#social exploits gets patched

[maneaterwithtail]

Real issue of "forced" diversity or wokeness

I'm sorry but everything about a production is to 1ﾟ or another forced. It won't naturally happen without active decision and circumstance arranged by everybody from production to operations. I think recently someone kind of clarified this for me and we have the Mario movie to thank again.

The problem isn't wokness or any political spectrum it's

Toxic- more accurately -forced positivity. If you demand that everybody has to treat your product the same way they would the political talking point you're often very shallowly engaging in or claiming that you are fighting the good fight for by simple alignment...

you are effectively demanding that the audience accept and basically give up their entertainment to become a resource for your success

Naturally people disagree on gayess. whether you think this is bad or wrong, being forced into this in the most intimate personal and vulnerable circumstances that's primarily going to take in online spaces isn't setting everybody up for reconciliation. it's setting everybody up to basically either convert or be silent

That does nothing but create resistance. it's a propaganda move plain and simple

Now even if the propaganda is preaching what you want. that can't work forever and it's going to leave to something else

c***** craftsmanship. a law can be good but if it's enforced with no care for the citizenry then it's going to become a toxic mess. More so if you can get the exact same phrase based on someone's predisposition And no possible objection in the exact same social circles that everyone's paying attention to or utilizes And no possible objection in the exact same social circles that everyone's paying attention to or utilizes

any performative diversity the point is basically to get quick social brownie points on social media. I don't even think it's for the creators. many of whom fall in these categories. it's because they're selling the audience the illusion of heroism

They either want you to passively accept everything they give or give you a bunch of easy targets to ostracize

And they can be pretty d*** sure in various online spaces that they have the right of way because almost most moderators as well as social media outlets deliberately favor their way of thinking so effectively they've given you catalyst or tools to bait someone in order to ban themselves

And this keeps happening

More importantly they don't care what they damage along the way. Franchises, community, discourse, because what they value of what they're doing is that performative social thing which they then want to repackage and sell to the audience or a new investor or customer base.

We took down the toxic scary man babies who remind you of your abusers or oppressors. They don't have thing or place any more. You like that feeling? You owe us for it give me money so we can antagonize further together. Just remember parasocial relationship I am not responsible for you or my words

Now here's the problem. much like you'll only need 1 shonen series. Baby lgbt only needs 1 maybe 2 series in order to come to terms with own sexual identity if you're discovering it.

everything after that is going to be on you.

Which leads to the other problem.

very shallow engagement. you're not after representing the lives and circumstances that someone might have after they've come to terms with they are gay. Gay parents. Gay professionals. Gay history. That gay culture and divorced or sexual libertine patriarch culture has amount of overlap. The loss of generational wealth and social staus or the game needed to access it

You want the closet case or the questioning individual which is why as it aims younger and broader. Which gets more and more creepy

Owl houses my go to for this because despite the fact that they had ample opportunity in order to normalize homosexuality or transness in its world...they decided to focus on basically shipping drama between 2 young kids.

anything that was happening with lumity would have been absolutely mocked and murdered online if it didn't involve something heterosexual. h*** if it had just involved a man.

Seriously at 1 point Amity's sexual arousal is literally played for laughs in a kid show on the Disney Channel. People still cringe at the idea of that being a feature in any manga or anime that is watched by anyone not primarily women (beware the bronies will pornify the pure and good Steven Universe fandom)

But thanks to that toxic positivity it's all good. And because they intertwined it with their own self discovery and validation so on and so forth when there's any actual moral dilemma or circumstance it'll always default to what can basically say something good or pandering to either the main character or using the main character as a proxy for the audience they're charming

Perhaps the easiest way to say this is to compare ang with korra. Aang has to learn how to learn how to synthesize and come to terms with the legacy he has inherited.

he must learn humility on multiple levels as well as duty and discipline. Kora is constantly being validated. For fand and apologists this is a featute. you can tell this by the difference of how the avatarspirit and position is treated between the 2 characters.

One is a burden and a duty that defines and runs the risk of subsuming his identity. One that he must take control of. The other is an inner goddess which validates that she doesn't have to listen to anyone because everything she says is authorities and divinely inspired.

And it's not like there hasn't been casualties for this attitude. And they revel in them too in fact it very much seems to start off a conversation about doing just that period making sure that you p*** that person off that pisses off the right people

And then they turn around and go well you shouldn't care about making sure all the critics like this are that movie or that this is a score against so-and-so that anti woke grifters are a problem. Guys they're not even so much a threat as they are what you're doing just aimed at the audience you're very obviously isolating and not serving

This is the problem with wokeness

This is also why things that could come off as woke black lightning, arcane, and so on

Why they can have a surprising amount of universal appeal. They are presented or written in such a way that they don't demand atoxic positivity but actually give you the space in order to take in the message agree or disagree or at the very least not be forced to agree in a specific way

The emphasis isn't on conversion it's on examination and struggle. It isn't on validation it's on coming to terms with what you have to do in order to achieve that validity both for yourself and success in the world around you. And sometimes you don't succeed you fail and the compromises or what comes after all that

#fandom is serious business #thank you cartoonshi #toxic positivity #glbt+ #social exploits gets patched #or push the system to break

[gammasnippets]

[CHANNEL_9] fromis_9 '채널나인' EP58. Spotlighting🎬 Part.1

fromis_9 Lee Saerom, Song Hayoung, Jang Gyuri, Park Jiwon, Roh Jisun, Lee Seoyeon, Lee Chaeyoung, Lee Nagyung, Baek Jiheon

2,824 words (Unedited)

It’s the year 2027.

With the immense attention social media content garners these days, K-pop groups must put out a lot of various kinds of content for their fans to stay in their boat. And as of late, some artists are even resorting to a more risqué and sexual form of media just to stay in the game. The morality and ethics of it is something that shouldn’t be scoffed at, as it has sparked controversy around the industry. Others are in favor of it, while some are against it.

But as time goes by, this venture becomes harder and harder to resist as more and more fans are eating all forms of content… Until their perception of it all becomes grayed out.

Being one of the industry's most revered groups, the members of fromis_9 are just some of the artists who started partaking in more provocative and sensual concepts for their content to provide fans with a more sensual form of fanservice. Their agency has always been reluctant to do so, as they had their reputation to keep up. But with many groups competing for the top spot, these nine girls have to “exploit” what assets they have to push themselves higher in the industry.

As the group delved deeper into this sensual rabbit hole, they made a variety of content that fans will surely go crazy about. From music videos that show their bodies in tight, revealing clothes, and a bunch of photoshoots that would make you blush with the sheer sensuality of the outfits and poses that they had, fromis_9 has gone to the world that only the most daring of groups would dare venture in. And being a part of a group of editors tasked to produce content like this, you often find yourself getting a lot of material to jerk off to from these girls.

To commemorate the group’s 10th anniversary, the company has planned a series of special videos featuring the girls for their ever-loyal fans. And after several passes and editing by the other editors, the videos finally came in your email, waiting for a final review to be conducted by no other than you. The pressure is high, as this could very well be the most successful video project yet. As the last editor to get the content, it's all up to you to give it the final touches and make these videos—12 in total— as flawless as possible. With tissues and lotion just within arm's reach, you start reviewing the footage.

You press play on the first video on the list and the unforgettable intro for their variety series “Channel_9” starts.

The episode begins as the camera shows a large studio complex, almost like the ones they have in other countries where they create live-action films and such, panning through the many large structures and beautiful gardenscapes scattered around the area. It then transitions to a drone shot, where the girls can be seen walking through the complex. They pass by large water fountains and flower patches, all the while showing how nice and beautiful the place is. All of them gasped in awe at the sight of the complex.

“This place looks like a big hotel. They could be hiding the rides in those buildings,” says Hayoung.

Seoyeon chuckles. “You mean a theme park?”

“Ah… Right,” she answers.

You can hear all the girls laughing at that short yet funny conversation.

“Unnie,” says Chaeyoung. “We just visited one recently and you still can’t forget about it.”

“That place was fun, though,” she retorts.

“Yeah. You’re right,” Saerom and Chaeyoung answer, almost in unison.

“Wish we can return to that place,” Jiheon tells everyone.

"Maybe the crew's planning to take us to a theme park," Jiwon tells the group as she looks at the cameraman with a smug look on her face.

Everyone giggles at that.

Gyuri then sighs. "There she goes again."

"Watch it get jinxed," Nagyung adds.

Seoyeon laughs out loud at that. "Her plans never work out."

"Ya!" Jiwon protests, "It'll work out this time. Just watch!"

She looks back at the camera again, nodding as if persuading them to agree with her.

However… She got silence for an answer.

Jiwon playfully sulks, making everyone laugh.

They continue to walk through the complex until they've reached the center of a huge courtyard, where the rest of the filming crew is waiting for them. As they are all getting into their respective positions, you see the members getting excited to start shooting the first episode.

"This will be exciting, hmmm?" Hayoung asks them, looking eager.

"I sure hope so," Jisun replies, smiling.

"Oh, me too," says Saerom.

One of the staff members then began to speak up.

"Hello, everyone," the staff member began, greeting them.

The group greeted her back in unison, bowing their heads.

"Welcome to the country's biggest filming facility," the staff member continued.

"Oh! So this is what it is!" Jiheon gasps.

The camera then pans out in a drone camera, giving the viewers another good look of the entire complex.

"This is probably where they filmed that one train movie I just watched," Chaeyoung says in excitement, her eyes sparkling in awe.

Suddenly, Hayoung yells.

"Ahh! Ahh!"

Everyone looks at her, shocked.

"What is it?" asks Saerom.

Hayoung, still looking shocked, excitedly points somewhere far.

"I… I've seen that bench from my favorite drama show!"

"Really?" Gyuri asks.

Hayoung nods.

The camera then pans over to a familiar bench that looks identical to the one in the show.

"It really does look like that one," Seoyeon says.

"Wow, unnie," Nagyung says. "You do know your stuff."

Hayoung smiles and gives her a thumbs-up.

"Anyway… We have prepared a series of challenges for all of you," the staff member resumes.

Oohs and ahhs can be heard from the girls.

“We call these Spotlighting Challenges.”

Another wave of amazement envelops the group.

Hayoung then raises her hand. “Spotlighting Challenge?”

The staff member nods. “These challenges refer to a study about how people behave differently when they are being watched—be it on camera or in the spotlight.”

Everyone nods at the given explanation.

“Ooh. So that’s why there’s ‘spotlight’ in the name,” Chaeyoung remarks, nodding her head.

“Yeah,” Jisun hears her and agrees. “But we’re definitely used to it by now, right?”

Chaeyoung nods back, laughing. “Yeah. This should be easy for us!”

"Every single challenge has different goals and rules to achieve,” the staff member follows up. “All of you must do your best to complete each challenge."

"I see…" Nagyung replies, attentively listening.

"So where are these challenges located?" Saerom asks.

"Each challenge is located at different areas within the complex. There are nine challenges—one for each member."

Everyone is shocked at the announcement.

"Woah! Nine?" Jiheon exclaims.

"Yes, each member has a unique challenge."

"Unique challenge?" Jiwon asks, her eyes wide in shock. "So we'll be alone?"

"Yes," the staff member nods her head. "These challenges can only be completed individually."

A sudden silence fills the air as they process the information.

"Jeez… This is going to be nerve-wracking," Gyuri mumbles, scratching her head.

"I feel the same," Jiheon tells her, her body shaking in nervousness.

"We know you girls will worry about not having each other by your side," the staff member tells them reassuringly. "But we believe in each of your skills and strengths."

"Thank you," Jisun bows, accepting the encouragement.

"Are the challenges going to be difficult?" Chaeyoung asks, curiously.

The staff member shrugs her shoulders and replies in a soft tone.

