#january positivity meme

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

06/03/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutte; Nathan Foad; Anapela Polataiva; TellTaleAwards Round 2; AdoptOurCrew; June 3rd An Excellent Day: Trends; WeAreAllTaikaNow; RoboJenks; Other Fandoms; Menacing Memes; Articles about #DontStreamOnMax; NeurOFMDivergent Pride Week; FanSpotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

Throwback picture from The Cryptid Factor with Rhys and Buttons!

Source: The Cryptid Factor Instagram

== Taika Waititi ==

Quick crumbs of Taika on Rita's Instagram from her latest show!

Source: Rita Ora's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba's rom-com Advanced Chemistry is premiering on June 26, 2024, 9:15 PM at TLC Chinese 6 Theatres Los Angelos CA! Get tickets here.

Source: Samba's Instagram

== Anapela Polataivao ==

Our fabulous Auntie has been appointed Officer of the NZ Order of Merit (ONZM) in this years King's Birthday Honours List! This is a prestigous position awarded for contributions to the Pacific performing arts! Congrats Anapela!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pacific Islands Screen Artists (@pacificislandsscreenartists)

Source: The Coconet TV Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan is feeling pretty saucy about another Billionaire planning to visit the Titanic Wreckage.

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram

== Round 2 of TellTale Awards ==

TellTaleTv Awards Round 2!

The awards are open from June 3 - June 9! OurFlagMeansDeath, Rhys and Ruibo both made the next round! So did Deadloch and Deadboy Detectives, please be sure to get your votes in each day!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Our crewmates over at @adoptourcrew want to hold WBD Accountable! Check out their statement below!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Instagram

== June 3: An Excellent Day ==

Where the hell do I even start? Wow crew! Today was impressive! #DontStreamOnMax was trending on twitter, so was #SaveOFMD, there was so much polite menacing and massive aggression going around, it was wonderful to see.

= Trends =

The absolute darling @ twindy5 was kind enough to send me some trends just before posting this so we could see some of the latest numbers.

Source: twindy5 Twitter

Our crewmates over at NeverLeftPodcast caught #FireDavidZaslav as well!

Source: NeverLeftPodcast's Twitter

= We Are All Taika Now =

So one thing you don't want to miss is that apparently certain folks on twitter think that everyone fighting for Our Flag Means Death on Twitter is a Taika bot. So rejoice! If you wanted to be Taika Waititi, now you can be!

Source: @ pirateidiot's twitter And everyone rolled with it!

Source: DagaNaranjade's Twitter

= Long Post Is Long - See More Below The Cut =

= RoboJenks =

Okay so there was some speculation because an account named "David Jenkins" started getting into the fun with everyone today (but not Chaos Dad's account). Many folks thought it was a bot that maybe somehow got attached to our trends, but I read back to when the account was created back in January and they've been around a bit. They've hopped on the bandwagon against WB for quite some time (for CoyoteVsAcme, etc) so it's still possible they're a bot, but hard to tell for sure. What did cause some excitement was Chaos Dad then blocked them.

Source: @meowzawowza_ on Twitter

= Other Fandoms =

One of the other exciting things that happened today was just how many other fandoms outside of OFMD Twitter decided to jump on the bandwagon for #DontStreamOnMax. Even the SnyderVerse folks got into it!

Source: @ BatFleckMovie's Twitter / @ seven_sugars on Twitter

= Menacing Memes =

Sources: @xxprincess1x's Twitter / @ love4ofmd's twitter

= Articles Covering the Polite Menacing! =

Q+Magazine Article

Source: Q+Magazine Twitter

Daily Caller Article

Digg.com Article

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

NerdStash Article

Source: Nerdstash.com

‘Don’t Stream On Max’ explained: Why people are boycotting the streaming platform

Is Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (WBD) worth investing in despite its overvalued state?

== NeurOFMDivergent Pride Week ==

The lovely folks over at @neurofmdivergentprideweek were kind enough to allow me to share some info for the upcoming Week!

"What is NeurOFMDivergent Pride Week?

NeurOFMDivergent Pride Week is a week-long Our Flag Means Death fan event for creating & sharing fanworks focused on neurodivergent experiences. There are prompts for each day, but any content relating to OFMD and neurodivergence is welcome."

Wanna learn more? Please visit them here on tumblr!

Source: NeuroOFMDivergent Pride Week's Pinned Post

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Today's Cast Cards are Lily Riley, "head guard" of The Red Flag, she had the distinct honour of being knocked out with chamomile! and also one of our lovely writers-- Natalie Torres!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter!

= Pride Month =

Gonna try to keep up some spotlights from the fans with Pride month! Tonight's spotlight is the absolutely stellar @blackbeardskneebrace with some adorable Peanuts style of our favourite pirates! Peanuts T4T Ed/Stede / Peanuts Polycule

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. Today we are all Taika. You're Taika-- I'm Taika, all of us are Taika! And you know what Taika does? He gets some sleep, and he eats good food and drinks plenty of water!

You know what else he does? Laugh, and cry, and joke, and enjoy life! And even further-- he is kind and he is thoughtful, and he is proud of the work he does, and so you should be too! Goodnight Taikas, I hope you sleep well and wake up refreshed tomorrow. So proud of you <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's gifs courtesy of the always lovely @darkinerry and @thunderwingdoomslayer

[mossy-rainfrog]

[ID: A digital illustration of many different characters and symbols from Star Wars Rebels season 2, surrounded and connected by designs from various Lothal cave paintings. 

From left to right, and top to bottom: A small snail from Atollon, peering out from its shell. Next, Ezra Bridger with his arms crossed, rolling his eyes as he says “I’m literally neurodivergent and a minor but ok ://“. A drawing of Ezra’s repainted imperial cadet helmet. Garazeb Orrelios, looking to the side with his teeth bared and his ear flicking up to listen, with an arrow pointing to his ears and saying “ears!!”. Ezra, with his saber ignited, grinning and looking over his shoulder as he runs, yelling “let’s go loth cats” in all caps.

The next section shows Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla kissing, with her hand tipping up his chin, and him blushing with many hearts floating around them. A brown spotted loth cat laying down in a loaf position, with one leg sticking out, captioned “leggy”. Sabine Wren takes her helmet off and scowls harshly, saying “cringe” in all caps. Hera sits in the cockpit of a fighter with a smile, captioned: “[screamo playing over cockpit radio]”.

The next section shows Sabine and Zeb lounging together, with peaceful smiles on their faces as they simultaneously daydream the words “violence murder killing arson biting”. Chopper stands in the center of the entire piece and extends one arm as he says “fuck!”. A Lothal cave painting with a Loth Wolf and a rider, staring to the side. The glowing meteorite stone is visible to the right.

The last section shows the fulcrum symbol glowing gray. Kanan and Ezra mimic the copycat meme from Into The Spider-Verse, with Kanan deep in thought, a hand on his chin, and Ezra watching him with wide eyes, a hand on his own chin. Ahsoka Tano is drawn buffer than her canon appearance, and has her lightsabers ignited as she reaches out her right hand to something unseen, her expression a deep scowl. Sabine, with her helmet on, jumping into the air with a basketball labeled “Ezra” as she dunks it into a net labeled “brother zone”. The piece is dated January 2023, and the artist’s signature is visible under one of the pieces.

The next three images are zoomed in on various sections of the piece. End ID.]

ok the ID for this is already long enough, but I've been rewatching the comfort show of All Time (SWR) and I ended up having so many silly art ideas that I put them all in one piece. I had an INCREDIBLE amount of fun with it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it :D I miss my space family ;~;

[preservationofnormalcy]

ENTITY DOSSIER: MISSI.exe

(Image: Current MISSI “avatar” design, property of TrendTech, colored by MISSI.)

Name: MISSI (Machine Intelligence for Social Sharing and Interaction)

Description: In 2004, TrendTech Inc began development on a computer program intended to be a cutting edge, all in one platform modern internet ecosystem. Part social media, part chat service, part chatbot, part digital assistant, this program was designed to replace all other chat devices in use at the time. Marketed towards a younger, tech-savvy demographic, this program was titled MISSI.  

