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forkaround · 9 months

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i don’t see why they would need pr? i mean all shows and movies need pr of course but even with the budget not being big it has lots of people watching and talking about it? am i wrong or is that not the most important thing? or will the writers and creators of it talking about it and hyping it up help the pr? ngl i don’t know how any of this works tho i thought pr was just meant to bring it viewers which it already has but i could be wrong? https://www.tumblr.com/forkaround/725704160869220352/the-only-friends-team-is-interacting-a-lot-with

Yes, people watching and talking is important and that's my point. The OF team starts responding to comments/theories or posts something (like the blacked out card very early on this year.) And people start making theories and analysis before the show is even out giving it publicity. It's honestly an interesting tactic that perhaps other productions might learn from.

Now tbh, I'm personally very interested in how this all unfolds. I've not been following everything to closely, I never follow promo material for any show from anywhere, just a post here and there and what people repost to tumblr, basically whatever reaches me through word of mouth. And that's why it stands out as odd to me. For other shows I've seen lesser activity and even people repost something it has to do with the actors, what they said, some details of the characters, etc. but not enough to piece together a plot or characters even if these theories end up wrong. On the other hand Only Friends has Jojo and other Behind The Scenes people responding to fans or, like a day or two ago, where someone from the crew said something about heartstopper and then Jojo said something too. Like how often have shows hinged on the behind the scenes members [director, writer, PD, etc.] instead of the actors. For most shows everywhere it's the actor that determines how many people show up, thus the concept of brand pairs is so popular. And no doubt people are here for FK, FB, NeoMark, but more than that fans are here because of Jojo. For the queer rep he has promised. I've seen more reposts of his tweets than any of the actors.

Now this very much has to do with money. OF does not seem to have it. But it does have a dedicated crew who would like to tell this story and prove that this story and stories like these are worth telling and people are invested in it. That people will show up to it. In my personal opinion I think the crew is more dedicated to it's success than the cast. Perhaps it has to do with contracts, perhaps money but overall, while I see the actors playing their role as actors when doing publicity, it's no different than they would for any other show, afaik.

The thing I'm most worried about and perhaps even the most dangerous thing with this approach is if the show does not deliver on what it's promised or if they do deliver on the scamming, cheating, sex but with a bad storyline or if the show loses steam towards the end which GMMTV shows are infamous for. I don't think it would take away from the show but I suspect people could use it as an excuse to not invest in similar shows. [There is a very slim chance of this happening. LBF it would require the show to fuck up so bad it doesn't even make any sense by the end. But thing is, fans have hyped it up in their heads so much that I imagine anything less would cause an uproar. Which would be really sad. But I've also seen this fandom stick to terrible storytelling and flat out refuse to see the issues when the word queer is slapped on something.]

Sorry this answer was so long. I'm just as interested in the show as I am in watching how it unfolds in the fandom and how people react to it so I have a lot of thoughts on the matter. It's the crew's strategy that has done the PR for the show.

#only friends #only friends the series #fork answers #theories #firstkhao #forcebook #the eclipse

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luckyqueenreign · 10 months

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Honest opinions on that volume? Personally i’m disappointed. This season started so well! And then casa happened..

First of all, being forced to go on the beach date (like we didn’t do that like 2-3 volumes ago?!)

Hamishes snarky comments are so annoying, literally what purpose does it serve?

Amelia and Marshall continuing to nag me even after I said I didn’t care about them as a couple and to literally leave me alone 😭

Being forced to go the the hideaway.. I have stayed so loyal in casa but it’s like they want us to slip up and get with someone (probably for drama on movie night i’m guessing)

Overall, get me the hell out of casa and into Ozzys bed fb TYSM

Bestie I’m beyond disappointed!! I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again FB needs to never give us casa amor. THEY ARE TERRIBLE AT IT!! They’re dragging it out so long and just regurgitating the same convos over and over again. How many times do we need to be asked if we’re gonna stick/twist?? Or if we have a connection with a casa boy?? And if you can’t even remember who we liked pre-casa what’s the point!? Because I pied off Elliot from our very first convo and continued to do so and he still picked me and these girls are still like… ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH ELLIOT?? BC HES PROB MAKING OUT WITH A CASA GIRL RN!!

And let’s pretend that everyone was clueless re: Ozzy (I mean I only made out with him in front of everyone before I left but anywho…) why aren’t they asking about how we feel about LJR?? We were coupled with them for wayyy longer and it seems like ppl completely forgot about that. And sure we’ve heard from some people that LJR cares so much and that they were devastated or whatever but it’s so weird to me that they mention Elliot at all. Especially bc tbh Elliot shouldn’t even be an option!!! He doesn’t even know we’re at casa!!! So why do we have to pick him when we know he won’t pick us??! Ugh it’s just so dumb and I hate how they clearly don’t know wtf they’re doing.

#litg #litg mc #love island the game #love island game #litg spoilers #litg s6 #litg double trouble #double trouble

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agent-grey-fics · 1 year

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Holy fucking shit I’m so annoyed with my ex. Like I had this on and off thing with a guy for almost 5 (!!) years, I know that I’m stupid for keeping it going for that long. Anyway, we kinda grew apart but kept in touch through socials and hooked up now and then. I was head over heels in love with him ‘cause my traumatic ass didn’t know any better. Fast forward to me finding the tiniest bit of self respect and banning him from my life for a solid 2 years during the pandemic, trying to move on. (Even explaining to him why I need him out of my life and he agreeing with me and saying I should have done it sooner ‘cause he treated me terribly. He did, believe me. All my friends actually hate him because he was awful to me and emotionally manipulated and abused me for so long. For example, he would often tell me that no one else would ever love me cause I wasn’t pretty enough, calling me a whore when he was high or drunk and stuff like that )

I had 2 good years of quarantining with my dorm mates, living life away from my hometown, then life slowly starts again and me and my friends (from my hometown) start to hang out and go to parties again. Surprise, I see him at those parties ‘cause my friends are kinda his friends. Well, we all went to high school together but they were originally my friends so yeah more his acquaintances. Me not wanting to be a bitch, I don’t make a big deal of it that he tags along and I’m being polite, giving him a small smile whenever he joins but keeping my distances.

He had send me follow/friend requests on fb and insta as well so I was like ‘yeah why not, we can be civil’. BUT then he fucking starts ignoring me at those parties whiles he stands next to me, like not reacting to my attempts to smalltalk, just giving me an off look and taking to the person next to me. Like dude, you literally walked up to our group and choose to stand next to me, if you don’t wanna talk to me go stand somewhere else?

Whiles he ignores me irl, he starts liking all my insta pics, commenting on my stories etc. My drunk ass one night send him a ‘you up’ text, big fucking mistake, he wasn’t in town btw so nothing happened but the whole night he kept texting me saying that he always loved me and that he just never knew how to show it and that changed for the better. Then he start texting me things like ‘we should date gain’, ‘let me take you out’, ‘let us try again’.Stuff like that and I know it’s my fucking fault cause I bootycalled him but I told him the day after like ‘I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair I’m not looking for anything else. Apologies, won’t happen again’. But he keeps asking me out and I keep declining ‘cause I don’t want to see him one on one. I wake up one morning a couple of days later to a notification on my phone that he deletete a bunch of text that he had sent me. And he texted ‘I said some vulnerable things that I don’t want you to use against me’ LIKE YOU SHITHEAD YOURE THE ONE WHO LITERALLY DID THAT FOR AS LONG AS WE WERE DOING WHATEVER WE WERE DOING. IM IN LITERAL THERAPY BECAUSE I DONT TRUST MEN ANYMORE BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID AND I WANTED TO BE DECENT AND NOT MEAN AND LET YOU IN MY LIFE AGAIN AND THEN YOU ACT LIKE A FUCKING BABY?

I was soooo mad back then. Anyway, couple of weeks pass by and he keeps reacting to my stories and asking questions. This leaves me all confused ‘cause I figured he was done since deleting all these texts. Me being done with his shit choose to ignore him.

