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ruvatia · 3 years

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Sorry if this is a bit much with everything going on, but could I request a scenario where the Paladins + Matt & Lotor have a black s/o and they’re scared abt everything that’s happening in their country and are sad that racial injustice is happening? I’ve been rlly worried the past few days, but if this is smth too uncomfy I understand ;w; Thank you 💖💖💖

This got really long, I apologize but I turned it into half-headcanons with just the main paladins-- i apologize for not doing all the characters you’ve mentioned, but I don’t think they would fit all in a single post anyways www

On another note I hope you and every other reader take good care of their mental health; it’s important to be aware of what’s going on but it’s also important to be in the right mindspace to be able to tackle everything that’s being shared. It’s pain that’s been boiling for a very long time and there is absolutely no shame in taking some downtime to recover before heading back into current issues.

SHIRO:

If you were saddened, Shiro would suggest that maybe you switch to something else; if there was something that he knows will distract you and temporarily have you be a little more at ease, he’d do that!

But also maybe add a little twist-- extra soft blankets (fresh out of the oven! Screw the bills you’re worth it), extra cheese on your favorite dish, whatever it is that can make your smile a little wider, bigger or brighter just let him know!

Would give you hugs if you asked, but usually Shiro pets your head and brushes your cheek for comfort

He also does this when he wants to ask something of you, but thats another story

Why the TV was still on was a mystery to you, you’d stopped listening a long time ago. Your partner besides you noticed, and you felt the hand around your shoulder tighten his grip a little, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Hey, maybe we should watch something else?” he asked softly, brushing your cheek with his hand. “I can’t really listen to this anymore.”

“Yeah… Sure.” you replied, though it felt like an automated response more than your actual opinion.

“Okay, I’ll switch to that weird show Pidge recorded the other day, we agreed to watch it, right?” he replied, quickly grabbing the remote to change the program.

The first episode started playing, but the moment that it did, you felt cold as Shiro left your side.

“Where are you going?” you asked, your interlaced fingers the only thing keeping him close.

“Ah, I thought I’d make us something. We both kinda skipped dinner….”

He’d thought about putting something together that you’d like, maybe order dessert to surprise you but seeing the look on your face, leaving your side was the hardest thing to do right now.

So he gave in, and your both fell asleep until the doorbell rang with your delivery.

KEITH:

I have this headcanon that Keith isn’t very good with physical touch but after the end of voltron and after enough time of humanitarian relief, he learns how important it is for someone that’s in a specific state of mind

So the best he has to offer when his words fail is physical touch

Over your time together he’s learned what you need depending on your mood, and it helped him out lots when you were more vocal about it-- if anything he liked it when you asked for things that he could easily deliver, he’d do anything to see you smile

A hand came over your phone screen, Keith’s fingers lacing into yours and making you drop the device onto the crevices of the sofa.

“Why did you--”

“You’ve been staring at that thing for the past hour, biting at your nails.” he said in a worried tone. “That’s enough. We’re going to bed.”

“But it’s just--”

“We’re going to bed.” he repeated in a harsher tone, lifting you off your seat.

Keith sat down onto the bed first, pulling you into him. You both fell onto the bed, Keith quickly pulling the covers over your shoulders before his arms came around you.

“My alarm is my phone.”

“That’s nice, but we both know we have nothing to do tomorrow.” he replied right away, making you chuckle.

“Keith…” you called, your hands sneaking up to his face.

You brushed away some of his hair from his face as he gave you a complicated expression, unable to reflect the small smile you wore. He knew things were shit outside, that being apart from your family and other loved ones was a toll on both you and that lately negative thoughts have plagued you more often than not but Keith, despite his good intention was still somewhat of an awkward man.

“Thank you.”

He kissed you in reply and you both left it at that, glad that he had someone like you to meet him halfway.

LANCE:

Lots of hugs the moment he feels something is off with you

Will be a brat™ for the sole purpose of distracting you, bET

I feel like post-series Lance tries his best to be as observant as Allura and tries to understand others better-- but it didn't take a genius or incredible empath to know why your eyes looked like they were about to overflow at the sight of the news.

I’d like to think that Lance, with a big connected family is one of the paladins that very easily gets what you’re going through, wouldn’t be surprised he’s been called one or two things in his past either

That being said it doesn’t mean that he completely understands your personalized struggles with racial injustices that you encounter everyday; as another minority himself + coming from a culture and upbringing that might be different than yours, its a very different experience.

Memories flooded as the news anchor spoke about “lootings” and as you scrolled down your feed to see feeble attempts at sympathy from local peacekeepers. You sigh and retweet another thread, only to find something equally as shocking right after. You stopped commenting in quote retweets a while ago, you felt like you were constantly repeating that none of this was okay and that a reform was desperately needed. Rather than typing out your thoughts you typed out your name, address and email over and over again, signing one petition after the other.

Hearing sigh after sigh, Lance eventually put an arm around your shoulder. He startled you, but his soft voice made both your shoulders and your guard lower.

“Hey, do you want to make a midnight snack with me? I’m getting kinda hungry.”

“What about that new rule we were talking about? Not eating 4 hours before we went to bed?”

“Every diet has one or two cheat days, don’t they?” he replied, kissing one of your eyelids. “Come on, I’m sure your neck is sore from being like that for so long.”

