#between my ongoing shadowban

[rhymesswith]

Me: whatever you do, do NOT think about family-man Dongfang Qingcang. Me when I inevitably think about family-man Dongfang Qingcang: oh god oh f**k...

[hoonvrs]

TRAINEES — l. heeseung smau

PAIRING heeseung × fmr

SYNOPSIS heeseung wasn’t known as ‘the ace’ for nothing, constantly ranking number one after every monthly evaluation. then suddenly a new name takentakes over first place — baek ‘Rin’, and heeseung doesn’t take lightly to competition.

GENRE smau, fluff, crack, more to be added

FEATURING ( enha ) all, ( fromis9 ) chaeyoung, jiheon, ( txt ) yeonjun, ( newjeans ) minji

WARNINGS swearing, kys/kms jokes, friendly bullying, sex jokes, loser heeseung ( more will be added if necessary )

STATUS ongoing

TAGLIST ( OPEN )

S. NOTE new smau and as the queen of loser!enha that means loser heeseung agenda dun dun dunnn ( let’s completely ignore timelines cause if i keep switching between new and old pics don’t clock me.. )

noot hee you will always be famous

also please don't spam like as it shadowbans me and lessens engagement <3

PROFILES

flower boys | hybestars

CHAPTERS

01 bang sihyuk count your days.

02 ain’t that ur rank

03 sunKISS MY ASS

04 i purple you heh

05 she gagged you omg

06 meeeeee :3

07 u pack of slags

08 Woah, calm down jamal

...more to be added

copyright © hoonvrs 2024 all rights reserved

[sundrop-writes]

The Perfect Brat

Dom!Elle Greenaway x Dom!Fem!Reader x Sub!Spencer Reid

Summary:

Spencer acts up. You and Elle put him in his place. It’s an unconventional relationship, but it works so well.

Dom!Elle Greenaway x Dom!Fem!Reader x Sub!Spencer Reid. Co-Workers with Benefits. Smut/PWP. 

Word Count: 2,900

Criminal Minds Masterlist | AO3 Link

THIS IS A RE-POST. This is a fic from my old blog (a blog that was shadowbanned, forcing me to move). This fic is not stolen, it is completely mine, and I am just re-posting it to help people find my new blog, and to make my masterlist complete when I post new fics for this fandom.

Detailed warnings and author’s notes below the cut.

Warnings: this is primarily a smut fic; reader uses she/her pronouns and has a vagina; this could be read with or without considering the major canon events; dom/sub dynamics - Dom!Elle, Dom!Reader, Sub!Spencer (he is definitely more of a brat in this and I had so much fun writing it); implications of an ongoing poly relationship between the three of them; punishment and reward (Spencer is punished for being mouthy/talking back); size difference kink/reverse size kink (the reader loves how skinny and easy to toss around Spencer is); Spencer is spanked, Spencer is gagged with his own tie (the tie is also used like a leash on him); general rough play; Spencer calls the reader ‘Miss’; undertones of humiliation kink, mentions of subspace, mentions of pain kink, Spencer is called a whore, a slut a stupid brat;degradation kink (towards Spencer); mentions of paddling; mentions of jealousy; bondage - Spencer has his hands tied behind his back; Spencer wears a cockring; orgasm restriction (toward Spencer); Spencer is forced to watch while Elle fucks the reader with a strap-on (the reader is a bottom between Elle and the reader, but she still is 100% a dom in this); as mentioned - strap-on sex (Elle fucks the reader with a strap-on); crying kink (Spencer is pretty when he cries); mentions of pegging (from Elle toward Spencer); hair pulling (reader receiving); Elle is called 'Mistress’; the reader and Elle could both be considered mean in this. I hope that’s everything and I haven’t missed anything important.

A/N: the inspiration behind this is actually so funny. I was working on the second part of Lessons For A Genius and I literally thought to myself 'Spencer is too nice in this. he’s too well behaved’ - and then I started thinking about a fic where Spencer is a bratty sub and gets punished, and then in that scenario, Elle suddenly appeared in my head (I guess because Elle has such dom energy and she’s always bossing Spencer around in the show, this is just too real, they have so much chemistry) - and next thing I know I was opening another tab to write this because I couldn’t help myself. So I hope you guys enjoy it!! I would love to write more fics where Spencer is a bratty sub in the future. I just love writing sub!Spencer in general. (some people have asked me to write dom!Spencer and I am warming up to it very, very slowly.) anyway, please enjoy!

