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thesmallmeggles · 9 months

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WIP Wednesday rolls around once again

This time we got an intro scene, plus a rewritten part of what I shared prior.

Forgot to mention in my last WIP Post that this fic does depict a character experiencing burnout and/or depression. Just as a heads up.

Research and Development's Thursday afternoon check-in meeting was well underway, only Zanzo had yet to arrive. Had this been his first absence, Macaron could let it slide. His index finger, seemingly of its own accord, rubbed the spine of the work journal clipped to his belt. He would have to seek him out afterwards, wouldn't he?

"Eyeballing his chair won't make him appear, sir," O5-KAR said, accented in trademark brogue. "It's best to keep on with business."

"Right." Macaron (does something). "How close are we to implementing the new BRU-T4L AI?"

"We finished another round of testing in Chamber Two," a PGR-0101 piped up. #11133 according to their worker identification badge. "But as you remember from the video I linked, things aren't going well."

Macaron knew. Four PGR-0101 units supervised a BRU-T4L, a seven foot monstrosity with spinning blades attached to its hands, as it pruned a potted hedge. For reasons currently under investigation, a CUT-WAN fresh out of repair bounded into the testing chamber. The BRU-T4L paused its labor, scrutinizing the robotic dog. Everyone watched in horror as the BRU-T4L reached down and… cradled the CUT-WAN in its long, rubbery arms. Attempts to retrieve the CUT-WAN from the otherwise aggressive BRU-T4L's hold resulted in snarling and severed mechanical limbs. Staff had to wait until the BRU-T4L ended its rumbling punctuated cuddle session on its own.

"I reviewed the code afterwards," #11133 said. "Someone edited it right before we installed it. The perpetrator added a series of commands related to a 'baby rocking mode'." Their statement ended with an air of disbelief. "To make things weirder, these same commands originated from the earliest iteration of the BRU-T4L's code."

Macaron thought for a moment. "Could Zanzo have added it?"

#11133 began. "Zanzo's an engineer-"

"And a disorganized one at that," O5-KAR interjected.

"So he often left the programming to us robots. The last time he added a special feature to a product was to make it explode."

…

"Is Zanzo in his office?" Macaron asked #11133 as they were leaving.

"Probably. I don't think he's left since clocking in this morning."

...

Macaron knocked once before opening the office door. True to the SCR-UB's assessment, the area was a disaster zone. Notes and diagrams littered the floor, increasing in amount closer to Zanzo's desk. Out of curiosity, Macaron picked one up to read, only to find it marred by red ink scribbles and the scrawled comment: "AWFUL!!! Needs More PUNCH".

Zanzo sat behind his desk, face planted on its surface. Most of his natural black hair had grown back in, leaving green tips. Its current style partly obscured the polymer port covers where his neural wires plugged in. (Zanzo didn't wear them now, as his current status blocked him from work pipeline access.) Macaron thought Zanzo was asleep until he raised his head. He pushed back from the desk, face frozen in a blank stare. Dark circles ringed his eyes and stubble covered his cheeks.

"Zanzo?" Macaron reached over to tap him on the shoulder. Zanzo caught the movement, nearly launching himself off his chair with a gasp. He scrambled to up the volume on his aural implants - silver disks located where organic ears would be.

“Mister Macaron! Are you here to tell me how good of a worker drone I’m being?” Zanzo smiled broadly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Without waiting for a response, he clapped his hands together. "Since you've graced me with your presence, I can show you, uh, show you the current model. One minute." Zanzo focused his attention on the computer, flipping through multiple tabs with dizzying speed.

Macaron rested a hand near Zanzo's forearm, and the latter froze. "You can email it to me afterwards." He pulled up a nearby stool and perched on it. "Zanzo, is everything alright?"

Zanzo chuckled. "I'm not dying anytime soon. You'll have to tolerate me a little bit longer."

"That's not what I-" Macaron cleared his throat. "You've skipped three staff meetings in a row."

"We're just doing the same thing we've done all month. Checking in is redundant. It's not like there won't be a summary log tomorrow."

Time for Macaron to play his trump card. "Then I suppose the fact we've moved on to renovating the BRU-T4L is of no interest to you."

"Perhaps." Zanzo stroked his goatee in a more absent minded way as he looked off to the side. Not the reaction Macaron hoped for.

"It's like one of your, er, babies. Shouldn't you be more worried about what'll happen to it?"

Zanzo paused to side-eye Macaron. "You've never consulted me about modifying my other creations before. What's changed?"

“I wanted to ask you about a specific feature the BRU-T4L has," Macaron said after a long pause.

A brief spark lit up in Zanzo's eyes as he straightened his posture. In that moment, Macaron glimpsed the engineering intern who'd pestered him with robot design concepts all those years ago. "By all means, ask away."

"Why does it have a 'baby rocking' feature? It stands out compared to everything else."

"Why not?" Zanzo waved dismissively. "So maybe a self indulgent thought slipped through the pipeline during my drafting. And maybe, I neglected to remove the resulting feature. It doesn't carry as much weight as you think it does."

"You like being rocked?" The image of Zanzo cradled by the BRU-T4L in a similar manner to that CUT-WAN popped into Macaron's mind. Odd and, as Chai would say, mildly cursed.

Zanzo's jaw dropped. "I- not necessarily."

"Would something like that help you destress?"

"I ALREADY SAID-" Zanzo's outburst cut off and he sank down into his chair, rubbing his face. He let out a sigh. "Don't patronize me for this. Please."

Since when did Zanzo ever say "please"? "Zanzo," Macaron began. "I promise I'm not making fun of you. My priority right now is finding a way to support you."

"To answer your previous question, rocking is one of my stims. I rarely do so at work because…" Macaron nodded to encourage Zanzo finishing his sentence. Except he let it hang.

A long silence passed between them. Macaron broke it. "I'm thinking maybe that feature could be incorporated into a robot which doesn't have saw-blade hands. While we may be focused on renovating our current product line, that doesn't mean we can't plan for the future. This could be an opportunity to create something beneficial."

The corner of Zanzo's mouth twitched. "It's not exciting, though. Are you sure anyone would invest in it?"