In the end you both made some soul-food until a food-coma knocked you out until tomorrow. In the morning, you realized that Lance must’ve woken up in the middle of the night because you remember cuddling on the couch, and yet you’re waking up on the bed. Of course, still in his arms.

HUNK:

Having a sensible heart, I feel like both you and hunk would struggle a little about maintaining a healthy distance with current events.

Though overtime he would understand that keeping in touch with everything that’s going on is important, but not at the sake of burning out

His best bet, to him, to pull you out of a such a dark space is with comfort food

“Ok ppl feel like they want to eat a horse but they actually cant when they’re in that mind space Hunk, let’s make something sweet and small; something direct and straight to the point! Let’s add smiley faces on it!”

Your turned down the volume from the news, let your head fall backwards and brought up your forearm over your closed eyes. It felt warm and made it you realize that you had probably been staring very intensely at the screen as a wave of comfort hit your eyes the moment they were drowned in darkness. Letting out a deep breath, you stilled and let yourself bask in your thoughts until a familiar voice brought you back.

“Maybe a little bit more sugar? No, then it would be disbalanced. The base is already so sweet-- Ah, I have to take the cupcakes out or else they might get burned!”

You felt a smile grow on your lips, making you ignore the horrid news being broadcasted to turn to your partner that as usual, seemed to juggle ten thousand things to create a whole meal.

“What’s going on over here?” you asked, leaning over the counter to note that one of your favorite dishes was made and machines that were mostly used for baking had been brought out.

“Oh you know, just a little pick me up for my most favorite person ever.” he shrugged, but a smile soon came to his face. His hands were full but he leaned over, his lips meeting your cheek. “Things outside are a little dark, so I thought we could both use a little something nice.”

He turned on the machine after dropping a drop of dye to make it your favorite color and within a few minutes the icing was finished. Hunk scooped up a small amount on his finger and brought it to his lips and nod.

“Wanna taste?” he asked you, his finger dipping into the icing.

A mischievous grin spread on your features as you took his wrist and let his finger fall on your tongue, the sweetness quickly spreading through your mouth. The yellow paladin shivered as you let his digit hang in your mouth for longer than necessary, letting out a satisfied hum when you returned it to him.

“Tastes perfect.”

PIDGE:

She knew what could be fixed, she knew how to fix it but this meant she was also aware of how long such a transition would take

I think Pidge would be similar to Shiro: whatever she remembers that helps you be at ease, she would defect to that in hopes to maybe distract you for a while.

I don’t think Pidge is a very touchy person either, so if she reaches out to you _physically_ in worry, it’s a very clear sign she’s serious/anxious

I feel like she would reach out in other ways and then if she knew you were in a specific state of mind where touch was not useful, or if she just also wanted to try things out lol

As you watched the twisted information that was being shared on screen, another message caught your attention. Rather than a small red icon in the corner, a small window appeared in the middle of your computer screen.

The video had stopped, every horrible gif about police brutality was paused and there was nothing else but the small window pidge had thrown onto your screen. You chuckled, and felt a pressure behind your working chair.

Another message popped up.

<You’ve been catching up with twitter for the past two hours. Surely you’re done now?>

A soft laugh came from you, making Pidge release a breath she didn’t know she was holding. You typed out an answer:

<Okay, but half of them are just cat videos and the other half are just retweets of said videos.>

You both laughed, before Pidge turned around and tapped your shoulder. She let her hand float in the air, yours coming to join it as a soon as your turned her way.

“Wanna take a nap?” she asked, letting her head fall onto your shoulder. “I had Chip make some hot chocolate, Hunk style.”

You squeezed her hand, putting your computer on sleep mode.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

#voltron writings #shiro x reader #takashi shirogane x reader #keith x reader #keith kogane x reader #lance x reader #lance mcclain x reader #hunk x reader #hunk garett x reader #pidge x reader #katie holt x reader #for context this was requested around june 2020 #its a year late and thata my fault wjdjan

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katara0524 · 3 years

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Impromptu Ramblings about the NEO:TWEWY Demo

In case y'all weren't aware, I've been a pretty big fan of TWEWY for a couple years now, and with the sequel coming out next month, the excitement I feel for this game is greater than ever :) I played the Demo for the first time yesterday, and following a couple views of some livestreams of others playing it, I felt like sharing my (very ramble-y) thoughts prior to the release of the full game. This post WILL contain spoilers for both TWEWY and NEO:TWEWY, so if you want to avoid those from now on, please block the tags: #twewy spoilers, #ntwewy spoilers, #neo twewy spoilers, #ntwewy, and #neo twewy ^_^ Oh, and if you wanna keep up with any other posts I make about my experience with this game, please refer to the tag "kat plays neo twewy" :)

-First things first: I have not watched the Final Trailer and I don't plan on doing so to avoid spoilers, especially after the pre-release era of KH3 where a lot of the later trailers spoiled a lot of the endgame content. That being said, I've seen some minor screenshots from the final trailer including what many believe to be characters from the original TWEWY, namely Shiki and Joshua. That is all I know about the Final Trailer and I would very much like to remain as blind as possible going into NEO :)

-The very first cutscene was quite ominous in the sense that this game is likely going to be about "changing fate" (a recently common theme in Squeenix games, which I do appreciate), perhaps leading off from the end of A New Day in the OG and trying to stop an Inversion of Shibuya. Also worth noting that A New Day had similar aspects in which the main character experienced "future visions" of tragic events, although in A New Day these events were not able to be changed, while in NEO it seems like one of the main "powers" our protagonist has is specifically to rewrite these events and avoid a "bad ending." Very interesting indeed!