...

You were in the room for less than thirty seconds when Spencer’s pants were down. 

Usually, something like this occurred out of pure lust or need. Spencer was a very needy boy. It was rare that you felt this much annoyance building up inside of you. It was rare that you tore off his clothes out of anger. 

But he had mouthed off to you in front of the local cops, whining that you ‘weren’t his mother’ when you asked him how many cups of coffee he’d had that day and advised him to drink some water. It had been a sassy comeback that had several of the men in the room laughing, and at the time, Spencer had been grinning into that ill-advised seventh cup of coffee, thinking that you couldn’t see him. 

It was something that got a warm rage simmering inside of you. 

Generally, he had been the biggest kind of brat all day. He had been mouthing off, even going so far as to talk back to Hotch when given orders. And you weren’t taking too kindly to it. 

He had to know who was in charge. He had to know that you wouldn’t stand for him being a mouthy brat. 

The door to the hotel room had barely closed behind you before you had his belt undone, the heft of the leather causing the fabric of his slacks to drop to his ankles. This left him entirely exposed from the waist down, feeling a rush of vulnerability, knowing he was in trouble. His stomach clenched in anticipation. You weren’t entirely surprised to find that he wasn’t wearing underwear. He had been acting out all day because he was feeling needy, apparently. 

Before he could speak, only uttering out a few half hearted protests, you shoved him hard. He was so skinny, so easy to push around, it was almost laughable. You pushed him until you had him exactly where you wanted him - bent over the dresser in the middle of the room. It was a chest of drawers with an attached vanity mirror, forcing him to bend over it and brace his hands on the surface so he could look at himself in the mirror. 

So he could stare himself down and face all of his beautiful shame as you tore him apart. 

“Look, Miss, please-” He stuttered out. 

Clearly he was still trying to come back from this, still trying to grovel, trying to apologize. 

But it was too late for that. You had decided that during the car ride back. 

“Shut up.” You told him gruffly. 

You reached around his body to his front and grabbed his tie, slipping it slightly loose before you brought it partway up his head. He was confused by this, until you slipped the loop into his mouth, effectively gagging him. You then spun it so the length of the tie was at the back of his head. You tightened it harshly then, causing him to moan as the fabric scuffed sorely against the sides of his mouth. 

But that wasn’t all. 

You yanked back on the length of the tie as though it were a leash, pulling his tall body into a tense arch, forcing him to be exactly where you wanted him to be. He moaned deeply as a wave of pleasurable pain shot through his body, his back cracking slightly as you forced him into such an uncomfortable position. Your other hand was on his lower back, keeping his hips pinned against the edge of the dresser as you forced his neck back as far as it would go. 

His muscles quivered and tears easily came to his eyes. His cock throbbed harshly with all of it. He always needed to be put in his place. He needed his head to be emptied as the control was taken away from him - as he was owned wholly, his body and mind no longer his own. 

When you were sure that he would stay like this, the subspace setting in and making him slightly more compliant, you moved the hand on his lower back. This forced him to hold the position on his own, his legs becoming shaky - but he didn’t move to make himself more comfortable, which did cause you to grin. 

Then, you hauled your hand back, delivering a harsh spank across his bare ass cheek. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You bit out harshly. “I know I did not train you to be such a fucking brat.” 

You delivered another spank, his soft skin already turning red from your hits. Your palm was stinging slightly, but you didn’t care. It gave you a certain thrill, and it was worth teaching him a lesson if his ass was sore tomorrow and he remembered this. Usually not being able to sit right did help him remember to behave. 

All Spencer could do was moan in response, being very effectively gagged by his own tie. His cock was angry and hard, trapped between his pelvis and the edge of the dresser as you punished him. 

“You’re just a needy little whore, aren’t you?” 

You barked, pulling his neck back even harder. This caused him to whine out in pain, such a beautiful sound that had you dizzy with pleasure as your ego swelled. You pulled him closer to you and placed your lips close to his ear, hissing the next words near his cheek with malice. 

“What’s wrong? The needy slut doesn’t get enough attention?” 

