#someone make a video of them using this voiceover

[signedkoko]

You are such a sweetie! Since your requests are open, if you feel inspired and motivated by this (otherwise you can 100% ignore it, writing is hard - I know), could I request a one-shot for Vox who falls in love with a imp!reader? Would love to see how you write their "forbidden" love, how would Vox feel and what if the other Vee's found out about it. It doesn't have to be a story, you can do it in headcannon format if you feel like it suits better! Just try to have fun ♡ -Nia

Intern [Romantic]

In which the techy overlord falls for one of his new hellborn employees, much to his dismay. Reader is genderneutral.

Song - Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

Any hellborn would die for the opportunity that graced you. Well, graced was not the right word; you fought for months against many candidates, beefed up your resume, and pulled some strings to get an unpaid internship for the Vee's. More specifically, a three-month internship at VoxTek with the potential to be hired in immediately after. 

It was a position people could only dream of, especially hellborn. Sinner-based companies had a tendency to place sinners above hellborns, but you knew that and used it to your advantage. You couldn't go in as equal; you had to know you were less and make up for it. 

The job itself wasn't all that bad, either. It was a lot of unpaid hours, from the crack of dawn to the dip of the sun or later, but it mostly involved the small details. Coffee, sorting, and delivering mail between sections were hard to mess up. 

There was the rare extra task where someone messed up and they needed someone to cover quickly. 

Today was one of those days. You were at the right place at the right time, sitting by the coffee machine, grabbing yourself your first cup of the day. 

That was when he entered, his shoes tapping on the floor with confident clicks, and when he spoke it commanded attention. 

Mostly because he spoke through every speaker in the building at once. 

"Who here can follow me? No questions asked."

Before anyone could chime in, his monitor did a full rotation of the room, his eyes narrowing when they landed on you. 

Your ear piece buzzed to life. 

"You, follow me. Now." The overlord spoke directly into your ear using the device, and knowing this may be an opportunity of a lifetime, you followed. 

There was no question about who it was: a monitor for a head, control of all technology, and a towering seven feet tall. Vox was the top of the top, and it was hard to believe you were allowed to so much as stand next to him. 

It was hard to keep up with his speed-walking pace, but he eventually led you into the mail elevator, hitting the twelfth floor while he muttered something about incompetence amongst hires and how he always had to take control of every production if he wanted it done right. 

With a ding and the slow release of the elevator doors, he took the lead once more, though this time he was walking slower and backwards, navigating with ease despite looking directly at you. 

"Alrighty intern, ready for your shot at becoming something more? Because our previous voiceover person just walked out on us, and now you'll be covering for them." He stopped with his back against a door, grabbing the handle and awaiting your reply. 

"But I only just spoke to..." 

"You're cute, you know that? How many videos do you think are out there with your voice? I listened to them all the moment I saw you." Vox only smiled wider when his words sunk in; he saw the usual flash of embarrassment as you pondered what he might have seen. Without waiting any longer, he pushed the door open, spinning so he was finally walking normally. 

It was a recording studio, and there were several other employees waiting, mostly those handling the recording equipment and some holding papers. 

Vox sat himself in a comfortable rolling chair in front of the glass window that overlooked the recording studio, spinning to hand you some papers that he took from a demon next to him. 

"Here is your script; all you have to do is read. Make it sound exciting! Something new, something beyond anyone's imagination, is now available to the public!" He put on a voice as he continued, demonstrating what he hoped you could manage. Someone ushered you into the booth and plopped some headphones over your ears. 

"From the top! 3...2..."

The whole process was a thrill, but you managed to run over the script in three separate recordings, of which Vox cited them all as 'stunning' or 'absolutely perfect!', though the producer claimed to need multiple for any potential recording malfunctions. 

For an overlord, he had been oddly kind and encouraging throughout the process, and he walked you out himself when everything wrapped up. 

Vox continued to speak about what the script was for and how excited he was for the launch, all while leading you through parts of the building you had never been to before. You thought after that he would have sent you back down and forgotten everything, but eventually you found yourself in front of your supervisor. 

"Vox! Sir- oh no, had our intern upset you?"