“Kinda…”

Everyone then lets out sighs and grunts at the answer.

“Oh dear. We’re done for,” Nagyung frowns.

"But we made each challenge doable for any member," the staff member explains.

Everyone responds with a mixture of relief and determination.

"Well that's good news," she says with a smile.

"I know right?" Jiwon replies, also relieved.

"These challenges will require all of you to be creative. So do your best," the staff member adds.

Those words piqued the girls' curiosity. Some of them begin thinking of what they could mean.

"Be creative, huh?" Saerom asks them, her tone doubtful.

The staff member nods. She follows up with the instructions with a smirk forming on her face.

"And maybe some of your… Physical skills."

A mischievous glint suddenly sparkles in the girls' eyes as they exchange knowing looks.

"Hmmm… I wonder how physical these challenges can get?" Jiwon mischievously suggests with a playful tone.

Her teasing remark sends a wave of laughter through the group, instantly lightening the tense atmosphere.

"Oh, boy. Jiwon's at it again," Hayoung chuckles at Jiwon's suggestive remark.

The group can't help but blush at the playful insinuation.

"Surely it's nothing like that… Right?" Chaeyoung asks, looking dumbfounded at the revelation of their challenges.

The staff member smiles knowingly, making the girls even more intrigued

"Oh, dear…" Jiheon whispers under her breath, her cheeks slowly blushing. "This is going to be interesting."

"Are we really going to do it? Here?" Jisun murmurs, sounding both nervous and excited.

"I guess so," Gyuri responds with a sly grin.

The girls look at each other once again, giggling, as if they're sharing a naughty secret only they know.

"But what do we get if we win?" Nagyung then asks, diverting the topic to their goal.

"We have prepared something for all of you if you win," the staff member replies. "Since there are nine of you, the group will need five members to successfully complete the challenges."

Everyone is intrigued, their curiosity piqued by the promise of a reward.

"What's the prize? Can we get a hint?" Saerom asks, sounding mischievously.

"Yeah! Tell us!" Jiwon follows up, yelling in excitement.

"Jeez, unnie. Tone it down," Chaeyoung playfully berates her.

"Well… Is there anything you girls like?" the staff member asks the group.

Some of the members start thinking of an answer, but the others already have their minds made up.

"An all-you-can-eat buffet!"

"A trip to a theme park!"

"Rent a cinema, maybe?"

"Ooh! Let's go overseas!"

Those are some of the answers the girls excitedly shout out, their enthusiasm shooting through the roof.

The entire staff bursts into laughter at their liveliness and shared excitement.

"I guess we'll have to discuss that later," the staff member says with a smile.

"Alright!" Hayoung replies, pumping her fist in the air.

"I'm actually kinda excited now," Gyuri admits, a joyous look on her face.

"Me too," Jisun adds.

"So please do your best, everyone," the staff member encourages.

Saerom nods, looking determined. "Of course."

The other members nod, too.

The rest of the staff then carries, in front of them, a ballot box. Colorful envelopes can be seen inside the transparent box.

"Wow! So pretty," Jiheon exclaims, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"That's cute," Nagyung agrees, a smile forming on her face.

"Everyone, please take turns drawing an envelope," the staff member instructs, gesturing towards the box.

The girls eagerly step towards the box one by one, reaching into the ballot box. They then head back to their original spots, envelopes in hand, excitement radiating from each of them. Some are careful in picking their envelopes, while some are swift and waste no time… And some play around with their selection.

All the members seem eager to open the envelopes and reveal the contents. But everyone is waiting for a signal, patiently, as their anticipation builds.

"Please remember that you shouldn't reveal the contents of your envelopes to anyone," the staff member reminds them.

Everyone responds in affirmation as they grip their envelopes tightly, excitement and curiosity swirling in their eyes.

"Okay. You can open your envelopes now."

The members rip open their envelopes, their eyes meticulously scanning the contents.

"Oh. So this is just instructions to where we should head for," Chaeyoung asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

The staff member nods. "Yes. You will be informed about the challenge once you reach your designated location."

She nods back in understanding. "I see…"

"I hope the missions are fun!" Saerom exclaims with a grin on her face.

"I'm more hoping that they're easy," Gyuri chuckles, crossing her fingers.

"That too!" Saerom adds, laughing along with her.

"Ugh! I'm getting nervous!" Seoyeon whines, hopping from foot to foot.

"Pretty sure you can do it," Hayoung reassures her, giving Seoyeon a comforting pat on the back.

"How cute," Nagyung murmurs, giggling at the two.

"So, is everyone ready?"

Everyone responds in unison, their voices filled with anticipation.

"We're ready!"

"Yes!"

"Let's go!"

"The Spotlight Challenge has started! Again do your best, everyone!" the staff member announces as she cheers them on.

"Thank you!" In response, the girls bowed to everyone in gratitude.

Each member then reviewed their instructions and began looking around, figuring out where to go.

"Hmmm… I guess I should be going here," Jisun muses to herself, reading the directions on her instructions sheet as she walks off.

"Hey, unnie!" Jiheon calls out to her. "Are you going?"

Jisun turns around and nods. "Ah! Uhmm... Yes."

"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Jiheon decides, running up to join Jisun on their journey.

On the other hand, the rest of the group continued to figure out their destinations.

"Well… I think I'm heading this way," Seoyeon says, pointing opposite to Jisun's direction.

"You're heading there, too?" Hayoung asks her curiously, glancing at her own instructions.

Seoyeon just nods with a sheepish smile.

"Yay! Let's go together!" she excitedly screams as she hugs her.

"Hey! I’m also heading there too!" Nagyung adds, joining in on the hug.

As the trio embraced each other tightly, the remaining members were still working out the instructions given to them.

"If this is here, then…" Gyuri mumbles. "Then this one is… Hmmm…"

"I guess I should be going… This way?" Chaeyoung says, scratching her head in confusion as she tries to decipher the instructions.

"Huh? Chaeyoung-ah," Gyuri calls out.

"Yes, unnie?"

"Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, I think so," Chaeyoung responds, looking unsure.

"Okay. Do your best, then!" she encourages her, waving her hand at her.

"Will do! Thank you!" Chaeyoung replies cheerfully, waving back at Gyuri. "See you later!"

Suddenly, Jiwon appears behind her, as if peeking at her unnie's instructions. Gyuri quickly spots her and hides her envelope, giving Jiwon a playful glare.

"What are you doing?" the older girl asks, pretending to be annoyed.

"What?" Jiwon acts coy, smiling as if she's innocent. "I'm doing nothing?"

"You aren't supposed to peek at my directions," Gyuri scolds her, wagging her finger at Jiwon.

"No, I'm not," she continues her innocent act, blinking her eyes innocently at Gyuri.

But Gyuri sees through her act and playfully pinches Jiwon's cheek.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Unnie!" Jiwon yelps as she feigns pain.

"Come on now, don't be sneaky," she says with a smirk.

"I'm not! Really!" Jiwon insists, rubbing her cheek dramatically.

Gyuri chuckles. "Alright. Where are you heading?"

"I'm heading that way," she points to the huge building behind the filming crew.

"Ooh. That looks big."

"I bet that's the main building."

"Seems like it. Yeah."

Suddenly, Saerom spots the two, approaches them, and joins in on the conversation.

"So, where are you going?" she asks.

Gyuri is the first to answer, pondering her options.

"I think I'll head to that building and ask around," she says, pointing to the same building Jiwon had mentioned earlier.

"Me too," Jiwon adds, nodding in agreement. "I think my challenge is somewhere in that building."

"I see…" Saerom replies, nodding at their answers.

"So where will you go?" asks Jiwon.

"Me?"

The two other girls nod expectantly.

"Same as you two. To that building," Saerom answers, confirming their choice.

"Oh. Then we all should go together," Gyuri suggests with a smile.

"Yes! Let's all go!" Jiwon exclaims excitedly, grabbing onto Gyuri and Saerom's arms.

Now with all the nine members of fromis_9 walking off in different directions, the view then shifts to a drone shot, showing the immense size of the complex, before showing a slo-mo view from each camera team that follows every member towards their respective destinations. Nervousness and excitement can be read on their faces, adding anticipation for the upcoming events.

All of a sudden, a brief montage teasing the future episodes plays. It showcases the members meeting new people, strategizing for their challenges, and lots of pure, unadulterated sex—the girls letting out screams and moans no one has probably heard. Your heart skips a beat as you process what you just saw. Doing sexy projects might not be new to them at this point, but nothing that's as bold and intense as this is.

You can't deny the creeping sense of unease that you're suddenly feeling. Yet, at the same time, it's an undeniable fact that you are getting excited and eager to see more.

Finally, the screen fades out, leaving you excited to review all of fromis_9's thrilling new series.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Author’s Notes:

I'm back... I guess? 😅 I apologize for the sudden absence that took more than a year. I left everyone without saying a word. And with that, I would like to make up with a huge series starring all of fromis_9.

Yes. Including Gyuri. 🍊

As ambitious as this might be, and given the fact that I'm not the most creative writer with the most amount of creative juice there is, I'm gonna try and sprinkle a few other stories featuring other idols in between... Just to add variety, and to not bore myself (and everyone) with just one group.

And, yes. I know. I still have 6 more Girls' Generations to write a story about. We'll get there when we get there, okay? It'll happen... When it happens. 😂

A huge thanks to @braaan for the poster! You are too kind. 🫂

And with that, thank you very much for reading! 🙇

#smut #kpopfanfiction #kpopfanfic #kpopsmut #fromis9smut #saeromsmut #hayoungsmut #gyurismut #jiwonsmut #jisunsmut #seoyeonsmut #chaeyoungsmut #nagyungsmut #jiheonsmut

[ceranovis]

So... the thing that IMMEDIATELY stood out to me in Fit's Dec 30th lore stream was the use of the nocom heatmap:

Like this is the exact version if the heatmap Fit uses in his 2b2t vid about the nocom exploit (which is a wild story in itself, please watch it if you haven't before).

But some musing about how nocom might be connected to the lore (which quickly spiralled into some theories about Madagio, the 2 Cucuruchos, and the eggs):

Nocom was an exploit that tracked players in real time, predict their movements, and allowed remote spying on physical changes to locations. Madagio being drawn in by the remenant signal of that could just be a nod to their interest in finding ways to collect information and why they would find Fit suitable for the job.

HOWEVER-- Nocom was built on a Papermc vulnerability that meant it could also work on other multiplayer servers that run it. While nocom was patched on 2b2t, that doesn't mean other servers have patched the vulnerability & the source code has been released by the creators. So Madagio could have been interested in going to 2b2t to get ahold of nocom to use on Quesadilla island so it could uncover the "secrets [it] must have at all costs"-- their POV when tracking down fit shows entity lines so they clearly have some tracking ability/tool.

Maybe they got the nocom code, but found they couldn't use it yet. It's been mentioned before that Fit tried hack clients on QSMP but they didn't work, and exploits get fixed pretty quickly to keep the server stable. Madagio said the only way onto thr island at the time was the Federation train-- presumably the Federation had thing heavily locked down and Madagio wouldn't be able to enter or run any sort of exploit.

2b2t's nocom was made possible because of social engineering-- Madagio could have hired Fit to collect information so it could find a way to successfully manipulate holes into the Federation's security and get onto the island/run nocom.

In the Dec 21st QSMP Info stream, Dark Cucurucho seems to be looking for something the Federation has hidden, and demands Cucurucho tell him where it is. Maybe Madagio is looking for the same thing? Nocom would theoretically allow someone to find hidden facilities/people anywhere on the server.

Where Dark Cucurucho seems tied to the Nether, and Cucurucho the overworld, its becomes pretty notable that Madagio has Fit go through a giant Ender portal.

