quiet confidence, and when he looked up and our eyes met, he smiled. It was a smile that reached his eyes, genuine and warm.

“y/n?” he asked, standing up and offering his hand.

I took it, surprised by how natural it felt. “Yes. And you must be Michael.”

He nodded, his grip gentle yet reassuring. “It’s really nice to meet you. Emma’s told me a lot about you.”

I laughed nervously, taking my seat. “All good things, I hope.”

“Only the best,” he said, his eyes twinkling with kindness. “She’s very fond of you.”

As we started talking, I found myself relaxing. Michael was easy to talk to, his sense of humor lightening the mood. He shared stories about his work as a graphic designer, his passion for painting, and his dog, Max, who sounded like a real character.

“So, Emma tells me you’re quite the photographer,” he said, his tone genuinely interested.

I blushed slightly. “I dabble. It’s just a hobby, really.”

“From what I hear, you’re pretty talented,” he replied. “Maybe you could show me some of your work sometime?”

I nodded, feeling a warmth spread through me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. “I’d like that.”

The evening passed in a blur of laughter and easy conversation. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was enjoying myself. Michael was attentive, respectful, and genuinely interested in what I had to say. It was a stark contrast to the indifference and criticism I had grown accustomed to with Adam.

As we said our goodbyes, Michael looked at me with a hopeful expression. “I had a great time tonight, y/n. Can we do this again sometime?”

I smiled, feeling a lightness in my heart. “I’d like that very much, Michael.”

As I walked back to Emma, who was waiting with a knowing smile, I realized something. Maybe, just maybe, I was ready to open my heart again. And maybe this time, I’d find the love and respect I truly deserved.

⁠—⁠☆

Emma hugged me as soon as I reached her. “See? Told you it would be fine.”

I hugged her back, gratitude welling up in my chest. “Thank you, Emma. For everything.”

She grinned. “That’s what friends are for.”

And for the first time in a long while, I felt hopeful about the future.

Picture 2

Friends to lovers

I stood outside y/n’s apartment, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. The city was quiet tonight, the streetlights casting a warm glow on the sidewalk. I had been here countless times, but tonight felt different. Tonight, everything was about to change.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. Almost immediately, I heard her footsteps approaching. The door swung open, and there she was, her smile lighting up the entire hallway.

“Hey! Come on in,” she said, stepping aside to let me pass.

I walked in, my heart pounding in my chest. “Hey, y/n. Thanks for having me over.”

We settled on her couch, the same spot where we’d shared countless conversations, laughter, and even tears over the years. She handed me a cup of tea, her eyes sparkling with the warmth I had come to cherish.

“So, what’s up?” she asked, taking a sip of her own tea. “You sounded a bit urgent on the phone.”

I looked at her, really looked at her, and realized just how much she meant to me. Her kindness, her strength, her infectious laugh—all the little things that made her who she was. It hit me like a tidal wave. I was in love with her. I always have been.

“y/n, there’s something I need to tell you,” I began, my voice trembling slightly.

She set her cup down, her expression turning serious. “What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”

I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. “y/n, you’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. You’ve been there for me through everything, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She smiled, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “I am your best friend. I will always be there for you no matter what happens. Now tell me, what is bothering you?”

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of the moment. “But that’s the thing. I don’t just see you as my best friend anymore. Somewhere along the way, my feelings changed. I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Her eyes widened, and for a moment, there was a silence that felt like an eternity. My heart was in my throat, fear and hope battling within me.

“oh…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I pressed on, needing her to understand. “I know this might come as a shock, and I don’t want to ruin what we have. But I had to tell you. I can’t keep pretending that what I feel for you is just friendship.”

Her eyes searched mine, and I saw tears forming. Panic surged through me. Had I made a terrible mistake?

But then she smiled, a radiant, beautiful smile that took my breath away. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for so long.”

Relief washed over me like a flood. “You... you have?”

She nodded, tears spilling over her cheeks. “I’ve loved you for years. I was just too scared to tell you. I didn’t want to risk losing you.”

I reached out, brushing a tear from her cheek. “You’ll never lose me, y/n. You’re everything to me.”

She leaned into my touch, her eyes filled with love and vulnerability. “I love you.”

The words were like music to my ears. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly. “I love you too, y/n. More than you’ll ever know.”

We sat there, wrapped in each other’s embrace, the world outside fading away. All that mattered was this moment, the love we had finally confessed, and the promise of a future together.

As I held her, I realized something. Love had been right in front of me all along, in the form of my best friend. And now that I had found it, I was never letting go.

Picture 3

Opposites attract

I watched him from across the room, the way he moved with such effortless grace and confidence. The party was in full swing, laughter and chatter filling the air, but all I could focus on was Ethan. He was the epitome of extroversion, charming everyone around him with his easy smile and quick wit.

I, on the other hand, was more comfortable in the shadows, observing rather than participating. I preferred a good book to a loud party, a quiet evening at home to a night out on the town. Yet, here I was, drawn to someone who was my complete opposite in every way.

Ethan caught my eye and waved, making his way over to me. My heart skipped a beat, a mixture of excitement and nervousness swirling inside me.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said, his voice warm and inviting. “Why are you hiding over here all alone?”

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Just taking a break from all the excitement.”

He laughed, a rich, contagious sound. “You know, you’re the only person I know who comes to a party to take a break from it.”

I smiled, feeling a little more at ease. “Well, someone has to keep an eye on things from the sidelines.”

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with that mischievous spark I was starting to adore.

“Sure,” I said, surprised by how much I wanted him to stay.

We sat down on the edge of the patio, the cool night air a welcome contrast to the warmth of the crowded house. For a moment, we just sat in comfortable silence, the sounds of the party fading into the background.

“You know, Y/N,” Ethan said, breaking the silence. “I’ve always admired how you can just... be. You don’t need all this noise and attention to feel happy.”

I looked at him, surprised by his honesty. “And I’ve always admired how you can light up a room just by walking into it. You make everything look so easy.”