-I really like the revamped comic book style dialogue scenes, it's much more fluid and modern, which is an excellent direction for the series to take!

-I would love to have an actual PokemonGO knockoff of Final Fantasy creatures, please Squeenix that would be incredibleeeeee

-Also the LINE stickers??? Are so cute???

-I would just like to point out that Fret is an absolute treasure throughout this entire demo, he's hilarious and I will protect him with my life

-UHHHH don't like that Fret picked up some Reaper Pins just out of nowhere.....or the fact that they're apparently popular all over Shibuya.............did y'all not learn anything from the OG game or what lmao

-Okay so when I first got the "curry or ramen" scene and heard NPCs talking about the new curry place replacing the old ramen place I became IMMENSELY distressed that Ramen Don was totally cut from the game because....well, Ramen Don is a King okay?? But I'm glad to learn that no, he didn't fall off the face of the earth, he's still in business and he's the one opening the curry restaurant lolol. PHEW, crisis averted!

-.....I don't like the sudden appearance of a Wall Reaper and being able to read NPC thoughts. Wtf happened when they left the ramen place??? Are they playing the Game alive somehow?

-Okay so I have my own theories about this "Swallow" character and what they're up to but considering this is only the Demo and I still Have No Idea What's Happening, I'm just gonna say that I think Swallow intentionally led Rindo and Fret to the Crossing so they could join the Game. I mean, add in the fact that Swallow still communicates with Rindo during the Game and you've got yourself a suspicious character right there lol

-"Hey they're shooting off fireworks!" Fret honey that's not fireworks oof (see also: "*laughs* I'm in danger")

-WOOOOOO way to traumatize Rindo right off the bat like that LMAOO

-The visuals for the intro are VERY GOOD, the song is pretty decent until it gets all "screamo" (which I absolutely cannot stand sorry lol)

-Shoka is every Customer Service employee ever and I respect that

-Susukichi went from being "meh" to "WOW THIS GUY IS FUN" in the span of 10 seconds and I also respect that (he is also built like an Absolute Unit which is hilarious)

-The Wall Reapers (and just Reapers in general) seem.....way nicer and more helpful this time around?? Like in the OG the Wall Reapers were SO RUDE gfhjgjdfkhn and yeah I'm sure we'll get some like that but the juxtaposition of the first Wall Reaper in the OG compared to the first one in NEO is insane.

-The puzzles are quite a bit more entertaining this time around even if it's generally the same "fetch quest" formula lol

-"Rindo's Group" way to go Fret HFKJDGHSDFKJ mans really left the default name in there lmao

-OKAYOKAYOKAY so to those who aren't aware I am a MASSIVE SIMP for Sho Minamimoto, he's my absolute favorite and I think about him daily. HIS INTRODUCTION IS. INCREDIBLE. I LOVE IT SM.

-GOD hearing him actually SPEAK FULL SENTENCES is just SO SURREAL I love this sm

-Also the remix of his theme???? NEO TRANSFORMATION????? IT'S SO GOOD????????? It's like gone from a Boss Theme to a more triumphant sounding theme and I am HERE for it (every version of Transformation is just INCREDIBLE and getting a new one is even better)

-I Love Him, Your Honor

-Also idk how exactly but it's kinda weird seeing Sho in the OG vs NEO, cuz while he's mostly the same Insane Math-Obsessed Catboy, he's.....calmed down quite a bit?? Like OG made a whole point of how poorly he cooperates with others (not to mention just being completely unhinged and trying to kill everyone), whereas here in NEO he's......actually kinda working with others??? HELLO???? Sir what happened to you and Neku during those 3 years I would love to know all about it

-I guarantee you Sho is still probably scheming shite and will likely pull some total insane BS later down the road, and I am very much looking forward to that. Also, is he looking for a certain Pin or something??? Cuz he keeps talking about different Pins and even mentions "this is just another Psych Pin" like he's actively looking for a Pin to do something with. Maybe it also has to do with the "latent powers of Players" thing he mentioned as well??? What is this dude UP TO oml (also is he in contact with Neku at all?? they're both technically fugitives at this point right?? WHAT HAPPENED AFTER A NEW DAY I AM BEGGING YOU)

-I seems like Sho ALSO has an idea of what's going on in this specific game (even if he won't admit it straightforward). Per his quote "The game's 142,857. Factor it out," he's essentially saying, "This game is a neverending cyle, figure out how to get out of it" (or at least that's what I got from his "cyclic number" nonsense lolol)

-I do like how Sho mostly stays out of sight until he's needed for a battle or assisting with a mission, that's kind of on par with his whole "uncooperative" quirk from the OG, plus he might literally have to stay out of sight of other Reapers and Players considering he's likely breaking the rules of the Game (not surprising considering him and Neku broke practically every rule in the book during OG)

-The nicknames for Sho- I can't- They're so FUNNYYYY GFHJSDFKJ

-He goes from being called "Pi-Face" and "Tabooty" in OG to "Mr. Minami" and "M-Teezy" in NEO LMAOO