Madagio being tied to the End also has some interesting implications if you think about the (ender?) dragon that supposedly inhabited the island & created the eggs. While the federation claimed the dragon left when the wall was blown up, there's no actual evidence it was there at the time. Perhaps Madagio is the dragon.

Fans seem to be interpretting the "i am a god" anagram of Madagio literally, which could fit with the ender dragon being a sort of godly being presiding over the End dimension.

BUT it may not be a literal dragon-- the eggs seem to be some sort of science experiements, so what if the anagram is a reference to a scientist playing god?

Maybe Madagio literally created the eggs from End-realm-DNA or something before fleeing/being kicked off Quesadilla, and the dragon story is just what the Federation made up to explain the eggs without having to bring up Madagio.

Maybe the experiements that led to the eggs were about opening up inter-server travel? Madagio said whatever made it leave Quesadilla also gave it server-hopping powers (powers which seems similar in reach to the Federation's ability to pull people to the island/send workers to other places).

The Federation can block interdimensional travel too-- we saw that with the Nether, which the residents eventually broke through with the train bug, implying hacks/bugs are needed to bypass Federation security.

Dark Cucurucho told Forever it wanted to leave, desired freedom, and that the Federation didn't want it to have that. Maybe the thing Dark is looking for is the thing that Madagio created that allows for interdimensional travel, which the Federation stole.

I think the only non-Federation example of cross-server travel we've seen is with the Watcher/Purgatory, but it may have actually been Dark Cucurucho who enabled that, not the Watcher. Aside from Dark being the one to give the residents their tickets to Purgatory via the dice game, Cucurucho claimed the recent security vulnerabilities were due to Dark, so maybe Dark found an exploit that allowed for limited interdimenisonal travel-- if it's tied to the creation of eggs somehow, maybe that's why there were 3 new eggs found on Egg Island?

The Unknown Egg diary Cellbit found could potentially be connected to Dark Cucurucho leaving & making contact with the Watcher prior to the purgatory arc, given the timing (about a month after the residents broke open the Nether, which may have created a door for Dark to get to the overworld despite Federation security and set things in motion). Maybe Cucurucho sent Cellbit to investigate because it suspected Dark was up to something? Cellbit assumed the egg's fate was the Federation's doing, but why would they send him to investigate it then? Maybe it was Dark making a cheap immitation of the Federation adoption center so it could travel, and then abandoning the egg once it had what it wanted?

Cucurucho also said that Dark didn't understand the potential of the eggs, which could explain why Dark would only be able to achieve limited travel.

#qsmp lore #Qsmp #Fitmc lore #Madagio #Fitmc #qsmp theory #Ive not really been keeping up on all the Cucurucho and Federation lore so some of my interpretations there could be off #Also sorta wondering if the binary entities could be connected to madagio attempting to hack and manipulate its way past Federation securit

[ablondpanda]

If capitalism had patch notes like a video game we'd constantly get shit like

- Rebalanced means of production, their availability now depends on your capital

- nerfed wages to improve profits across the board

- nerfed unions by discouraging users from joining or forming them

- (hopefully) finally fixed the bug where sometimes workers will refuse to work unless their demands are met

- buffed tax evasion, it should now work better at higher capital

- changed "Alienation" mutator to be active by default

- removed socialized healthcare, this should fix an exploit with which users could access free treatments for their ailments

- Added "infinte growth" achievement which can be unlocked by maxing all exploitation stats and utilizing every available resource

- "restrict bathroom time" ability added to improve worker management

- boosted "cost of living" stat

#capitalism #it's bad #that's the joke #I don't like it

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Hey bae, I've enjoyed your lords of chaos fics so far and I really liked the hcs and I just wanted to ask you could make one for necrobutcher? He was so fine in the movie but no one ever talks about him :)

Hello anon happy that you enjoyed my works so far. Pretty cute in the movie but the only voice of reason. So I hope and everyone else likes this little story and as always have fun readinf :)

It's over

warning : fluff, hurt/comfort, mention of suicide

masterlist

Disclaimer : I don't want to glorify anything, it's about the actors who play a role, not the real events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

°The two of you actually met in the supermarket one day. You wanted to buy something for you and your flatmate, who didn't really have anything any more. Almost the same was true for Necrobutcher the bass player and member of Mayhem he was still something like the voice of reason.

°Just as she was going to the section with the muesli and other packaged foods, she saw a black-haired young man. From then on, the two of you got into a conversation, or rather, he made the first move. A bad joke, a little laugh and a question about what all the patches on his jacket were for.

°There was a spark between the dark mysterious basist and the simple medical student. Which is why he not only wrote her number on her hand, but also lied her into the next rehearsal of Mayhem in the dried-out hut.

°She would be lying if she didn't find him attractive. There was something about him that was slightly mysterious, funny, realistic and, from what she had heard, not as evil as the news described all those statists. Which is why she went to the cottage at the weekend.

°When she arrived and went into the old hut, she quickly realised that it had seen better days. ,,Hey, Y/n, come with me, I'll show you the others!" he called cheerfully from the kelelr and wrapped her in a hug before they went downstairs. There she met the rest of the band from mayhem - nice but somehow strange people.

°Sitting down on the floor, she watched the band animatedly. Even though the music wasn't really her cup of tea at first, she soon felt herself swaying and humming along to the lyrics and cheering the band on. Before she pulled Necrobutcher into her arms, slightly embarrassed, and praised him.

°Staying with the band throughout the day, a small partx took place in the evening, where she not only had fun but also sat on the couch with the black-haired man and watched a film to ignore the noise from outside. He had his arm around her and she had her head on his shoulder. A cute moment that ended the evening with them kissing. The first kiss of many that night the two somehow ended up in a relationship.

°She quickly realised how sensitive, emotional and devoted he was. He listened to her problems, hugged her, kissed her and was there for her. He was indeed the most socially normal of mayhem and understood her worries that one day something might happen. Even though they both supported each other.

°But the day came when it would happen. The suicide of Dead and Euroynmou's exaggeration. He had gone too far and exploited his friend's death just for the sake of success. That same day, she got a call from Necrobutcher from a phone box who was more than upset and asked her to pick him up because his bike had a flat.

°As soon as she got into her car and drove off, she was worried. It was bound to happen sometime, she thought bitterly and sadly, before stopping at the phone box a few minutes later and getting out. She held the distraught and almost tearful Necrobutcher in her arms for a moment. She just held him and he mumbled and apologised for something he couldn't do.

°Then they loaded the fahard into the car and drove to him, as his family was not there at the moment anyway. Sitting down together on the couch, he rested his head on her lap and was quiet. But she was also quiet and just stroked his head. ,,It's going to be all right...they're gone, you don't have to go there any more," she said and only saw the brief nod. A moment later he sat down and wrapped her in a grateful kiss and held her hand. ,,Thank you for everything," he murmured and put his hand on her cheek.

°Not knowing that the past would catch up with them both. The suicide was only the beginning, then Faust's murder of the gay man and finally Varg's murder of euronymous. It was terrible, and yet the two survived the time together. They moved in together, helped each other and lived normal, free lives as best they could. Knowing that the horror had only made them both stronger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@mayhem-things , @bvg-w1res , @beldamama

#lords of chaos 2018 #lords of chaos #mayhem #lords of chaos necrobutcher #lords of chaos necrobutcher x reader #reader is female #fluff #angst #hurt/comfort #mention of murder #mention of death #jonathan barnwell

[iberiancadre]

VoteSocialist2024's program criticized

I am not going into this expecting them to be communist, their use of the term "socialist" already demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what socialism is -a transitional stage between capitalism and communism characterized by the dictatorship of the proletariat and the use of the state to oppress capitalist elements-, since it's transitionary, its only purpose is to protect the building of communism. We are all aware of people using "socialist" as a softer term, and it usually means shy communism or social-democrat.

Seize the biggest 100 corporations, create a new economy, for the people: The 100 largest corporations in America should be seized from their billionaire owners and turned into public property – owned by the working class that created their vast wealth in the first place.

Already, making as a goal "the biggest 100 corporations" is a transparent attempt at a grand goal without any actual basis. They don't give a reasoning for this number, it's obvious they chose it because it is attention-grabbing. Anyway.

Public property is not the same as collective property. Public property is that of the state, and is not inherently communist or socialist or whatever. Socialism is not when the government does stuff. I'm pretty sure they mean collective property/worker owned. It's okay, but a shoddy understanding of what exactly is the state.

Their focus on "the largest 100 corporations" is also extremely petite-bourgeois. Capitalism is not characterized by "big" exploitation, it's the private ownership of the means of production. Rejecting private property altogether might be a suicide for the elections, but that should not matter to any serious party actually calling for expropriation. Elections are not an actual way into power, especially in the US. If they actually want to win the election as a tactic, that would render them ineffectual in any attempt at defending the interests of the proletariat.

This could serve as the foundation for a total reorganization of the economy in a way that guarantees that everyone in society will have their basic needs met, massively rebuild urban and rural infrastructure, and bring down prices and rents. Quality healthcare, education through college and beyond, free childcare, decent housing and a living wage with union representation would become constitutional rights.

The non-specific "reorganization of the economy" is a bit sketchy since it could mean anything from a violent overthrow to social-democratic reforms. All of these goals are great, but I'm missing an actual framework under which these objectives will be achieved. No, expropriating a 100 corporations is not a framework, it's state intervention in the economy. Their mention of constitutional rights is interesting because one would think the first thing they'd do is get rid of that 200-year-old piece of paper whose only purpose is to defend private property, the very thing they say they won't respect.

A form of “card check” unionization would be enacted that certifies a union immediately after a majority of employees in a given workplace express their desire to do so.

Defending unionization might seem positive but these people are supposedly going to massively reorganize the economy. If unions are still going to be this relevant and "employees" is a category that will still exist, then that implies they aren't going to get rid of the vast majority of the bourgeoisie, which was also implied in the title of this point. Unions are only a patch, not a solution. Their goal is to defend the worker from the capitalist. If they will still exist, then the exploitation of the working class also exists. And this isn't giving the unions a new function, like the soviets, this is just protecting their existence in the workplace

Immigrant workers – who are fleeing horrific conditions caused largely by U.S. corporations and politicians – should be given legal status and brought into unions so that solidarity prevails instead of a “race to the bottom” in wages. With the hospitals and pharmaceutical companies under the control of the people, they would provide care for free. Evictions would be banned, and rent capped at no more than 10% of a person’s income. Inflation would be eliminated with an across-the-board price freeze. All income and assets over ten million dollars would be subject to a 100% tax – with no exceptions or loopholes – as would all offshore corporate profits. All debt from student loans, bail bonds, medical and utility bills would be canceled.

Great

Overthrow the dictatorship of the rich - Build a democracy that serves the working class: The United States needs a new system of government to replace the current one designed to maintain the dictatorship of the billionaires over everyone else.

Okay, but maybe use more accurate language instead of this populist garble? It's not just the billionaires that rule over the working class, it's any capitalist, whether it's the richest man on earth or the nice person who owns a little store with a couple employees.

The main tools the ultra-rich use to enforce this dictatorship would be abolished. This includes the Supreme Court, the Senate, and the banker-controlled Federal Reserve. Behind the fig leaf of democracy in America, there is an enormous apparatus of violence and surveillance aimed at repressing the people. The FBI and NSA would be disbanded, and mass incarceration would be replaced by a justice system aimed at rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

Throughout this entire point there is an elephant in the room that is not addressed. How exactly will you get the powers to do so? With which force will you disband the FBI? I understand addressing the reality of this problem might get your party infiltrated and destroyed, so I won't hold it against them. But I hope they address this internally.