He smiled, a softer, more genuine smile than I’d seen before. “It’s not always as easy as it looks. Sometimes, it feels like I’m just playing a role. But with you... I feel like I can be myself.”

My heart swelled at his words. “I feel the same way, Ethan. With you, I don’t feel like I have to hide.”

We continued talking, sharing pieces of ourselves we hadn’t revealed to anyone else. I told him about my love for painting, how it was my way of expressing emotions I couldn’t put into words. He opened up about his fear of being alone, how he surrounded himself with people to avoid facing his own insecurities.

As the night wore on, I found myself drawn to him in ways I hadn’t expected. Despite our differences, or maybe because of them, we fit together in a way that felt right. His outgoing nature balanced my introversion, his confidence bolstered my shyness, and his warmth melted my reservations.

Ethan reached out, taking my hand in his. His touch was gentle, yet it sent a jolt of electricity through me. “Y/N, I know we’re different, but I can’t help how I feel. Being with you makes me want to be better, to be more.”

I looked into his eyes, seeing the vulnerability and sincerity there. “I feel the same way, Ethan. You make me feel... alive, like anything is possible.”

He leaned in closer, his gaze never leaving mine. “So, what do you say we give this a try? Us, I mean. I know it won’t always be easy, but I think it could be something amazing.”

I smiled, my heart full of hope and excitement. “I’d like that, Ethan. I’d like that a lot.”

As he pulled me into a gentle embrace, I realized that sometimes, the most unexpected connections can be the most beautiful. Despite our differences, or maybe because of them, we were falling for each other, and I couldn’t wait to see where this journey would take us.

[naamahdarling]

I'm probably going to piss some people off with this, but.

The use of AI and machine learning for harmful purposes is absolutely unacceptable.

But that isn't an innate part of what it does.

Apps or sites using AI to generate playlists or reading lists or a list of recipes based on a prompt you enter: absolutely fantastic, super helpful, so many new things to enjoy, takes jobs from no-one.

Apps or sites that use a biased algorithm (which is AI) which is not controllable by users or able to be turned off by them, to push some content and suppress others to maximize engagement and create compulsive behavior in users: unethical, bad, capitalism issue, human issue.

People employing genAI to create images for personal, non-profit use and amusement who would not have paid someone for the same service: neutral, (potential copyright and ethics issue if used for profit, which would be a human issue).

People incorporating genAI as part of their artistic process, where the medium of genAI is itself is a deliberate part of the artist's technique: valid, interesting.

Companies employing genAI to do the work of a graphic designer, and websites using genAI to replace the cost of stock photos: bad, shitty, no, capitalist and ethical human issue.

People attacking small artists who use it with death threats and unbelievable vitriol: bad, don't do that.

AI used for spell check and grammar assistance: really great.

AI employed by eBay sellers to cut down on the time it takes to make listings: good, very helpful, but might be a bad idea as it does make mistakes and that can cost them money, which would be a technical issue.

AI used to generate fake product photos: deceptive, lazy, bad, human ethical issue.

AI used to identify plagiarism: neutral; could be really helpful but the parameters are defined by unrealistic standards and not interrogated by those who employ it. Human ethical issue.

AI used to analyze data and draw up complex models allowing detection of things like cancer cells: good; humans doing this work take much longer, this gives results much faster and allows faster intervention, saving lives.

AI used to audit medical or criminal records and gatekeep coverage or profile people: straight-up evil. Societal issue, human ethical issue.

AI used to organize and classify your photos so you don't have to spend all that time doing it: helpful, good.

AI used to profile people or surveil people: bad and wrong. Societal issue, human issue, ethical issue.

I'm not going to cover the astonishingly bad misinformation that has been thrown out there about genAI, or break down thought distortions, or go into the dark side of copyright law, or dive into exactly how it uses the data it is fed to produce a result, or explain how it does have many valid uses in the arts if you have any imagination and curiosity, and I'm not holding anyone's hand and trying to walk them out of all the ableism and regurgitated capitalist arguments and the glorification of labor and suffering.

I just want to point out: you use machine learning (AI) all the time, you benefit from it all the time. You could probably identify many more examples that you use every day. Knee-jerk panicked hate reflects ignorance, not sound principles.

You don't have beef with AI, you have beef with human beings, how they train it, and how they use it. You have beef with capitalism and thoughtlessness. And so do I. I will ruthlessly mock or decry misuse or bad use of it. But there is literally nothing inherently bad in the technology.

I am aware of and hate its misuse just as much as you do. Possibly more, considering that I am aware of some pretty heinous ways it's being used that a lot of people are not. (APPRISS, which is with zero competition for the title the most evil use of machine learning I have ever seen, and which is probably being used on you right now.)

You need to stop and actually think about why people do bad things with it instead of falling for the red herring and going after the technology (as well as the weakest human target you can find) every time you see those two letters together.

You cannot protect yourself and other people against its misuse if you cannot separate that misuse against its neutral or helpful uses, or if you cannot even identify what AI and machine learning are.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

An adversarial iMessage client for Android

Adversarial interoperability is one of the most reliable ways to protect tech users from predatory corporations: that's when a technologist reverse-engineers an existing product to reconfigure or mod it (interoperability) in ways its users like, but which its manufacturer objects to (adversarial):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability

"Adversarial interop" is a mouthful, so at EFF, we coined the term "competitive compatibility," or comcom, which is a lot easier to say and to spell.

Scratch any tech success and you'll find a comcom story. After all, when a company turns its screws on its users, it's good business to offer an aftermarket mod that loosens them again. HP's $10,000/gallon inkjet ink is like a bat-signal for third-party ink companies. When Mercedes announces that it's going to sell you access to your car's accelerator pedal as a subscription service, that's like an engraved invitation to clever independent mechanics who'll charge you a single fee to permanently unlock that "feature":

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/05/carmakers-push-forward-with-plans-to-make-basic-features-subscription-services-despite-widespread-backlash/

Comcom saved giant tech companies like Apple. Microsoft tried to kill the Mac by rolling out a truly cursèd version of MS Office for MacOS. Mac users (5% of the market) who tried to send Word, Excel or Powerpoint files to Windows users (95% of the market) were stymied: their files wouldn't open, or they'd go corrupt. Tech managers like me started throwing the graphic designer's Mac and replacing it with a Windows box with a big graphics card and Windows versions of Adobe's tools.

