#but in reality all anyone using this shit wants is a working fucking product

[ered]

in the latest episode of Adobe Premiere is trash: with the latest update, if your export folder's name has letters that aren't in the latin alphabet, the exported video files turn out broken! Haha!

[the-owl-house-takes]

So I think the worst take of the fandom is that all of the problems of the show would have been fixed had it gotten a full S3. That literally any problem the show had merely came from the shortening. This is... Well, just blatantly shows that the fandom not only doesn't understand how the animation industry works AND doesn't want to actually look at the narrative they did choose to focus on post the shortening call that were just... baffling.

So first let's establish how much of the show was affected by the Shortening. As a fandom, we found out about it during the hiatus between S1 and 2. This was at earliest, August 2020 since the S1 finale came out late August 2020. Dana has claimed two things that are important to this timeline. 1: The shortening was decided on shortly before the finale came out and 2: That the first episode affected by Covid, which would have been back in March/April, was Looking Glass Ruins. So we EXPLICTLY know that the shortening didn't affect the show until after S2 Ep 5.

BUT then we get into production schedules. Before S2 even BEGAN airing, we were told to stop campaigning for a full S3 because they had to get started on storyboards for the season and that was effectively the firm deadline. This means ALL of S2 was effectively done in script and storyboards by the time S2 aired. This makes sense to keep a weekly schedule and the like and most animation professionals will tell you they work MONTHS in advance of release, bare minimum.

This means, AT BEST, S2B was when the shortening really kicked in. And yes, S2B has pacing issues. It has issues in general and is when most people think the quality of the show dropped. The problem is that... The signs were always there. There's a reason why there's been a backlash because as people become disillusioned with the show, you have to ask what was driving so much before.

And a lot of that was potential. S1 is so good when you first watch it because it keeps teasing the idea that it's going to tackle things in a complex way. That it will explore concepts like Amity's abusive family, magic, fantasy vs reality, etc. like that. It's why the fandom was at its strongest during S1.

Unfortunately, the problem with presenting good ideas and then not executing on them, or completely gutting them is that those old parts are a lot harder to enjoy. As Willow was effectively not a character for half a season and then just suddenly was a jock, people began to realize the fact that she in the show is much more a plot device than anything else. They claimed "We're not doing the one kind act into friendship and forgiveness thing with Amity and Willow" and then literally did NOTHING with it until S2B and eventually DID just do the same trope anyways but now with less resonance than it would have had in Understanding Willow.

Not only that but even S1 didn't give a single shit about its worldbuilding. The First Day has Dana Terrace as a lead writer on it. If anyone knows the worldbuilding best, it should be her... So why is it that no one talks about multi-coven things being illegal? It's literally just used as meta commentary and so they entirely ignore the worldbuilding they have. Reaching Out is exactly the same, with Dana as the SOLE writer of that where Amity and everyone else treats joining a coven like going to college and not literally the word of the law.

But S1 couldn't even keep Wild Witches consistent. Half the time Eda can chill and not worry. She can go to a place funded by the EC like Hexide and not flinch for a second that Bump might call the guards on her despite that being kind of the ONE real rule to their society that makes it not just our world but with teeth. Then again, the show gives NO FUCKS about its own stuff, willing excising portions of itself that it finds cumbersome. Escaping Expulsion is BEFORE Looking Glass Ruins and yet it murders Luz's magical potential in its sleep and also discards Amity's family as easily disposable, despite how much the show claims her mother's influence is the reason why Amity behaved the way she did for all of... Three appearances? Because Amity's arc isn't actually good.

It shouldn't be surprising S2 would do this though when the writers already struggled to do anything with Luz's magic. If she's supposed to be learning and growing... Even S1 is shit at this and is repetitive. Not just with the at least three times we do "King has a minion!" B plot that isn't funny and doesn't do anything but also with its lessons. Luz theoretically learns to listen to Eda in the third episode and arguably the second as well. Then she gets her first glyph with the lesson, in theory. of not trying to take shortcuts to do magic and to not steal. And then in Adventure in the Elements, not even to impress Amity but because of her impatience, she steals something to take a shortcut to stronger magic. That is THREE episodes of the first TWELVE of the series. It usually takes most kids shows at least a LITTLE longer to be that bad at retreading its own lessons.

And the final part of this is that... S2 actually had to be effectively the exact same as it was for s3 to happen. You need the foreshadowing of the Collector for the Day of Unity. You need to FINALLY do something with Belos for the revelations of the Human Realm to happen and to do Luz's angst arc. You need Hunter to be at least 90% redeemed so he's there on their side during The Day of Unity, etc. like that. Then you get half a season in the human realm before coming back to the Isles for half a season, just like Amphibia did because returning home is the best mid-season finale you can have there. So any argument that a full S3 would have actually fixed issues with S2B is just... Wrong. The problems with S2B come with the fact that S2A wastes a FUCKTON of time on elements that don't matter.

Oh, and lest we forget that The Collector could have been cut. He had one appearance in a dream, that also doesn't make sense with his characterization, before S2B. In the fact, the crew has admitted as much. He was added AFTER the news of the Shortening because they always wanted to include a character like him so now that they didn't have the time for him... Cram him in anyways.

Could a show have EVER been saved when that's how they treat one of their two final antagonists? It's the sort of statement that just solidifies the idea that TOH didn't want three seasons. It wanted five... If not just to go on forever. To be the next monolithic show, even as it repeats character arcs, lessons and shrinks characters rather than expands them.

So no, the show isn't bad because of the shortening. The show is bad because the writing is bad.

-

[northwest-cryptid]

I need people to understand that I also hate tumblr's two-faced way of treating trans nsfw media (or even just treating all trans media like it's inherently NSFW) it's gross and it's awful that they do that shit.

But we're not going to change tumblr, you gotta accept that.

We're not going to actually do anything with our words, the more you post about it the more you generate activity on this site; the more money they make.

They literally DO NOT CARE.

The thing is that I'm not trying to say their behavior is okay, nor do I think they should "get away with it" but the truth is, we're not going to make any progress complaining about it no matter how right we are.

If you ACTUALLY want to do something, you need to find alternatives, raise awareness for those alternatives; and move to a better site.

The unfortunate reality is that this is their site, and they CAN run it in their stupid bigoted way. If I or anyone else gets deactivated that's their choice, they actually do not need to give us a reason as dumb as that is.

I need you to understand you don't even own anything here, when you upload it; it's tumblrs now. That's why they can sell it to AI companies and shit.

I would ALSO love the world to be this perfect ideal place where we can yell at the bad guys until justice happens, but that's unfortunately not the reality of it.

I'm not telling you that you can't do something about it. I'm saying the thing you're doing about it isn't going to work, it's not a logical solution; it's an idealistic solution.