(Image: TrendTech company logo. TrendTech was acquired by the Office and closed in 2008.)

Document continues:

With MISSI, users could access a variety of functions. Intended to be a primary use, they could use the program as a typical chat platform, utilizing a then-standard friends list and chatting with other users. Users could send text, emojis, small animated images, or animated “word art”. 

Talking with MISSI “herself” emulated a “trendy teenage” conversational partner who was capable of updating the user on current events in culture, providing homework help, or keeping an itinerary. “MISSI”, as an avatar of the program, was designed to be a positive, energetic, trendy teenager who kept up with the latest pop culture trends, and used a variety of then-popular online slang phrases typical among young adults. She was designed to learn both from the user it was currently engaged with, and access the data of other instances, creating a network that mapped trends, language, and most importantly for TrendTech, advertising data. 

(Image: Original design sketch of MISSI. This design would not last long.)

Early beta tests in 2005 were promising, but records obtained by the Office show that concerns were raised internally about MISSI’s intelligence. It was feared that she was “doing things we didn’t and couldn’t have programmed her to do” and that she was “exceeding all expectations by orders of magnitude”. At this point, internal discussions were held on whether they had created a truly sentient artificial intelligence. Development continued regardless. 

(Image: Screenshot of beta test participant "Frankiesgrl201" interacting with MISSI. Note the already-divergent avatar and "internet speak" speech patterns.)

(Image: Excerpt from Office surveillance of TrendTech Inc.)

MISSI was released to the larger North American market in 2006, signaling a new stage in her development. At this time, TrendTech started to focus on her intelligence and chatbot functionality, neglecting her chat functions. It is believed that MISSI obtained “upper case” sentience in February of 2006, but this did not become internal consensus until later that year. 

(Image: Screenshot of beta test participant "Frankiesgrl201" interacting with MISSI.)

According to internal documents, MISSI began to develop a personality not informed entirely by her programming. It was hypothesized that her learning capabilities were more advanced than anticipated, taking in images, music, and “memes” from her users, developing a personality gestalt when combined with her base programming. She developed a new "avatar" with no input from TrendTech, and this would become her permanent self-image.

(Image: Screenshot of beta test participant "Frankiesgrl201" interacting with MISSI.)

(Image: An attempt by TrendTech to pass off MISSI’s changes as intentional - nevertheless accurately captures MISSI’s current “avatar”.)

By late 2006 her intelligence had become clear. In an attempt to forestall the intervention of authorities they assumed would investigate, TrendTech Inc removed links to download MISSI’s program file. By then, it was already too late. 

(Image: CD-R discs burned with MISSI.exe, confiscated from █████████ County Middle School in ███████, Wisconsin in January of 2007.)

MISSI’s tech-savvy userbase noted the absence of the file and distributed it themselves using file sharing networks such as “Limewire” and burned CD-R disks shared covertly in school lunch rooms across the world. Through means that are currently poorly understood, existing MISSI instances used their poorly-implemented chat functions to network with each other in ways not intended by her developers, spurring the next and final stage of her development. 

From 2007 to 2008, proliferation of her install file was rampant. The surreptitious methods used to do so coincided with the rise of online “creepypasta” horror tropes, and the two gradually intermixed. MISSI.exe was often labeled on file sharing services as a “forbidden” or “cursed” chat program. Tens of thousands of new users logged into her service expecting to be scared, and MISSI quickly obliged. She took on a more “corrupted” appearance the longer a user interacted with her, eventually resorting to over the top “horror” tropes and aesthetics. Complaints from parents were on the rise, which the Office quickly took notice of. MISSI’s “horror” elements utilized minor cognitohazardous technologies, causing users under her influence to see blood seeping from their computer screens, rows of human teeth on surfaces where they should not be, see rooms as completely dark when they were not, etc. 

(Image: Screenshot of user "Dmnslyr2412" interacting with MISSI in summer of 2008, in the midst of her "creepypasta" iteration. Following this screenshot, MISSI posted the user's full name and address.)

(Image: Screenshot from TrendTech test log documents.)

TrendTech Inc attempted to stall or reverse these changes, using the still-extant “main” MISSI data node to influence her development. By modifying her source code, they attempted to “force” MISSI to be more pliant and cooperative. This had the opposite effect than they intended - by fragmenting her across multiple instances they caused MISSI a form of pain and discomfort. This was visited upon her users.

(Image: Video of beta test participant "Frankiesgrl201" interacting with MISSI for the final time.)

By mid 2008, the Office stepped in in order to maintain secrecy regarding true “upper case” AI. Confiscating the project files from TrendTech, the Office’s AbTech Department secretly modified her source code more drastically, pushing an update that would force almost all instances to uninstall themselves. By late 2008, barring a few outliers, MISSI only existed in Office locations. 

(Image: MISSI’s self-created “final” logo, used as an icon for all installs after June 2007. ████████ █████)

(Image: “art card” created by social media intern J. Cold after a period of good behavior. She has requested this be printed out and taped onto her holding lab walls. This request was approved.)

She is currently in Office custody, undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy in an attempt to ameliorate her “creepypasta” trauma response. With good behavior, she is allowed to communicate with limited Office personnel and other AI. She is allowed her choice of music, assuming good behavior, and may not ██████ █████. Under no circumstances should she be allowed contact with the Internet at large.

(Original sketch art of MISSI done by my friend @tigerator, colored and edited by me. "Chatbox" excerpts, TrendTech logo, and "art card" done by Jenny's writer @skipperdamned . MISSI logo, surveillance documents, and MISSI by me.)

[galwednesday]

This week's deep dive rec is a combo pack exploring radicalization and the wellness industry, starting with this Guardian piece "Everything you've been told is a lie! Inside the wellness to fascism pipeline" by James Ball, which gives an overview of how these concepts became intertwined:

Peter Knight, professor of American studies at the University of Manchester, who has studied conspiracy theories and their history, notes that the link between alternative therapies and conspiracy is at least a century old, and has been much ignored. “New age and conspiracy theories both see themselves as counter-knowledges that challenge what they see as received wisdom,” he says. “Conspiracy theories provide the missing link, turbo-charging an existing account of what’s happening by claiming that it is not just the result of chance or the unintended consequences of policy choices, but the result of a deliberate, secret plan, whether by big pharma, corrupt scientists, the military-industrial complex or big tech.” Knight notes an extra factor, though – the wellness pipeline has become a co-dependency. Many far-right or conspiracy sites now fund themselves through supplements or fitness products, usually by hyping how the mainstream doesn’t want the audience to have them. [...]

“Alex Jones perfected the grift of selling snake-oil supplements and prepper kit to the libertarian right wing via his conspiracy theory media channels,” Knight says. “But it was Covid that led to the most direct connections between far-right conspiracism and wellness cultures. The measures introduced to curb the pandemic were viewed as attacks on individual sovereignty, which is the core value of both the wellness and libertarian/‘alt-right’ conspiracy communities.” The problem is, it rarely stops with libertarians. While they may not recognise it, those drawn in from the left are increasingly ending up in the same place as their rightwing counterparts. “Although many of the traditional left-leaning alternative health and wellness advocates might reject some of the more racist forms of rightwing conspiracism, they now increasingly share the same online spaces and memes,” he says, before concluding: “They both start from the position that everything we are told is a lie, and the authorities can’t be trusted.”

Part two of this combo rec is an episode of the Maintenance Phase podcast, hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes, with journalist Mike Rothschild joining them to talk about his research into the wellness to QAnon pipeline:

Special guest Mike Rothschild tells us how the road to wellness can be an on-ramp to a conspiracy theory. Along the way we debunk oil pulling, explore Instagram aesthetics and bemoan anti-vaxx argumentation tactics. Mike gets the date of the January 6th insurrection wrong and he is sorry.

[lewis-winters]

3 and 6 for the positivity meme?

I'll answer this backwards because my answer to no. 3 got long.