Fast forward to last week, I noticed that I lost followers on my socials. Turns out that he unfollowed me, like big deal idc. But then I was wondering just a couple of minutes ago if he unfollowed me or blocked me, so I look for his name in my DM’s on insta AND THIS FUCKER DELETE ALL HIS TEXT SINCE I TURNED HIM DOWN. Like they were still there like a fucking week ago ‘cause he reacted to one of my stories again and I opened it and I remember seeing alle his DM’s.

I get so mad over this, like why you acting like this? I strongly believe that he’s dating someone, like good for him ‘cause we were toxic for each other. But stop acting like a child and like you’re the victim here whiles we both know what fucking happened.

And this whole rant sounds stupid and pathetic, I know that. But he was for real the first guy I ever loved, the only one actually. I even believed that when we both would graduate Uni and work a couple of years and mature that we would find our ways back to each other and end up getting married. I would have taken him back in a heartbeat if he got his act back together. But now he just makes my blood boil by acting so childish and deleting his text and oh my god ughhhh.

I know I’m as much at fault with this whole situation as he is and that ignoring him wasn’t right. But if I tell someone +3 times that I don’t want to date them and they keep trying and texting yeah sorry but then I won’t respond anymore.. but deleting your texts come one dude.

Sorry I just had to let this out.

#situationship

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sunskate · 1 year

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catching up to the gpf free- omg kaitlin and jean-luc - this is even better now than at skate america, and it was so moving even then- the way each set of twizzles releases like a sigh, the way they flow into the dance spin as the voice rises- they have so much control over and vary their speed to the music while never losing the motion and flow- this is the only program where i forget the tech box is there

chock and bates 3.0 is more cohesive. it’s like cirque du soleil in the music and packaging now, which is not my thing, but the costumes better suit the concept than 2.0 did. she’s a great liftee- many of their best moments are when she’s being lifted in some way- that splits move she does is beautiful. but it feels like smoke and mirrors compared to watching say HB or HD at their best

i feel like once the novelty of FG’s bag of tricks has worn off, there’s not much room for it to deepen or show something new, so i’m not enjoying this as much. plus the camera work here was terrible and ruined a couple of the more impactful parts. that said, Lilah has a moment here and there where her upper body is quite still so it looks more like she’s floating across the ice- like working with Tessa is paying off

i’d heard about FBS’s fall so was bracing myself the whole time- so glad it wasn’t worse and nobody was hurt. looking forward to this at Nats, 4cc and worlds- 🤞that they stay healthy

GF - they’re good skaters, but I don’t get much sense that they love or connect to their material or have any particular relationship with the audience. i’m sure they care very much, but i don’t feel it when I watch them

GP - idk, when i saw this live, how fast they were, how much they were riding the energy of the Canadian crowd- that lent some excitement to it, but it's feeling more artificial. i get why they might have used the Madonna version, the theatrical versions have a more raw sound and don't have the big production value that this does, but Patti Lupone and other Evitas have more edge, and i like Piper and Paul when they're either weirder or more sincere- Hitchcock or Vincent. but the judges are sure loving this, so no incentive to change a thing😬🙃

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crgirlsworld · 4 months

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Always curious about other people’s take on soulmates. I don’t expect anybody to read this but if you do plz leave your input lol I don’t even wanna know how many words this is I’m sorry in advance

I totally believe in them and the concept of fate/red string theory & all that shit, & I’ll tell you why.

I met a guy for the first time 11 years ago, I was l was literally 12. He’s actually related to one of my old best friends, and I was staying at her house & he had a basketball game they happened to be going to, so I had to go too. The irony is that staying with her was total our if the moment & I was close to never meeting him that first time.

Anyway, he’s 14, a freshman in high school at a different school so ofc I think he’s cute as fuck and he made me laugh so hard when we went to eat dinner that night. I didn’t see him again for almost 3 years because there was really no reason for me to cross paths with him.

Fast forward to the beginning of basketball season of my freshman year & his junior year. He’d ended up moving to my school at the beginning of that year, but he was an upperclassman so I wouldn’t ever have a reason to cross a genuine path with him. Anyway, the basketball coach was my biology teacher and was seriously my favorite teacher in all 4 years of hs, so I was talking to him between games & this guy walks up mid conversation and just joins in like he’s known me my whole life and I’m ofc like 🙄🙄 your ruining my conversation mister but like the way he SMILED at me I can still fucking remember to this day.

I was actually planning to leave before his game but I ended up staying and me being a #boldgirl I slid into his fb messages and tell him that he played good and that it was good talking to him & we talk for a bit & he goes on to say ‘I hate using messenger, text me’ and gives me his number. Plz you can’t even imagine the fan girl I fangirl’d.

Anyway, we talked every day. Used every excuse to text about literally anything. I was at color guard practice one day & we practiced right outside of the gym where the guys were practicing basketball & they walk in our area to the water fountains and he looks at me and winks and I 🫠 all of the girls saw it too and were like AHHHHH with me and my face was so fucking red LMAOOOO

Biggest problem with us and the only reason we didn’t end up together was because he had commitment issues. He’d had a long term girlfriend that he wasn’t with anymore that he was still hooked on because she liked to string him along (I still want to punch her in her throat and she’s married now).

I ignored every 🚩🚩🚩 known to man because I was genuinely falling head over heels in love with the guy. He pulled me every which way, making me think he felt the same before immediately retracting. He talked to a couple of different girls during times where we’d fight but it always came back to us it seemed like. (Even said coach from the first game could see it)

Track season came around and I was at every meet and we hung out every Thursday for the entire day. Thursdays are my favorite day of the week, to this day.

Friday nights we would both usually be at home, talking to each other and watching movies separately but together. We talked one night for hours. We texted watching Forrest Gump, then The Notebook & then he called me to tell me he wasn’t going for all to me anymore because of how it ended. Then we stayed on the phone and watched the most terrible low budget horror movie ever. We were both pretty tired by then, so it was no surprise when he fell asleep during the second horror movie but like THAT ONE WAS SO MUCH SCARIER but I didn’t want to turn it off because I wanted to tell him all about it the next day.

The next year he graduated. He was dead set on going into the Coast Guard and his mom included me in everything. Telling him goodbye before he was basically unreachable while he was at basic was literally crippling. We went from talking every day to not talking for twelve weeks.

After basic he gets stationed in Maryland, (for ref im in Texas) & it sucked because he was so far away but FUCK I MISSED HIM. We started FaceTimeing at this point. My sleep schedule was absolutely fucked, because I’d stay awake with him while he was on duty until he made me go to sleep at three in the morning, because I still had school.

The first time I ever truly felt like my heart had gotten ripped out of my chest was when I was 17. (Two years post re meeting him) he was my best friend. I was beginning to accept that was all we’d ever be, but I’d also never had to see him with another girl. He always told me that he wasn’t in the right place to date.

So tell me why this mother fucker brings a girl he’d been talking to from our town to a party he knew I’d be at. Literally all of the air left my body when they walked in. Anyway, he brought one of his friends from the CG home while he was visiting, and me being petty, decided I’m going to flirt with this guy all night. Tell me why boy gets jealous and is a total cockblock all night.

I start talking to this new guy I’d met at my new job, and we hit it off pretty well, but I’m still regularly texting my situationship, never fully getting past everything. We were in kind of an awkward place though because he’d really fucked with my emotions.

Things are beginning to get pretty serious with work guy, who soulmate guy had no idea about, but anyway. Soulmate guy calls me up one day and I answer it cause it’s what I always did. He’s like “hey can we talk?” & im like o gr8 what could possibly go wrong. Mind you, this is a couple of weeks before he’s getting ready to move closer to home. Then he’s like “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I realize how absolutely stupid I’ve been. You’ve been the only person constantly there for me the last 3 years and I really took that for granted. I really want to give us a shot.” And I basically ghosted him.

He tried to make plans for me to come to dinner at his mom’s and I was pretty shady about it, not wanting to straight out say I was seeing someone because I was so fucking scared to close that door in my life.

Move forward to now, he’s got a wife and two kids and seems mostly happy but who am I to say for sure, anymore? We talk occasionally, but we cross paths often. Usually it feels like no time has past.