-(Wowee I just realized I've been mostly talking about Sho oopsies sorry y'all, this is what I meant by thinking about him almost daily he is THAT much of a fav of mine ghfkjsd)

-Okay RIP Fret and Rindo for not getting literally ANY explanation as to how the Game works OOF, that is kinda cringe that whoever gets the Pin earns points, not whoever erases the Noise (which like I understand but also URRRGGHHH I WANNA SEE THE SQUAD SUCCEED)

-"I should be going home now it's getting late" Oh you sweet summer child-

-Also love the mention of parents in this game???? KH you could learn a thing or two from TWEWY (poor Rindo's mom fhgjkdh)

-KUBO IS HILARIOUS I SUPPORT HIM AND HIS GROSS FACE (also thank you Final Trailer thumbnail for spoiling my suspicions about him very cool smh)

-Kaie is a LAD I also support him, go King type those funky texts I believe in you

-FRET PLS STOP SCANNING FHGJKSDHKJFGHFKJ he's like me when I scan in OG during Weeks 2 and 3 and see Taboo Noise coming after me ghfjdshfj

-Also Rindo can you stay off your phone for TWO SECONDS ik you're trying to figure things out but Fret is a jelly boi and I don't want him to be upset with you my guy

-Sho being an actual sorta mentor to the kiddos?? Who are you sir this is so unlike you ghfgskj what happened to the guy who tried shooting children in the face 8 times over LMAO (granted he's probably just using them but it's still nice to see him actually cooperating and sharing knowledge with the kiddos aaaaa)

-EYO EIJI OJI THE TIKTOK INFLUENCER IS BACK LMAO

-hgjkfshgkjf "we aren't glorifying capitalism on my watch" THATS SO FUNNY TO ME GFHJFSDGHJKS (also an all-orange ensemble is disgusting you deserve jail for one thousand years fkn Cheddar Goldfish Cheezit ass woman)

-WICKED TWISTERS NAME DROP EYOOO we love to see it

-gfhsgjf Poor Rindo embarassing himself for the sake of the Game that's incredible

-R e t u r n t o M O N K E. That is all.

-Dialogue during boss battles is HELLA cool i love that

-HHHHH THE KANON SCENE MADE ME A N G E R Y FRET STOP SIMPING MY GUY says the girl with a Literal Simp Encyclopedia and simps for pixels on a screen daily

-Can't wait to see the other Reapers :eyes emoji:

-CAN'T WAIT TO SEE NAGI MY BELOVED YEAHHHH WOOOOOO AAAAND that's about it for the demo lolol, I absolutely CANNOT wait for next month, this game is gonna be INCREDIBLE holy hell Prepare for more simping, more screaming, and more vibing from Yours Truly :) I fully intend on sharing more general thoughts like this on both Tumblr and Twitter so it's not just reblog-retweet-reblog-retweet with the occasional comment fhgskjd

If you wanna witness my insanity up close and personal I have a Square Enix Discord server called Sea Side Dreamers! You can look it up on Disboard, or you can add me on Discord @Katara0524#9244 for a direct link :) We have topics about Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, NieR, and ofc TWEWY (as well as other topics!), so if you want some good ol' chaos and chitchat, you're more than welcome to join!

#neo twewy #ntwewy #neo twewy spoilers #ntwewy spoilers #twewy #neo: the world ends with you #the world ends with you #twewy spoilers #twewy rindo #rindo kanade #twewy fret #tosai furesawa #twewy sho #sho minamimoto #long post #also shameless Discord plug lmaooo #kat plays neo twewy

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soosdraws · 4 years

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hi! I love your art and it’s very lovely! but I wanted to ask as a beginner artist online how to make traction? its really disheartening to get no response so I always give up ://///

Hey anon! First of all an apology, because I don’t know if you’ve been waiting for an answer, since this ask has been in my inbox for awhile and I think it’s because I’ve really debated on how I want to answer this! I think that starting on social media is more difficult than people give credit for, in my opinion.

I’ll give a detailed answer under the read more, because I have a feeling this answer will get really long, if you’re willing to keep reading!

First and foremost, don’t take my words as hard fact. Everyone’s artistic journey is different and these are all things based off my own experience. Everyone will have different advice for you and it’s important that you take in what personally resonates with you and throw out things that you don’t think apply to you. Don’t let anyone’s advice confuse you and be honest with yourself!

To start, I think the first and best thing to do before starting on social media is to have a good relationship with your art. It’s hard, but I think in the long run you should really value yourself as an artist: acknowledge your strengths and love your art for what it is. Posting on social media will inevitably cause you to start valuing your art only as much as the number of likes, retweets, notes, etc. And that will REALLY put you down. It’s not a pretty place to be. You should never value your art with the numbers you pull, because in the end they don’t say anything about your talent. You ARE a good artist, your art does deserve to get seen, and the fact that your art doesn’t seem to be shared online does NOT reflect that whatsoever.

Also I think limiting your time on social media is really important. I don’t want to be that person that says “technology bad, social media toxic” because that’s not it. However, as an artist it’s hard not to compare yourself to the thousands of other talented people out there. Also, depending on how much people you follow, it can be overwhelming to see hundreds of artists seemingly posting amazing art on what seems to be a daily basis while you seem to be the only one struggling. Obviously this is not the case, but being on social media frequently can definitely cause you to think that way. Also, while expanding your visual library is a good thing, exposure to too much information all at once can get overwhelming and just make you anxious instead. I’ve definitely been in that place where I questioned if I will ever get as good as the artists I look up to or if I’m a good artist at all. When I get in those moods, best thing is to go offline and honestly take a nap, go on a walk, read a book, or just stare into space lol! Just something to take your eyes off social media for a bit.

