#or the edits about other highly sensitive and triggering topics

[iwatcheditbegin]

Genuinely I don’t know what possesses people to make aesthetic cutesy edits of Taylor speaking about highly personal struggles.

[cringelordofchaos]

Before You Follow

This isn't a threat, just a heads up

I tend to vent at times, which will be tagged as #tw vent most of the times

I sometimes post about rather triggering topics and I do everything in my best effort to tag common triggers properly, so just make sure you have your triggers blocked in settings

At times I threaten myself with suicide, do not take it seriously - and do not worry - I do not actually want to kill myself, but sometimes I get upset and impulsively post things like "I'll kms" and tend not to tag it, though I'm trying to not do this anymore

I am fine with gendered terms such as girl, dude, queen, king, bro, and anything else ; they do not alleviate my gender dysphoria so feel free to call me anything

I tend to get obsessed with a thing, typically a franchise, and post a lot about it, too much even, make a ton of mutuals from the fandom associated with it, and it lasts for about.. a month or two? Until I switch to another thing - so just a heads up if it looks like I'm a fandom blog, I'm not - just obsessed but it doesn't last too long usually

I choose not to publicly disclose my gender identity or pronouns because I'm unsure of what I actually am, and I don't want others to know what's in my pants, and quite frankly I don't think they need to

I make mistakes ; I don't know everything ; if I said something wrong, point it out! that way I can edit my post so no further misinformation spreads, and I learn what not to say in the future. I am pretty sensitive and tend to take others correcting me as a threat at times but I'm trying not to - but if you can, please be somewhat tender with your criticism

Sorry if you compliment my art or anything else and I don't respond !!! I highly appreciate it, it makes me sooo happy but I tend to either forget to respond or not know how to respond !!!

I'm not actually as old as my bio suggests (plus I'm a minor, so no "funny business" or you could potentially face some unnecessary charges)

If you send me an ask and I don't respond, it probably has nothing to do with what you said, I just forgot to respond or didn't know how to respond but will eventually ("eventually" can range from days to months to more)

Do not worry about being "cringe" or "weird" around me!!!! I know what it's like, I won't judge the way you phrase anything, or the way you approach me,

Don't need tone tags most of the times, and I generally don't really used them, sometimes for sarcasm or reference ("/s" or "/sarc" and "/ref")

Most of my posts aren't screenreader friendly due to reblogging posts with undescribed images, writing in fonts or ways not all screen readers can read, and many times forget to tag it. When I do I tag such posts as "screenreader unfriendly"

I don't have a dni, I'm fine with any blogs following me or interacting with me, even ones I disagree with or feel uncomfortable with. However if someone is doing something that breaks Tumblr TOS (that I agree with.. wink wink teehee) I will report them (EDIT: no tf I won't ☠️☠️ i don't give a shit)

You aren't being annoying for initiating conversation or interaction with me !!! (I am, though)

I tag fandoms reblogs with acronyms and not the full name most of the times. (Eg I tag sonic the hedgehog related reblogs as "sth")

More to be added

[goffard]

# GOFFARD - — An independent and highly selective roleplay blog featuring Derek Goffard of The Price of Flesh. Est. on July of `23. Loved by Vulpe.

R18 ONLY. CONTAINS TRIGGERING CONTENT. READ THE RULES BELOW PRIOR TO INTERACTING. - — XOXO !!

FOREWORD... Due to the nature of Derek's character, as well as the originally source material, I advise that you proceed with caution here if you are particularly sensitive to topics of abuse, gore, violence, and horror in general. Though I'm here to have a good time just like everyone else, such topics will nevertheless be mentioned in some capacity through my writing. Please keep yourselves safe and take a step back if need be.

That being said, I absolutely will not tolerate any minors here. This is a place for adults only, and because of this, I ask that your age is present somewhere on your blog. You will be blocked otherwise. I, myself, am twenty - five years old.

Thank you for your consideration ♡ Now, I have just a few other rules to keep in mind... ✘ This blog is highly selective and mutual exclusive. However! As long as you keep your posts trimmed, don’t spam OOC content, have basic information about your muse, and I believe our muses also have a decent chance with connecting, then there’s a good chance I’ll follow you back. I absolutely love original characters and I’m welcome to most fandom muses, so, there's no need to be shy here. ✘ Practice patience with me. I ask that you keep in mind that I’m a busy little bee, and that I also have many other muses that I write for. Though it usually takes me a while to get through replies, know that it’s just a matter of life simply getting in the way. ✘ I will be extremely selective in regards to shipping. It’s important for me to take into consideration how problematic of a person Derek is, as well as the chemistry involved with any potential romantic interest. Still, if that’s a matter you’d like to discuss in the future after we’ve had some time for our muses to interact, remember that I'm very open to exploring the possibilities. I love a good slow burn and lotsa development!

✘ Themes of sexual nature will also appear here from time to time, whether in the form of headcanons or actual threads and so forth. I’m also very open to writing smut, as long as the right circumstances fall into place between our muses. Anything that may contain such themes will be tagged as #not sfw.

... And I think that does it! Have questions, want to plot, or simply wish to chat? You’re more than welcome to shoot me a message!＼(＾▽＾)／

Derek Goffard, The Price of Flesh, and art featured here in my own personal edits are properties of Gatobob. My icon PSD was designed by the lovely Beckowsky.

[hellroots]

『 MOBILE FRIENDLY RULES 』

— here you will find my rules or can also find them on my gdocs as well once i’m done with it. please like this if you read it, but otherwise don’t interact with this post, thank you. rest assured that i always read my moots rules before following and that i fully expect the same courtesy. i tried not to let them get too long but feel free to ask me anything you wanna know about them if it’s not clear ok?

 『 THE MUN』

NOXTROMUN, THEY/THEM, 21+, BRAZILIAN

shy but friendly ! i don't follow for follow, if i follow you that means i've read your rules and want to write with you. i have no triggers nor squicks of my own except drama in the dash, for that reason i do not engage in callouts/witch hunts and if you do it on a constant basis i might have to hard block you for my own peace of mind. although i may come off too strong/harsh, i am always up to talking things out privately. as long as you are civil, so am i. any form of hate will be deleted and blocked -  sometimes mocked, if i’m feeling cocky…

『 THE BLOG』

HELLROOTS, INDIE ( POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING AND NOT MINOR FRIENDLY ), HIGHLY SELECTIVE & PRIVATE MULTIFANDOM MULTIMUSE

primarily run on a low activity \ effort and with a slow speed.. my muselist changes a lot, depends a lot on what i’m watching lately so bear with me please. this is a drama free zone, therefore do realise that mun ≠ muses and (obviously) writing ≠ condoning !! as a quick note, do keep in mind that my blog is my safe space, just as your blog is yours - you are responsible for your own internet experience just as i am responsible for mine. should anything in my blog annoy/trigger/squick you, i strongly encourage you to block me & not write with me - your mental health is far more important ( for me, and hopefully for you as well ) than rp. on that note, please do not softblock me - that’s annoying, just hardblock please.

『 THE TRIGGERS』

TRIGGER HEAVY, PROPERLY TAGGED AND TAKING NO CRAP

i  usually  tend to write for trigger heavy fandoms (such as asoiaf, kingdom and others) and may incorporate some of it into my writing, muses' backgrounds and overall characterization. if you're bothered \ squicked \ triggered by that, i kindly encourage you to reconsider and not follow me. no amount of rp fun is worth your mental health.  i try to tag everything accordingly and i fully expect the same courtesy for our followers' sakes. be aware that there may be mentions of death, gore, violence, consanguinamory \ endogamy (especially when it comes to the lannisters and kekkei genkai clans), rape ( kingdom, though it will only be mentioned on the character’s backstory ) and cannibalism ( hannibal and kingdom ) , as well as unhealthy relationships and dynamics alongside with powerplay, and otherwise bad behaviours.  for all that is sacred, please, do note that i, the mun, do not approve, support or condone any of these actions or behaviours !!  i simply am capable of separating fiction from reality. as long as everything is properly tagged, with mutual consent and there are no minors involved (muse and especially not muns), . i support the right of a consenting adult to explore these awful dark topics in a safe fictional environment with other like minded consenting adults, people shouldn’t have to share their traumas to strangers on the internet to explain why they write what they write, be considerate. if that notion bothers you perhaps you might not want to interact with me, for both of ours sakes. fair warning, most of my graphics and aesthetics might trigger those who have xylophobia/hylophobia (phobia of trees or wooded areas), and considering it is a main theme here i will not be tagging it, i'm sorry. but its too many. however, if you want me to create a special tag for you, there's no issue! it will be either "[your mun name] don't look!" or "[your url] don't look!", whichever you prefer. QUICK EDIT/ADDITION: i do not believe that aging up fictional characters is inherently a bad thing - from what i understand, the whole appeal of aging up a character is that while you like their personality but you do not want them to be kids (for whatever reason) but insteasd adults. if you are one of those who think that aging up a character is automatically something bad (without even knowing why it was done in the first place) don’t bother following me because i do think that opinion is quite silly.

『 THE INTERACTIONS』

OC, DUPLICATE, MULTIMUSE AND CANON DIVERGENT FRIENDLY

my tagging system is simple, i tag triggers as "tw; x" and . images that may be sensitive or triggering as "cw; x". you can further see how my tags work by taking a look at my tag dump post, just search ‘tag dump’ on my blog and you will find the most recent one i’m using.    i shitpost and talk oocly on the dash constantly but you can easily blacklist my tag if it bothers you.  here's something you should know about me:  when i'm doing drafts i usually don't feel like chatting much, so please do not spam me because i won't be able to reply, i love to talk with my moots but sometimes it overwhelms me.  on that note, please don't pester me for replies ic or ooc, i am slow and chances are that if you try to guilt trip me or just nag me about it i'll leave as the ones i'll get to in the later end on purpose, just out of spite. yes, i be like that.   please be patient - i’ll never pressure you and expect the same in return.  plotting wise: i prefer to just wing it with just a faint idea of where to take the thread but honestly i'm cool with anything. please be considerate when formatting your replies, i have a bad eyesight & if i can't read it, i won't bother with it.   my own formatting is simple and clean.   on a smaller note, please bear with me and my muses as my muses ramble a lot but you don't have to match the length, just give me something to work with. if we write together, the chances of me making edits/tagging you in stuff are really big, just lmk if you don’t like that though !