“Come on, Y/N, take it easy on him,” Elle chuckled from the corner, taking a sip of her drink. 

She had ridden with Morgan, so she had made it to the room an easy five minutes before you and Reid had. And thus far, she had been heavily enjoying the show that the two of you were putting on. But she did think you were being a bit too rough considering that Reid was a bit lippy on a good day. 

“Oh, I need to take it easy?” You chuckled sarcastically, looking over your shoulder at her. 

You tossed your hold on the tie, letting Spencer’s body relax forward slightly while you assessed Elle. He let out a whimper of relief, but didn’t make any further noise to draw attention to himself - not wanting the two of you to gang up on him and make his punishment even worse. (The two of you were devious minds, and when you worked together, it was a beautiful kind of destruction.) 

Sitting there, Elle was smug as ever, staring you and Spencer down with a clear heat in her eyes. 

“Last time you paddled him, he couldn’t walk for a week.” You added on, bringing up the memory to try and prove your point. 

“He was flirting with that waitress, he deserved it.” Elle said, speaking as though it was the obvious thing in the world. 

Generally speaking, you weren’t even sure if Spencer knew how to flirt. You thought that for the most part he just didn’t know when other people were flirting with him and didn’t know when to deflect it to stop it from pissing you and Elle off. But you had enjoyed it too much to argue with Elle about it - his bright red ass and awkward gait for the week following that paddling had just been too good. 

You used the tie-leash and a tight hold on one of his hips to spin Spencer around, tossing him onto one of the double beds in the room. He landed roughly on his stomach with a light bounce. He let out a jagged moan as his exposed cock scraped against the cheap hotel bedspread. But - true to form, trying to prove that he was a good boy, he did nothing more than lay there, staying perfectly still where you had put him. 

Elle grinned at him before she looked back to you. 

“So, what do you think we should do with him?” You asked, putting a hand on Spencer’s shoulder to flip him over onto his back, presenting him to her like a filthy prize. 

Spencer whimpered quietly and blinked up at you and Elle with big, wet eyes, clearly thinking that the puppy dog look could get him some sympathy. But there was no chance of mercy. He had already made his bed, and he was going to get fucked in it.

“I have a few ideas.” Elle chuckled. 

… 

That was how Spencer ended up in his current position. 

He was sitting in the chair that Elle had previously been sitting in, stripped completely naked. A light sheen of sweat had formed over his skin, causing his hair to stick to his forehead in that beautifully desperate way. His hands were tied behind his back with his own belt, and a cockring was secured around the base of his needy, throbbing cock. 

There was no possible way for him to get relief. Even if he became so desperate as to hump the furniture, all that he would get was a fruitless, horrible dry orgasm. The cockring so tight around him definitely assured that. And with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t take it off. Especially not with the way the two of you were keeping a watchful eye on him. 

You and Elle certainly weren’t going to let him get away with anything. 

He certainly wasn’t going to get out of your line of sight. That was the whole point. 

The bulk of his punishment was to watch. 

To watch you and Elle and not be allowed to touch his needy, throbbing cock. To have a feast of sights before him, but be stuck, not allowed to cum. Not even allowed to feel the slightest bit of relief against his pathetic dick until you or Elle decided that he’d had enough. 

“Please.” Spencer begged hopelessly. 

His hips arched up into the air slightly, humping into nothing, fruitlessly seeking contact. His cock dribbled out precum, almost as if the pretty pink cockhead was weeping out in protest, trying to show his deep, unsatisfied need. 

“Please!” He bawled. “I’ll be a good boy! I promise!” 

His voice was so beautifully wrecked. It sent a wave of pleasurable tingles right through you. 

“Did you hear that?” Elle chuckled behind you. “He promises.” She cooed these words mockingly. 

Both of you knew that it wasn’t a promise he could keep for too long. 

Elle huffed out a devilish laugh as she raked the sharpness of her nails across your back. She sounded just as amused as you were watching Spencer’s pathetic attempts to get back on both your good sides. 

“I fucking doubt it.” You grunted back breathlessly. 

“If he wasn’t so pathetic, I might take pity on him.” Elle said, her voice taking on that mean edge that she knew Spencer loved. 