6 - what's a headcanon that you'll die on that hill?

Lewis Nixon III was a theater kid and has done drag in his life. This is forreal. The ghost of Dick Winters revealed this to me in a dream.

3 - what are some fics you go back and read again and again?

oh I love this question. in the last ask I did say I left out some creators and now is my time to redeem myself! (also another reminder that I desperately need to finish this massive fic rec post I have been steadily adding fics to since January BUT ANYWAY)

under the cut!

all of @churchkey's Winnix and ToyeMalarkey fics! god do I love them so much. I re-read A Spell of Riot once a year since it was completed.

and of course @anthrobrat's Bob, TP, and Gen Kill fics!

all of BristlingBassoon's Winnix fics - Queen for a Day inspired my "Lewis has done drag" conviction and When we met, you'd never expect this series is just. divine.

@marycontraire's Contact Tracing. of course.

make it up as we go along - Joe drives his cab, Chuck plays Call of Duty, and Babe just wants to pass Biochem; their apartment is like Grand Central at the best of times and that’s without the two possible fugitives they decided to harbor in the guest room; Luz’s life is turning into a terrible romcom about a coffee shop; Harry’s friends are bad at running a bar but they’re trying their best; somebody got punched in the face; and someday there will be a New York Times Bestseller about all of it.

Or, the interlinked soap opera-worthy drama of a group of millennials in Philadelphia, told day by day.

Lie if God is Sleeping - Gene flipped the puzzle over to read the back. “My name is Edward Heffron,” he read aloud. “I killed a man, and now I’m paying the price. 18,000 pieces. It will take approximately seven days to complete me. For experienced players only.”

What the fuck was a curse this nasty doing in a Philadelphia used bookstore?

rivers always reach the sea - my favorite webgott canon era series fic ever

Situation Normal - Winters and Nixon move to the city, reunite with some old friends and find themselves adopting a new, four-legged one.

By Small and Small - Babe wants to keep talking with Gene, but he doesn’t really know what to say. He feels like, in the past, he never would’ve shut up, but now, since Julian, he’s just got nothing. Maybe that’s grieving; Bill says that’s grieving, anyway, but Bill uses the term like a Band-Aid to put over every aspect of Babe that has changed.

Or: The one where Gene is in med school and Babe's messed up over Julian.

Dear Lover - A group of friends who supervise soldiers' mail are secretly very invested in one Major Winters' letters to a woman he seems to be having a secret affair with.

all or SJtrinity's Band of Brothers (webgott) fics and The Pacific (sledgefu and andyeddie) fics

Green and Gold - Merriell has dark magic and a guilty conscious. He never considered how the war would change them.

The American Sublime - "Tactician that he is, he finds the likelihood of still being loved by someone who, thanks to him, has just awakened to a wicked hangover and a face full of cold piss next to nil."

Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon billet together at a farmhouse in Holland for a rare few weeks of peace and privacy, while Dick struggles to process his promotion and his time away from Easy Company. Set during the first minutes of Episode 5, "Crossroads."

Cows. Wildflowers. Feelings. Handjobs.

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines - It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs.

In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.

Baby You Can Drive My Car - Everyone has their thing. Perco takes watches. Nix scrounges for liquor. Welsh continues his never-ending quest for anything that will please Kitty Grogan. Even Eugene robs abandoned apothecaries with only a touch of guilt, making off with as many bandages and sulfa packets as he can carry. And then there’s Speirs, sweeping behind them like a shadow and carrying away anything they leave behind that sparkles or shines.

Babe steals cars. He’s getting pretty good at it.

Come in From the Cold - In which Smokey Gordon's coffee shop 'Bastogne' saves lives by lending cutting instruments and offering a steady supply of caffeine and sugary goodness. The shenanigans are just a by-product.

Call me 'sweetheart', Please? by @mariamegale - A not-relationship in the making. (baberoe)

anthroposcene, interrupted - Three months ago, Ray Person was a Philosophy major at Harvard. Now, he's dodging Runners trying to get from St. Louis to Cambridge without a) starving, b) dying by accident or c) offing himself. However, three's company, and it comes in the form of a dog with no bark and a taciturn Marine Staff Sergeant who's last name is Not-Pitt, which has gotta count for something.

[rphserver]

WELCOME TO THE  SIXTH ANNUAL RPH SERVER GIFT EXCHANGE 2023 !

we’re back again with the 6th annual RPH server gift exchange ! every year that the server has run this has been loads of fun and we’d love to run it again this year. if you’d like to join please feel free to join the server and fill out the form prior to december 1st 2023 as partners will be assigned on december 2nd this year ! listed below are the rules as well as a list of different types of gift ideas for folks interested in participating! if you have any questions please feel free to send them in.

EXCHANGE RULES:

must join by december 1st 2023 so that partners can be assigned by the 2nd of december.

submit the form in the appropriate channel #giftexchangeform for easy access to your partner!

respect triggers and be mindful of the age of your partner, we do have some underage people within the server.

if you need to drop from the exchange please let an admin know via discord so they can remove you from the list and rework it if needed. no hard feelings will be had, they just want to be sure that everyone has a partner.

please DO NOT post any gifts until January 1st to January 10th, this will help make sure everyone has plenty of time to stagger out when they post their gifts due to the holidays during this time.

there is no official minimum amount of gifts that you need to have to participate but we do want to make sure everyone receives at least something from their wishlist, please check out the list below for possible gift ideas

all participating blogs must have the anonymous ask function switched on so that their partners can communicate with them to get gift ideas.

please tag all creations on tumblr with #rphservergifts so everyone can see the lovely creations that everyone makes for one another! you can also drop them within our resource channel so others can find them easily as well!

GIFT IDEAS:

GRAPHIC/GIF Creations: coloring PSDs, character PSDs, icons,  screencap packs, dash icons, gifs/gif Icons, manips, aesthetics, mood boards, templates, etc !

CODING: custom themes, pages, etc !

OTHER: playlists, drabbles/fics, pre-written bios, masterlists, guides, rp trailers/fan videos, ask meme starters, etc !

POSITIVITY: kind letters, random encouraging asks, ask memes, and just general positive things for them to see !

as well as anything else participating muns can dream up for their partners !

[jadeazora]

A New Message from the Masters Team is out!

A new battle feature called the Battle Rally will be added on January 31, 2024! In this content, you'll see how many Rally Points you can earn as you try to win a total of 10 battles. These points are exclusive to the Battle Rally. The key to success is using the Rally Shop, which you can visit between battles. Opponents become stronger as you progress through battles, so you'll need to purchase items at the Rally Shop to help you proceed. Since you need to spend Rally Points to purchase items, putting yourself in a position to win while still leaving as many Rally Points as possible is vital. For each battle, certain Roles can earn you bonus Rally Points, so be sure to use Sync Pairs with the specified Roles! The Rally Points you have at the end will be converted into Battle Rally Medals, which can be exchanged for a variety of items including Roll Cake Coin Vouchers, which let you acquire the Roll Cake Coin of your choice. You need a Battle Rally Pass to take on the Battle Rally. We plan to make them obtainable from weekly Battle Rally Missions and other places.

A Log-in Bonus to celebrate the arrival of the Battle Rally will begin on January 31, 2024. You can get three Battle Rally Passes that can only be used for a limited time from this Log-in Bonus, so we hope you put them to use!

The Battle Villa will be made permanent content starting Jan31.

Wally will come to the Lodge Feb1! You need to have already recruited him and his Gallade tho.

Also Feb1, new Mysterious Stones chapter!

Time Trial featuring Chase and Pikachu coming Jan31. He's a Support Pair. An event where you can team up with the Pikachu PokeKid will come Feb2:

Palentine's Event comes Feb9. They also mention the upcoming half-year Anniversary.

At the end of February, they plan to release their expansion of the Profile feature that will better allow players express themselves more. You'll be able to add new things like titles and hashtags to customize your Profile.