Comcom saved Apple's bacon. Apple reverse-engineered MS's flagship software suite and made a comcom version, iWork, whose Pages, Numbers and Keynote could flawlessly read and write MS's Word, Excel and Powerpoint files:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

It's tempting to think of iWork as benefiting Apple users, and certainly the people who installed and used it benefited from it. But Windows users also benefited from iWork. The existence of iWork meant that Windows users could seamlessly collaborate on and share files with their Mac colleagues. IWork didn't just add a new feature to the Mac ("read and write files that originated with Windows users") – it also added a feature to Windows: "collaborate with Mac users."

Every pirate wants to be an admiral. Though comcom rescued Apple from a monopolist's sneaky attempt to drive it out of business, Apple – now a three trillion dollar company – has repeatedly attacked comcom when it was applied to Apple's products. When Apple did comcom, that was progress. When someone does comcom to Apple, that's piracy.

Apple has many tools at its disposal that Microsoft lacked in the early 2000s. Radical new interpretations of existing copyright, contract, patent and trademark law allows Apple – and other tech giants – to threaten rivals who engage in comcom with both criminal and civil penalties. That's right, you can go to prison for comcom these days. No wonder Jay Freeman calls this "felony contempt of business model":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Take iMessage, Apple's end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) instant messaging tool. Apple customers can use iMessage to send each other private messages that can't be read or altered by third parties – not cops, not crooks, not even Apple. That's important, because when private messaging systems get hacked, bad things happen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_celebrity_nude_photo_leak

But Apple has steadfastly refused to offer an iMessage app for non-Apple systems. If you're an Apple customer holding a sensitive discussion with an Android user, Apple refuses to offer you a tool to maintain your privacy. Those messages are sent "in the clear," over the 38-year-old SMS protocol, which is trivial to spy on and disrupt.

Apple sacrifices its users' security and integrity in the hopes that they will put pressure on their friends to move into Apple's walled garden. As CEO Tim Cook told a reporter: if you want to have secure communications with your mother, buy her an iPhone:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tim-cook-says-buy-mom-210347694.html

Last September, a 16-year old high school student calling himself JJTech published a technical teardown of iMessage, showing how any device could send and receive encrypted messages with iMessage users, even without an Apple ID:

https://jjtech.dev/reverse-engineering/imessage-explained/

JJTech even published code to do this, in an open source library called Pypush:

https://github.com/JJTech0130/pypush

In the weeks since, Beeper has been working to productize JJTech's code, and this week, they announced Beeper Mini, an Android-based iMessage client that is end-to-end encrypted:

https://beeper.notion.site/How-Beeper-Mini-Works-966cb11019f8444f90baa314d2f43a54

Beeper is known for a multiprotocol chat client built on Matrix, allowing you to manage several kinds of chat from a single app. These multiprotocol chats have been around forever. Indeed, iMessage started out as one – when it was called "iChat," it supported Google Talk and Jabber, another multiprotocol tool. Other tools like Pidgin have kept the flame alive for decades, and have millions of devoted users:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/tower-babel-how-public-interest-internet-trying-save-messaging-and-banish-big

But iMessage support has remained elusive. Last month, Nothing launched Sunchoice, a disastrous attempt to bring iMessage to Android, which used Macs in a data-center to intercept and forward messages to Android users, breaking E2EE and introducing massive surveillance risks:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/21/23970740/sunbird-imessage-app-shut-down-privacy-nothing-chats-phone-2

Beeper Mini does not have these defects. The system encrypts and decrypts messages on the Android device itself, and directly communicates with Apple's servers. It gathers some telemetry for debugging, and this can be turned off in preferences. It sends a single SMS to Apple's servers during setup, which changes your device's bubble from green to blue, so that Apple users now correctly see your device as a secure endpoint for iMessage communications.

Beeper Mini is now available in Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima&hl=en_US

Now, this is a high-stakes business. Apple has a long history of threatening companies like Beeper over conduct like this. And Google has a long history deferring to those threats – as it did with OG App, a superior third-party Instagram app that it summarily yanked after Meta complained:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/05/battery-vampire/#drained

But while iMessage for Android is good for Android users, it's also very good for Apple customers, who can now get the privacy and security guarantees of iMessage for all their contacts, not just the ones who bought the same kind of phone as they did. The stakes for communications breaches have never been higher, and antitrust scrutiny on Big Tech companies has never been so intense.

Apple recently announced that it would add RCS support to iOS devices (RCS is a secure successor to SMS):

https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/16/apple-rcs-coming-to-iphone/

Early word from developers suggests that this support will have all kinds of boobytraps. That's par for the course with Apple, who love to announce splashy reversals of their worst policies – like their opposition to right to repair – while finding sneaky ways to go on abusing its customers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

The ball is in Apple's court, and, to a lesser extent, in Google's. As part of the mobile duopoly, Google has joined with Apple in facilitating the removal of comcom tools from its app store. But Google has also spent millions on an ad campaign shaming Apple for exposing its users to privacy risks when talking to Android users:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883609/google-rcs-message-apple-iphone-ipager-ad

While we all wait for the other shoe to drop, Android users can get set up on Beeper Mini, and technologists can kick the tires on its code libraries and privacy guarantees.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/07/blue-bubbles-for-all/#never-underestimate-the-determination-of-a-kid-who-is-time-rich-and-cash-poor

[sam198]

A day in the Spa

Tim walked into the luxurious spa, feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation. He had never been to a place quite like this before. Roland had invited him here, his neighbor and occasional client, who had once been his youth leader when he was just a scrawny teen with a crush on the hunky firefighter. Roland was a towering figure at 196 cm, with a body that was more "big" than "muscular," carrying an extra layer of padding around his midsection. His hairless chest was surprisingly firm, and his belly, though not flat, had a certain charm to it. Tim had always found something alluring about the way his belly folded when he sat down. Roland had a gentle face, with a pair of small glasses perched on his nose that made him seem wise beyond his years. His beard was almost non-existent, but the way his upper lip curled slightly when he talked made Tim's heart flutter. Roland's cock was the stuff of legend, at least in Tim's mind. At 19*5 cm, it was a beast, and Tim had been paid well for the graphic design work he had done for Roland's side business, which often came with the added bonus of a taste of that monster.