"SCR-UBs clean. CAR-11Es, er, carry stuff," Macaron explained. "What they do is simple, but necessary. Most of the time, that's all anyone needs."

#wip wednesday #fanfic #hi-fi rush #hfr #hi fi rush macaron #hfr macaron #hi fi rush zanzo #hfr zanzo #post canon #headcanons #i made the funny character sad #for plot reasons

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smolldust · 5 months

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✧∘──New Pinned Post ──∘✧

✧∘──Last updated on February 25, 2024 ──∘✧

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Heya! I’m smolldust but you can call me Dusty Boxington. I use it/he/they/void pronouns and I am enderhoard. I am also aroace and a minor.

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If you wanna see all my art in one place follow my art blog @smolldustart

I have a blog for my one oc story @thesecretsofthemarsfamily

My other blog @dust-covered-reblogs is a blog I made that’s just full of reblogs in a futile attempt to make my main blog less cluttered.

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Feel free to send me asks!! Whether they be random funny things or actual questions go ahead!! I will also occasionally do doodle requests for fandoms I’m in but that doesn’t happen too often. If I don’t respond to your ask it may just be because I’m socially awkward & anxious and didn’t really know how to respond, haha.

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If you want to use my art as a profile picture or banner feel free, just PLEASE credit me. Thanks!

But DO NOT repost my art, whether you credit me or not, I am NOT okay with it. Also NEVER use my art for anything evil or for AI.

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My DNI:

Do not interact if you’re homophobic, transphobic, racists, antisemitic, a proshipper, a pedo, a creep, a zoo, or anything else like this. Stay away from me I will block you.

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you will be blocked if your blog is the default blog with no customization or posts because I will think you’re a bot.

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Fandoms I’m in (in alphabetical order):

Adventure Time

A Hat In Time

Amphibia

Carmen Sandiego

Celeste

Dead End: Paranormal Park

Death Note

Deltarune

ENA

Fionna and Cake

FNAF

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Hilda

Hollow Knight

Hooky

Lackadaisy

Little Nightmares

Little Witch Academia

Mario

Minecraft

Murder Drones

Omori

Pokemon

Ranboo

Sky Children of the Light

Sonic

Spiritfarer

Splatoon

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Studio Ghibli

The Amazing Digital Circus

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

The Legend of Zelda

The Little Prince

The Owl House

Undertale

Wings of Fire

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List of the tags I use to organize things on my blog:

smolldust - something I posted. All my stuff that isn’t Reblogs

smolldust rambles, rambling - used for text posts/me just sayin stuff

my art, smolldust art - my art is used on any art I post, smolldust art is used exclusively on my art blog

smolldust archive, smolldust’s archive, Fav, favorite, save - usually used on posts I want to be able to find later

smolldust asks, smolldust answers, asks - used for asks

smolldust polls, polls - used for polls i made

yeah, me, mecore - usually used for relatable stuff

The Secrets of the Mars Family - the tag for my oc story

videos - posts with videos

srb - self reblog

tag game, ask game - used for tag & ask games respectively

moot tag - tags for posts with my mutuals

music - posts with music

friend art - the art of one of my friends/mutuals.

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Here’s a link to my YouTube channel:

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#smolldust #smolldust rambles #rambling #my art #Oc #sona #videos #youtube #pinned post #Youtube #Long post

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robinsnest2111 · 11 months

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Here's the promised Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe concert experience post <3

Under a read more because I don't want to hit any of you with this giant wall of text, videos and photos without any way to skip past lol

I arrived at the venue with time to spare, saw many people in just black bandshirts (for comfort which I totally get. Not everyone's as extra as me who dresses up like he's Mick Mars' stunt double in the 80s lol)

I sadly had to throw away my umbrella. It wasn't allowed inside the pit. I get it, hazard and whatnot. The 4€ fee to have someone look after it and only a half hour window to get it back after the concert ended seemed not worth it for a cheap umbrella so buying a new one on monday it is.

I got myself a shirt as soon as I got in. The choices were not great, gotta admit. Mötley Crüe seem to be going for some japanese-esque Samurai-inspired graphic for their new era (felt like an Iron Maiden copy-ish thing to me, not my thing)

The rest of the black shirts were meh, either too plain or prominently featuring John 5. The only shirt with Mick on it was a pale pink and was 5 bucks more expensive than everything else. All shirts and tank tops, both for Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard, were 45 bucks each (rip my June budget fr), bandanas were 25 bucks, basecaps and limited edition signed prints 35 bucks, etc. The Mötley keychains were all sold out by the end of the night, else I would've gotten one of those. My Iron Maiden keychain from 2018 is looking a bit worn and I would've loved to have a new one but oh well. I can still try and DIY one myself. I wanna get more into bleach-painting and patch making and embroidery anyway so it'd be great practice!

I had a t-shirt and tank top by the end of the night lol

---

After the initial shirt purchase I still had ample time for a toilet break (and a sip of free sink water) after almost 2 hours of travel time and found a nice space in the crowd somewhere in the middle distance from where I could see most of the action on stage.

A local rock radio station did the pre-gig music entertainment. I also met 2 nice dudes who are in a band called Nathanael and play Victorian folk metal! They handed me their business card and I will definitely check them out as soon as I can, maybe even go to one of their gigs soon?

Between the rock radio station signing off and the start of the actual gigs they played some other songs to keep the crowd entertained, Fox On The Run by The Sweet among others! A personal mini highlight 🦊💕

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Mötley Crüe was up first and they took their sweet time to actually get on stage.

There was a pretty long classical music piece playing before their proper intro sequence.

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The official start was supposed to be around 6.30 pm but they got on stage at sometime around 7.30pm? My inner punctuality freak was not amused but it is what it is lol

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I loved the song selection, knew almost all of them but had trouble singing along for reasons other than my Swiss cheese brain. Not sure if it was intentional or just very unluckily adjusted speakers but most of what I heard of the songs was the droning of the subwoofers. Most of Vince's vocals and a bit of Nikki's bass, John's guitar and Tommy's drums were drowned out by the reverb of the sound system and the overwhelming boom of the speakers. Kinda disappointing. It also rendered the audio of most of the videos I filmed during their set useless. But ah well.