Also, even if you aren’t pulling numbers in your first days, weeks, months, or years online, don’t delete your posts, especially if you’re proud of it! When I first started on social media, the first post of mine to really take off, got notes only months after I first posted it because a bigger blog than mine shared it. Don’t be embarrassed by low numbers, I promise you there is no one tracking your posts and making fun of low numbers on art or whatever. I think every creator knows the struggle of trying to advertise themselves on social media.

I also have my notifications turned off for all my social media. That way I have whatever posts of mine that get uploaded out of sight and out of mind, I don’t have to be constantly reminded that my art is getting attention or none at all. I also upload my art only at times where I have something important right after. Like I’ll post either right before class, before I have to do chores, before work, etc. Because that way I won’t be tempted to look through my social media to see if my notes are ticking up or whatever. This really helped when I was first getting started, but I found that the allure of getting lots of “notes” or “likes” kinda falls away with time? I like to share my art because of the few people that leave compliments, send kind asks, and what not. I’m not a “big” artist with like 10k+ followers or anything, but I think that as long as there are even some people enjoying my art, it’s really fine with me. I’m going to keep drawing anyways.

And I think that’s the most important thing. To just keep drawing. If you find that posting your art on social media actually hinders your want to create and gets you frustrated instead, wait until you’re more happy with yourself as an artist, it’s never too late to start on social media. It might feel like it will never happen and to be completely honest, the feeling of never feeling good enough will probably be constant. The best way to combat it is to just get your first post out there and if it gets no notes, just brush it off. It is what it is. You will eventually build up a substantial amount of emotional immunity to that kind of pressure. Also, after finishing a piece, look at it and just note all the things you’re proud of in that piece. Keep that in mind, and be proud of your art. So even if it maybe doesn’t get notes, it’s still good to you and in the end, if your art makes you happy that’s all that matters. Be happy in the things that you create, don’t make your art for anyone else, its yours and if it pleases you thats the end of that. Make it as self indulgent as possible!

With all this said, there are more technical ways that you can advertise your social media to try and up your chances of being noticed, all based on formatting your art pieces to catch people’s eye, posting schedules, how to efficiently advertise yourself, etc. But that’s a different field altogether. Though if you’re curious about that too, don’t hesitate to ask and I can offer some tips in that way as well, though I feel it’s less important in the long run!

I hope this post helps out some and cheer you on your art journey! Keep going and don’t give up!

#LONG POST #i wish u luck anon!!#<3 <3 #asks #anon

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bestmovies0 · 6 years

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‘Hunger Games’ gave today’s teens the best blueprint for defeating the NRA

Peeta and Katniss: Playing the media game in’ Hunger Game: Catching Fire ‘ figcaption>

Image: lionsgate

Inside the Capitol, the political elite have become immune to the regular destroys splashed across their screens. They’ve rationalized it as the price they have to pay for their way of life. But a handful of teenage survivors of the massacre are starting to speak out, use their status as heroes to start questioning the whole system on live TV.

The teens are enunciate, telegenic, highly media savvy, and highly dangerous to the president’s party. They’re the best chance for profound political change that anyone has seen in years, and they end up provoking revolution.

SEE ALSO: The standout instants that built CNN’s gun control town hall feel like a game-changer

That, of course, is the basic plot of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, in which the eponymous plays pit teen “tributes” against one another in murderous trials by combat. It’s likewise a pretty good description of what happened this week in American politics as the teen-led #NeverAgain movement continues growing into the most powerful army for change since #MeToo.

For days we’ve been amazed as the survivors of the Parkland massacre have repeatedly spoken truth to power — specifically, the moneyed power of the National Rifle Association and its bought-and-paid-for politicians. But should we be so surprised? This is exactly the response we should expect from a generation brought up on dystopian YA novels in which downtrodden teens rise up.

They wear their nerves on their sleeves, and we cannot assistance but love them for it.

Not that Emma Gonzalez and her countrymen are immediately inspired by Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen. But there are distinct parallels. Like Katniss, these teens have just the right combination of righteous fury and unbelievable calm under pressure. They are strong enough to be visibly vulnerable. They wear their hearts on their sleeves, and we cannot aid but love them for it.

Thrust into situations not of their choosing, their authenticity stands out in a ocean of political artifice. When their friends die in a preventable misfortune, they call BS. And they have the cunning to know how to stretch out their moment into a movement, planning national marchings and strikes that ensure we’ll be talking about this at least two months from now.

As author Patrick Tomlinson noted on Twitter, it really shouldn’t astonish us if teens are following the YA dystopia playbook. Especially not given the lane the generation in power has played the responsibilities of the the bad guys.

Really? You followed the damned script to a T. You pumped up millions of kids, for two decades, to believe they and their friends could make a difference. Then you thrust them all into a dystopian nightmare of violence and persecution.

And NOW you’re shocked they’re all Katniss?