On my 22nd birthday he texts me and tells me happy birthday & I was like oh wow you remembered & he’s like I tell you every year and I’m like shut up but it’s true because even if we weren’t talking on a regular basis he’s always made sure to tell me happy birthday. He happened to ask me if I ever thought about what life would’ve been like if I’d agreed to try things with him and I didn’t hesitate in telling him that I thought about it every day. He tells me that he was stupid in high school and acted like he wasn’t in love with me when he was & when I tell you that, as I’m sitting at my desk at work, my heart rate jumped to 165. Ironically I’ve been prone to palpitations since then lmao

I run into him at work events in the community & my stomach knots every time he stops to talk to me. I’ll think about him and run into him at the store in the same day.

I write about him like this because he was my first muse & he got me into writing. I write about him like this because I’ve never gotten over him and he still holds a piece of my heart and I miss him every. fucking. day.

#soulmatethoughts #red string of fate #this hurt to write #literally sobbing #soulmate #blurb

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blue-eyed-bloodstains · 11 months

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Ever had a promise ring? yeah...worked out like a charm eh? not.

Who knows your biggest secret(s)? even those closest to me who know the most that I never tell anyone, still don’t even know every single thing...

Do you ever get messages/asks on Tumblr? never

When was the last time you waxed anything on your body, if ever? I’ve never waxed

Do you like shrimp? I love it, I live for seafood!

Are you lactose intolerant? no that would be hell considering I’m mostly Italian/Irish so dairy is huge in my diet

Have you ever thought a man over 40 was attractive? respectfully, yes meaning I’d never see me being with them like that but I give credit where credit is due

Have you ever been told your aspirations are unrealistic? pretty much

Who was the last person you sat beside at a restaurant? my fiance

Who is popular in your country? (Singers, actors etc.) we’re obsessed with Hollywood so take your pick lol (America, btw)

What did you watch today? marathons of SVU, Hot Bench. multiple shows on ID (crime shows/docs), new eps of Neighborhood Wars and Road Wars, Jeopardy, Jeopardy Masters

Peaches or plums? I love both but I never have plums, haven’t actually eaten one since I was a kid so peaches always

Do you understand art? I mean I love art but no, I don’t know shit about it to be honest lol Do/did your parents buy you a lot for Christmas? as a kid it was usually a lot, as I’ve gotten older sometimes it is and sometimes not depending on money but honestly it doesn’t matter to me if I get anything

Out of all the cultures in the world, what culture do you find the most interesting? Native American, always loved learning about them throughout school

Do you like ramen noodles? yeah

Who/what was that last thing that you slept with? my cat

Do your parents do things that “embarrass” you? of course, everyone has that

What IM service do you use the most? I was always YIM, never did AOL. but now it’s all FB messenger

Who was the last person to IM you? Brad

When you eat take-out, do you just eat it out of the containers provided? yeah always

Would you need to sleep with someone before considering marrying them? no

Do you carry condoms? no

How organized are the files on your computer? pretty organized

Did you have a childhood hero? Were they real or fictional? not really

Would you consider dating a psychiatrist or psychologist? I mean I can’t control what their job is, but...good luck to that person cause I’ll be the biggest and hardest case for them especially in an intimate relationship

For each person you’ve kissed, describe your feelings in one word: memories

How do you react when you trip or stumble? panic, embarrassed, anxious, awkward

Are you good at the game Twister? I can’t even remember the last time I played it, I was very very young so I doubt it lol

Do your friends trust you around their bfs/gfs? yeah I’m not a threat, hell I’m the last person they’d go for and I’d never do something like that anyway

Would you rather make the first move, or your crush? my crush

If you have a camera, when do you use flash? I use my phone and rarely ever

What would you do if you found a gun in your best friend’s bedroom? curious but would figure it’s for protection and think nothing of it

What do you call your grandparents? I called my grandmother Mimi, and my grandfather I called Grandpa although I had a nickname G-Pa for him

What would be a cool earring design? a star but the punk way of drawing one (think emo ish..like Avril Lavigne for Black Star with it crossed through the middle and a bit abstract)

Besides nightmares, what is the scariest thing about sleeping? flashbacks

Do you look better with red lipstick or black lipstick? red

Ever had a terrible breakup? you have noooooo idea...

Favorite bands? Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, 3 Doors Down, The Pretty Reckless, Paramore, Skillet, Staind, Disturbed, 21 Pilots, Florida Georgia Line, Evanescence...just to name a few

Favorite quote? one of my favorites is from House, MD. “Successes only last until something screws them up. Failures are forever.” that hits close to home like a ton of bricks.

Wearing any bracelets? yeah one that my fiance’s mom got for me that’s called a Tiger’s Eye

Does your phone take pictures? yeah

Who is your favorite neighbor? I don’t know any except the one on our property, as well as our landlord and his girlfriend on the property as well and they’re nice

Have you ever gotten a detention? a lunch detention one time in 6th grade for a few missed assignments, nothing major. I was an honor roll student, I never did anything that would land me in detention

Does your door have a deadbolt on it? yeah

Have you had any soda today? yeah sipping on Diet Pepsi

What is your favorite scary movie? way too hard to make a list, I grew up on horror and love horror

What’s the most historic thing that has happened in your lifetime? many things...Y2K, 9/11, the Iraq war, first black president, COVID along with several other things like ebola and H1N1 kinda things, the first smartphone the internet...I mean so much and I was born in 1992 so imagine what’ll happen the rest of the time I’m alive..

What happens in your country regularly that people in most countries would find strange or bizarre? hahahaha pretty much our entire existence? there’s so many memes of how Brits think of us and the differences in things between us, for starters

What’s your funniest story involving a car? funny? ummm not sure really

If you built a themed hotel, what would the theme be and what would the rooms look like? oh lord..either horror, Harry Potter, Pokemon, anime...

Do you think that humans will ever be able to live together in harmony? nope so stop wasting your prayers and efforts.

What’s the most amazing true story you’ve heard? I mean things like that happen every day so there’s no real one story, there’s countless ones

What’s the grossest food that you just can’t get enough of? I’m guessing this means like, diabetes/heart attack waiting to happen? lol I don’t really consider anything I like to eat gross

What brand are you most loyal to? I don’t really buy brand name stuff

Where are you not welcome anymore? .....next.

What’s a common experience for many people that you’ve never experienced? vacations, I guess

What fashion trend makes you cringe or laugh every time you see it? cuffing the bottom of your jeans...looks tacky as hell and is not flattering at all to your legs

What are the initials of the last person you made out with? Z.R.W

If you found out you were pregnant, who would be the first person to know? my fiance, obviously

How old were you when you had your first kiss? 19

Is it awkward when you run into your ex? I never do really but if I do, not really

Were you intoxicated the last time you threw up? no, I wish

Who is your most recent ex? Tyler

Has the person you last kissed taken their shirt off in front of you? well duh lol it’s my fiance :P

Have you ever broken anything because you were mad? no

Do you “blow kisses” often? no

Do you need to “break up” with a friend? no

#survey #bored #random #about me

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tashabilities · 1 year

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Talked with Mr. Wes, my mailman, yesterday And he’s a cool ass white dude, my dad’s age if not older. He pulled up in his mail truck to say hey to me just as I was leaving to go to Sprouts, and he parked right outside the foyer door, which is separated from the parking lot by like, 6-8 feet of sidewalk. He asked me how long I’d been here and I said THIRTEEN YEARS And I was riiiight there, ready to get a house, when the market went stupid. We talked for a good li’l minute, and he told me he’d been delivering to this neighborhood for 37 years, and about how he and his wife both had Rona, and he’s still masked up everywhere he goes. He said that with the variety of Rona he and his wife had, There wasn’t no coughing or sneezing, just fatigue, like, he would be winded and exhausted walking a distance as short as from where his mail truck was to the foyer door--not even 10 feet. And though I’ve never tested positive, I started to wonder--AGAIN--if I ever had it and just didn’t know it? But I feel like it’s so terrible I’d definitely know if I had it. Cause he said his wife tested positive first, and then he did, And he said another woman he brings mail to steered clear of the shit for THREE YEARS, and just came down with it earlier this month. The reason I’m talking about this is because my cousin just crossed my mind. I can’t stand his whole family tree--his sister is the one who stole from my house, I got his mama worthless, jealous ass BLOCKEDT--but I wanted to see if he was on FB, so I searched my cousin’s name. I didn’t find my cousin, but I did find a FB post dated April 10 and written by a white woman I don’t know, because her post contained my cousin’s last name. This white Oregonian detailed how awful she felt at the beginning of the month l after having come down with Rona, like, she said she ain’t wanna LIVE, AND SHE WAS VAXED AND BOOSTED. Like, even with Paxlovid, even vaxed and boosted, she thought she was dying. I have to say that I have never felt that terrible in all this time. But this shit is still real, And it’s taking people down in Oregon and here in Georgia, STILL. And what’s scarier to me is the testing center that used to be literally cross the street from Village Burger is now closed, like, it’s like nothing was ever even there at all, And it’s so eerie to me like, y’all really acting like this shit over, huh?

