#dont feel guilty about piracy

[jdragsky]

i am literally a book publisher, like that's my day job, that's what i DO, and i need to emphasize that if you can't access a piece of media for any reason it's very okay to pirate that media. i would rather you pirate my book and read it than forget about it because u couldnt afford it

[lilysaus]

time for lilys rare, once-every-five-months hot take on current general opinions, and this one has to do with j k rowling and harry potter.

ive seen some really harsh things said about her, and ive done my own research, and you know what? youre all right. shes a horrible, awful, nasty excuse for a human being. she is. im not going to deny it and i never will. you wanna know something else? harry potter, despite some of the horrible things that j k rowling included within it, is still a great work of fiction.

there. ive said it. harry potter is a great work of fiction. now, that might just be my ignorant little two-year-old brain who grew up reading that series saying that, it might be that im just desperately clinging to my precious past that means so much to me, but still.

consider this: a person can be a terrible, awful person that no one likes and still create fairly good things. someone, such as j k rowling, can be awful and horrible and completely unlikeable and still be a fairly good author.

i mean, just look at the things that the harry potter fandom has created. the darker, more j-k-rowling-esque things included in the series havent stopped the fandom from finding things within the books to justify their silly little headcanons. there are so many things about the harry potter series that are actually so cool and amazing that i dont think we should just completely ignore it.

instead of never reading harry potter again, just dont buy new books. if youve never read it but really want to, borrow the books from someone. find some free pdf online. find them somewhere where you wont have to pay for j k rowlings sexist, racist, and homophobic agenda.

instead of buying the movies, go hang out with someone who already has them. ask your friends if they already have the harry potter movies and either borrow them or watch the movies together. go onto piracy websites, for crying out loud! thats right! im condoning piracy for this one! go watch them illegally! as long as you arent paying for it, i dont care!

and another thing! keep creating fan content for it! and not just any fan content! make the kind of content that will make j k rowling see red. make the kind of stuff thatll just grind her gears. make the kind of stuff thatll make her scream in anger at her phone when she sees it. fanfics, fanart, if you think of it, you should make it.

please, dont let the creator of the content decide who enjoys the content and how. just dont support the creator while you enjoy the content. do the kind of stuff thatll make her mad, but she cant do jack-shit about it. just dont bash on the content.

you shouldnt feel guilty for liking harry potter just because the author is a little shit. you shouldnt feel guilty for liking something you grew up on. because again, you dont have to like the author to like the book. you dont have to like the director to like the movie. you dont have to like the creator to like the content.

thank you for coming to my hot take. have a wonderful rest of your day.

[selamat-linting]

im not sure anyone would know what im talking about, and there's a good chance posts like this would end up doxxing myself but this is the only place i have online friends so. does anyone else ever use a message board on tv?

i mean a literal message board. a forum. a group chat. but instead of being in some server of an app, its in television.

you see, my hometown used to have a local cable tv provider. it was not an entirely legal business, because instead of buying the license to air international shows, they simply pirate or reroute them from other, legitimate cable tv's. a few years later, they began to expand their market. they made their own broadcast station, and starts making content. its just local news and boring talkshows. and occasionally old horror movies, that are also pirated. but during prime time, they have this music program.

the music program was special. there was no host. the music video is tucked in a small corner on the left, and sometimes the video is replaced by a CCTV footage of the city. under the video box, there are ads and announcements about the tv station and the company as a whole. the bottom banner is news. the right side was the message board.

so here's how it works. you send a text, an sms, or a blackberry message. you'll request music, or just say hi, and your message will appear a few minutes later on tv. so, its like a group chat, but there's a feature to request music and everyone can join in and look into the conversation. the program ran for a couple years, i remember it already existing in 2009. i see quite a lot of people talking and getting to know each other. it was a community. until ofc, things die out eventually when they get more ads and replace the program with actual music videos or movies ripped off from youtube.

it made me so nostalgic. i was too young to have my own phone so i mostly lurk. but i read a lot of those conversations and feel like i also have friends on a screen. i learn how to leetspeak from there. i uSed t0 typ3 simil4r 2 th1s 4 bri3f mom3nt before i get 'not like other girls' complex and type with perfect grammar and punctuation.

now, theoretically, i could find a way to track the people who used to frequent those boards and be friends but look. a few years ago the boss of that channel station was found guilty of piracy. he got six months parole with no prison time despite doing that illegal streaming business for years, becuase indos are cool people who doesnt care about ip law that much. and his company have been expanding on other ventures like wifi or security systems, all the while slowly abandoning his broadcast station. so the program doesnt exist anymore and they might even destroyed the tapes containing that music program, if its even recorded.