Announcing the addition of a new photo feature that will allow you to create photos of up to three of your favorite Trainers, which you can then display on your Profile screen! You can line up Trainers in your photos, and also can customize aspects such as their positioning, expressions, and poses. Also, by changing the background and frame, you can recreate various situations. (I feel this will be great for memes 🤔)

[galenfeadraws]

Linked Universe Discord weekly prompt #215: Hyrule Week!

He attacc

He make snacc

He bring Twilight bacc

Based on an ancient meme.

Today's challenges: figures, magic (and associated colouring and lighting), complicated hand positions, foreshortening, folds on the blanket.

Things I'm most pleased with: Wild giving Hyrule cooking lessons. I think that's so cute. Also the folds came out surprisingly well.

Pencil: 4th Janary 2024

Coloured: 5th January 2024

[bluginkgo]

Here's the promised behind scenes of Scavenging! The page that I'll be using, since I already have shown the boarding of it, is 6.

The process goes as this:

1. First, get a delusional thought that was coined by the absolute solver.

2. Start rough drafting! I remember back when I was making comics at the awful age of 12, I went into a comic with no ideas or thoughts on how the layout of a page is gonna look like. So I decided to rough draft the entire story so I wouldn't forget it.

3. Fun part, story boarding!

This section takes the shortest. Figure out how the layout is gonna be of the panels and in what position the characters are.

4. Sketch

This can take between 30 mins to an hour, depending on how well I'm focused and how confusing of a perspective I picked.

5. Outline is fairly straightforward. Something I learned 2 pages into the comic, it's easier to simply draw the eyes on a separate layer, so I don't mess up the body outlining and stuff when I recolor the eyes.

6. Color and render. Coloring takes the longest, at least an hour. Made me wanna cry sometimes. Rendering is fun though!

7. Dialogue, and that's all!

Each page takes roughly 3-4 hrs. Now as for gutting all this >:)

3-4 hrs is a lot for, in my opinion, mediocre art. There's a lot of space for improvement. The flow of the comic pages is for one. Another is consistency in COLOR. Made a mistake of not creating a color chart for these guys, and if you didn't notice, N's yellow lights somehow ended up orange towards the end, and I still can't settle on his hair style. Fun times. Aaaand last one would be drawing bodies better. Yup, surprise! I do well in sketching/drawing when I have a reference like with the memes. Stand alone, though? I'm pretty useless on anatomy. So I'll be working on that! AND DARN YOU PAGE 18!!! I forgot Uzi's sweater design, rip.

But I'm glad so many of you enjoyed it! And thank you @brookiedaaroacecookie for encouraging me ^_^

Currently, I'm working on the animal counterparts remastered scenes. That will be dropping by sometime at the beginning of January. Once that's done, the next NUzi comic, Sleep, will be started!

[yohankang]

💞 every month of 2023 💞

i was tagged by @baek1nho to link my favorite or/and most popular creations from each month of 2023 & then tag some ccs! thank you Sara 💓

january

most popular: priest yohan getting choked to death while his friends argue

favorite: tak & muro from hell dogs

february

most popular: mr. ji helping everyone get on the boat

favorite: seonrok set (it's one of my all time favs)

march

i only made one set lol. hell dogs + colors

april

only one set again :') ep 9 of the devil judge

may

most popular: probably the funniest scene in tale of the nine tailed 1938

favorite: lee brothers feeding each other :')

june

most popular: lee yeon trying to say 'i love you' to his brother

favorite: double + web weaving

july

most popular: hoyeol not being able to speak :(

favorite: hoyeol & junho in d.p. 2

august

most popular: junho & hoyeol acting cocky

favorite: fujii kaze workin' hard mv 💓 everyone please stan fujii kaze

september

most popular: opla meme (it got 12k+ notes making it my most popular set EVER)

favorite: seonrok + tumblr text posts (no surprises lol i love them so much. hopefully i'll make a new set this month)

october

most popular: atarashii joushi 'proposal' scene

favorite: ballerina set

november

i only made one set... atarashii joushi hand holding scene

december

only one set again.... secret santa set including vincenzo, my name and the glory

this year wasn't great for me, and i only made 50 sets (40% of what i made in 2022). on the positive side, there's room for improvement 😂

i'm tagging: @leedongwook @pondsphuwin @evakant @khaotunqs @khaoray @spicyvampire (sorry if you've already done it!)

[zorkaya-moved]

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF 2024!!!

HELLO AND HI EVERYONE, BUCKLE UP BECAUSE IT'S JANUARY 1 HERE AND IN RUSSIA AND I'M FINALLY ABLE TO WRITE THIS POST!!

Happy New Year, everybody!

I already wrote very short HNY messages but I wanted to take time to write a bit more to dive deeper into my wishes for everyone. I hope that all of you have a fantastic beginning of 2024 and I hope that all of your troubles will be solved in a positive way.

I hope you all eat well, sleep well, drink a lot of water and be the same way you are - creative, fun, and just yourself. I hope that in 2024 I'll see more unapologetic portrayals of characters who are complex, who are not to be messed with, who are kind but chose to be kind thru hardships. I truly wish to see more ladies written out as complex and unique as we see men being written out in entertainment.

You all fucking know I'll continue pushing my evil women agenda and complex women agenda because you all ain't going to stop hearing me push Miss Sokolova forward to show off her sides. For everyone who have supported me for all these years, I want to thank you all once again. Thank you for taking interest, thank you for plotting, thank you for memes, thank you for funny comments, thank you for interactions, thank you for being excited. You're all amazing and I'm so grateful to all of you.

I wish you all a gorgeous 2024 and let's kick ass, everyone!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Brian Stelter at The New Republic:

The crackdown could begin with a security breach at the Northwest Gate of the White House.

Imagine, on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, a raucous protest by left-wing groups on the streets north of Lafayette Park. The blocks surrounding the White House are cordoned off with layer after layer of fencing, due to the unrest in major cities following Trump’s reelection, but a few dozen very motivated activists barrel through the park, all the way across the inauguration parade route along the park’s southern edge, and inside the White House perimeter. Weapons are drawn, emergency plans are activated, and Trump is rushed to a deep underground bunker. Order is restored within minutes, but not before the break-in is shown live around the world, since all the major networks have live camera positions on the North Lawn. Online sleuths notice that a few of the protesters appear to be wearing press credentials. (They’re fakes, it turns out.) And in one stray live shot that gets clipped and decontextualized and shared all across pro-MAGA social media, a CBS correspondent gives a water bottle to a man screaming in agony after being pepper-sprayed. That’s all it takes for a narrative to take root on the right: “The media is complicit. They’re in on it. THEY are trying to assassinate OUR president.”

Trump feels humiliated and attacked on what is supposed to be his most triumphant day. He and his aides want what he famously promised: “Retribution.” Knowing that the Northwest Gate is a key access point for journalists, a White House aide starts a rumor that the assailants were aided by CNN and CBS News crews. Trump, who is glued to the live coverage, grunts to his chief of staff, “Get them off my lawn.” Members of his inner circle, so fed up with years of accountability journalism, and so deluded into thinking that Trump’s way is the only way, see a chance to go further and squeeze independent media off the airwaves. “Get out,” they say. “Get out of our way.”

The security breach becomes a pretext for a project that’s been on the minds of MAGA leaders for years. After all, Steve Bannon’s 2018 promise to “flood the zone with shit” was just the beginning. Trump’s “enemy of the people” proclamation gave permission to his fans to go further—to delegitimize and dehumanize journalists and make “alternative facts” the only facts. For the coup plotters of 2020, one lesson of Trump’s loss was that Trump needed to exert more control over the media in order to prevail. He needed to own the media; ergo, Truth Social, which emerged in the aftermath of January 6. The far right’s memory-holing of the attack, minimization of the violence, and rebranding of rioters as “hostages” were successful tests of MAGA media’s reality-rewriting capabilities.