"No, no, not at all. Sorry, what was your name again? Ally? Yeah, listen, Ally, I need you to handle the paperwork they were assigned. Oh! And I want them promoted to my personal studio for tomorrow, too."

Before you or the sinner could ask questions, Vox was already out of there, chipper as ever. 

That evening, you went home with an upgraded badge and access card, along with details on your new position and expectations. It was a lot to get through, but you felt extremely proud of yourself for doing so well. Hell, you met THE Vox, and he wanted you to be the voice of VoxTek? 

While flipping through the pile of information, the most surprising aspect was the six-figure salary you were about to get started on. 

. . .

Surrounded by monitors, Vox watched various camera feeds as they traced your steps home. Vox saw you smile from several angles, the electricity between his antennae flickering. Each monitor had some kind of file or piece of information on you, and he was only pulled out of his trance when he got a call from Velvette. 

"Hello there, Velvette! What can I help you with today?" Leaning back in his chair, the overlord flicked his wrist, which shot the call from his monitor onto one of the many others displaying you. 

"I need your guys for a sh- wait. Vox, what the fuck is all of that?" While the fashionista originally had her eyes elsewhere, her gaze quickly fixed on his background, which was quickly followed by all the screens going blank with his logo. 

"That? Oh, oh no, its nothing at a-" 

"That's the imp you were talking about last week! The one you were trying to get to apply to VoxTek!" 

"Well, maybe, but-"

Once again, she cut him off with a gurgling groan. 

"Listen, I don't care who or what you fuck; just get your camera crew here and we'll talk about this later. Kay? Kisses!" Before she abruptly hung up on him, he could have sworn he heard a small 'at least they're hot' before the call disconnected. 

Tensed from the interaction, Vox could only groan and dramatically fall back into his chair, tapping his claws along the armrest. 

So what if he scouted you out? You didn't know that, and you were happy about it anyway! One by one, each monitor opened back up on your data, the overlord grinning. 

It was better this way; everyone would think it was the intern going after him, so nobody knew one of the top overlords in hell was dotting on some helpless imp.

Author's Note - I love Vox so much...hes so obsessive but he denies every accusation (its the same w Alastor lmao) like its going to hurt him! But thank you so much for the request Nia, I hope this interests you 🖤

Word Count - 1,219

#koko writez #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #hazbin hotel x reader #helluva boss x reader #reader insert #x reader #vox #vox x reader

[beerecordings]

i have seen people put together some background canon info about the egos and their appearances over the years, which is awesome and a huge feat, but I just wanted to compile some popular headcanons and fanon interpretations that might be relevant if someone new was trying to get into the fandom, or even that we may see references for in new canon. it's our CULTURE okay??

Chase having two kids: when Sean released CHASE he announced that Chase canonically has/had one child, but in Chase's original video he referred to Stacy taking the "kids," which lead to the popular interpretation that Chase had two young children. you might still see this around

Henrik's backstory: likewise, Sean used to make occasional references to Henrik having an ex-wife and possibly kids. some people consider this canon and others don't, because it was just in random gameplay vids, but you might see it referenced

Anti is a turtle: an OG ego meme. when Anti says "I am eternal" in Say Goodbye, it sounds like "I am a turtle." Sean saw this and reacted to it in a vid, and now there are occasional turtle references

Queer egos: obviously this is tumblr and queer headcanons abound. in my experience, the most popular interpretations include Jackie being trans and Marvin being mlm. you will see this frequently in the fandom

JJ's mutism: JJ first appears in a silent video with captions like an old-time movie, but Sean didn't confirm that he has mutism until later, and also incorporated British Sign Language in his most recent video. older portrayals of JJ - or less inclusive ones - might not feature his mutism. additionally you may encounter a variety of magical or practical aids to help him communicate. oh, and you might also hear JJ called Dapper Jack - we were the ones who named him Jameson Jackson!