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sitespeeddetective · 2 years

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Gun grabber

Please note that Urban Thesaurus uses third party scripts (such as Google Analytics and advertisements) which use cookies. Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source code that was used in this project: and you might like to check out the growing collection of curated slang words for different topics over at Slangpedia. There is still lots of work to be done to get this slang thesaurus to give consistently good results, but I think it's at the stage where it could be useful to people, which is why I released it. Please also note that due to the nature of the internet (and especially UD), there will often be many terrible and offensive terms in the results. Or you might try boyfriend or girlfriend to get words that can mean either one of these (e.g. View Gun Grabber Products (location in Arkansas, United States, revenue, industry and description. The search algorithm handles phrases and strings of words quite well, so for example if you want words that are related to lol and rofl you can type in lol rofl and it should give you a pile of related slang terms.

The higher the terms are in the list, the more likely that they're relevant to the word or phrase that you searched for. Note that this thesaurus is not in any way affiliated with Urban Dictionary.ĭue to the way the algorithm works, the thesaurus gives you mostly related slang words, rather than exact synonyms. The official Urban Dictionary API is used to show the hover-definitions. These indexes are then used to find usage correlations between slang terms.

That is why I refuse to give them an inch.The Urban Thesaurus was created by indexing millions of different slang terms which are defined on sites like Urban Dictionary. People who want "common sense gun control" don't want anything short of outright bans. Today I had a chance to talk to them in person about a 'common sense gun control' meme that they shared on FB. I thought they were going to hit me with some stats or something but I think I just upset them too much to talk. So I had a conversation with a friend who is openly anti gun and is in love with the 'common sense gun control' line, but never has a real answer as to what that means. I left the area after 5 minutes of awkward silence. Grabber: (takes out phone and starts staring at it. Me: oh, what arbitrary number would make things safer? Kind of takes the good faith out of it when you already said your goal was to ban anything with a magazine. Grabber: well at least there should be a magazine limit. Me: so anything magazine fed should be banned? You have to realize that isn't common sense anymore. Grabber: (clearly mad, thinks for abit) anything that allows for fast reloading. Grabber: anything that makes guns into damn machine guns should be banned! (Getting angry) Grabber: anything that makes it easy to rapid fire bullets. Grabber: well some things should be banned. Do you think if maybe one side stopped trying to ban everything that gun owners would be more open to talk about low cost permits, extending background checks, and stuff of that nature? Me: hey I saw your gun control meme you posted complaining that gun owners don't want "common sense gun control" and ot got me thinking. Today I had a chance to talk to them in person about a "common sense gun control" meme that they shared on FB. Last week, former DNC Congressman Beto O’Rourke announced his intention to go against Governor Greg Abbott in 2022. The Texas gubernatorial election is already getting a bit interesting even though that race is still almost a year away. So I had a conversation with a friend who is openly anti gun and is in love with the "common sense gun control" line, but never has a real answer as to what that means. America’s Top Gun-Grabber Meets An Opponent That Will End His Whole Career.

#Gun grabber

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ameliahross · 2 years

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Shed more light on your past? It’s therapeutic and even name dropping can help set you free. Even if they never see any of it.

TW the following may be triggering or cause duress.

What would you like to know?

Past partners I only have good things to say, even if it was a messy end to it all, but will not name drop them here out of respect for them. I have in past posts for a handful, but that needs to be edited if I may be honest. I like the anonymity of this profile and who I am. It’s only link on two places, one only a handful of people ever knew of, the other only one other I know offline is able to see it.

I’m at fault for a lot of the reasons to endings with partnerships as I was indescribably naive about what love meant or what it took to be in a relationship. I was borderline abusive in a handful of cases and hella toxic. I went in with a mindset that only fostered room for manipulating, narcissistic actions. I was an ass. I have done many a terrible things; A small handful, that should have landed me 5-10, resulting in a personal punishment that has lasted going on 9 years now. It’s actions I’m not willing to or even ready to forgive myself for, if I ever get the ability to. Even if the other party has forgiven me, I don’t deserve it.

One Ex wants nothing to do with me, and she’s one I even had a ring for when I went to visit her on our birthdays (beings so close together.) I can’t fault her for that. She is who I would consider my first love, and I wasn’t a good person to her at the stage. I caused emotional duress, broke trust countless times, and caused damage in a manner inconceivable when things started. Incredibly naive and moronic, yet ironic.

My past is one of shame and guilt. One i look to for answers but only find mistakes with shame and guilt. Yes, I do not think very highly of myself at this point. It’s one of the reasons for this journal and why I am in therapy. The pain of living in the day to day detached from my emotions and being is but a drop in the bucket of the pain that I harbour and carry with me from my past. I am at the stage of wishing and wanting to make amends and fix my wrong doings, but how do you fix them when you have no contact with the many anymore?

One of my ex’s came at my on FB a couple of months ago surprised I moved with accusations of theft and deception. I was promptly blocked before I got a chance to respond. Okay, whatever. Think what you want but I’m not Gonna waste my breathe.

The same ex I spoke of earlier in this I had been commenting through anon posts, such as this, to try and rebuild a bridge so I could potentially right my wrongs, but was told off when discovered. She’s happy with her partner and child, and I’m happy for her. I have no qualms with that. I’m glad she was able to find someone (albeit 4 months after I break up is interesting,) and wish her nothing but prosperity in her future. It disconcerting and deceitful being told we could rebuild a friendship in 5 years down the line, only the be going on 7 with no bridge in sight.

There’s been partners I have started with but realized we were on very different paths with our lives. Ones that eventually take us to other sides of the worlds.

I have not been kind in the past to many. I am thankful for the very small handful from my youth that still talk with me. They hav grown in to very close friendships and have become the very few I do trust. One recently stepped back and I don’t blame her. She’s got a life going on and is happy where she is; while I couldn’t be happier for her, I no longer speak to her. That was my choice.

I think I’m total out of the 15 past relationships (starting back with my semi first serious one in HS) 1 has passed (and may she forever rest in peace), 4 I will forever be indebted to trying to right my wrongs and correct my atrocities should they reach out, but I only have 2 that still communicate with me. I have become very closed off from people. Maybe it’s a form of mistrust, maybe it’s a form of #sh. I know the pain and guilt I live with daily is #sh and isn’t healthy. But here we are.

If you know me or knew me and have managed to find this, wether it’s in the present or much further in the future; wether you’re an ex, a friend, family member, or someone I knew personally, I am sorry. There’s no way I can word it that can properly describe my feelings currently. How I go was not one planned likely, but was an opportunity. For past partners, there’s no words I can say, or actions I am willing to take that can forever offer resolve or provide the closure, and for that I am sorry.

Anon you were right. Thank you.

#this is me #time to be honest #I am sorry #who am I #depression #trigger warning #anon ask

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usmiechstories · 2 years

Text

Hi! I wrote this fanfic some time ago, before couple lasts ep were released. My fb friends already know it but I possibly added few things here and there. Hope You will like it! Let's start!

When we were looking for Hannah, we got closer to each other. We’ve been like a huge family which cares about all members. When we finally found her – we all fell apart. It was painful and it broke my heart. I've never thought all those people will become so important for me, but they did and that's why the lost hurt so much...

It was cold evening even for autumn. One of the kind, when people staying home or enjoy glass of beer in the bar, happy they don't have to get wet outside. That was great opportunity for Phil, who expected a lot of guests tonight. He looked at Leila. Her long, blonde hair fell over her shoulder, a bit curly and messed. Big, brown eyes were so sad. It was obvious something bother her but she never told him what is going on. He knew it was connected with Jake, but he didn't want to scare her with questions. She was so pretty and so far from his type in the same time. Hawkins didn't know why he was so into her but he couldn't help himself.