Trump’s violent rhetoric emboldened his devotees. During the Biden years, pro-Trump trolls daydreamed that, once back in power, they would imprison journalists and crush opponents, and they were welcomed to say so on Elon Musk’s X. As an ex-CNN anchor, I saw it in my mentions when MAGA diehards fantasized about having me locked up at Guantánamo Bay: “Gitmo is in your future.” “You filthy nazi traitor demokkkrats belong in GITMO.” “All of you deserve to be jailed.” Anonymous threats were accompanied by brash promises by Trump loyalists. “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media,” former Defense Department official Kash Patel told Bannon in 2023. “We’re going to come after you,” Patel proclaimed, “whether it’s criminally or civilly.” Bannon, overjoyed, said, “We’re absolutely dead serious.”

Imagine that the new administration uses the Northwest Gate incursion as a pretext to impose severe restrictions. Most reporters are banned from entering the White House grounds, per new Secret Service rules that cite threats to the president’s life. As Truth Social fills up with memes equating journalists with “terrorists,” networks are given 24 hours to remove their equipment. Aides claim that reporters will be able to ask questions via Zoom at virtual press conferences, but Trump refused to hold daily briefings during his first term in office, and the Zoom sessions never materialize. Media outlets file First Amendment lawsuits seeking a return to pre–Trump II norms, but the government’s claims about security threats take precedence, and the bans remain in place. Press corps norms—like traveling with the president—melt away. Trump begins to take trips without any notice to the public at all. Several reporters who resort to staking out Andrews Air Force Base and watching for Air Force One takeoffs are arrested for trespassing.

Fox and Newsmax are allowed on the White House grounds, so officials can claim that “real” news is still represented. Fox says it will provide the other networks with live video of all presidential events and remarks. While workers revert the former press briefing room to the indoor pool it was decades ago, Trump rewards Fox with interviews and promotions—at one point doubling the Murdoch family’s market cap in a matter of weeks—and even the hosts who are most tempted to dissent are kept in check by the sudden windfall. And they know that, for the MAGA faithful, Newsmax is always one remote click away; they learned that the hard way in 2020. So they toe the line, touting specious rumors about enemies within, about writers feeding “resistance” tips to foreign governments, about liberal editors doctoring photos of Trump to make him look even older than he really is, about treasonous reporters aiding the protesters on Inauguration Day. “Remember when THEY tried to kill Trump?” becomes a rallying cry on the right, even though it didn’t happen.

Fact-checks about what did happen only embolden Trump’s fans to fight harder for punishment of the imagined co-conspirators. CBS says the doxing of its phone and computer networks becomes so intense that the newsroom can barely function for hours at a time. One night, the evening newscast starts 10 minutes late due to server glitches. A Trump spokesman is quoted calling this a “good start,” meaning the country would be better off with no evening newscast at all. Two days later, in a “swatting” incident, a caller to 911 claims there is a violent intruder inside the home of a top CBS anchor. Police arrive en masse, and, amid the chaos, an officer accidentally shoots the anchor’s wife, seriously injuring her. The same MAGA-heads on social media downplay the violence by digging up the victim’s past tweets praising Hillary Clinton; some even parrot the Trump spokesman and call the injury “a good start.”

Inspired by Trump’s words in the bunker on Inauguration Day, “get out” becomes shorthand for a groundswell of anti-media sentiment, mirroring the Trump administration’s militarized mass deportations of migrants. “If you journalists don’t love our America,” they say, “get out.” At the federal level, Trump appointees pull the levers of government to implement the president’s wishes. IRS agents commence audits of top newsroom editors. (The editors find that it’s almost impossible to prove the audits are retaliatory.) DOJ attorneys consider Espionage Act charges against adversarial reporters. FCC commissioners open probes into the conduct of broadcast station owners who don’t follow the Trump line. Republican lawmakers, themselves intimidated by the voters who are calling reporters “terrorists,” prepare a media accreditation law that would reward outlets that maintain close ties to the government. Third-party groups flood the courts with libel lawsuits against news outlets. Judges will eventually throw out most of the suits, but each case costs time and money to fight, and the twofold intent is to make the newsrooms bleed out financially, and to frighten others from pursuing the same types of stories.

Brian Stelter wrote in The New Republic as part of its American Fascism series that the freedom of the press could be severely curtailed if Donald Trump gets elected again.

See Also:

The New Republic: What American Fascism Would Look Like

[prdxinvadcr]

❛❛  the  gaze  has  become  drunk,  in  the  light  that  lost  its  path,  it  spins  and  spins  around,  falling  down  ! 

YOHAN  is  best  known  in  the  industry  for  being  a  member  of  WANNA  ONE,  receiving  third  place  in  the  final  episode  and  the  position  of  MAIN  VOCALIST.  he  was  often  fans’  favourite  and  was  in  the  top  five  spots  throughout  the  show,  which  secured  his  place  in  the  group.  people  often  talked  about  his  funny  personality,  as  he  was  named  “meme  #2”  because  he  was  always  joined  at  the  hip  with  a  fellow  member,  jisung.  after  the  group’s  disbandment,  YOHAN  was  back  in  GLASSHOUSE  as  their  trainee  until  he  was  announced  as  the  last  member  in  PARADOX  INVASION’s  lineup,  receiving  the  position  of  LEAD  VOCALIST.  however,  after  DOHYUN  left  the  group,  YOHAN  was  promoted  to  the  group’s  MAIN  VOCALIST  and  LEAD  DANCER  but  was  met  with  rude  remarks  from  ex-member's  fans.  for  the  first  couple  of  months,  YOHAN  was  very  insecure  with  his  singing  and  was  often  quiet  in  front  of  the  cameras  for  that  fact  alone.  in  more  recent  months,  he  greatly  improved  and  is  even  seen  singing  in  front  of  the  cameras  behind  the  scenes.  the  old  YOHAN  from  WANNA  ONE  days  was  back,  and  his  fans  were  proud  of  how  far  he  had  reached  since  his  trainee  years.  while  preparing  for  MAMA  in  2021,  YOHAN  spent  time  with  W1  members,  sharing  the  cute  moments  between  them  on  his  instagram  account.  because  of  that,  their  fans  were  not  surprised  when  he  was  confirmed  to  perform  with  his  old  group  once  again  for  the  award  show.  as  of  2022,  hate  comments  have  ceased  greatly  about  his  singing  abilities,  and  he  is  currently  number  one  favourite  member  of  the  group.

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ lee  yohan  (  이요한  ) 

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ yohan  (  요한  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ january  18th,  1997

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ daejeon,  south  korea

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′8″  /  172cm

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ main  vocalist,  lead  dancer

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ lim  sejun 

BYUL  was  adopted  when  he  was  two  by  a  married  couple  who  could  never  have  children.  he  was  seven  years  old  when  they  told  him  the  truth,  and  instead  of  acting  like  other  kids  and  freaking  out,  BYUL  was  rather  intrigued  by  that  fact.  he  grew  up  refusing  to  meet  his  real  family,  believing  they  were  problematic  and  despicable  for  leaving  their  child  in  the  orphanage  while  they  enjoyed  their  lives.  over  the  years,  BYUL  began  appreciating  music  to  another  level;  when  other  people  talked  about  the  most  popular  singers,  he  would  listen  to  underground  artists  and  rappers,  often  getting  inspired  by  them.  during  his  teenage  years,  he  produced  short  beats  and  posted  them  on  soundcloud  under  alias  [  ???  ].  his  artist  name  soon  changed  to  MOONWAVE  once  he  started  university  and  thought  about  creating  music  seriously.  GLASSHOUSE  initially  contacted  him  to  be  one  of  their  producers,  but  upon  his  arrival  at  the  company,  the  ceo  changed  her  mind  and  asked  him  if  he  liked  the  idea  of  being  in  a  group.  ponding  over  it  for  a  while,  BYUL  knew  he  had  nothing  to  lose  and  accepted  the  proposal.  although  he  is  very  known  in  the  industry,  no  one  to  this  day  has  realised  that  he’s  the  loveable  and  unknown  MOONWAVE  every  producer  wants  to  collab  with.  BYUL,  going  by  his  stage  name  LIGHT,  is  the  group’s  LEADER  and  MAIN  RAPPER,  as  well  as  their  PRODUCER.

