#is the name of the article and it links to a video and the other article from the bank of england to futher explain

[cuecrynsleep]

Terms of Endearment

AO3 Link

Amanda has always had (a habit at this point) of calling Angela certain pet names. Whether it was the occasional honey, or more commonly babe, she just said it and never minded it. Yet as the habit grew to a layer of comfort and enjoyment, other feelings start to slip through.

Or 5 times Amanda (unintentionally) called Angela a pet name and 1 time she tried to stop

Tags: Fluff, Pet Names, Flirting, 5+1 things, cross-posted on AO3

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a representation of those in Smosh, rather a fan made perspective on the characters they portray online. Remain respectful.

Word count: 4,168

Amanda can't stop. What started as occasional occurrences during videos slowly turned into constant instances in their day to day life. It's gotten to a point where she simply just can't stop. There's just something about calling Angela all these pet names, and have it come out of her mouth naturally. As if the sound of it, towards her especially, was second nature.

It's not as if Angela minds it, if she did she would've said something. Amanda trusts in Angela and that she'd communicate with her if she was ever uncomfortable with any of her actions. It was one of their first conversations they had when they were both starting to become closer. A prompted phone call where they were going over sketch ideas, where it slowly turned into a talk about boundaries. One of which turned into their first promise. A promise to talk if one ever felt uncomfortable with the other's actions.

Then, as if the dam broke, letting the water flow through, physical contact became a part of their normal. Whether it be a hand on a shoulder, or Angela completely laying on Amanda, cuddling into her. It was nice; it was a part of their dynamic and Amanda liked how it was.

A part of their dynamic was pet names, even if it was more so on Amanda's part. It started off as "sweetie," whenever Angela did something warranting some layer of concern. It morphed into "honey," one that people would call each other on some occasions, so it wasn't as if that were out of the ordinary. Rather, it turned into something that was seemingly just for them, when more pet names were introduced and it happened way more often than it should.

Amanda wasn't even sure how she ended up calling Angela so many pet names. It was as if she was opening a book of pet names and was just using one or another at any given opportunity. It's not like Angela reacted anymore, she did at first, her eyes slowly widening, with tight lips sucked in between her teeth turning in a slight smile. Rather, she didn't react, at all, she'd acknowledge Amanda, maybe a smile and then she'd move on. It simply turned into that because they were both so used to the pet names.

1. Babe

Amanda sat on the couch in one of the empty green rooms, scrolling through a random article on 'people.com.' Her eyes continued to scan the words, only stopping as a familiar figure sat next to her. Angela's knee touched hers as she sat next to her, even if she didn't have to.

"Hey Ange," Amanda said, turning off her phone to acknowledge the shorter girl. A brow furrowed as she looked at her. She wasn't even distracted by her phone, it was open, but the Instagram photo it was on stayed. Her screen shifted into a darker tint as it remained inactive.

"You there, babe?" Amanda asked, the pet name slipping out naturally. "Babe, come on." She nudged her with her knee.

Amanda frowned, putting a hand on Angela's shoulder, leaning her head down to look into her eyes. "Ange, what's wrong?" She squeezed her shoulder, smiling as Angela seemed to react.

"What?" She asked, blinking slowly as she leaned her back further into the couch. "Hi Amanda."

"Hello to you too," she rolled her eyes lovingly with a soft chuckle. She went back to her spot, but still scooted closer to Angela, if that was even possible. "What's wrong, Ange? I tried getting your attention, and you seemed a bit lost there."

"Oh," she paused. "Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep last night." Then, as if on cue, she yawned. She blinked away the tiredness and continued. "No particular reason, I'm just tired.”

"I can make you a coffee," Amanda offered, she moved closer off the couch, her knees touching the table.

Angela smiled, a hand reaching out towards her to grab Amanda's wrist. She looked adorable, her head tilted slightly as she spoke. "Chanse already made me one earlier. Thanks though Amanda."

Amanda glanced down at Angela's wrist, letting the force drag her back to her spot as if she had to. "Then sleep."

"What?" Angela looked at her, almost baffled. "We have a shoot soon."

"In thirty minutes."

"But-"

"Nuh-uh, you're way too tired for this right now, babe." Amanda wrapped an arm around Angela, her hand on the side of her head. "Sleep. I'll wake you up when it's time." She pushed her head down, telling her to use her shoulder. She couldn't control the smile she had as Angela got comfortable, scooting closer into her warmth.

2. Baby

A few of the cast and crew gathered at a local nearby bar after a particularly successful week. Chanse was the designated driver this time around, purely because of a date he had the morning after. Amanda in particular, though she'd usually drink, stayed sober the entire night.

"I can take her home," Amanda offers to Chanse as both their gazes land on a particularly drunk co-worker.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "I mean I was the one who took her here so I wouldn't really mind taking her home."

"Nah, it's fine," Amanda shrugged. "You already have enough people to take home anyway. Even if some of them are just going to take an Uber.”

"Thanks," He smiled as his gaze faltered to Angela who practically tripped onto an equally as drunk Olivia. He moved quickly towards her, a hand wrapping around her waist as he held her up. "You need help getting her to your car?" He said, still asking the question despite knowing full well the answer. Amanda could very much handle Angela's weight if she had no problem carrying Shayne.

"I should be good." She took Angela from Chanse, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. Angela could only stumble forward, making Amanda catch her as she practically laid her entire body on her.

"You had a little too much to drink, Ange," Amanda chuckled lightly. She maneuvered herself around a few booths and tables, careful to not let her fall over.

Angela in response leaned her forehead against Amanda's chest, drool falling onto her shirt. A slur of incomprehensible words and murmurs heard.

As they finally exited the bar with Chanse holding open the door, Amanda found herself practically holding all of Angela's weight.

"Come on, baby," Amanda uttered. "Let's get you in the car." She trudged forward, adjusting her hold on her as she slipped a hand into her pocket for the keys.

Angela's feet stopped, properly standing on the ground, making Amanda stumble to make sure she didn't fall. "Okayyy, 'm drivin," Angela said with full confidence, smiling up at Amanda.

"Babe, you're drunk," Amanda laughed. "There's no world you're the one driving."

"Heyy, I'm not drunk," Angela slurred in slow words. She propped her head up, looking up at Amanda.

"Yes you are," she said, picking Angela off the ground as she ended up carrying her like a princess. She ignored the passing thought on how she felt nice in her arms.

She continued on, dropping Angela onto her feet carefully, as she opened the door. As soon as it was, she drunkenly fell onto the seat naturally, allowing Amanda to get her seated properly and buckled up.

The drive was as uneventful as it could be with a drunk friend, who was starting to get tired. Amanda's eyes shifted towards Angela, seeing her small form hunched over the side of the car. She continued driving as she did, lowering the music's volume even more to make sure she didn't bother her rest. A speed bump she had failed to notice shook the car, making Angela start to mumble. She shifted in her seat, her forehead accidentally hitting the window.

"Ange?" Amanda called out in concern. "Baby?" She kept one hand onto the wheel, keeping her eyes on the road, as she reached out towards Angela. She found her hand, squeezing it lightly, expecting some sort of response. "Baby, are you okay?"

Another murmur slipped out, almost sounding like a whine. "Am I home?" She asked in a tired voice.

"Not yet, I'm sorry about that, Angela," she apologised. "You're almost home I promise."

Angela lifted her head in an attempted nod as she closed her eyes, letting herself drift off to sleep. Amanda could only let go of her hand as she approached a turn, continuing to drive, this time a lot more wary of anything on the road.

3. Love

Amanda was having a stressful day. She was ready to arrive to work and bury it, keeping the heavy emotions that weighed on her separate from her work. That's what she always did anyway, not because she didn't trust those she worked with, she very much did, rather it was a habit she built up. Work was separate from her personal life and she was happy keeping it as that.

Yet, as she saw Angela enter the Smosh office and smile as soon as she saw Amanda's face she could already feel her resolve start to weaken. It was always like this, sometimes when she saw Angela it was incredibly easy for her to break her walls down. There was just something about Angela that made her want to open up, and maybe it was because she knew Angela could help calm her down. She knew Angela would listen to every word she said, say what Amanda needed in that very moment, and just like that they could move on with their day like normal. That’s how Amanda preferred it, especially when at work. If she needed to talk about it more she could always just talk to Angela afterwards.

“You okay?” Angela frowned, looking up at Amanda.

Amanda sucked in her lips as she let out a shaky breath. “You’re way too good at this,” she commented, her voice coming out in a hushed whisper.

“Do you want to go somewhere more private before we start our day?” Angela offered.

“No, no,” she nodded her head as she spoke. “I just need a small moment.”

“What’s up?”

“A lot of things have just been adding up,” she sighed. “The nail in the coffin is the fact that I just hate everything I come up with now. All my sketch ideas just seem like shit.” She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a tired groan.

“I'll check over any ideas you may have,” Angela immediately suggested. “You might just need another pair of eyes on it.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, though it didn't entirely meet her eyes. Suddenly, Angela pulled her closer into a hug, Amanda's arms wrapping around her naturally. It felt nice. It felt like she actually needed this.

“You know that I love you, right?”

“Of course I do,” Amanda said, her voice coming out in an unintentional whisper. “I love you too.”

“Just know that I'll always be there for you,” Angela murmured. “I know you hate talking about more serious stuff here, but you can call me up afterwards.” She pulled away from the hug, stepping back as she awkwardly chuckled. “Or, if you're up for it, you can sleep over at my place?”

Amanda's smile grew to meet her eyes, it was almost silly how one person's words could make her feel better in that moment. Angela has always just had that effect. How someone who she hasn't even known for that long could force her way into her heart this fast was beyond her. Though, she didn't exactly mind it. Things were always different with Angela.

“How about you sleep over at my place this time?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Angela grinned. She stepped away, her arm outstretched towards Amanda. “You ready for work?”

“Not yet,” she mumbled.

She grabbed onto Angela's wrist, pulling her closer towards her. "Thank you, love," Amanda whispered as she pulled Angela into another hug. The height difference caused her lips to hit the top of Angela's forehead. She ignored the light flutter that erupted in her stomach.

4. Angel

They were playing another board game for Smosh Games. The small group of five surrounded the table, with Angela, as usual sitting next to Amanda. Things were hitting off with how it usually would. It took a bit, but as the game progressed it was natural for their comedic sides to slip through.

Angela, in particular, fascinated Amanda today. She was just so electric, as if she was an energetic force that shined so bright. One that was somehow also a magnet simply for how much Amanda felt drawn to her. That's what made game videos with her so different, so natural, because it was just a part of who they were as people.

It was easy for her to just appreciate more and more sides of Angela, especially when she was working. Where, in that moment, something she is deeply passionate about and good at shines through in every second. She was truly fascinating. So maybe it was those passing thoughts that made her only bounce off Angela even more in that moment.

"Angel-, Angela," Amanda's eyes slightly widened. "You're literally so many points behind." She had made the pet name seem more like a misheard stumble of words than intentional, as she spoke. It's not like she thought Angela would mind it, if anything it would add onto the list of many other things Amanda calls Angela. Who knows maybe Angela would get a kick out of it because it was one letter off her name.