I wouldn't watch 12 other trans people walk into a bar, get the shit beat out of them; and then walk in as an openly trans person and say "I demand you all start accepting me and not beat the shit out of me" and then get surprised when they in fact, do beat the shit out of me.

There are pretty clear signs that say "we're gonna beat the shit out of you for being trans" and like trust me I get it, you've been coming to this place for a long time; it's only recently gotten bad (to you.)

That doesn't mean you have any power here though, it doesn't mean you can actually bring any real change.

Speaking up is great but it makes you a target and it makes tumblr money.

Listen the problem isn't "tumblr is transphobic to women" it's "trans-women on this site are not safe, and don't feel safe." You need to focus on the problem, the real problem; because you can fight tumblr staff all day until they deactivate you and all it's doing is putting money in their pocket. All the while, trans-women are still not safe and still don't feel safe on this site.

If you instead, target the actual problem and figure out how to protect trans women, give them alternatives; find places for us to exist as trans individuals, places that aren't empty wastelands of websites. Then we can mass migrate there; we can actually feel and be safe, and guess what; it will hit tumblr's activity numbers, they'll become less attractive to advertisers, and with a lot of their trans and LGBT community moving elsewhere, they won't really get anywhere marketing to that demographic.

Suddenly staff will need to make a real choice, either stop being so damn transphobic so a large portion of your userbase returns to your site, generating activity and bringing in money. Or remain just as fucking bigoted, and lose out on a large amount of activity, ads, and revenue.

They don't care about you, they care about money.

When you complain and speak up and generate a big post that gets a ton of notes; you add to their activity and make their site look profitable to investors and advertisers.

That isn't going to make them listen to you, it's going to make them do nothing because it's going to make them money.

YOU are their product.

They want to claim that the LGBT community here isn't really that big, I remember the post that pointed out some shit like "less than 25% of users on tumblr are actually LGBT" or whatever. Great, you know how you fight that?

Make a poll? No.

Make a big post that generates a ton of interaction and activity? God no that's exactly what they wa- oh fuck we did both of those things didn't we?

Yea no, you move sites; you stop generating activity, you prove it through the site going cold, silence on the front where there was once a bustling marketplace of activity.

Hit them where it hurts, make it noticeable; it's not going to be easy I never said it would be easy. However, if you actually care and want to make change; then our next step should be to figure out where we can mass migrate.

If we all migrate to various places, those websites lack the community we have here; and they're counting on that. You'll always come back to tumblr because it's where your community is, it's where everything is.

If we move as a unit, not only will it be more impactful on their numbers, but it will allow us to move AS a community; everything in one place, just not here. Somewhere else, somewhere better.

[hewholivesinhisname]

Most people just like to shit on men for fun and profit. They like to shit on god for fun and profit. Then they trash the world. But also more importantly in a spiritual way in that they are constantly, fucking constantly poisoning the social environment making it impossible to get anything positive done,

Create middle class families, especially white middle class families. And shit on the poor. And shit on the Jews of course with palestine.

They learn it early in school

School is a masonic project. to teach children the values learned in "the enlightenment" (the Echthroi's values) vs. the values of god. Get families broken up and kids away from their moms.

But who am I kidding?

Is anyone fucking listening?

I guess this is the price of existence.

I think about Jeffrey's existence. What he's there for, and I guess, really he's there to destroy reality. Like Kefka or the Nothing. And everyone is behind him of course.....because like the Morque, they want POWER. they even say if for these dead "martyrs" "rest in power"

I think he's going to win.

I can already feel it in myself. I hate this existence. Working so hard in school. Having my friends and family turn on me. Being bullied. Watching as their are even worse predators all around me, especially in power. Watching people actually still follow and listen to these monsters.

My mother was raped by her father and her mother never left him, however when my father lost his job...she left him. That fact always haunts me because it shows just how much women care morea bout societal acceptance than protecting their children. And I'm a poor man, so clearly I have nothing to offer.

So, thanks to people's faithfulness to the system we'll have prison hells. We'll have horror show after horror show. Economic inequality, revolutions, wars, crime, simulations of reality, hells. We don't have marriage but we have free pornography. Then some religious person points out maybe that they shouldn't do that and...the religions are fucked up too. However, they are less fucked up than the wider culture. But, blame god. that will solve all your addiction problems.

Don't blame all the rich people who sold you the addictive products. Don't blame the constant immorality. Make sure to keep hurting people, especially men. The kids bully each other, the men won't or can't protect the children. The women use all their social power to take jobs from the men and use shitty socially aggressive tactics to fuck over the men. Then they lust over the rich men who make money by degrading the general population. And their's predators on top of them and so on and so forth.

Jeffrey's good man. Not a good man, but he's good at being evil. Pushing the world towards pain and suffering. Then people will naturally not want to exist like I do now. He knows exactly what to do to make it seem like he's the good guy. After extended torture and psychological manipulation, I'm sure I'll fall for it too. That's the point of Darkmatter's videos which are very hostile to god, but informative. He might be hostile in some ways, but he's truthful. that's important.

He's one of the only people who is nice to me though and honestly I don't know why. I don't know why. Or, I do. He is playing some long game. The only real friend I have

They all want something. Money, cigarettes, women, to have their fragile egoes validated, POWER. to get in groups and do gang violence then call it something nice like democracy. They sometimes try to make it up by going to church maybe.

Created beings are hateful inferior creatures.

I am beginning to learn to hate people.

[tumblhurgoyf]

Feeling super negative for a multitude of reasons, some not Magic related at all, but the recent talk on Blogatog about “microset” products just feels so out of touch. I don’t want to bring that negativity on one of Mark’s posts as I’m not sure I could be polite about it and I’ve mostly just dismissed the product as not for me already anyway. But I do want to vent.

First it’s like $1 a card for random cards? That’s nuts. Boosters are already overpriced with all the commons included. They worked some really good PR speak by explaining away cutting the commons to give you more rares and uncommons, but the reality is you’re just paying more for less. It’s not like those rare slots are actually going to ever reach an EV that makes it a good gamble.

Second let’s talk about product fatigue. Like not only is this an additional release (or four) a year, but you’re doing normal and collector’s boosters for this as well? Holy fuck.

The fact that Mark’s openly work shopping what variation of this product players might actually shell out money for tells me it’s not received well. I haven’t seen a positive video about it at all.

It’s a shame though that they can’t give their golden goose a bit of breathing room though. I shared that post the other day about... let me find it for the term... trust thermocline. The basic idea is that people who like your product will stick with you through some missteps and bad ideas. And you won’t even notice how bad all of them are because sales keep increasing and people keep paying higher prices and buying new stuff and all that.

But at some point you hit that trust thermocline. Something pushes a lot of people over the edge. You walk it back but it’s too late. Because the thing is that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. They didn’t leave because of one bad story, or because $5 a pack was too much but $4.50 wasn’t, or because two dozen products a year was ok but thirty went to far.