『 THE FLEET』

MOSTLY BI/PAN MUSES, MULTISHIP AND MULTIVERSE, SMUT FRIENDLY

i love shipping but i like my ships to be devices to move the plot/dynamics/muses forward, every once in a while though i partake in some much loved self indulgent shipping. just because i ship a certain pairing don't presume that my characters are approaching yours with second intentions, please.   most of the time i like to reblog those relationship memes, so if you’re interested in a ship the best way (other than  sending me a message ofc) to let me know is by sending ones. there will be some triggering ships here ( like the lannisters, both cersei x jaime and joanna x tywin are my otps, and potential inter clan ships, like with the hyugas - i mean how the hell you think they keep the byakugan in their family?? ) that may either be played with trusted friends or be mentioned/reblogged sometimes, all properly tagged so you can easily blocklist/avoid it.  most of my muses are either bi or pan, those who are not will be specified. don't be afraid to reach out to me for shipping right off the bat - i'd rather have you to be open and honest with me about the interactions you want than lying to me, just know that there will be needed some plotting and threading first to see if your muses match. as an adult, my blog is smut friendly, i partake in sexual sunday a lot because some of my muses are very lewd in nature, you can blacklist my tag if that bothers you as well.

『 THE FINAL NOTES』

GENERAL RP ETIQUETTE APPLIES, CREDITS, THANK YOU FOR READING MY RULES

lastly but not least, general rp etiquette applies on my blog: no godmodding, forced ships, etc. there’s only ONE thing that truly makes me go apeshit crazy, and it’s when people don’t read my rules. i ALWAYS find out and it’s not pretty; i block it like it’s hot, ♪ ♫ ♬ block it like it’s hot ♪ ♫ ♬.   i strongly assure you that i always read your rules before both following you and also before sending memes, just in case. on a much smaller note, i’m not so hot on single shipping and i really feel weirded out about people forcing me to pic who i’m going to interact with due to theirs DNI’s. while i get DNI’s when it comes to actual predators, when it’s something seemingly random chances are that i’ll softblock you because it weirds me out how volatile some can be when it comes to a hobby. i have some trigger heavy hcs ( for example, the one about jiraiya’s hypersexuality being rooted in trauma that he suffered at a young age ) that i share with only a few muns that are closer with me, so i’ll be mentioning them every once in a while but won’t share them, please don’t insist.  i don’t really like most of the main characters of the franchises i write for, and when it comes to certain characters  i reserve the right to decline an rp for my own comfort. for further info on what i use to make my graphics please check my “CREDITS.” tag.  most of my stuff is made by me, i’ve got a lowkey rph in case you wanna check it out it’s @brazucahelps, however if you want a custom content i can see if i get a free time to come up with something :D

 IF YOU READ THIS FAR, THANK YOU SO MUCH — JUST ONE LAST THING, COULD YOU PLS LIKE THIS SO I KNOW YOU’VE READ IT? <3 THANKS!

[lbibliophile-mcu]

Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020 Masterpost

@buckybarnesbingo​

Thanks to very last-minute (...last 4 hours, for about 7 new works) encouragement from @rebelmeg​ and the discord server, I’ve now completed a full blackout!! [Mods, you might want to remove my previous masterpost from the queue. And thankyou for all your hard work!]

Details and links are below the cut (all fills Gen/Teen).

Somebody’s Been Sleeping in MY Bed - ficlet Prompt: B1 Bed sharing Fill type: fanfic (259 words) Characters: Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Tags: Bodyswap Summary: First he notices that the temperature is wrong. Then he notices that the bed is wrong. Then, he notices that the problem is actually something rather more fundamental.

Heat-sensitive SHIELDRA Mug - Buy Now! Prompt: U1 Seeing red Fill type: graphic Characters:  na Tags: Hydra, crack, merchandise Summary: Do you want to show off your loyalty to your organisation? Frustrated that undercover operation cramps your style? Worry no more!

BUCK-E’s Problem Prompt: C1 image of Tony working on Bucky’s arm with a cat in the background Fill type: fanart and drabble Characters:  Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Tags: DUM-E’s Drawings, Bucky Barnes’ metal arm, cats, mechanical repairs Summary: Hanging out in TON-E’s workshop, DUM-E collects the best stories. BUCK-E is not amused.

A Dead Man’s Face Prompt: K1 In memoriam Fill type: fanfic (530 words) Characters: Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Tags: Winter Soldier, brainwashing, partial amnesia Summary: The Winter Soldier knows that he was once called Bucky Barnes, and had a childhood friend called Steve Rogers. The Winter Soldier knows that Captain America is his enemy and the enemy of everything Hydra stands for. The Winter Soldier now knows that Captain America is the type of man - monster - who would use the face of Bucky’s dead friend as a weapon against him. But he will not falter; he has a mission.

Ice Bound - pt 1 Prompt: Y1 image of Steve an Bucky returning from Azzano Fill type: fanfic (620 words) Characters:  Steve Rogers / Bucky Barnes Tags: assumed character death, soulmate AU, cryofreeze, CA:TFA Summary: Steve and Bucky are Bonded. From the day they first meet they are inseparable – best friends and brothers – hardly a day goes past without the other’s company. People say they are lucky, finding each other so young, so close, never having to search and wonder; they say that it is a sign of the strength of their bond. They will need that strength

Rest Your Head Prompt: B2 Didn’t know they were dating Fill type: Moodboard Characters:  Bucky Barnes / Thor Tags: nightmares  Summary: It’s hard not to feel safe, with the god of thunder himself there to guard your sleep.

Visions of Xmas Past, Present, Future Prompt: U2 Memes Fill type: moodboard and drabble Characters:  Bucky Barnes / Sam Wilson Tags: A Christmas Carol remix, blood, future relationship Summary: Christmas Eve in his shity little apartment in in Bucharest, a recovering Bucky Barnes is granted a gift: a reminder of how far he has come, and how much more he still has to gain.

“Don’t You Dare...” Prompt:C2 “You know you love me” Fill type: moodboard and drabble Characters: Bucky Barnes / Tony Stark Tags: Insomnia, Midnight baking, Flour, Dub-con hug (friendly) Summary: Bucky looks at the kitchen, covered in flour. He looks at Tony, arms open for a hug, apron rather well camouflaged with said kitchen..."Don't you dare ­–”

Sleeping Bucky Prompt: K2 Handle with care Fill type: moodboard and drabble Characters: Steve Rogers / Bucky Barnes Tags:   fairytale au, cryofreeze, amnesia Summary: They say that true love’s kiss can break a curse. But love is too vast and complex an emotion to be encompassed by a single kiss.

Dance of the Winter Soldier Prompt: Y2 Ballet Fill type: fancraft (costume) Characters: Bucky Barnes & Morgan Stark Tags: tinsel, costume Summary: Morgan decided to dress as her favourite uncle for her ballet recital.

Line-up Prompt: B3 Movie night Fill type: moodboard Characters: Avengers team Tags: Avengers movie night Summary: The greatest challenge at Avengers movie night: not agreeing on a movie, but finding the right remote.

Equivalent Exchange Prompt: U3  Ransom note Fill type: fancraft (staged photo) Characters: Bucky Barnes & Clint Barton Tags: hostage exchange, Bucky’s chocolate addiction, Clint’s joke arrows Summary: Bucky,Tell me where you hid my new glitter arrows, And I’ll tell you where I hid your super-choc biscuits. Wait too long, and the answer will be “in my stomach”.

Armed and Ready (Winter Soldier braid] Prompt: C3 free Fill type: fancraft and drabble Characters:  Bucky Barnes Tags: tablet weaving, Bucky Barnes’ metal arm, Infinity War Summary: He looks at the open case; at the dark limb with its bright tracery. He should have known this was coming. He had known.

Diva Prompt: K3 Passing Notes Fill type: fanfic (460 words) Characters: Bucky Barnes & Clint Barton Tags: derogatory language, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes Summary: When it comes down to it, the Winter Soldier is a little diva.Yes, he is Hydra’s tool, but he is a highly skilled and extremely valuable tool, and he knows it. This makes adjusting to working with the Avengers… interesting.

Bucky’s Favourite Sundae Recipe Prompt: Y3 Alcohol Fill type: Fancraft (staged photo) Characters: Bucky Barnes Tags: Bucky Barnes’ chocolate addiction, ice-cream sundae Summary: Any guesses as to his favourite flavour?

Workout Prompt: B4 Showoff Fill type: moodboard Characters: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Tags: animal AU, dog!Steve Rogers and dog!Bucky Barnes, human!Tony Stark Summary: If there were such a thing as supersoldiers in dog form, Bucky and Steve would be it. Tony loves them, but their energy will be the death of him someday.

Trauma Bingo Prompt: U4 Occupational Hazard Fill type: fanfic (1120 words) Characters:  Bucky Barnes & Avengers Team Tags: PTSD, therapy, crack, many traumatic topics touched on briefly and non-graphically - full list in AO3 tags Summary:  SHIELD remembers that trauma therapy exists, and their sights are set on the Avengers. Aka. How many issues can you fit in one team, and can you also get them all in the same person. Succeeding at trauma bingo is not actually winning…

Play Nice Prompt: C4 Found family Fill type: drabble Characters:  Avengers Team Tags: board games, ‘house rules’ getting out of hand Summary: Maybe board games wasn’t the best idea for a team bonding activity...

Preventative Measures Prompt: K4 Sticks and stones Fill type: moodboard/graphic Characters:  Bucky Barnes Tags: self-mutilation, ear trauma, blood, Winter Soldier trigger words, CA:CW Summary:  ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones...’ but words turn me into a mindless killing machine. So Bucky takes matters into his own hands.

Not in Accord Prompt: Y4 Running Away Fill type: Moodboard and drabble Characters:  Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes Tags: Captain America,  Steve’s Bucky-centric morality Summary: He needs to remind them what Captain America truly stands for. He needs to find Bucky.  

Convenient Camouflage Prompt: B5 Alpine Fill type: fanart Characters: Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers, Alpine Tags: malicious compliance Summary: Steve has dragged him along to art classes. “C’mon Buck, it’ll be just like old times.” Well, he still can’t say no to Steve’s sad-eyes, but he’ll draw his white cat.