Rather, she stumbled because that was a new one. It's not like she intentionally did it either, her name just naturally followed as if that's what she always meant to say. Ignoring her stumble, she compartmentalized and moved on. She riffed off a joke Trevor made, smiling as Angela laughed and let herself sink deeper into the video.

She couldn't let conflicting emotions show whilst she was working, especially when the thing that started it wasn't something that should bother her in the first place. It was just a pet name. It was a part of their normal. That was it. Yet, that didn't stop the gnawing thought, on what Angela would think, before she sunk herself back into the real world. She really wanted to see her reaction.

Before, in the starting days of this aspect of their dynamic she always had the most obvious of reactions. She always looked so cute. It made it better that Angela was one of those people who could react so easily over the simplest of things. Everytime Amanda couldn't help but feel special whenever she saw one of those particular little reactions directed towards her.

Yet, with every passing occurrence and the feelings that'd seem to threaten to rise, Amanda could only wonder. She was starting to enjoy calling Angela all these pet names more than she should, more than she ever bargained for. She was never supposed to end up caring this much. It was fine for her to love Angela and their fast-growing friendship over the past couple months. It was fine for her to get close with all of her coworkers and be her usual touchy self. That was all fine.

It was fine with how it was in the beginning, because it was meaningless. It was something she'd do to others in her life if she were that close with them. Something made her hesitate though, because she was enjoying these pet names more than she should. A part of her, and though she'd never admit it, was scared of eventually pushing Angela away, even if she was confident in the bond they shared. Perhaps there should be more lines drawn when it comes to work relationships.

5. Beautiful

Angela was taking Amanda to the party, the former being adamant on doing so after Amanda took her home after she got drunk. She could remember Angela's bumbling apology over how she acted, clearly embarrassed over her actions, even if there wasn’t much to be embarrassed over. In general, it’s been about two weeks since then but Angela still insisted on taking her to Tommy’s birthday celebration.

She was just about to finish her makeup, but paused as she heard the doorbell. “Sorry, I’m not ready yet,” Amanda said, as she opened the door. She could feel herself visibly catch her breath as she took in Angela’s appearance. In one word, she was absolutely stunning. The dress, though simple in design, complemented her appearance. The transparent black stockings affected Amanda more than she’d ever admit. She wasn’t sure how it was possible, but Angela was both incredibly cute and hot at the same time.

“It’s fine,” Angela said, bringing Amanda out of her thoughts. “We’re still pretty early anyway.” She did a look over Amanda’s look. “You look beautiful.”

“I haven’t even finished my make up yet.”

“My point still stands.”

Amanda affectionately rolled her eyes. “Well, you literally look absolutely stunning.”

“I try,” she shrugged. “You finish getting ready, I’ll just wait over here.”

Amanda went back into the bathroom, taking her time to finish getting ready. Despite saying she’d wait by the entrance Angela ended up in the bathroom, with the two making idle conversation as Amanda applied her makeup. It was hard not to admire her whilst she was talking. There was just something different about her that drew her in to admire her so much more. A part of her couldn’t help but wish for this moment to last for even longer.

In general, the situation felt different, it felt more like Angela picking up Amanda for a date than the former driving her to a party. Maybe it was the fact the feelings Amanda buried throughout work were starting to show themselves. Maybe it was pure wishful thinking. Maybe it was the fact that Angela looked absolutely beautiful as she stood at Amanda’s front door. Her thoughts in particular towards the shorter girl were becoming a lot more intense in the past few days.

She finished up her makeup, putting the final touches on her lip gloss just as Angela finished animatedly telling her about a character idea she had. She pushed the thoughts from earlier aside, exiting the bathroom to gather her stuff as Angela followed in her steps.

She put on her heels, Angela even helping attach the ends, as she double checked her belongings. "Come on, beautiful, we have a party to go to." Amanda smiled down at Angela, exiting the door that Angela held open for her.

Okay, that pet name made Amanda internally cringe. She couldn’t help but compare it to those sleazy guys who’d cat call women on the street. She was just about to joke about that, but the words died in her throat as she saw Angela’s reaction. She had a tight-lipped smile on her face, a visible flush coating her cheeks as she shakily breathed out.

Oh. This was bad. This only made Amanda want to tease her even more. To see every reaction to multiple various pet names. To find out what was going on in her head everytime Amanda flirted with her. Those thoughts alone extended to other ideas and hopes that Amanda didn’t exactly want to fully process right now. It was okay to be playful with Angela. It was a part of their dynamic. But maybe just maybe like most things there was a limit to it. She definitely needed to start showing some restraint on all these pet names.

6. Angela

"Angela, we have an hour before the meeting, it's fine." Amanda said, as Angela took another bite of her sandwich. She was chewing faster than usual, determined to finish her food so her and Amanda could go over character ideas. Yet, the thought of that seemed to fade as Amanda said her name.

She had been calling her either Angela or Ange for the past five days. Not a single pet name had come out of her mouth once and it felt weird. It's not like Amanda always used them, at the end of the day she'd call her Angela more than she'd say some pet name, but the sudden lack of them seemed weird. Especially, during filming where she'd particularly end up calling her more pet names.

On the first day, she didn't even notice it, yet by the second in the late afternoon it was a passing thought. By the third it was more of curiosity, but by the fourth she was actively waiting for Amanda to call her a pet name. It seemed almost stupid how things progressed. There have been days where Amanda wouldn't utter a pet name, but it seemed purposeful this time around because Angela knew Amanda. She knew how she was and sometimes it just felt like she was holding herself back.

"I know I pointed it out but you don't have to eat that slow," Amanda laughed. She lightly pushed the cold bottled water against her hand.

Oh. Angela hadn't taken another bite after swallowing for over a minute. She took another bite of her sandwich giving Amanda a pointed look.

"Oh, come on, what is it?"

"What do you mean?”

"You know what I mean," Angela replied, as if defending herself. She feigned innocence, as the thought of what she was actually about to complain about fully occurred to her.

Angela hated the fact she was starting to get sick of her own name on Amanda's mouth. She hated it even more knowing that feeling would immediately disappear if Amanda just called her babe, honey, or any other pet name she has for her. It was silly. This was entirely Amanda's fault and even though she wasn't mad at the girl whatsoever, it still felt like her fault for getting her so used to the many pet names.

"I don't, sorry Ange," Amanda sighed. "What is it?"

"Try again." Angela tried, at this point she was stalling. She wasn't exactly comfortable with lying to get out of this situation, especially when Amanda looks so concerned.

The truth was hard, it was something that didn't always come easily. Especially when the truth was that Angela was acting like a sad puppy who got no treats over something as silly as no pet names for five days. If Amanda would let her live this down, Angela herself wouldn't.

"What?"

"Repeat your question," she reiterated, hoping that Amanda would somehow catch her hint. Nevermind the fact her hint was extremely minimal.

Amanda sighed. "I don't know what you mean, Angela. What is it?" The repeated question, despite sounding more gentle, also sounded more forced if not robotic. She waved her hand in the air as if further proving her point.

Angela.

Not even Ange at this point. Angela was starting to get tired, she just wanted everything to go back to normal. Normal being Amanda calling her multiple pet names willy nilly whenever she saw fit. This was such a ridiculous issue in the grand scheme of things. Especially, when they were at work and had a particularly busy schedule this past week.

Angela groaned, pushing aside her plate slightly to place her elbow on the table. She was truly at her wits end, just wanting to get this over with. Plus helping her ever so slightly in this situation was that if there was anyone she could talk to it was Amanda.

"Just call me a pet name already!" Angela relented, looking up to meet Amanda's gaze. "You've been doing it just fine for however many months, don't stop now."

Amanda paused, not speaking a word as she just sat there. She blinked, unmoving, the sounds of their chattering coworkers at another table disappearing, even if for a moment. Then, as if a switch was flipped she leaned forward, moving to the edge of the chair, her feet keeping her grounded as she seemingly loomed over Angela.

Angela could only gulp, bracing the table as if it could offer her some support. She wanted nothing more than to burst up in that moment and turn the tables on Amanda, but felt almost too stunned to do so. Her voice was practically a whisper, a share of words meant only for her and her alone. Her voice dropped in tone, making a shiver rush up Angela's spine.

"Aw, did you miss it, babygirl?"

And as Angela expected she already regretted bringing it up. Wholeheartedly, with every fiber of her being, she felt so embarrassed. More so when her heart fluttered and she felt nothing but relief after hearing her call her a pet name.

Angela only scooted closer, grasping onto Amanda's wrist, making their eyes meet after Angela's gaze faltered.

"Yes," Angela answered. "I did miss it, and it's your fault in the first place." She bit her lip out of habit alone. "So take responsibility, will you?”

[fairuzfan]

The thing with news sources and deciding what's trustworthy and what's not is that when you see criticism of Aljazeera (which to be clear is not a great news source about anything other than Palestine) is that they completely neglect to mention that each regional section of Al-Jazeera has different people in charge of it, different contributors, different sources.

By all means, analyze your sources and understand what information you're getting but to say outright that ALL of what AlJazeera reports EVER is wrong is inherently meant to discredit Palestinian journalists in a way that no other journalist who is not Palestinian and NOT directly experiencing the war in Gaza has been discredited. Surprisingly (not really but), a lot of Palestinians in Gaza are employed by AlJazeera because it's difficult for them to find employment elsewhere.

And again, I do not love AlJazeera. I think they do plenty of faulty journalism and reporting and I actively avoid them for most news sources. But RIGHT NOW with everything going on in Gaza, they're probably one of the most trustworthy ones because of their first hand accounts and willingness to publish Palestinian voices, which many, MANY news stations refuse to do. I especially encourage the Arabic version of AlJazeera!

Like Haartz has like... 4 Palestinians on their editorial team max, and they have EVEN LESS people on the ground in Gaza whereas we have dozens of reporters from Gaza on Al-Jazeera, many of which have died. The way to fact check your news is you find how many times they link factual evidence (like videos of experiences, primary accounts, primary quotes) and compare it with circumstance of publishing.

Here are some ways to fact check and questions to ask, even when looking at Al Jazeera:

Is this a first hand account? If not, does it name a person who experienced this first hand?

If they cite/name a person who experienced it first hand, are they a trustworthy person? What are their ties to the situation? Why would they report this, have they reported situations like this in the past?

What would the person reporting gain from reporting this? A Palestinian with an Instagram post about their life in Gaza has much less to gain than an Israeli soldier publishing their experience in Gaza, for example.

In the first hand account, are there actions or evidence that is corroborated? IE: There was a video of an Israeli soldier abducting a blonde Palestinian, and there was a Human Rights Org that reported child abductions from evidence gather by an on the ground reporter. There is less of a chance that this is false, therefore.

If you don't see other news sources reporting this (ie, you don't see CNN/NYT/BBC/Fox/any other western-led media outlet) then ask: Why would they not report it? Does that mean it's false? Maybe not. Many Euro-american sources spend MONTHS before they talk about an issue (think: Washington post article "questioning" the evidence of Hamas in Al-Shifaa hospital more than a month after the raid happened)

Defining "Trustworthy":

What is their history on reporting events? Are they someone who is well known in whatever community they represent?