‘We would be a terrible couple’ she said, when he sat next to her on the couch. It seemed like she read his minds. Weak smile run across Phil's face, as he knew she was right but he didn’t want to say that on loud. They were nearly ready for an opening hour.

‘We would be the best one’ he replied. Leila raised her eyebrows.

‘We were both in prison. It is terrifying to think how our kids would be’ she laughed.

‘So… did you enjoyed your stay?’ Phil seemed to be amused he can ask her same question she asked him last time.

‘Well, food sucks, beds are uncomfy and all those women were big, mean and smelly so…’

‘So… you were their bitch?’

She send him a warning gaze.

‘Just like you in male prison – she answered. – But what can I say, that is the curse of cute people.’

‘Aww, you think I’m cute!’ he muttered excitedly. Leila punched him in the arm.

‘I think you are annoying.’

‘I really wanna kiss you’ he said and looked deep into her eyes. For a while they were frozen in time. Her heart started beating faster, didn't know why... So many emotions hit her at once. She could swear, she's shaking.

‘Then kiss me’ she even didn’t know why she said that.

‘What would your hacker say?’

‘He would be angry.’

Phil frowned at her.

‘So why you wanna me to kiss you?’

‘To make him angry’ she looked away. Phil tried to look through her skin. She was so lost and confused.

‘So it is a bad motivation then' he answered.

‘Yeah, it is’ she replied still didn’t look at him.

‘So I guess, I can’t kiss you.’

‘I guess you can’t.’

‘Do you love him?’ this question surprised her a lot. For a while she stayed still. Many things happened in meantime... Too many...

‘I don’t know. It is complicated’ she finally cough up.

‘So maybe it is none of us in the end?’

‘Maybe… Maybe it is Dan’ the joke was so unexpected than Phil burst of laugh. ‘Dan?’

Leila’s mobile started ringing. She checked it up.

‘Speak of the devil. I need to answer.’

‘We are opening for an hour so don’t stay too long with your new cutie pie!’ he called when she was leaving the room.

‘Shut up!’ she started laughing when answered the phone.

‘Hello my cutie pie, what’s up?’

The silence on the other side was disturbing. When he finally spoke, he was so sad and helpless.

‘Leila, I don’t know what to do… I need your help… I don’t know…’

'Hey, come down, just tell me what happened.'

Couple minutes later, she grabbed her jacket and ran over the bar. Phil looked at her with confusion.

‘Hey! Where are you going?! - he called, when she passed him. – We are opening for a while!’

She turned around. Her face was so pale. She looked sorry and Phil had a feeling, he won't be happy with the answer.

‘I can’t stay, I’m sorry!’

‘Are you fucking kidding me?!’ he got angry. He didn't have his stuff today, decided to open just because she promised him to help.

‘It’s an emergency, I will explain it later, don’t get mad!’ she ran faster, left him behind. She knew he will be pissed but right now Dan needed her more.

‘They all ditched you when you needed them the most! – he yelled. – And now…’

He kicked the doors and then shut them angrily. Leila knew he was right. They all ditched her. She nearly passed away when she went back to Duskwood. Phil was the one who found her laying on the floor at her motel room. She spent four days at hospital and none of them knew about it. None of them seemed to care. She felt bad for leaving Phil right now, but Dan sounded so desperate… so helpless...

Leila arrived to Dan’s place soon. All wet, she knocked on the door. Dan opened. He was pale and shaking.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked. She saw tears in his eyes. She’s never seen him like this.

‘I don’t know what to do – he said. – She is so weak but she doesn’t let me help her.’

Leila stepped inside.

'Come down' she said. 'We will manage.'

‘Daniel? – they could hear hoarse voice from the next room. – Who is this?’

Leila went straight to the room. Dan tried to stop her but she was faster.

'Mrs Anderson - she smiled - it is pleasure to meet you.' Older lady covered herself with bathrobe.

'Leila... ' Dan grabbed her arm. He wanted to pull her out of his mother's bedroom.

'Daniel, why you didn't tell me you invited this nice young lady? I would dress properly.'

'Mom... I will...' He started but Leila interrupted him.

'Go to the kitchen and make a two cups of tea for us - she pushed him out, giving him a warning gaze - and we will just gossip a little.'

When Dan came back Leila and his mother were laughing like old friends. He didn't understand what put Leila in such a good mood until he noticed the family's photo album.

'Great' he mumbled.

'You were so adorable' Leila laughed pointed an old pic from his childhood.

'Oh honey - Mrs Anderson sighed. - I am so happy you finally found such a wonderful girlfriend.'

'But we... '

'Didn't tell our friends yet - Leila didn't let him finish. - You know, they might be afraid how our friendship will take it... '

Dan's mom smiled. Her son has never introduced any of his girlfriends to her but she exactly knew what type of woman they were. This one was totally different, thank God.

'Secret lovers, this is so romantic. But I can tell, you are made for each other.'

She covered her mouth when she coughed and Leila could see a stains of blood on the tissue.

'Ok Sophie, let's not waste any of time - Leila helped her sit on the bed. - We have to make you look like a billion dollars cuz I made you a date.'

'And who it would be?' asked Mrs Anderson but she let Leila help her get up.

'Well... He is a charming man called a Doctor Smith but just between you and me: I don't really believe his name is a Doctor. But that's how he is calling himself so I don't wanna argue.'

Sophie giggled.

'You are unbelievable' she smirked. Leila helped her with shower and all the staff and half an hour later, she and Dan were waiting in the living room for the verdict.

'I can't believe how easily you convince her to an appointment. And you really called a doctor.'

Leila put her hand on Dan's shoulder.

'You said your mum needs a doc so I called one. It's not big deal.'

Dan closed his eyes and covered them with a hand. He was so scared. He reached the edge of his strength.

'I don't know what I will do if she...'

'Hey! - Leila pulled him into a warming friendly hug. - We help you go through all of this. The most important is to diagnose her right now and start to cure her.'

'Thank you Leila'

'Alright! - she yelled. - Stop making the Thommyboy's puppies eyes and get a grip! We need a strong Dan right now.'

It was a long time before the doctor came out. He head to Dan straight. It was difficult conversation even if he made a thousand of them already. It stayed a month... Or two... Until... Dan was devastated but he tried to be brave. Leila didn't want to leave him but he convinced her to go back to Aurora. When she arrived live show was already over and Phil closed the bar for tonight She found him cleaning the room. She went to him close.

'How was it? ' she asked carefully. He even didn't looked at her.

'Just like you care' he mumbled. He was so mad it nearly broke her heart.

'I do care' she replied. Phil turned around and looked deep in her eyes. He seemed to be tired and disappointed.

'You left me - he said. - Just because one of the bunch called you. Where they were when you almost died? Where they were when you stayed at hospital fighting for your life?'

'Phil... '

'You can't answer me that, ain't you?'

She felt tears running down her cheeks.

'I am sorry, ok?!' She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help herself. 'Life sucks.'

Phil couldn't stand her crying. He wiped her cheeks with his hand.

'I am just worry about you' he said.

'I will help you with cleaning.'

'So... What was so important that you ditched me for Dan?'

'His mother is dying' she whispered and went to change. When she was changing her clothes her phone beeped. She looked at the screen. It was a message from unknown number.

'You made a mistake. You should be careful or this will happen again'

The message contain a photo of burnt house.

#duskwood fanfiction #everbyte #duskwood mc #duskwood phil x mc #jakevsphil #duskwood #jake x mc

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luckyqueenreign · 11 months

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Did you hear that apparently Ivy is coming back 😭 WHY?! Tbh I never liked her snarky attitude and when I fell for her lie about Roberto in the challenge I literally like sat there in shock that I believed her…

But seriously why bring her back.. it’s literally giving meera 2.0 she’s gonna come back and annoy the hell of out MC - then probs get dumped before the finale. Fb please make more original girls that actual want to be friends with MC!! Atp Bella is the only girl I like - Grace being all delusional about Ozzy like cmon girl. And don’t get me started on Amelia and her “oh yeah i’m so sorry nothing happened!” it’s been multiple times she’s done it now..