They left because of all of it. The last thing is just what made them finally say “enough.” And once they say enough and leave, you don’t get them back. It’s hard to see because things keep chugging along and all your numbers and metrics look fine. But I feel like Wizards has to be approaching this. I wonder about why they stopped including space at the end of surveys for additional comments. Too much negativity they don’t want to put any effort into handling?

On a different front, I’m also not enjoying the lore changes they’ve dropped with this same product. I am willing to admit that I’m somehow still too close to the story to really take a step back and appreciate this; that could change with time. But my reaction right now is that desparking a lot of planeswalkers while opening rifts so anyone and anything can now travel the multiverse is just stupid. You’ve just eviscerated the story conceit that made planeswalkers special.

idk, I wasn’t thrilled with how they handled the team up cards anyway, and to me this feels like the next step of that. We got to see unlikely allies on cards, now what if we got stories where Thalia was on Ravnica fighting the Obzedat? It feels (I keep intentionally using the word feels to describe this--it’s my emotional reaction detached from the idea that they’re going to be able to tell cool stories they couldn’t otherwise tell), anyway, it feels like they just tossed out a core story concept and don’t even realize it.

Like as much shit they get for the world of hats approach, I think that really works for what they do and is part of what I enjoy. I’m honestly in part concerned that the recent big events that effect the entire multiverse and set up this situation where planes can blend a lot more freely could impact the distinct feel of different worlds. And while I’m sure that’s something that’s on creative’s radar, they’ve also burned enough trust in recent years that I’m doubtful they will handle it well.

Though at the same time this feels kind of par for the course. There have been so many let downs in Magic story over the years that the amazing part is that I’m still invested at all. But the story’s a slave to corporate needs and is undoubtedly more story-by-committee than ever. A left-right punch to KO any creative work for sure.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. They are not and have never really tried to say they’re anything else. They make blockbuster sets and want blockbuster stories to go along with it. Anyone who wants a fantasy card game with DC/Marvel story sensibilities to produce artistic short fiction is a damned fool.

Anyway this is just me venting. Could all be wrong. Time will tell. If you want to vent here feel free.

[skinnytuna]

I really really like that long post you did about making art. especially: 'i have somehow convinced myself that, if i maybe try a little bit, not exceptionally hard, but only a little bit, maybe i will somehow magically be good enough and worthy of critical praise.'

I spend all my time thinking about the beautiful or ""groundbreaking"" things I would make but no time actually doing it. and then when I attempt to create something the actual discomfort of physically drawing, writing or even coding is so unlike the idealised version in my brain that I have to stop because it is so frustrating. I wish I could be the sort of person who decides to spend hours upon hours perfecting a craft. but I just cant. weirdly I've come to terms with it. theres a whole world of art that exists just for me in my head. maybe one day ill be able to translate it into reality. but for now, im just going to be happy with the dual presence of my shitty real art and my lovely art thats just for me.

(also: I dont think your posts are lacking. the way you use language is unexpected and hilarious. I like it a lot.)

we should have a word for the terminal need for validation but lack of any and all discipline ... seems like a relatively new phenomena. i'm considering the strong possibility that it's a widespread result as the death of the "hobby"... however many years ago i imagine it was normal to just do something for yourself, because you love doing it. in fact i see a lot of my friends parents still doing stuff such as this.

i have a lot of friends whose dads make eps and albums for fun. for them only. no wishing on a star for it to blow up overnight. none of that. security in the quality of it. security in how far it probably won't reach. now that security, of course, could just come with age. but i suspect there's a generational parasite.

we were all raised with Numbers. the follower count, the like count, these are burned into our psyche. a neurosis coiled tightly around an objective metric of validation. a handful of years ago such a neurosis couldn't even exist! and it especially couldn't exist in a matter of seconds or minutes. your value as a person is a pair of dice that you roll and you snatch them back the moment you see snake eyes. almost all of the amateur art, music, writing we are exposed to has a number right under it. you don't get to evaluate it yourself. there is immediately a pavlovian connection, i like this thing, this thing has this number attached to it, if i can get a number like that i'm worthy of coexisting with this thing.

there's an almost instant dissociation between the craft, the skill, the time, and the FRUIT. what you get back. we are almost trained to care more about how popular something is than how good it is. not like, hollywood productions, or Columbia Records' chart topping album by a thirty something with A&R parents, but how popular someone just like you is on the internet. a plausible professional with a twitter account who draws whatever they want. someone you could relate to. someone you could be.

but because you want the numbers you skip the learning... you make something and put it out. and you keep doing this. your learning is public, your honing of the craft is documented before an audience of hopefully thousands. and you see what they respond to. and their responses steer the direction of your learning. you never have an opportunity to make something shitty. make something no one likes. experiment. you just keep feeding the computer. and it works until the point where you want to do something else, or something real, or something better, or something serious, and realize you don't know how. and you're like Fuck Shit why did I hustle instead of learning in peace.

but of course this is all by design. the numbers can't teach themselves more numbers if you doodle in your sketchbook and don't show anyone. i'm not sure if it was ever a specific person's idea to make everyone's entire life a performance, but whoever engineered it did a damn fine job. takes a sledgehammer to break out of. oh well ! in a few generations i'm sure all of our skin will have glare dampeners evolved specifically to vlog better with. and everyone will have forgotten what it's like to do something in your room, by yourself, because you like to do it

[carmenthabaddie]

New wigs 💖💖💖💖

I am a real bitch and money is coming and ignoring my problems and circumstances and my current reality. I deserve to shine. I know my worth and put myself first and others last. Love my 3 new wigs. Upgrading my look. I’m high ass fuck. I take accountability for my life and decisions.

Planned my day night before in digital planner. And will be productive and busy. Doing laundry and other chores. I know my worth. It’s my time to shine. Black women deserve success and happiness and need making excuses for black men. Most black men are a disappointment to us. I am staying single no kids until I meet a high value man who is provider, protector , lover, friend, reliable . Done with bottom feeder men. Spirit and ancestors want me to speak my shit and shit on my haters all day everyday. Ladies remember your worth and let go of anyone who questions or lowers your worth. No one will lower my worth and question my worth.

I’m only concerned about getting ahead. Real ass bitch. Putting in that work and getting quick results that last. The level up glow up for the women who are honest and take accountability for they life. And doesn’t pass judgement cause they too busy living they life. It’s my time to shine. Real bitches love me. Everything I want I get no questions asked. David will be my husband and support my dreams. And be proud of my glow up. He will be my other half. Never hurt me always honest and true. I can manifest anything and anyone. My thoughts create. What I assume manifests. It’s my time to shine.