Think: Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a world renowned doctor. When he reports something with his name attached, he is putting his entire reputation on the line. Therefore, it is more likely he is telling the truth.

Are they someone who has any real, structural power over the situation? Maha Hussaini, for example, cannot change her circumstances because a ceasefire relies on other people separate from her, a journalist. Therefore, she has less of a reason to lie about things happening to her.

For the news source: what are their ties to the situation? CNN, for example, has stated they have their content reviewed by the IDF. Wael Al-Dahdouh, before he was evacuated, was providing first hand accounts of situation, meaning its difficult for him to fake anything or misrepresent.

What else has this person/news source reported? What are their political leanings — not just left/right, but what are their general stances on a variety of issues?

How many people who are part of the community impacted are part of reporting on this (IE: How many Palestinian POVs are shared, how many Israeli POVs are shared, what are the POVs of the people shared in general?).

Can someone I personally trust vouch for this person? If not, can I ask someone I trust to look over this person/agency and tell me their opinion?

There's for sure more I'm forgetting but these are some ways I personally check my facts and information as a quick rundown. And I see this issue of not knowing how to fact check happen ALL OVER the place, on both sides. So I really, highly encourage everyone to engage with sources more honestly!

You'll make mistakes, everyone does! I do as well! But try to be vigilant about these things so we can ensure that we're spreading accurate information and try to correct information when possible! There's no 100% unbiased source so I encourage you to compare/contrast information and your understandings of the world to fully comprehend the situation!

Please use these questions when checking ANY news source, even Al-Jazeera!

[hedgehog-moss]

(TW POLICE VIOLENCE)

France has been feeling like a police state this week, there were 5000 cops deployed in Paris yesterday (watch this video and tell me this is a normal amount of cops and they're behaving normally) and they keep acting like they have total immunity*, to beat up protesters, to arrest protesters, or just random people walking in the vicinity of a protest. My 70+-year-old dad tried to go to a peaceful protest and had to abandon the idea because of all the tear gas being used by police.

*Which they do—as Le Monde pointed out, the cops who are violent risk nothing because they can't be identified because almost none of them wear their identification number even though it's supposed to be mandatory. They're not being penalised for not wearing them, so why should they?

If you can stomach it, please have a look at the photos and videos on this Twitter account documenting French police brutality against protesters—as I write this, the most recent tweet is about a journalist who was beaten up by a BRAV-M cop* using his steel baton; he had his head cracked open and his hand broken.

(* BRAV-M is a motorised repression corps—cops on bikes—a unit that was dissolved in 1986 after some of them beat a student to death, who wasn't even attending a protest but walking near one. Macron changed the unit's name, from Voltigeurs to BRAV-M, and reestablished it to suppress the Yellow Vests protests. This week, a BRAV-M cop deliberately drove over a 19-year-old's leg at a protest after chasing him on his bike. The victim said he heard a cop say to others "Smash him." Another BRAV-M punched a protester unconscious on March 20. And today Le Monde published an article about BRAV-M cops being recorded bragging about "breaking elbows and faces.")

In Paris last week the CRS arrested a 14-year-old kid because they took him for a dangerous black bloc protester I guess?? A child spent a night in police custody without knowing why. They've also arrested several 15 / 16 year-olds. Let's teach the youth what happens when you exercise your right to protest!

On March 16th in Paris, within one evening, they arrested 292 people, and 283 were released without charges, which means they're mass-arresting people for peaceful protests as a strategy of intimidation. The student I mentioned in my post the other day, who spent 48 hours in custody and was eventually charged for refusing to have his DNA samples taken and filed, asked the cops why they were arresting him + 4 other people who were walking down the same street and they said "Because you look like fucking leftists."

The government tells us "We fully support our brave police forces" when the cops are arresting people for "looking like leftists." How are we still a democracy? The guy also mentioned that during the time he spent at the police station, the police was mostly arresting Maghrebis, though they made an exception for him, a Black guy. There are videos from the past week of cops beating up women, tear gassing protesters in the face from 20cm away, kicking protesters in the face when they're already on the ground, crushing their heads under their boot, brutalising a homeless man and old ladies, tear gassing crowds with young children in them. I'm having trouble finding links to these specific incidents I remember because there are so many videos circulating.

Look at this video, they're violently striking the back of people's heads with steel batons even when the protesters are already going in the direction they're told to. The little old lady shoved around and trying to protect her head from the strikes is breaking my heart.

Surely at the point when enforcers of state authority are arresting middle schoolers, beating up citizens for exercising their rights and gassing and pepper spraying elderly people, children and babies in strollers, the government might want to make some sort of statement condemning this state of affairs, but instead they have been telling us they're proud of & grateful for their police forces, which of course angers people and makes protests more violent. The Minister of the Interior, who supervises the police, praises them wholeheartedly and excuses all instances of deliberate brutality as 'isolated incidents' due to 'tiredness'.

Here's a thread in English describing a protester's experience—"Yesterday (March 23) the level of arbitrary police violence clearly leveled up. I was tear gassed three times without being able to move in a very dense crowd; policemen took advantage that people were unable to move more than 20cm to pounce on us and bludgeon us in a totally arbitrary manner." (you can see an example of this behaviour in this video from a different protest)

Yesterday, after a day of nationwide protests that brought a fresh new wave of video evidence of cops beating up protesters and making reckless use of tear gas—at the end of a day when a special ed teacher at a protest got her thumb torn off by a tear gas grenade—this is what the French Prime Minister said:

They're not even trying to play it off like "both sides made mistakes" they're telling us they condone everything the police is doing, that this is what they're deploying them for:

(screencap from this video)

(this is from this video, in which you can hear a woman screaming "Stop it! You're strangling him! You have no right! I'm filming you!" The cops don't seem to care about being filmed. They're beating up citizens with the government's full blessing after all.)

Macron's government is trying to intimidate people into giving up their right to protest, by deploying cops in huge numbers and publicly voicing complete support for their behaviour, by allowing them to beat and arrest hundreds of people and to use tear gas indiscriminately. Tear gas has been completely normalised as a means of state violence, it's very practical that it doesn't leave traces of blood or broken bones I guess, but it's still violence, it burns, it's a chemical whose effects on people's health we don't know a lot about.

^ Paris (from this vid; caption: "one tear gas grenade after the other")

Macron condescendingly told us there's no "magic money" which is why the pension reform is needed, but he did find the money to stockpile these apparently unlimited amounts of tear gas grenades to suppress protests against his reform to make poor people work longer.

^ Nantes (screencap from a vid in which the cops throw three or four grenades at once and you can hear people say "oh come on, seriously? this is crazy. Why? go fuck yourselves" in a tired tone)

We've also found out yesterday that three Corsican MPs were pressured not to support the Assembly's no-confidence vote against the government—by being told if they didn't vote it, a teaching hospital would be built in Corsica.

The island of Corsica is the only region of France that doesn't have a teaching hospital; due to lack of medical resources Corsicans often have to travel to mainland France for healthcare. Just last month the Minister of Health said sorry, still no teaching hospital for Corsica, it's just not possible right now. Then last week some "magic money" was apparently found to build it but only if the Corsican MPs didn't support the no-confidence vote. I know this kind of thing isn't exactly unique in politics but Macron has been slashing hospital budgets to the point that 20% of French hospital beds are closed due to lack of staff, and he used the health of 340,000 French citizens as a bribe to save his ass. The three Corsican MPs ended up voting in favour of the no-confidence vote despite of that, as it was what their constituents wanted (honour to them). Macron's government survived the no-confidence vote by only 9 votes.

Whatever legitimacy Macron has as a President right now is being clung to by MP corruption and police repression. How do we move forwards knowing that, I don't know. How does he have legitimacy to govern on any issues after the way he handled this reform and the following protests? His police forces are drowning city centres in tear gas, a chemical whose effect on birds and other fauna is not known, and we're supposed to listen to him talk about the environment? They're wasting thousands of litres of water using water cannons to disperse protesters, and we're supposed to listen to him talk about low groundwater levels and how we need to save water? I was going to say, what about his legitimacy abroad but other Western governments don't seem too bothered so far by his handling of the protests—though I'm grateful that Amnesty International did condemn it, and that a Belgian deputy made a speech in Parliament this week asking his government to condemn Macron's use of violent police repression.

[Wait, I just saw that as I was writing this post, the Council of Europe condemned the "excessive use of force" in France. Saying that 'sporadic acts of violence' of some protesters can't 'justify the excessive use of force by agents of the State' or 'deprive peaceful protesters of their right to freedom of assembly'. This is the opposite framing as the one our government is standing by—sporadic acts of violence by cops that are either justified or excusable—it's refreshing.]

Between that and Charles III cancelling his visit (and lots of tourists cancelling trips to Paris which is bound to piss off the tourism industry) and our own media waking up and starting to talk about the government's brutality, I hope Macron starts being held accountable. He has been fanning the flames of this crisis at every turn, by telling us that the crowds protesting in the street have 'no legitimacy', by sending cops to break strikes even though striking is a Constitutional right (but the only part of the Constitution he cares about is the one that starts with 49.3), by condemning the protesters when asked to condemn police violence—saying "When [protesters] use violence, unregulated, absolute, we're no longer in a Republic." I agree, but he's describing himself.

When you resort to using article 49.3 to bypass the National Assembly for the 11th time this term to impose a reform that 70% of the country is against (and 93% of working people) that will force the poorer classes of the population to work longer, and your only response to people's distress at being told to work until they die is to force them to accept it by allowing your police forces to beat up protesters, to arrest them and to gas them, you have failed as a democratic leader.

The next organised protest and strike is next Tuesday (if you want to give something to the strike solidarity fund, here it is); in the meantime spontaneous protests are still erupting pretty much every day and cops are getting burnt out (good! There are fun videos from yesterday's protests of cops accidentally tear gassing one another, or a police car accidentally running into another as people laugh and clap.) And yes some protesters are getting more extreme and destructive, but Macron is the one choosing to stand by his reform at all costs and let this country burn. And when I look at what we're being expected to tolerate and to normalise, I'm kind of proud that French people's gut reaction was "burn it all."

Some popular Twitter hashtags for the protests:

#ToutCramer - Burn everything #CensurePopulaire - People's no-confidence vote #MacronDémission - Macron resign #OnLâcheRien - We won't cede an inch.

[nohiketoosmall]

A Brief Summary of the Anaconda News

This post is about "Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows"

Please note this post is not an analysis of the veracity of this paper, it is simply a summary of the findings.

This research team performed genetic testing on known species within the Anaconda genus (Eunectes). They are suggesting two things in their paper:

Two recognized species of yellow anacondas, E. beniensis and E. deschauenseei, are not significantly genetically distinct from E. notaeus. Note that E. notaeus has a slightly different pattern/morphology while the other two are more similar and differentiated mostly by location. They propose grouping these all three as one species.

The Green Anaconda, the heaviest species of snake, with a range all across the continent, may actually be two species. They found significant genetic differences between Northern and Southern Green Anacondas and are proposing they be made into separate species.

Graphical Abstract, sourced from linked paper, showing revised taxonomy. The Northern Green Anaconda's proposed scientific named is E. akayima. Akayima means "The Great Snake" in the indigenous language of the region.