He moaned at the words, his hips flexing up once again. Unlike when he played poker, during sex, he always gave away all his cards, always showed what pleased him most and what his weakest spots were. It was one of the reasons you loved taking him apart so much. One of the reasons you loved owning him. 

“If you were a ‘good boy’, you’d shut up and watch me fuck your precious Miss without complaining,” Elle said, continuing to mock him, fucking her hips harder into you to drive home her point. 

She had you in the middle of the bed, perfectly on display for Spencer - on your hands and knees, completely stripped naked. The two of you were a perfect visual tease for him - with Elle in her bright red lacy bra, a commanding presence behind you with her thick seven inch strap-on buried in your wet, wanting pussy. You were absolutely enjoying yourself as she fucked in and out of you with an intense roughness. 

Most of the time, the two of you teamed up as a wicked force against Spencer - and combined, you were a deadly sinful team. But when the two of you took the time to enjoy pleasuring each other, it was a rough, chaotic slice of heaven. Like lighting clashing against itself in the best way. 

When you did let her fuck you, you weren’t whiny or submissive to her wills. You took it well, never begged for it. And she understood you and what you needed - the feeling of a thick cock splitting you open, that rough touch that Spencer never gave you because he was so subservient to your will. You loved the fact that she didn’t treat you like a glass doll. 

“Please!” Spencer tried again, going directly against Elle’s order to sit there and shut up. 

You weren’t sure if it was him playing up again or if he actually thought he could talk his way out of this somehow. 

“Please, let me touch you! Let me help you cum! Let me service you, Miss! I’ll be so good!” Spencer begged, his words dissolving into sobs as the desperation heightening within him. 

“What? You think you’re allowed to touch this pussy? You think you should be allowed?” Elle growled, fucking into you so hard that it caused a wet smacking to resonate through the room - something that made Spencer want you even more. 

You laughed in response to Spencer’s whiny antics, and the incredible fake cock plunging into you from behind - a sound that dissolved into a loud moan when Elle reached around and rubbed your clit, clearly wanting even more from you. 

Elle hammered her hips against you like she hated you, fucked into your pussy with a brutal passion. She was partially trying to show Spencer what he was missing out on, a deadly ache growing in his gut when he thought about the emptiness he felt without her perfect fake cock. Because he did spend a fair amount of time fucked out and drooling on her strap when she wanted to fuck him with it - from either end. 

And she was partially trying to get you to be messier, wetter, louder, putting on more of a show for him. The more beautiful and pornographic you were, the more effective his punishment was (not that it was hard for you to become a walking sex dream, as gorgeous as you naturally were). 

Elle loved to fuck you like this - she loved having your tight pussy hugging the silicone of her cock. You were a challenge. You didn’t simply beg for her cock, your body didn’t just mold and bend to her wills because she touched you with strong hands. You always fucked your hips back into her twice as hard, and you laughed and snarled back if she called you a dirty bitch. 

It was part of the reason that the two of you so perfectly destroyed someone as needy and submissive as Spencer. Spencer, the type of person who got whiny and started acting up if he didn’t get enough attention from either of you in the run of a day. 

“I’ll be good!” Spencer whined. “Please! Please, just touch me! I promise I won’t do it again!” 

His eyes had become as wet as his cock, the tip glistening with precum as tears dripped from the corners of his eyes, his entire being reeking of desperation and uncontained lust. 

“Do you even know what you did this time, you stupid brat?” Elle prodded, her voice dark and lacking any sweetness as she spat the words across the room at him. 

Spencer let out a wounded sound that was barely recognizable - perhaps he was trying to compose himself to speak, perhaps he was truly clueless. 

He could be so mouthy sometimes, but most of the time, he didn’t even recognize his sass as a problem. 

“What makes you think you’re worthy to touch her? What makes you think that you get to touch her after being such a dumb brat all day?” Elle teased him. 

She emphasized her words by yanking back on your hair, delivering a pleasurable amount of pain that made you moan out as she continued to harshly thrust her hips into your wet cunt. 

“What makes you think that a brat like you gets to touch these perfect tits?” Elle mocked him, leaning over you to grope roughly at your swaying breasts. Of course, just to show him what he couldn’t have and heavily enjoying your body in the process. 