Hunters and Haunted Prompt:U5 Rescue mission Fill type: moodboard (and pre-published drabble) Characters:  Bucky Barnes & Natasha Romanoff Tags: nightmares, blood, guns Summary: Not all monsters can be fought with guns and steel. But a friend to guard your back is always invaluable.

Fri on the Wall Prompt: C5 Dialogue-only Fill type: Drabble sequence (600 word) Characters:  Friday, Bucky Barnes / Tony Stark Tags: mutual pining, supportive Friday, 5+1 things, dialogue-only Summary: Friday watches her idiot, pining boys. Or, five times Friday tried to support their relationship, and one time she decided to take more drastic measures.

I am... Prompt: K5 Scars Fill type: image edit Characters: Bucky Barnes Tags: amnesia Summary: He tries to remember, but the details keep slipping away...

Somebody’s Been Sleeping in MY Bed - image edit Prompt: Y5 Bodysharing Fill type: image edit Characters: Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Tags: Bodyswap Summary: First he notices that the temperature is wrong. Then he notices that the bed is wrong. Then, he notices that the problem is actually something rather more fundamental.

[tardigradetheking]

guardian swap au part 2

As Rose by any other name still wants breakfast

 Rose woke up at 2 PM. The house was quiet. her stomach growled like an angry beast, clawing at the cavernous pit that was her stomach. Rose walked into the living room confidentially, her foot slammed down on a trip wire, she dives into the living room as three smuppets impact the wall where her head used to be. she rolls into a crouch, not the crouch of someone scared but a predatory crouch, she is ready to strike, eyes scanning the living room. Rose gives lil cal a polite nod. She spots her target, Bros wallet, lying on computer keyboard. The screen saver says “lets play a game” in bloody lettering. There is a rock on top of the wallet. Rose sees the trap, once the keys are normal state the computer will trigger another trap.

“what will it be this time dear brother” she thinks “a smuppet avalanche? Perhaps a simple air horn? Or maybe this is a misdirect and Cal will jump me as soon as I turn my back? But no dear bro Cal is not yours to use this day he is mine” she grabs lil cal intending to use him as a puppet shield to trigger the trap. However, Bro had other plans. In roses hast to get her price she failed to notice the resistance from cal until the string goes taut. A rubber squeaky mallet swings down from the crawl space nocking Rose flat, another ceiling tile comes lose. As rose is buried in smuppets.

Rose pulls her daggers out of her strife specibus and in a flash the fowl puppets are eviscerated. She stomps up to bros wallet and takes 50 dollars out. She hesitates and takes another 20, for her troubles. she puts on her shoes checks that her bus pass is still in her Laptop bag. “the things a 10-year-old can get with a forged signature” she muses. Rose grabs her shades at the door, the same kind of shades that Morpheus wore during the Matrix.

As Rose Strider began her walk to the bus stop a flock of crows coalesced, circling above her.  One of her Crows lands on her shoulder, stark white compared to the others jet black. “Hello Minnie, do you want breakfast?” “aak aak”

One bus ride later she enters her destination, Chipotle. Rose was a regular, so they hardly batted an eye. “hey crow girl what will you have” one worker called. “my usual” she responded. When her food was done, she went outside. In one hand her meal, in the other a mix of chips and refried beans. She opens the container, lays it on the ground with a flourish and calls “breakfast” crows swarm. As the Raven Girl eats, she offers a small bit of meat to Minnie.

Another bus ride later she arrives at the mall. The Crows settle in for a long wait.  

Rose walked her well beaten path through the mall, she nodded to the security guard Earl and paused in front of a shop, there was a dress in its window. She stares and after a moment scoffs. Soon Rose reaches her destination, a bench. Pulling out her laptop Rose begins her day, first she starts on an assignment for her concurrence classes. Next she edits the newest chapter of her novel, complacency of the learned. Deeming it fit for public consumption she uploads it to her website. The Crow girl hears laughter looking down at the fountain below she sees a group of friends. Rose pulls up Pesterchum

TenticlesandTripwires [TT] began pestering MadscienceGodhead [MG]

TT: Hello, David. how goes your artistic endeavors? I have just published the newest chapter of my E-novel.

MG: oh sick ill have to check it out I just published the newest installment of Jeffery and the bro

TT: Oh? I will have to look.

TT: you're still on the DMV arch? David, I'm disappointed.

MG: you just dont get it the dmv is supposed to be a hell scape of lines and waits got to teach people how to deal with that shit

TTI highly doubt that you need a whole 6 months to explore the topic, or are you just out of material?

MG: no comment although i have plenty of ideas for sweat bro and hella jeff iv just been pumping them out lately like a creativity geysier my minds getting all ol faithful up in here

TT: My brother will be overjoyed to hear that. He finds your work entertaining.

MG: shit that means a lot from the master of irony oh hey rose guess what my mom finally oked the sword lessons

TT:  indeed? congratulations David in a couple of decades you might very well be at my level.

MG: hahaha fuck you rose i have to go now im in the middle of mad science shit its time sensitive

TT: Oh, David, you can't just leave me at that. Do tell.

MG: cloning a sabertooth tiger

MadscienceGodhead [MG] ceased pestering TenticlesandTripwires [TT]

TenticlesandTripwires [TT] began pestering GardenGnostic [GG]

TT: Hello Jade. How are you?

GG: good!!! How are you?

TT: I am fine. How was school today?

GG: not good D: dad picked me up early and everyone is saying i keep on falling asleep in class! But I don’t remember at all!!

GG: now dads talking about homeschool >:B

TT: Oh, a dreadful occurrence. I cannot help you stay in school, however, if you need assistance adapting don't hesitate to ask David and I.

GG: thanks rose :B your so nice

TT: What are friends for?

TT: Jade?

TT: Jade?

TT: I see, sleep well my friend.

TenticlesandTripwires [TT] ceased pestering GardenGnostic [GG]

[stoiccthulhu]

Update time...actually, why should these be titled? I mean, whats the point of writing a title to these if all I’m going to do is ramble on and on with no specific topic of discussion, just several things on my mind?

Election day 2020 happened yesterday and I voted for nobody. And if I would have voiced my polling choice I would have voted for the candidate I see as being the best option in line with my thoughts and opinions concerning the state of the world at the moment as well as the future.

You can insert whomever you want to believe that would be based off an assumption and a look at my internetting footprint, but you would be wrong, but that’s part of the fun of interpreting what I’m writing down for you in the future. Trying to figure out what I’m actually saying. While it makes complete sense to me, because you don’t have the hidden key phrase you can’t decipher what it is that I am putting to digital paper.

I get it, I’m an asshole.

And this isn’t, completely, a justification towards my actions but a direct result of your intervention within my life that has caused this behaviour. Think of it sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You interpreted me, came back, and intervened in any little way imaginable. Negatively or positively, but no matter your justification, it was still an intervention that didn’t need to happen because, as Malcolm once said, “Life, finds a way.” And just like destiny, it will find a way. But enough of all that crazy talk, you’re here because you want to hear all about my political leanings and to unravel the mystery as to this anonymous random on the internet’s preferred presidential choice in the election that has already passed.

But before I do that, let’s get some shit off my chest because I tend to swear and if you don’t like it, go the hell away. I’m sick of people being sensitive over everything. As if they’re looking for any reason to complain or get offended nowadays.

“The internet has given everyone in (the world) a voice, and evidently everyone in (the world) has chosen to use that voice to bitch about (anyone they find offensive)” -Holden McNeil (with some modern revisions)

And that’s why I’ve chose not to be PC in this thing, whenever I feel the urge to put pen to paper, relatively speaking.

Like, let’s see who I can offend right off the bat.

Women need to start getting punched more and treated like human beings instead of china dolls. If you’re a pro-gender equality advocate, and you’re a woman, you need to be willing to be punched in the face for doing ANYTHING a man would otherwise be punched in the face for. They also need to be held accountable for the shit they do to everyone. I am a strong supporter in believing that no matter what women say about women controlling the government and such, while women have great communication skills, they have the worst track record when it comes to not being aggressive, biologically speaking.

In the wild, whom are normally the more aggressive of the genders? Whom is usually the one more protective of the young? more willing to go out to hunt?

To be fair, I have a very limited knowledge when it comes to the animal kingdom. But, I mean, the Black Widow is normally depicted as being a deadly female, the female preying mantis devours the head of her mate after they’re done mating. There are so many, example, of females being worse than males in nature its hard to ignore. And, to add religious believers to the list of people offended, if you’re not ignorant to science and knowledge, or at least the pursuit of it, we evolved over a long period of time from apes, which, by nature, makes us, humans, not white people, black people, yellow people(to stick to the color scheme), brown people(gotta throw the other Asian people’s in there as well), animals. Highly evolved and communicative animals, but animals none the less. Was that supposed to be one word? Nonetheless?

Doesn’t matter. So, if you stick with my logic, you’ll see that women are terrible. Terrible. But, because men like to have sex with females as opposed to men for the most part in today’s society women have a stranglehold on the pelvic reason of an entire world, which means they can make anyone, for the most part, do anything they want and see things their way, even if they’re saying the sky is as green as the skies of Namek. An example of this is perfectly laid out in a clip from That 70′s Show. Kelso and Hyde prove women can’t play fight because they’ll turn it real, for whatever reason, just because they’re girls. To prove this, Kelso and Hyde play fight, and it looks bad, but they stop, laugh, and hug it out. Then Jackie and Donna play fight, starting out playfully, but then turning it into hair pulling and needing to be pulled apart. Both visibly angry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwxxJvtQnI

(OK, my memory was bad, it was Eric and Hyde, and it was set up differently, but the concept is still there.)

And I get it, they’re actors, being paid to do what the script is telling them to do, but it is true. Girls are worst during puberty as well, from what I’ve heard. And I get it, I have a biased standpoint being a male, but in today's culture that shouldn’t matter, it’s about what’s being said, not my gender.

Now that women are out of the way, lets also as black people, but not specifically black people, its more of a systemic form of racism that I believe shouldn’t exist. In which, if you are not of that specific race, you are not allowed to say the n-word. What makes me giggle right now is that with just that sentence every single person reading this probably got a bit riled up. A bit ruffled in the feathers because I’m not a black person. And if you weren’t, you are now, knowing what you know now.