The paper points out that there are conservation implications behind redefining these species. If the Northern Green Anaconda is accepted as a separate species, habitat loss may impact it more severely than the Southern, who has a wider range. For the the opposite reason, scientists may feel reluctant to group three previously defined species into one, as it could make it more difficult to protect the subcategories.

Read more: Nat Geo article on the findings, Bryan Fry Live Science article

Oh yeah, and one of the scientists who published the article posted this video of an Anaconda that's estimated to be 8 meters long and 200kg. Here's a still:

big dog

[bcacstuff]

Who's that Girl

So here it goes....

After yesterdays JJ article and pics from London, I showed you how I did a search on face recognition sites, one came up with a tiktok, others came up with some... more info perhaps.

Early this morning someone (who wants to remain anonymous) sent me a link in DM, an IG account, and showed me some matching things on there.

Like this bracelet

and of course her face

Same bag was seen as well

well bag and bracelet.... and face

and the matrix coat, well I found that one on her friends IG

right...

Of course, I hear you, who is she, what is her name, her IG.... I actually thought and doubted about this a long time, do I give away her name? Do I not? Well, I decided I give her name, wont link directly to her IG though. She's called Lauren Marie, though I doubt this is her real name. It is more like her.... uhm... 'professional' name...

But before I do, it's probably better to put a little warning/disclaimer here. So far, you'd say nothing wrong perhaps... but that is so far... below it's gonna be a little less nice for sure. Actually the picture drgotts posted in his stories today, and Sam reposted was quite accurate...

I'm sure my face had all of these expressions as well and perhaps some more. Also keep in mind, you're here on your free will reading my post because... well guess because you want to know all things... or if you don't want to, you can still close this post and go for a nice walk in the park or something relaxing..... Above all, don't shoot the messenger, I can tell you I needed some time to process this all as well.

Okay, meet Lauren Marie

Just some random pics from her IG which is more like an advertisement space for her..... 'services'.... Showing of luxury items and clothes on several luxurious places all over the world. No job description on her profile - ahem- No not a model or an actress. Her location on IG says Atlanta, while on TikTok it is Dubai!

On her TikTok, not many videos, but here's one

as I can only post one video, a screenshot from another

Not to mention the hashtags she uses....

My Anon did the same, well about the same perhaps as I did (no I didn't pay, but if you know how to use Google searches in a certain way... well...)

:sigh: oh Sam... 🤦‍♀️ indeed, I said that many times today 🤐

Yes, her IG and Tiktok already makes you think hmmm.... no job mentions and doing a 'normal' google search doesn't really get you far, but with the help of the little hints some face recognition apps give you, this is what you find...

Notice the tattoo (even blurred) and see above where I showed the bracelet.

One of the sites (yes I really went there 🙈

There are many more similar sites to find like these.... but i will spare you, i think nuf said....

I imagine you might have some questions, like;

Does he date this woman? Uhm... no if you know a little, you know these women are not dating material (cough cough)

So did he pay to shag her? Uhm... well, I don't know of course - ahem - but for what it is worth what my Anon above said is true, in the celeb world this unfortunately is 'common'. But ask yourself this, would he shag a paid escort and consequently walk hand in hand with her in central London, Soho to get papped? I have a hard time believing that to be honest. I mean, if he wants to, he knows how to stay under the radar. I think his escort had an easy job yesterday without many yoga or gymnastics.

So was it an intended papwalk? Yeah, I'm sure you all might have your own thoughts about that. It isn't a date, it isn't the woman you might want to be papped with, unless you hope nobody finds out who she is. But I'm sure he knows his fandom and with such a clear pic of her face, well. So I wonder, is this a PR stunt gone wrong? (given he turned of the tags on his IG). It does look like an intended papwalk to me, he's even groomed. Just look at the selfie that Saturday when he had lunch with Sarah.... or the boat pic earlier this year. Nothing like these pappics. Well, I simply leave you with your own thoughts on that, but I tend to lean towards an intended papwalk that wasn't the best idea (if his PR team came up with that, I'd sack them immediately)

So far... if you don't mind, I'm gonna do a deep clean of my search history right now!

[palajae]

on my mind.

PAIRING... skater!niki x skater!reader | GENRE… figure skating! au, romance, angst, fluff, unconditional love.? | WC... 0.6k | “please, let me know what’s wrong.”

you don’t care that niki spends a lot more time with his girlfriend. 

you don’t care that all of your fans are in denial and still ship the two of you together. 

you don’t care that haerin posts even more of her and niki online in response to said fans. 

what you do care about is the change. the change in your practices, your dynamic, your relationship with niki. 

you can’t just hug him whenever you want. you can’t borrow any of his clothes when you forget your own. you can’t be truly yourself around him anymore, constantly holding yourself back. 

you knew your relationship wasn’t exactly normal, but it worked. it’s what gave you guys years of success and what you thought would last. 

but you miss his playful pranks, his sweet hugs, and most of all, the look of pure affection in his eyes. it’s not that he wouldn’t, that he didn’t want to. niki would do anything you asked in a heartbeat. but you knew with his girlfriend and being in a relationship, it couldn’t be the same. 

you missed your friend. both on and off the ice.

so much to the point where you actually stalked the two of you online. for the first time, you let outside influence get to you. 

you were surprised by the amount of support for the two of you (and the most random ship names and edits).

all the photos, videos of your performances, and the old comments niki used to post on your posted photos— always borderline romantic but something you two always brushed off as platonic—it all came back. 

if you didn’t know any better, you’d think the two of you were madly in love as well.

but you did. and the two of you probably never would be. 

so you call it a day and make a promise to never look up your name with his again. 

you surely kept that promise, until the next morning pre-practice you couldn’t help but see your phone blow up. 

all the links and posts people were tagging you in didn’t help. 

even worse was seeing articles online stating that nishimura riki was reportedly leaving you to partner up with his current girlfriend, kang haerin. 

your coach greets you with a smile, clapping her hands. “let’s get to work! where’s niki?”

you shrug, right as you hear scuffling onto the ice. 

“sorry i’m late,” niki’s breathless voice makes you swallow. “lost track of the time.” 

you (clearly) already knew what he was doing and who he was with. 

still, you avoid his gaze. during warm up you barely speak to him, and of course he notes it. 

after an awkward and silent practice, your coach leaves the two of you alone. almost like she knew there was something going on with the tension between you. 

after every performance—most practices even—niki would hug you and press a kiss to your temple. it was a habit, a good luck charm and a warm goodbye until the next day. 

but this time you start to leave before he even gets the chance to. niki catches up to you, taking your hand. 

“hey, what’s going on?” you dislike how concerned he sounds.

“i don’t know, shouldn’t you know?” you coolly respond to your partner. 

“i don’t. could you please tell me dear?”

you ignore him—his term of affection was not going to work on you this time.

niki was so stubborn. and so were you. ever since the first day you guys were assigned partners and were obviously not happy, he was stubborn. it took a long time to get the both of you to warm up to each other. 

so he takes your other hand, grip tight so you’re forced to face him. 

he calls out your name. “please, let me know what’s wrong.” 

you sigh. why was seeing him everyday, always having to act like this, so tiring now? 

you let go of his hands, looking down at the ice as your blade scrapes up bits and pieces.

“niki, we need to talk.”

a/n ▸ i did not expect this much love and support on this miniseries so thank you guys 😭😭insert are you ready for this in wendy’s voice during zimzalabim intro

part 2/4 | previous. | next.

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[magz]

(Read the rest in link)

Some article excerpts:

Ally said Nex primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns, which Nex's family also used. Several other friends said Nex preferred he/him pronouns.

The Owasso Police Department said in a statement Wednesday that preliminary information from an autopsy report shows Nex’s death wasn’t the result of trauma. A toxicology exam is still pending, and an official autopsy will be released later.

The department released a series of videos Friday that offer a glimpse into the day before Nex’s death, including body camera video from a police officer’s interview with Nex, in which he described how three students “jumped” him after he threw water on them because they were bullying him and his friend.

[...]

Tyler Wrynn, who was one of Nex’s teachers at the Owasso 8th Grade Center, told NBC News ahead of the vigil that Nex wasn’t on his roster but that “he and a plethora of queer kids were always in my room” because they knew Wrynn offered "a safe space.”

“Nex was a fiery kid,” Wrynn said. “He would light up a room and jump to defend any of his friends if they were getting picked on.”

(Attendees hold candles and leave notes at the vigil for Nex Benedict on Sunday.)

Wrynn said at the vigil that his favorite memories of Nex happened every day when he went out for bus duty after school. Nex would yell across the campus “I’m gonna fight you” and challenge Wrynn over “cartoonishly absurd things,” [...]

Robin Gray, 16, said he dated Nex on and off, and he started his speech at the vigil by clarifying how Nex identified.

“I want to start off by saying that Nex was transgender, and he used he/him pronouns,” Gray said. “He was so much more than his transness.”

Gray said one of his favorite memories of Nex was the first time Nex cooked for him. He made Gray wings with a variety of spices, and the next morning he made pancakes.

Spencer, who went by only his first name at the vigil, said that he was Nex’s partner and that Nex helped him come out as gay to his parents.

“He made everything easier,” Spencer said. “He kept energy levels high. He would always keep the room in a good mood. He was always one of the brightest kids in the room, whether he would smile or not.”

(Anna Richardson, a mother of an Owasso High School student, helped organize a vigil after her son came to her asking if they could do something to acknowledge Nex Benedict’s death and honor their life in the community.)

[toshiirou]

racism in Nintendo 2: electric boogaloo

hello and welcome back it is i, once more. to talk about the elephant in the room that has reappeared in the release of the totk designs. a suspiciously green elephant i might say

this is of course about ganon

i have made a few posts before about ganon - about how it's not anti-racist to 'redeem' his role as an all-evil villain by sexualising him; about the fan response to the first totk trailer and the rehydrated ganondorf trend; and how other characters (namely link) do not get the same treatment that ganon gets for similar design features.

what i want to give today is a more straightforward explanation of 1. why it is bad that ganon is green (yes, it is in fact bad) and 2. the orientalism inherent in his totk design. i know a lot of people find him hot, and might become defensive that i'm pointing out features that they enjoy. the fact of the matter is that the sexualisation of totk ganon is done by deliberately playing upon erotic orientalist tropes and this is something that shouldn't be ignored for personal comfort.

so to start. the green skin. im going to quote an article called Greenface: Exploring green skin in contemporary Hollywood cinema by Brady Hammond, which can be summed up by the arguement in the

"article [is] that as overtly racist cinematic depictions associated with real-world skin colors – particularly black skin – have decreased, Hollywood cinema has relocated those tropes onto green skin."

and I agree. I've talked about coding before in relation to loz, and it is no stretch to consider that a character can be representative of some particular demographic(s) without replicating their features in their entirety.