You chuckled at this, enjoying the way Spencer’s features twisted up in displeasure. Clearly he was whiny, wanting so badly to touch you - but he hadn’t earned it. Not tonight. 

He let out a few more tears before he spoke again. 

“I’m sorry.” He sniffled quietly. “I’m a bad boy. I’ve been bad.” 

“Why?” You heaved out, breathless from Elle’s efforts. “Why are you bad?” 

“Good boys don’t talk back.” Spencer finally admitted, his voice weak with defeat. 

“Look, the genius finally figured it out.” Elle commented, beautiful condescension dripping through her voice. 

“Good!” You huffed, fucking your hips harshly back into Elle’s cock while you locked eyes with Spencer’s wet, glassy ones. “Now keep your whiny fuckin’ mouth shut while Mistress fucks me, and maybe - fuck - and maybe I won’t keep that cockring on you all day tomorrow.” 

Spencer whined harshly at this, but didn’t protest. Elle grinned, planting a kiss on the back of your neck before she dug her nails into your hips and fucked you faster.

...

A/N: This is a standalone oneshot, and there will not be a sequel or a continuation of it. If you enjoyed this, please comment about the body of work that has been written. If you want to see more Spencer fics that I have written, definitely check out my Criminal Minds Masterlist, or check out my other Masterlists to see if anything catches your eye.

[phoenixtakaramono]

Re: Where to Read the Four Butchlander Threadfics on Twitter & Status Update about Them

Whelp, guess what, everyone? Your girl’s Twitter account got shadowbanned for the first time. And pretty much the threadfics are inaccessible until the ban gets lifted. (Let’s hope everything’s back to normal soon. 😭)

The threadfics in question (M3GAN-inspired AU, Fix-It AU, and Sugar Baby AU are the long WIPs; the Vampire & Lycan Hunter AU is the only one complete):

And like I was somewhat expecting, with my account currently submerged in the ether (fingers crossed nothing’s affected and everything’s back to normal once I’m back so we can return to our regular schedule threadfic updates on Twitter), another person’s reached out to me about it:

The Asks in question:

These threadfics were always intended to exist on Twitter as the first draft prototypes where I can write spontaneously and see what works, what doesn’t, and make them reader-interactive so pretty much my readers influence important story decisions for whichever threadfic it is. Then if I were to migrate these threadfics over to AO3, the intention was always to flesh them out more and polish them up, maybe change a couple story elements so there’s a point of difference between what’s on AO3 versus what’s on my Twitter (as an analogy, think of an author’s original webnovel version they uploaded on their website versus the professional light novel version they’ve polished up for publication) to keep it fresh. This migration was supposed to happen after all four chapters of Truce are complete and the only Butchlander fic I have left on AO3 that would still be ongoing would be The Name of the Game, which frees up my workload.

So currently, where we are right now, I am seriously considering moving up the schedule if, after 1 week (10/29/23), my account on Twitter is still Shazamed. I have heard shadowbans range from 2-3 days, to 3-5 days where it’s best if I don’t use the app in this duration of time, before escalating to Twitter Support if it persists. Same goes if my account is restored and I still get shadowbanned in the future for updating any of these 3 long threadfics.

Because, at that point, I might as well just port them over to AO3 if this keeps happening and save myself the headache. But this will have to be tested out. If I see it is truly unsustainable due to Twitter’s current unfriendliness to 🔞 threadfics (😒 …it used to be an ultra friendly platform for such, till you showed up El0n Musk), then I’ll just stop writing 🔞 threadfics all together.

The one thing I will have to say, though, is being a very detail-oriented multi-fandom writer who’s trying to be fair by adhering to the update schedule, for any new content, updates will be slow. Unlike Twitter where I can churn out 25 tweets at a time per update, you’ll be looking at weeks or months per chapter update on AO3 since three of them will be turned into genuine long stories. Quicker updates depend on how much content already exist on Twitter to be adapted from before the time of migration! Let’s see how it goes! ✌️

[verkja]

Word Find Tag

I was tagged by @i-can-even-burn-salad to find threat, trust, tie, and time. Thank you!

This blog is still shadowbanned, meaning if I tag anyone they won't be notified, so - leaving this open! If you see this post and want to do a word find tag, go for it. :) Your words are expect, private, sleep, and flinch.