No one can stop my greatness. It’s my time to shine. And get lifted and higher and speaking my shit. Damn I’m fine. I’m a rich hoe. I look mad good. I’m a hood bitch. Laughing at my enemies all day everyday. I know my fucking worth. I’m so damn pretty naked. Gone keep intermittent fasting and one meal day. And diet drinks and water and low calorie hot chocolate. And workout on my treadmill and stationary bike multiple times a day. Outfits and gym clothes put out night before. And vlogging my level up glow up journey more often and stop procrastinating or feeling im not ready to vlog. Vlog not gone record itself. I gots to record and schedule and plan upload days. Im going hard. My reality is changing because I said so. Money falling in my lap. Im going viral period. More likes on this blog.

I love and accept myself and it’s all about me. Hoes hate cause I’m a savage and I hold myself accountable for my life. No one can do it for me. Dark skin women are beautiful and should be celebrated more often. Whatever I want he buys. He only has eyes on me. I don’t care what people think of me and my life choices. I make life choices for me and not peoples approval and validation. It’s my time to shine. I’m worth every dollar. I have came so far and blessed and loved and highly protected by spirit and my black ancestors. My pussy gets wet when he worships me. Women specifically black women are the prize.

Today will be good. I’m getting shit done. I’m putting in work. It’s my time to shine. I’m in no rush I don’t have to change overnight it takes effort and consistency over a period of time. I’m so rich and famous and not afraid to say no and leave when people don’t treat me how I treat them. Lord Baal and ancestors and Lord Ganesha is sending me so much money and opportunities and helping me overcome obstacles.

How I look? 💖💖💖

[incarnateirony]

FBBC are not moving brewing anywhere. All their brewing for distribution was already done off site by a mass non dedicated fbbc facility which will continue to happen. No in-house brewing for the taproom anymore and they laid off their main day to day person (Shelby) their brewer, their social media manager and another tap room staff member. Some of us live and work here, don’t belittle us with “expanding” especially when the people in charge have been apologetic and honest.

"Some of us live and work there" says person trying to incorporate themselves anonymously in "some of us" without committal language, showing definitional psychopathy in the interest of attempting to spread your false information.

They had a 15 barrel keg system. It is not enough to keep up with national distribution. They did lay off the guy, because he has less experience in what they're leaning into for new IPA variants and was essentially an apprentice, they got them a Real Beer Boy Now. Cope.

For people that work and live there you sure are shit at knowing what he's told his friends and employees

I know you miserable hobgoblins in wigs love rooting for failure but you're just gonna come up empty handed here. You're all such miserable piles of shit that hate your lives you want to pretend you understand his P&L, or his business assets. Or his supply and demand issues being the good kind. Or his upped hiring requirements. Or anything. You are miserable leeches that want everyone to be as much of a miserable failure as you are and look online for people to peck at for it, and it doesn't change reality. He's successful, you're not. And FBBC is fine and on a growth curve. Sorry to disappoint the banshees in the room looking for blood to feel better about themselves.

Pretending, anonymously, and fakely, that you working there as Rando McGee, which you probably don't, because it actually has a very limited staff, and they're basically all accounted for, that you "working OR living" near him gives you insight to why he's buying up larger facilities and moving production/releasing the old apprentice for a new master. You don't get business wits about what the actor is doing because you share air with him.

Now, if you are, somehow, amidst a group where SOMEONE is telling the truth of being an employee, you might advise them to shut their trap, because it won't be hard to figure out who it is. Because they'd either need to be an unloyal fan or some part time shitheaded employee that feels important for serving Celebrity Beer. Because anyone who knows what the fuck is happening is accounted for. so you know. If you're this vicious or misinformed you're on a very limited list of idiot candidates.

All this tells me is you spoiled brats don't understand the phase of downsizing and asset redistribution for growth plans. Holy shit. Get a job. Get a business.

Some of us have had far more genuine information for years running direct from sources or at worst second degree. To use your very whiny and sensitive phrase as a reaction to your false narrative shattering and people questioning you, "Don't belittle us."

Go back to your trust fund or husband and 2.5 kids and leave the grownups to talk about business. Yall gonna scream sexist too like that doesn't collectively describe 99% of you lifeless pieces of shit accurately. It's not your gender, it's your self hatred fused to privilege being turned into everyone else's problem while you wave your hands like a toddler telling adults how the world works because it's never been relevant or a challenge you've had to deal with in your bubbles. I am literally fucking over being explained by the upper class middle aged version of basement dwellers how a world they've never acted in works. We don't have to humor your shit, man (gn).

I will ABSOLUTELY belittle the shit out of you until you learn to stay in your lane and stop pretending you can manifest your AO3 RPF fics to reality with a llittle Intentional Misunderstanding And Elbow Grease.

[kyeterna]

Horrible day, had the misfortune of making the mistake and argue against my cousin over politics.

It's just so frustrating having people recognise that the system fucks us over but their response to that always being "welp is do anything about that, working together is impossible everyone should look out for themselves. What you're saying is a utopian reality. This is not the age for revolution" my brother in Christ you're assisting in your own doom by not acting. I never said change is easy or comes by your own work, you have to work together with other people. But you have to put on the effort to reach out.

But he insisted that we are all individuals who look out for our individual self and I'm only saying that stuff because I don't have a family of my own. He also tried to argue that even religion sees us as individuals. Which, Orthodox Christianity does not. And it was that moment I realised that his beliefs were built upon USAmerican political commentator propaganda. Stuff that does not translate for Greece. And he was arguing with the strawman of a commie liberal college education elitist and not what I was saying. I mean, I have KNOWN he doesn't take me seriously on general but UGH. He said I was just throwing buzzwords around and feeling good about myself, when I was literally using the same vocabulary he was. I never mentioned any political jargon aside from my very frustrated "so it's just easier for you to see the end of the world rather than the end of capitalism?".

That whole fight was so frustrating because he understands he is fucked over as a low wage factory worker but he insists that taxing the rich is unfair and to solve problems our taxes should be cut and that you should not fight because it's pointless. And he insisted I was just looking down on him and said my ideology is wrong and problematic. He never really explained why aside from my very frustrated "does the boot taste this fucking good?"

Because I personally insulted him. My ideology is problematic and wrong because of that? Ok 👍. I insulted him because I knew I was getting nowhere and I have been very pissed off in general and I did not have any intention of changing his mind at that point. Because even when I was trying to explain class conflict and how literally saying "the worker does not contribute to the economy because he has less disposable income" is objectively wrong since the worker is literally creating the goods he just went "no, they have less money and don't buy stuff :) also the one product the one worker makes is pennies compared to the entirety of production"

Like do you understand why I was so frustrated???????? It's not only that, I have been building up frustration over his braindead political views (including: climate change isn't real, immigrants are barbaric, russia good actually, queer people shouldn't exist, i know women's struggles better than women) but you see I was the bad person for insulting him like that. But Kostas never has to apologise for any of the things he says because reasons. He never has to apologise for how he treats everyone around him. But when I fight back I am the bad person because I'm a woman and I shouldn't use mean words.