Without doubt it is straightforward to say that ganon represents a brown or black man. The gerudo are heavily inspired by the SWANA region, and not to mention that most of the gerudo indeed have a brown skin tone. botw having lighter and darker skinned gerudo is still representative of the SWANA region and the variety of looks we have there.

and thus coding done with ganon's design - intentional or otherwise - cannot escape the racial implications that ganon is very clearly a brown or black man. which means negative coding that coincides with preexisting racist coding and racial stereotypes will carry those same racist undertones. none of it is undermined by that nintendo is a Japanese company or that this is a fictional world in a video game. deliberate design choices made by real people can't be absolved from racism when it's convenient

to start:

"David Batchelor states that ‘color has been the object of extreme prejudice in Western culture’. This prejudice, he argues, manifests itself by either dismissing color outright as ‘superficial’ or by denigrating it and ‘[making it] out to be the property of some “foreign” body – usually the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar, the queer or the pathological’."

and

"More importantly, given the ability of the cinema screen to render fantastic spaces and colors it is necessary to consider how characters are represented when they feature an unnatural or even impossible skin color."

the gerudo have always had an orientalist lens laid over them. ganon has always had strong animalistic associations, and has appeared non-human a number of times. this was fine before nintendo retconned him to specifically be a brown man from a group that are explicitly human in the same way that hylians are human and other round-eared people in the loz franchise are human. it is racist to seperate the gerudo exclusively from other human groups as having explicitly non-human characteristics given their prolific role as the first group of brown humans in tloz, and the most foreign and exoticized group of humans.

to give ganon green skin is thusly, a way that implicitly denies his humanity. and it becomes pointed when this primitive and animalistic coding occurs most frequently to the brown man villain. now that totk revived ganon as a humaoid it becomes more pointed that he's denied the same human skintone of the rest of the gerudo, and it's quite frankly upsetting to see this happen and to be glossed over.

more specifically. green has preexisting racist associations for black and brown characters specifically. that is because green has long been used in media to depict the racialised other by linking them with real world negative racist stereotypes. an example given in the article "in Star Trek (1966-1969) when an alien woman of the Orion race dances. Her skin is an emerald green and she is both hyper-feminine and an alien Other." not commented upon but which is more evidence to the racial stereotyping of green skin is that the orion woman is depicted in a distinctly orientalist manner: with a hypersexualized outfit and routine that is reminiscent of belly dancer fantasies. the low light, setting choices, and recurring theme of the slave women dancing provocatively plays upon the western imaginations of the Harem.

as you can see:

other examples of the green other include orcs (with their own swath of racial stereotypes), the grinch, aliens, gremlins, goblins, etc. what often occurs is that green characters are concurrently linked to ethnic stereotypes through coding that is brought together in the fantasy realm by their green skin. that coding may include racism, orientalism, xenophobia, antisemitism, anti-indigenous stereotypes or so on. it is clear that ganon representing a brown/black man brings with it negative coding in the game as the only villain, his animalistic associations, his domineering violence that stands apart from the primarily female gerudo, and as the racialised other. this coding would still exist if he was not green. but it is an affront to dignity to remove the humanity of a brown man by also making him green.

if i have not yet lost you then to wrap up: the fetishizing other. as established with his coding, ganon's humanity is put into question with his design, and he can be linked to the SWANA region. evocative of a harem is the only (violent and dangerous) man from a group of women who are hidden away, and is explicitly a danger to both them and western/hylian rule and ideology.

His imagery is paired with similar design choices made for the gerudo women to sexualize him and invoke imagery of the sexy orient, the beast that can be tamed, and so on. This is done primarily with his torso being bare while he wears gold jewelry, in a way almost reminiscent of chains or cuffs. brown and black men are fetishized through sexualising them as erotic beasts, which is clear to the image that totk ganon's design presents. even the toe rings play into this - as a practice with a long history in India as worn by married women (and men, in Tamil culture).

much akin to the face veil for women, brown and black men are often sexualised through (usually gold) jewelry. specifically (like with the veil) the juxtaposition between their lack of full covering (bare torso is most common) and the abundance of ornamental jewelry. it shows their body as this exotic, decorated prize, where their nudity is highlighted by what they do wear. [this remains true despite the real world groups in the swana region that have traditionally topless outfits for men. that sort of respectful and researched depiction of cultural outfits it not what is happening here, clearly]

[note: there are clear elements of ganon's outfit that have a noticeable influence of the samurai, and the outfit is not exclusively made from one source. however the features of the outfit that i am mentioning, the jewellery, toe ring, even the trousers, are not part of the samurai aspect. it is in conjunction with the other coding and features that ganon having a bare torso becomes anything more significant]

which all goes to say that totk ganon's design continues Nintendo's legacy of racism. He is simultaneously dehumanised and sexualised - which only serves to further his dehumanisation. I am not going to ask for or address his role as a villain, what I want is just a modicum of respect.

[sealpup9]

Internet Archive Live Hearing happens tomorrow: March 20, 2023

Here's a link to the Internet Archive's page, describing how you can participate and listen to oral arguments on Monday March 20th at 1pm ET

You may know the Internet Archive because of the Wayback Machine!!

The court case Hachette v Internet Archive is being brought to court and threatens to tear down the Internet Archive as we know it.

"The Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library, preserving and providing access to cultural artifacts of all kinds in electronic form. CDL allows people to check out digital copies of books for two weeks or less, and only permits patrons to check out as many copies as the Archive and its partner libraries physically own. That means that if the Archive and its partner libraries have only one copy of a book, then only one patron can borrow it at a time, just like any other library. Through CDL, the Internet Archive is helping to foster research and learning by helping its patrons access books and by keeping books in circulation when their publishers have lost interest in them."

This is so important because not only does the Internet Archive provide books that are long out of circulation and copies for people to borrow, they are also used as sources for things like Wikipedia articles! Imagine if suddenly, no one could access sources that someone cites for their information! Having access to information digitally today is a very important thing, and with all of the paywalls people face nowadays for news, imagine if you suddenly had to pay for access to any books. Websites like Amazon already are attempting to replace any sort of ebook rentals with paid services, when we have the right to borrow books online just as we do physically. The Internet Archive is extremely important and one of our rights- access to information- is actively being fought against.

REMEMBER: This will not JUST affect the internet archive. This could change how libraries in general work, and could threaten public access to information. Imagine how many youtube video essay sources would be null and void, imagine just trying to research an obscure topic at 3am-- If all of that was behind a paywall, only those with money would be able to access them! The harder it is for libraries to share books and archive information, the more the public suffers!

Please show your support! Read more about the case here: https://www.eff.org/cases/hachette-v-internet-archive

https://www.battleforlibraries.com/

I'm not sure how quick Tumblr will work on approving this blazed post but if the day/time has passed, please know that you can actively look into more information on this case and other info on the Internet Archive Blogs. You can also add your name to a list of supporters of Battle for Libraries Here.

Let's work together on making sure we have access to information! In this digital age, we deserve to access just as much online as we do offline!

[littlemonday]

The Emperor, The Ending, and that IGN Article

Note: This analysis was originally written and posted on the Larian forums for Baldur's Gate 3. You can find the original forum post here. This analysis includes a number of outside links to other posts I made on the Larian forums as well as the IGN article I'm referencing through out. If you choose to read the original forum post, I have a number of responses through out the thread. You'll recognize which responses are mine because I use the same name on the forums as I do here - LittleMonday.

This analysis first looks at the ending choices in the game, then transitions into a character analysis of The Emperor. Approximately 3,800 words. Lots of spoilers.

Let me first start out by saying that I love this game. It would be entirely unfair to say that this game is anything less than a triumph. The level of skill that goes into a collaborative process such as the making of a video game with a rich story, compelling characters, complex morality, beautiful animation, and an immersive environment is something that should not be hand-waved away. I’ve enjoyed hundreds of hours playing this game. Having said all of that, here’s (yet another) post of “we need to talk about the ending.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the recent-ish IGN interview with game director Swen Vincke and lead writers Adam Smith and Chrystal Ding, you can find it here. I’ll be focusing on their section of the interview concerning The Emperor and the end game choices.

LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD.

Let’s talk about the critical decision of siding with Orpheus or The Emperor.

I know a lot of people have pointed out that The Emperor joining the Netherbrain in the end if you side with Orpheus makes no sense, and I think it both does and doesn’t. He has always wanted freedom, and it’s almost certain that the moment he leaves the astral prism without Orpheus’ protection, he’ll be enthralled whether he’s willing or not. The explanation given in the article by Swen and Adam, as well as The Emperor in game, as “survival” feels like a 180 when his ultimate goal has been freedom. Why they chose not to focus on the fact that it’s game over for him as far as his autonomy under this circumstance is puzzling. Which brings me to my next point.

One of my biggest problems with the ending is how contrived the choices are. Along with The Emperor’s 180 mentioned above, Swen and Adam (Chrystal doesn’t say much) seem to have rigidly held on to this plot contrivance of choosing to become a monster, and in doing so, forces a binary ending whether it works within the narrative and gameplay or not.

Swen - “One of the basic questions of the game was whether you would become a monster if it would save the world. So that’s where you get that in that moment. And then the interesting bit was, well, if you’re not going to do it, are you going to ask someone else to do it, or [are] you just going to say, ‘F*ck everybody?’ That’s essentially what that moment was.”

Adam - “There was no way to save the city, save the world without giving up your own identity.”

The thing about a binary choice is that it only works if there truly are no other options available, however, the player has a lot more power and leverage in this situation than the game is willing to let them have. The Emperor wants his freedom and will be enthralled voluntarily or otherwise if he leaves the astral prism and cedes power to Orpheus. It’s also worth mentioning that when you help him defeat the Honour Guard, there’s an option to ask him about assimilating Orpheus, to which he answers that it may not work. So, assimilating is a big risk, and should it fail, he’s back to being a thrall.

Then there’s Orpheus. He cannot leave the astral prism without the players freeing him with the Orphic Hammer and cannot take on the Netherbrain unless he or someone else turns into an illithid. The player has leverage against The Emperor to persuade and/or intimidate him to join with Orpheus, and they also have leverage against Orpheus for the same thing. The whole speech Orpheus gives about how the player should have let his Honour Guard kill them and they would have taken on the Elder Brain before it evolved and became a Netherbrain is either a lie or delusion. You don’t even need to metagame to know this, yet the player has zero dialogue available to call Orpheus on this claim. He and his Honour Guard have been imprisoned in the astral prism for millennia with no means of escape, and no way of impacting the outside world. They weren’t going to stop anything, and yet, through the dialogue choices, the game treats this as though it were a given and that The Emperor held all the cards and kept this from you. He didn’t. He truly is the reason you’re alive to face the Netherbrain. Given the gravity of being on the cusp of The Grand Design, calling Orpheus on the impotence of him and his Honour Guard, and also potentially being under threat of having his brain consumed if he does not cooperate, there is plenty to leverage against Orpheus to get him to at least temporarily ally with the player and The Emperor. If you’ve struck a deal with Voss, you have even more leverage.