So let me provide you with some context so you can understand how I’m not racist at the same time as saying what I said above.

I enjoy rap music and hip-hop, as do a lot of people throughout the world, black or otherwise. Which, in this current climate, would be considered one of the forms of cultural appropriation we tend to sweep under the rug because it doesn’t fit our narrative of being offended about something. Because I like rap music I tend to learn the word to all of the songs I enjoy listening to. Because I learn the words to the songs that I enjoy listening to I sing along. But, because I’m not black, I have to ruin my flow to edit myself just because the artist chose to use nigger in their song. Which, as an artist, is their choice.

Now, why should I have to edit myself? I have tried to replace it with “wigger”, but because of the closeness of the words, I felt that would still be offensive if I was ever overheard by the wrong black person who, understandably, would be mad if they heard a pasty white boy say the word nigger without any context.

I just think, unless the person is using the word in a hateful way, directed at the person the speaker either personally knows or is conciously speaking about, as in “i hate that nigger” or “you’re a nigger”. If it’s something like that, totally beat the shit out of that racist.

But if you’re singing along to Wu-Tang, and you say:

I be that insane nigga from the psycho ward I'm on the trigger, plus I got the Wu-Tang sword So how you figure, that you can even fuck with mine? Hey, yo, RZA! Hit me with that shit one time! And pull a foul, niggas, save the beef for the cow I'm milkin' this ho, this is my show, Tical! The fuck you wanna do on this mic piece, duke? I'm like a sniper, hyper off the ginseng root PLO Style, buddha monks with the owls Now who's the fuckin' man? Meth-Tical It shouldn’t be labelled as being racist.

There is more rattling around in my head right now, things that I’ve been thinking about for years, and things that have been bothering me for just about as long, but for now those were the two that fell out when I vomited all over my keyboard.

And if you’re offended. Get over it. You need to start.

Oh, I almost forgot. I was going to tell you whom it was I was going to vote for yesterday if I had voted for anybody. Jokingly I wanted to write-in “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. But in truth I was going to vote for Biden. Not because I thought he was the better candidate, but because there was not a good option at all, he was just the lesser of two evils. This election has made me decide I want a third option when it comes to my politicians, or at least, get rid of political parties all together. We spend so much time infighting and holding each other back instead of up no real change has happened in the past decade? Longer? And whatever change that does happen gets nitpicked apart so much it becomes a shell of its former self. But, enough about that. I have a baby demanding eggs and waffles and I still need to tag this.

[bazz-b]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — There’s a lot of freedom when you write a character with as little screen time as Bazz-B. I adhere strongly to everything known about him, and embellish the rest as I can. Some canon facts are a bit contradicting so we make do with what we can.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  Bazz-B is what happens when you cross punk with a volcano. Wronged as a child, betrayed by his God, he began a 1000 year crusade to infiltrate a holy army and kill God. Along the way he takes names and kicks ass, while balancing the burden of his secret goal and cultural obligation to aid his kind. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  The dude held a grudge for a 1000 years, pushed away the only person who cared about him, and then whined that he was betrayed. An ego bigger than his eccentric hair, he’s twice as obnoxious as he is loud.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  How dare you make me admit my secret shame.. When Bazz-B was first revealed in the manga, I snagged him in the group I was RPing in. Grimmjow was already so popular, and a lot of writers I looked up to were writing him, so there’s no way I was trying my hand at that. But this new fella reminded me of a Quincy Grimmjow. I WAS VERY WRONG AND I’M GLAD I WAS BUT THAT’S MY SHAMEFUL ORIGIN STORY.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  I think it’s stupid how much I love Bazz-B. I went away for a while due to health reasons, but I never stopped loving him. Fleshing out everything that could have been, should have been, is and was-- any opportunity to talk about this man reignites my passion for him.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. (not often enough)

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (Bazzard and Zorn’s All American Tour)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. (IT DEPENDS? I’M NOT EASILY OFFENDED BUT I’M SOFT)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  God okay I thrive off criticism. Genuinely, it doesn’t need to be positive. I prefer negative criticism. I’ll only ever improve if people tell me what I suck at. I can be better, help me pls.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  I drool over that shit.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  I'd definitely be interested. Headcanons, I think, pertain to each persons portrayal, so if someone disagrees they must believe it’s inherently out of character. I’d love to discuss that!

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  I’d love to discuss that EVEN MORE THAN HEADCANONS. If someone thinks Bazz-B should be behaving differently, or acting differently in scenarios, I’d love to listen to why. If anyone loves Bazz-B and has thoughts you come to me, you sit me down and I will listen so raptly you’ll think I’ve frozen in time.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  To each their own! I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of Bazz-B, he’s very in your face, and I know a lot of the stoic characters are super popular. Wont make me love him any less.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Oh God, please do. My biggest peeve is when I repeat words too often. Be my little microsoft word paperclip!!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I think I’m terrible at continuing out of character conversations, as I’m always worried I’m bugging people, but other than that I am very easy. Unless you say “I wish to offend you” I’ll naturally assume you’re not trying to offend me. We all come across differently, I just assume everyone is here to have a good time.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @hirako5hinji & @zombiequincy

[bryonysimcox]

Spring has Sprung and Life Continues: Week 11, Spain

Another week spent in the Catalunyan countryside as coronavirus lockdown continues. Here are my reflections on the arrival of spring, broad beans, ecological economics and the launch of ‘The Hundred Miler’.

This last week has seen the welcome face of April - signalling that spring is certainly here along with the arrival of Easter. It’s a time associated with new life, new starts, sunny days and longer nights. Even though we remain in full lockdown here in Spain, it feels as though we can draw upon the changing season as a source of assurance.

The week started with something rather special. I finally got to drive Suzi!

When we first bought the van in Summer 2019, I was still only 24, and it was really expensive to get me insured on it. There seems to be a transition point for insurers at age 25, so George and I had always agreed that after my birthday at Christmas, we’d get me on the insurance. But we never got around to it, partly because of the additional expense, and partly because it wasn’t a huge priority, until the start of March. And then of course, we were in Valencia and the lockdown hit, so we had nowhere to drive to even once I was insured!

My first drive here in Catalunya was pretty fun, even though it was just a trip to the supermarket. Because we’re in lockdown, the roads are super quiet which has been great, and the roads around the cottage aren’t tarmaced, so I could do some offroading as well. I’ve since driven a couple more times to and from the supermarket, and it’s so nice to be behind the wheel again. I haven’t driven since we owned our last van, Casper, back in Sydney!

(Images, left to right) My first time driving Suzi the HiAce, and a throwback to driving our last van Casper.

On the topic of Sydney, I have been doing some serious reminiscing. It’s almost coming to exactly a year since George and I flew back to the UK from Australia, and anniversaries always tend to bring on waves of nostalgia. It’s mad to think that a year ago, we didn’t own a van, not least have a clue about where we’d be living in the van! And of course, there’s no way I’d have imagined that we would be stuck amid a pandemic-induced global lockdown. Oh, to have the gift of foresight... 

The year that ensued after we left our friends, jobs, and security blanket of Sydney was an absolute rollercoaster. We naively aimed to have the van built and prepped in a matter of months, and when the van-build rolled over towards Christmas 2019, I felt like an absolute failure for not having finished it sooner. And yet now, upon reflection, I guess it’s not such a bad achievement to have managed to buy and build Suzi the HiAce, both of us get jobs in Manchester and move into a flat there, launch our documentary channel ‘Broaden’ and set off for Europe all in a year.

We can all benefit from a bit of self-reflection to put progress into perspective.

(video) Broaden’s latest video; an overview of who we are and what we’re about. It’s helped me to reframe some of the successes of this last year.

I feel like a stuck record, but food is a wonderful experience which punctuates the repetitive days of lockdown. Last week I wrote about calçots, a deliciously sweet spring onion special to this region and eaten with Romesco sauce. This week, it’s all about broad beans. The garden here is full of them, so I’ve been tasked with picking and podding. Most of them are fat enough to be podded, and are even better if you go the extra mile by blanching them and removing their skins. The smaller ones can be eaten as they are, and make for a lovely crunchy stir-fry ingredient too.

Preparing broad beans can be time-consuming, but also a wonderfully cathartic activity. My granny in Scotland used to have plenty of these beans in her garden, and I remember summer days spent picking and podding with my mum. We’ve stored plenty here in the freezer but have also kept some fresh and I am continually finding ways to incorporate them into our meals. A quick call to my well-resourced mum also resulted in her sending pages and pages photographed from Jane Grigson’s vegetable book: not only with plenty of recipes but incredibly detailed descriptions of the vegetable’s history and qualities too.

(images) Beautiful fresh veggies from the market were a highlight of the week, as well as picking these broad beans straight from the garden. The bowl on the right is what was distilled from podding four huge bags’ worth.

The resurgence in cooking and baking whilst in lockdown is inspiring, but I’ve been thinking about how it affects our supply chains as well.

Just this morning on BBC News I saw an article about dairy farmers having to throw away vast amounts of milk as cafes, hotels and restaurants remain shut, and another article about how there’s been an insane increase in demand for flour, as everyone takes to home baking. Many mills are now working around the clock to meet the demand in the UK and I was especially interested to read that even if there’s enough flour that there’s a shortage of packaging, because usually only 4% of flour produced goes into the smaller bags that we see on supermarket shelves.

Coronavirus has triggered so many changes in how we live and how we behave, that it's wreaking havoc on supply chains like this, and of course, the economy. That said, whilst the negative effects are hard to deny, scientists, economists and ecologists alike are suggesting that we should leverage the situation as an opportunity to reflect on how we all live, and how we might return to ‘normal’ life without just returning to business as usual. I agree: this is a unique opportunity to reassess production and consumption, how we assign value to things, and the economic and political models that we use to govern our world.

The connection between global lockdown, coronavirus, climate change and our economy has really got me thinking.

I recently read an incredible article by ecological economist Simon Mair in Singularity Hub which looked at this relationship. The article pulled together disparate strands that have been on my mind for a while, each related to various books which I’ve been reading, and which I can now see are interconnected. Simon suggests that the Covid-19 crisis could be a chance to “expand our economic imagination”. He explains that coronavirus, like climate change, demands a type of downscaling, counter to the ‘wartime economy’ mentality and massive upscaling of production. 