Eye color: throughout the years the glitches that suggested Jack might be making ego content frequently featured changes in his eye color. Sean has had brown, green, pure black, and mismatched eyes on different occasions. it's unknown if these correspond to particular egos, but Anti has appeared with green, blue, and black most frequently

Henrik being tortured for nine months: after Henrik was attacked by Anti during a video, Jack posted a bloodied postcard depicting a beach in Germany. this lead to the popular conception that Henrik was taken by Anti and may have been tortured by him. the length of time between seeing him again was nine months

Jack in a coma: this is more canon than fanon, but we've been saying that Jack's been in a coma for years and years now, pretty much since Anti first got his hands on him. Jack later had a voiceover in a video where Chase told Jack he needs him to wake up.

shipping: some of the most popular ships include Marvin/Jackie and Chase/Henrik. you'll also see some Darkiplier/Anti. although the egos all look the same, there's no canon suggestion that any of them are related at this time.

friendships: Chase canonically refers to Jack as his friend, and the fact that Henrik tried to help save Jack has led to the popular conception that he and Chase at least know each other, and are possibly friends too. the others? no clue. oh except maybe probably Anti is holding JJ captive who knows

Phoenix Marvin: Jack once referred to Marvin as a phoenix from the ashes in a tumblr post and we all lost our minds about it. great motif. and of course he wears the cat mask, so you'll see a lot of Marvin with cats or being able to turn into a cat. his magical powers are not canon yet, so you'll see a huge variety, as well as magic or superpowers for other egos too

please feel free to add on to this!! I'm curious what would stand out to everyone else if they were trying to share the fanon with someone new

#jacksepticeye

[ckret2]

I need to know: how you think bill would be in chat if he ever got the priviledge to get a phone or use a PC?What social networks would he use?

Types in all caps at all times. Punctuation optional. If someone asks him to turn off caps he instead doubles the font size. He can do this even on sites/apps that don't allow you to change the size. He won't say how.

Considering this is 2013? He's probably a pioneer in spreading misinformation and bullshit on twitter. He's one of those "MANIFEST LOVE and $$$ get your DREAM JOB through the POWER of the LAW OF ATTRACTION" cultish New Age grifters making money off a website selling self help PDFs. He's building an internet cult.

Anyone who knows him IRL gets to hear him laughing about how stupid his followers are. However it sounds like he kind of buys some of his own New Age BS to a degree that worries people.

He gets in stupid drama and then spends all night digging up something to cancel his opponent over and sic his followers on them, not because he thinks he's justified, but sheerly for the thrill of the hunt. It makes him feel powerful. His twitter has been banned four times. People run webpages dedicated to documenting his heinous bullshit. He reads them regularly.

He's waiting til 2014 when bitcoin prices drop to like $50, buying as much as he can, spending six years waiting, and selling them in 2020 for like $69,000. He runs a blog telling people to buy crypto. He can actually foresee when the prices are going to peak and fall. He doesn't share this info. He makes bank himself and gleefully ruins everyone else's finances with no regrets. (He would encourage Mabel to buy and tell her exactly what day to sell.) (He would not tell Dipper when to sell.)

He hangs out in doomsday prepper forums so that he can make up new conspiracies and see if he can make everyone even more paranoid.

He's got a youtube channel that's a mix of all of the above BS. New Age self-help buy-crypto buy-gold our-universe-isn't-real access-the-higher-planes doomsday conspiracy mishmash. You can imagine the viewers he attracts. He disdains them all and tries to make them worse on purpose. Never shows his face, every video is a slideshow of psychedelic & pseudo-religious art (mostly stolen) with a voiceover and mystical-sounding music.

Mabel gets him on tumblr, because if Mabel has any social media of course it'd be 2013 tumblr, and probably a deviantart. She's posting her art and really badly photoshopped gif edits of her favorite cartoons and musicians, and generally acts like a normal person online.

Bill's tumblr is completely divorced from all his other horrible online activity. All he posts is cryptic rhyming couplets and terrible local photos of things that fascinate him. The photos could be anything from a car with a really sweet flaming paint job to a stunningly beautiful double rainbow over pine-covered mountains to a literal pile of dog shit because he thought it was interesting how it was drying out unevenly. Once he gets investigated for arson because he posted a picture of the house in flames within three hours of the crime. (He was, in fact, guilty, but he wheedled an alibi out of friends before they knew what he was being investigated for.)