Excerpts are from my ongoing story, as usual.

Threat

Quietly, Radomil braced a foot on the side of the bar, ready to kick off it in a quick turn if necessary. The three inebriated patrons were unlikely to pose a serious threat, but anyone could chance into a lucky swing; if their harassment escalated from verbal to physical, he’d prefer to take them out quickly.

Trust

‘No. I don’t trust you that much.’ The sorcerer hated himself a little more with each word, but it was true; he liked and admired Radomil, and had no doubt he was a man of his word, but the thing about promises was that they only reliably mattered if made to another person. He couldn’t be confident Radomil saw him as that, rather than as an unfortunately necessary asset to the company that didn’t really count as human.

Tie

The chain dissolved when an already-formed chain of similar runes looped around his wrists and pulled. He gave a surprised exclamation and stumbled sideways, into a sort of hollow in the mess of logs. The chain contorted, splitting in two and then rejoining to tie his hands behind his back and tug them against one thick tree.

Time

(This one is from a future/WIP chapter, not a published one - just to mix things up!)

This was the second time he’d said as much. Mures had tried to put the instance of it in Habrseng out of his mind, but hadn’t completely succeeded, so there it was to join this instance as evidence. Enough time had passed between the two that Radomil had definitely gotten the chance to reconsider, and apparently he hadn’t, so - Mures had to suppose he really did mean it.

(How this works is, you go through a WIP, published story, or whatever else and find one instance of each word, then post it with a paragraph or two for context.)

[enruiinas]

Original Blog Shadowban / Termination Update (continued): Okay, I think I've finally checked in with or arranged something with everyone I had ongoing threads with before the shadowban on my main blog. I now do a mix of writing between here and on Discord, so if we've talked and set up a server there, I'll plan on using that for the time being. Tumblr will always be my slight preference because I enjoy the community feel and dash shenanigans, but I am open to both going forward! I'm just going to do a lot better about backing up all my threads and other important info. For right now, if we haven't moved over to discord, I'm going to start picking up some of the threads it was my turn on here with the disclaimer they may move one more time if/when things get sorted out with support. But it's been almost 3 weeks now and I am like... tired of waiting and ready to get back to writing. ;~; So, for ongoing stuff: I think I've established how to proceed with everyone at this point? If you're waiting to hear back from me on anything and I haven't checked in, please let me know! I am slow on responses everywhere right now but if we've talked on Discord I will still be reaching out for plotting stuff/writing there as arranged!

For new stuff: My inbox is open again as long as anyone who wants to send anything is okay with the potential back and forth if I move back to the main blog if it gets reinstated. I'm itching to get back to writing again so replies will start coming on both platforms in the next few days, and I will also tentatively be worming my way into inboxes again when the shenanigan moods strike.

[aion-rsa]

Link Tank: Why I May Destroy You Is One of the Best Shows of 2020

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

I May Destroy You is one of the best shows to have aired in 2020, despite it being snubbed by this year’s Golden Globes.

“Television has been excellent, and watching streaming series and waiting each week for shows has been my primary form of entertainment during this pandemic, which is why I know that the HBO series I May Destroy You is easily one of the best shows of 2020, and this Golden Globes snub is completely and utterly ridiculous.”

Read more at The Mary Sue.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

With Anthony Mackie’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier set to premiere in March, check out this exclusive with the actor himself.

“After a surprisingly busy 2020, Anthony Mackie was taking it easy in 2021. In mid-January, with his upcoming Marvel show in the can and his new Netflix movie primed to climb the charts, Mackie was back home in New Orleans celebrating as only a local knows how. By rooting for the Saints.”

Read more at Inverse.

McDonald’s infamous Shamrock Shake is set to return to the fast food chain’s various locations on February 15.

“St. Patrick’s Day is coming early to your local McDonald’s. As CNN reports, the fast food chain will be adding its seasonal Shamrock Shake to menus beginning February 15—a whole two weeks before March. The mint-flavored, pale green milkshake is tied to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, but McDonald’s has moved up the start date of its season in recent years.”

Read more at Mental Floss.

Iuli Gerbase’s The Pink Cloud is a beautiful, but nightmarish reflection of the pandemic era.

