#i deeply appreciate it!!!

[chaylani]

RM for VOGUE KOREA

"I say this over and over again, but art ultimately comes from life. I believe I can create something awesome only by continuing to put living and playing at the forefront. I don’t want to pursue music for music’s sake, art for art’s sake, etc. Life always comes first, and that creates the balance needed to work fruitfully. I always think of myself as standing on a balance beam, and try to enjoy it as much as I can. Creating is like punishment. But I try to endure it with pleasure, counting myself lucky to have a creative job."

#bts #kim namjoon #namjoon #rm #vogue #vogue korea #btsgfx #bts gfx #bangtan #stuff #rm vogue #nj #rkive #bts edits #this really took me so long but you know how much i adore this man #i don't even know if you're still interested in seeing my graphics #thank u yo much fpr your love and support #i deeply appreciate it!!!

[frodo-a-gogo]

Let us be brutally honest with ourselves and with eachother for a moment. If he weren't obese you motherfuckers would be capable of percieving evrart claires sexy sexy moral ambiguity and complex charms

#i am (lesbian) sipping him like a fine DESSERT WINE #my evidence by the way is very simple and very damning. joyce messier. there i said it. #if you guys can appreciate the fact that Joyce is a complex figure worthy of disgust yes but also worthy of empathy #despite being a venal coward facilitating acts of violence and slaughter of the organized working poor of martinaise in the name of capital #if you can understand that she is a dimensional figure while also being an embodiment of the moral apathy and cruelty if capital owners #but you cant look at evrart and see that he is (while deeply flawed and morally suspect) also a dimensional figure #on top of the fact that his motivations are eminently relatable and dare i say it baser #and his greatest failing imho is in failing to advocate for the interests of *all* the poor of martinaise #opting instead to marginalize the inhabitants of the fishing village in favor of a power grab in the interests of himself and his union #though this is imo a bit of a grey area morally. undeniably a wrong and bad thing to do but done in service of clairs political goals #to gather power to advocate for the working class against ultraliberal monoliths like wild pines and fascistic orgs like krenel #still super wrong but i can follow the moral arithmetic there tho i don't like it #but like my point is if u can see that joyce is evil and pathetic but still cool and sexy but you consider clair flatly distasteful #thats cus hes not conventionally attractive #cus he is *every bit* as dimensional and interesting as joyce and he is not nearly as politically shite even if hes interpersonally a jerk

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

This post used to hold a poem inspired by the Rev. Munther Isaac's declaration that "God is under the rubble in Gaza."

After a few anons and a conversation with a Jewish friend, I've decided to take the poem down because, regardless of my own intentions with it, it risks feeding the long and extremely harmful history of blood libel, because I included imagery of the infant Jesus and his parents being killed by an Israeli soldier, as many Palestinians are being killed now.

Before talking with that friend, I wrote in this response to an anon about my intentions with the poem — but while I do believe that intentions do matter, they don't matter nearly as much as impact does.

My friend helped me come to the conclusion that while the poem I wrote could be interpreted as I intended by people who already have all the context I wrote it in (see below), it could also all too easily be interpreted much more harmfully by those who lack that context — or worse, who are looking for more fuel for their antisemitism. The poem is not worth that risk, not at all.

___

Ultimately, I hold two things I believe to be true in tension:

that Christians throughout the ages have found deep comfort and encouragement in understanding Jesus as suffering in and with them. I support all Christian Palestinians who, like Rev. Isaac, experience God-with-them in this way — in this horrific time, they deserve any ounce of comfort they can derive. And them personally seeking and finding the Divine presence with them is not antisemitic.

that for Christians like myself in the USA, who live in the beating heart of Empire and Christian Supremacy, it is vital to take care in how we talk about this theology in this current situation, where the oppressors are Jewish. Providing more fuel for Christian antisemitism is inexcusable, and I deeply apologize for writing and sharing a piece that can be used in that way.

Because modern-day Israel is a Jewish state, exploring that Divine solidarity in this context comes with a great risk of perpetuating the long, harmful history of antisemitic blood libel and accusations of deicide. How do we affirm God’s presence with those suffering in Palestine without (implicitly or explicitly) adding to the poisonous lie that “the Jews killed Jesus”?