He has like eight followers. The only content he reblogs is Eye of Providence images and pyramid images, which he tags #LITERALLY ME and thinks he's hilarious for; and also every single thing Mabel posts without exception until the end of time.

#anonymous #ask #bill goldilocks cipher

[eventuallyaugust]

matchmaker ep. 2: the chaos within us

now playing... clean bandit - rather be (feat. jess glynne)

hyunseol is running away from karina who was chasing her with an apple pie on her hand in a huge grass field. she stops for a moment to catch her breath while maintaining a good distance away from the shorter idol, pointing a finger at the latter. "don't you dare throw that pie to me, rina."

"and what if i do dare?", karina challenges as she smirks with a tilt of her head before she starts chasing hyunseol who immediately dashed away to avoid a cruel fate from the sm idol.

just then, karina's voiceover starts playing as the video of the two idols running in the background, both still having fun. "love gives us that rush of excitement whenever we're around our special someone. often times, it'll be the only reason why we smile so much our cheeks start to hurt or why there is a sudden urge to let out a scream just to let out that overflowing unexplainable happiness filling your chest."

then hyunseol's voiceover plays as the two idols who were previously running away from each other are now laying on the grass with the pie smudged on their faces and some pieces fall on their clothes while they share laughter on the conversation they're having without a care on the mess on their clothes. "love motivates us to enter a relationship due to all the experiences other people have and that pushes us to wish for something like that, but that shouldn't be the reason. it should never be. we should only enter a relationship because we love the person, not the idea of them doing romantic things for us."

"because if you do, then that's not love anymore and you're not loving them for them", the voiceover of both idols then harmonize as hyunseol wipes the piece of pie away from the corner of karina's lips. they share a smile, their eyes disappearing from their cheeks as the bighit idol cups the aespa member's face in her hands.

cut.

the camera turns on and shows karina immediately leaning forward. her eyebrows wiggle as she has a smile forming over her lips before she giggles and waves at the camera. "helloo, helloo, everyone~"

her manager, wheein throws the idol a quick look and focuses back on the road while she smiles at the sight of the idol. "rina-yah, i didn't get to ask this the last time, but how was your first date with hyunseol?"

the sm idol leans against her seat and throws her manager a look before she falls in her thoughts as several moments of her and hyunseol flash in her mind. a smile then appears over her face and her eyes meet the camera before she looks away and looks at her manager, still smiling.

caption: i'd say it was good date, manager unnie. if karina's smile wasn't obvious enough

"it was good, unnie. i had so much fun with her, so i'm really looking forward to this second date."

"good." the manager nods and steps on the brake before turning to the idol with a smile. "here we are, good luck on your date."

caption: i'm surprised manager wheein didn't tease karina like manager yongsun did to hyunseol in the 1st ep

karina nods and bids her manager goodbye with a hug before she hops out of the car and waves the latter off as wheein drives away. she then turns to the huge establishment behind her.

a cameraman then catches her arrival and karina winks at the camera that shakes after, making the sm idol giggle. the idol then looks around and spots hyunseol's tall figure amidst the huge crowd that formed around her and the production team.

the aespa member immediately makes a beeline towards them and when the txt member spots her, she receives a wide smile from the taller idol before she sees the bighit idol approaching her while announcing, "please make way for my girlfriend, thank you very much."

caption: seol already making her claim on karina and it's making me swoon

"why are you telling them i'm your girlfriend? you haven't popped the question to me yet." karina tilts her head as she looks up to hyunseol with a raised brow while the latter looks down at her with the most teasing smirk the sm idol has ever seen. "wipe that smirk off your face, your charms will not work for me."

hyunseol gently bumps into karina and playfully rolls her eyes while not even trying to fight off a smile. "bold of you to assume i'm using my charms to you right now."

"aren't your name oh hyunseol?"

the bighit idol throws the sm idol a look, blinking. "yeah, what about it, princess?"

"then you wouldn't be oh hyunseol without your famous charm." the crowd around the couple let out out a bunch of "oh's" and their synced reaction make hyunseol laugh. "see? even the crowd knows."

"okay, my bad, princess, but you should know that this so-called charm of mine is only for you."