Beyond the other options that I believe should be available, I don’t think becoming a monster or “f*ck everybody” comes through in the ending at all. It seems like they expect players to side with Orpheus when there are plenty of role play reasons to side with The Emperor, and then no one has to become a monster, and you still save the city. The Githyanki aren’t even doomed under this ending just like they’re not doomed if Orpheus transforms and dies in the end so he doesn’t live as a mind flayer. If anything, the theme of freedom, autonomy, and alliances, I thought, came through more strongly, both with defeating the Netherbrain and with the companion quests. Under this theme, an option to persuade/intimidate Orpheus and The Emperor to work together actually makes more sense because they have to put aside their hatred for one another to accomplish the same goal of defeating the Netherbrain and obtaining their freedom. The intention seems to have been for the player to make a significant personal sacrifice to save the world, but I just don’t think that it was executed particularly well.

I think this is a good time to say that authorial intent should never be the end of one’s analysis of a text. If an author/director/writer/artist/creator tells you what their intention was, it doesn’t mean the text supports that. We don’t always execute something we create the way we intended to.

And that brings me to the next thing I want to discuss.

Let’s talk about The Emperor as a character.

I want to start out by saying that The Emperor is my favorite character. I enjoy a compelling and nuanced monster that subverts our expectations, and I think The Emperor provides a lot of that while also not living up to his full potential. I’ve already written a post on this forum regarding why I think we need to have a fully fleshed-out romance for The Emperor that you can read here. I’ll be focusing on his writing for this. I wrote at length about what I enjoy about the character in another thread on this forum, that you can find here, but I’ll include a quote:

“What’s unique about The Emperor is how he subverts our expectations. Yes, he’s manipulative, but he never mind controls you. He’s this supposedly asexual creature, yet he’s sexually interested in the player character and is heavily coded as a romantic male lead. He’s also supposed to be this heartless and soulless creature, but expresses care for the player character, and if you romance him, he’s sweet, vulnerable, and sincere. He’s supposed to be part of this hive mind, yet he wants his freedom and actively encourages the player character to form alliances to defeat the Netherbrain. He needs to feed off the brains of others, but avoids the innocent. He may want the player character to change into an illithid, but he leaves that choice entirely to you. He’s alien, yet very human and desires allies and companionship.”

I was under the impression from this interview that Swen largely sees The Emperor as a plot device, while the writers saw him as a character, even if he has a specific purpose in the narrative. There’s even a very awkward part of the interview in which Adam refers to The Emperor as “he,” quickly corrects himself to refer to him as “they,” only for Swen to insist that The Emperor is an “it,” even saying that “we often had this fight” when referring to his pronouns. I personally think that’s a bit revealing, though you may disagree.

For additional context, Swen, Adam, and Chrystal all agree that The Emperor is manipulative and self-serving, but that he never lies to you. Swen will later reiterate this very point when talking about Raphael:

Swen - “Raphael… a lot of what he says you can’t trust, but he is honest. And at one point, if you push him on it, he says, ‘All you are to The Emperor is a pack animal that’s carrying him to where he needs to be.’”

There’s another awkward exchange in which Adam speaks to The Emperor being terrified of going back to the Elder Brain. Swen then remarks:

Swen - “he’s not really terrified he doesn’t have that level of emotion.”

Adam - “Well, yeah, but I think that there’s a level of horror in being… Going back to what he escaped from.”

Now with all of that context laid out, I think his manipulative nature is pretty uncontroversial in the game’s text. He is self-serving - he doesn’t really hide that from you - he speaks in partial truths, and you are a means to an end. At least at first. And, this is where I think he becomes a more complex character whether Swen realizes it or not.

As a side note on how he manipulates the player: there’s this strange bit of dialogue with The Emperor in which you can call him on the fact that he’s hidden information from you throughout your entire alliance, and he responds by acknowledging that, saying that he purposefully lead you to believe that the githyanki Honour Guard were evil beings. I don’t recall this at all. He tells you that they would have killed you because to them you are already illithid, which is all true. It’s a strange bit of dialogue in the end that doesn’t follow what’s been established in the game.

That aside, I’ve heard many people hand-wave away all of his behavior as insincere and solely for the purpose of manipulating the player, however, I think that’s, at best, a shallow reading of the text. He may be manipulating the player character, but that’s hardly the only thing going on, where a character like Raphael is truly only manipulating the player character. In the interview, Swen, Chrystal, and Adam all say that he doesn’t lie, however, I think a more precise way of saying that based on what we see in the game, is that he doesn’t fabricate lies. He doesn’t make up a lie out of whole cloth, but rather omits information that he doesn’t think is relevant, or that doesn’t serve his purpose. Perhaps the most infamous example of this is his relationship with Belynne. As long as you remain on good terms with The Emperor, he frames their relationship as two allies working towards a common goal in The Knights of The Shield. However, if you become hostile, provoke, and dehumanize him, he reveals that Belynne was his unwilling thrall.

I’m hardly the first to point out that this cutscene is a bit suspicious. The timing of such a reveal and The Emperor framing it as “why hide” or “will this make you feel better” is an obvious threat to someone who seems likely to betray you the moment they can. The cutscene also has The Emperor casually revealing his identity to someone other than Belynne, much to this unnamed person’s horror. That is already out of line with how he conducts himself. After her death, we can have this interesting conversation with The Emperor in which he further discusses his relationship with her. With hindsight, it’s obvious that when he says their relationship “was not love” it was “deeper,” and that it was “unique,” he is referring to when she was his thrall. But, he also reveals in some dialogue options that she understood his needs, his desire for freedom, and that she didn’t trust a mind flayer at first, suggesting that she wasn’t initially his thrall. He even describes himself as being “haunted” by memories of her. We don’t know exactly what memories are haunting him, but we do know that the dialogue option with the thrall cutscene, he says to the pc “aren’t you glad I finessed my methods?” Even when he calls you his puppet, at no point in the game will he enthrall you or your party members.

It’s worth mentioning that it is well within DnD lore that mind flayers grow attached to their thralls and mourn their passing, but we later find documents in the game, one from a physician, that when The Emperor came to visit Belynne as her condition progressed, that it eased her “body and mind.” We also find a document suggesting that he was impersonating her through magic as one eye witness account described a floating blue figure, but that it turned out to just be Belynne smiling. I bring all this up because what I believe we’re seeing here is an incomplete portrait of their relationship. I think it suggests that they were once genuine allies before he enthralled her, and that he’s mourning more than just her passing, but also the deterioration of their relationship. I think this also helps to explain why he never enthralls the pc, even if it would mean preventing them from taking some very dangerous paths that jeopardize their mission. The Emperor is an unreliable narrator who speaks in partial truths, so I don’t believe that either version of their relationship you get from him is the whole truth, but is not entirely false either. This game very often takes a more-than-meets-the-eye approach to characters and storylines, so this is well within what we have come to expect from this game. She may have been a means to an end on some level, but she was hardly only a means to an end.

As far as that strange comment from Swen that The Emperor “does not have that level of emotion,” we actually feel his fear regarding the Elder Brain as it’s breaking free from the crown’s control. If the pc romances him, we literally feel that he cares for the pc, and in some interactions of this scene he’ll tell the pc that he enjoys their mind, and refers to their relationship as a bond of love. Before the final battle, one of the NPCs invokes Balduran’s name right before battle, and if you’ve allied with The Emperor, you feel his amusement that they have no idea who he once was. There’s even that scene with the Guardian at the beginning of Act 2 in which a successful insight check reveals that he is hiding the depth of his pain. I know there’s that note that The Emperor left for Ansur about no longer feeling his feelings, but he clearly does feel. He even describes the grief he feels over Belynne as “not entirely unwelcome.” The Emperor is an arrogant and prideful character, and he doesn’t seem to be entirely self aware as to his own humanity because he sees himself, as a mind flayer, to be superior.

For most endings, The Emperor will just depart after defeating the Netherbrain, much like the other companions who also go their separate ways. So, I don’t think this is necessarily an indication that the pc was merely a means to an end. However, (big spoilers here) there are two endings in which he does reveal his feelings for the pc. In a solo ending in which the pc doesn’t transform, he’ll tell them “you have become… important to me. And should our paths cross again, I will be glad to see you.” There’s also an ending where, if the pc transforms into an illithid, he will ask to stay together to rebuild the Knights of the Shield. There’s an option to tell him to think bigger, at which point he’ll say to them “Have I ever told you how much I enjoy you? Lead the way…”

I also want to note that right before the above mentioned exchange with The Emperor, the Narrator has a line that in being a mind flayer, all your companions become tools or food, but then contrasts that with:

“Perhaps you are unique among illithid-kind. Perhaps you will retain enough of who you are to resist your nature. A rogue mind flayer. Like The Emperor.”

This is a pretty straightforward acknowledgement that The Emperor does have the capacity for relationships beyond mere tools for his use.

All this is to say that there seems to be some genuine relationship building with The Emperor, which makes it, in some ways, more strange that he’s so quick to abandon the player and join the Netherbrain should you choose to free Orpheus. Many players have noted that trust is one way with The Emperor, and if that’s the angle Swen and the writers were going with him, then why have The Emperor demonstrate trust in the pc’s leadership? Yes, there are moments in the game in which he admonishes the pc, disagrees with them, attempts to persuade them away from a decision, hell even probes their mind if they lie to him about the meeting with Raphael, but he’s actually very reasonable when it comes to the pc’s autonomy and decision making. If you save the Grove, he’ll even compliment you on your leadership. He’s so hands off in so many ways, but when he does interject about certain quests like the Crèche, Ansur, or The House of Hope, those are extraordinarily dangerous quests that risk everything. They risk you, him, and anyone left behind to be subjected to the Grand Design, but he never stops you. He actually does demonstrate a lot of trust in the pc even if they’re not the most reliable at times.

I said earlier that I think the intended ending was to have the player join with Orpheus, then the pc, or one of the companions turns into an illithid. This requires a sacrifice and sets up this dramatic encounter with The Emperor in which he rides in on a red dragon and summons your dream guardians to fight you. This could have been a powerful moment, however, I think it largely falls flat when you have this forced binary decision with a character, who may be unlikable, but is actually pretty reasonable throughout. If you’ve romanced The Emperor, or are at least on friendly terms, this binary ignores the prior relationship development of the pc being more than a means to an end by not at least allowing for some kind of exchange and option for striking an alliance.

But, let’s just say you have romanced The Emperor, but the twist is that you are merely a means to an end. Well, that’s not clearly laid out either. There’s no moment to confront him, and the only acknowledgment of an intimate relationship comes when he castigates the pc and reminds them that they didn’t “reject” him, but “enjoyed” him. (If anything, that implies you used him). He just leaves and that's that. Along with everything I laid out earlier, it’s not so much a twist, as it’s incomplete writing. This isn’t even the only example of incomplete writing. Remember how your companions were able to witness your night with The Emperor but no one said anything the next morning? The so-called fix was to have The Emperor wipe their memories without any regard for the implications. The pc doesn’t have a dialogue option regarding such an action, and the only vague textual clue that this is something he does is that he may have done some memory manipulation with Belynne’s doctor. However, the doctor can still recall a lot of details of The Emperor’s visits, she just has trouble recalling his appearance. He either doesn’t or can’t completely erase her memory of his visits, even though she finds him suspicious and erasing her memory entirely might be safer for him to do. Other than that, it’s just the one line he speaks that was thrown into the game a couple of patches in. Even then the companions still don’t react to the “enjoyed me” line, or the “fornicated with a mind flayer” line if you side with Orpheus. We love hearing our companions react, so why not have that in there? It would certainly be more entertaining at the very least.