In wrestling with this complexity, I tried to write this poem to uplift both Jesus’s Jewishness and his solidarity with Palestinians. Jesus was born into a Jewish family, his entire worldview was shaped by his Jewishness, and he shared in his people’s suffering under the Roman Empire. His solidarity with Palestinians of various faiths suffering today does not erase that Jewishness. Nor does it mean that Jewish persons don’t “belong” in the region — only that modern Israel’s occupation of Palestine is in no way necessary for Jews to live and thrive there, or anywhere else in the world.

I also aimed to point out that Israel is by no means acting alone in this attack on Gaza or their decades-long occupation of Palestine. There is a much larger Empire at work, with my own country, the United States, at the helm. Israel is entangled in that imperial mess, and directly backed and funded by those forces — not because of what politicians claim, that we have to back Israel or else we’re antisemitic, but because Israel is our strategic foothold in the so-called Middle East. How do we name our complicity as our tax dollars are funneled into violence across the world, and act to end that violence?

___

I'm sorry this post isn't as articulate as I want it to be. All of this to say: I deeply apologize for any hurt my poem caused. I understand how horrific Christianity's history of — and ongoing present — antisemitism is, and how it poisons and warps so much that could have been beautiful. I'll keep educating myself; I'll keep having hard conversations; I'll keep working to uproot antisemitism in myself and my communities.

___

I'll close with a list of resources for learning about Palestine's history and getting involved.

#deeply grateful E that you were willing to have that conversation with me! #you didn't have to and i appreciate the time and energy you spent doing so. solidarity forever <3

[littlebitofdnd]

Sandra-Lynn and Sklonda are having a "What Do We Do About Kristen" phone call as we speak

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #brennan lee mulligan #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #d20 fantasy high #dimension 20 fhjy #d20 fhjy #fhjy spoilers #fhjy #sklonda gukgak #sandra lynn faeth #riz gukgak #fig faeth #kristen applebees #like kristen IS a good friend and she DOES appreciate riz and fig but she is a mess #like as mothers of two deeply troubled children it makes sense they're comcerned #if my daughter the self-sacrificing ticking time bomb said she was ignoring a CURSE because she was busy with her friend's campaign??? #or if my son needed me to pull over to take a nap because the SAME GIRL was stressing him out so much?? #i think because we live outside the universe and love kristen it's easy to forget #kristen went from being the 'good kid' that the bad kids corrupted to the bad influence that worries their mothers #thinking about ally saying that kristen this season is when chaos is no longer cute #speaking of which this scene did make me realize how little the Thistlesprings check up on gorgug #ik they're trying though so imma give them a pass #like kristen has NO proper guidance on how to enter adulthood #i GUESS jawbone but Jawbone isn't raising her so much as he is housing her #What Kristen REALLY needs is to have one singular adult want to be her parent #She doesn't HAVE a proper sandra lynn or sklonda checking in on her #she has her ex-girlfriend's uncle #if kristen had someone looking out for her we wouldn't BE in this situation

[opens-up-4-nobody]

🖤

#silna my beloved #shes so lovely. i love her when she's shouting at Francis and when shes being quietly extremely kind #she protects crozier and appreciates goodsir on a personal level despite what they brought to her life #she makes me so deeply sad #the terror #amc the terror #silna #lady silence #tuunbaq #tw blood

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

My rendition of @tempo-takoyaki's DTIYS!

Congrats on the milestones! And to everyone else, please go check out their 'Drawing TGCF (except I haven't read the books)' series!

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #svsss #tgcf #wei wuxian #shen qingqiu #xie lian #better drawn mdzs #(Vaguely??? I think SQQ came out handsome enough to put him in my special gallery) #Showing up to submit this less than 3 days before the DTIYS ends is filling me with a bit of anxiety but it is done! #Initially I was going to do a descending level of realism/detail but noses make me nervous still. One day I'll get there. #The irony is that I was planning on drawing something to celebrate tempo finishing season 1 of their series only to find this DTIYS! #*and* it was their birthday recently. I am compelled to lift them into the air and shout their praises. #What a genuinely kind person with an art style I want to bite into like a crunchy apple!!! The *range* is incredible! #Also their xie lian is probably one of my favourite interpretations. So done with everything but not misanthropic. #Remembers everything and lets other's spin in circles with their lies for the sheer chaos of it all. Teases relentlessly. Deeply sad. #Give it a read! They are planning on continuing on so now is a great time to catch up! #Thanks for hosting this fun art challenge Tempo! We all appreciate you deeply B*) #I hope you have a better year in 2024 - you truly deserve the best.