"matchz for life!"

the couple looks where the shout came from and sees someone holding a huge sign that contains an edited picture of karina and hyunseol in a mirror selca. if anyone will look at the picture, they will think that the picture is real because like the bighit idol, she blinks several times and thinks if she already took a selca with karina or not.

hyunseol squints and examines the picture before smirking and pointing at the sign. "you guys are insane for editing me and karina together, but i must say, that picture looks good. you almost had me fool, man."

the crowd cheers, the couple basking in the attention before karina wraps an arm around the taller idol and looks up at the latter as she surprises hyunseol by saying, "why can we just give them a picture together so they don't have to break a sweat editing us together?"

the bighit idol looks down and smiles as she gently boops karina's nose. "sure. i'm a-okay with anything you want, babe."

the crowd squeals and hyunseol's eyes widen at the sudden loudness before she laughs it off and wraps an arm around karina's shoulders that earned louder squeals from earlier. the sm idol knows what the former is doing and immediately lays her head on the taller idol's arm, gaining another wave of screams from the audience.

the couple looks at one another and laughs while looking away before hyunseol wipes a tear away with a big smile and gently lays her head against karina. "you guys are so down bad for us interacting, huh?"

immediately, they receive a loud "yes" and the taller idol nods as she kisses the crown of karina's head, another cue for screams before she faces the crowd. "we will drop some pictures, but it will probably be posted after the matchmaker ends. can you guys still hold onto some edited pics of me and karina?"

"hell yeah!" "we're willing to wait for the pictures!"

hyunseol throws the camera a quick look with slightly widened eyes due to the fans' profanity before smiling it off. "alright, thank you for being a good sport, everyone!"

[some explanations will be provided in the behind-the-scenes (which will not be posted until every matchmaker ep is finished)]

hyunseol and karina share a look before turning to the producer with a matching nervous smile. the bighit idol starts the conversation while scratching her nape. "heyyy, gong pd-nim."

"what's up?", karina continues while nervously chuckling.

"everything that has happened is my fault, pd-nim, and... and—", hyunseol immediately starts off, giving karina no time to think about the words she needs to say.

the sm idol whips her head at the taller idol in disbelief and says, "what— no! it's my fault!" before she turns the producer and approaches him while pointing at herself. "i suggested the idea, so it's should be my fault, not hyunseol's. it's mine."

hyunseol looks down at karina with a shake of her head. "but i'm the one who urged you to do it, so it is—"

caption: karina and hyunseol are both really going head-to-head on who's more greenflag than the other

"settle down, you two. whatever you guys did on the first day is excused, so now it's okay. we're okay." the producer waves his hands dismissively with a smile. "all of you guys caught great footages, although i don't highly advise you two on ditching us again. next time, just tell me if you guys want to be left alone. i'm sure the production team and i can improvise if you just told us, you know?"

caption: gong pd-nim really said matchz privileges ‼️

"... really?", karina asks. hyunseol throws sm idol a look and smiles at the camera before raising her eyebrows in a brief manner.

caption: why are you looking at us like that, hyunseol?? are you planning something again that we are totally on-board??

"yes, now let's start today's date, shall we?" the two idols nod as their hands immediately find each other and they look around the area, seeing different rides to go to and games to play.

"so where should we go first?", the couple asks in unison as they look at one another and realizes their unintentional synchronization, making both of them giggle.

caption: they're so in sync with one another their brains are thinking of the same things

"okay, okay, you first. what ride or game should we try first? i'm down with anything." karina starts to look around as she falls in deep thoughts, weighing her options before she looks at hyunseol and the latter's smile widens even more. "yes, princess?"

"i want to try that one." hyunseol squints to the direction where the aespa member last looked and sees the milk bottle pyramid booth before looking back at karina with a nod while smiling.

"sure thing, princess. lead the way." the crowd around them gives them a way and the couple bows, thanking the people as the audience surrounds them but still gives the space the idols need.