“The lengths that Iuli Gerbase’s The Pink Cloud goes to in order to show you parallels between its fictional story about quarantining and the countless tales of real people living through our ongoing covid-19 pandemic may strike you as excessive. It could also be seen as the movie’s attempt to tap into our reality just enough to get people buzzing about its premiere at this year’s Sundance film festival.”

Read more at Gizmodo.

If you’re a VPN user feeling as if you’re being ignored by people on Twitch, you may have been shadowbanned by the platform because of your VPN.

“It seems Twitch has a problem with anyone accessing the streaming service while connected to a VPN and is quietly taking action against them. As Win.gg reports, a growing number of Twitch users are reporting that their chat messages aren’t appearing for other users to read. They can see their own messages in the chat window, but nobody else can.”

Read more at PCMag.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are the best romantic comedy movies of all time.

“When we were given the delightful and serious task of ranking the top 33 romantic comedies in movie history, our two priorities were to make sure each entry on the list was (1) a genuine romance and (2) legitimately funny. That meant rewatching our favorites, catching up on blind spots, and making tough calls based on our definition of ‘rom-com.'”

Read more at Thrillist.

The post Link Tank: Why I May Destroy You Is One of the Best Shows of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3avyzZm

[sugarwaterradio]

What Is Shadow Banning? How The Instagram Practice Can Affect An Artist.

In an era where social media is one of an artist's most pivotal tools, we look at how Instagram's penchant for "shadow banning" rappers may have a detrimental effect on their livelihoods.