Not that anyone in my family would stand beside me. My brother agrees with me but he hates conflict, and everyone else is like "Kostas is stubborn what can you do" he is a massive manchild who has been completely alienated from everyone because he works a job that fucks him over and because he displays the worst parts of toxic masculinity (thanks to his shit dad and equally complicit but less shit mom).

I feel both bad for him but also sick of him and the way he treats everyone. Ofc you think the worst of others, you suck yourself.

Sorry I am naïve for wanting people to work together to fight for a better future for themselves. Sorry I think it's achievable if we stop having the most annoying defeatist attitude. I know existing in Greece for the past 20 years has been taking L after L but you can't just give up. You have so much more to lose. We keep actively losing it as we speak! Because people refuse to do anything about it!!

Maybe I'm the weird one for not being able to feel good about myself when I am watching my rights be stripped away while I'm just sitting there twirling my thumbs.

(also pissed off about how he said that students were just "whining about" during protests, like shut the fuck up you're the worst type of person at this point)

[jaythelay]

And people still don't seem to understand if you want something to be worked on, ya gotta put some effort into it.

Except putting effort into it is bad because when you conceive a bias based entirely on fear it's easy to simply look at criticism and protests and call it regressive. When the reality is there is no alternative way to get attention, it's all been tried to death and you rejected it.

Discussions and debates? Video and photo? Stories and history? Ya'll ignored it because it hurt Biden's chances. Not a single other reason. (apathetic and commited racism actually is another)

Ya'll actively refuse to listen to reasonable arguments and instead make up strawmen that are not simply laughable, but counter-productive as it creates a bigger rift in the voter-base. If you won't listen, people will make you. Simple as.

As far as Kamala, I got higher hopes for her handling Palestine, same with Walz, but you're absolutely braindead to say protesting that we stop sending our tax dollars to bomb children is a bad thing. It's why I can't reasonably vote dem, if the party and voter is so unwilling to combat genocide, then there's no party to work with.

It's easier to be anti-genocide than pro-genocide. Seriously. You wouldn't have to be confused to keep an image up. You'd simply speak truth from understanding. Ya'll don't and it's why it'll cost you a landslide victory. Plain and simple ya can't act like it's actually happening but not a problem, and flip flop to it's not happening and hamas is a problem, depending on the argument. It's baffling in a republican way.

Just saying. All R's call it a genocide and are giddy about it, constantly saying to finish the job. Dump says it's a genocide and ya'll agree he would commit a genocide. So. Why pretend there isn't a genocide now? If Israel is fully willing to genocide with help from Dump, why wouldn't they with Dems and how the fuck does any of that mean it's not a genocide?

I've had people flip flop like this in the middle of arguments. Understand this is not normal behavior for anyone. Discuss. Don't lie. Don't be Republican.

If ya want more votes, ya start by showing you care about people more than your in-group. You don't use LGBT people as a meat shield towards criticising Dear Leader and a fuckin Genocide.

Really don't know what is so confusing to people about this. If ya want anti-genocider voters, then start being anti-genocide. Stop pretending you have to Not Vote to be Anti-Genocide and suddenly it makes sense, you strawmanning idiots.

Otherwise just don't acknowledge them? Just silly that it works and they still pretend otherwise. Ya'll admit several times over it's a genocide when it comes up, but when convenient it's just a "war with hamas" it's all so painfully republican.

Just saying, this same crowd will still be bitching this somehow hurts dem's chances midway through Kamala's term as an excuse to not demand better than Genocide. Just silly cruelness you expect from R's and one most will reject anyone for doing. Ya'll know R's don't want to admit Dump is on Epstein's list because it'll hurt his chances right? You're doing the same thing here.

Be anti-genocide, vote Kamala, demand better than Genocide. There is no other rules ya'll can strawman.

Ya'll dems gotta fucking think. Once. Shit.

[see-arcane]

I Am Livid.

Bile below

Well, in a fit of paranoia, I’ve gone through all my Ao3 stories and set them to Viewable by Registered Ao3 Users Only. Not because of the Musk blurb. I looked into the ‘Elon Musk using bots to mine Ao3 for writing’ thing and didn’t find anything but a lot of repeat accusations without any examples. 

But you know what I did find?

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/2/23435258/google-ai-writing-wordcraft-lamda

https://www.metastellar.com/nonfiction/on-writing/12-artificial-intelligence-tools-to-write-your-novel-for-you/

https://www.bkacontent.com/everything-about-ai-writing/

In all of these, there’s this struggling, sweating assurance that AI writing is meant to be a collaborative tool. An assisting tool. Used in tandem with human writers. To anyone who sincerely believes this, I admire your optimism and I apologize.

Because this is some next level bullshit.

Just like the immediate leap of AI art from ‘ooh look at this cool-silly trick we can get this program to do!’ to Let’s Use This to Steal From Hardworking Talented Artists and Pretend the End Product is Original Because the Program (and the Person Who Did the Hard Work of Pushing a Button!) Put It Through Their Filter and Slapped Their Name On It! is bullshit.

“AI writing saves time for you!” 

You who? The person whose whole background and career is in writing? No, of course not. Actual writers know what they’re doing. They practiced out of passion. Maybe they got degrees in it, maybe they just worked at it, maybe they aren’t even doing it for a profit (nice as it’d be!), and decide to put what they scribble out in the world for free. No, no, AI writing programs aren’t for them. The suckers.

You’re the person who would normally have to pay someone else to write something for them. 

You’re the person who’d like to hit a button, put other authors’ work through the AI blender, and vomit up another cookie cutter book series in their flavor and get a check for it.

Which is the exact same way it’s going with the people getting screwed and robbed by AI art programs. We all know this example by now:

 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html

But even beyond the competitive sphere, we have the more worrisome reality of professional artists getting gutted out of their careers, on top of hobby artists--artists who do what they do and share what they share With No Guarantee of Getting Paid--having their creations harvested and then turned around for someone else’s profit.

https://nanpa.org/2022/09/20/the-wild-west-of-ai-images-and-artists-rights/

And it enrages me past the point of words--maybe I could use an AI program to do that for me!!!--that anyone. 

Any fucking one. 

Is in favor of this load of thieving, art-killing, utterly inexcusable horseshit. Don’t come out here with your Asimov daydreams and your fucking I, Robot GIFs. This isn’t a movie. This isn’t the heartwarming rise of the Artistically Creative Robot.

The people behind this shit are people. People who want all the accolades and money with none of the work. Sorry, none of their own work. 

Actual creatives, already a demographic living on an economic edge, are in more and more danger of losing either their livelihoods or--aren’t these artists and writers sooo dramatic?--their passion for sharing what they create with the world, simply for the craft and joy of it, when they see someone use a predatory program to steal their hard work, stamp their label on it, and sell it back to an audience who never even gets to know the robbed party’s name.