The median income for a person in the United States is $31,000, but there is currently not a single member of Congress who has to experience this reality. Workers are fully capable of making the decisions and running the government – workers already run everything else! With workers in charge, the rights of all people will finally be respected. We demand full equality for LGBTQ people in all areas of society and national legislation banning discrimination at the workplace and in all public and private institutions. Native sovereignty and self-determination should be fully recognized and treaty rights should be honored.

This is great, but ending discrimination based on sexuality is not as simple as banning it. A development of the class relations must first happen in order for the discrimination used by the bourgeoisie to divide the working class to disappear. This was seen in certain areas of the USSR, like in Belarus, where the SS invaders tasked with reinvigorating antisemitism largely failed, in an area where pogroms happened merely 40 years prior. Like above, we shouldn't expect them to spell this out in an electoral program, but they really should know this internally.

I'm not sure which private institutions they are referring to here, unless they actually only want to expropriate a hundred companies. That wouldn't be socialism, that would be social democracy.

We want to turn the social order upside down and topple those who have all the money and power but do none of the work! The new, socialist system of government would be based on the direct exercise of power by workers. A true democracy encourages the proliferation of many types of organizations -- youth climate corps, neighborhood associations, student groups, unions, civic organizations -- and views organizations as instruments for people to identify problems and take action together.

I'd like for them to go deeper into how this worker's democracy would be organized, but it falls outside the scope of an electoral program.

End the rule of money and lock up the corrupt elite: Bribery in America is a legal, recognized industry called corporate lobbying. This practice must be outlawed, and all politicians should be subject to a ban on serving on any corporate board or holding an executive position of any type at a private company after leaving office.

In the previous point it is hinted that politicians will be replaced by workers, so I'm not sure who this ban will apply to.

All Wall Street bailouts would end immediately. Similarly, millionaires and billionaires should no longer be allowed to buy elections through lavish donations. All campaigning should be publicly financed, and the different loopholes like Super PACs that billionaires use to get around donation limits should be immediately closed.

Okay, so a party-based system will remain in the worker's democracy they are painting. It is not unheard of in actual socialist states, and it shouldn't be a surprise for someone calling themselves socialist. It is disappointing to see such little imagination. Why should a party system still exist? It was invented for liberal democracies, the proletariat has no interest in it. And the emphasis on the loopholes is disorienting, there shouldn't even be billionaires in the first place.

The focus on Wall Street is, again, a concerning preference for populist terms over accurate ones. Wall Street isn't the only place where financial capital is present.

Under a democracy by the workers, war criminals and Wall Street con men would be locked up – finally brought to justice for their monstrous crimes against the people. Corruption is a bipartisan issue for the U.S. ruling class. People like Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner alike abuse their positions of power to secure lucrative sources of income and flout the law. Some members of the ultra-rich grow even wealthier by facilitating the crimes of others, like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, whose bank counted Jeffrey Epstein among its clients. The wrong people are in jail. Instead of incarcerating millions of poor people caught in desperate situations, the ones who should be held to account are the corrupt capitalists.

Good. Once again, it is not necessary for you to "dumb down" your rhetoric. People are smarter than most give them credit for.

Cut the military budget by 90% - Peace, not war with China & Russia:

The US military budget in 2023 was 773 billion dollars, according to Bloomberg (Side note: almost half of this is spent on contractors, which is in essence a transference of public funds to private hands). Cutting it by 90% would result in 77.3 billion. It would leave the US as the 4th country worldwide in military spending, between India and Saudi Arabia.

The world is headed towards a catastrophic, unprecedented conflict because of the unmitigated aggressiveness and recklessness of the politicians and Pentagon generals. The new Cold War against China and Russia must end, along with associated aggression like the proxy war in Ukraine, massive military shipments to Taiwan, or any and all military build up against any targeted nation. The vast network of military bases the Pentagon maintains in other countries should be immediately closed. We demand the abolition of the NATO military alliance and AFRICOM. Cruel economic sanctions imposed on countries around the world – including Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, North Korea and Iran – must be lifted. All U.S. aid to apartheid Israel must immediately end. The CIA should be abolished, and its secrets exposed so the world knows the true extent of this agency’s crimes. The approximately $1 trillion that the U.S. taxpayers spend every year on war should instead be spent to address the dire crises facing working people. The price of key goods, especially gas, could be dramatically lowered if the suffocating economic sanctions the U.S. government imposes on countries around the world were lifted. Humanity needs a world order based on cooperation and peace, not domination and war.

All good. However, imperialism is not military presence and sanctions, it is the monopolization and export of finance capital abroad. The number of military bases, however large, is finite. What is much more infinite and pervasive is the US financial and commercial dominance over both the first and third world. An end to military presence abroad means little if the mechanisms of economic domination over the majority of the world still function.

End the war on black America: The struggle for Black freedom brought millions of people into the streets in 2020 in the most massive social movement in U.S. history. This enormous uprising was an outraged response to the fact that a war has been waged on Black America from the very foundation of the country – from slavery to segregation to systemic racism, including decades of neoliberalism and mass incarceration that have left the country even more unequal and segregated.

This is an okay analysis if you're a liberal in a 101 social studies class. However, anyone calling themselves socialist should not omit that the primary contradiction and inequality within capitalism is the worker-capitalist one. Slavery, segregation and systemic racism, however insidious they were/are, are still only a facet of capitalism. All of these crimes didn't happen because white people are evil (although for many white people it was enough just to hate black people), they happened because slavery meant superprofits for the slavers, and any manifestations of racism within the system appeared because it means dividing the working class, in this case through skin color.

It is not a war on black America, it is a war on the working class, and one of the capitalists' tactics is systemic racism.

Reparations and the rebuilding of Black communities are essential to fully address the consequences of this war. The seizure of the 100 largest corporations – many of which historically profited from slavery – will provide ample resources for cash payments along with huge investments in services and infrastructure.

Why just 100 corporations? Again, this goal has no actual basis, the only analysis that could have lead them to repeating this is "it sounds good". What quality of small businesses exactly prevents them from profiting from slavery? The wealth created by slaves is still very much present in your economy.

Reparations are a nice quick solution for the pervasive inequality of black and indigenous people in the US, but as I explained in places above, these inequalities can only be done away with if the system keeping them alive is destroyed and replaced with a communist one.

Along with reparations, we stand for a wide range of measures to comprehensively uproot the oppression of Black people. Affirmative action programs should be expanded, not shredded by unelected judges.

Affirmative action and positive discrimination is a patchy, temporary solution. Actually address what the root of the issue is.

Cops responsible for racist brutality should be given long prison sentences as an unmistakable signal that the era of impunity is over. We want to stop the white-washing of U.S. history under the guise of bans on “critical race theory” – all young people should understand the horrors of white supremacy and develop an appreciation for why racism must be eradicated from society. The transformation of the country’s healthcare system must include as a top priority sweeping action to eliminate the huge disparity in maternal mortality rates for Black women.

Good, I don't have anything to say that I haven't explained yet

Defend women's rights, full equality for LGBTQ people:

All points regarding affirmative action and positive discrimination that I have brought up in previous sections apply, I won't repeat myself unless there is something specific to this topic I want to address.

Abortion should be available without restrictions and provided for free so that women and all people have the right to control their own bodies. The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision was a historic blow to equal rights, but the court could not have done it without the help of decades of passivity on the part of the Democratic Party. The Democrats refused to take any of the many opportunities they had – including the period between the 2020 and 2022 elections – to pass a law at the federal level legalizing abortion. We need such legislation immediately, along with other measures to ensure abortion services are available on demand regardless of income. The epidemic of violence against women must be addressed as a top priority of society. This can only be achieved through a comprehensive approach involving programs to help women leave abusive situations, an end to impunity for crimes committed against women, and cultural campaigns to uproot sexist attitudes. The constitution must finally include a provision guaranteeing equal rights for women. We demand full equality for LGBTQ people in all areas of society and we demand to stop the right-wing scapegoating against LGBTQ people. We call to enact national legislation banning discrimination against LGBTQ people at the workplace and in all public and private institutions.

Again with the private institutions, see the worker democracy section. Nothing to add.

Save the planet from capitalism: To deal with the disastrous effects of the climate crisis, society must urgently transform the way we produce energy, grow food and move around the world. The main obstacle standing in our way is private profit, and the system that values quarterly revenue over the survival of human civilization. We can only take action at the scale and speed necessary to save the planet if the unplanned, capitalist economic system is replaced by socialist economic planning.

It's fine, but for the umpteenth time, they are using quippy lines which only cover parts of the entire problem. This program is designed to be shared through social media in screenshots, not as an actual analysis and proposal for the current situation. Please save this "system that values quarterly revenue over the survival of human civilization" thing for twitter threads and take yourself seriously.

Also, the sudden shift towards actually socialist policies is disorienting. As much as it's a breath of fresh air, I wonder how they plan on controlling the massive US economy through just 100 corporations. This is where language used to win a liberal election clashes with the actual things you want to do. If you don't represent a proletarian political line, and instead mimic that of the capitalists' parties, you are being useless.

Fossil fuel corporations should immediately be taken over by the public and repurposed to generate renewable energy. Capitalist agriculture is enormously wasteful, especially when it comes to water resources. The vast landholdings and technological resources available to the agribusiness corporations would be seized and turned over to farmers, who would implement a democratically-determined plan to reorganize food production on a sustainable basis.

And are these agribusinesses included in this top 100 of corporations? It's the same problem again. You cannot control an economy by seizing 100 corporations, no matter how big they are.

Public transportation will be massively expanded with a fleet consisting entirely of electric vehicles, and the huge scale of this undertaking will ensure that no autoworker will lose their job. Massive infrastructure projects need to begin immediately to make society more resilient to the changing climate while creating millions of good-paying jobs.

Where will you get the rare earth metals required to produce all of these batteries? The US doesn't have these deposits. It's the issue with limiting your definition of imperialism to military aggression, you get dissonances like these.

Anyhow, this was a long post. Overall, it's a progressive program and is infinitely better than what the DNC offers. However, it is severely lacking in many places. It gives off the impression of a really shallow critique of capitalism, one very close to staunch social-democrats like Bernie Sanders. Realistically, they are not going to win anything. For an actually communist party this wouldn't be a problem, since winning an election isn't the goal.

Being deeply familiar with how social-democrats act while in power (something any usamerican who hasn't lived a couple of election cycles outside can't say), I feel very confident in saying that, were this party to get a considerable amount of votes:

It would require them to drop the more "radical" aspects of the program, such as worker democracy. It is not unheard of for a social-democratic party to win an election with expropriation in the program. However, this is always followed by

A sudden shift away from radical language, replacing dynamics of opposition to the slow pragmatist characteristic of any left-leaning party in power in a liberal democracy.

For my usamerican comrades: vote for them if you want, but actual participation in liberal democracy will not achieve any victories for the working class. Organize, and build the Communist Party instead.

#real marxist hours #votesocialist2024 #this program is so annoying god

[ariel-seagull-wings]

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: EGON SPENGLER

Asked by @fleurviolettes​

@janeb984​

@spengnitzed @stantzed @bixiebeet @angelixgutz @thealmightyemprex @goodanswerfoxmonster @amalthea9 @themousefromfantasyland @professorlehnsherr-almashy @budcortfancam

Favorite Thing About Them: There was an excentric, always serious, socially awkward nerd character, played by a comedy actor who wasn't a big movie star like his screen colleagues Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis were, originally only meant to provide technological exposition, and he became the breakout character that audiences most strongly cared about. Egon Spengler showed viewers that just because we wored glasses, weren't muscular or trained in complicated martial arts, it didn't mean we couldn't be seen as heroes, even tough he initially decided to capture ghosts just hoping to earn a living like his friends. Also, while ocasionally awkward and a bit shy around women, he is never shown to be self hating. He talks with certainty about his scientificial knowledge, isn't much bothered by the teasing of friends like the more street smart Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore, and is shown that is because of his inteligence and seriousness that Janine Melnitz finds him atractive, without Egon ever needing to try becoming more "tough", "atletic", "cool", etc.