Roland looked down at Tim with a knowing smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Tim felt his cheeks warm as he took in the sight of his own body, muscular and fit from his days as a dancer. His green eyes, framed by his thick-rimmed glasses, darted around the room, taking in the opulent surroundings. His short, clean-shaven beard outlined his strong jaw, and his brown hair was styled in a way that accentuated his angular face. His cock was a respectable 19*4 cm, not as large as Roland's, but he knew how to use it to his advantage. He was versatile in the bedroom, preferring to bottom in his open relationship but enjoying taking control when it came to the random encounters outside of it. Tim felt the familiar thrill of attraction and anticipation as he thought about what this evening might hold.

"Welcome to my little sanctuary, Tim," Roland said, his deep voice resonating through the quiet space. "I think you're going to enjoy the experience." Tim nodded, trying to keep his cool. Roland's business, a thriving firefighter-themed car detailing service, had done well enough to afford him this extravagant retreat. The room was filled with the scent of burning sage and candles flickered on the shelves, casting a warm, seductive glow over the gleaming marble surfaces. The walls were lined with mirrors, reflecting every curve and bulge of their bodies as they moved. Tim felt a strange sense of vulnerability as he realized that every part of him would be on display, and that thought only served to make his cock swell slightly.

Roland stepped closer, his hand resting lightly on Tim's shoulder. "You know, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for you," he murmured, his breath hot against Tim's neck. Tim's heart skipped a beat. Was this going to be more than just a professional meeting? Roland's touch was firm but gentle, sending shivers down his spine. Tim felt his own cock begin to respond, thickening and lengthening despite his apprehension.

But as Roland began to stroke him, something strange happened. Tim's cock, felt tight.
"What's wrong, Timy?" Roland asked, his voice filled with concern. Tim looked down to find that his once proud 19 cm member had shrunken to a mere shadow of its former self. Roland's own cock, on the other hand, seemed to be growing before his eyes. It stretched out, thick and veiny, reaching out to claim what was once Tim's.

"What the fuck?" Tim managed to croak out, his eyes wide with shock and horror. Roland chuckled, a dark glint in his eye. "I told you I had a surprise for you tonight. It seems like you're going to be experiencing something new, something... enlightening." Tim felt his cock shrink even more as Roland's grew larger, filling his hand completely.

With a sudden jolt, Roland shoved Tim onto the massage table, his new, massive cock standing at full attention. "You're going to take this," Roland growled, his voice deeper, more commanding than Tim had ever heard it before. "You're going to take it all, and you're going to love it." Tim struggled, his muscular frame now feeling weak and inadequate against Roland's overwhelming size and strength.
Roland grabbed Tim's legs, pushing them apart and exposing his now tiny, wrinkled hole. "Don't worry," he said, his tone soothing despite the situation. "You're going to love being my little bottom bitch." Tim's heart raced as Roland positioned himself, the tip of his monstrous cock nudging at Tim's entrance. He felt a strange mix of fear and excitement as Roland pushed in, the sensation of being filled overwhelming him.

Tim's eyes rolled back in his head as Roland began to thrust, his fat cock stretching Tim's hole wider and wider. "You're so tight," Roland murmured, his strokes becoming more and more forceful. "But I'll loosen you up, don't you worry." Tim could only whimper in response, his body no longer his own as Roland claimed him, inch by glorious inch.

"Look at you," Roland said, his voice a low growl, "you're not even close to the man you were when you walked in here. You're just a little slut now, aren't you?" Tim's muscles, once so defined and strong, felt like they were melting away as Roland fucked him. His youthful good looks began to fade, his skin taking on a more weathered, used quality. His cock, once the center of his confidence, was now a pitiful little nub, all his vitality and virility seemingly transferred to Roland's monstrous member.

"You're mine now," Roland whispered, his breath hot and ragged. "My little bitch. And you're going to do everything I say." Tim nodded, unable to form words as Roland's cock pounded into him, stealing his very essence with every stroke.

But the transformation wasn't just in Tim; Roland was changing too. His body grew more muscular, his skin tightening and becoming more youthful. His cock, already massive, swelled even more, reaching lengths that seemed impossible. The veins stood out, pulsing with power as he claimed Tim's body, each inch of new growth a testament to his dominance.

Tim watched in the mirror, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe. Roland's face had lost its softness, becoming more chiseled and handsome. His hair thickened and darkened, the bald spot retreating. His beard grew into a full, lush mane that framed his face, making him look like the Greek god he had always aspired to be. His eyes, once hidden behind small glasses, now gleamed with a fiery intensity that made Tim's knees tremble.

As Roland fucked him harder, Tim felt the last of his youth being drawn into that cock, leaving him a withered, hollow shell. Yet, his body responded in ways it never had before, his prostate aching for the pounding it was receiving. He realized with a start that he was enjoying this, his body betraying him as it begged for more.

The spa room filled with the sounds of wet flesh slapping together, of grunts and moans. Roland's handsome face twisted in pleasure, his newfound vitality making him more attractive than ever. Tim couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy, his own youthful visage now replaced by the lines and sags of middle age. Yet, as Roland's cock grew even larger, filling him to the brim, Tim felt a strange sense of satisfaction, a perverse pride in serving his new master.

The power dynamics had shifted dramatically, and Tim knew he was forever changed. His body now craved this dominance, this complete surrender. He was no longer the confident top he had been, but a submissive, eager to please his new alpha.