[too-fond-to-be-fearful]

Been thinking recently about the goings-on with Duolingo & AI, and I do want to throw my two cents in, actually.

There are ways in which computers can help us with languages, certainly. They absolutely should not be the be-all and end-all, and particularly for any sort of professional work I am wholly in favour of actually employing qualified translators & interpreters, because there's a lot of important nuances to language and translation (e.g. context, ambiguity, implied meaning, authorial intent, target audience, etc.) that a computer generally does not handle well. But translation software has made casual communication across language barriers accessible to the average person, and that's something that is incredibly valuable to have, I think.

Duolingo, however, is not translation software. Duolingo's purpose is to teach languages. And I do not think you can be effectively taught a language by something that does not understand it itself; or rather, that does not go about comprehending and producing language in the way that a person would.

Whilst a language model might be able to use probability & statistics to put together an output that is grammatically correct and contextually appropriate, it lacks an understanding of why, beyond "statistically speaking, this element is likely to come next". There is no communicative intent behind the output it produces; its only goal is mimicking the input it has been trained on. And whilst that can produce some very natural-seeming output, it does not capture the reality of language use in the real world.

Because language is not just a set of probabilities - there are an infinite array of other factors at play. And we do not set out only to mimic what we have seen or heard; we intend to communicate with the wider world, using the tools we have available, and that might require deviating from the realm of the expected.

Often, the most probable output is not actually what you're likely to encounter in practice. Ungrammatical or contextually inappropriate utterances can be used for dramatic or humorous effect, for example; or nonstandard linguistic styles may be used to indicate one's relationship to the community those styles are associated with. Social and cultural context might be needed to understand a reference, or a linguistic feature might seem extraneous or confusing when removed from its original environment.

To put it briefly, even without knowing exactly how the human brain processes and produces language (which we certainly don't), it's readily apparent that boiling it down to a statistical model is entirely misrepresentative of the reality of language.

And thus a statistical model is unlikely to be able to comprehend and assist with many of the difficulties of learning a language.

A statistical model might identify that a learner misuses some vocabulary more often than others; what it may not notice is that the vocabulary in question are similar in form, or in their meaning in translation. It might register that you consistently struggle with a particular grammar form; but not identify that the root cause of the struggle is that a comparable grammatical structure in your native language is either radically different or nonexistent. It might note that you have trouble recalling a common saying, but not that you lack the cultural background needed to understand why it has that meaning. And so it can identify points of weakness; but it is incapable of addressing them effectively, because it does not understand how people think.

This is all without considering the consequences of only having a singular source of very formal, very rigid input to learn from, unable to account for linguistic variation due to social factors. Without considering the errors still apparent in the output of most language models, and the biases they are prone to reproducing. Without considering the source of their data, and the ethical considerations regarding where and how such a substantial sample was collected.

I understand that Duolingo wants to introduce more interactivity and adaptability to their courses (and, I suspect, to improve their bottom line). But I genuinely think that going about it in this way is more likely to hinder than to help, and wrongfully prioritises the convenience of AI over the quality and expertise that their existing translators and course designers bring.

#alright getting off my soapbox now #apologies if this is not particularly coherent - i was very much working through my thoughts as I was writing #but yeah tl;dr i am not huge on LLMs especially for language education and am deeply disappointed by the way things are trending #anyways if anyone knows any learning tools that are similarly structured i'd appreciate the recommendation #being able to easily do a little bit of study on a regular basis helped me a lot and i've yet to find anything similar #duolingo #language #language learning

[z-bot]

I deeply appreciate Ryan and Shane being such Wife Guys™ that they can't conceive of, like, even putting out a craigslist ad without their S.O. knowing about it (and subsequently getting in on the heist).