“If we want to be more resilient to pandemics in the future (and to avoid the worst of climate change) we need a system capable of scaling back production in a way that doesn’t mean loss of livelihood”, says Simon.

The article is full of gems, and Simon explores things such as our current addition to economic growth and productivity, the transfer of healthcare and labour goods out of the market and into the hands of the state, and the social forms that could come from an ethic that values care, life, and democracy. It answers some of the questions posed by George Monbiot in ‘How Did We Get Into This Mess?’, echoes some of the radical economic theories proposed by Kate Raworth in ‘Doughnut Economics’, and parallels ideas of democratic market socialism put forward by ‘How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century’ by Erik Olin Wright which I’m currently reading. Simon’s article has really got me so fired up, in fact, that I’m working on an idea for a new video which explores the topic, so watch this space.

(images) Three fantastic books which I highly recommend.

On the subject of videos, Broaden has been one of the only things keeping us sane! I am eternally grateful to have a creative outlet in times like these, and one which involves a collaborative partnership with George too. Whilst we aren’t able to explore places in the van, or capture footage for new films as we’d love to be doing right now, we are at least able to edit from the cottage and work on promoting the content that we are already releasing.

It feels so tricky to get the right tone when releasing videos during a global pandemic.

We are both conscious of remaining sensitive to the severity of the health crisis, whilst balancing that with the reality that life goes on, and that people still want to see pictures, watch videos and read articles that engage with other topics too. As Broaden, George and I obviously made the decision to launch our documentary ‘The Hundred Miler’ during this time, and I hope that people see it as a celebration of running, the natural world, and human resilience, and perhaps even an escape from the daily news of the virus, rather than something insensitive or badly-timed.

(video) Trailer for ‘The Hundred Miler’

‘The Hundred Miler’ comes out this Saturday 11th April, and we have been overwhelmed by the response already. People have really got behind the project, helping to share it on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and widen its potential reach. George has been making this film for well over three years, so it feels like an immense milestone to finally have it shown to the world. I don’t think I know many people who hold themselves to such high standards as George, and so to have so many positive messages and people planning to tune in for the live premier on Saturday is the best affirmation of all his hard work that I could wish for. It has been a pleasure to see him create this documentary, and also to have been involved in the production and final stages of its creation.

The Hundred Miler is a film about three Australian guys, taking on the biggest race of their lives; UTMB.

‘Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc’ is renowned in the trail-running world, as one of the most challenging and scenic ultra marathons. The Hundred Miler is an attempt to bring this story to the masses, and we hope that it appeals to non-runners and runners alike, for its underlying themes of companionship, commitment and strength. It premiers live on YouTube at 10am in the UK, which is 7pm in Australia on 11.4.20, and after that the video will be available to watch as a normal video. You can find BTS footage and more information about the film on our Instagram here, details of the launch on the Facebook event here, and the link for the video itself here. You can also subscribe to Broaden’s YouTube channel and set a reminder for when the film goes live.

(video) ‘The Hundred Miler’ which goes live on Sat 11th April.

 It goes without saying: I am really missing the open road and living in a van. And I’m not immune to fear of the future either. But as the days and weeks pass, we learn to adapt to changing circumstances and continue to find hope among them. In a way, it helps to know we are all in the same boat, facing a topsy-turvy life full of roadblocks and revelations. Thanks for tuning in to read my weekly ramblings and I hope you’re all keeping as well as you can be. Until next week!

[rp-bnha]

So because we’ve been told that the links are difficult to access on mobile, I put an entire masterpost of all the information in the links. It’ll be a bit long so I’ll put it under the cut!

General Information

Hey there! This is a roleplay group for the manga Boku no Hero Academia, in case you haven’t noticed already.

Here’s some information about us:

We only accept canon characters. Characters from AU’s (villain Deku, fantasy Bakugou, etc) and original characters do not have a place here. Sorry!

We also only accept characters with some “significance.” This means that minor characters who have appeared once or twice without much canon interaction won’t be accepted because…we don’t know much of anything about their personality.

Mineta doesn’t exist in this AU and he’s replaced by Shinsou!

If you fill out the application and you are accepted, we have a discord server that you’ll be invited to! After we all get to meet each other OOC, you will get to make your own rp-bnha affiliated blog for the character you write for and we will all follow each other. We want to congregate on Discord before officially coming to Tumblr because we would like to keep things organized and talk on more casual terms. It’s nice to brainstorm and make friends!

I believe our writing standard qualifies as “semi descriptive.” Basically a paragraph or more is required when you roleplay with us (unless the thread is super casual and your partner is okay with you writing less). If you are used to writing a couple short sentences for your responses, this may not be the roleplay group for you.

If you’re thinking about applying, please read the rules before you do!

Rules

There are some rules if you plan to join us, by the way. We operate under a three strike system as well so please read this page carefully if you do not want to be warned (or even banned)!

General

Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, etc is not tolerated.

Do not bring discourse into the group. We’re here to roleplay and have fun!

No harassment is tolerated. If someone says they’re uncomfortable with something, listen to them. Don’t try to change their mind.

This group accepts headcanons of all kinds as long as they are not harmful or OOC.

This is also a ship positive space because most of the roleplayers are multishippers (bakudeku, kacchako, todobaku, todomomo, etc). Even if we don’t necessarily roleplay these specific ships (besides todomomo), we do love and appreciate them! If you have a problem with this, you’re going to have a bad time.

Life happens, we totally understand that you’ll get busy sometimes. But once you pick a character to roleplay, it is unacceptable to drop them within the first month just because you couldn’t adequately estimate your time management. We obviously can’t stop you from dropping characters, but if you drop them within a month of having them, you will not be able to apply for another character until another month has passed. We expect dedication so please stick with it!

If you must take a break, please let the mods know. If you are a more dedicated roleplayer we will be very understanding (for example, if you have been rping for a few months and you need a couple weeks off to study for finals, we will absolutely allow you to stay). But if you have just applied for a character, you’ve been roleplaying as them for a week and you need to take a long break, we will be…skeptical. Unless it is an emergency please refrain from this, and if the latter situation occurs, we may free up your spot so someone with more time on their hands can roleplay.

Blog Rules

You are allowed to interact with other blogs outside of rp-bnha (such as OCs and canon characters from other fandoms) but if you’re going to roleplay with BNHA characters, try to interact with the canon ones we have at rp-bnha. If you feel like you absolutely have to interact with an indie Uraraka blog or something, then talk to the mods and we’ll figure something out.

Set up a rules/info page on your blog! Talk about the subjects you won’t rp, plots you prefer to rp, maybe some headcanons you have (for example, if you’re roleplaying Dabi, you could say that you operate under the Dabi Todoroki Theory), etc. This is to keep people from asking you to rp things that you’re not comfortable with.

Try to make your blog at least a little pretty. Default icons and banners can easily be changed to reflect you and your character!

Roleplay Etiquette

Read the rules on the roleplayer’s blog before interacting in character! This is so you know what subjects they are down for rping and which ones they’re uncomfortable with.

This is a drama-free zone. If you have a problem with someone OOC, do not be rude to them IC. Drama between characters is okay though! Just not between roleplayers.

Always ask someone if you can roleplay with them before leaping into their plot, arc, or thread. If someone writes a starter where anyone can join in, that is definitely an exception!

If your plot is going to include triggering topics or nsfw, use trigger warnings!

Keep OOC to a minimum. If the mods see that you’re getting too out of control, then we will message you privately about it before giving you a strike.

If someone says they don’t want to roleplay with you (or they reject your plot idea), learn to take no for an answer. Also, the reverse is a rule as well: if someone presents a plot to you and you truly do not want to roleplay it, please politely turn it down and maybe suggest another plot, or just say that you don’t feel like having your character interact with theirs right now.

If your roleplay is going to have sensitive topics, talk to the mods beforehand. We will tell you if we can let it slide with a trigger warning or if it’s better that you don’t rp it at all. There’s a difference between a rape recovery arc and writing an explicit scene. The first one is accepted with a trigger warning, the other is an absolute no.

If you have no problem with these rules, move onto the masterlist to see which characters are available for you!

Masterlist

If there is a character that is not listed here but you would like to rp as them, please talk to the mods. We removed most characters who we thought were relatively minor in the series.

If you find a character on this list who you would like to roleplay, proceed to the application process. You are allowed to apply for three characters at most but you’ll only get two, so choose wisely! Be sure to rank them on the form so we know which ones are your first choices.

Bold means the character is taken, if it’s not bold then you are free to apply for that character.

Class 1-A

Izuku Midoriya

Katsuki Bakugou

Shouto Todoroki

Tenya Iida

Hitoshi Shinsou

Eijirou Kirishima

Denki Kaminari

Aoyama Yuuga

Sero Hanta

Mezou Shouji

Fumikage Tokoyami

Ojirou Mashirao

Kouji Kouda

Rikido Satou

Momo Yaoyorozu

Ochako Uraraka

Kyouka Jirou

Mina Ashido

Tsuyu Asui

Tooru Hagakure

Other Classes

Monoma Neito

Itsuka Kendou

Ibara Shiozaki

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Mei Hatsume

Mirio Togata

Nejire Hadou

Tamaki Amajiki

Pro Heroes and Teachers

All Might

Endeavor

Hawks

Miruko

Aizawa

Present Mic

Midnight

Villains

All For One

Shigaraki

Kurogiri

Dabi

Mr. Compress

Toga

Magne

Twice

Overhaul

Application Process

Hello, and thank you for taking interest in the roleplay group! If you have read the information page, the rules, and the masterlist, please continue on.

Because we are just starting out, we have a lot of spots open (lucky you!). We call this a “free for all” period. This means you can apply for three characters on the masterlist page, but keep in mind that you will only get a maximum of two! This means you also have the option of applying for three characters and only roleplaying as one if you request it. There is also the chance that you will apply for three but only get one even if you wanted two, because it’s unfair if four people each have two characters instead of eight, qualified people getting one character each!

Getting two characters is a big responsibility, and because of our dropping rules, we highly suggest that you only request two if you know you will have the time to roleplay them with equal passion and quality. Please do not drop them because your time management was off!

EDIT :: There have been a few minor changes to the application process. Please read about them here.