As this was my first time seeing Mötley Crüe on stage I have no idea if it's a common thing for the sexy dancer ladies to have their own mics and sing some of Vince's parts? It didn't matter much due to the aforementioned "subwoofer drowning out most of the sound" issue lol

And how could I forget the tits cam zooming in on the crowd, at dear Tommy's request. I guess if you're famous enough you can simply ask to see your fans' tits and most of them happily oblige. I've never seen so many tits out in the wild/on the big screens, it was strange. But it firmly cemented just how wildly asexual I am. Although I am capable of appreciating some nice boobies from an aesthetic point of view no problem, they don't do anything for me beyond that haha

Strangely, the only song the audio was fine on was Home Sweet Home. I really wish I could've heard more of Vince's voice in the other songs like that :')

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John 5's formal intro was an almost 2 minutes long guitar solo, not sure how to feel about that. Like yes, he's good, he has the skills, but. Eh.

(Loved the violin bow on guitar strings intro to Kickstart My Heart tho, that was kinda cool :P)

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Nikki and Vince introducing their older more well known songs with "Wanna hear more of our old shit?" rubbed me the wrong way? On the other hand Nikki said the band loves Germany (he even waved the German flag on stage) and loves the crowd so, eh. I guess I'm a weenie and that's just how they are haha

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Also got a little sad about them changing some of the lyrics to Smoking In The Boys Room (from "my buddies Sixx, Mick and Tom" to "my buddies Sixx, 5 and Tom") and the caricature and logo on the screens near the end of their set featuring John 5 instead of Mick. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo because the sadness of a new Mick-less Crüe era hit me full force in that moment. Can't help that my brain is hyperfixating on Mick Fucking Mars and that I missed him dearly all night long :'))))))

At least they didn't cut him out of any of the 80s footage video edits playing on the big screens during some songs. It would've been pretty asshole-ish if they did. Like completely erasing him from their band history.

On a lighter note: Vince introducing Nikki as his brother, who he has known for over 40 years, and their little in-sync swaying back and forth with the mic stand and bass respectively moment with them laughing and talking and exchanging smiles and grins was super cute :') <3

Also Tommy receiving a small bouquet of roses, smiling, and then proceeding to stuff them down the front of his pants lmao

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And that was that for Mötley Crüe

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A little break in-between, enough time for another trip to the loo and afterwards sip some more water from the sink like an animal (not gonna pay anything over 5€ for a puny little cup of water from the overpriced beverage stands, no sir)

Def Leppard were in another league compared to Mötley Crüe! Their sound was PERFECT. Very harmonic, powerful, you could hear everyone SO WELL!!! None of the pesky subwoofer problem the Crüe had, and they all looked like they had so much fun!!! I'm not as well-versed with Def Leppard's discography and all the band members (yet), but everyone looked great in their stage outfits! The lights and background videos were so nice too!!!

And they played the 2 songs I do know (Foolin' and Pour Some Sugar On Me)

but also a bunch of songs from the album they worked on during the worst of the pandemic years. Which also sounded very good!!! I'm actually considering buying that new album if I see it out in the wild for a decent price.

The background video montage for Photograph was so adorable with all the pictures from the band's history, from the late 70s to present day. They were all such adorable babies back then and seeing all the photos gave me the same warm fuzzies as looking at old band photos and candid shots online does <333

Very much a 180 to Mötley Crüe in every regard, Joe Elliott thanked us in German and English, and told us the band loves us <33

I might actually try to get more into Def Leppard now that I've seen how awesome they are on stage <33

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The crowd for Def Leppard was a little older and less rowdy, a very welcome change. Still a bunch of almost blackout drunk people, sloshing their beer everywhere and bumping into everyone around them. One major thing I dislike about bigger concerts tbh.

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I also got a bunch of compliments on my hair, make up, and outfit throughout the evening <3

Even got called Nikki (and Mick, after informing people of my style influence) a few times lol

A couple older folks said they admired my style and that you don't see many people like me anymore and that I should keep doing my thing because it's so cool to see :')<333

[Some comments bordered on some icky misogynistic topics tho, like "oh girls nowadays are too prissy and not as cool and rock-n-roll and bold and rough-and-tumble as they were in the 80s/like you", etc.

And yes, I let everyone think I'm a girl. Not worth it trying to correct tipsy and/or drunk off their asses metalheads in a loud crowded venue. I don't really pass on a masculine day; much less dressed to the nines, face slathered in theatrical 80s make up and hair backcombed and hairsprayed to hell and back.]

On my way to the train station I got to talking with some other tram passengers heading home after the concert, an older couple and two guys around my age. The couple had pretty cool battle vests, all covered in various pins and patches. One of my favourites was the Zappa For President patch on the lady's vest which made me think of @feeshies , really wish I'd asked for a photo :')

The guys my age roped me into going to a strip club with them instead of going straight home. They even covered the entry fee for me, so I didn't have to pay anything! They were very respectful and I was free to go whenever I pleased. It was interesting to see pole dancers/strippers up close in real life and not only on TV, but it's definitely not for me lol I'm too aroace and neurodivergent for this. The ladies had some badass pole skills tho! Effortlessly dancing in 10 inch platform stilettos and with barely anything covering their bodies? I could never! Kudos to the ladies!

Anyway, it was good I decided to head home around 1am, I could already feel the joint pain creeping up on me. it's full-blown throbbing and piercing agony, 7/10, now. I only got 3 hours of sleep before the aches woke me up the first time orz

But hey, 3 hours and a bit of dozing here and there are better than nothing. I spent Sunday taking it kinda easy, only did a few chores around the house, and went through all the photos and videos i took (111 files in total) of course! I weeded out all the blurry and shaky ones and the few good ones should be peppered throughout this post!

Hope y'all had a good Sunday and Monday <3

#robin's concert adventures #def leppard & motley crue world tour 2023 #here it finally is. the big huge giant post with a bunch of photos and videos #and lots of rambling of course!#i won't be sad if y'all just wanna look at the pretty pictures but if you're brave enough to read all that text? kudos to you!!!