Roland leaned in, his breath hot on Tim's neck, "You're going to be my little slut, aren't you?" Tim nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, sir," he replied, feeling a strange comfort in the words.

Roland grinned, his teeth gleaming in the soft light of the spa. "Good boy," he murmured, his grip on Tim's legs tightening. "You're going to love this." Tim braced himself as Roland began to piston in and out of him, the pleasure building into something unbearable.

The former firefighter's cock grew even larger, filling Tim completely, stretching him to his limits. Tim's eyes rolled back in his head as he gave himself over to the feeling, his body no longer his own. Roland had taken everything from him, but in that moment, all Tim could do was revel in the sensation of being used, of being filled so completely by his neighbor's now massive cock.

The pain was exquisite, the pleasure unbearable, as Roland claimed him over and over again. Tim's once-muscular body now trembled with every thrust, his strength gone, replaced by a newfound need to be taken, to be used. The spa room spun around him, the smells of oils and candles mixing with the scent of sweat and sex.

The door to the private spa suite opened, and in walked two other men from the spa, drawn by the sounds of passion and the sight of the transformation unfolding before them. They were both in their late twenties, one with a chiseled jaw and piercing blue eyes, the other with a mop of dark hair and a smirk that spoke of his own conquests. They took in the sight of Roland, now the epitome of masculine beauty, and Tim, now a mere shadow of his former self, his cock shriveled and his ass reddened from the relentless pounding.

"Look at this pathetic excuse for a man," the blond-haired man said, pointing at Tim. "He's lost it all to that beast." The dark-haired man chuckled, stroking his own still-respectable cock as he watched Roland's thick member slide in and out of Tim's now-loose hole. "It's like he's being fucked by a horse," he commented, the humor in his voice cutting through the tension like a knife.

Tim felt his cheeks burn with humiliation as the men whispered and laughed about his new body, his once-proud cock now a mere memory. He was nothing but a vessel for Roland's pleasure, a living embodiment of what happens when one man's power is transferred to another. He wanted to scream, to protest, but all that came out was a series of high-pitched whimpers that only served to egg the two men on.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Roland taunted, pulling out of Tim and turning him over to face the mirror. Tim looked at his reflection, his eyes wide with shock and despair. The man looking back at him was unrecognizable, a hollowed-out version of the confident man he had been mere minutes ago. His body was now a caricature of age and weakness, his cock a sad, limp excuse for what it had been. Roland leaned in close, his newfound youthfulness and virility a stark contrast to Tim's decay. "You like what you see?"

Tim nodded, unable to find the words to express his disgust and arousal. The two men by the door had moved closer now, their cocks hardening as they watched Roland's power grow and Tim's fade away. They whispered to each other, their eyes never leaving the scene before them. Tim knew what they were thinking; he could see it in their lustful gazes. They wanted a piece of the action, to be the ones to dominate him, to feel the power of taking what wasn't theirs.

Roland leaned down, his beard brushing against Tim's ear. "You're going to be everyone's little fuck toy, aren't you?" Tim whimpered, feeling his body betray him once more as his shrunken cock began to harden slightly at the thought. "Yes, sir," he murmured, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

The blond man stepped forward, a wicked grin on his face. "Mind if we join?" he asked Roland, his hand already reaching out to stroke Tim's flabby belly. Tim felt a thrill of terror and excitement run through him. He was about to become the plaything of not one, but three men, all of them eager to use his new, inferior body for their own pleasure.

Roland chuckled, his cock still rock-hard despite having just fucked Tim senseless. "Be my guest," he said, gesturing to the massage table. "Just remember, he's mine." The two men stepped closer, their eyes hungry as they looked Tim over, already planning their next move. Tim could do nothing but lay there, his body a canvas for their desires, his soul forever bound to the man who had taken everything from him.

The blond-haired man, Adrian, took the lead, stroking Tim's flabby belly with a sense of disgust and excitement. "Look at this pathetic mess," he sneered, his voice echoing through the spa. "It's like someone took all the good stuff and left us with this... this... nothing!" His blue eyes sparkled with malice as he leaned in closer, his cock now fully erect.

The dark-haired man, Jared, couldn't resist chiming in. "I bet he used to think he was hot shit," he said with a snicker. "Now look at him. He's nothing but a walking cum dumpster." Tim's heart sank further into his chest as he felt their hands on his body, exploring his newfound weakness. The humiliation was almost too much to bear, but he found himself getting harder at the thought of being used by them.

The two newcomers looked over at Roland, who had moved to the side to watch the show, his cock still standing tall and proud. "How does it feel, knowing you're not even the biggest dick in the room anymore?" Jared taunted Tim, his fingers playing with the soft flesh of Tim's now tiny cock. Roland smirked, his grip on Tim's chin tightening as he forced their eyes to meet.

"It feels...right," Tim whispered, the truth of his new existence dawning on him. He was a mere shell of his former self, living to serve the men around him. And as much as he hated it, as much as he wished it wasn't true, there was a twisted part of him that craved it. Roland leaned in and kissed him, a possessive gesture that sent shivers down Tim's spine. "You're going to love this, baby," he whispered before releasing him to the eager hands of the other two men.

Adrian and Jared didn't waste any time, each taking a side of the massage table. Tim felt their cocks pressing against his thighs, their excitement palpable. He knew what they wanted, and as much as he hated himself for it, he wanted it too. The room grew hazy as they took turns fucking him, his body now a mere playground for their pleasure. The pain was unbearable, but so was the pleasure, a cruel mix of emotions that left Tim feeling more alive than he ever had.

As they used him, the men described his new body in detail, their words a knife twisting in his soul. "Look at those tits," one would say, squeezing his now-feminine breasts. "He's got the ass of a 50-year-old woman," another would add, slapping his now-flabby cheeks. Tim's mind reeled, trying to piece together what had happened to him, but it was no use. He was theirs now, a living doll to be played with and discarded when they were done.