"come in, everyone! knock them all over and win a prize your heart desires!", the barker exclaims with the wide smile on his lips before he notices karina and hyunseol approaching and motions them to his booth. "would you like to try?"

karina immediately steps forward as hyunseol follows behind, eyeing the milk bottles in silence. the sm idol pays for five softballs and the bighit idol immediately steps forward with a smile while saying, "hey, let me carry those balls so you can concentrate on winning, princess."

the aespa member gives the balls to hyunseol without hesitation, not thinking too much about the request since the word gentlewoman always has been the txt member's middle name. the camera pans to karina holding one softball and hyunseol steps away a bit to examine the balls in her hold.

the bighit idol casually holds three balls with one arm while she weighs one softball in her other hand, looking very deep in thoughts. she then blinks, shakes her head slightly, and looks away as she subtly glares at the barker behind the camera.

the bighit idol steps forward and stands beside karina who turned to her and grabbed another softball, throwing it but failed to reach the stacked bottles. the sm idol pouts and grabs another ball before throwing it and hitting a bottle but none of them fall as hyunseol's stare on the bottles hardens.

in frustration, karina grabs the remaining balls and starts to throw it without a care as hyunseol averts her eyes to look at the shorter idol, seeing the frown forming over the latter's face. the bighit idol immediately wraps an arm around karina's waist and successfully catches the latter's attention, seeing a pout on the aespa's lips.

hyunseol smiles as she gently pokes the 5'6 foot idol's cheek, tilting her head. "aw, my baby is frustrated?"

karina's pout deepens as she nods and the txt member smiles wider, softly squishing the shorter idol's cheeks while baby-talking to the former. "aww, do you want me to win you a prize?"

caption: an amusement park date isn't complete if one doesn't try to win their gf a stuffed toy

"yes, please." the txt member nods and turns to the barker, handing him money with a clenched jaw and a small glare.

"one game, please." the taller idol sees the barker gulp and smirks slightly as she removes her arm from karina's waist and grabs the balls from the man. in one swift motion, she throws the softballs with the bottles getting hit with each throw as a scowl starts to form on the aespa member's face, getting suspicious with each second passing by.

"hey, those bottles should be downed by now since hyunseol always hit them, but why are they still standing?"

"it's because the game is rigged." the sm idol throws her partner a look and sees the latter's eyes trained on the barker. "it's either the softball is too light to throw or the bottles are filled with lead or something along those lines, so no matter hard someone tries to throw the balls or hit the bottles, no win is guaranteed."

"h-how did you—"

hyunseol immediately cuts the man off with a sharp glare. "it's not my first time playing your milk bottle pyramid game, mister. and also, this isn't the first time you get called out for it. some former customers of yours did this years ago and you got humiliated that your booth remained vacant, so i'm surprised to see you here again."

karina starts off, "it's still unfair to treat your customers like this, you know—"

the barker glares at karina and snarls. "don't talk to me as if—"

"maybe that's why fate hasn't been so kind to you. you have been treating people with unfairly and unkindly, so you received the same treatment. also, don't disrespect my girl right here. she's just pointing out the wrong things you've done since you decided to neglect it", hyunseol states as she keeps a small staring contest with the barker.

caption: people fr be needing to change because what is this behavior, sir??

hyunseol then turns to karina with a soft smile and offers her arm to the latter. "come on, babe. let's just find another game to play."

the couple immediately walks away with matching shakes of their heads and before any of the pair could say anything, hyunseol feels a strong force coming their way with her guts warning her and immediately grabs ahold of karina's elbow before accidentally pulling the latter and making the aespa member fall in her arms.

the txt member plays it off by smiling down at karina and winking, maintaining her cool. "sorry for that, princess. i thought i saw a bug in your hair, but it seems like i'm wrong, so i'm sorry."

"it's okay—"

"ack!" both idols turn to look and let out a gasp, seeing one of the two cameraman being hit by the glass from the broken camera lens. hyunseol assesses the situation as she asks in worry, "what's happened?"

dong pd-nim states with a grim expression, "a tennis ball hit the camera lens and they shattered. we lost one camera to use, but that's the least of our problems now. our cameraman needs medical attention quickly." he then takes the broken camera away from the cameraman and hyunseol immediately crouches in front of the staff, closely examining his face and his hands that were both bleeding out from the small lenses. "how is he, hyunseol?"