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mamamittens · 6 months

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STALKED IN THE WOODS (NOT CLICKBAIT!!!)

Part 4/13 of Spooktober!

@raptures-finest

Hopefully this meets your standards, as it was a little hard writing from a camera's pov, ngl

Sabo/Kaku/OC(Andy)/Koala

Monster: Serial Killer, yandere vibes and inspired by "The Blair Witch Project" (1999)

Warnings: Murder, kidnapping, stalking, and dubiously written shaky cam.

Word Count: 3,925 (not as long as the others so far though I tried my best, and I apologize for this taking so damn long)

The monitor buzzed with static as several seconds of darkness rolls by.

Suddenly, disjointed clips stutter across the screen.

Miles and miles of forest shot from overhead, soft, eerie violin playing in the background.

Thick trees surrounding a group of young adults, the fading light casting shadows around them as they laugh. No added background music but a faint static.

The shot is tilted, the camera recording laying on it’s side in a pile of leaves, low battery light flashing in the upper right corner. It’s looking up at a massive, worn down mansion with boarded windows and ivy climbing up the sides. The door wide open as a faint thud is heard, screams echoing through the building with no apparent source. The static is heavy and laced with crickets as the sunlight just barely spills over the tallest rooftop.

The video jolts, cutting back to black and static for several more seconds.

A video fades in, image and sound becoming clear.

A camera is held in unsteady hands, laughter ringing out as it pans across the backseat of a car. The woman next to the camera operator rolls her eyes behind large, red sunglasses. Frilly red top buttoned low, exposing the top of a lacey red bra. She pats down her purple hair curling close to her neck.

“So! Betty-Bo-Betty, tell us where we’re going!” A young man pops out from the passenger seat with a bright smile, dark curls bouncing around his ears. His dark skin marred with splotches of lighter, smooth burn scars. Green eyes bright against the smeared backdrop of the forest that blurs past the vehicle.

Betty smiles, tipping back her head.

“It’s an old mansion that used to be owned by this well-to-do family. The Outlooks. But they’re all dead now, have been for six years, and no one’s been out here since. Rumor has it, it’s haunted by the people they wronged to get all that fabulous wealth!” Betty declared. “It’s really far out though, so I’ve graciously decided to accompany your group—don’t forget to follow my channel and subscribe or you’ll miss my beautiful features in your lives~!” Betty smiled at the camera sweetly.

“Ahah, yeah! And don’t forget to follow Lucci, too. He’s the one that’s letting us borrow his drone—and his car—for this trip! He usually just likes posting nature shots so, naturally, he’s going to get a lot of good pics out here!” The camera is jostled and peaks around the driver’s seat to an older man with sharp features and dark hair, a well-trimmed beard curling up his chin in a unique fashion. He glared at the camera before returning his attention to the road.

“As if I would trust any of you with the equipment, Andy.” He drawled with a smirk. Andy sighed, smiling as he settled back in his seat.

“And as usual, Kuma and Lindbergh are manning the cameras. Check out their work after the video, yeah?” He smiled, tugging on his flannel sweater.

A short young man poked his head out from the far back with a wide grin and crazy green hair that failed to be contained under a tan beanie. His eyes obscured behind goggles.

“You know it!” The camera was pushed forward to look at a young woman with orange hair sleeping against the far window. “Keep sleeping, Koala, and you won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight!”

The video cut out abruptly before anyone else could respond.

Lucci’s voice cuts into the black over a montage of clips and photos. Each one a different image of several people. Andy, Koala, and two other men. Both blond with dark eyes, though one has more aristocratic features compared to the other with a markedly long, boxy nose.

“I’m worried. Something isn’t right with him. Hasn’t been for a long time.”

The montage stops on a large group photo, panning from Lucci looking over at the core group in concern. There, in the middle was Andy, arm over Koala’s shoulders and the dressed up blond with curly hair. The other blond just behind them with a wide smile, eyes fixed on the camera with his hands visible on top of Andy’s shoulders.

“And if I’m right?”

The screen cuts out to black.

“This trip is going to be a disaster if I don’t stop it.”

An image flickers over the screen for a half second, burning bright just fast enough to leave an afterimage of a body in a shallow river, blood flowing downstream as birdsong echoes.

The video is paused and goes back, frame by frame, confirming something.

There is no head.

There is a snort and a crunch of leaves.

“Really?”

The screen goes black again, video resumed.

“Not my finest work but—” The video glitches, static and stuttering digital degradation overtaking the screen and speakers for an uncomfortably long period of time.

The change to a campfire is jarring. Laughter echoing as the group of six gather around, roasting weenies on metal sticks for hot dogs. The shot is steady, the camera men now in frame as they enjoyed their meal. Still images flash over the scene of dubiously scorched meat and overburdened buns. Laughing faces and grins lit up by the fire as night falls.

Every shot that has the forest behind the joyous campers lingers longer than the others. The shadows between the trees dark with a gleam—the shape of a figure watching them.

The video cuts again.

“What can you tell us about the Outlooks?” Koala asks with a soft smile, addressing an older woman. She purses her lips in a frown.

“Rude bastards, the lot of them. Even that son of theirs was rotten—not the other one, god bless his soul.” Koala glances at the camera.

“Oh? They had two sons?” The woman huffed.

“Yeah, the older one was quite the charmer for such a rotten family. Sweet, somehow. Certainly didn’t get it from his folks. They claim he ran away but never reported it. I think they dumped him in the river and forgot about him. Serves them right, what happened to them. Good riddance to trash!” She spat.

Koala grimaced.

“Ah, right. The murders—”

The video cuts to the back of the group, trekking through the woods while they chatted and laughed.

“My shoes are ruined!” Betty cried with a pout, looking at the camera for support.

“You’re the one that wanted to come!” Andy laughed.

“Should’ve gotten Gucci boots or something instead of heels!” A large man with curly hair teased, shouldering a heavy backpack.

“Shut up, Kuma! Mourn my perfectly good heels like a decent human being, damnit!” Betty screeched.

“Well, at least you have an excuse to buy another pair? Maybe that’ll be your next video!” Koala suggested with a grin over her shoulder. “Andy, you got the map, right? How much longer until the first stop?”