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@ stealthygeek) February 21, 2018

The Lesson of the Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins was initially inspired to write Hunger Games in 2003 by an unsettling juxtaposition on her Tv. She was channel-surfing, flipping between a reality display and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It wasn’t too much of a stretching to imagine a future society that ritualized war, turning the killing of adolescents( who are, after all, the majority of members of combatants in most modern conflicts) into must-see TV.

That setup soon became a cliche, the premise that launched hundreds of thousands of post-apocalyptic dystopias. But appear more closely at the original, because what really interested Collins was combat by media: how the teenage participants in the ritual oversee become all that Tv attention to their advantage.

Re-reading the book trilogy today — as opposed to rewatching the movie quadrilogy, which focused a little much on the action and bloodshed — “thats what” comes across. Katniss and her fellow tributes are hyper-aware at all days of the cameras, of the viewing public, of the scale of the game and the specific characteristics of the audience.

They’re in the fight of “peoples lives”. They’d better damn well be trained and ready.

The tributes adapt to the reality of reality TV culture. They both strive and receive media coaching from any person who is cares to advise them. And here is the perfect rejoinder to any conspiracy theorists who think they have a “gotcha” in the idea that the Parkland survivors were coached for their TV interviews: Why shouldn’t they be? They’re in the fight of their lives. They’d better damn well be trained and ready.

Katniss and the ever-scheming President Snow.

Image: lionsgate

The battle for the future of Panem is a game of chess in which everyone is treating Katniss as a pawn — including, crucially, Katniss herself. When both the president and the cynical leaders of the resistance treat her as a strategic media asset to be either built up or torn down, why wouldn’t she take command of the narrative herself?

The lesson of the Mockingjay is this: if you’re going to be the story anyway, be the tale on your own terms. Attain it count for something good.

SEE ALSO: Powerful New York Times ad calls out lawmakers funded by the NRA

The Parkland teens are use their instant in a way most activists is simply dream of. Less than a week into their political tenure and they’re participate in the NRA on in the spotlight of the Tv arena, and actually constructing it appear weak by comparison.

They’re strolling right up to Marco Rubio, who has taken the most NRA dollars of any senator, and asking politely that he stop — to a standing ovation. Live on CNN Wednesday night, like a poor parody of Hunger Games Tv host Caesar Flickerman, Rubio could have been focus on his own media power: “People buy into my agenda! “

In American politics, this is how you win: via memorable sight in which you look like the strong, savvy, and reasonable one.

youtube

The NRA actually is weaker than most people belief. Many gun owneds already know it’s a shell of its former ego, a front for producers that sends out membership cards to anyone it can get in its database whether they wanted to join or not, artificially inflating its numbers to 5 million.

But that fact alone doesn’t effect any change. What you need is someone with a measure of impunity to step forward and say loudly what needs to be said: The emperor wears no clothes. The courtiers all knew it, but it took small children to say it. And for the first time in a decade of legislative success, the NRA abruptly appears to be on the back foot.

NRA chief Wayne LaPierre is now incoherently calling about socialism. This is a new level of insanity for the NRA.

And you know what’s inducing it? They’re intimidated. Because they know the kids at Stoneman Douglas are more powerful than their money.

— Caroline O. (@ RVAwonk) February 22, 2018

Snow and Trump, separated at birth ? strong>

Meanwhile, the person who is fills the Oval Office is trying to have it both ways — but largely attaining everything there is about him. This week ascertained Trump mouthing vague support for a minor piece of gun regulation, likewise making outrageous remarks about arming teachers and then, in another desperate bid for a news cycle, claiming he was misunderstand. Somehow, again, the president’s deflections helped him muddle through; the person who is took $30 million from the NRA has not receives an one-tenth of the ire that was directed at Rubio.

Our non-fictional chairperson doesn’t have one iota of Hunger Games President Snow’s cunning. Snow was supremely silver-tongued and faked empathy well, whereas Trump has to be coached to say things like “I hear you.” But they have at least this in common: they know it’s good optics to be seen on Tv talking to the teens, whether in a White House “listening” event or a Panem-wide victory tour.

One sign of the present strength of the #NeverAgain teens: They haven’t yet been the targets of Trump tweets. He’s made a half-hearted stab at suggesting the CNN event was rigged because one teen who drew out of the event claims he was fed a question( which CNN denies ), but “hes having” bided away from assaulting the children themselves.

This was more surprising than you might gues. The man with the world’s worst impulse control, who has ranted at Gold Star households and judges, who casually fired his FBI chief, insulted America’s allies and retweeted abominable lie-filled racist videos, still won’t dare touch these kids directly.

“What is to prevent, say, an uprising? ”

Possibly because, when it comes to controlling the media narration, game recognizes game. More likely, he only doesn’t know how far this thing could go, or whether he and his NRA buddies could have a youth revolution on his hands.

“If a girl from District 12 of all places can elude the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to stop them from doing the same? ” President Snow asks in Catching Fire . em> “What is to prevent, say, an uprising? ”

An excellent question, Mr. President. To which we might add: if a bunch of children from Parkland, Florida can defy the organization that basically bought the U.S. Capitol, and walk away with sky-high permission ratings, what is to prevent an uprising of teens from all across the U.S. from doing the same?