Instagram can be a powerful weapon for the world’s most creative minds. The Facebook-owned company permits creatives of all types to foster organic bonds with their audience, tailoring their communication to purport themselves and their brand in whatever way they so desire. No longer prohibited by junkets or predesignated appearances, many artists utilize their social media as an extension of the viewpoints and aesthetic that they present in their music. As a result, the relationship between a rapper’s personal life and their movements in the professional sphere are more symbiotic than ever. The autonomy that social media provides the artist and its uncensored, largely self-governed nature has aided many artists’ ascents while also spawning its fair share of cautionary tales. Beyond the intrepid dangers of rampant clout chasing that Denzel Curry is quick to warn us of, there is another, far less publicized side to the application that has largely remained shrouded in mystery and hearsay. This is Instagram's ability to “shadow ban” an aspiring hip-hop artist. In an era where visibility is placed on a high premium, “shadow banning” obstructs artists from gaining new followers or being discoverable by the search function, ultimately hindering their livelihood. Rather than a conventional ban— such as that which was doled out to Boonk Gang or almost befell The Game— there is no significant effect on functionality of the app for the recipient of the shadow ban. In many cases, it’s highly probable that an artist wouldn’t know they’d been given this exposure-hampering designation unless they were specifically informed. By the same token, their pre-existing fans and followers would be none the wiser as their posts would continue to show up on their feed without incident. Ultimately, the problem lies in the fact that their omission or diminished position in search results makes it exceedingly difficult to find them. Thus, getting slapped with a shadow ban can covertly stifle audience growth without Instagram ever having to offer a robust explanation. In fact, the powers at be over at Instagram HQ vehemently refute that it’s a real practice. Speaking to reporters in July of 2018, product lead Julian Gutman opted to use the press visit as a platform to dispel many of the “misconceptions” that have haunted them in recent years. Amid granting TechCrunch and others a window into the intricacies of the platform, they set aside time to downplay the existence of shadow banning and other supposed foibles of the app that have come under scrutiny.  "Instagram’s feed doesn’t favor users who use Stories, Live, or other special features of the app. Instagram doesn’t downrank users for posting too frequently or for other specific behaviours, but it might swap in other content in between someone’s if they rapid-fire separate posts. Instagram doesn’t give extra feed presence to personal accounts or business accounts, so switching won’t help your reach. Shadowbanning is not a real thing, and Instagram says it doesn’t hide people’s content for posting too many hashtags or taking other actions."NLE Choppa at the HNHH NYC Office - Image by HNHH Draped in the same ambiguity as an urban myth, the issue reared its head in the hip-hop sphere in recent weeks after a discovery from NoJumper’s Adam22. Known to champion the exact generation of burgeoning rappers that are so intertwined with social media, he took to Twitter to flag what he saw as unfair treatment of one of Memphis’ rising rappers. Complete with screen-recorded evidence of the issue, Adam proclaimed, "NLE Choppa is one of the most popular up & coming rappers. He’s also shadow banned on Instagram and it’s almost impossible to find his account unless you type in his exact username and scroll past a bunch of fake accounts. He has no recourse or avenue by which to appeal this. I’ve noticed this with a bunch of rappers lately," he continued, "but can’t remember who else. Either way the government needs to step in and stop this shit." Met by fervent agreement by some and scepticism by others, Adam’s insistence that this must go to a higher body speaks to how crucial platforms such as Instagram can be to a rising MC’s progression. When levelled with allegations about this practice, their spokespeople are always quick to espouse the "principles" that are key to success such as "having a distinct visual presence," "being a storyteller" and putting "thought into your creative." This may be sound promotional advice on the surface but it is ultimately null and void when you’re being thwarted by an algorithmic anomaly. In light of Adam’s revelation that NLE Choppa had fallen foul of a shadow ban, it seemed only right to delve into the ranks of today’s rising artists to discern who else has found themselves on the receiving end of it and whether there’s any commonality between them. To clarify, all prior research into shadow banning estimates that they last around 14 days so while these examples are valid at time of writing, that could realistically change any minute in favour of another crop of rappers being afflicted. In terms of artists in the upper-reaches of the modern-day game, two notable victims of this form of social media-based marginalization come in Freddie Gibbs (@FreddieGibbs) and Max B (@Maxb140). Teetering more towards elder statesman than the archetypal Instagram generation, both rappers are nigh-on undiscoverable on Instagram unless you search their username on a search engine that’s independent of the app. Segueing towards XXL Freshman territory, the polarizing Blueface (@bluefacebleedem) has been extricated from the results entirely while Skinnyfromthe9, Icy Narco and the incarcerated YNW Melly are all buried below fan pages and other offerings with far less relevancy and far less follower counts. Veering into the up-and-comers, the social media prevalence of artists such as ABG Neal, Queen Key, Philthy Rich, Freebandz’ Lil Wookie, Peewee Longway, Coca Vango, Egypxn and 9lokkNine is diluted on account of unspecified shadow bans that they may not be privy to whatsoever. An undisclosed restriction that may leave these aspiring artists screaming into the void, where it gets interesting is when you factor in the other societal group that have been plagued by this scenario.Peewee Longway at the HNHH NYC office - Image by HNHH In April of this year, Instagram implemented a new power that enabled them to discreetly minimize what they saw as “inappropriate” content even if it didn’t explicitly violate their community guidelines and, in typical fashion, have seldom expanded beyond the blanket terms. After refusing to provide further explanation to HuffPost, it had been suggested that shadow bans were closely aligned with their new policy of combatting "inauthenticity." "Every day people come to Instagram to have real experiences, including genuine interactions," they declared in a blog post. "This type of behaviour is bad for the community, and third-party apps that generate inauthentic likes, follows, and comments violate our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use." However, the ongoing trend of sex-workers, strippers and other adult-oriented content creators receiving shadow bans suggests that there is an attempt to remove anything risqué or subversive from the platform. Among the most vocal detractors of Instagram’s shadow banning policy, Jacqueline Frances, otherwise known as @jacqthestripper, spoke openly about the toll that it has on her ability to engage with her audience: "I absolutely depend on Instagram to make a living. I sell books, I sell T-shirts, I sell art, and Instagram is my largest-reaching advertising platform," she conceded. "Having my content demoted makes me less visible and makes it harder to remind people to buy my stuff." Although the products may be different, the plight of the artist depicts how shadow banning could directly affect today’s rappers in the same irremovable fashion. While they think they may be doing ample promotion for a new single or project, getting saddled with a shadow ban will mean that they won’t be eligible for any explore pages and are ultimately left preaching to the converted rather than having any hope of alerting potential fans to their material. Not only does it set a dangerous precedent for freedom of expression on Instagram and social media at large, shadow bans have the potential to meddle with an artist’s standing in the hip-hop realm. Consequently, the community must keep a watchful eye on this and spread awareness until this invisible ceiling on creatives has been lifted once and for all. Have you noticed a shadow ban on certain artists? Let us know in the comments.

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