Ik i sound so negative but i’m actually really enjoying the season 😭

Bestie yesss and I’m so over it lol!! Whyyy must they keep bringing back islanders we were happy to see leave. Bella is nice but she’s also so deep into the background I barely notice she’s there. I actually feel closer to Grace even tho I’m actively trying to steal her man 🥴 idk what I expected from Amelia but just not this… and I fully believe it’s fbs terrible writing that’s making her and Lewie/Jamal/Ryan seem lowkey shady with their idiotic cliffhangers.

Also I know we say this literally every season but fb needs to do better branching. In challenges, my mc has kissed Ozzy several times, he’s kissed her back in front of everyone to the question of who he fancies the most, he’s pulled away from Grace and she caught us on the roof terrace together having a deep chat. And Ozzy was v flustered by it and she has the audacity to laugh when she’s whining that he might like someone else. We are the most believable choice!! You’ve already caught us in multiple situations! Like why are they making her seem so delusional?

#litg ask #love island the game #love island game #litg

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fossadeileonixv · 2 years

Text

Where Are We Now?

It’s the return of your favorite segment from last summer!

Here we go!

KEEPERS

Maignan , Tatarusanu, Plizzari, Mirante, Jungdal

We are good here, FOR A WHILE. Maignan is the guy and Tatarusanu will get some cup games or what have you. Mirante is the bag man that fetches the water bottles. Plizzari will probably go on loan AGAIN at the deadline or something. Jungdal was the primavera keeper and there’s been some nice chatter about him. He’s been rumored to go in a deal for De Ketelaere.

FULLBACKS

Theo, Ballo-Toure, Calabria, Florenzi

Two right backs. Two left backs. Don’t forget Kalulu can spend some time at either spot as well. Same with Florenzi. Looks pretty darn good to me. Without question the best FB group in the league.

CENTER BACKS

Tomori, Kalulu, Kjaer, Gabbia

Four of the top five return as Romagnoli has left on a free. No worries. Also it was confirmed today that Caldara is going on loan to Spezia. He’s signed through 2024 so expect something permenant next summer. That probably means we will sign someone before the deadline. Whether that means a young prospect of sorts or a veteran placeholder time will tell. As much as it does NOT excite me I could see someone like Acerbi signed at the end of the window as insurance.

MIDFIELD

Tonali, Bennacer, Bakayoko, Pobega, Krunic, Adli, Diaz, Maldini

The holding spots are good. Heck both spots are good. There has been talk of Bakayoko having his loan terminated but right now he is still our loan property through next season. My guess his agent is out there right now trying to find him a home. Pobega interests me as it’s never been said one way or the other if he is truly in Milan’s plans. Also if he’s sold he would bring a really nice profit. My guess is he sticks around this season.

Attacking mid is a tossup. Diaz was a shit stain last year. Nice start then did zero the rest of the way. Adli has played there and did really well getting 8 assists for a terrible team last season. Too early to say though whether that’s his pot on this team or not. Much like Krunic and probably Pobega I think he will spend time there AND in the holding spots.

In that same vein it’s also tough to say exactly where De Ketelaere will play if he does come. He has played all over the place up top and excels at pressing and creating turnovers. That could mean we could see him at AM or on either wing. It SEEMS like only a matter of time til he comes but who knows. I’d say right now it’s 70/30 he arrives.

Do you see a spot for Renato Sanches here? I sure don’t. Maybe if someone goes but otherwise he’s not gonna play.

ATTACK

Messias, Saelemaekers, Origi, Giroud, Zlatan, Lazetic, Tsadjout, Leao, Rebic

Two right wings. Two left wings. Five strikers? Well not really. Zlatan is out til at least the first of the year. He signed a 100K deal FULL of incentives. Will he ever play again? Who knows. Tsadjout just left for good to Cremonese. Will Lazetic stay or go on loan? Hard to say. So that’s really two strikers, but two really good strikers in Giroud and Origi. The wings are more or less set. Ziyech is floating around out there but who knows where that goes. he’s signed through 2025 with Chelsea and just fired his agent. Looks like he’s headed for the Chelsea loanee/recycle bin much like Bakayoko and so many others before him. If he comes that’s great. i wouldn’t bet on anything much before August 30th though and that’s still more than 6 weeks away.

FRIENDLY UPDATE

- The first friendly is this Saturday at Koln. No word yet on streaming options. I’m sure something will turn up though. After that there’s 3 more before the season starts:

7/23 @ Zalaegerszegi

7/27 @Wolfsberg

7/31@Marseille

These friendlies should give us an idea of exactly where guys like Adli, Pobega and even Kalulu will line up. All 3 can play multiple roles.

All for now. Things are starting to heat up and I can’t wait!

FORZA MILAN

Lisi

#IMIT

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

Facebook thrives on criticism of "disinformation"

The mainstream critique of Facebook is surprisingly compatible with Facebook’s own narrative about its products. FB critics say that the company’s machine learning and data-gathering slides disinformation past users’ critical faculties, poisoning their minds.

Meanwhile, Facebook itself tells advertisers that it can use data and machine learning to slide past users’ critical faculties, convincing them to buy stuff.

In other words, the mainline of Facebook critics start from the presumption that FB is a really good product and that advertisers are definitely getting their money’s worth when they shower billions on the company.

Which is weird, because these same critics (rightfully) point out that Facebook lies all the time, about everything. It would be bizarre if the only time FB was telling the truth was when it was boasting about how valuable its ad-tech is.

Facebook has a conflicted relationship with this critique. I’m sure they’d rather not be characterized as a brainwashing system that turns good people into monsters, but not when the choice is between “brainwashers” and “con-artists selling garbage to credulous ad execs.”

As FB investor and board member Peter Thiel puts it: “I’d rather be seen as evil than incompetent.” In other words, the important word in “evil genius” is “genius,” not “evil.”

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1440312271511568393

The accord of tech critics and techbros gives rise to a curious hybrid, aptly named by Maria Farrell: the Prodigal Techbro.

A prodigal techbro is a self-styled wizard of machine-learning/surveillance mind control who has see the error of his ways.

https://crookedtimber.org/2020/09/23/story-ate-the-world-im-biting-back/

This high-tech sorcerer doesn’t disclaim his magical powers — rather, he pledges to use them for good, to fight the evil sorcerers who invented a mind-control ray to sell your nephew a fidget-spinner, then let Robert Mercer hijack it to turn your uncle into a Qanon racist.

There’s a great name for this critique, criticism that takes its subjects’ claims to genius at face value: criti-hype, coined by Lee Vinsel, describing a discourse that turns critics into “the professional concern trolls of technoculture.”

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

The thing is, Facebook really is terrible — but not because it uses machine learning to brainwash boomers into iodine-guzzling Qnuts. And likewise, there really is a problem with conspiratorial, racist, science-denying, epistemologically chaotic conspiratorialism.

Addressing that problem requires that we understand the direction of the causal arrow — that we understand whether Facebook is the cause or the effect of the crisis, and what role it plays.

“Facebook wizards turned boomers into orcs” is a comforting tale, in that it implies that we need merely to fix Facebook and the orcs will turn back into our cuddly grandparents and get their shots. The reality is a lot gnarlier and, sadly, less comforting.

There’s been a lot written about Facebook’s sell-job to advertisers, but less about the concern over “disinformation.” In a new, excellent longread for Harpers, Joe Bernstein makes the connection between the two:

https://harpers.org/archive/2021/09/bad-news-selling-the-story-of-disinformation/

Fundamentally: if we question whether Facebook ads work, we should also question whether the disinformation campaigns that run amok on the platform are any more effective.

Bernstein starts by reminding us of the ad industry’s one indisputable claim to persuasive powers: ad salespeople are really good at convincing ad buyers that ads work.

Think of department store magnate John Wanamaker’s lament that “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Whoever convinced him that he was only wasting half his ad spend was a true virtuoso of the con.