After the free for all period, the mods will spend three to four days going through the remaining applications and picking out which applicants get which spots. If there are still some characters who were not applied for (or if the applicants did not fulfill the requirements), roleplayers who are already members get priority! This means if you requested two characters and you only got Tokoyami, you can pick one of the other untaken characters from the list if you think you have the time to rp two characters!

Thank you for reading, and good luck!

Application Form (if you are on mobile and somehow cannot use this link, message us and we will provide you with a direct link)

[candyembe]

Week 7: The consequences of Beauty Filters

Beauty filters have existed for a while now, but I only recently noticed people criticizing the kinds of filters that are used across social media platforms. I’m not talking about the filters that give you puppy ears and a puppy nose – I’m talking about the beauty filters that slim your face, make your skin appear textureless, widen your eyes; the ones that can change the way one looks entirely. Oftentimes, this entails a whiter skin tone, bigger eyes, a smaller nose, and a smaller face.

The harmful effects of comparing your real life to edited photos on social media have been well documented. Filtered and photoshopped pictures set an unrealistic standard of what ‘attractive’ looks like. Understandably, looking at people’s seemingly perfect bodies can make us feel bad about our own. From lowering self-esteem to triggering body image issues, these filters have been a sensitive topic for many, especially for young teenage girls who spend 8 to 9 of their 15 waking hours online. Dramatic beauty filters rid selfies of skin textures, tones, scars and everything that makes you, you. They create an unrealistic standard of beauty that can quickly turn into an obsession. People become obsessed with looking perfect. They crave to see a side of themselves that doesn’t actually exist, and which corresponds to an unnatural and inhuman ideal of beauty that you can now achieve with filters. It’s so easy to feel insecure like this. I want to remind people not to let these filters fool you.

The people using these filters seem to have perfectly tucked-in bellies, just the right amount of tan, and they look like models, even though they aren’t. Much of the content we see daily is filtered and photoshopped to match this ideal Instagram look. So when you look in the mirror without these filters, you feel ugly. You see the raw reality that shows all your open pores, belly pouch and other ‘imperfections’ that make you feel insecure about your body.

Women are already highly criticized based on their physical features in society, and although these filters were designed for fun, we can’t ignore the unintended consequences. People may say “lighten up” or “no need to take it so seriously,” but those statements neglect the negative effects these filters can have on mental health for those who are insecure and easily influenced by social media.

When a filter changes a woman’s face entirely while claiming to be a “beauty filter,” it essentially communicates that in order to be beautiful, you should dramatically alter your appearance.

However, I am glad to see people increasingly aware of this issue, and they’re calling it out by comparing their non-filtered face with their filtered face. Hopefully, the filter fad will phase out of public consciousness as quickly as it came into it – though it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. And even if that is the case, body dysmorphia and its lasting effects will outlive the fad of beauty filters.

=> Filters are all fun and games until they begin to hurt people’s self-perceptions. It’s no longer just a filter: it’s a toxic social media phenomenon that promotes dysmorphia and discourages individuals from taking their beauty into their own hands. Know that you’re looking at a filtered, highly-edited picture online. The perfection you see online doesn’t really exist. What you see in the mirror is real and beautiful. It’s okay to enjoy playing around with these filters occasionally, but don’t let them take over your life. Remember and affirm to yourself that you’re unique, beautiful, strong, powerful, loved and worthy without any filter.  

Reference:

Luong, J 2022, Instagram Versus Reality: The Consequences of Beauty Filters, The Bottom Line UCSB, viewed 9 March, 2022, .

Udavant, S 2021, Filter vs Reality: How Filters Are Damaging Our Relationships, High life North, viewed 9 March, 2022, .

[asklotarasarrin]

Getting Started Role Playing

I’ve had a number of asks on this topic over the years, and rather than retyping the same thing repeatedly, I’m gonna try and collect my thoughts on how to go about this. All of this is assuming you’re on desktop; mobile makes some things a little more difficult. Feel free to add to this; I’m sure there’s things I’m forgetting.

Warning: Long Post!

First things first: Preparation

Get your blog in order

Create a character bio - This should include character name, a description, and a background. If your character is a canon character, then it’s not so bad to forego this, but I think it’s a good idea even for canon characters, as not everyone is going to be familiar with every single character in a universe.

Put a short explanation of the blog in the blog header - This is like a pitch or an introduction to what your blog is about. This should indicate you’re an RP blog, who you RP(if you have multiple muses on the blog, I think it’s okay to just say ‘multiple OCs’ or ‘multiple muses’), and maybe the universe your muse is from. Some blogs also include if they’re selective or not, multi-ship or not, open to cross-over/multiverse or not, etc, but not nearly as necessary.

Rules page - not necessary, but sometimes helpful if you have any particular things, such as being unwilling to RP smut, or you have some triggers/sensitive topics that you aren’t will to do, etc.

Make sure your inbox is open - Seems silly, but I forget this one frequently when I’m making a new blog. Check other blog settings as well- (submissions, anon, etc)

Follow other blogs - This seems obvious, but it is key. Follow other blogs you want to RP with! Find others from the universe your muses are set in. Do take the time to read their bios and rules pages, if they have any.

Write an Introduction post - Not everyone does this, but I think it’s very helpful. It should be a SHORT post, in or out of character. Many blogs are disinclined to reblog long intro posts because people instinctively skip over walls of text.

Reblog RP memes - The Intro post will help generate interest, the RP memes make it easy to break the ice.

Next Step: Getting Out There

Provided you have taken the time to read other people’s rules and bios, reach out!

If they’ve reblogged memes you are interested in, send an ask with that meme - These are GREAT icebreakers so you can get started with relatively low effort. Friendly reminder: Read the meme carefully. Typically the meme has some form of explanation or instruction in it, and it is very frustrating when someone sends in a meme when they clearly did not bother to actually read what it’s about.

Use the messenger to ask to plot - Sometimes blogs don’t post memes often, or they reblog memes that don’t quite work for your character. Politely ask to plot. Try to come with ideas. It can be frustrating when someone comes to you wanting to plot but has NO idea about what to do. I personally will frequently take premises from memes I like and adjust them as necessary.

Open starters - Alternative to memes, sometimes blogs will post ‘open starters’. These are usually open ended in-character posts that other role players can reply to. It isn’t a bad idea to post your own open starters either, if you’re feeling up for it. Note: Generally speaking, open starters once taken by someone are not available for additional role players unless otherwise noted in the tags. If you like an open starter that has already been taken, you can also use the messenger to ask if you can also get in on that. Many RP bloggers use thread trackers, so the starter would need to be copied to a new post before beginning RP.

Important Notes: Etiquette

There are a number of rules and behaviors that are important to keep in mind, some obvious, some not so much. In no particular order.

Patience - This is my number one thing. RPers come from all walks of life- full-time students and career people, big and small families, personal struggles, different time zones, language barriers abound. And Tumblr is not a well programmed website, so notifications don’t pop up, or get buried under other things. So don’t panic if people don’t immediately reply. Don’t be rude when following up after a reasonable amount of time has passed. Give people the opportunity to measure their replies to you.

Try to keep your In Character and Out of Character clear/separate - Some RP blogs are actually a mishmash of personal and roleplay. Many blogs indicate in the tags or with markings of some form(the most common being ‘//’ slashes or () parentheses). It can be confusing for people without these markers.

Do not reblog RPs you are not involved in - This is a personal pet peeve. RP posts are often only snippets of the overall story, and when reblogged it is taken out of context. The other problem is it adds notifications to a thread that aren’t from the partner, and can be confusing. RPThreadTracker doesn’t have a problem with it, but other forms of tracking can struggle.

Respect and ‘Don’t like Don’t follow’ - universes big and small, OCs and Canon Characters over the top and from humble beginnings, we’re all here to have a good time. You’re not going to like every mun or muse you come across. Not every other blog is going to like you or your muse. People talk shit about self-inserts, teenage OCs, people who like to RP almost exclusively smut, and myriad of other things. But those muns are doing things that make them happy. And you don’t get to control what other people do. If you don’t like it, don’t follow. Don’t RP with them. Let it go.

Self Care - This is part of a larger topic and related to the above bullet point, but important to at least touch on. Not everyone who RPs is well or good. This is meant to be fun. So if you are stressed out or overwhelmed by an RP partner or thread for whatever reason, talk to your partner about it. If they do not respect your requests or needs, then it would be better to not RP with them. There are people who struggle with a myriad of health and situational issues. You will at one time or another meet people who will insist you cater to their every whim, try to control you and your muse. Block these people.

Read tags - This may not seem like an etiquette thing, but this is important. Some people communicate extensively this way. It will help to prevent communication errors.

Read More - use the read more function for NSFW threads. It’s the [...] at the end of the options bar

Tagging - Tag NSFW, triggering content, and anything else you think appropriate. I also try to tag my different verses, my in character and out of character posts, etc.

Trim Your Posts - This is hard to do on mobile, but necessary. When a post has many reblogs, it can be tedious to scroll past. Trimming them/cropping them makes a big difference. [Link here for a tutorial on how to trim - Browser]

Mun and Muse Knowledge [Meta Gaming] - There maybe things your character does not know, and cannot know, that you know. Remember to keep the distinction. Nothing kills my desire to RP with someone than their character somehow reading my character’s thoughts.

Controlling other Characters [God Modding] - You control your character. Your partner controls theirs. You don’t control if they get hit by a punch, if they dodge, if they punch back. It’s part of the give and take.

Drive the Story - Role Playing is joint story telling. Don’t put all the burden if directing where the story goes on your partner. Give your partner something to react to, to build on. If you only ever give one sentence replies, it’s going to get tedious fast.

Other Tips and Tricks

I am a big fan of XKit, a browser addon that makes Tumbling much easier for RPers. [Link here!] The specific functions that are most helpful are Editable Reblogs and One Click Reply. Editable reblogs makes it far easier to trim in post. One Click Reply makes it possible to reply to comments and other notification forms.

In addition to those two, I also like to use the Blacklist, and Post Block functions. Some RPers or topics I particularly cannot stand, so I use Blacklist to keep them from my dash. Post Block is great for those discourse posts and individual RP threads that just squick you out for whatever reason.

I also am easily lost and confused by the innumerable notifications I get on the daily, so it became very important for me to use a website called RPThreadTracker. I highly recommend it, as I occasionally have threads that don’t get replied to for weeks. They also have an add-on button so you can click to add a thread to your list quickly and easily.