Andy paused at the front of the group, looking back at them all, map spread out wide with a sheepish grin.

“Well… another three hours?”

There were cries of denial as the screen went dark.

It returned to the camp seen before, Lucci building up the fire dutifully.

“We all have our assignments, correct? Let’s get it done before dark. We’ll leave at eight. If we make good time we might even make it to the mansion by tomorrow afternoon.” Lucci mused.

“Cool! You gonna get drone footage today or wait till we’re really in the thick of it?” Andy asked, tugging on the corner of a tent to pin it in place.

“Today and tomorrow. We’ll probably be too tired for that on the way back.”

“Sweet, I bet the woods look amazing this far out!” Andy smiled.

A long, tracking shot over the trees starts, the setting sun illuminating the treetops in golden light. It speeds up, zipping over the uneven landscape and old growth as night falls.

There’s two fires visible from several hundred feet up and the drone pauses in place. Light overtakes the drone and it crashes into the trees, breaking on impact.

The screen is dark as Lucci’s voice cuts in, whispering into a microphone.

“This is Lucci. I am travelling with five others towards the abandoned Outlook Manor and I believe we are being stalked. My drone was taken out when I scoped out the area and I am reluctant to inform the others. Out here, no one around for miles… if it is who I suspect, it may already be too late. If you find this, look in the black box under my kitchen sink. That’s where I’ve hidden the evidence I’ve accumulated so far—” there’s a snap of dry wood. “… I fear I may have overestimated my ability to keep us safe. I won’t be sleeping well tonight. If at all.”

“He was a good friend.” Someone mused softly, pausing the video.

“He was… nosy as shit though. Should have just stayed out of it, isn’t that right, nightingale?”

“Don’t tease him. Adjusting is hard.” A feminine voice cut in harshly.

“It is! That’s why we put this together. So he understands.” Another masculine voice simpers. “We worked so hard for the surprise~”

The video kicks back on to the morning. Andy is kicking dirt into the fireplace with a perplexed frown.

“Where the hell is he?” Andy muttered before looking up adruptly, smiling quickly.

“Ah! Luddy, hey! Have you seen Lucci?” The camera jerks.

“Nah, Andy. Didn’t he say he wanted a morning shot, though?” Andy’s smile fell.

“Yeah but… his equipment is still in his tent.”

Lucci stepped out of the bushes abruptly with a scowl, holding up a broken drone.

“Oh, shit! What happened?!” Lucci glared at the camera with a pinched expression.

“… bird hit it.” Andy grimaced.

“Sorry to hear that. Is it recoverable?” Lucci shook his head at Andy.

“No. I’m afraid not.” Lucci scowled again. “I’ll have to be more careful with the backup.”

“I’ll reimburse you after we get back, I know those aren’t cheap.” Andy pat his arm, the camera panning over to a tent where Koala and Betty came out.

“Shit, sorry! Didn’t mean to sleep in—give us five and we’ll be all ready to go!” Koala smiled, Betty wrinkled her nose at the morning light.

“Ugh, daytime. I need more beauty sleep.” Betty complained.

“You wanted to come camp with is~” Koala sang with a laugh, jostling the other woman.

“Alright, everyone pack up and be ready to leave soon! The faster we leave, the faster we can sleep in a decrepit mansion!” Andy cheered. “Spooky mansion~ spooky mansion~ spooky mansion~!” he skipped over to a tent and clambered in while everyone laughed.

Kuma paused, looking out into the forest behind him, head tilted to the side as his hands froze in the middle of packing a bag.

“What’s the matter?” Koala asked, turning to look. “You hear something? Maybe a deer?”

The large man shook his head.

“…No. I don’t think it is.” Kuma picked up a camera and trudged off. “Go ahead and keep packing, I’m going to make sure it’s not a bear.”

“A bear?! Are there even bears out here?!” Koala screeched, her voice jolting as the shot switched, evidentially to Kuma’s camera as it started recording. “What the hell are you going to do if it is?” She called out behind him.

“Run faster than you.” Kuma laughed, the camera swaying with every step as it panned over the trees. There was a spot of color that vanished when the camera swiveled back abruptly. “…What was that?” He walked towards the direction, the sound of running water faint over the leaves crunching beneath his feet.

Five minutes of walking with no results and he paused, a small river a few feet away. Kuma hummed, looking out at the forest for a moment.

“I should go ba—” The camera flew into the dirt, sound glitching as a heavy thud echoed. The lens fixated on the leaves close by, blurry background a smear of green and red. Something moved in the background, a dark, fuzzy shape lumbering as something was dragged into the water.

“Hmmm? Ah, right.” A voice faintly called through the static. Boots softly stepping closer until the lens abruptly focused on the dark leather. The image spun as the camera was lifted, jerking as something brushed over it, dirt and leaves falling to the ground. It turned to look at the river.

Kuma’s body sitting in the water, head gone and blood oozing into the flow. Someone chuckled darkly.

The video cut out.

“Where the hell is he?!” Koala screeched, “It’s been half an hour!” The camera panned over the mostly packed campsite. Everyone looked worried and Lucci in particular was pale.

“Maybe he turned back?” Lucci offered weakly.

“Why would he do that without saying anything?” Andy asked. “And without the map, too—if he needed to go home he could have said so and we’d turn back!”

Betty huffed.

“And waste all this time getting halfway? Nuh-uh! Maybe something happened and he needed to go home ASAP!”

“Lucci has the keys, Betty. Unless he needed to leave immediately without saying a word but not so immediately that he could walk all the way to town, I don’t think that’s likely.” Lindbergh said from behind the camera. “Do you think he got lost?”

“…S-Should we call someone? That’s what you have to do, right? Call someone so they can start search and rescue?” Andy asked.

“No one has signal out here, Andy. If we wanted to do that, we’d have to either go back to the car or go to the manor. It’s probably got a phone line or something. No way those posh bastards were that isolated.” Koala pointed out.

“Without power and after so long?” Andy mused. Koala shrugged.

“It’s probably also pretty clear—closer too if that map is accurate.” Betty offered.

The camera cut out and returned to the group walking in silence. Betty nowhere to be seen.