also, im not even sure if it exists anywhere else. like, its so hard for me to describe what kind of show it was! i dont even have a photo of that show, it was 2009 and my dad still uses a payphone!!!!! do you think i would have a convenient camera on hand? *sigh* goodbye strange music program. i never knew what i had until its gone :(

[mite75]

okay im not gonna lie error screens and messages scare me so much!! not like the multiplayer disconnected errors, but the single player: your game is broken message. I don't know why but they give me a visceral childlike fear. Im not gonna lie if that fairy from spyro kindly told me that my game data was corrupted my hair would do the Ghibli rise and i would prob start crying.

[zipstick]

not spoilers dont worry

ok so i am... conflicted

i found a link for a google drive with the first two episodes and i really wanna watch them before the 12th but i also feel really guilty about it

like

i feel like i shouldn't watch it until it's officially out yknow? i feel like i'm doing something wrong

this isnt me being like "ooh piracy bad" no i dont care about that

i just feel like i should get to watch it at the same time everyone else does? idk man also it's 1am and i'm probably overthinking this but someone help

[omnishamblegreg]

Hey @loveofmylonglife !!

92 truths

rules: once you have been tagged you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself. At the end choose however many people you want to tag!

LAST …

[1] drink: water

[2] phone call: my auntie

[3] text message: my best friend

[4] song you listened to: It’s Like That by RUN DMC

[5] time you cried: maybe.. 3 weeks ago, if we’re not talking laughter-crying

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: no

[7] been cheated on: no

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: yes

[9] lost someone special: no

[10] been depressed: yes

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: no

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] jade green

[13] mint green

[14] lilac

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: yes

[16] fallen out of love: no

[17] laughed until you cried: hooo yes

[18] found out someone was talking about you: yes, good and bad

[19] met someone who changed you: yes

[20] found out who your true friends are: i dont know, maybe i knew that before now

[21] kissed someone on your Facebook list: heh yes

GENERAL…

[22] how many of your tumblr friends do you know in real life: 6 i think

[23] do you have any pets: yes, kitten of the name Mika

[24] do you want to change your name: noo

|25] what did you do for your last birthday: visited my dad in qatar, swam, played board games!

[26] what time did you wake up: like 10.30am

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: probably watching narcos or being attacked by my cat

[28] name something you cannot wait for: for summer, camping and swimming, passing my driving test and driving cousins about like rebels

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: like an hour ago 

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: my family dynamics- hooo boi i agree with you there. and how i’d handled certain situations. where i decided to do 6th form, being brave enough to confess love. having the brain capacity and energy to think thoroughly for myself about my spiritual beliefs. sometimes i think it’d be easier if i’d grown up not questioning stuff so much

[31] what are you listening to right now: the end credits of narcos. my love.

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: ah my old basketball coach

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: my inability to revise for shit

[34] elementary: What about it? if you mean the *cough* sherlock piracy, the actor played alongside cumberbum in frankenstein, then went off and did elementary. felt a bit like he nicked his acting pointers to go imitate him. but im not bitter! oh this means primary school: ledge. i was a loving teacher’s pet

[35] high school: same mostly girl’s schools, year 8 was peak :(, but year 9 was PEAK and best fricking thing ever. i moved a lot but made some great friends. then got stressed at alevels but v funny friends. school is stress i dont need to go back to that

[36] college: uni is TBA. i will enjoy my own space

[37] hair colour: brown

[38] long or short hair: short

[39] do you have a crush on someone: not really

[40] what do you like about yourself: that people trust me a lot, that i make my sisters laugh so much they look like gargoyles, that i have little things im good at. 

[41] piercings: Ears

[42] nickname: depending with who: karimmer/rimmer, kima, karma, gary

[43] relationship status: single and ready to spread my legs. in bed to sleep because thats the most comfy sleeping position

[44] zodiac sign: im a goat

[45] pronouns: she/her

[46] favourite tv show: this is fluid. right now i am addicted to narcos. (not like that)

[47] tattoos: none

[48] right or left handed: right

FIRST…

[49] surgery: just sewing up my chin?