Whether these inconsistencies come down to creative differences between Swen and the two lead writers is speculation. No one was in the writing room with any of them, but this interview was, nonetheless, enlightening in some respects. I do hope that at some point The Emperor can be a fully realized character, and one that’s in line with the depth he is given in the game. And I would hope that would go along with additional ending choices that better reflect the narrative that comes before that crucial decision. A binary choice like the one we currently have doesn’t work for many playthroughs, even if it may work for some. I would like to see that someday reflected in our final choices.

Lastly, while I’ve laid out a fair amount of criticism in this post, my intention was not to cynically nitpick every inconsistency. I even deleted some things I originally planned on including here, because I realized that not all plot contrivances actually weaken the story. I want to repeat that I still love this game, and when I say it’s a triumph, I do sincerely mean that. I know all too often fans may request changes to the game or characters as a sort of wish fulfillment, but those changes would ultimately end up undermining the narrative or themes. I’ve tried my best to avoid that here, and I hope I have.

[technoblade-updates]

Technoblade is listed to receive the Courage Award at the Sarcoma Foundation of America’s 20th annual fundraising gala, Stand Up to Sarcoma, which will be held on September 28, 2022, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.

Here is a link to the article.

[Image ID:

A series of screenshots showing the listing for this year’s Courage Award from the Sarcoma Foundation of America. It reads:

“Courage Award honorees illustrate, through their personal efforts and actions, sarcoma advocacy. These individuals are patients, survivors, caregivers, and advocates who inspire others by using their platform on behalf of sarcoma patients and survivors to create hope and a better life for the sarcoma community. Many do not think they have done something special but who have inspired others and are making a difference for sarcoma patients and their families. The Courage Award honors patients who have demonstrated strength and perseverance in their sarcoma diagnosis.

Technoblade

*attached is, instead of a photo of the honoree like with other award listings, Techno’s YouTube icon.*

Technoblade, real name: Alexander, was an American YouTuber and internet personality known for his YouTube channel, Technoblade, a Minecraft persona in the guise of a pig that he started at 14 years old. He is widely regarded by the game’s community as one of the best Minecraft players and Minecraft content creators. In the beginning, he plugged away at making videos, attracting a small but steadily growing group of followers with a goal of accumulating 10 million subscribers, an achievement reached by very few*. In July 2021 at the age of 22, after noticing pain in his right arm and a sudden lump, he was diagnosed with sarcoma and chest scans revealed metastasis to both lungs. Alex endured chemotherapy and radiation treatments, an embolization procedure tumor, and also participated in a clinical trial for the treatment, Milademetan. Throughout his sarcoma journey, he decided to use his significant platform to help support sarcoma research, even if it most likely would not gain results in time for him. His first effort for SFA was “Minecraft But Viewers Control The Game (Charity Event).” Still weak from chemotherapy, he played for almost four hours, raising over $360,000. Throughout his treatment, he continued to do more for research, and made February 2022 his own Sarcoma Awareness Month, raising an additional $150,000. In total, Technoblade rallied his followers to raise over $1 million for sarcoma research. Unfortunately, tests revealed that his sarcoma had continued to grow and the masses in his lungs had begun pressing against his heart. He died in June of 2022, shortly after his 23rd birthday, at home, surrounded by his family. The public reaction to the announcement of his death was overwhelming. And rather than focus on what an amazing gamer he was, or how smart or how funny he was, instead people talked about his kindness and his generosity. People spoke about how much his videos helped them through a difficult time in their lives. Other well-known YouTubers such as Dream, expressed their admiration for him. Simon Collins-Laflamme, the co-founder of Hypixel, and business magnate Elon Musk expressed similar feelings. YouTube posted its condolences to his family, friends, and fans and Technoblade was described as “one of Minecraft’s most celebrated personalities.” Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft said that Technoblade “became synonymous with a source of good.” Even now, people are still quoting his oft-repeated catchphrases, including, “Technoblade never dies.”

*In June 2022, Technoblade’s channel had reached 10.8 million subscribers and in August 2022, it posthumously reached fifteen million subscribers.”

End ID]

[for-a-longlongtime]

Charlie Hunnam signed on as main producer for potential Triple Frontier 2 sequel!!!

(yes I'm fucking dying, OMGGGG)

Article link here and video of him talking about it here!! Via @nicolethered / HighRoyalRedness on the Pedro subreddit:

I mean

Obviously it isn't greenlit but he is actually already signed up as a main producer??? That just makes the whole possibility of TF2 ever even happening so much more likely than I ever expected it to be.

Happy Frankie Friday to all of us, y'all. Fuuuuck.

Oh, PLEASE let them be able to get Pedro and Oscar on board if this happens. (For some reason I now have the feeling that maybe they'll focus it more on the Miller bros) Please please please please....

(Discord is down so I'm tagging @legendary-pink-dot @sin-djarin @goodwithcheese @linzels-blog @rhoorl @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @morallyinept @avastrasposts @laurfilijames @trulybetty @frenchiereading @i-own-loki @nerdieforpedro @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @gemmahale @sp00kymulderr @undercoverpena @musings-of-a-rose @maggiemayhemnj@secretelephanttattoo @ladybess-a03 @imalrightllama @magpiepills and my brain has stopped working and doesn't remember other tumblr names, sorry :X )

[hyper-pixels]

How to Grow Up

A guide on how to grow up. It was originally posted by @/friendliness but half the links were broken. So I took what links weren't broken and added other links and more things to know.

This is USA based resources

Personal

Reasons to Stay Alive – A Tumblr post of 116 reasons to stay alive by @/friendliness.

How to Get Better At Asking for Help – Website is Harvard Business Review. The article is “5 Ways to Get Better At Asking for Help” by Wayne Baker.

What to do if you Can’t Afford Therapy – Website is Psych Central and the article is by Steven Rowe.

How to Quit Smoking – “The 22 Best Ways to Quit Smoking” by Debra L. Gordon and David L. Katz M.D. from the Healthy Digest.

How to Legally Change your Name – Website is Forbes.

Wanna Learn Something New? – A Tumblr post made by @/hamletthedane with various new things to try from language learning to ballet.

Free Harvard Courses – Harvard University’s free online courses.

Getting a New Computer? – A quick and dirty comprehensive guide by WIRED on what to look for.

How to Sew – Website is Autodesk Indestructibles. The article is “How to Sew” by Jessyratfink. Having a small sewing kit (that you can pick up from nearly any craft store) is super handy and has saved my life and clothes.

What to Look For in Clothes – A YouTube video by Alyssa Beltempo titled “How to Identify High Quality vs. Poor Quality Clothing | Slow Fashion”. Here’s a WikiHow [x] if a YouTube video isn’t your style.

Home

What’s a mortgage? – Website is realtor.com and the page is called “What is a Mortgage? Home Loan Basics Explained” by Cathie Ericson.

First Apartment Checklist – A checklist PDF. Here’s another link to a Tumblr checklist [x] 

What to Ask Landlords Before Renting? – “25 Questions To Ask a Landlord When Renting a Home” by Morgen Henderson.

What’s Renter’s Insurance? – Website is Forbes Advisor. The article is by Jason Metz and titled “How to Get Renters Insurance”.

Plant Care – A master list of how to care for plants made by @/difficults

Job

Time Management – Website is Entrepenuer and has 10 time management tips. One I personally recommend is keeping a physical calendar book on hand. I keep mine in my bag with a designated pen.

Finding the right job – Website is The Muse and it has 13 free career assessment tests.

Make a resume – Website is Resume Now. Many hirers look at your name, the middle of the page (where your experience list is) and skim the rest.

Job Interview Tips – Website is Linkedin. The article is titled “10 Job Interview Tips to Land The Career of Your Dreams” by Caren Merrick.

How to Write a Cover Letter – Website is The Writing Center. University of Winsconsin, Madison. It’s titled “Writing Cover Letters” and I can’t find the author.

Money

Couponing! – Website is Coupon Database :: Southern Savers. It has a list of mobile apps for coupons to places.

Call 211 for Help – the website leads to 211.org. It's anonymous and can help you get connected to food programs, paying bills and things like doctor appointments. Here’s a Tumblr post about it [x] by @/poessionisamyth

Groceries! – This is a Tumblr meme post, but scrolling through tags/reblogs/replies and there’s plenty of good tips. The post is by @/charlotten

What To Do if You Can’t Pay Your Bills – Website is Nolo. The article is “When You Can’t Pay Your Bills: Thiings To Know” that was updated by Amy Loftsgordon. 

Are You Paying Too Much for Your Phone Bill? – An article by Beht Beverman titled “How Much is Too Much to Pay for a Cell Phone Bill?”.

54 Ways to Save Money – Website is America Saves.

How to Do Taxes – Website is Wiki-How.

The 70/20/10 Method – Website is Business Insider. The Article is “A Beginners Guide to the 70-20–10 Budgeting Method” by Paul Kim.

Side Hustle Ideas – Website is Forbes. “30 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money In 2024” by Krista Fabregas.

Emergency

Your Rights When a Cop Pulls you Over – Website is Business Insider. Cops are allowed to lie to you, and they will, so be careful.

Hotline List – The website is DoSomething.org. Depression/Suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse and runaway/homeless/and at-risk youth hotlines.

What to Keep in Your Car – Website is MentalFloss. I live in a snowy area that gets blizzards and bad ice. I keep blankets, water and other aids in my car as well as a knife and road flare. I also own a self jumping car battery and it has saved my ass more than once. Heimlich Maneuver – A one minute video by the Mayo Clinic.

The Heimlich Maneuver on Yourself – A one minute video by The List Show TV.

What to Keep in Your Wallet – Website is PureWow. The article is by Rachel Bowie. Keep your drivers license, medical insurance card, and an emergency contact in your card. If you have a pet home alone make sure that you have a card detailing this. Free printable one here [x]

Traveling

Packing List – Website is Smarter Travel.

Traveling with Little to No Money – Website is Nomadic Matt.

How to Pack a Suitcase – Website is Real Simple. The article is by Thersa O’Rourke.

How to Apply for a Passport – Website is WikkiHow.

Making a Travel Budget – Website is Travel Made Simple. “How to Make a Travel Budget” by Ali Garland

[lenixsocial]

Watcher (and why nothing matters anymore):

So, in case you've been locked away under a proverbial bridge for a few days, Internet personalities Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej (known as Watcher) have elected to begin their own streaming service and ditch YouTube.

On the surface, that mightn't even seem like news at all.

After all, this sort of thing seems to happen all the time: The Try Guys left Buzzfeed to create their own company, Rhett and Link took the dive and diversified into paywalled entertainment a few years back with Mythical Society. Both of which however still rely on YouTube itself to generate views on the main channels, which funnel viewers into a FOMO type situation where "you can't miss" a special airing on the app (Mythical Society) or Patreon (Try Guys).

Watcher, in its infinite wisdom (stupidity, carelessness, unparalleled greed - take your pick) has decided that YouTube is pointless, and has moved ALL their content behind a paywall, claiming that the service was amping up to provide "TV quality programming", leaving only old content and the first episodes of the new shows up on their YouTube page as a subtle tease as to what you could get for $6/month.