Terms

There is a bit of a jargon with this. Sorry if it’s been confusing thus-far!

Mun - the writer behind the blog

Muse - the fictional character, the character

IC/OOC - In Character / Out of Character

OC - Original Character

Thread - the roleplay, the chain of posts making up the story

Selective/Semi-Selective/Private/Mutuals Only - This is often in a blog header - indicates how picky the mun is about selecting RP partners and threads. Read their rules. Respect their decisions to RP or not to RP.

Multi-verse - Indicates the blog is open to threads outside of their designated universe. (IE, my Warhammer character being willing to RP with an Overwatch character). It is advisable to message the mun to hash out the details.

DM or PM - Direct message or private message. Both indicate the tumblr message system.

AU - Alternate Universe. Indicates a deviation from the traditional universe.

[hal-film]

The abuse of subject matter in cinema for commercial growth – how films profit off trauma

From fear to the advertisement of the admirable, as spectators we are constantly sold ideas, belief and motives that are manipulated by an actor’s portrayal of a character or subconsciously through semiotics, the subliminal responses we idiosyncratically have to colours, mise en scène and pathetic fallacy. Amongst this list of sensory attributes that create a films world, the fabrication we are subjected to can often be pasted over a precursory event or idea. At times, this can be of deep importance to the story, however there is an argument that these events can be exploited for commercial growth, with the topic at hand being sensitive, tragic even, and therefore triggering a deeper emotional response.

By stripping a story down to the key plot points, you can often find it will fit a typical narrative theory or theories. For example, you can apply Proppian theory and assign each character a role (hero, helper, donor, false-hero, villain, princess etc.), though it is worth mentioning that these titles are not necessarily characters; the ‘princess’ is the prize, which in typical folklore would be a princess, however we can translate it to be what is desired by the hero. Another example would be binary oppositions (e.g. police verses criminals) or the equilibrium (equilibrium – disequilibrium – new equilibrium). Once these theories are applied to narrative you can deduct what cinematic techniques are required and what is unnecessary. In Andrei Tarkovsky’s writings of Sculpting in Time, he used the metaphor that a films narrative is like a sculpture, the filmmaker removing what is irrelevant to leave what remains. Throughout most films there will most likely be moments written into the script that have no purpose to the story, sometimes these are little details however they can often serve no real purpose other than to give the audience more world building. These moments are never narrative triggers or major plot points in the story, just information, however it becomes more of an issue when an aspect of the narrative is not of any purpose to the story other than to ‘sell’.

When ‘selling’ the audience something, the filmmakers often use sex as it is part of our raw impulses built into our id and this is used in TV, advertising, music etc., however far more can be sold than just sex; films can shape a world any way the filmmakers please leading to some films handling topics that are distinctively sensitive as a way of attracting publicity (cue ‘all publicity is good publicity’ ethics). The heavier the topic, the harder it is to handle, the more it effects the psyche and is digested by our ‘superego’. This is a strong contrast from our id because it requires far more rumination than the animalistic nature of our ids thought processes, which is more primal desires. This leads us onto which films do this and how.

After the popularity of Christopher Nolan’s Memento(2000) Gasper Noé was able to capitalize off non-linear narratives after successfully pitching a film that would unravel in reverse, a film that was shot using lightweight widescreen Minima Super16 mm cameras and became notorious for a rape scene lasting nine minutes, titled Irréversible. The extremity of the films content was not out of character for Noé’s work, however this scene in particular caused intense discomfort and raises moral debates of whether it is right to show such a scene. It is worth mentioning the nature of this scene is exemplified by a depraved lack of editing, just a single take. The psychology of the 180/90-degree rule abiding continuity editing is that we, as spectators, are always waiting for the cut – the cut often taking place as the action is imminent, for example the cut is at the swing of a punch, or the sitting of a character. In Irréversible, the notorious rape sequence simply does not cut, so the audience feels the urge to continue watching, anticipating the cut that doesn’t come for thirteen minutes, longing the ending of the take. If a member of the audience has had an experience relating to the events depicted by Gasper Noé then this would make the sequence far more uncomfortable. An unequivocally challenging cinematic experience to endure, one can only imagine how much more difficult the scene would be to watch if you had endured something similar. I would argue this is a case in which the subject matter was abused heavily to cause a reaction; the film is notorious for the scene and created a polarising response – people still talk about that scene.

Through the haze of motion pictures that use subject matter to evoke an emotional response, certain it will cause a stronger intrinsic reaction, there are some films that discuss subjects matters with ‘taste’, discussing an issue and bringing it to the public eye.

An example of this would be Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club(2013, 2014 UK), a film that discusses the stigma of HIV & AIDS, set in mid-1980s Texas. The Academy Award winning film was made with a budget of a mere $5M USD (making $55.2M USD at the box office) and was largely well received. Tackling issues of homophobia, substance abuse and the conspiracy of silence against the disease, the brave steps made by the film was pushed by Matthew McConaughey, who plays Ron Woodroof, an electrician who contracts the disease through unprotected sex and substance abuse, seeking medication illegally and ultimately becoming a dealer and smuggler of unapproved pharmaceutical drugs to others who required the medication. This market was largely the LGBTQ community and leads Woodroof to having to overcome his prejudices as his prior peers associate him with the LGBTQ community, distancing themselves from him bitterly. A story that is deep routed in truth and great sadness, the motion picture strikes me as being infinitely important, as the stigma of HIV & AIDS still exists. The film is not beautiful in a classical sense, but the story of a homophobic electrician who dedicates his final years to helping others he previously had a prejudice against is incredibly pure; the heart of the story is a beautiful change in a horrific situation. An emotional cinematic journey, it is an example of a story that does not trick the audience into having to evoke a response for commercial gain: it is raw and real.

The appeal of film I found since a young age has changed overtime, originally thinking the cinematic universe was infinite and without boundaries, therefore a way of discussing anything, later learning there are greater forces within the film industry that dictate a films direction. For example, the Motion Picture Association of America, the association responsible for the classification of films has been criticised for the limitations they put on films they deem one way or another and showing more scrutiny towards LGBTQ films; just as the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is in charge of the age restrictions of films, the MPAA can put its foot down and decide who is old enough to see a film. This can result in films having to shift the way they are sold or constructed to cater more aggressively to one audience (like how The Woman in Black (2012) had to try and get a rating of 12+ to assure the younger Harry Potter fans could see the film with Daniel Radcliffe starring in Susan Hill’s gothic novel adaption).

This is only one form of restriction, as many more exist, like how films that feature the US military need to have the military approve and give the green light. This leads to what I would consider a form of corruption that can be seen in war films – in the gaudy, overtly fantasy-based Transformer films by Michael Bay, the US military is praised highly throughout, guns-blazing throughout the global slaughter depicted in the semi-dystopian, problematic narratives.

The film industry is a branch of the arts, and the industry of the arts is notoriously and inherently fierce where the parallel between films costing millions and needing to break even is far apart – more films fail than succeed, therefore it is attractive for filmmakers to try and assure a certain response through the techniques discussed in this disquisition, though it leads to what I would consider low-level corruption within the industry. This is a moral debate, and at times by chance the subject being discussed through the film needs to be talked about and destigmatised, though there have always been films designed to evoke a certain response, such as wartime propaganda films.

[worldfootprints]

Have you ever wondered what draws people to the morbid places associated with suffering or death? Auschwitz, Ground Zero, and Chernobyl come to mind.

In the case of the latter, a recent miniseries about the nuclear power plant disaster has seen the number of visitors to Chernobyl almost double over the past twelve months. The Auschwitz concentration camp is now the most visited attraction in Poland, while more than ten million people have set foot inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum since it opened at Ground Zero in New York.

Dark Tourism, the name for tourism focused on traveling to a destination associated with death or suffering, is extremely popular. There has always been some taboo attached to dark tourism and there was often a sense of shame attached to visiting these harrowing places. People are suspect that there is enjoyment from such dark suffering.

And there are differences in the types of dark tourism: some like Auschwitz educate visitors about terrible historical events in the hope of preventing them from reoccurring. Others, exploit the misery of people living through terrible events and cash in on the fact that some visitors get a thrill out of the experience.

Finding Truth and Making Peace with Dark Tourism

So why might people want to visit these terrible places at all?

In a recent interview, criminologist Dr. Scott Bonn told Inside Edition that dark stories, places and events trigger the most primal instincts in humans. What’s more, people desperately want to know what separates them from these murderers and heinous events.

For example, high above a valley near Quenetria, tourists can visit a viewpoint that looks down over one of the most infamous battlegrounds in Syria. Believe it or not, many tour groups include this viewpoint on an itinerary that also includes cherry markets, wineries, and craft chocolate shops.

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More than 400,000 people have died during the war in Syria and half the population has been uprooted and forced to leave the country.

When asked about the motive behind this stop, a tour guide and ex-Defense Force colonel who was working for the Syrian army that was responsible for the brutality said that people “want to feel a part of it. They can stand on the border and see a real-life battleground.”

It’s a similar scene on the West Bank in Israel where many tourists come to see the divide between Israeli forces and the Palestinian people. Of course, the West Bank is home to the birth town of Jesus Christ and many other attractions such as Jericho – the oldest city in the world.

But make no mistake; people come to feel the tension and witness the border.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular destinations for dark tourism around the world:

Auschwitz (Poland)

Auschwitz concentration camp consisted of more than forty extermination camps that were built by the Nazis. As most people know, millions died during the Holocaust and these camps have been used as a museum to expose the suffering and brutality that occurred here. Many visitors take more than one day to explore the grounds, given the size of Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau.

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Tuol Sleng Prison (Cambodia)

Also known as S-21 Prison, Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh was a place of torture and brutal suffering during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Inside the prison, you can visit the rooms where innocent locals were tortured and learn about the dark times of the 1970s in Cambodia. While often compared to Auschwitz, the conditions in S-21 are somewhat different and walking the corridors of this infamous prison is nothing less than harrowing.

Suicide Forest (Japan)

Known as “Aokigahara,” this infamous forest is the location for many suicides in Japan. In 2013, 105 people went there to kill themselves, which eclipsed the previous record of 78. It’s a highly sensitive place to visit or talk about but for many visitors, the suicide forest is at the top of their list of destinations when they visit Japan.