His lines about humans being like small bacteria are even complimented as romantic! There were moments where he would show an explosive temper, but its clear that its only in extreme circunstances where a dangerous treat is on the horizon and everyone's emotions are heated, and not before trying to present argumentations to better solve the problem first.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: Returning to a criticism I made on this post here, when the writers of Afterlife, a sequel made 37 years after the original film, decided to incorporate Harold Ramis death as a major plot influence, they also mixed the complicated personal life fact that Ramis was an absent parent to his second daughter for most of her life, wich was something he deeply regreted, into the character of Egon Spengler, using the cliche plot of a father who abandons his daughter without explanation (not even letting his friends know of her existence because she is suposed to be a "big reveal" even in universe) to fight the great scope villain, and get redeemed in the eyes of sayed abandoned daughter just because he is dead. That is not character growth, that is not a tribute to his creator, thaf is just cynical, unecessary melodrama (ignoring that the first was a comedy!) exploiting a complicated, painfull story of an actual, real family.

Three Things I Have In Common With Them:

* I wear large glasses;

* Like his portrayal in the live action movies and IDW licensed comics, my natural hair is dark brown and grows in agitated curls;

* I love chocolate treats;

Three Things I Don’t Have In Common With Them:

* I don't collect spores, molds and fungus;

* I alternate between physical and online books, so I would never say the phrase "Print is dead";

* I'm not born in the United States;

Favorite Line:

From the July 1983 Script Draft:

"I don't understand. What have I got?"

"And not a very precise one."

"I have trace PKE valences everywhere in the building and extremely high readings in the interior stacks."

"Good in what sense?"

"I'm patched into the Bell Labs computer in Boston. We should have an answer in a moment."

"I think we can catch one."

"I own an automobile."

"It's a 1957 Saab."

"Those are proton packs and that's a Nutrona wand. They're prototypes of new devices for putting proto-mater in stasis."

"It's 9.642.55 square feet."

"Not all of this is for the office telephones. I'm constructing a fiberoptic network to monitor microwave activity outside the commercial frequencies assigned to telephone and television transmission."

"This is amusing."

"What?"

"I think it's too early to tell."

"We're all animals, Venkman."

"Okay - It's ready."

"This is the proton pack."

"14.55 kilos."

"Thirty-two pounds."

"This is the Neutrona wand."

"I'm working on a self-contained version but for now we'll run off building current."

"Switch... ON."

"It's ready."

"I've heat shielded the entire pack and it's fully portable now. We'll each be capable of shooting an ion stream up to 12 feet. The stream will repel ectoplasm but have no effect in the physical enviroment. Ready?"

"Power!"

"Then we'll be virtually defenseless."

"Ecto-visors."

"GIVE ME TWO PURGES NOW!!"

"Don't worry. He isn't going anywhere. Now DON'T LET THE STREAMS CROSS BEHIND THE POINT OF INTERSECTION OR YOU'LL Q US ALL INTO THE TENTH DIMENSION."

"Easy... easy... open the trap now!!"

"DON'T LET THE PHOTON STREAMS GET NEAR THE NUTRONA BARS ON THAT TRAP!!"

"Watch it... watch it... now."

"It's getting crowded in there. We have to arrange some kind of spill-release system."

"I tought we'd be busy but I never expected this many. That's what bothers me. All my recent data points to something big on the horizon."

"I am Egon Spengler, human being of Earth, Master of Physics, Doctor of Philosophy. Greetings Vinz Clortho."

"Free him, Officer. I will speak with the Minion of Gozer."

"I like these dehydrated meals because they save time. And they have a long shelf-life."

"Could I ask you a feel questions, Vinz?"

"Vinz, how will Gozer come?"

"I want you to look at these pictures, Vinz, and tell me if you see Gozer or anything that looks like Gozer."

"If I were to deactivate the grid generator, the facility could no longer contain the high-concentration of valences inside. You can see what's inside trough the monitor if you wish."

"I've plotted the location of our 99 confirmed manifestations. Look at the pattern and where it fits. Over the tri-state region we have many heavy industries responsible for the destruction of ozonic and other atmospheric layers. The random mesh of microwaves from telephone and telecomunication senders acts as a lens increasing the focus of all the sun's dangerous gamma and U.V. rays which otherwise would be filtered out if the protective atmospheric layers had not been destroyed. These rays are being focused raw on a region under which there lies buried many thousands of tons of chemical and radioactive waste releasing stripped electrons into the atmosphere.

Finally, even a casual glance at the map reveals this region lies within an almost equilateral triangle having at its intersecting points the Indian River Plant in New York here, the Three Mile Island Facility in Pensylvania here, and the Sands Creek Reactor here... two of which we know are leaking hundreds of roentgens per hour."

From the September 1983 Script Draft:

"Oh! This is big, Peter. This is very big. There's definitely something here."

"Two reasons. First of all, I found trace PKE valances everywhere in the building and extremely high readings in the interior stacks."

"That was both of them."

"Incredible. She was stripping ions all over the place."

"We were right about the proton count, Stantz."

"Raymond and I are convinced that we can trap a ghost and hold it indefinitely."

"Just for your information, Ray, the interest payments alone for the first five years come to over $75,000."

"Print is dead."

"Is that a game?"

"I collect spores, molds and fungus."

"I think it's the food of the future."

"This is the Proton Pack, Peter. The only problem with it at the moment is that it could cause sterility."

"Yes, well, I'm working on that."

"Peter, trust me. We are about to make scientific history."

"Raymond, the plug."

"She's telling the truth - or at least she thinks she is."

"Or even a race memory, stored in the collective unconscious. And I wouldn't rule out clairvoyance or telepathic contact either."

"You're a Scorpio with your moon in Leo and Aquarius rising."

"I blame myself."

"We'd better adjust our streams."

"Something was definitely here."

"Were you recently in the bathroom?"

"The wet towels, residual moisture on your lower limbs and hair, the redness in your cheeks indicating..."

"When you were in the bathroom, did you notice anything that was yellow and unusually smelly?"

"Wait! Wait! There's something I forgot to tell you."

"Don't cross the beams."

"Trust me. It will be bad."

"It's hard to explain, but try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and finding yourself confined forever in another dimension."

"They're not guns. They're particle throwers."

"I couldn't do that. You might hurt someone."

"On Earth - no. But on Krypton we could slice him up like Oscar Mayer Bologna."

"Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. According to this morning's PKE sample, the current level in the city would be a Twinkie 35 feet long weighing approximately six hundred pounds."

"I just met the Keymaster. He's here with me now."

"Die in what sense?"

"I don't care. I see us as tiny parts of a vast organism, like two bacteria living on a rotting speck of dust floating in an infinite void."

"You have nice clavicles."

"Oh, shit!"

"If you don't shut up I'm going to rip out your septum."

"Of course! Ivo Shandor. I saw his name in Tobin's Spirit Guide. He started a secret society in 1920."

"After the First World War, Shandor decided that society was too sick to survive. And he wasn't alone. He had close to a thousand followers when he died. They conducted rituals, bizarre rituals, intended to bring about the end of the world."

"Sumerian -- not Babylonian."

"I don't believe in luck."

"Thank you."

"It's Shandor - the architect!"

"I think he's saying that since we're about to be sacrificed anyway, we get to choose the form we want him to take."

"Full-stream with strogon pulse."

"No! Them! Shoot them! Cross the beams. Cross the beams."

From the 1984 movie final cut:

"That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me."

"Ray, it's moving. Come on."

"This is hot, Ray."

"Raymond, look at this."

"Venkman, get a sample of this."

"I'd like to analyze it."

"I'm getting stronger readings here. This way."

"I wouldn't say the experience wasn't completely wasted. According to these new readings, I think we have an excellent chance of actually catching a ghost and holding it indefinitely."

"I'm always serious."

"I think this building should be condemned. There's serious metal fatigue in all the load-bearing members. The wiring is substandard. It's completely inadequate for our power needs. And the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone."

"I could look for the name Zuul in the usual literature."

"Tobin's Spirit Guide."

"Venkman, shorten your stream. I don't want my face burned off."

 "I looked at the trap, Ray."

 "I don't think he's human."

"Vinz, you said before you were waiting for a sign. What sign are you waiting for?"

"I think that would be extraordinarily dangerous."

"I'm warning you. Turning off these machines would be extremely hazardous."

"Try to understand. This is a high voltage laser containment system. Simply turning it off would be like dropping a bomb on the city."

"Clear the building!"

"Oh, come on!"

"Your mother!"

"The structure of this roof cap is exactly like the kind of telemetry tracker that NASA uses to identify dead pulsars in deep space."

"It's not the girl, Peter, it's the building. Something terrible is about the enter our world and this building is obviously the door."

"Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes! Volcanoes!"

"Art Deco. Very nice."

"It's Gozer."

"It's whatever it wants to be."

"Ray? This looks extraordinarily bad."

"Look out!"

"Sorry, Venkman. I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."

"I have a radical idea. The door swings both ways. We could reverse the particle flow through the gate."

"We'll cross the streams."

"Not necessarily. There's definitely a very slim chance we'll survive."

"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab."

"We'd like to get a sample of your brain tissue."

"Janine."

brOTP: His brother (Lionel in the novelization, Elon in the Earth Day TV Special), Eugene Visitor, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore, Dana Barrett, Tiyah Clark, Slimer, Buster, Louis Tully, Sherman Tully, Dytyllio, Walter Peck, Louise, Irena Cortez, Bryan Welsh, Kylie Griffin, Eduardo Rivera, Garrett Miller, Roland Jackson, Ilyssa Selwin, Jenny Moran, Dani Shpak, Lou Kamaka, Marie Laveau.

OTP: Janine Melnitz.

nOTP: Pink Mood Slime, Gozer.

Random Headcanon: Since Egon still consults literature about the supernatural (more famously Tobin's Spirit Guide) and the STEM fields, is believable that when he says the phrase "Print is dead", is not in the sense that he doesn't read anything and only uses TV and radio as sources of information (otherwise he would have failed academically) but in the sense that his only reading is preexisting titles for work research and he doesn't read new releases and/or literary fiction and poetry, compared to Janine.

Unpopular Opinion: As I commented on this post here, I don't imagine that his parents (specially his father) were complete cold monsters that despised the concept of love when prioritizing Egon and his brother's academic education. Maybe some fans mix his father's personality with Uncle Cyrus, an old, demanding and arrogang relative that appeared in the Real Ghostbusters animated series, but its more interesting to imagine that, while flawed, Egon's parents were still feeling human beings who genuinelly loved him and his brother and just tought that working hard to provide them with a good school education while sacrificing spending time with the children was their, understandable tough misguided, way of showing how much they cared.

Songs I Associate With Them:

Medic

The Gods Are Not Crazy

She Blinded Me With Science

Weird Science

I Believe in You and Me

Just The Way You Are

Time in a Bottle

Favorite Picture of Them:

Harold Ramis in the 1984 film

In the Real Ghostbusters animated series

 In the Extreme Ghostbusters animated series

In the IDW licensed comics

#fictional character ask #character ask meme #fleurviolettes #fandom musings #pop culture #ghostbusters 1984 #the real ghostbusters #extreme ghostbusters #ghostbusters novelization #idw ghostbusters #harold ramis #maurice lamarche #egon spengler #Youtube

[nohoperadio]

[this is responding to @wellmetmat's reblog of my aesthetic self-modifications post, I'm only quoting them in part so you should click and check out the whole thing if you wanna keep up. Replying like this to keep the thread from getting crazy long!]