#'what if sarah robbed a bank?' #'i probably helped her plan it' - 'that's what i'm SAYING!' #watcher #mystery files #shane madej #ryan bergara #based on interviews/comments/vibes i get the feeling they'll be doing heists and cryptids and stuff for this show #instead of exploitative murder mysteries #and i deeply appreciate that #makes it actually worth watching

[butch--dean]

I was housed by your warmth / thus, transformed

my manifesto on dean's relationship with love and faith and what it means to be saved <3

hozier // shrike - yt

#I would be remiss not to call out how much Grey disabled-dean helped with this project <3 #this amv would not have happened without you!!! I appreciate your support and kind words and brainstorming so much <3 #this is the best one I've made yet I think? and I'm sooooo deeply proud of it tbh #also! fun fact! the colors for the filter overlay were picked from cas’s tie and trenchcoat in the barn scene #and dean’s jacket and lip during the confession <3 #my amvs #my stuff #supernatural #destiel #deancas #supernatural amv #destiel amv #spnamvarchive #spncreatorsdaily #hoziernatural #1k

[vladlen4i]

My art piece for Ghosts in the Machines fic by @nothinggathers 🥰❤️‍🔥

#detroit become human #hankcon #dbh #dbh reverse au #reverse au #dbh connor #rk800 #dbh hank #hank anderson #artists on tumblr #dbh fanart #dbh bigbang2023 #dbh big bang #dbhbb2023 #Huge shut-out to @nothinggathers it was such a pleasure working with you!!! #thank you for your kindness i deeply appreciate it!!!🥰❤️

[itwoodbeprefect]

going into manner of death you may think this is a show about an adult man with an adult job (performing autopsies on his childhood friends), but the further you get, the more clear it becomes that this is actually a show about an adult man with way too many adult jobs (he also treats patients in the ER, gets called in for emergency surgery, and juggles several potentially connected murder investigations as an unpaid side gig). no wonder literally every single person around him keeps randomly handing him food, even though we know he's a good cook. with only twenty-four hours in a day, it's a miracle he even finds the time to be weird and domestic with his prime murder suspect and their pet cactus

#the only medical job he doesn't seem to take on is running the illegal abortion clinic in town #and it sort of feels like that's mostly because he hasn't been back long and didn't know it existed. i believe in you dr. bun #given a little time to settle in you could be cool enough to offer illegal abortions too!! #* #manner of death #anyway. loved this one! it got a touch insane and hard to follow in that final episode but i deeply appreciate what it was trying to do

[metathemeta-art]

he’s here it’s done my god. what a creature. the spanish dub is really something huh

[also there is sound!!]

#I don't usually say this either but #rbs and comments are deeply appreciated if you are inclined!! #I spent ages on this sHJKSD #anyway hi yes hello dca fandom I heard we enjoy moon's tongue uhhhhh #tag time #art #artists on tumblr #animation #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf #moondrop fnaf #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's

[blushedfemme]

and what if i team up with another dom who’s a top? and between the two of us we make an absolute wreck out of a subby butch vers? we could play a nice dom/mean dom game. in which our butch toy fucks me while the other dom supervises and gives him instructions. they catcall him and taunt him and call him names, but i’m moaning and telling him he’s doing so good, he’s filling me up so nice and he’s gonna make me cum so hard on his dick. the moment i do, the dom top comes up behind him and grabs him by the hips, yanks him out of me and flush against them, so he can feel their thick strap against his ass, and they laugh when he whimpers, then hiss in his ear that they’re about to show him how it’s done

and they do, while his own dick is still bobbing between his legs, glistening with my cum. i cozy up next to him and coax him through taking this dom’s cock, pepper kisses to his flushed cheeks and hush his whines and tell him he’s taking it so well, he’s being such a good boy for us, then reach down to stroke his dick and watch him fall apart

#blushing #femme dom #butch bottom #butch vers #butch sub #the other dom could be a femme or a butch btw :) #this one’s for all the subby vers/bottom boys i may be stone but i appreciate you deeply and moreover i think it’s hot when you get railed