Photo of the Aokigahara suicide forest courtesy of Creative Commons.

La Catedral (Columbia)

For many decades, Pablo Escobar was the biggest drug lord on the planet and responsible for the incredible rise of cocaine in the western world. You can now take an “Escobar Tour” of his home city in Medellin and visit “La Catedral” – the prison where he was held captive with his family. This prison was equipped with a jacuzzi, bar, and host of personal bodyguards. We will never see the likes of Pablo Escobar again, but you can still set foot in his less-than-humble abode.

West Belfast (Northern Ireland)

Many people are confused about the political situation behind “the troubles” in Northern Ireland. Although incredibly complex, tourists can explore the issues that have created a clear divide between the people in Northern Ireland, half of whom identify as British unionists and the other half as Irish loyalists.

You can see this in West Belfast where an immense wall divides two conflicting communities. And you can take a “Black Taxi Tour,” which takes visitors into both sides of the community to hear the terrible stories and events behind this infamous area.

Black Taxi offering tours in West Belfast. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.

Chernobyl and Pripyat (Ukraine)

The Chernobyl disaster refers to a botched test in a nuclear plant that sent clouds of nuclear energy across Europe. Surrounding this plant, you will now find a post-apocalyptic landscape and an entire city, called Pripyat, in which stray animals roam and forgotten dolls are left lying in the street. Incredibly, you can take a tour of the area and even stay overnight – at your own risk.

Why We Humans are Obsessed with Dark Tourism

Dark tourism is on the rise and similar trends can be seen in other areas of the mainstream. In addition to the HBO series about Chernobyl, Netflix hosts shows on dark topics like the “Making a Murderer” and “The Ted Bundy Tapes,” two of the network’s most popular shows. Meanwhile, Sarah Koenig’s investigation of a murder in “Serial” is the fastest podcast to exceed five million downloads.

Criminologists say we are curious about our primal instincts and intrigued by the bizarre. At one time, we also feared that monster beneath the bed and when it comes to other heinous people and places, we want to know what separates us from the darkness in this beautiful world.

red sea.sharm-el-sheikh-luliya

The Rise of Dark Tourism Have you ever wondered what draws people to the morbid places associated with suffering or death? Auschwitz, Ground Zero, and Chernobyl come to mind.

[toomanysinks]

Singapore’s proposed ‘fake news’ law could stifle free speech

For many, Singapore is an idyllic and livable city in Asia. But there’s serious concern for the country and its five million population around a proposed law to curb ‘fake news’ on the internet that could have ramifications for free speech.

The ‘Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill’ had its first reading on Monday and one of the key takeaways is that it will allow the government to force “corrections” to be added to online content that is deemed to be “false.” Infringing articles won’t be edited, instead “the facts” will be added so that “the facts can travel together with the falsehood.”

The scope of the proposed bill goes beyond media to cover social media platforms, too. Those found to be “malicious actors” face a fine of up to SG$50,000 ($37,000) or five years in prison for their content. If posted using “an inauthentic online account or a bot,” the fine jumps to a maximum of SG$100,000 ($74,000) or a potential 10-year jail term. Platforms such as Facebook or Twitter face fines of up to SG$1 million ($740,000) in such situations.

What’s particularly alarming about the proposal is that it can be activated by any government minister if they believe that “a false statement of fact… has been or is being communicated in Singapore” or if they feel that issuing a correction is “in the public interest.”

The proposed act is focused on Singapore, but it will cover any piece of content worldwide. While, beyond merely covering content pertinent to the security of Singapore, the harmony of its people, its national politics and services, the process can be triggered “in the interest of friendly relations of Singapore with other countries.”

There’s also a clause that covers “a diminution of public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of government” and its associated organizations.

While it is fairly well established that social media and new media content can be a threat to multicultural societies and the democratic process, critics have pointed out that the proposed law has seriously scope to be misused, potentially against valid criticism. While Singapore’s Ministry of Law said it will not cover “opinions, criticisms, satire or parody,” simply defining what is an opinion or opinionated is not easy.

Indeed, an example last year involving Reuters shows the type of pushback that the government could exert if the bill becomes law as is expected — Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) party dominates parliament having won 83 of the 89 seats it contested in the most recent general election in 2015.

Reuters rewrote a contentious headline around a politician’s potential to become Prime Minister following condemnation from Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), which rebuked Reuters running with a “fabricated headline.” The publication later changed the headline and parts of its story, as Cherian George — the author of a 2012 book on Singapore’s political system — explained in a recent blog post.

In this case, however, the law covers content produced outside Singapore, which could make its application messy, particularly if media companies covering international topics are caught in the crosshairs and they have employees located in Singapore.

Despite footnotes that try to untangle the policing of accurate content with censoring free speech — “the bill targets falsehoods, not free speech,” a press release issued by the ministry claims — free speech groups are concerned at the potentially immense power that would be wielded.

“Singapore’s ministers should not have the power to singlehandedly decree what is true and what is false,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “Given Singapore’s long history of prohibiting speech critical of the government, its policies or its officials, its professed concerns about ‘online falsehoods’ and alleged election manipulation are farcical.”

Blogger Roy Ngerngwas sued by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the blogger accused him of misusing public funds, a sensitive issue for officials in the city-state known to have the least corrupt governments in Asia (Photo credit: MOHD FYROL/AFP/Getty Images)

That was echoed by the Asia Internet Coalition, a group that represents Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Line and others.

“We are concerned that the proposed legislation gives the Singapore government full discretion over what is considered true or false. As the most far-reaching legislation of its kind to date, this level of overreach poses significant risks to freedom of expression and speech, and could have severe ramifications both in Singapore and around the world,” read a statement from AIC managing director Jeff Paine.

“Prescriptive legislation should not be the first solution in addressing what is a highly nuanced and complex issue,” Paine added.

Media freedom concern is not new to Singapore, where lawsuits and legal cases involving the government and citizens for content posted online are not uncommon.

Human Rights Watch’s 2017 report concluded that Singapore’s press is “not free.” Reporters Without Borders, another organization that tracks media freedom worldwide, ranked Singapore 151th out of 180 countries. The organization cited an “intolerant government” and media “self-censorship” among its top line conclusions. The proposed law could take things a step further.

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/03/singapore-fake-news-law-free-speech/

[fmservers]

Singapore’s proposed ‘fake news’ law could stifle free speech

For many, Singapore is an idyllic and livable city in Asia. But there’s serious concern for the country and its five million population around a proposed law to curb ‘fake news’ on the internet that could have ramifications for free speech.

The ‘Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill’ had its first reading on Monday and one of the key takeaways is that it will allow the government to force “corrections” to be added to online content that is deemed to be “false.” Infringing articles won’t be edited, instead “the facts” will be added so that “the facts can travel together with the falsehood.”

The scope of the proposed bill goes beyond media to cover social media platforms, too. Those found to be “malicious actors” face a fine of up to SG$50,000 ($37,000) or five years in prison for their content. If posted using “an inauthentic online account or a bot,” the fine jumps to a maximum of SG$100,000 ($74,000) or a potential 10-year jail term. Platforms such as Facebook or Twitter face fines of up to SG$1 million ($740,000) in such situations.

What’s particularly alarming about the proposal is that it can be activated by any government minister if they believe that “a false statement of fact… has been or is being communicated in Singapore” or if they feel that issuing a correction is “in the public interest.”

The proposed act is focused on Singapore, but it will cover any piece of content worldwide. While, beyond merely covering content pertinent to the security of Singapore, the harmony of its people, its national politics and services, the process can be triggered “in the interest of friendly relations of Singapore with other countries.”

There’s also a clause that covers “a diminution of public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of government” and its associated organizations.

While it is fairly well established that social media and new media content can be a threat to multicultural societies and the democratic process, critics have pointed out that the proposed law has seriously scope to be misused, potentially against valid criticism. While Singapore’s Ministry of Law said it will not cover “opinions, criticisms, satire or parody,” simply defining what is an opinion or opinionated is not easy.

Indeed, an example last year involving Reuters shows the type of pushback that the government could exert if the bill becomes law as is expected — Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) party dominates parliament having won 83 of the 89 seats it contested in the most recent general election in 2015.

Reuters rewrote a contentious headline around a politician’s potential to become Prime Minister following condemnation from Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), which rebuked Reuters running with a “fabricated headline.” The publication later changed the headline and parts of its story, as Cherian George — the author of a 2012 book on Singapore’s political system — explained in a recent blog post.

In this case, however, the law covers content produced outside Singapore, which could make its application messy, particularly if media companies covering international topics are caught in the crosshairs and they have employees located in Singapore.

Despite footnotes that try to untangle the policing of accurate content with censoring free speech — “the bill targets falsehoods, not free speech,” a press release issued by the ministry claims — free speech groups are concerned at the potentially immense power that would be wielded.

“Singapore’s ministers should not have the power to singlehandedly decree what is true and what is false,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “Given Singapore’s long history of prohibiting speech critical of the government, its policies or its officials, its professed concerns about ‘online falsehoods’ and alleged election manipulation are farcical.”

Blogger Roy Ngerngwas sued by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the blogger accused him of misusing public funds, a sensitive issue for officials in the city-state known to have the least corrupt governments in Asia (Photo credit: MOHD FYROL/AFP/Getty Images)

That was echoed by the Asia Internet Coalition, a group that represents Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Line and others.

“We are concerned that the proposed legislation gives the Singapore government full discretion over what is considered true or false. As the most far-reaching legislation of its kind to date, this level of overreach poses significant risks to freedom of expression and speech, and could have severe ramifications both in Singapore and around the world,” read a statement from AIC managing director Jeff Paine.

“Prescriptive legislation should not be the first solution in addressing what is a highly nuanced and complex issue,” Paine added.

Media freedom concern is not new to Singapore, where lawsuits and legal cases involving the government and citizens for content posted online are not uncommon.

Human Rights Watch’s 2017 report concluded that Singapore’s press is “not free.” Reporters Without Borders, another organization that tracks media freedom worldwide, ranked Singapore 151th out of 180 countries. The organization cited an “intolerant government” and media “self-censorship” among its top line conclusions. The proposed law could take things a step further.

Via Jon Russell https://techcrunch.com