“…are we really doing this?” Lindbergh asked softly from behind the camera. Lucci looked back at him, swallowing hard.

“Two people disappeared after breaking from the group. We can’t risk anyone else. We’re going home—” Something flew into the trail, Andy flailing back with a scream.

“What! What!” Koala gasped, looking down at it and screaming too. “Run! Run! Go-gogogogogogogo!” Koala grabbed Andy’s arm, pulling him as he stared at the object. Lucci swearing as he ran.

Lindbergh’s grasp on the camera made it shake violently as he looked at the object. Breathing hard and sobbing as he manually zoomed in with a mechanical whir.

Curly hair tangled with leaves rested in the middle of the path, blood shining in the sun.

“K-Kuma--!”

The video glitched, stuttering over frantic running and hysterical crying. Day to night.

It settled over a small campfire, the camera settled on a log overlooking the four remaining. They looked pale and shaken, Andy curled up against Koala while Lucci periodically looked out at the woods.

“… I think we’re being herded to the manor.” Lucci warned with bloodshot eyes. “We need to get to the car and leave.”

“I-I don’t even know where we are anymore.” Andy admitted with a sob. “The map disappeared—I must have dropped in when—when…”

“We’ve clearly been followed. Who knows we’re out here?” Lucci asked in a stern whisper.

“No one! I-I wanted to do a surprise video—unless B-Betty said something… no one should know we’re out here.”

“Well, we can’t go to the manor. It’s clearly not safe!” Lucci hissed.

“Then where is safe!?” Koala shouted before deflating. “I-I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to…” Lucci reached over and patted her knee.

“It’s alright. This is hard for everyone, I understand.” Lucci murmured, looking out at the woods one last time. “We should sleep in shifts. No one leaves the campsite for anything. Anything. Do you understand? Not alone. Not… not until we’re safe.”

Andy sniffed.

“Y-Yeah. It’s… uh, nine. Daylights at seven. Ten hours, nine if we go to bed a bit later… s-soooo… two hours give or take each?” Koala sniffed, nodding her head. “Yeah. Two h-hours each. Who wants first watch?”

“I’ll take it. I’m too keyed up to sleep right now.” Lucci offered. “I’ll wake whoever is next.”

“I’ll go next.” Lindbergh said softly.

The video cuts to a short video from inside a tent. Crickets chirping loudly as the fire cast shadows across the fabric.

There was a loud snap and a repressed whimper. A figure passed the tent and there was a muffled, gasping sound.

It was daylight. The birds chirping as the camera fixated on the trees.

“Where’s Lucci?!” Koala’s voice cut into the air, the camera jumping. “W-Where is he?! Lindbergh, did he wake you for your shift?”

“N-No! No he didn’t, I-I didn’t wake up at all—”

“Liar! We’ve known each other for years—I can tell when you’re lying off your ass, what! HAPPENED?!” Koala screamed, the camera sent flying. It hit the ground, Koala shaking Lindbergh’s shoulders just on the edge of it’s vision.

“O-Okay! I-I heard something but I didn’t know what it was—I was too scared to leave the tent!” Lindbergh stuttered. Koala froze.

A slap echoed into the forest, sending the smaller man to the ground.

“You bastard! Lucci! Lucci!” Koala ran into the trees blindly.

“K-Koala, no! D-Don’t leave alone—STOP!” Andy ran after her, Lindbergh still sat on the ground, crying.

There was a loud snap of a branch and he ran, stumbling and crying as he picked up the camera. Running madly through the forest, the camera never focusing enough to make out more than a blur of trees and the sound of rapid breathing and steps.

It cuts to the outside of an old, overgrown mansion. The sun rising as Lindbergh wheezed in fear.

“A-Andy? Koala? I’m sorry—I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry—”

The screen turned to black with a heavy thump and a low whimper. Video flickering to a tilted view of the manor. The image paused.

“This feels mean.” Someone complained. “Songbird is just getting upset. I don’t think they can really appreciate this just yet. Maybe we should put on something else?”

There was muffled crying.

“He needs to see it at least once.” Someone else cut in. “It’ll be a good reminder of how much work we put into this.”

There was a sigh and the video jumped back to life, afternoon sun bathing the trees in golden light in the tilted vision of the abandoned camera on low battery.

There was a thump and a scream.

“K-Koala!?” Andy called, kicking the camera. “SHIT! O-Oh—Lindbergh’s camera? I-Is he--?” Another shrill scream and the camera was picked up as he ran into the house.

It was dusty and eerily still. Clearly abandoned for a very long time, faint light pouring in from the windows.

“W-Where are you?!” Andy shouted.

“H-HELP!” The camera jerked towards the right, peering down a hallway.

“K-Koala?”

“ANDY!” He ran, camera bouncing frantically between closed doors and lush, moth eaten carpet. Koala’s voice growing closer as he approached the end of the hall and a dark, open doorway.

The concrete stairs led down into a basement, his steps heavy as he ran to the bottom. There was a click and a whine as a light cut into the dark, an expensive flat screen sitting on the floor.

Andy came to an abrupt halt, camera fixed on the tv as it played an old video, his own voice cutting into the stifling air.

“Good morning, everyone! Andy here with another abandoned building to explore! Remember, take only pictures and leave nothing but footprints!” B-roll of an abandoned supermarket rolled by, white linoleum floor peeling away from years of poor weather than fell through the high ceiling.

“W-What?”

“I like this one.” Andy jerked, spinning around to find Koala standing behind him, smiling in the ghostly light of the tv. “You screamed so loud when that racoon popped out of the garbage.” She laughed.

“K-Koala! You’re alright—what… what are you doing in here? Why were you screaming?” Andy asked hoarsely before chuckling nervously. “O-Oh, I get it—I get it! T-This was all a prank! Shit, you guys really got me good—eheh… I-It’s uh… a bit of a dark joke though. With the head and all. How’d you get Lucci in on it, he’s so serious all the time!”

Koala shook her head.

“No prank. He’s dead.” Andy’s chuckle died.

“D-Dead? I-I thought he just…”

“Disappeared?” A soft voice asked behind the camera, Andy screaming.