[50] piercing: ears

[51] best friend: maysa my cousin, since i was 3, who i knows near everything about me (every time we meet i just catch her up on the new shit). we fuckin tight

[52] sport: this is FUNNY. but i guess swimming, in a leisurely, non-competitive floating way

[53] vacation: tunisia, like what else besides visit family every summer obv

[54] pair of trainers: MINE DIDNT LIGHT UP ! they were PINK tho

RIGHT NOW…

[55] eating: nothing

[56] drinking: nothing. sad days

[57] I’m about to: watch pedro pascal in game of thrones

[58] listening to: nada

[59] waiting for: nada

[60] want: this is a lot. want to feel energy coursing through me. want to be physically able to sleep for a day. to kiss. to have photographic memory. to actually have a spec of an imprint, a positive, a help, on the world. to meet up with all my old friends. to understand myself. to write something and make someone think with it.

[61] get married: some day. i forget im 19 and family members are suddenly going ‘hey karima wanna get me to find u someone heh?’

[62] career: during and after uni, i’d like to write stories. and do art. academia would be cool, researching and writing kickass linguistics papers about memes. but i do not want to dwell on this 

WHICH IS BETTER…

[63] hugs or kisses: both, but hugs only if they’re proper gourmet ones

[64] lips or eyes: eyes

[65] shorter or taller: taller

[66] older or younger: older

[67] romantic or spontaneous: I AGREE WITH WHAT U SAID BOTH BOTH IS GOOD. spontaneity is madly romantic 

[68] nice arms or nice stomach: oooh. stomach i think

[69] sensitive or loud: yep i agree again ^^ someone who’s both is brilliant, we just both gotta be in the same hyper mood then BAM whole house telling us to shut tf up. overall tho.. someone who’s sensitive and understanding is more important. someone who cant switch to being sensitive is so closed off

[70] hook up or relationship: relationship

[71] trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker if they’re not like. pablo escobar level trouble maker. 

HAVE YOU EVER…

[72] kissed a stranger: yeah stupid

[73] drank hard liquor: no

[74] lost glasses/contact lenses: yes

[75] turned someone down: yes poor unfortunate souls

[76] sex on first date: no

[77] broken someone’s heart: i dont Think so

[78] had your own heart broken: yes

[79] been arrested: no

[80] cried when somebody died: yes

[81] fallen for a friend: yes rip me

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[82] yourself: at times. i always believe it’ll kinda be alright in the end, that i’ll get to where i want to be, but i dont always believe i have what it takes Right Now. this is hard to explain.

[83] miracles: kind of. depends. i believe it was a miracle i got As and A*s in my gcses when i barely revised. and that my sister causes rain and thunderstorms when she prays for them. some miracles. i feel like a lot more used to happen

[84] love at first sight: no, thats romanticising someone as a concept and i am all too guilty of it

[85] santa claus: no and i dont think i ever did?! i discovered who he was simultaneously with ‘he’s fiction’. but thats okay with me

[86] kiss on the first date: whatever man i know nothing

[87] angels: yes

OTHER…

[88] current best friend’s name: Kathryn, steph, maysa, rabeeya 

[89] eye colour: brown

[90] favourite movie: shaun of the dead or How I Live Now

[91] favourite flower: honeysuckle, def jasmine.

[92] favourite season: summer whosoever should like to also do this, tag me and go for it!! im a curious bastard

[ihearducksaregoingquackers]

I’ve been sitting here for the past hour trying to put my political thoughts into words but i just can’t. Theres so much i’m afraid of forgetting about, so much that i either cannot see or unintentionally refuse to see (because of built in bias from my formative years) because of how fortunate I am (well debatable but i’ll get to that in a moment). There is so much that i want to take care of, so much I want to help with, so much that I want to do with my life, but i just can’t. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. there’s an endless amount of atrocities happening across the world, from discrimination and the removal of rights to terrorism and injustice. then there’s the climate change issues, then issues with no clear solution. there are super obvious wrongs happening around the world, from the mistreatment of minorities, the rise of neo nazis, the lack of healthcare, lack of access to education (or providing biased, unethical education), fake news, denial of science, prevention of truth, the prizing of money over people, active apathy through privileged means (drowning out the horrors of reality through tv, music and games) (of which i too am guilty of), piracy, aboriginal and native rights, north korea, all branches of terrorism, mental illnesses leading to crimes, just plain old criminals. just so many things and more that i’m either forgetting about or unwilling to mention because they are too heinous for me to even mention, but i acknowledge that the world is broken, beyond what one individual can do. and i want the world to be a better place but i just can’t do anything about it and it sucks..