Read more: https :// mashable.com/ 2018/02/ 23/ parkland-hunger-games-dystopia /~ ATAGEND

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/02/25/hunger-games-gave-todays-teens-the-best-blueprint-for-defeating-the-nra/

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realgovjonas-blog · 7 years

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GOVERNOR'S NOTE: Building the Nation

Have you ever knew that the essay "Building the nation" written by Butch Dalisay, one of the respected Romblon -born writer, who won 16 Palanca Awards were actually written as his mere reflection essay? The writer himself, mentioned that he's attending that time the 2nd edition of "Taboan"-the Philippine International Writers Festival way back February for celebrating National Arts Month. The event has Dr. Resil Mojares, an internationally recognized scholar of Philippine literature — who drew such deliberately provocative topic for his address: “Will Magdalena Jalandoni Ever Be a National Artist?” Jalandoni, is an Ilonggo writer who wrote 36 various novels, and sich number of fiction, poems, and plays. Writer (Jalandoni) produced such detailed and noticeable works of art, yes but its not actually the criteria being mentioned to be the national artist. So what is that thing that hinders Jalandoni's nomination as National Artist? The reason is very simple and indeed unacceptable-THE LANGUAGE USED IN HER WORKS. The speaker, (Resil) even mentioned "he simply didn’t know her work well enough to make that judgment." Indeed, this topic may not be that noticeable unlike various teleseryes pr news that gets thousands of shares or retweets but this is a hot topic that everyone should pay attention: this is one of the century old issues of the nation: REGIONALISM VS NATIONALISM. More likely, the council who reviewed the nomination of Jalandoni, followed procedires yet sadly, 2 of them haven't read Jalandoni's works due to an absurd reason: either due to language, unavailability of texts or translations, or simply because Jalandoni did not fall within their area of expertise. At this point, the presence of politics within the selection or should I say, "Partial Discrimination" to the works of Jalandoni due to the language used, is really unacceptable. What does it really makes us to be recognized? Is it we have to be a native Tagalog Speaker, or a fluent English Speaker or just to use what language we are comfortable? This issue is not different on the usage of interpreters at Miss Universe or any International Pageants. Sad to say, that we seem to be not proud of the language that nurtured us. We have Ilocano. We have Kapampangan. We have Hiligaynon. Yet many of the works remain unrecognized due to "language used." Writers wh uses these dialects were even considered as "Regional Writers" while the people hailed from NCR or Luzon Area who speaks Tagalog or English fluently, were considered "National Artists"-this is not different upon the comparison made by the writer, that addresses to the superiority of Manila Region, or mostly Tagalog Region. As Rizal quotes on his poem "Sa aking mga Kabata (To my Fellow Youth): "Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika, masahol pa sa hayop at malansang isda" (He that knows not to love his own language, is worse than beasts and putrid fish) he doesnt mean that the Tagalog is the National Language. Of course, history has a way of redefining itself: ultimately, as the Constitution was passed way back 1935, instead of all languages, it ended up that the national language should be based on one language, hence why we have the wikang pambansang batay sa Tagalog, that people outside the Katagalugan , the Tagalog heartland to which Manila belongs, so despise. This is what the writer addresses: the equality within the languages. Any council, be it from the government or any NGO must play a proactive role in ensuring the survival of our so called "local languages", sustaining and intellectualizing our people to destroy those who want to impose their hegemony over everybody else. We must ensure equal opportunities, appreciation and recognition to all Filipinos across the nation, for their various works that promoted equality, liberty and fraternity towards enlightenment of our people so that Filipinos in general should be able to speak their local, regional, national and official languages with equal fluency to be able to stay alive without the threat of being "overrun" by each other, so that they can get services in those languages without prejudice, and they can presented their ideas that really contributes in uplifting our nation-Be it Hiligaynon, Kapampangan or Ilocano, and other dialects across the archipelago. These languages, were all FILIPINO- and thats what makes us a FILIPINO. Ladies and gentlemen: Is it really the language really measures the intelligence of a person, or his abilities to contribute for the success of our nation?

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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How an Army of Twitter Bots Almost Created a Political Pundit

This story was originally published by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at revealnews.org and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, at http://bit.ly/2nUq67u.

Tweets from 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelleys account normally get only a few dozen retweetsat least until Pelley enlisted the services of Jim Vidmar in late March for an episode about how fake news spreads. Vidmar, a social media consultant, bought access to a network of 5,000 Twitter bots from a Russian website and turned them loose on this tweet:

What happens when 60 Minutes investigates fake news? #marchmadness

— Scott Pelley (@ScottPelley) March 16, 2017

And voila: 4,000 retweets within minutes.

Its not surprising that Pelley went to Vidmar, who spent years mastering the art of deploying fake social media accounts, to get the true story behind the bot army accused of bolstering Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Except for one thing Pelley failed to mention: Vidmars name is as fake as the Twitter bots he helped Pelley purchase.

Vidmars real last name is Denlinger. He often goes by his wifes maiden name when talking to the media about practices that run afoul of the rules of the social media platforms on which he long has made his livelihood.

Amid the scrum of last years presidential campaign, Denlinger attempted to use his own network of Twitter bots to reinvent himself as an influential political pundit.

In January 2016, Denlinger began tweeting from an account with the handle @PoliticsJim. While that account was suspended by Twitter a few months later, its tweets now lost down the social networks memory hole, Denlinger briefly was able to dominate the Twitter conversation surrounding a handful of presidential primary debates.