“SHIT!” The camera fell to the ground, cracking the lens and refracting the light from the video on the flat screen. Two figures fought on the ground.

“Easy, songbird! Easy!” Koala called out.

“Relax, Andy, it’s me!”

“Get off! GET OFF OF ME!”

Someone clicked their tongue and another figure approached, kneeling at the head of the two with something in their hand.

“I think that’s enough excitement for you, Nightingale.” They pressed something over the pinned person’s face and slowly, they fell still.

There was a deep sigh.

“Well, that went better than I expected!”

“Sabo!”

“What? It did! Look at our baby, barely a scratch on him!” Sabo protested.

“I thought the plan was to wait until they reached the manor?”

The video cut out.

Someone sighed again.

“It was the plan, but Kuma saw Sabo, so…”

“And then it all went downhill from there! You two seriously suck at sticking to a plan!” Koala hissed. “Who’s idea was the head, anyway? You almost hit Andy!”

“Hey, you guys were almost at the car! What was I supposed to do, let you?!”

“The hell were you keeping the head for, Kaku?!” Koala snapped. “You never kept trophies like that before!” There was a long sigh.

“It was my idea, actually. I wanted to put it somewhere in the manor to herd whoever was left into a dead end. But Kaku panicked and took it from me.” Sabo grumbled. “Anyway, I think our poor little songbird has seen enough.”

“We’ve set everything up. All that’s left is repairs—sorry but you’ll have to stay in the basement until they’re done. Officially, Sabo has ‘regained his memories’ and is sprucing up the place since he’s the sole inheritor. Where he finds—” Kaku is interrupted.

“—Me, distraught and searching for my friends who have all disappeared. Kaku comes to be emotional support at search and rescue comb the area. They won’t find anything but still.” Koala huffed, “Officially, you’ll be missing until you adjust, songbird. We’ve put a lot of thought into this. I promise, we’ll all be very happy.” She coos softly.

The video resumes, flashing between missing posters and newspaper clippings detailing the disappearance of two youtubers and their friends.

Only Koala is found, having stumbled onto Sabo Outlook’s manor as he looked over the property in a lucky coincidence that likely saved her life.

No bodies were ever found.

“Maybe we’ll play this again next year, you know… to celebrate?” Kaku suggested.

“Maybe! Oh! Maybe Andy will feel better and we can add some cute photos of us together too?” Koala gushed.

“We’ll have to see. He’s still pretty… upset with us right now.”

The video ends with muffled sobs and soft reassurances.

“It’s okay, we just wanted you to see how safe you are with us, baby~”

#spooktober 2023 #one piece #koala one piece #sabo one piece #kaku one piece #one piece lucci #character death

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sylvanas-girlkisser · 5 months

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@manic-pixie-dick-girl replied to your post “How would you prefer I refer to the mechs as well...”:

Thinking on this a bit more. I think there's something sort of... Alienating, maybe... About reading numerals in fiction. It feels a bit artificial to me. Not sure if that's an everyone thing or a me thing. But that may very well be the vibe you want given that it's a hybrid human-machine consciousness you're talking about! In which case I'd use the full model + number.

So this gave me a lot to think about - or maybe its just the fever making me think very slowly -.-'

Like cause yeah we are dealing with machine-human hybrids here, but in an, IMO unconventional way based heavily off having to read "the cyborg manifesto" and watch "all watched over by machines of loving grace".

All the mechs in Tungsten Rose have AIs built into them, but they're not BT7274 or Cortana, they're like... cmd+space on a mac. They can't talk, they're not actually conscious, but they're able to take cognitive load off the pilot e.g. by switching command protocol for their drones based off circumstances, or fixing a typo they keep making while texting.

The human-machine hybrid I'm thinking off, is more along the lines of like, someone driving their car, or controlling a character in a video game. Like when you're turning left in a car, you think "i'm going to turn left", not "i'm going to turn my car to the left".

I loathe the term "realism" in regards to scifi/fantasy, but that is sorta what I'm going for here. The pilot's perception isn't elevated by plugging their brain into a super computer, its elevated by the fact that they're constantly getting readouts for 17 billion different sensors.

Humans are notoriously bad at telling distances by eye, so one of the more subtle ways I try to show this effect is by the fact that when inside their mechs, pilots always know how far away something is: because they have laser range finders, and its not any more of a conscious act for them to use it, than it is for me to mount up after combat in wow.

All that to say, a big theme in Tungsten Rose is: if you spend enough time preparing for war, you'll eventually start one. And the knights are very much the embodiment of this concept.

Mar and Kista have both been piloting mechs since they were 4 years old. They have undergone rigorous training and a lot of highly invasive surgery, because they grew up being told that one day the fascists will return and try to destroy their home and culture.

And because of this. Because they spent so much of their lives interacting with the world through the filter of a warmachine, and because they can't touch their own face without feeling subdermal armor, everything becomes an act of war.

They aren't able to take a step back, and realize they're essentially dragging the world into a war over who gets to take the pretty girl to the ball. It becomes filtered through the war machine. "It's not about my emotions, I'm protecting the princess, I'm protecting my people, I'm fighting against evil."

All this is to say, i kinda like just using numbers now, even though thats by far the least popular in the poll, specifically because it's so dehumanizing.

#manic-pixie-dick-girl #valk replies #this was a lot of rambling #and believe it or not i was trying to keep things on topic #but I have some ideas for making the story come together more hollistically

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blueguydraws · 8 months

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So, there was a video posted about the relative new mars drone.

And i swear if i see one more comment saying something like "THe sahARa LoOks gREAT wITh thIs FilTER" i will start killing people. For real if i would be the dictator of the world stuff like this would be illegal.

I knew that there were some nutjobs like this, but i assumed they were a very small fringe minority, but no, almost half of the comments were about how space missions actually never happen, space agencies just embezzle the money and create fake footages on earth. How would that even work, tens of thousands of people would need to be on the lie at least, including everyone who ever wanted to study astronomy, astro physics, aerospace engineering or anything related.

How do so many people belive this and why??