The only reason why I’m saying it’s debatable how fortunate I am is because I’ve been suffering from depression for my whole life, to the point where I’ve had to quite university, am currently unemployed and literally don’t hav the energy to do anything with my life.

I’ve contemplated suicide for so long, I’ve even come up with a plan for it. overdose and then jump off the roof. I’m currently in egypt, in a newly developed part of cairo and I know that If i do that, i will die for sure. The nearest hospital is so far away that even if they got here in time, it would take too long to figure out everything that’s happened to me. the healthcare is so poor that I would succeed.

If only I could get myself to do it. 

But I can’t. or rather i don’t have the will. there is so much i want to do with my life but i’m just at this point where i can’t. i can’t do anything. i’ve exhausted every option. i can’t work, i’ve tried working and after a few months took myself to the ER (i was in the states at the time), but i just can’t do it. the demands of a job are too high for me. any job. retail or otherwise. i’m either unqualified or just can’t do it. I have a useless degree from a sham of a university, and my two other attempts at university were failures. i studied physics first, i failed out. my second attempt was an animation degree, but the university was a sham and, like i just said, i got the degree but it’s worthless, as is my portfolio, and my third attempt was in game design. I passed all my classes but nearly committed suicide in the process (no attempts, but i was damn close). I can feed myself, i can dress, I can talk to people and socialise, but when it comes to work, or really any kind of stress, i’m tissue paper thin. i break easily. the worst part of it all is that treatment hasn’t worked. therapy, medication, electroshock therapy (legal and administered by medical professionals), friends, family, relationships, nothing has worked. nothing has made me feel better. nothing has worked. which is why i’ve been contemplating suicide. because i’m useless. I’m literally useless to the world. I embody the ‘lazy millenial’ trope because my depression is so well hidden that unless i open up about it, nobody can tell.

i feel worthless. When one of the most important people in my life came to me with news that should have been the best news in my life, i responded with such inexcusable and excrutiating apathy that my only response was “I want to die”, destroying the person who gave me this news. i stabbed that person in the heart with my depression, and there is no apology great enough that i can give. that person is a saint, what would have annihilated and sent to oblivion any other relationship with me, that person has understood and continues to support me, despite my utter lack of humanity.

i’m done with life. I’ve had my fill, i’ve had enough. i’ve lived a lifetime of invisible, incurable pain, i’ve run the gamut when it’s come to options. i’ve tried and tried, but it’s been no use. i’m shattered. i’m utterly and completely broken. no one can help me. no one can save me. and the worst of it all is that i feel i deserve this somehow. i dont know what wrong i’ve done, what evil i’ve committed, what if anything i’ve done to deserve this. i just know that whats happening to me is insurmountable. i’ve tried everything, i’ve done everything i can. i’m at the end of my rope and i dont know what to do.

I’ve also been existential, which really and truly has destroyed my self image. who am i? what, if anything, matters? what have i done that matters? no one will remember me in 10 thousand years. no one will remember my existence. the world will keep turning, with or without me, and the only reason that i’m here is because people care about me. but what does that matter if i’m broken. if i’m so beyond repair that not even professionals can help me. my life has no meaning. in the grand scheme of things i’m just a meatbag, a useless, worthless, pile of shit that can’t even take care of himself properly. i don’t shower or brush my teeth every day. i don’t exercise (not that exercise has ever helped me so don’t you dare suggest that’s my problem/solution to this) i literally just exist. I solely exist. i do nothing beneficial, i’m incapable despite my apparent ‘brightness’ and ‘intelligence’, i’m nothing to this world. if i died right now, people would mourn and i’d be another number on some set of statistics, and then everyone would move on. literally nobodies life would stop if i died. i have no spouse, no children, no girlfriend, so i have nobody that would need me to exist. my immediate family is self sufficient, living fine, so nobody needs me to take care of them. i have no immediate friends, i’ve been forced to abandon any and all friends by circumstance, there’s nobody that i see on a daily basis except my mother and grandmother, who both have lived without my presence. so who am i living for? what am i living for? for the sake of living? for the sake of maybe getting better in the future? the truth is my depression has only gotten worse over the years. nothing has stopped it. nothing has prevented it. nothing has helped. so what hope do i have? i’ve tried everything. i’ve tried to be a productive member of society, to no avail. i’ve tried studying, i’ve tried working, i’ve tried therapy, medication and electroshock therapy, and nothing has worked. exercise has not worked. being around friends has not worked, having a girlfriend has not worked. nothing has worked.

so what am i living for?