Tattoos: I like the idea a lot. I like face/body-painting even more: not make-up, mostly, and not usually henna (blobby, a stain rather than a paint, almost a normal skin colour but a bit off, not glorious at all); but war-paint and costumes and body glitter under blacklights - gorgeous - and the tradition of children's face-painting at fairs, and getting, too rarely, to draw on people with coloured zinc cream by way of sun protection, and smearing my face and limbs with ochreous clay or ashes from a campfire, something I have a strangely recurrent urge to do and feel modern urban life is rather impoverished for lack of. I liked Darth Maul's appearance. I think most people look better in eyeliner, and would look even better again with their faces transformed into unearthly blue-black masks of woad and ashes, at least on special occasions.

This is cool there's lots of examples I wouldn't have thought to think about here! I'm gonna try to extract some takeaways about what the things you mentioned might bring to the table in contrast to tattoos and makeup, although I have little to no hands-on experience with most of it so tell me if this doesn't ring true:

I get the impression that the tactile element is important in several of these, as much as the visual element? Especially with "smearing my face and limbs with ochreous clay or ashes from a campfire" which feels like a very sensuously-motivated description, but possibly this is in play with the body-paint and war-paint too? I like this idea because it implies that the goal is a transformation where you can feel yourself changed, it's a more first-person kind of change than either makeup or tattoos where all the emphasis is on the visual effect, and therefore (perhaps?) implicitly on what other people perceive. You actively want to feel these things on your skin and feel how your body's different.

Is there an element of democracy that's important here? Tattoos/makeup are both things where there are high ceilings one can exploit both in terms of how much money you're willing to invest and how much skill you have available (with tattoos the skill part is outsourced to someone else, but still). Whereas with a lot of things on your list the materials are simple and relatively inexpensive, and the desired effect isn't particularly intricate or subtle and most people can achieve it for themselves untrained (I think!). This doesn't necessarily apply to face/body paint but I feel like it does to a lot of the other things.

There's also a quasi-ritual social aspect to some of these which I guess is somewhat connected to the previous point, I like that you've introduced the experience of being the "artist" of other people's modifications into the conversation, it's a nice contrast to my very I-centric post.

Despite that, I don't have any [tattoos]. Partly because of pain and needles (significant deterrents! I'm not brave), partly because as of last year I have a skin condition which can be pretty wretched and the thought of voluntarily seeking more skin misery for any reason at all is offputting (and I have a lot of little scars and discoloured patches from it now, and they look distressingly messy, and the addition of tattoos would probably increase the general look of shabbiness and disorder); and in the main because I'm very indecisive and slow to commit to anything.

Very reasonable to not want to put your skin through another ordeal when it's already been through a lot! I do think tattoos that incorporate scars and such as a basis for the design are one of the coolest uses for the technology, although I guess you mostly only hear about people who were lucky enough to get the kind of scar that sets up something good. (I mean "lucky" is obviously a wrong and borderline callous word but you know what I mean!)

I don't think I mentioned "reluctant to commit" in my bit about tattoos but yeah definitely a thought I always have when I think about tattoos is "how could I possibly know whether, ten years from now, I'll still be the kind of person who thinks this is a good idea?" I guess the positive spin to put on this is that I put a lot of value on leaving room to change one's mind and change one's feelings about everything, which I do genuinely think is a virtue. The negative/depressive spin on it is that at any given point in my life I've always felt like I have a lot of personal growth still to do before I'll be somebody I'm actually happy being, kind of as if my current identity is a provisional one that I hope will at some point be replaced with something better and more solid, and so making what's basically a small lifelong commitment while I'm still inhabiting the "provisional" self feels reckless. (Damn sorry wasn't expecting this paragraph to take that turn! I should clarify I'm doing pretty alright for the most part, my full-on depression days are long behind me now.)

-

All of your tattoo ideas sound awesome to me! The dandelion is particularly compelling, I like the idea of a tattoo that's expansive enough across the body that you can't necessarily easily see all of it at once, and it's a good example of a design that really uses the medium well, you couldn't get anything like the same impact with an ink drawing on paper.

I hadn't heard of a winter count, it's a very beautiful idea, I feel like I would stress too much about my years not containing enough significant events to come up with a summarizing icon though!

I don't think I need to tell you how much I approve of the pigeon.

-

Hey thanks for sharing this was fun! Fwiw chatter will always be welcome, I'd like to increase the amount of chattiness in my tumblr use in general, but more to the point I've always enjoyed your ( )-shaped thoughts whenever you've shared them so always feel free please!

#touched to learn that our hands have similar personalities also #the devil's policies to reverse unemployment disproportionately target certain idle hands it seems #wellmetmat #correspondence

[baradorable]

Name: Rift (Raymond Cruz) Age: Thirties Gender: Male Species: Human (Mutant) Occupation: Freelancer/Mercenary Allegiance: Krakoa (Former), Orchis (Former)

Art done by GeckoBara

This is my X-Men OC. Rift, AKA Raymond Cruz, is a mutant with the power to create portals. His abilities have made him a top asset for many groups. 

Personality

Rift is the "love 'em and leave 'em" type. Since he can always just use portals to leave any situation he wants, he's quick to ditch relationships and situations when things hit a rough patch. He does that with most situations, really. He's a mercenary, though he won't do anything he deems too evil, like kidnapping or murder. He's still willing to commit other crimes if they pay well. And given how useful his powers are, he makes sure to charge a lot for his services.

He's smart, charismatic, and able to analyze situations well. He's strategic. Which makes him dangerous. He has a competitive side, which can sometimes slip out on the field. If you're able to get him in the right mindset, you can get him to forget his carefully-crafted plans and possibly mess up.

Because he invested a lot of time in developing his powers, he's come up with a lot of strategies to fully exploit them. He knows his limits and potential well. He takes pride in his abilities and the need people have for them. So he gets jealous interacting with someone more powerful than him. His worst trait is that he'll try to one-up these people. In extreme cases, he might even try to sabotage them to bring them down. He's backstabbed some of his fellow mercs to ensure he comes out on top.

Part of this is a desire to be liked. He grew up in a very anti-mutant world, so he's used to being disliked for who he is. He secretly craves validation. Since he abandons people quickly, he struggles to form strong bonds. On the rare occasions he finds a serious relationship with someone, his jealousy and competitive often lead him to sabotaging anyone he sees as a threat to the relationship.

When he’s off-duty and walking around in his normal life, he takes on the persona of a shallow himbo.  He speaks in a flighty tone, seemingly misses big social cues, and freely speaks his mind in a way that can inadvertently hurt someone's feelings. He's cultivated the image of a in idiot for his own gain. It's a persona that allows him to have fun and avoid showing his true self; someone who strives to be perfect and beloved. After all, it hurts when people reject the real you. But if they reject the mask you put on - the act that doesn't represent the real you - then there's no harm done.

TL;DR: He's smart and hot. He's flaky and possessive. But he's hot, so it's okay. He's a good guy. He's just not a nice guy.

Backstory

Rift is American. His mother immigrated from Ireland in the mid or late '80's. His dad was born in America, but I haven't decided where his family is from. I'm thinking Portuguese, just for some self-indulgence. But also because Marvel doesn't have any Portuguese heroes at the moment.

His powers activated when he was 14, and he would spend the next several years working on developing his powers. He'd frequently ditch school or home, due to anti-mutant sentiment held by the people around him. He ended up developing some prejudices towards humans.

He ended up making a business out of transporting people around. Think Uber, but faster and with more range. Once word of his powers got around, various organizations began to seek him out. Rift would eventually parlay into full freelance mercenary and spy work.

Here's my idea of how he fits into the Marvel universe. You can ignore this if you don’t follow X-Men continuity.

He was one of the mutants depowered by M-Day, but came to Krakoa and got resurrected to get this powers back. His natural prejudice towards humans made him predisposed to liking the nation, and he was willing to lend his services to X-Force in order to help mutants.

However, the Five were very hesitant to remove his secondary, eye-based mutation; one he always kept hidden out of resentment and disgust. Many other mutants insisted the should keep his extra eyes and take pride in being different. Empty platitudes that he found patronizing. So he left and continued his work as a freelancer.

He ended up coming across Orchis, who would hire him on to spy on Krakoans and allow them to move around the world without notice. Orchis is an organization made up of people from several groups (S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., HYDRA, etc.) to deal with the threat of humans becoming extinct and supplanted by mutants. 

While he knew they were anti-mutant, He was unaware just how anti-mutant they actually are. They paid well, so he could stand to put up with them if he got something out of it. And it put him in conflict with other mutants, so he'd always have the opportunity to test his powers. 

Of course, come Fall of X, they inevitably betrayed him and every other mutant. He was on a mission to Arakko during the third Hellfire Gala, thus avoiding most of the chaos. Once he heard about how Orchis attacked Krakoa, he fled to deep space and stayed there for a few months.

After Fall of X, he returned to Earth. He hated humans even more after they supported Orchis’ anti-mutant tactics. But he also hated the X-Men, since they and the leaders of Krakoa let the only sanctuary for mutants fall.

Job

He's a "freelancer" (read: mercenary) who works with various groups. His official codename is Rift, but for various business-related reasons, he's also known by several aliases: Bluebird, Luscinia, Luzon, Cardinal, Ripple, and Thrush.

He'll use a different name to obscure his identity, or know what kind of group is hiring him. For example, one criminal organization calls him Cardinal. Anyone who calls him by that name is likely associated with that organization. The NYPD know him as Luscinia.

He has different ways for people to contact him, and the type of name they use for him tells him what kind of work they have in mind, or who's hiring him. The goal is to keep everything separate, & being able to filter what kind of job he chooses to accept. (It's actually a lot more complex than having different phone numbers, but I'm giving you the simplified take.)

He doesn't kill, and he avoids directly harming innocent people. Spying, stealing information and theft are okay though.

Portal Power

Rift’s main power is to create portals, which he uses to spy on others, transport people, smuggle things, or create diversions. He rarely fights people directly; instead, he uses his powers to mess with the field. When creating a portal, one will open up close to him, and will connect to a portal that will appear at his desired location. His range is about 15,000 km. He can't access other dimensions through his power, but he can teleport around a dimension he's currently in.

His powers require him to see a location in front of him, or to have been there before. Otherwise, his powers "guess" the location, and open a portal to a completely random location on the planet, usually within two thousand miles of his current location. His power is also location-based, not person-based; he can't specifically try to find a person unless he knows their exact location. So no thinking of Spider-Man and trying to catch him at home.

These portals, once opened, can exist independently of Rift. He usually wills them to close instantly after he uses them, and can choose for how long they remain open Otherwise, they close after about two minutes, regardless if they're used. The portals can be any size, as long as they fall under 24 feet in diameter; they can't grow beyond that to accommodate travel for larger opens or things. There are no limits as to how many people can go through.

The number of portals active depend on their size. So he can create a lot of small, hand-sized portals at once, but only two 12 foot portals. Distance has no affect on his ability to make portals, though firing off too many portals in rapid succession will tire him out.

A cool side-effect of his portals is they won't bring anyone to a place that's impossible to visit. You can't be brought to the inside of a solid object, or in an area too small for one to logically fit. The powers can drop you into the ocean, but they won't place you inside a whale or trap you halfway through a statue. Because of this limitation, Rift can't open up a portal inside your guts, or force you through a portal into a chest at the bottom of the sea.

Other Notable Techniques

Moo-neuver: He opens a portal and lets stampeding cattle run over his opponents.

Torrent: Opens a portal to somewhere in the ocean, shooting forth a torrent of water at a target.

Smokescreen: By opening a portal above a factory chimney, he blasts his opponent with smoke.

Perfect Aim: If he has a firearm, he can open up one portal at the top of his gun, and and another in front of the target. By sending the projectile through the portal, he’s almost guaranteed to hit his target and avoid anything getting in the crossfire.