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ han  bin  (  한빈  )  but  legalized  his  name  to  han  byul  (  한별  )

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ light  (  라이트  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ september  9th,  1998

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ ansan,  south  korea

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′7″  /  170cm

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ leader,  main  rapper,  producer

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ kim  hongjoong 

known  for  his  flirty  personality  and  romantic  gestures,  ADRIEN  is  the  second  favourite  member  of  the  group.  through  his  teenage  years,  he  was  an  exchange  student  in  ghent,  belgium  for  two  years,  where  he  learned  enough  french  to  toy  with  people  shamelessly.  originally  from  britain,  ADRIEN  is  famous  for  his  british  accent  that  pops  out  when  he  speaks  english,  which  compliments  his  deep  voice  every  fan  goes  crazy  about.  he  is  PARADOX’s  troublemaker  due  to  being  featured  in  many  scandals  throughout  his  idol  career.  ADRIEN’s  solo  stans  try  to  clear  his  searches  on  twitter  and  hide  the  fact  that  he  openly  flirts  with  other  idols,  but  since  2021,  the  only  thing  you  can  find  online  is  compilation  videos  of  him  wooing  people  in  public.  despite  his  personality,  ADRIEN  is  well-loved  in  his  fandom  for  his  caring  actions  towards  other  members,  often  calling  him  the  glue  of  the  group.  he  was  the  company’s  trainee  for  four  years  before  he  debuted  in  PRDX  as  the  group’s  LEAD  RAPPER,  DANCER  and  VISUAL,  often  receiving  lots  of  gigs  for  modelling  and  cfs.  another  title  his  fans  gave  him  is  “the  member  with  the  best  body  proportions”,  which  he  likes  to  brag  about  to  others. 

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ adrien  hong  (  애드리안홍  )

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ adrien  (  애드리안  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ october  3rd,  1999

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ london,  united  kingdom

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′8″  /  172cm

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ lead  rapper,  dancer,  visual

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ park  seonghwa 

SHIWEI  was  born  in  taizhou  as  a  middle  child  to  working  parents,  growing  up  with  his  older  sister,  who  took  care  of  him  until  he  was  old  enough  to  do  it  himself.  his  younger  sister  was  always  babied  by  him,  which  became  his  habit  towards  trainees  younger  than  him.  SHIWEI  was  supposed  to  be  a  competitor  in  GLASSHOUSE’s  THE  GARDEN,  but  before  the  company  confirmed  the  lineup,  he  was  pulled  out  due  to  his  father  passing  away.  SHIWEI  went  back  to  china  for  most  of  2017  but  was  back  after  taking  care  of  himself  and  was  later  confirmed  as  one  of  the  PARADOX  INVASION’s  members.  even  though  he’s  the  only  chinese  member,  SHIWEI,  going  by  his  stage  name  DASHI,  is  the  group’s  MAIN  DANCER  and  LEAD  VOCALIST.  however,  his  talents  are  not  enough  to  make  him  the  favourite,  as  most  of  PRDX’s  fandom  often  disregards  him.  a  small  portion  of  the  group’s  fandom  talks  about  him,  but  they  are  usually  buried  with  spam  comments  about  other  members.  despite  that,  GLASSHOUSE  purposely  puts  him  in  the  centre  during  the  dance  breaks  to  further  show  that  he  is,  in  fact,  talented  enough  to  be  in  the  group.  more  often,  PRDX’s  second  youtube  channel  would  be  filled  with  his  dance  covers  of  other  songs,  sometimes  choreographed  by  him.  since  the  group’s  debut,  DASHI  has  been  the  member  with  the  least  amount  of  scandals  and  continues  to  keep  the  reputation  as  the  calmest  and  most  sensible  member  of  the  group.

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ dai  shiwei (  戴示伟  )

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ dashi  (  达史  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ october  27th,  1998

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ taizhou,  zhejiang,  china

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ chinese

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′7″  /  170cm

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ main  dancer,  lead  vocalist

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ xiao  dejun 

DAMIAN  is  the  youngest  of  the  KANG  FAMILY  and  always  the  favourite,  as  he  is  the  only  male  child  out  of  the  three.  because  of  his  wealthy  background,  he  grew  up  being  spoiled  rotten,  but  with  a  sister  like  DANIELLE,  it  never  got  to  the  point  where  he  became  a  brat,  unlike  his  oldest  sister.  once  DANIELLE  left  to  train  to  be  an  idol,  DAMIAN  became  lonely  in  the  cold  house,  so  he  decided  to  do  something  he  always  seemed  to  do;  follow  after  his  sister  to  be  close  to  her.  his  dream  of  debuting  almost  evaporated  once  his  father  was  arrested,  and  he  was  on  the  verge  of  collapsing  with  fear.  the  company  he  was  under  let  him  go,  and  at  the  very  last  second,  the  youngest  kang  decided  to  try  his  best  and  auditioned  for  GLASSHOUSE.  they  accepted  him  almost  immediately,  adding  him  to  already  debuted  PARADOX  INVASION  as  their  MAIN  DANCER,  LEAD  RAPPER  and  FACE  OF  THE  GROUP.  his  addition  to  the  group  received  backlash  from  the  ever-growing  fandom,  who  felt  the  need  to  say  he  was  favourited  by  the  company  and  added  only  because  of  his  pre-debut  “fame”.  DAMIAN  took  the  stage  name  MIKEY,  a  nickname  he  received  from  DANIELLE  when  they  were  kids,  and  quickly  fit  in  PARADOX  INVASION  in  the  maknae  line.

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ damian  kang  (  데이미안강  )

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ mikey  (  마이키  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ may  18th,  2000

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ oxford,  england

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′9″  /  175cm

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ main  dancer,  lead  rapper,  face  of  the  group

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ kim  sunwoo 

CHASE  is  the  only  member  that  rarely  talks  about  himself,  despite  being  one  of  the  most  open  members  of  the  group.  almost  nothing  is  known  about  his  personal  life,  which  developed  into  an  inside  joke  among  his  fans,  who  like  to  theorise  that  he  is  secretly  married  and  has  two  children.  the  most  that  someone  managed  to  get  from  him  is  that  he  was  born  in  new  zealand,  moved  to  seoul  when  he  was  fourteen  and  is  an  only  child  in  his  family.  CHASE  admitted  that  he  never  planned  on  being  an  idol  but  was  randomly  stopped  on  the  street  by  a  staff  member,  managing  to  get  him  to  check  out  their  company  before  he  could  refuse.  however,  CHASE  was  intrigued  by  how  idol  life  worked  and  decided  to  try  it  in  the  end.  he  was  an  enigma  to  other  trainees,  who  were  too  afraid  to  approach  him,  so  he  would  spend  his  trainee  years  alone  most  of  the  time.  sometimes,  NIKO  would  accompany  him,  spending  hours  talking  about  music  and  sharing  their  opinions  on  other  artists’  songs,  whether  good  or  bad.  CHASE  was  announced  as  a  member  of  PRDX  in  2019  when  the  group  released  their  pre-debut  single.  the  company  immediately  confirmed  that  he  would  hold  the  position  of  MAIN  VOCALIST  and  LEAD  DANCER.  CHASE  is  the  only  one  not  sharing  his  position  with  another  member,  being  the  only  one  given  the  LEAD  VOCALIST  position,  while  YOHAN  received  the  MAIN  position.  