The other types that makes me want to peel my skin are those who see something like this, belive it, but then ask questions like "why", "whats the point" or say stuff like "money have never been poured down the drain quicker". If it would be up to these kind people we would be still living in caves, but i am done arguing with them, from now on i will just spam this image as a response:

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catdotjpeg · 29 days

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Gaza’s two major hospitals were under attack on Sunday morning as thousands of Palestinians in the coastal enclave have been living under bombardment for the past 170 days. Overnight, Israeli forces committed eight massacres in various areas of the Gaza Strip, according to the Ministry of Health on Telegram, killing at least 84 people and injuring 106. Thousands remain under the rubble of bombed buildings.

Israeli forces shelled and bombed the vicinity of al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). Amir Abu Aisha, a volunteer with the PRCS, was killed by Israeli gunfire inside al-Amal. His last post on Instagram was a video of Israeli airstrikes near al-Amal. PRCS said the medical team inside the facility are “in extreme danger…and are completely immobilized.” “They are unable to bury the body of our colleague Amir Abu Aisha within the hospital’s backyard,” PRCS continued as Israeli forces razed and excavated the area.

Since October, Israeli bombardment killed at least 364 medical workers in the Gaza Strip, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, and damaged dozens of clinics and ambulances. On Sunday morning, PRCS also said that Israeli tanks and forces are “besieging both Al-Amal Hospital and Al-Naser Hospital amidst very intense shelling and heavy gunfire.” PRCS said that one of the displaced Palestinians at al-Amal was “injured in the head,” while Israeli drones are ordering that all people inside the hospital “leave it naked.”

“Smoke bombs are being launched at the hospital to force the staff, wounded, and displaced individuals to leave it,” the PRCS wrote on in a post on X. “Israeli vehicles [are] surrounding Al-Amal Hospital and are now bulldozing the area in front and around it and closing the hospital gates with barriers,” the post added.

-- From "‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 170" by Mustafa Abu Sneineh for Mondoweiss, 24 Mar 2024

#palestine #martyrs of palestine #gaza #gaza strip #khan younis

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battleangel · 6 months

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Who Cares About a Bunch of Dead Black & Brown People?

"Canadian wildfires" from this summer, if you remember them, were a "100 wildfires that started simultaneously in Canada". Yeah, okay.

Yet, if you recall, all the videos on the news and social media were of the smoke that completely filled and covered the sky on the east coast of the U.S. like a literal alien attack movie, like ID4.

People on social media reported seeing mushroom clouds and bombs being tested in NYC.

This is because the government was testing alien weaponry including bombs.

Right after the "Canadian wildfires", a former CIA director admitted in a Congressional hearing that "non-human remains" aka alien remains had been found by the government for years.

During this time this past summer, record levels of air pollution and toxicity were reported on the east coast as well as record humidity.

Yes, due to climate change but also due to government testing of confiscated alien weaponry and bombs that polluted the air and created unheard of levels of humidity.

Climate change has been known for decades and yet nothing real has been done about capitalism which drives every aspect of climate change, from the destruction of the rainforest by fast food conglomerates, to greenhouse gas emissions fueled by the auto industry, factory farming practices responsible for ethane from animal feces which is a huge climate change contributor plus all the millions of gallons of water required, drilling for oil, oil spills, oceanic pollution from non-biodegradable trash that ends up in the ocean, endless Amazon warehouses, endless SHEIN & Amazon landfills, air conditioning house at 70 degrees at all times, endless cars clogging the highway all rushing to nowhere to sit in traffic to waste the day away inside in a building wasting your life away for a paycheck & benefits, emitting pollutants out of your exhaust pipe smoke smog killing the environment depleting the ozone layer creating smog difficult to breathe, dirty machines belching smoke and gas on concrete highways to hell.

Yet noone does anything about rampant overconsumption, wastefulness, mindless spending, mindless buying, keeping up with the joneses, wasting money at IKEA, buying furniture to impress guests that never even come over, consumerism, materialism, oversized portions of food at restaurants, fast fashion worn today thrown in a landfill tomorrow, private jets killing the environment flying to nowhere for nothing, drones delivering Amazon packages that nobody needed in a day much less an hour and nobody does anything but to demand Amazon Prime deliveries in half an hour and Elon Musk is colonizing Mars and Bezos is flying rich wypipo to the moon.

This weekend, IGN via Bloomberg reported 50k year old zombie viruses being released due to climate change causing Siberian glaciers to melt.

Government wants disabled, immunocompromised, elderly, lower income black and brown people gone. As many as possible.

Whoever else dies is just collateral damage.

Why?

Because by 2030, white people will become the minority in the US if current birthing trends continue and they will be replaced with blacks and hispanics making up the majority as their birth rates are much higher than white peoples especially amongst hispanics.

The elites are using the government to do whatever it can to reduce and delay this trend before white people become the minority in the US.

The government also wants to reduce Medicaid and Medicare enrollment as well as the money spent on these programs and what better way to do that than weaponizing viruses (COVID & 50k year old "zombie" viruses) via policies to kill off lower income food service, fast food and big box retail employees, people living in inner cities, disabled and the elderly, the majority of whom are black and hispanic?

Look at Beyonces and Taylor Swifts concerts over the summer, all the crowds and unmasking despite an increase in COVID cases, mutated COVID cases and long COVID cases with severe health consequences including extended hospitalizations and lung damage.

Why did noone care that this COVID resurgence was happening alongside the Eras and Renaissance tours with literally over a million people in attendance, extremely large crowds gathering with a real chance of concert attendees infecting one other?

Because, as we saw with George Floyd and the temporary black squares on Instagram, once the performative virtue signaling stage of COVID was over, nobody gave a fuck anymore and the elites know most people dont really gaf about poor, disabled, elderly black & brown people so the new COVID mantra became "stay tf inside if youre vulnerable, I aint wearing a mask to Eras or Renaissance cuz I look tew cute".

They correctly surmised people were o-v-a-h it and most had been summoned back to their wage slave 9 to 5 life of drudgery so they knew people wouldnt complain about the concerts as they had already done their "say her name Breonna Taylor" performative virtue signalling bullshit and now they wanted to shake their dreads to Slayonce and Taylor.

Who cares about a bunch of dead poor, disabled, elderly black & brown people anyway?

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