I hate AI writing. I hate AI art. I. Hate. It.

And I personally want to slap every bullshitting thinkpiecer and salesman who tries to pitch it as anything other than an as-yet-not-illegalized ‘get out of effort/paying creatives machine’ with a hardcover copy of Marx until their teeth fly out.

Are these programs perfected yet? No. 

But the potential in them is too great for people with deep pockets who want them even deeper not to be investing to make them better* (*at stealing, blending, and puking up actual people’s work.) This is just where it starts. 

I genuinely hope the legal brakes get hit on these things. I hope there are actual consequences going forward. I hope all this shit gets banned back and back and back until it’s made defunct by the inescapable fact that NO ARTIST OR WRITER IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD CONSENT TO THESE THINGS STEALING OUR SHIT and the right kind of lawyers make a case for us that unfucks the whole mess.

I really do.

But I won’t hold my breath. 

[girlreviews]

Review #112: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John

There are a bunch of songs on this album that we probably all know and love. If you don’t, you’ve been living under a rock or something and there’s not a lot of hope for you. They’re great. But have you ever listened to Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding? The double opener of this record. Half instrumental before leading into its vocal second half. It’s intense. Gotta wonder whose funeral this was and what their wishes were in being remembered. They weren’t messing around.

Bennie and the Jets, a damn classic, recorded in the studio but sort of made to sound as if was recorded live by adding in crowd sounds from different live shows – including that of a 1970 Jimi Hendrix show on the Isle of Wight (???). This song slaps. It’s so ridiculous. The delivery of the vocals is absurd, and it’s just really made for drunk people at a bar to shriek it over and over. I’ve lost my voice a couple of times this way.

A hit, but an underrated one (since there are so many to choose from in Elton John’s repertoire), is the album’s title track, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I’ve always been enamored with this song and how it tells a bleak tale of someone with big dreams being faced with a harsh reality. People are all too willing to take advantage of naïve, eager, people like them. You can have everything you want – at a price. It has such stark imagery in it:

“What do you think you’ll do then?

I bet they shoot down the plane

It’ll take you a couple of vodka and tonics

To set you on your feet again

Maybe you’ll get a replacement

There’s plenty like me to be found

Mongrels, who ain’t got a penny

Sniffin’ for tidbits like you

On the ground”

It’s too short and I’m always disappointed when it’s over because I think, man, I could hear that chorus a few more times. The harmonies and production of it are just really striking and really deliver feeling like, “this life isn’t for me”. It’s not sad exactly. It’s maybe like a disappointment and acceptance. A moving on. A hard lesson learned.

What I love about this record is that it’s the original material for a 2011 album that made its way into my all-time favorites, and I felt got massively overlooked by just about everyone and that’s really just to their detriment. In 2011, Elton John and Pnau released Good Morning to the Night, which was essentially Pnau (one half of Empire of the Sun) remixing Elton’s lesser-known B-sides or album tracks into new material. A lot of them came from the album tracks of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It. Was. Out. Standing. Pure joy to listen to. I have met approximately one other human being who gives a fuck about it. Anyway, shit was good. For example, in the title track Good Morning to the Night, they take the organ from Funeral for a Friend, and fuckin’ turn that shit into a heavenly ascent that you do not come down from. It’s no funeral. You’re alive.

My favorite track, however, is Phoenix, which lifts its lyrics exclusively from the 1973 record's Grey Seal. While the music in Phoenix is beautiful, uplifting, inspiring, and has encouraged me to run more miles than I can count – it’s the words. When I first moved to the US I spent the first few months of my time here in a very particular way. I slept a lot. A LOT. I got up every day. Made tea, in the microwave (if you know me, you know this pains me to admit), and then I ran three miles on a treadmill to get my feelings out. Then I cried. Then I watched as much Breaking Bad as one human can reasonably consume without crawling up the walls with anxiety. Rinse. Repeat. Eventually, I got a job. But this was my job for a bit while I worked out some shit in my nugget and got some rest. I had a playlist. I still have it, and I still use it when I run. It’s batshit to be honest, if anyone ever listened in on me at the gym, they’d be like what weird shit makes this girl run? Anyway. Phoenix is on there as an up-tempo feet mover, but really, as I maintain, it’s the message, which is really the verses from Grey Seal, that made me go-go-go:

“Why's it never light on my lawn

Why does it rain

And never say good-day to the new-born

On the big screen they showed us the sun

But not as bright in life as the real one

It's never quite the same as the real one

I never learned why meteors were formed

I only farmed in schools

That were so warn and torn

If anyone can cry then so can I

I read books and draw life from the eye

All my life is drawings from the eye

Your mission bells were wrought by ancient men

The roots were formed by twisted roots

Your roots were twisted then

I was re-born before all life could die

The Phoenix bird will leave this world to fly

If the Phoenix bird can fly then so can I”

This song has always made me dig deep and keep going. Whether on a stupid treadmill or in a really hard time. He asks the grey seal “How does it feel to be so wise? To see through eyes that only see what’s real?”. It makes me think of the story of The White Seal, by Rudyard Kipling. A young blue-eyed seal went against his elder's advice to seek a safe place for them all and found it, gaining a lot of wisdom on the way. Striking out on one’s own to avoid a fate that seems completely inevitable, against all the naysayers, and fucking making it happen. Anyway. One version of the song has a seal (and a phoenix) and one version of the song has a phoenix only, both versions are remarkable. Only one is on the Rolling Stones's Top 500 Albums of All Time, and that is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

[frogsandfries]

I'm so exhausted.

Okay, look, I know I seem to be expressing a lot of physical exhaustion lately, but this is more in regards to my increasing exhaustion with what the internet has become: One giant, inescapable, smothering advertisement.

I probably only want to cry about it right now at this very moment because I'm so tired, but I mean, honestly, if I'm not crying over it, I'm seething over it.

So you, a corporation, you don't want to pay your employees fairly or properly, and you then expect people who can barely afford their rent, never even mind their stupid health insurance or any of the other expensive life necessities, you really expect them to turn around and spend every last of their five remaining dollars on your piece of cheap shit instead of a cheap loaf of bread which will at least allow them to get through the next few days??? Unlike your stupid foot soak boot things, hey epsom your tired feet while you clean your apartment after work--multitask, grind, hustle!! But also, treat yo'self and self-care.

There's no fucking point in having fucking adblock, because when I go to research how to get better at my hobby, google wants to shove a dozen more products that I neither need nor want down my throat. The only way to improve a fucking smart phone is to make it a better shopping device. "Hey look, do you see something irl, maybe during your vacation or just out and about for the day, and you need to buy it right fucking here and now?? Buy our fucking phone because it will help you have fifty afterpays instead of the usual five that you're constantly balancing at any one fucking time."