Their words cut deeper than any knife, each insult a reminder of his new place in the world. But amidst the pain and the humiliation, Tim felt a strange thrill, a sense of belonging. He was no longer the top of the food chain, no longer the one in control. He was just a toy, a thing to be used and abused. And in that moment, as Adrian and Jared emptied themselves into him, he realized that this was where he truly belonged.

The men pulled out, their cocks glistening with cum and sweat. Tim's body was a mess, his dignity in tatters. Roland stepped forward, a proud look in his eyes. "Congratulations," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're officially the spa's resident slut. Welcome to your new life, Tim."

Tim looked up at Roland, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and arousal. He hated this new world, this twisted reality where his body was no longer his own. But as Roland offered him a hand to help him up, he took it, knowing that this was just the beginning. He was now the inferior superior, and he had no choice but to embrace it.

[dollsahoy]

my main issue with the fake Poob account is that the logo they made misses the point that the joke is that the service is so completely forgettable that it blends in with every other streaming service.

And they miss that by making a logo that stylistically echoes something from the psychedelic design era of the late 60s/early 70s, instead of something modernly generic.

Also, it completely eschews the typical expectation that a logo remain recognizable (and, optimally, legible) at any scale, especially when it's very small, which it would be as one of the apps icons on your phone

Finally, what graphic designer hack wouldn't take advantage of the fact that lowercase p and b are the same shape, just different orientations? Hey, I'm a graphic designer hack! I threw this together in ten minutes, and a chunk of that time was spent trying to find a public domain typeface with the letter shapes I was looking for, before realizing they could be made from scratch completely by combining circles and rectangles.

it's modern, yet forgettably generic. And it scales

and it doesn't look like a forgotten candy bar logo from the early 1970s.

I do also understand that the joke with the other logo could be that it does miss the mark for a modern forgettable app logo design. My version of the joke is that they spent millions of dollars in marketing research to come up with something I slapped together in less than ten minutes.

[rasilco]

A Sign Of Affection ✨

Song:(Crazy Like You By Chung Ha Ft. Bibi). Tarot and Oracle cards: King Of Cups, Whale and 6th House:(Craft).

" You make me crazy like you. Just like you know that you do. Twisted me just like it's true. Pushed me and pulled me until I was crazy like you."

1- Very tall, definitely towers over you.

2- Loves catering to others, probably works in the field of service.

3- Broad shoulders, very warm smile. Soft eyes.

4- Probably has an artistic hobby. Such as painting, baking, fashion, or graphic design.

5- Homebody, does not like loud public spaces.

6- Probably has a decent group of friends. Maybe three childhood friends.

7- Enjoys rainy days, little bit moody.

8- Enjoys cleaning up their house or apartment. Very neat person. Good hygiene, probably smells like fresh linen.

9- Doesn’t like dressing up, enjoys casual wear. Laid-back style. Neutral color scheme, no bright colors or patterns in their style. Street wear and athletic wear. Loves sneakers.

10- Probably knows more than one language.

Yakuza Fiance 🐉

Song:(The Less I Know The Better By Tame Impala). Tarot and Oracle cards: Emperor, Scorpion and Mars:(Action).

"She said, "It's not now or never. Wait ten years, we'll be together. I said, better late than never. Just don't make me wait forever.”

1- Definitely has a arm sleeve or back tattoos.

2- Smirks a lot when amused by something.

3- Very observant, analyzes everything.

4- Dark features but really a lover boy.

5- Does some form of martial arts or kickboxing.

6- Enjoys cooking but doesn’t eat very much.

7- Very philosophical, looks up random things, ponders on life. Questions everything.

8- Loves jewelry, rings, necklaces, bags, and sunglasses.

9- Very sexual, gets horny looking at you in sweats and a stained t-shirt. You could be doing the most non sexual thing and they’ll be aroused.

10- Has a cat or dog preferably mixed colored animal. Like brown and white. With patterns on their fur.

Peach Girl 💗

Song:(Playdate By Melanie Martinez). Tarot and Oracle cards: King Of Wands, Lion and Mercury:(Communication).

"We're just playing hide and seek. It's getting hard to breathe under the sheets with you. I don't wanna play no games. I'm tired of always chasing, chasing after you."

1- Very athletic, muscular build but lean.

2- Enjoys when you tell them drama. Always listening and enjoying your voice. Like’s how animated you are when you talk.

3- Get's jealous if you don’t spend quality time with them. Acts like a little baby that needs attention.

4- Enjoys hot weather, probably a summer baby. Maybe a Leo. Has warmer skin tone too. And hair lots of hair.

5- Likes the color blue, wears it a lot or has a lot of blue items in their home. Maybe a favorite blue hat or shoes.

6- Likes running, cycling, and hiking. Nature boy. Loves outdoors.

7- Healthy diet, doesn’t enjoy eating fast food but will buy it for you. Even though they think it’s horrible for you.

8- Not very family oriented. Family life is very exhausting. Parents put too much pressure on them.

9- May struggle with mental health issues. Maybe anxiety or depression. Hence why they enjoy going outside and summer days.

10- May have freckles or moles on their face. Very handsome face.

Disclaimer: These readings are for entertainment purposes only. If they don’t resonate with you, feel free to explore other readers. I encourage you to enjoy the songs! Please refrain from copying my content. I will be watermarking my collage art in future readings.

[stereax]

CapFriendly Alternative Sites MegaPost

(Last update: 07/27 - added CapSized.)

As we are all likely aware by now, the Washington Capitals have decided to ruin everyone's lives by purchasing and sunsetting CapFriendly. The site has gone dark as of July 10, 2024.

While the hockey community has experienced a similar loss before, with the death of Matthew Wuest and the subsequent loss of CapGeek, this is a markedly different situation that sets a troubling precedent - namely, that freely usable, public NHL data is now available to the highest bidder, who can then revoke access to the data at a minute's notice. Two things can coexist: we can be happy for the makers of CapFriendly that they are being compensated well for their services while also scorning the Washington Capitals organization for choosing to turn off CapFriendly entirely.