As Tim Hwang documents brilliantly in his 2020 pamphlet “Subprime Attention Crisis,” ad-tech is even griftier than the traditional ad industry. Ad-tech companies charge advertisers for ads that are never served, or never rendered, or never seen.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#wannamakers-ghost

They rig ad auctions, fake their reach numbers, fake their conversions (they also lie to publishers about how much they’ve taken in for serving ads on their pages and short change them by millions).

Bernstein cites Hwang’s work, and says, essentially, shouldn’t this apply to “disinformation?”

If ads don’t work well, then maybe political ads don’t work well. And if regular ads are a swamp of fraudulently inflated reach numbers, wouldn’t that be true of political ads?

Bernstein talks about the history of ads as a political tool, starting with Eisenhower’s 1952 “Answers America” campaign, designed and executed at great expense by Madison Ave giants Ted Bates.

Hannah Arendt, whom no one can accuse of being soft on the consequences of propaganda, was skeptical of this kind of enterprise: “The psychological premise of human manipulability has become one of the chief wares that are sold on the market of common and learned opinion.”

The ad industry ran an ambitious campaign to give scientific credibility to its products. As Jacques Ellul wrote in 1962, propagandists were engaged in “the increasing attempt to control its use, measure its results, define its effects.”

Appropriating the jargon of behavioral scientists let ad execs “assert audiences, like workers in a Taylorized workplace, need not be persuaded through reason, but could be trained through repetition to adopt the new consumption habits desired by the sellers.” -Zoe Sherman

These “scientific ads” had their own criti-hype attackers, like Vance “Hidden Persuaders” Packard, who admitted that “researchers were sometimes prone to oversell themselves — or in a sense to exploit the exploiters.”

Packard cites Yale’s John Dollard, a scientific ad consultant, who accused his colleagues of promising advertisers “a mild form of omnipotence,” which was “well received.”

Today’s scientific persuaders aren’t in a much better place than Dollard or Packard. Despite all the talk of political disinformation’s reach, a 2017 study found “sharing articles from fake news domains was a rare activity” affecting <10% of users.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aau4586

So, how harmful is this? One study estimates “if one fake news article were about as persuasive as one TV campaign ad, the fake news in our database would have changed vote shares by an amount on the order of hundredths of a percentage point.”

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.31.2.211

Now, all that said, American politics certainly feel and act differently today than in years previous. The key question: “is social media creating new types of people, or simply revealing long-obscured types of people to a segment of the public unaccustomed to seeing them?”

After all, American politics has always had its “paranoid style,” and the American right has always had a sizable tendency towards unhinged conspiratorialism, from the John Birch Society to Goldwater Republicans.

Social media may not be making more of these yahoos, but rather, making them visible to the wider world, and to each other, allowing them to make common cause and mobilize their adherents (say, to carry tiki torches through Charlottesville in Nazi cosplay).

If that’s true, then elite calls to “fight disinformation” are unlikely to do much, except possibly inflaming things. If “disinformation” is really people finding each other (not infecting each other) labelling their posts as “disinformation” won’t change their minds.

Worse, plans like the Biden admin’s National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism lump 1/6 insurrectionists in with anti-pipeline activists, racial justice campaigners, and animal rights groups.

Whatever new powers we hand over to fight disinformation will be felt most by people without deep-pocketed backers who’ll foot the bill for crack lawyers.

Here’s the key to Bernstein’s argument: “One reason to grant Silicon Valley’s assumptions about our mechanistic persuadability is that it prevents us from thinking too hard about the role we play in taking up and believing the things we want to believe. It turns a huge question about the nature of democracy in the digital age — what if the people believe crazy things, and now everyone knows it? — into a technocratic negotiation between tech companies, media companies, think tanks, and universities.”

I want to “Yes, and” that.

My 2020 book How To Destroy Surveillance Capitalism doesn’t dismiss the idea that conspiratorialism is on the rise, nor that tech companies are playing a key role in that rise — but without engaging in criti-hype.

https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59

In my book, I propose that conspiratorialism isn’t a crisis of what people believe so much as how they arrive at their beliefs — it’s an “epistemological crisis.”

We live in a complex society plagued by high-stakes questions none of us can answer on our own.

Do vaccines work? Is oxycontin addictive? Should I wear a mask? Can we fight covid by sanitizing surfaces? Will distance ed make my kind an ignoramus? Should I fly in a 737 Max?

Even if you have the background to answer one of these questions, no one can answer all of them.

Instead, we have a process: neutral expert agencies use truth-seeking procedures to sort of competing claims, showing their work and recusing themselves when they have conflicts, and revising their conclusions in light of new evidence.

It’s pretty clear that this process is breaking down. As companies (led by the tech industry) merge with one another to form monopolies, they hijack their regulators and turn truth-seeking into an auction, where shareholder preferences trump evidence.

This perversion of truth has consequences — take the FDA’s willingness to accept the expensively manufactured evidence of Oxycontin’s safety, a corrupt act that kickstarted the opioid epidemic, which has killed 800,000 Americans to date.

If the best argument for vaccine safety and efficacy is “We used the same process and experts as pronounced judgement on Oxy” then it’s not unreasonable to be skeptical — especially if you’re still coping with the trauma of lost loved ones.

As Anna Merlan writes in her excellent Republic of Lies, conspiratorialism feeds on distrust and trauma, and we’ve got plenty of legitimate reasons to experience both.

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/09/21/republic-of-lies-the-rise-of-conspiratorial-thinking-and-the-actual-conspiracies-that-fuel-it/

Tech was an early adopter of monopolistic tactics — the Apple ][+ went on sale the same year Ronald Reagan hit the campaign trail, and the industry’s growth tracked perfectly with the dismantling of antitrust enforcement over the past 40 years.

What’s more, while tech may not persuade people, it is indisputably good at finding them. If you’re an advertiser looking for people who recently looked at fridge reviews, tech finds them for you. If you’re a boomer looking for your old high school chums, it’ll do that too.

Seen in that light, “online radicalization” stops looking like the result of mind control, instead showing itself to be a kind of homecoming — finding the people who share your interests, a common online experience we can all relate to.

I found out about Bernstein’s article from the Techdirt podcast, where he had a fascinating discussion with host Mike Masnick.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210928/12593747652/techdirt-podcast-episode-299-misinformation-about-disinformation.shtml

Towards the end of that discussion, they talked about FB’s Project Amplify, in which the company tweaked its news algorithm to uprank positive stories about Facebook, including stories its own PR department wrote.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/22/kropotkin-graeber/#zuckerveganism

Project Amplify is part of a larger, aggressive image-control effort by the company, which has included shuttering internal transparency portals, providing bad data to researchers, and suing independent auditors who tracked its promises.

I’d always assumed that this truth-suppression and wanton fraud was about hiding how bad the platform’s disinformation problem was.

But listening to Masnick and Bernstein, I suddenly realized there was another explanation.

Maybe Facebook’s aggressive suppression of accurate assessments of disinformation on its platform are driven by a desire to hide how expensive (and profitable) political advertising it depends on is pretty useless.

Image: Anthony Quintano (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Zuckerberg_F8_2018_Keynote_(41793470192).jpg

Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

#pluralistic

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the-bjd-community-confess · 3 years

Text

Many Divaz/Z3st confos

Mod: Not all the ones in the inbox, but a batch of them to peruse at your leisure.

1. Z3st got told by a mod on the BJD Discord to stop with his drama-mongering. He argued with the mod. In b4 he whines here about the BJD Discord.

~Anonymous

2. @A certain someone: DOA mods warning you to stop making drama or else ban is not an attack on you. BJD Discord mod warning you to stop making drama or ban is not an attack on you. They're just doing their jobs. To stop finding yourself in situations where you feel attacked, don't make drama. Seriously it's getting super tiresome seeing your crap all over the place esp since you're acting like someone shot your dog or smth. You're doing this to yourself and blaming others for your own actions.

~Anonymous

3. My friend got messaged on FB by Z3st because they posted in support of Divaz. Z3st called them names and tried to prove his "innocence". Apparently my friend wasn't the only person Z3st did this to, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it to everyone who commented in support of Divaz. Z3st is crying about being the victim but all I see is him being the aggressor. Who the fuck messages people they don't know to harass them like that?