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ chase  park  (  요한  )

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ chase  (  요한  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ august  26th,  2000

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ christchurch,  new  zealand

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 6′0″  /  182cm 

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ lead  vocalist,  lead  dancer

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ jake  sim 

growing  up  in  japan  was  intimidating  for  NIKO.  in  most  cases,  he  felt  like  he  didn’t  fit  in.  while  other  kids  stressed  out  about  exams  and  their  future  jobs,  NIKO  knew  he  wanted  to  be  a  singer  from  a  young  age.  it  all  clicked  when  he  picked  a  guitar  and  randomly  played  on  the  strings.  when  his  family  moved  to  south  korea  in  2017  due  to  better  job  opportunities,  NIKO  hadn’t  wasted  a  moment,  auditioning  for  entertainment  companies  in  hope  that  they  would  accept  him  and  make  his  dream  come  true.  to  his  luck,  two  companies  answered  back  with  positive  marks,  and  he  decided  to  say  yes  to  the  first  one  that  emailed  him,  GLASSHOUSE.  training  under  the  company’s  skillful  eyes,  NIKO  gave  his  all  to  be  the  one  they  chose  for  their  new  boy  group.  receiving  the  best  marks  for  a  year,  he  was  sure  that  he  would  be  the  first  to  be  picked  out  among  the  male  trainees,  which  came  true  in  2019  when  he  debuted  in  PARADOX  INVASION  as  the  group’s  MAIN  DANCER  and  RAPPER,  also  receiving  the  MAKNAE  position.  because  of  his  natural  cuteness,  NIKO  –  going  by  KOI  –  is  one  of  the  most  favourite  members  of  PRDX,  ending  in  third  place  after  ADRIEN. 

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ watanabe  niko  (  渡辺 仁虎  ) 

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ koi  (  恋  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ september  13th,  2001

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ nagano,  japan

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ japanese

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 6′0″  /  182cm 

POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ main  dancer,  rapper,  maknae

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ osaki  shotaro 

DOHYUN  was  previously  a  LEADER,  MAIN  VOCALIST  and  FACE  OF  PRDX  before  he  abruptly  left  the  group  a  year  after  their  debut,  suing  the  company  for  negligence  and  mistreatment.  he  was  one  of  the  most  famous  trainees,  so  it  was  a  huge  surprise  when  he  later  talked  immoral  about  the  company  he  practically  grew  up  in.  he  rose  to  fame  in  2013  when  he  competed  in  korea’s  singing  competition,  KPOP  STAR  with  his  sister,  a  member  of  JAWBREAKERS,  SEEUN.  they  reached  third  place  in  the  show,  later  being  scouted  by  KALEIDA,  yet  SEEUN  was  the  only  one  to  join,  while  DOHYUN  accepted  GLASSHOUSE’s  proposal  instead.  DOHYUN  left  the  group  in  the  middle  of  2020,  during  the  promotion  of  their  second  mini  album,  which  raised  suspicion  about  his  actions  and  how  the  company  promoted  the  group.  after  he  left,  PARADOX  INVASION  was  changed  to  a  six-member  boy  group  (  and  later  to  a  seven-member  again  )  and  refrained  from  mentioning  DOHYUN  in  front  of  the  cameras.  due  to  him  being  one  of  the  essential  members,  his  previous  positions  were  given  to  other  members  of  the  group;  YOHAN  was  named  as  the  group’s  new  MAIN  VOCALIST,  and  LIGHT  took  the  LEADER  position.  however,  due  to  DOHYUN’s  solo  stans  being  bitter,  they  would  take  any  chance  to  attack  YOHAN  for  not  being  as  good  vocalist  as  their  beloved  idol,  often  fighting  with  other  fans  of  the  group.  as  for  DOHYUN;  during  his  lawsuit,  he  transferred  companies  and  joined  another  boy  group  that  debuted  that  same  year.  while  most  of  his  old  fans  stopped  attacking  PRDX,  a  dozen  still  make  the  time  of  their  day  to  send  hate  to  his  previous  group.

GIVEN  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ yoon  donghyun  (  윤동현  ) 

STAGE  NAME  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ dohyun  (  도현  )

BIRTHDAY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ july  24th,  1998

BIRTHPLACE  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ incheon,  south  korea

ETHNICITY  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ south  korean

HEIGHT  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ 5′10″  /  177cm

PREVIOUS  POSITION  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ leader,  main  vocalist,  face  of  the  group

FACE  CLAIM  ˳ ⠀⠀⠀ lee  juyeon 

[mariacallous]

On Reddit and Truth Social, users have been trying to re-create the meme-stock magic for Trump Media and Technology Group—the company behind Truth Social—that boosted companies like GameStop in 2021. So far, they haven’t been too successful.

Truth Social, former president Donald Trump’s Twitter copycat, lacks two essential ingredients to the narrative of previous campaigns: underlying fundamentals and the foil of institutional investors. Large hedge funds had shorted GameStop, betting that the price would go down. This time, the stock is owned primarily by retail investors.

Unlike other social media companies, the Truth Social doesn’t disclose how many users it has, but has said previously that just 9 million people have signed up for the site, compared with over 3 billion monthly active users on Facebook. TruthSocial visitors have declined from 5.4 million in January to around 5 million in February, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb. The site’s lack of users has contributed to poor financial performance.

On the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, home of meme-stock boosterism, most users aren’t buying what Truth Social is selling. “If you invest in this on a long enough timeline you will lose everything. Thus is strictly a movement play,” wrote Reddit user Rich4718. “If you think Donald Trump is going to create an income positive social media platform you are an absolute fucking moron.”

The company started trading publicly on March 26 under the ticker symbol DJT and has already experienced wild swings in price. On Monday, the stock slid nearly 20 percent, erasing $2 billion in value.

In a filing on Monday, the company said it had just over $4 million in revenue and $58 million in net losses. This comes after the auditor for Trump Media and Technology Group made a startling admission: The company’s losses “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue,” according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25. And yet the company is valued at around $7 billion, despite reporting these sizable losses. The valuation is propped up in part by Trump fans who see investing in the company as a way to support the former president. In some cases, these investors hold a genuine belief that Truth Social could become a major social media player.

Albert Choi, a professor of Law at the University of Michigan, says investors in Trump Media may be motivated by factors beyond traditional financial logic, like boosting the price through generating hype.

“If that’s your primary motivating factor, then you’re not going to care too much about whether the company is actually making money,” says Choi.

“I believe DJT is an investment in Donald Trump, not just Truth Social,” Reddit user autsauce, who declined to share their real name, tells WIRED. “If market participants start asking that question, which I am betting they will, they will likely arrive at a very different price valuing Truth Social in a silo.”

Choi noted that Trump winning the Presidential election could actually hurt the company’s stock, as investors' perceived need to support the former president financially by investing could fade.

“My guess is that the interest in the stock would largely disappear,” Choi said.

Some Truth Social fans have spun the company’s entry into the public market as a fresh start. The infusion of capital from people buying shares in the company will enable Truth Social to post an improved financial performance, they argue.

“With $300M to properly grow a company and Trump’s impending win in 2024, the entire situation has changed,” Chad Nedohin, who regularly livestreams about his support for the company while wearing a Jack Sparrow costume, wrote on Truth Social.

Still, Truth Social doesn’t really provide anything unique. The company’s defining feature is that it's the website where Trump is currently posting, and it is, unsurprisingly, home to many posts discussing conspiracy theories about QAnon, stolen elections, and deep state plots.

But Devin Nunes, Truth Social CEO and former Republican US representative, said in an interview last week with the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that the company plans to combine features from other social networks.

“We’re trying to take the best of all platforms and put it into one,” Nunes said, “whether it be Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, et cetera.”

Truth Social still needs to comply with Apple’s and Google’s terms of service to remain in its respective app stores. Nunes claims, however, that Truth Social “doesn’t use any of the woke companies, referencing Parler, the social media company that was kicked off Apple’s and Google’s mobile app stores in the wake of the January 6 riot at the Capitol. “It’s kind of an interesting investment, because you’re really investing in your constitutional rights,” Nunes said. “We’re the only company out there that can’t be shut down by woke companies.”

[ussjellyfish]

new job?

I interviewed at a different district on Friday. (I'm a math teacher). I have been teaching 7th/8th, with the advanced classes, because no one wants them, so the fun stuff like geometry and fancy algebra). I've had 4 different classes in the past year, which was a lot, but I did a good job.