It's now quite apparent from reading the comments section of their (now infamous) YouTube video, their official subreddit, and the tag on X that the fans were...not thrilled. The fingers began to be pointed within minutes. Name calling soon after. Then this blossomed into dissertations on why this was a horrible idea.

Then we found out that there was no app. Just a website. So you're paying for website access. Not a full blown streaming service to rival Netflix. Oh, and they don't even have their own servers, the videos are hosted by Vimeo. The deeper the comments section dug, the nastier the attacks got. Steven soon became the whipping boy. His past, his interviews, scanned and mercurially dug up for juicy tidbits (although all anyone gleaned from these was he's rich, was born rich, drives a Tesla in LA, likes fancy food, and has friends whom he values who are racist and possibly sexist and will not sever ties with them).

Then came the cries of incongruity. Shane Madej repeatedly said to "Eat the Rich", and here he was schilling for a platform that cost $6 a month. The cries began to pirate all of the new Watcher content because maybe he was under duress and was secretly telling them to do so. Fact is, I don't know if he was or what, but I'm certain he's under contract and wants his job.

Then came the videos from other internet users analyzing the video, and comparing this to the Try Guys situation with Ned a few months back. Both are disasters, each in unique ways with different players, and such like but here's the vast difference: none of this will even matter in a month.

Let me explain: We are in the total free fall stage of Watcher's Internet Streamer Service. What they do in the next 24-48 hours is crucial. If they revert back to their YouTube channel and apologize, they'll be fine. People will probably poke fun at them, but they'll be forgiven, eventually. But if they don't and they keep on, ignoring the fans, dousing the haters, and make it a month, I doubt we will see any resistance outside of a terse article or two.

Why? The collective memory span in this day and age is extremely short, many have likely already made judgment in their head and have passed said judgment. Therefore, they'll avoid the channel, and the streamer and will be blissfully unaware of any changes. Those who have joined up and paid will remain members, and those who have elected to remain subscribed will likely remain so and will watch the free content until they can afford the $6/month.

The thing is like it or hate it, if they decide to do nothing and ignore the public at large, they most likely will be fine. Maybe they will not have the hugest subscriber base, but people will forget about this. Something else major that is more salacious will spring up in the months ahead. Will there be lingering anger? Sure, but like I said before, these people have already passed judgment so they're already gone.

In an era of "nothing fucking matters" when your choices are sometimes entirely out of your direct control and are (at best) two sides of the same coin, it should be of absolutely no surprise to anyone that there is a fairly good possibility even after all that has transpired that nothing bad will happen. Lest we forget that old adage: "there is no such thing as bad PR".

Personally, I feel $6 is a tad much for a non-app based web streamer with little to no content. It was disingenuous to announce its launch internationally where even more people can't afford it, and some can't even view it. Steven wasn't upfront with who was in charge and now it really does seem like he's using the subscriptions to fund his international gallivanting. It's clear nobody wanted TV-show quality Ghost Files to take place in another country, nor did they want an old show revived with votes when you pay the first month's dues. They say it's a case of Watcher "not reading the room".

[ebaybears]

Rainbow Furby Deepdive

Now that I've decided my website is a sea slug fansite (long story) I don't have anywhere to put my rainbow furby research. I considered putting it in a youtube video, but decided to post it to tumblr instead.

Anyway, here it is! The forbidden furby lore.

On the 14th of June 2016 supersonicmario0770 made a post on the adoptafurby forums. The thread was titled "Rainbow Furby?" and included a link to an archived ebay listing.

"I have never seen one of these before or where it came from. I can't find it when I look it up, no sign of it anywhere online but this ebay listing. It's pink with rainbow ears, hair, and chest."

At first most forum members thought it was a customized furby with dyed fur, although some thought it could be an unknown prototype. While the ebay listing is unarchived, we know roughly what it said.

On the 15th aibo7m3 posted this:

"I would err on the side of caution and and say that it's probably a custom too, but the seller's story is that this furby was an employee gift given to some of the members at tiger electronics (including her husband)."

Two weeks later on July 6th furbyandchips made a forum post, providing pictures of their own rainbow furby.

"My friend bought me the other rainbow furby the seller on ebay was selling. Identical to this one. I do not believe it to be fake or custom made. I have inspected it closely and the bottom of the box was open, so the inside cardboard can be removed, but the furby is still attached to the cardboard and didn't look tampered with. All tags are present and in mint condition. Everything is as it should be and looks like it was made in a factory and not customized by someone. The seller told my friend the same story which I believe to be true going by the fact the other furby she bought with it was only furby number 4 of that release, which makes me think it could of been someone who worked for tiger to have such a early one. This furby is in a regular box but if you look at some of the other special editions they too were in regular boxes."

Three years later, on the 19th of January 2019 furbyandchips provided an update on their website heyfurby.com.

"Hello Furby Fans! To start off our new blog, I thought I would write about a very interesting Furby in our collection. I do not know her Furby name as I have never switched her on, she is still attached to the cardboard base from the factory. We decided to name her May May, which means Love ;-)

A good friend found May May on Ebay America and I have never seen another furby like her. A while ago I posted about May May on a furby forum to try and find out some information about her, but no one there had ever seen or heard of this furby. I'm not sure which generation she is, if she is a prototype, limited edition or something very special. She has all tags present and looks to be an Official Furby Release.

Looking at the photo you will see she has rainbow eyelashes and a purple face plate, unlike any other furby. She also has rainbow pattern ears, mane and belly.

Her colours are amazing and I wonder if there are any more around like her. We will always treasure May May and hope to eventually find out more information about her. Stay tuned!"

furbyandchips quickly provided an update on the 21st. In this post, furbyandchips described searching the wayback machine for furby.com articles, finding what they were looking for on a page titled 'news updates'.

From the 9th of November 1999 until the 1st of August 2000 a competition to design a furby took place on the back of Post brand cereals. Children 17 and under were asked to color in their own furby design, and send their entry in the mail by the 1st of August 2000. Twelve designs at random would then be selected and posted on furby.com where a winner could be voted by the public.

The winner was Brittany from Missouri, who won a trip to the furby design studio in Illinois, as well as recieving their own furby. However, furbyandchips was still left with some unanswered questions.

"So it turns out that this is in fact an official Furby-Tiger Release! (some doubted this on AdoptaFurby Forum). I wonder if 'Brittany from Missouri' still has her Rainbow Furby? Also were any of the other 12 entries created?

As far as I know, there are only two Rainbow Furby's in existence. The one that I own, and the other one the original seller (maybe) still has? After some more detective work, I found out the other rainbow Furby had a highest bid of $525.00 before the seller chose to end the auction early! I can only guess they had a change of heart and wanted to keep it."

Eight months later, on the 11th of august 2019 an update was posted on the private facebook group Furby Collectors.

"Hi guys! I'm brand new to this group, and while I'm not a “collector” per-se, i am very proud of this furry rainbow dude right here. He's one of three in existence, made in 2000 when i was just 10 years old. i just so happened to be the lucky winner of a coloring “design your own Furby” contest hosted by Post cereals back in the day. i was flown to Rhode Island with my family and allowed to tour the Hasbro factory, meeting the artists, getting sneak peaks into prototype toys to come, and got to meet the CEO himself! He presented to me, in a formal greeting ceremony, with three of the Furbies I'd designed as a little girl. One to play with (kept outside of the box), one to keep sealed, and one they put into their archives. i felt ike a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Truly a dream come true for a kid. Sadly, when i was 16 years old, 13 years ago now, my boxed Furby was stolen from me and sold by my late older brother who had been battling an incredibly difficult and heartbreaking addiction. I've come to terms with it over the years, but have always wondered what happened to the rainbow siblings of this furry cutie. I'd seen images posted online of an Ebay listing with one of the sibling Furbies before but have not discovered much more about their fates. thought I'd reach out here and give a bit of backdrop to this weird story in hopes i may learn something! Here I've included a goofy photo of my multicolored friend from recently and a clipping of the arcticle written from when i was an excited 10 year old girl!"

This still leaves some questions. If the other furby furbyandchips's friend bought was number four, then why would the facebook poster believe there to be only three in existance, why would furbyandchip's believe only two to exist, and why would the original ebay seller say their husband recieved two as an employee gift?

We can most likely rule out the brother making both ebay listings, since he only had access to one furby. Could there be more rainbow furbies that we don't know of?

If you have any more information on this furby, please get in touch! I tracked down the news article the original creator was mentioned in, but I needed a newspaper.com subscription to view it so I wasn't able to get further information from that. I also wasn't able to check the facebook group for further updates as I don't use facebook. If anyone has pictures of the back of the rainbow furby and can share them, that would be appreciated!

Here's some more images:

[kat-sribbles]

FOB lost media help

Hey guys, so I need some help with finding a few lost things that is FOB related. Ever since covid, I have been trying to find the FIRST fob show and its been a struggle ever since then. Me and two other mutuals had made a Master document of all fob related stuff, including lost media stuff. And we need some help finding a few videos and MP3 files.

First video were looking for:

The very first FOB show was held at Cortelyou Commons at DePaul University on October 9th, 2001. We know this because of two video on youtube that were uploaded onto a channel called ForgeAgain. I did some digging and found out that the guy who posted those videos is the owner of Forge Again records and is the bass player for Stillwell (they were one of the other bands that played that night as well)

we got into contact with the guy via instagram, he told us that the guy who played drums at the time, Ben Rose, called him and ask to put them on last minute onto the lineup, a week before the show (this is why there are no promotional flyers because of that). They were the first to play the show, sadly the guy who filmed the other bands that night didn’t film them bc they were bad (which I don’t mind, this is lost fob history were talking about here). He then tells us that in the Oral History of TTTYG by AP magazine, and to look in there, and this is what i found:

Second video:

The second video is actually their second show, and this show is important since this is the show where they got their name from. They opened for The Killing Tree at a small southern illinois college, they didn’t know what to call themselves yet until the end of the show. This was also mentioned in the oral history too:

Third video(s):

These videos i’m gonna mention are kinda lost (?) since there is footage slightly in The Story video on youtube. Fob play three shows at Fireside Bowl.

-March 5th, 2002

-April 24th, 2002

-July 3rd, 2002

We know these shows happened since theres some clips of it in The Story and its documented on an archived website for shows at Fireside Bowl. Were looking for any fireside bowl footage from any of these dates.

Fourth thing:

This last one is kinda insane and might be near impossible to find. while i was reading the AP article, patrick mentions how he gave demos to joe by giving him a link to his MP3.com page. Joe says that it was just patrick singing and just playing acoustic, thats it.

We have tried looking on a site that someone archived for all MP3.com files before the site went completely defunct. The problem is that we have no clue what username patrick used on the site. We’ve looked and used every possible name we could to find these mp3 files, but nothing.

There is also a missing mp3 page that fob had, we know this bc on the back of the Project Rocket split CD, they put a link to their mp3 page and it was called mp3.com/fall_out_boy

This all the types of fob lost media that were in the search for!

if you know ANYTHING at all or have information about any of these, Please DM me!

Thanks so much!!