Under the cut, please find a list of free CapFriendly alternatives and other websites that contain NHL data. (In some cases, they are mostly free - however, most/all important information for lay analysis is available for free.) This list is dynamic and taking suggestions, so please feel free to send me any websites you find at @stereax and check the original post for updates!

PART 1: SALARY CAP TRACKERS

PuckPedia: The New CapFriendly

PuckPedia is the closest replacement to CapFriendly currently available. It contains salary cap information for all teams and players, draft pick information, several calculators including a buyout calculator and a pick value calculator, agent information, and more. They also run PuckDoku! The biggest strike against PuckPedia is its lack of simulators (Armchair GM, mock draft, or trade simulators); however, in the wake of the CapFriendly news, PuckPedia shared that an Armchair GM simulator is under active development. 07/05 Update: PuckGM is here! You can also react to prospective PuckGMs (thumbs up, thumbs down, laugh, think emojis).

CapSized: Labor of Love

Referred to me by @nonslipdoormat and billed as a "solo female developer's project" (nonslipdoormat IS said developer!), CapSized is a site that's designed similarly to CapFriendly. It has some features other sites lack, such as trade histories going back to 2003 (with some entries as old as 1964!) and a detailed transactions page again stretching YEARS into the past. The more you poke around, the more cool things you uncover. Its primary purpose is to be a "visual database", but calculators and an NHL GM mode are on the list of future additions. I'll be dead honest, I think this is my favorite cap-checker site because of all the extra utilities. Super excited to see where this project goes!

Referred to me by @reavenedges-lies. A "baby site" that has some of the basics of salary cap info, plus a buyout calculator, qualifying offer calculator, and trade proposal maker. The trade proposal maker is prone to error and seems to only be useful for graphics. It can be a useful site for some, but it would not be my first choice.

CapWages: CapFriendly Lite

Another alternative to PuckPedia that mimics CapFriendly in design and is more intuitive for users going directly from CapFriendly to an alternative site. Like PuckPedia, it now features a GM mode, but the GM mode is in beta and is not fully functional (it only shows contracts currently existing at the NHL level). Nevertheless, for checking salary cap info, it is very good and I recommend it. Also now has a buyout calculator.

CapSpace: Young Gun

BenchWarmers: Greenhorn

Similar to CapSpace but perhaps a little better in the design department. I like how, if you don't have an account, it acts like you're Kyle Dubas and has you watching Toronto and Carolina. Has a few neat stats (like "core four" which shows how much the four most expensive players are making) that I haven't seen easily replicated on other sites, but functionality is rather limited outside of that, which is why it's also not my first choice.

Spotrac: Another Salary Cap Checker

An alternative to PuckPedia for salary cap information. However, it lacks much of the information and functionality of PuckPedia or most other sites listed here.

PART 2: ADVANCED STATS

NaturalStatTrick: The Holy Grail of Stats

NaturalStatTrick, or NatStat for short, is a site that contains just about any stat you can think of for any team or player. It has a learning curve but is generally understood to be the most reliable stat tracker available for free. You can even view stats for individual games on it!

MoneyPuck: DTWoMeter and More

You know it from the Deserve-to-Win-o-Meter or its playoff odds rings, but MoneyPuck has a lot of useful data as well if you do a little browsing. Generally, I've heard that MoneyPuck is less accurate than NatStat, but is easier to use, especially on mobile.

HockeyViz: "If I Ever Sell, I Failed"

Home of the Simple Hockey Charts, HockeyViz has a visual for just about every stat out there. You've almost certainly seen some of them before. Most of them are completely free to the public! They're super useful for visualizing stats as more than "just numbers", allowing you to see exactly WHERE things are happening on the ice.

HockeyStatCards: GameScore Kings

Again, you've probably seen HockeyStatCards's GameScore charts. Using data from NatStat (see above) and an algorithm created by Dom Luszczyszyn, it provides a simple GameScore number that tells you whether a player is having a positive or negative impact on the ice for every game in the NHL.

PART 3: SPECIALIZED SITES

NHL Armchair GM: Building Rosters

This site allows you to Armchair GM a roster. Notably, it has a steeper learning curve than CapFriendly and does not have a forum or other way to easily save and publicize your Armchair GM moves. However, it can be useful to make Armchair GMs and have visuals for them.

NHL Entry Draft: With the First Overall Pick...

This site contains a ton of draft resources, from a mock draft simulator to scouting reports. Definitely a useful site for those who are interested in the entry draft. I've seen a couple of mock draft sites, but this one seems to have by far the easiest and arguably most expansive way to use it.

NHL Injury Viz: Rulers of LTIR

Here, you can explore the relationship between the injuries of players, their cap hits, and how teams did without them. Very useful when you're arguing that a certain player going down doomed the team.

PART 4: MORE TYPES OF DATA

HockeyReference: The Good Old Days

Hockey Reference is best used for surface level data about older players. It has some trivia sections as well, for if you ever wanted to know all players wearing certain jersey numbers, sharing a certain birthday, or hailing from Alaska.

EliteProspects: Every League Imaginable

Want to know the roster of a third-tier league in Quebec? EliteProspects has you covered. Literally every league on the face of the Earth, currently existing and not, EliteProspects has info on. Any player you can possibly name, EliteProspects has their stats from atom hockey all the way to the end of their career.

HockeyDB: Another Spot for Stats

HockeyDB, referred to me by @reavenedges-lies, is another solid site for looking up basic hockey stats. Also has a ton of leagues, similar to EliteProspects. Has a hockey card feature as well that shows you cards featuring the player you've looked up, which is neat!

PART 5: FORUMS

HFBoards: Hockey Forums

Probably the most well-known hockey forum out there. If you want to talk puck on a more forum-like site, similar to CapFriendly's forums, this is the one for you.

PART 6: CAPFRIENDLY ARCHIVES

SergeiFyodorov's CapFriendly FAQ Drive

Curated by @sergeifyodorov. Originally posted here and sent to me by @fellowshipofthegay. Archives of the CapFriendly FAQs!