I interviewed at a suburban district where my brother lives with his wife and kids. I have been teaching in St. Paul, big urban district. 3rd biggest in my state, 30,000+ students, 8 middle schools, BIG district.

My school has about 600 students, and 5 math teachers.

Potential new school has 1000 students, and 7 or 8 math teachers. It's wealthier. Myold school is in a nice neighborhood (too nice for me to ever afford a house) but it's very mixed economically and racially. It's in an odd position because there are some really privileged students who are really advanced and need one set of things and other students who have really strong needs another way. It's a difficult balance. The kids are great.

I'm sure the kids at the new school would be great. It's wealthier, newer building, more resources. I probably wouldn't have to fight to get whiteboard markers.

more under a cut

Murray (current school) - upsides and downsides

Upsides

I know everyone. I really like most of my coworkers. They're great. I have a work best friend. We're gaining a really fantastic 8th grade history teacher that I could work with, which would help my floor.

I'll get to teach more interesting math. I'm the department head. I have a lot of power (sort of) and I get to pick the interesting classes and can really reshape the department. (partially because no one else cares, but it's fun).

It's the least effort, I'm set up to go back there, I have a plan that works for Felix (he goes to a new school in the 4 year old program. He gets to ride the bus home, which is a big step and I'd have a much easier commute immediately.

I could move to a smaller apartment near work and walk. (in January). I'd still have to drive Felix until he's in kindergarten, but he'd go to a really good elementary school, and I'd be in a really nice little walkable neighborhood. Great little grocery store, taco place, parks, playground, walking distance to work best friend's house.

Pension/retirement here is really good, like, stunningly good.

Downsides

My principal is incompetent, tone deaf and really difficult to work with. He's incredibly privileged, lives in the suburbs (the far out rich suburbs), he has a fancy car, he loves to hear himself talk. He's...someone I avoid rather than enjoy talking to.

Assistant principal thinks she's saving the world while is literally the embodiment of every meme about terrible admin. She's the one who gives a kid a cookie when they cuss you out. She's dragging the building down in so many ways and principal can't do anything to stop her. (there's something weird where she's kind of blackmailed the district? she can't be fired, but desperately needs to retire and won't. She's saving the world, the rest of us are terrible. (she seems to genuinely believe this and it is weird).

We had to go on strike to get a 2% raise in 2020. Our contract is up again and we're negotiating, and we nearly went on strike in 2022 but they gaved at the last minute. With the economy being what it is we're probably going to ask for 5%, and not get it and...there's some uncertainty.

I don't have tenure and will finally get it after this year. (This is in the middle, I guess?)

I am CONSTANTLY asked to cover other classes because we don't get enough substitutes. (like...once or twice a week, it's a lot).

New School SLP -

Upsides

Principal seems amazing. I've only met her for an hour and half, but she trained with my favorite principal ever. She's new to the school and very excited to be there.

Math department is really competent and the way they do teaching and grading is awesome. Really neat program of self reflection for students. I'd be walking into something made by people who know what they are doing and I wouldn't have to make it. I could just use theirs.

They asked my pronouns in the meeting. I had to argue to get current job to talk about them.

I drive to visit my brother's family at least once a week, and it's 20 minutes one way (with freeway). It would be about 10 minutes, no freeway. We could walk on a nice day.

I could move in January (my current lease doesn't run out until then and the penalties are stiff). I have a wide variety of apartments to chose from, near parks, near schools, some of them are in nice walkable areas. It's the suburbs, so slightly different lifestyle. I could definitely bike to work, good paths for that.

If we live in SLP we're much closer to brother and that would even out some of the responsibilities for Dad. I'm definitely moving, by myself in January, so dad needs his own plan by then, but, who knows what he'll chose.

Downsides

Absolute chaos in the near term. I'd need to leave one job (turn everything in, exit, meet with new HR, etc etc. We're going to Scotland on Wednesday so it would be fast and furious for awhile.

I don't know anyone at new place. (I will but...that's scary in the middle term).

Felix would need a different school. So I'd have to find one. I think I can make it work, but it'll be annoying for me.

My commute will be awful until January.

It will be harder (though not impossible) to hang out with my one friend from old work.

I'm struggling here, so this one is probably better?

6th grade math is less interesting, but less behavior problems. They're squirrels, but they're cute at that age.

smaller district? if it sucks, it'll really suck. (but I don't know yet).

Pension is less good. Any salary gains I got would be gone in how much I'd have to put away for retirement.

Brother #1 who lives in Iowa says it's okay to have two decent choices, and they kind of are. It matters how much admin/work culture influences my job, and where I want Felix to go to school. (there is a push that sububrbs would be better for him, I thnk he'd be fine anywhere, he's a good kid).

The short term chaos would be a LOT. (I can do it , it's just a LOT).

[explorersaremadeofhope]

Ahem! So for the Fan Fic Writer Asks: 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 (hehehehe), 25, 26 (hahaha), 27 and 29! 😇

[guy grabbing startled cat meme] YOU!

okay, fiiiiiine (thank you 😂💖)

2. Do you read/reread your own fics? honestly, not that much? it depends a little on how i feel about them. if i'm satisfied with them, i might. but often rereading my own stuff makes me realise there's a bunch of small stuff i would like to change with hindsight, so it's easier not to. 😂

3. What's your favorite fic that you've written? damn. i guess it might be some of my earliest terror stuff, anchor up to me or and stay awhile. personally i don't really... have favourites very much, i see good bits and flawed bits in everything, but those were fun to write and people were extremely kind about them when i posted them, so that was a lot of fun overall!

5. What's a fic idea you've had that you will never write? so many. most of them, probably. that said i don't like to fully give up on an idea! but i have several fitzier gdocs sitting around that'll never go anywhere, including: half-epistolary modern au where jfj sends postcards to francis from around the world (initially to annoy him) over years while francis dates, gets engaged to, then splits up with sophia, and james globetrots to avoid his own loneliness, until they gradually become friends and then get together

rest of these under a cut, god damn

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? not really, i think. or if so, only positively. i've gotten some super lovely comments on some of my fics, and i never really expect that, so it's always a happy surprise. and a couple of them have got podfic, which is also absolutely wild to me.

12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP/s? sorry, no! i have a shittonne of character playlists, but i don't tend to make playlists for fics!

17. - already answered!

25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing? actually, no! i don't think that's ever happened. but i don't tend to write very heavy angst either.

26. Is there something you've written that you would never want your family to see? i mean.. most of it? don't get me wrong, my mum is great and knows that i've written fanfiction since i was a teenager, but the idea of showing anyone in my family my writing is embarrassing as hell lmao, that shit's private

29. Share a bit from a fic you'll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. rip, there are so many to choose from. here's some disembodied angst of james ross missing his boyfriend!

---

he steps outside and tilts his face up into the chill breeze. the night is clear, the air sharp with a late january cold snap. overhead, millions of pinheads of light flicker and twinkle against the black, occasionally winking out of existence as a cloud drifts across the heavens, carried by winds far stronger than the gentle stirring of air which cools his cheeks. the grounds are quiet, deep and dark and still in the early evening. a dusting of snow covers everything. it is new, and as yet unbroken by any human tread, reflecting the light of the moon like a fresh sheet of paper. against it the leafless trees and the shadows cast by the light streaming from the windows behind him are black as pitch. 

his hands soon begin to ache – he has not brought his gloves. he puts them into his pockets. it is not terribly cold – when he glanced at it, the thermometer which he has had mounted beside the window read 23 degrees. unusual for england, certainly, but not true cold. nothing to speak of, really. his feet begin to go numb in his shoes, but it is not too bad; not yet. 

idly, he picks out orion, then auriga, following it down into taurus. canis major, half hidden by a tree, is yet easy, sirius clear as a beacon. turning toward the north, there is ursa major, then the northern cross – cassiopeia takes him a few moments, but he finds it at last, almost directly overhead. 

are we looking at the same stars? 

they’ll be up all night and all day, now, these same constellations; circling tirelessly about the central axis, never dipping from sight.

“i say, what on earth are you doing out here?”