An analysis by the social media analytics firm Spredfast found that on hashtags relating to the Democratic primary debate Feb. 11 between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, @PoliticsJim had six of the top 10 retweeted messages. During a Democratic town hall the following week, @PoliticsJim scored the biggest tweet win of the night. For a GOP debate a few days later, @PoliticsJim produced seven of the 10 most viral tweets.

Denlingers tweets typically contained simple image macro memes, priming them to be shareable on their own. However, the bots he created popped his message to the top of a trending hashtag, a perk usually reserved for celebrities with large followings. Top tweets about major political events usually come from politicians such as Clinton herself or high-profile comedians such as Patton Oswalt. But Denlinger had figured out how to game the system, and he was riding the bot wave to the top of the feeds of anyone scrolling through debate hashtags.

Denlingers bots had their origin in a program he developed to help gamblers cheat at online poker in the early 2000s. The program, which he hacked together in about a week, scanned what was happening on a video poker app and automatically counted cards, giving players an edge in deciding when to hold em and when to fold em.

What he needed was a publicity plan. If I dont learn marketing to get this in front of the right people, its not going to go anywhere, he said during a phone interview last spring. A lot of people in the tech industry dont understand that concept. They think if they create something great and click submit to the internet, boom, theyll be found.

Denlingers insight about his card-counting software contained the seeds of everything hes done sinceexploiting technical flaws in computer systems to draw attention to whatever he wants to sell. He claims hes developed nearly 200 pieces of software that have sold over 1 million copies and taken on a host of clients ranging from musicians to businesses.

For example, he discovered Twitters official Android app didnt limit the number of accounts you could actively follow per day. Thinking back to his poker program, Denlinger loaded a cellphone emulator on his PC and wrote a script that followed a huge number of accounts at lightning speed 50,000 accounts a day, about one-quarter of which immediately would follow him back. With corporate clients looking to pad their accounts with real followers, Denlinger had discovered a money-making machine.

I made so much money that year, it was unbelievable, he said.

When the Wall Street Journal profiled Denlinger in 2013calling him Jim Vidmarit mentioned the ruse, and Twitter quickly closed the loophole.

In 2015, after selling a pair of startups, a gaming company called BadgeHelp and online task marketplace MyCheapJobs, Denlinger had time on his hands. A longtime political junkie, he turned his attention to following in the footsteps of one of his heroes: political analyst Mark Halperin, best known for insider campaign tell-alls such as Game Change and Double Down.

Thats the kind of journalism that I respect, the kind where you cant tell who theyre going to vote for, Denlinger said. I just want the facts. Thats what Im trying to do with this.

Ive heard so many pundits and so many of these people at CNN and MSNBC and Bloomberg and all these other sources I get information from, he continued. I sit here and listen to the people they drag on that they consider to be experts and Im like, Oh my god. Maybe if I got some attention, I could go on some of these shows.

While Halperin spent a decade climbing the media food chain, starting as a desk assistant for ABC News in the late 1980s, Denlinger saw the current media landscape as eminently hackable. He employed a mass of bots, retweeting everything @PoliticsJim posted. These bots spread the tweets to their followers, but more importantly, they boosted Denlingers tweets to the top of whatever hashtag he wanted to invade.

On social media, nothing draws attention like a crowd, and soon Denlinger was in the mix with political pros.

Using another tool he created, Denlinger identified and followed between 400 and 700 influential human-operated Twitter accounts each day, hoping they would follow him back. Even so, bots dominated the ranks of @PoliticsJims followers. TwitterAudit found that nearly two-thirds of his followers were made of code, not flesh and blood.

Denlinger woke up one morning last spring to find his account had been suspended.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment, but Denlinger notes that the company rarely detects this type of bot use on its ownespecially when the bots arent obviously shilling a specific product. He suspects a user noticed what he was doing and tipped off Twitter.

He considered starting anew with another account but scrapped the idea.

If I wanted another @PoliticsJim, I could have had one within 20 minutes, he said. I have 50,000 accounts that are over five years old. I could have brought one up, slapped a few thousand followers on it, and there we go, off to the races again.

But the experience had been less than fulfilling. Denlinger had shoved himself into the Twitter conversation, generating hundreds, if not thousands, of interactions on each tweet, but he never broke through the cacophony: He never made it onto political talk shows.

I felt like I had done this big thing online, but nobody recognized it, he said. No one cared. No one understood it. Nothing.

So he went back to selling. Instead of focusing on himself, Denlinger has returned to helping others go viral.Bots can take a piece of content only so far. Pelleys tweet, for example, has amassed over 4,500 retweets so far, but only about 300 likes. The content didnt strongly resonate with actual human beings.

That resonance, Denlinger said, is crucial. Trump may have over 6 million fake Twitter followers, according to TwitterAudit, but Denlinger says those bots arent why he became president. And they are not what made people pay attention to the at least 325 people, places and things the former reality TV star has insulted on Twitter since announcing his presidential campaign nearly two years ago.

When the TV bookers came from 60 Minutes, they werent seeking Denlingers political acumen, asking him to be the next Halperin. They wanted to tap into his social media savvy, his ability to find holes in a system used by millions around the world.

Now Denlinger is playing that to his advantage: On his website, he is offering a 60 Minute Show Special, a one-hour social media consulting session for $60.

Aaron Sankin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ASankin.