"he needs to get rushed to the hospital immediately. i'm not sure if there are still broken lenses on his face, or worse, his eyes." hyunseol then meets the producer's eyes with a nod and throws her manager a look. "call an ambulance, unnie. let's not take a chance when it comes to his well-being."

the txt member then looks around the area and meets several concerned passersby looking over the injured staff before her eyes catch a man smirking at her and immediately turn away when she caught a camera towards her, fear and worry both accumulating her chest. she clenches her hand into a fist, trying not to show the worry on her face but she didn't know if she succeeded.

an ambulance immediately arrives and takes the injured staff before the clip gets cut to hyunseol looking at the area where the cameraman once stood with a clenched jaw. the bighit idol looks away and looks over the shorter idol, seeing the unreadable expression over the latter's face.

"i hope he's okay...", karina mutters in a whisper, still shocked at the quick turn of the events. the bighit idol looks away and looks over the shorter idol and sees the unreadable expression over the latter's face. hyunseol notices her behavior, approaching the short idol before the aespa member then senses the taller idol's presence beside her and looks up at the latter. "yes, seol?"

"he's going to be fine, okay? he's in the hospital now, let's just offer a prayer and support for his recovery." karina nods, her eyes spotting a small spot of blood on the concrete and she doesn't know if hyunseol also spots the dried ichor on the ground or not. "penny for your thoughts?"

karina suddenly looks up at hyunseol who jerked her head back, getting surprised by the former and tilts her head at the latter. "wait... a tennis ball shattered the camera lens, right?"

"yeah?", the txt member answers, her eyes darting between her and the camera without any thought in her mind.

"and that cameraman was filming me, right?" hyunseol nods and sees karina's eyes meeting hers in realization with the former still pretending not to know for the sake of her past to remain six feet under the ground, where it should be. "then... that tennis ball was for me, but the cameraman got hit instead because you pulled me away from where i was standing."

caption: whoever throw that ball needs to get arrested asap because what do you have against my precious rina??

"what?", hyunseol asks in disbelief while chuckling as she shoots the producer a quick look, her eyes lowkey asking for help from the latter before immediately looking back to karina like nothing happened. "i was just missing your warmth against my arms, but i didn't think something like this will happen. it must be some kind of accident, you know. i just saw—"

"then how can—"

gong pd-nim immediately separates the couple with his hands on their shoulders, tension hanging in the air between the two. "settle down, lovebirds. i'm sure it's an accident, because if it isn't, then i'll sue whoever did it. i just lost one of my best cameramen and an expensive equipment. i won't let that slide, but since there'll be no one who will admit who did it, then i have no choice but to just forgive and move forward."

"okay, maybe you're right", karina says in defeat as she pouts. hyunseol sees a forming frown on the woman's face as guilt starts to shape inside her chest and immediately looks around for anything that could cheer the sm idol up before spotting something and running away. karina's pouts deepens at the taller idol's sudden absence and out of nowhere, she hears the bighit idol shout, "hey, rina-yah!"

the aespa member turns her head to see hyunseol walking up to her with the biggest smile on her face while holding up two cotton candies, one is color blue and the other is pink. "what do you want?"

"but what about you?", karina asks, perplexed.

hyunseol stands firm, holding out the cotton candies. "but you choose first."

"but—"

"pretty please?", hyunseol asks while pouting and using her infamous puppy eyes along with her baby voice which she usually uses to huening kai but desperate times call for desperate measures (she isn't the type of person to be desperate but at this moment? she's ready to pull any string she has to console and comfort and distract karina). "could you pretty please pick first, my gorgeous wonderful beautiful pretty princess?"

caption: seol really using everything at her disposal to make karina cave in

"fine. hm... i can't choose", karina states with a small pout and meets hyunseol's eyes, looking up at her innocently. "maybe i can just choose your lips over these two, right? bet your lips taste better than these cotton candies."

the bighit idol smirks with a shake of her head and immediately holds the cotton candies away from her face with a snicker. "i mean, if you'd like to, i can just let you taste my lips to prove your hypothesis, because the question is..."

she leans closer to the sm idol with her height towering over the latter, her warm breath ghosting over the aespa member's lips. "do you think you can handle the taste of my lips against your own?"