~Anonymous

4.@al3xcessive... you can't blame someone for "doxxing" you when you put your information out there first. Also, that's not what "doxxing" is, they've literally only showed your name AFTER YOU SHOWED IT YOURSELF PUBLICLY. All of your other information was hidden. I searched for your name on FB and wouldn't have ever found you if you hadn't gone and shown yourself by spamming comments on the post.

~Anonymous

5.lol al3xcess claiming he'd been "harassed" when he DMs random people to call them bootlickers and they tell him to fuck off xD

~Anonymous

6.If the customer is batshit terrible to work with, you refund them and ban them. Don’t feed trolls and all. Seems simple? But Div4s just gonna dox somebody like that? Even their most hardcore fans ought to be sayin “hol up” instead of cheering.

~Anonymous

7.Lol @ Z3st calling Divaz "insidiously hostile" when he himself is this way and he even admitted it: "i had been nothing but nice, and ABSURDLY patient, and understanding and looking back now the gushing tone in which i took makes me sick" - Looking at HIS OWN receipts, his "absurdly nice" is just normal decency. It really says a lot about him that he considers it absurd and that it makes him sick. Divas aren't the ones being insidious, Z3st, you admitted you were deceptive from the getgo.

~Anonymous

8.I'm done with r_s who defend BJDivaz on DoA. I had to wait MONTHS for any sign of life from them, they NEVER answer their emails, and they've mishandled ALL of my orders. They won't be an adult about this! If you're ordering from them, you're pretty much supporting them. Stop.

~Anonymous

9.Neutral to Divaz but seeing them did a call out to a troublesome customer is a bit uncomfortable. I believe they should have kept the person's name as anon, never mention their irl or username. I understand that they are upset that their business reputation is damaged by the customer's words but still a business shouldn't blast their customer's personal info on public platform. A business should be a business. Personal feelings should be handled off the business page.

Again I fully understand Divaz is human too and they can feel upset by exaggerated rumours but a business shouldn't be so sensitive to any provocation. I'm sure other dealers also get a lot of negative comments but we seldom hear them talk about it publicly. Really not my place to say, I think Divaz should try to keep personal emotions off their business page. Occasional bad press will naturally go away on its own if they can maintain good and satisfied customers on a long run. I feel like them fighting back against angry (ex) customers and seeking comfort from others is not the best move as a business. It is fine that they express their frustration to their family and friends but definitely not on a public business page. It just feels unprofessional. It's my 2 cents.

Sorry Divaz, I know you don't want to hear this but please do try to keep personal feelings aside when running a business. It will really help you on a long run. Haters will only use this against you because they know you will react to their provocation. This will never end and only damge your reputation further. Hope for the best.

~Anonymous

10. Cheeesus, that long Divaz post on that DoA user is too much. With all the precise time-stamps details and quotations, it's like a lawyer presenting a courtcase like "the evidence here shows that at 'hour;minute' you said this XXX. Is it true?" And we, the witnesses/audience, are all called to participate in the judgment. lol

~Anonymous

11. ne1 else get msged by Z3st on fb cuz he wants to bitch u out for posting on divaz?

~Anonymous

12. Divaz doxxes and stalks people, talks shit about customers on their FB, forgets to place orders, hands out tons of excuses for why they can't reply... among other things. Why the fuck are you all still dealing with them? Cl0ver singing, Alice's and a bunch of other companies are ten times better. Stop👏 validating👏 shitty 👏companies 👏

~Anonymous

13.There are certain people who always jump to the defense of BjDivaz and get mad when other people have legitimate issues with them. Get a life. Some of us have real problems and bad experiences ordering from them.

~Anonymous

14. I know everyone has a different situation and state their opinion with what they have already experienced, but I'm not gonna lie that I felt bad when I read someone saying that bjdivaz long layaways aren't even neccesary and they should just remove it. While I do agree bjdivaz could improve in how they manage some stuff, at the same time they are the only ones that let me "join" the hobby and don't feel bad because I can't pay in full or put down big payments as other hobbyists. I know it's not neccesary and I can save, but from someone who comes from a place of poverty I already feel guilty enough spending in a hobby and having big amounts of money always end up in paying emergencies and starting from 0 again. So these "really long and unnecessary layaways" give me the opportunity to not feel as guilty and enjoy something like the rest without spending too much every month to the point that it could affect my daily life.

~Anonymous

15. Z3st/Alex is legitimately evil for what he's doing, trying to put a company out of business that, per the emails that he himself posted, has never been anything but helpful to him (and many others). I'd bet he's the main source of all the BJDivaz hate going on here, and the miserable people around here were more than happy to grab their pitchforks and join his mob. Stop it.

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #TrueBJDConfessions #BJD Dealers #BJD Groups

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zackcrazyvalentine · 3 years

Note

What anime shops do you usually order from? I wanna get a Malleus, but I’m not sure about ordering straight from the site. If I can find any of the anime shops in my area, I’d be much happier ordering through there.

I'm not US or EU based, I really don't know if I can help you in this front ó v ò

What I can tell you is more less how I found my shops:

There's two popular plazas/malls here that are known for the otaku-weeb-gamer crowds that frequent them. You could ask around in shops specialized in figures and figurines to see if they could order the one you're interested in

If these plazas have Facebook or web pages, try and search if they tag or share posts made by individual shops, so you can then go to those shop pages and ask if they can get the products you want

Local anime-comic conventions can also be a place to know local or in-country shops. Many of them have business cards, phone number or emails to share with you

Lastly, Facebook has been very useful to me these last 3 years for merch buying. There are pages who constantly update their catalogues with in-season anime & game merch that was just released or announced, and all of the shop pages I've ordered from are open to get you the products you like.

With all of these, there are some things I can advise:

See if they have a nice influx of customers, and how "up to date" their merchandise is

[If they have a page] Search for reviews left by other people, read comments left in posts, see if they actively interact and update the status of shipments to their customers. Many of these shops rely on their buyers' opinions, see if they have albums titled "Satisfied Customers" or something similar.

Along with this, see if they have albums titled "New Arrivals" / "Products with Owner, still" - These allow you to see which articles have been picked up from delivery and are now with your seller, don't be afraid to ask if something you see there is yours (of course, if you order said product. Doing this even helps the seller know who to notify about their stuff being with them, update any taxes that were added, etc.)

[For online FB shops, pages & physical stores] Ask/search if they've been to events and conventions, this can speak well of a store, as those events aren't easy to get organized in.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK IF THEY ALLOW EASIER FORMS FOR YOU TO PAY FOR YOUR STUFF!!!! My most liked shops allow you to gradually pay stuff until the item's release month arrives or the article physically gets to the shop. Normally, they upload the item you wish to order and with it the ways you can pay (XX monthly payments of $YYY amounts; 50% to place order and the other 50% after it ships/arrives to them, etc.)

This is more of a little something to keep in mind, it varies from store to store: Carefully watch if their catalogues include international shipping costs. Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not, and this can be a put off to some... Do keep this in mind

COMPARE PRICES!!!!

Keep a notebook or spreadsheet with the information of your products, when you ordered them, payments you've done and need to do in next months, release dates, if they include international shipping or not, so on and so forth. PUT OF YOUR PART!! Be responsible with your purchases!

Don't be afraid to ask and clear up ANY doubts you have, neither to ask if your stuff has arrived yet after release date has gone by

And always ALWAYS READ THEIR RULES AND ANALYZE THEM OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND THEM BEFORE BUYING!!!!! I've seen time and time again people leave terrible review and start up beef with seller BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T READ RULES and try to put the blame on others instead of themselves. Don't be like that, be responsible

BONUS!!!

Sometimes shops have "left behind" and in stock products from where other buyers failed to keep up with their payments or forgot about their products and never asked to get them (IT HAPPENS, believe me)

They may have little sales and special events from time to time to make space for new shipments. Keep your eyes peeled for nice bargains for items of months/years gone by you were and still are interested in~

Hope this helps you some!!!

Happy responsible buying~! ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

EDIT:

Yo~! Another thing came to mind after seeing this post of mine and putting it in the masterlist:

If you join itabag groups, otaku shopping groups, anime trade groups on FB... keep your eyes peeled bc People will sometimes recommend shops to buy from!

#zask #anime #shops #shopping #online shopping #anime merch #advice

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