As someone who used to be curious to learn, I still remember when the internet was seen as a way to exchange knowledge and information, and sure, if you're really, really good at using the internet, or if you're incredibly resourceful, and lucky, and maybe find a group on like Discord or Reddit or maybe Facebook, full of people who share your general interest, and maybe they have the knowledge you're asking for readily at hand.

But it's bullshit. The more and more ads in a row, video after video, song after song, that I have to wade through to get to the information that I came here for, the less interested I am in things like Youtube for information and learning. I really have cut myself off from learning, because increasingly for years, it's been harder and harder to actually use the internet to learn anything.

The internet has become a giant screaming relentless bright flashing fucking billboard advertisement and I'm just so.......done.

Look, frankly, I miss having books in my home. Books aren't very reasonable for lugging about the country to your next couch. But that lifestyle is behind me. Books don't constantly advertise at me. The index in the back of the book doesn't make me watch a fucking ad to figure out how I'm supposed to be doing this next part of my project or how I can up my skill at this thing I'm trying to learn or improve at.

And whenever the hell I decide to leave my meat-suit, donate my books to a library if no one in my family wants them.

I'm just so fucking exhausted. I'm doing relatively financially okay right now. I have money to pay my bills and feed myself and still grab a couple things most paychecks. It is currently often a choice between improving my household or taking care of my physical body, or taking care of my emotional well-being, but that's fine. A privilege, really, compared to the places that I've been.

But I don't have the buckets of disposable income that the internet seems convinced that I do.

The internet was supposed to be a beacon of information sharing and a new fucking era of communication.

I don't think anyone foresaw it being a capitalist hellscape. It feels like I can't move through reality or cyberspace without being screamed at on all sides to spend out every last dime on things I don't want, don't need, and am extraordinarily NOT interested in.

I'm so exhausted. I'm so sick to my bones, my guts, my soul.

The thought of escaping into the mountains, becoming a hermit, never to be seen again, becomes increasingly appealing.

[wandaluvstacos]

Chapter 44 of Good Investment is now up on my Patreon!

Good Investment is available at the $5/month tier. People who pledge $5 a month have access to not only Good Investment but The Sponsors series (ongoing), Pretty Things (complete), May the Blood Run Pure (complete), and Kept Man (complete), along with the $1/month tier books, the Reflections trilogy (ongoing) and The Halfwife (ongoing).

Adri Schvaneveldt has always felt split between two worlds. In one world, they are the adopted child of a large and conservative Mormon family. In another, she is the CEO of a burgeoning fashion empire that pushes boundaries. But in order to be the latter, Adri first has to find the funding. After gaining a hefty following as a social media influencer/model, Adri has the potential customers– if they can get a reliable production model pounded out. And that means a bit of groveling at the feet of investors, most of who have never even heard the term “non-binary”.

But Adri lucks out with Gideon Snow, whose youth and open mind bring much needed funds to make Adri’s dream of diverse, accessible fashion a reality. Of course, lifting a newborn company to its feet is no small task, and late nights drive Adri to occasional stays at Gideon’s nearby house, where their relationship begins stretching beyond business. Adri knows they can’t put an entire business venture at risk for the turbulent whims of their heart. But reason doesn’t always win out.

Excerpt:

   “Well, she was very upset when she spoke to me—crying, even. She wanted me to call you and ‘talk sense to you’. Those were her words. I mentioned to her that I had met you and Adri at Solitude and then that got her all worked up again. She thinks I’m keeping secrets from her.”

            “Huh, wonder why you would do that,” Gideon muttered. “Do you think she’s told the rest of the family?”

            “She’s told Dad. When they were over for dinner and to see the kids, he was very grumpy and snippy with Mom. You know how he gets.”

            Gideon could imagine. God, he was so glad he didn’t live in Utah anymore. He had to give his sister credit for being willing to put up with it. She had kids, so it made sense she wanted their grandparents in the picture. Gideon often wondered if he was justified for avoiding them. They’d been decent parents to grow up with, and they’d supported him financially when he was abroad in Europe doing dumb shit. His father had loaned him money to start the business whose sale now gave Gideon his early retirement. He wouldn’t be here without them. And yet, the minute he’d graduated high school, he’d never looked back. Only after he’d partied his way through a few years abroad did he realize that hey, maybe he’d been a little fucked up by his upbringing. When he would rather be hungover and penniless on some Belgian pothead’s couch than in his parents’ big gorgeous house at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, maybe his childhood wasn’t as idyllic as he liked to believe. It was hard to explain why there was such resentment in him. Only Adri and a few others seemed to get it.

            “What do you want me to tell Mom?” Ada asked when Gideon didn’t respond for a moment.

            “Tell her that I’m not speaking to anyone unless they are willing to respect me and my partner.”

            “What would that entail?”

            “It would mean not calling Adri a man, or using him pronouns. That’s probably the baseline. They can call me gay if they want; I really don’t care. It’s Adri I’m a stickler about.”

              “I don’t think Mom will do that.”  

            “Then we have nothing to discuss.”

            “Gideon…” Ada sighed again. “She’s our mom. You can’t just not talk to her.”

            “Sure I can. Watch me.”

[buttdawg]

Papa Haitch

"Paul Levesque" has been trending on Twitter for a while, and the general vibe I see are people grappling with the realization that Triple H might be part of the problem and not the solution they always hoped for.

I think the mythology for the past 18 years or so has been that WWE sucks ass, and it's all Vince McMahon's fault, and the only way it'll get better is when he dies/retires/steps aside and Triple H takes over. Then people can say "belt" again and the camera work will improve and the booking will make sense.

I haven't watched WWE in five years, but from what I hear that's mostly how things have played out. People have been much more positive about the product since Vince retired in 2022, and that positivity improved when the TKO merger happened and Vince was moved to a safe distance from creative. I think it's safe to conclude that Paul is more competent at running a wrestling promotion than Vince.

The catch is that it's a very low bar to clear. This week has demonstrated to everyone that the bar was even lower than we knew. A few months ago I listened to a Behind the Bastards podcast series on Vince McMahon, and after seven hours they barely made it to Owen Hart's death in 1999.

Meanwhile, I fear that fans have set their expectations of Paul Levesque very high. It reminds me a lot of the hype surrounding AEW when it formed. The promise of a major wrestling promotion free of Vince McMahon leads people to expect everything they ever wanted. Our favorite wrestlers will always win and always get main event pushes, every storyline will be flawless and brilliant, we'll finally get rid of the flippy shit, we'll finally get more of the flippy shit, women wrestlers will get their due, and finally, finally, there will be sound, ethical leadership backstage.

The reality is that fans are now arguing over which company's press conferences are a bigger joke. Well, HHH may have fumbled the question about reading the lawsuit filing, but at least he didn't wear a silly hat like TK did as he deflected the questions about Chris Jericho!