Black Hole: A theory, one he hasn’t tested out. What happens if you open a portal inside another portal? Or if two portals open into each other? Can two locations exist in the same place, at the same time? This results in neutron degeneracy pressure, where the rifts collapse in on each other to create a black hole. 

Scatter Slap: A secret technique he hasn’t discovered yet. He can touch something and open up countless tiny portals on a molecular level, getting in-between a person’s molecules/atoms/whatever the hell. This would let him instantly scatter someone or something across the world with his powers. Instant vaporization.

Secondary Mutation

He has another mutation: red eyes that grow on his arms. They're basically like tattoos, but become actual eyes when exposed to enough direct sunlight. The more sunlight his body gets, the more eyes appear. His skin will also turn red, and the eyes on his face will turn red, and gain black sclera. They can blink and look around independently, but he currently has no control over them, nor can he see through them.  Without sunlight, he begins to revert to his usual state. 

He's ashamed of this mutation, so he always covers up. 

He doesn't know it, but should he let his second mutation run its course, he'll be able to see from all of these eyes at once. If someone makes eye contact with them, the eyes can temporarily "steal" their sight, giving Rift the ability to see through that person's eyes. Meanwhile, that person now sees from one of the eyes on Rift's body. It's a very disorienting power.

His primary power is about escaping and providing his own personal freedom. His secondary power is about trapping others and taking things away from them. I feel like it's a good metaphor for his personality: he's flexible and living his best life, but has a sinister, controlling side that even he isn't fully aware of.

Trivia

Time for some fun

He’s bisexual. He leans more towards women, romantically. He leans towards men, sexually.

Claims to be a top, since one-upping and dominating others is his thing. But he’s actually verse top.

Has used his powers during sex.

He’s definitely a dom in bed. Very kinky, very in control. But sometimes, with the right partner, he’s can turn into the biggest sub you can imagine.

He used to have casual sex with a human friend who admired his eye-based mutation. That something Rift hated about himself was beautiful to him. This friend took Mothervine to try and force a mutation in himself, but would end up dying from the result. As he was dying, Rift broke him out of the hospital so they could spend their final moments at their favorite beach.  

Expert frotter.

He’s a quarter fairy. He has the potential to learn magic, but doesn’t know it. I like to imagine this magic would let him access Otherworld, or other dimensions.

#barannoying

[itsclydebitches]

Ever think about RWBY's weapons? Ruby's is a harvesting tool - she reaps Grimm to protect Remnant's eco-system. Weiss's rapier is the only non-transformative weapon and relies on her inherited Semblance and the resources her family exploited their employees to mine. Blake's weapon is versatile as she's internalised all the different ways of social protest but we never see this. And Yang's weapon is also her hand, implying a potential for violence and kindness but we never really explore this.

God yes -- I particularly like the first two readings. RWBY barely explores this, but what little we see of Patch appears a) fairly isolated (a small island) and b) full of forest with residents possibly getting by on personal/communal farms. Is it common then for Signal students, when given the opportunity to design their own weapons, to adapt their farming tools into deadly resources? Is Ruby nodding at Oscar’s throwaway comment about running the occasional grimm off with farm equipment like yeah, of course, those of us outside the major cities have always had to rely on whatever is on hand to keep ourselves safe. Uncle Qrow modeled his weapon after the Grimm Reaper, and I modeled mine after his, but Maria (or whoever inspired her) first adapted their everyday tools into a serviceable weapon. And we’ve been improving them ever since until we got “one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed.” We harvest grimm, cutting through them as quickly, efficiently, and in as large swaths as our crops.

Don’t get me started on how the ENTIRETY of Weiss’ style is tied to her family, so where does her desire to gain distance from her parents end and the love/determination to improve the Schnee name begin? She uses a rapier (elegant, sophisticated, associated with showy, formal combat more than “real” fighting) that she rarely ever uses to cut/stab with, instead relying on the dust mechanism because -- you guessed it -- her family owns the major dust company. She never runs out because of a combination of exploitation and the story forgetting that the characters need to buy supplies on occasion... But even that’s now taken a backseat to her genetically inherited semblance that she was instructed to unlock partly to escape her family. That's a loaded dilemma. Weiss’ go-to move is summoning up enemies she’s defeated, literally dredging up the past when she’s trying to move forward, even if these are technically celebratory moments.

RWBY’s weapons have SO many awesome themes and implications just hanging out on the surface, unexplored. Why isn’t Blake’s weapon versatile in the sense of coming from multiple, diverse communities? She’s a member of the faunus elite AND a former White Fang member AND an activist AND she grew up “outside of the kingdoms” AND she’s chosen a “normal” huntsmen route by attending Beacon. Why isn’t Yang’s weapon a part of her (now forgotten...) journey to improve her emotional control, with Tai pointing out that yeah, your style boils down to, “Punch the thing really hard in anger”? What are Jaune’s thoughts on changing an ancient weapon/shield to honor his fallen partner? How did Nora wind up with a hammer (because the characters don’t know they’re flimsily based on historical/mythological/fairy tale archetypes)? Will Ren use his father’s dagger in combat, or is it purely ceremonial now? Why is Qrow’s weapon inspiration reduced to a single line in Volume 6? Shouldn’t he be begging Maria for stories and advice? I love the contrast of our youngest character now carrying a cane, but no one ever comments on it. Does anyone have iffy associations given that a well known criminal (Roman) was using the same? Much more importantly imo, Oscar expresses no desire to have his own weapon, or discover his own semblance, despite supposedly trying to hang onto his identity. Penny got all of ten minutes with her Maiden-summoned swords. Blake’s weapon snaps and it’s just casually fixed off screen. Will the weapons lost to the Wonderland void be given any more attention? At this point I doubt it.

And yeah, as always, in another story this stuff would be purely cosmetic. Cool headcanons! But the show doesn’t have to get into all that. RWBY though is based around the combat and right from the start emphasized the importance of the characters’ weapons. From Ruby considering them more interesting than the people who carry them, to Jaune being the only one walking around with a hand-me-down, all the way to the fact that they need these weapons to survive every episode, you’d think they’d be at the forefront of our characterization... yet we don’t even know most of their names in-canon.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[thearchertheprey]

yes hello id like 2 hear ANYTHING u have to say about mayple's friendships!!! OR....OR. if u have anything on unova or sinnoh thatd be neat 👀

oh my goodness thank you i've been waiting for this. i'm using this as an excuse to talk about lisia. sorry if you were expecting otherwise but we need to talk about lisia. we need to. it's time.

if you didn't know this about me i am absolutely fascinated with the psych and sociology behind the entertainment industries, child stars, and what alyson stoner calls the "toddler to trainwreck industrial pipeline". lisia and the maple twins are three representations (of many) of how fame can fundamentally change a child's life

fino disappears from the public eye shortly after calming groudon, leaving hoenn to build an idealized legacy for him (he gets better)

may is poorly received from the beginning due to the love people have for fino, creating a highly tumultuous adolescence with multiple public fights and breakdowns (she gets better)

lisia is........... LOL still struggling. lisia spends her whole adolescence being controlled by contracts, and internalizes her stress & trauma while keeping up a good public image. only well into her 20s does she start talking about how industry life affected her. she's still very much in the process of unpacking her life and finding her identity

lisia befriends fino and may entirely separate from one another, and their friendships with lisia is basically the only thing they have in common until they're adults. both of them offer a compassionate and empathetic perspective to lisia's struggle, and provide a private space for her to be herself and not worry about how she's perceived. lisia's relationships with the twins are supportive, earnest friendships in a sea of people who want to exploit and profit off of her -- they are the core reasons for her coming out triumphant over the idol industry.

fino loved contests before he became a Hero (TM) -- when he disappears, he still makes time for lisia, and encourages her efforts to break free and be her own person. they start writing songs together. may doesn't gel with contests, but they're inseparable friends who keep each other grounded during a time when all eyes are on them. lisia starts to see may as the only person who understands her. it's a little charming. then her managers tell her may is a bad influence and forbid them from hanging out -- then it's a LOT charming. women love bad bitches etc etc. may is not a lyrical collaborator, but she is, unknown to anyone but lisia, a muse.

anyway may & fino growing into competent adults with strong senses of identity is the catalyst for lisia to break her contracts when she turns 18 and start thinking about who she is when she's not putting on a public performance. fino helps her to "disappear" for a while to focus on herself. she falls in love with her culture & heritage, and starts training under wallace to succeed him as the keeper of the origin temple. she starts training with may, and eventually takes up wallace's mantle as sootopolis gym leader. she starts forming her own social circle, but may and fino are always close to her heart.

she's done with performing, but is a stronger and more successful songwriter than ever, selling multiple #1 hits to other artists. then she starts publishing her own albums -- rich, storytelling-based concept albums exploring hoenn mythology and modern archetypes. no longer a doll controlled by the industry, lisia becomes an independently-published poet, finally recognized for her own merit and allowed to create the art she wants. longtime fans love her intense ballads about the industry, about falling from pedestals, about being kept in music boxes and patched with superglue. critics praise her folktale-inspired collections, reimagining ancient sootopolitan stories about heroes of old. international youth hear a totally fictional concept album about a young trainer with the world on her shoulders and the rival that follows her all the way to victory road, and they make it a cult classic.

also wallace and steven are epic fucking divorced and she's the driving force behind getting them back together and remarried. she is 100% puppeting fino and may in order to orchestrate this. this is funny to me and toki only because they have a huge wedding, and the only time fino ever openly communicates is when he's schwasted

lisia was booboo bananas infatuated with may for like all of their adolescence. it's NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE i hate love triangles. she moved on from it a long time ago and there are no issues in their friendship. but fino LOVES embarrassing people with stupid moments from their childhood. it's his god-given duty. ESPECIALLY if it's going to ruin may's night

#mapleverse #rov art #may maple #brendan serafino maple #lisia olea #brendan birch #maybelle birch #sorry if u were hoping i would talk about other people. i have lisia brainrot this week.

[dcviated]

@rfn-margot sent: New icon inspires an ask for a new season; how is Raguna handling the weather? All those leaves all over the farm and home? (And town?)

Rune Factory is a great farm sim but like all games in its genre simplifies a lot of… things. Whether it’s the fact there’s not a single bathroom in the RF series that you can see or the quizzical state of technology. On the one hand we’re magic-wielding backwater towns and on the other we have airships and flamethrower tanks. What is it? Where even are we??? I’m reaching for concrete foundations from which to build up my own version of this world and left with so many choices I feel like I’m building my own world entirely.

Well. That’s fine.

All this a preamble for me to get into… there’s a fuckton of trees around Kardia and Trampoli. Fall comes around and we don’t have to do any raking? Are you kidding? The only person who gets an excuse is Micah in RF3 farming under a tree and I guess Ares in RF5 with the dragons up in the air… There’s gonna be leaves. Neither town Raguna has lived in are windy enough that he’d escape the wrath of leaves. But! I think he’d enjoy it! It’s busy work, sure- but there’s going to be at least one or two monster helpers with him that play in those leaves. And that brings much needed laughter to our solitary farmer. Because he needs socializing and doesn’t always get much prior to marriage.

Raguna isn’t immune to jumping into leaf piles himself. The guy can be silly, especially when people aren’t there to watch. This can and should be exploited by an ask or someone or something I am asking anyone reading this to take advantage of it and !! You know!! Don’t make me spell it out.

As for the weather? Thriving. I was actually going to make a post about this as I’ve made in the past, that despite being a spring lad and that being his favorite the fall is not too far behind. Summer has its benefits. Winter brings its reprieves. Spring brings the work drive and readiness to develop but … Autumn is a time of settling and savoring. Whether it’s the shift of climate into more temperate ranges or the resurgence of the seasonal tastes that are oh so appealing not just to enjoy but to make for others who enjoy.