[anonymouspuzzler]

Haha Whoops Uh Oh! (UPDATED 6/11/23)

so this isn't the type of post I normally like to make, but! uh! hey! I just got ambushed by a HUGE tuition bill I wasn't expecting, and I'm out of options to pay it - they've already applied my scholarship and loans, I'm already working multiple jobs that are basically just barely paying for rent + groceries, and I only have enough on my credit card to pay for One of the three payments they're requiring, which only gets me through till July (with, again, no options that get me that amount of money by that time).

further full disclosure, this bill came at like, the worst possible time - they've given me four days to make at minimum the first payment (which, again, I can only do by maxing out my credit card), and on top of juggling multiple jobs I'm also in the middle of two classes, including one which involves upcoming travel (that is already paid for, thank god). Hence, me Scrambling a li'l bit!!

as such, I've set a new goal on my ko-fi!! it is, of course, HUGE, but genuinely any small amount people are able to contribute goes a huge way to giving me SOME way to pay it off. note that 3-coffee doodle requests are still A Thing, commissions are still a thing (if you have one active I'll be getting to them this & next week), and I'll be streaming wherever I can to pull together money that way - wherever it comes, any support is HUGE and I mean that.

UPDATE 6/11/23: I am updating the original post to remove the ko-fi link and yet you fine folks know: HOLY HECK, y'all managed to get my tuition dealt with. words truly cannot express my gratitude for that - I'm so, so, SO humbled and thankful for everyone who came out to get me out of a really rough situation.

in the slightest, smallest attempt to pay forward the kindness i've been shown, I'm gonna try and use this moment to direct y'alls attention to some other folks I know who could use some kindness! hardly comprehensive, in no particular order, just top-of-my-mind type type beat. (note that these are all folks' twitter handles - some of 'em are on tumblr too, but I figure best to direct you to where I know they are 100%!)

@/Pochiyaki is a friend & artist who's been trying to get out of a bad money situation a while, and could definitely use some love!

@/rudeboimonster is similarly a dear friend who's been struggling to find long-term work and housing, anything you got would help.

Or, considering supporting the work of a creative you love! A few I've been loving lately that I'd recommend:

@/cosmignon (Runaway Draikana webcoming, and other comics and illustration work)

@/SynthCharmVA (voicework & writing/show development)

@/Tonya_Song (music - including vocals, piano and composition - plus education and activism work)

@/jaypg_art (character design, visdev, and illustration)

@/littlegoodfrog (Matchmaker and other comics)

@/winonaparadise (Girls With Horns and other comics/illustration work)

@/derekmballard (comics, including the upcoming Cartoonshow graphic novel)

@/_PartyCoffin_ (Welcome Home, and just about every art form you can conceive of)

and of course, if you're not following & supporting my amazing partner @/hollowtones, who helped me through this tough situation in every possible way - well you ought to be!! a delight and talent in every imaginable way, and I'm only a little biased on that.

and above all else... THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!

#anonymous puzzler talks #if you are able or willing to signal boost this as well it's deeply appreciated #i love my school but they have a horrible habit of waiting until the last possible moment to tell you that you have to pay for something #and then not giving you any options to finance it #so unless you've been checking the finance portal on your own Multiple Times A Day with no indication of if or when something will change #You Are Just Fucked

[optimizim]

my friend dressed up as dib for the con and one of the vendors asked him "oh i don't remember the character's name but you're zim's boyfriend right?" 💀

#i thought you people in #zadr #would appreciate this #even though me and my friend have a deeply platonic relationship 👍 #its funny

[ban-joey]

i do think it's really indicative of the industry that it's yet another pathetic paranoid windbag of a white dude that ends up lucky enough to be in charge of a website managed by the most busted code imaginable that's absolutely hemorrhaging funds every day and has already been dinged by the aclu once. like at this point i genuinely wonder if these people have any concept of social media/website management outside of the parasitic tech bro

#also i think perhaps allowing staff members to like. have their own accounts is a deeply shortsighted move #pr fucking nightmare #I appreciate it from a transparency standpoint though #shit business decision but by god is it paying off tonight #carhammerexplosionmatt