The bar is pretty low. Maybe Levesque can figure out a way to recover and learn from this whole experience, and become the benevolent ruler everyone wanted him to be. Maybe his hands are dirtier than anyone guessed, and he'll be turfed out of the company by next year. Maybe he's only slightly less corrupt than Vince, and he'll manage to survive the post-Vince purges anyway. It all remains to be seen.

But it feels like the fanbase is starting to notice that this guy isn't necessarily going to deliver on all their hopes and dreams of a better WWE. It'll be better than it was under Vince, if only because they'll quit booking so many DQ finishes and no-contests. But they keep letting Hulk Hogan in the building, so that tells me they're not aiming nearly as high as I would like.

I see three kinds of comments on Triple H lately.

"Fuck that guy, he's just as bad as Vince and his cronies, and he should be fired too."

"I used to like HHH, but now I've lost all respect for him after that presser."

"Don't be so mean to HHH, you jerks, he's doing the best he can and you shouldn't expect him to talk about a lawsuit after revolutionizing Sports Entertainment™ with another great Premium Live Event™."

It's that third one that intrigues me, because I never used to see fanboys white knighting for Triple H before. It used to be they would talk about what a genius he is for conquering wrestling, and if anything good or bad happened to WWE, that was Triple H winning his game of 5-D chess. If something bad happened, it was a sign of Vince's downfall, and HHH would look like a hero when he finally got the opportunity to right the ship. If something good happened, then it made WWE even richer and more powerful for the day when HHH took control.

Now the message is: "Hey, leave him alone you guys, he's just a wee li'l booker, he can't comment on an ongoing legal matter. He's just a kindly old man cobbling Royal Rumble matches in his little workshop. Don't ask him about corporate culture and sexual abuse in the workplace. His heart's bad, so he can't take it!"

It's not a good look. It was probably more fun when he was putting on shows and hyping them up with Shawn Michael and Road Dogg like "Fuck yeah! DX is running WWE now and everything is badass!" But now he's got everyone looking at him with anger or suspicion, or pity. Maybe that all blows over in a few months, or maybe it won't. I think I might need a new userpic in the meantime...

[hiding-under-the-willow]

thoughts on Eric and his place in the markiplier tv office dynamic? also Bingand Google? I love ur rants abt them all!!!

This is the point at which I have to be completely honest with you. I know Eric is deeply beloved by a lot of people, but I really do not have many thoughts on him. His whole thing came out like. Slighty after my exit from the fandom in middle school. So I remember watching his stuff when it came out, but he never got like. Absorbed into the canon in my head. So. Uh. Apologies on that one. Maybe I'll go back and rewatch his stuff at some point and come back with some thoughts.

Google and Bing on the other hand I can absolutely talk about.

So I think I vaguely mentioned their roles at the network in one of my previous posts but I'll elaborate lol. Google is Dark's assistant essentially, he's mostly in charge of finances and tech stuff around the office, but he also has some other responsibilities. I think out of everyone in the office there are two other people who know the exact reason for Dark's whole thing with Mark, who know the extent of his anger and his motivations. These two people would be The Host, bc well, kind of unavoidable, better to have an ally there than to just let it go unspoken, and Google, who knows because he is constantly helping Dark with his different revenge plots. He's constantly on the look out for opportunities for attack on Dark's end, stalking casting lists in different productions for jobs Mark might've taken, scanning forums and socials for mentions of him, hacking into security feeds and police records. He is The information guy for Dark.

Bing on the other hand kind of has no fucking clue about all that shit, cause he's working in PR, which means he's out working more so with the actual people in the studio, and more directly with Wilford. He's the guy behind the scenes making sure all of the deranged idiots he works with aren't doing shit so insane on air that they get the network shut down. Every script runs by him, every ad Ed makes, all of Bim's ideas for segments on his show, every story the Jim's pick up. All of it. That doesn't exactly stop the things the channel is producing from being completely unhinged, but i think Bing is aware of the public perception of the station enough to shape it in a way that won't get them in too much trouble.

See i think Bing was built with more of a understanding of human emotions than Google was. I think Google is more focused on hard data, while Bing was made more so with the application of that data in mind. Like. If you need government records that are probably not so legal to obtain. Google's your guy. If you want to use the data from those records to persuade the public to feel a certain way. Bing is your guy. You want to do some biometric scans of some guy to figure out stuff about his health? Google has that shit handled. You need to break some heavy news found from those scans to said guy. Bing knows how to handle it gracefully. That's the vibe on these two.

The thing is though. It's not that either of them were built to feel human emotions, even if you'd think it looking at Bing. He just happens to have been built with a better ability to understand, and therefore effectively act out said emotions.

This makes Bing really good at his job, because he's basically playing both sides in the office. He has a complex enough understanding of the view of the network by the public, as some kind of satire art project, and he leans into shaping that public image as much as possible, because that creates a stable market of pretentious art nerds and satire comedy enjoyers. He knows if the public were to realize the sincerity and reality of half the shit on the station they would lose their audience and get in a shit ton of trouble. But then he doesn't tell anyone in the office, who thinks they've got a genuine viewership base who understand their art or whatever, what perception the public has of them. He just makes the edits he needs to to their scripts, nudges them away from more dangerous bits, keeps everything under control, and let's both sides believe they've got what they want.

And this is the really interesting part, because I think the longer they spend in the office, the more they deviate from their original objectives to work for Dark and Wilford, the more they evolve. And I think Google does it faster. You'd think Bing, with his deeper understanding of human emotions and better capabilities at replicating them, would be more likely to see a more rapid decay of his more machine like tendencies as he begins to show more humanity. But bc so much of Bing's job at the studio is playing on his intented use of handling data and using it to manipulate people, he takes much longer to start breaking down those barriers. Google on the other hand, as much of his job is data oriented, something about seeing Dark in his most intense moments, of anger, of sorrow, of regret, or satisfaction, wherever his revenge journey leads him, that does something to him. Because he wants to understand the emotions that would lead someone to go to the lengths Dark does so badly. And that leads to a certain jealousy of Bing's understanding of human emotions. Only for him to realize that the jealousy itself is a human emotion. That he should not be able to feel. And things spiral from there. Anyways I think he probably developed a deep emotional attachment to Dark and his revenge journey meanwhile he's trying really hard to keep up the appearance that he is still the data driven machine he's always been.

Bing meanwhile I think is slowly starting to realize some shit is up with Google, and he's realizing there's something wrong with Wilford and Dark, something he doesn't know that he decides he needs to know if he's going to keep the public image of the studio up. I think it'd be really fun to see Google, the mechanical data driven one, attempting to appeal to the humanity and emotion of Bing, who is supposed to be the more human between them, because Bing is getting too carried away with the manipulation involved in his job.