Raguna particularly enjoys those soft warm evenings with a hot mug of something spiced to drink. Sitting on the porch and listening to the growing wind whistle through the branches or brush the tips of the plants through the fields. He’s a reflective person and this is something you can do in any season, sure. But it’s the drink that makes it. A drink you can savor best when you feel the chill just start to pull at your skin.

The cooler weather also brings with it warmer clothing. We’ve only seen Raguna in his one outfit (two others if you count the wedding scenes) but I 100% believe he is someone who likes wearing warm hats, scarves, and layers when he’s working outside. Compared to the hot season he’s escaping; this lets the lad actually break into his wardrobe! Okay, not too dramatic. Raguna isn’t stylish by any stretch, but he does have clothes and familiar pieces he likes to wear. Soft wool-lined pieces. Collars. What have you. COMFORT. COMFY.

Also sweaters. Girls wearing sweaters? Maybe that’s my bias.

Oh yeah. And Raguna grows a pumpkin patch to give to people to carve for the season!

He’ll carve some too! They look silly! Not very scary!

And he absolutely adores the markets and festivals.

But he doesn’t do the drinking thing still.

Anything else I’m forgetting? Hm.

#rfn-margot #inbox :: answered hc #muse :: raguna #its almost time... #also a great ask to receive #we both are thriving today aren't we #also yes I am repping the RF icon

[patrocles]

Its so entertaining to me when people are adamant she led him to his death cuz why would she do that? She’s having his kid, she would be leading the high life if the greens won the war, even if just as his mistress. Unlike aegon and daemon, we never hear about his sexual exploits either. He’s too busy hating on Strong bastards until he meets alys and then suddenly its “my alys, my lady” what a loser (affectionately) aemond wandering through harrenhal, running into alys having late night convos

Yeah it really really does not make sense for her to do that since Aemond would have been the only person to validate their kid as being his?? And she would have greatly benefitted more from him being alive even if she was just "using" him? Again, we're running on the assumption that her motivations were revenge-based (for the strongs, which lol, and also for luke who she didnt even know?) It's just dumb!

I do think that is incredibly interesting with Aemond though, even in the book the only thing we know about his relationship to women is that he kept the eye patch on to not scare the girls. Which is just.... sad and sweet. With him being 19 and not having a betrothal before the war started, it does make you wonder if he ever wanted to marry at all? He is still a person with a disability in a world where that kind of thing severely impacts your relationships to other people, and the only thing that generally prevents total social isolation is class and privilege. So you have to wonder if he would have ever married if the war didn't happen, if it wasn't politically necessary to do so.

And really? I can see show!Aemond especially maybe never marrying if the war didn't happen. Even if he had the choice. Like sure dress it up about wanting to stick to tradition (incest) because heritage and pure blood and all of that stuff he's been engrained to believe. But the truth of it is likely a profound sense of isolation because of his disability and whatever happened in that brothel when he was 13 likely giving him a traumatizing sense of sexual identity. If, at a pivotal age of pubescence, someone made him feel hideous and monstrous because of his eye, that probably calcified isolation in his mind that that's how he'll always be perceived in the eyes of others.

And then the second he leaves the family home and gets away from everything he was brought up to believe about himself and his cultural identity, he falls in love like immediately. It's so funny and also tragic in a way. Someone so high strung and hardline as him, all it took was Alys looking at him in the face and not looking disgusted and horrified and he spent every subsequent night daydreaming and sighing like the cringefail lewseur (affectionate) he is

#alysmond #anon

[clove-pinks]

cactus ⇢ something you’re currently learning (about)?

I did not actually reblog the ask game in question, in case anyone goes looking for it on my blog, but I will answer this one anyway also I’m avoiding the final editing of a paper for a class.

Many things that I’m currently learning about are shared here! I revived this blog in 2019 as I began my Captain Marryat/Napoleonic Wars/War of 1812 era, so there’s a lot about that, and also in the past few years my interest in historical men’s fashion has gotten a lot more focused and intense. Gavarni is absolutely a recent interest, and sometimes I feel like I always have a program running in the background of my mind where I wonder about how debtors’ prison affected him or marvel at the adorable way he drew cute kids; the man was truly a genius. I want to touch his fluffy hair and get him a nicotine patch.

As far as things that I am currently learning about that don’t get a lot of airtime here: the Atlantic World/transatlantic slave trade, which is also very much connected to all the imperialism and military history that I more openly discuss. It’s such a major foundation of the world we inhabit today—the violence and exploitation and how we think about race and racialized people. I am deeply fascinated and horrified and honestly don’t know how to process some of the connections (not really lighthearted social media material).

#asks #shaun talks #me to myself: why are my special interests always horrifying #at least paul gavarni did nothing wrong

[socksfromroblox]

Roblox - a multi million dollar gaming platform with an unjust moderation problem

I have been playing Roblox for about a year and a lot of questions about their moderation has been coming up in my head for the longest time. Their platform, compared to that of EPIC Games, Rockstar Games, and many other big companies, has fallen behind on moderation, putting user safety and civility at risk. However, many innocent users are getting falsely reported and thus, falsely moderated.

This has become a problem for over a year, and nothing was resolved since. However, this unprofessional situation continued as the multi million dollar company expanded their platform with new exciting features, rather than taking safety and security into consideration when updating their site. It was fairly easy to tell by these Tweets.

I never thought, however, that this could happen to me, until recently.

Roblox recently gave me a warning less than an hour ago for an item that I uploaded at least one year prior, and deleted it from the marketplace, costing me a 10 Robux source of income for the marketplace. I had to update my Roblox game, which provided the item as an updatable asset.

The item on the top left of the image above is similar to the one right next to it, except it is a different color. Unfortunately, it is no longer on sale, as it has been moderated only recently. Roblox's Terms of Service never clarified that bodysuits were banned off the platform, and there was no warning prior to uploading the item. At this point, I have reason to believe someone may have mass reported it, resulting in its removal from the platform. I have not received a single refund of any kind.

Earlier, I had tweeted a couple of screenshots showing an item that was moderated upon uploaded, which looked obviously similar to my latest red latex bodysuit, which did get approved earlier when I uploaded it onto Roblox as a decal, which thankfully, is free to upload. However, the red bodysuit had a similar appearance and was approved by Roblox, while this was declined and moderated. However, this is not compared to the cherry red bodysuit mentioned earlier.

At this point, I am completely done with uploading classic clothing and will eventually take all my clothing off sale eventually. This is the end of an era where I sell clothes for Robux, as I explore other options for monetization. However, it gets even worse for people who have Voice Chat on Roblox

As shown in the Tweets, people are also getting banned from Voice Chat for things that did not even violate the Community Standards, because apparently, the moderators do not review the audio recordings properly, and instead, take action against all accounts that were reported, regardless of whether these reports were legitimate.

Roblox actually got sued because of their massive scamming problem as well. This goes to show how serious the problem is, and how easily other companies could potentially earn more money from the company. It takes only the slightest act to get someone banned.

The Crosswoods incident is another example of the risk Roblox moderation has been taking in falsely banning users. However, these exploits were later patched and the hackers behind this case were hardware banned. However, similar exploits were popping up on the platform. It takes no time to see how this situation played out.

Bear in mind that this happened more than a year ago. This was posted by LordCowCow (aka greenlegocats), a YouTuber who posted Roblox news on social media. This incident caused outrage in the community up to the point where Roblox had to take legal action against the hackers behind it. The backlash against the company could have been avoided, had they taken action against the hackers immediately upon becoming aware of it.

With similar exploits appearing on Roblox, this company has not resolved the issue with voice chat bans, and the mass reporting situation continues, although primarily not as rampant. With similar exploits appearing on Roblox, this company has not resolved the issue with voice chat bans, and the mass reporting situation continues, although primarily not as rampant.

I remember earlier when ChloeGames uploaded a video on YouTube talking about Voice Chat bans.

At this point, Roblox moderation has crossed the line. It seems the company violates Amendment 1 of the Constitution by prohibiting free speech, simply banning users for just using voice chat, rather than complying with that amendment by reviewing reports before taking any action at all. In reality, voice chat is basically unusable at the moment.

#roblox moderation #roblox #Youtube

[kuldeepgaur]

7 Steps To Protect Yourself Against Corporate Spear Phishing

Corporate spear phishing attacks are a serious threat to businesses of all sizes. These targeted attacks are designed to trick employees into divulging information or installing malware on corporate systems, putting the organization at risk of data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage. To protect yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks, it is important to be aware of the risks and take proactive steps to secure your accounts and devices. By following the 7 steps outlined above - being vigilant, using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, keeping software up to date, using a VPN, and participating in regular security training - you can reduce the risk of falling victim to these types of attacks.

Phishing:

Phishing is a type of cyberattack where an attacker tries to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, or other personal information. 

This is typically done through emails, text messages, or other forms of communication that appear to come from a legitimate source, such as a bank, a social media platform, or an e-commerce site.

Phishing attacks can be sophisticated and difficult to detect, but there are some common red flags to look out for, such as misspellings, unfamiliar senders, urgent requests, and generic greetings instead of personalized ones.

Steps To Protect Corporate Spear Phishing Attacks:

Corporate spear phishing attacks are a type of targeted phishing attack that targets specific individuals or groups within an organization. Here are seven steps you can take to protect yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks:

Be aware of the risks: Understand the risks associated with corporate spear phishing attacks, including the potential loss of sensitive information or financial resources.

Stay vigilant: Be aware of any suspicious emails or messages that request sensitive information or appear to come from a trusted source. Double-check the sender's email address, as well as any links or attachments included in the message.

Use strong passwords: Use strong, unique passwords for all of your accounts, and avoid using the same password across multiple accounts. Consider using a password manager to help keep track of your passwords.

Enable multi-factor authentication: Enable multi-factor authentication on all of your accounts, including your corporate accounts. This adds an additional layer of security and makes it more difficult for attackers to gain access to your accounts.

Keep your software up to date: Make sure that your computer and software are up to date with the latest security patches and updates. This can help to prevent attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities.

Use a VPN: Use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your internet traffic and protect your online privacy. This is particularly important when accessing corporate networks or using public Wi-Fi.

Get regular security training: Participate in regular security training and awareness programs to learn about the latest phishing techniques and best practices for protecting yourself against these types of attacks.

How temp mail is used to protect yourself against corporate spear phishing:

Temporary email services also known as “temp mail”, can be useful in protecting your personal email address from spam and other unwanted messages.

But, they may not be useful tool for protecting yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks.

This is because many corporate spear phishing attacks are designed to specifically target high-level executives or employees with access to sensitive information or financial resources, and are often customized to appear as legitimate as possible. 

Instead, to protect yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks, it is important to follow best practices such as using strong and unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and being vigilant about suspicious messages or requests. 

Conclusion:

Protecting yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks is critical to safeguarding your personal information and the assets of your organization. These targeted attacks can be devastating and difficult to detect, as they often use sophisticated social engineering techniques to trick employees into divulging sensitive information or installing malware on corporate systems.

By taking proactive steps to secure your accounts and devices and staying vigilant against suspicious messages or requests, you can reduce the risk of falling victim to corporate spear phishing attacks and help to protect your organization's valuable assets and information.

FAQS:

What is corporate spear phishing?

Corporate spear phishing is a type of targeted cyber attack where an attacker sends personalized messages to employees within a specific organization, often using social engineering techniques to trick them into divulging sensitive information or installing malware on corporate systems.

How can I protect myself against corporate spear phishing?

 To protect yourself against corporate spear phishing attacks, it is important to follow best practices such as using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, keeping software up to date, using a VPN, and participating in regular security training.

#cybersecurity #phishing #temp mail