Got a site that's not listed here? Let me know at @stereax and I'll add it! Remember: While CapFriendly may be going away, hockey analysis is here to stay!

[cheeseceli]

Boyfriend Jimin

Pairing: Park Jimin × Gn!reader

Genre: fluff, almost non existent angst, headcanons

Request: can i request a headcanon of what jimin would be like in a relationship? || When are we getting a Jimin bf headcanon?

Warnings: skinship, he's an idol, that's all?

A/n: how do we feel about the design | daily click

Hobi ver. | Namjoon ver. | Jimin ver. | Taehyung ver. | Jungkook ver.

My boy was in denial for the first part of it, let me tell you that

He'd either wait for you to make a move or wait until you clearly explicitly like him back

He needs to be sure

Just in case

Needless to say he loves physical touch

Mostly kisses I think

I mean, we see how he is with his members so imagine with an actual s/o 😭

Bro would be kissing you like 24/7

His favourites tho: kisses on the hand, on the forehead and on the neck

🙂‍↕️

And he's such a gentle lover if I'm being honest

Besides having the softest touch ever, he also says the kindest words to you

You would definitely feel very safe and reassured around him

His love languages are physical touch, gift giving and acts of service btw

I think that in the beginning of the relationship there would be a few conflicts here and there

But mostly because of miscommunication

Once you both actually understand each other, then things would work way smoothly

Personally, I think he would enjoy having matching items

Something kinda discreet but that still gives the idea that you guys are together

Mostly jewels

The cutest because he will always smile whenever he randomly reminds himself of you

And it's crazy because he could be doing anything and then boom, suddenly you're all that he can think of

The boys always know when he's thinking of you because it's clear how his eyes suddenly get filled with love

Writes songs about you

Most likely won't show them to you unless he's really vulnerable with you

LOVES to cuddle to sleep

His favourite moment with you is those few minutes right before falling asleep where dreams and reality get kinda mixed

But he still can feel you even with all the fog in his mind

He also loves to travel with you

It doesn't matter if it's those big overseas trips or if it's just a 15 minute car ride

He loves going out with you and exploring

Will always save you a seat at his concerts

Will also always look in your direction as much as he can

Loves to hold eye contact because he KNOWS you're going to get flustered

That's how he found out you liked him at first actually lmao

Really wants you to have a good relationship with the boys

I think he would like to adopt a pet with you

Idk it just makes so much sense to me that he would want to do it

Fight me but I think he'd be one of the boys that would be able to hide your relationship with the media the longest

He would probably prefer to keep it a secret

Not because he doesn't want people to know, but because he doesn't want people all over his business

And he would be ready to fight with anyone who had anything bad to say about you

Very protective of you overall actually

Genuinely doesn't know how he lived so much before loving you

Masterlist | you'll probably like: I'm not letting go

Reminder that this is all fiction, this does not represent the members in real life!

Dividers by @saradika-graphics | images 1, 2 and 3

Taglist (open!): @yuyubeans @butnotmontana

[flaticeball]

a jew review of: nhl team happy hanukkah posts

good evening and chag sameach to my hanukkah-celebrating pals out there on hockeyblr. today i bring you: a non-comprehensive and entirely subjective review from one (1) jewish hockey fan of the graphics posted by various nhl teams in celebration of the first night tonight. i definitely missed some, and some teams didn't post any at all, so it's a bit patchwork. here we go.

vancouver canucks: this is an extremely serviceable graphic. love the blurred dreidels to give the effect that they are spinning. very funny. props for the detail that there is a shadow of the menorah on the ice. straightforward. icemenorah is a themeTM but some did it better than others and this is a classic. 7/10

post continues under the cut for the sake of your dash and mine.

carolina hurricanes: obsessed with what the canes have done here though i cannot comprehend it. the weird techno style textured background. the out of focus magen david around. THE HURRICANES. IN HEBREW. WITH THE LITTLE CANES LOGO THING I FORGET THE NAME OF ON THE HEI? INCREDIBLE. points for creativity. overall baffling vibes. 6/10.

pittsburgh penguins: this is just adorable. you hired someone to draw this. spectacular work, guys. it's giving a bit of 'we browsed the target hanukkah deco section for inspo' but it's too adorable for me to care. it's team themed, it's hockey themed, it's holiday appropriate. love everything going on here. they get points for doing what very few other teams are doing and remembering this is night one, so only one candle is lit. most everyone else is getting a bit a head of themselves. 9/10.

washington capitals: and here we have another edition of the icemenorah, with a minimalist twist. this graphic screams 'oh fuck wait is that tonight' which to be fair is also how i, a jew, felt about realizing tonight was the first night of hanukkah. could'a done more, but it's perfectly fine. 6/10.

new jersey devils: this fucks. it's got devils themes. it's got a cool style. it's got vibes. it's got: more hockey stick menorahs which i am always excited about. that shamash candle is a graphic design nightmare but other than that i am all on board. 8/10

vegas golden knights: i love the gold foil effect and that you remembered there was more to hanukkah than candles, that's nice, as is involving the other affiliates! however. where are the vibes. this is not the vgk wishes you a chag sameach, this is a greeting card i got on etsy. 6/10 just bc i KNOW you can do better. where's the neon, babes.

los angeles kings: oh this is fun. it's icemenorah: WITH A TWIST. the art style is cute, it's got plenty of hockey theme, it's also very obviously LA-y, i'm giving them points for this one. the shadow is insane but that's okay, it's ~stylistic. it's cute. 7/10. UPDATE: definitely AI. boo hiss. 0/10.

montréal canadiens: this is probably my favourite for sheer vibes. you got: levitating icemenorah. you got: action-shot candle lighting. you got: remembering this is night ONE. you got: the implication that the torch is the shamash candle????? you got: JOYEUSE HANOUKKA!!!!!!!! (and like happy hanukkah or whatever i guess). obsessed. it's so funny. it's amazing. 9/10.