caption: ayo, i think it's our time to go and hit that fast forward button because who am i to deny our parents who are in need of some alone time, am i right? 😉😏

they then both throw the camera knowing looks with matching smirks plastered over their faces before they look back at one another, their eyes staring right each other. karina immediately lands a kiss on hyunseol's cheek before the latter could even step away and the taller idol freezes, her mind malfunctioning for a moment. the bighit idol turns her head away with a blush adorning her face as she uses the cotton candies to hide the forming smile on her lips, her eyes darting everywhere but never meeting karina's.

the aespa member giggles and takes the pink cotton candy from the txt member, taking a small bite of the sweet treat. hanging her head low, hyunseol takes a small bite of her blue cotton candy as she tries not to look at the camera and the shorter idol, thinking that her heart might not be able to handle the bubbling emotion settling in the pit of her stomach.

"let me have a taste, baby", karina whispers as she pouts when hyunseol decided it's safe to look at the sm idol before the latter looked away in panic, the color red starting to paint her ears and her cheeks.

caption: what's going on?! why is seol getting flustered instead of karina??

"pretty please?" with a blank expression (trying to contain her raging heartbeats inside her chest), hyunseol takes a small pinch of her cotton candy and holds the sweet treat out to karina's lips, her eyes trained on the latter. the aespa member takes the cotton candy in her mouth and meets her eyes, flashing the latter a mischievous smirk. before the taller idol could take her hand away, she feels something damp against her fingers and her eyes widen, instinctively taking several steps away from the sm idol while throwing her a bewildered look.

the txt member feels her face grow warmer, warmer than her whole body. she now wonders if she has more blood on her face than flowing to the rest of her body considering her feet and arms feel a bit numb now. hyunseol catches the camera focused on her and immediately hangs her head low, trying not to look back at it. karina keeps her eyes trained on the bighit idol and giggles, approaching the latter.

"i'm sorry, i'm sorry. i was just trying to see if you're going to be flustered by that, but now i have my answer", karina apologizes. "i'm sorry, baby. you can do it to me too if you want. i won't be mad at you."

hyunseol throws karina a questioning look, her voice cracking a bit. "what do you mean you want to see if i'm going to be flustered by that?! you're a woman, karina and you should know what a woman can do to me!"

karina blinks, muttering, "what?"

"what do you mean what? have you been looking at yourself in front of the mirror lately? because don't tell me you aren't aware of the effect pretty and wonderful girls like you on me. i can forgive you for being devious but for being oblivious? girl, there's no cure for that." the bighit idol then stops talking as she observes the aespa member to see a blush forming on her face before she smirks at the latter. "aw, is karina getting flustered because i called her pretty?"

"s-shut up."

"make me." suddenly, karina smacks her partially-eaten cotton candy against hyunseol's lips and the latter flinches in surprise. they meet each other's eyes with silence reigning between them for a moment before they burst out in laughter as they turn away from one another, their loud laughs filling up the previous silence. the aespa member lays her hands against her cheeks, feeling the warmth radiating from the soft skin. "i-i'm sorry, i don't know what came over me and it wasn't my intention to do that to you. i'm sorry, i'm sorry."

caption: if i had friends like this two, i feel like there'll be no dull times with them around

the taller idol gently pats the other idol's head. "it's okay, rina. it's okay. it was funny, don't worry. if i only knew that you're so fun to be around beforehand, i'd talk to you sooner than we did."

karina could feel her heart melt a little. "really?"

"yeah, funny, outgoing, has a sense of humor that i can get along with, and many more. i hope you can see that you're all of those things. only fools would not notice things like that and i'm glad i'm not a fool because it's a shame not to know someone like you."

karina smiles, ignoring how hard her heart pounds against her chest. "thank you, i never realized i was all of those things until now."

hyunseol smiles back and looks around, noticing several people watching them with phones directed at them. "well, i'm glad i made you realize some things because anyone is fortunate to have someone considerate and attentive like you. always remember that, okay?"

karina nods as she smiles wider and looks down to see the txt member interlocking the latter's fingers with hers before she looks up to meet the taller idol's warm gaze and feels her face grow warm. "come on, rina. let's continue our date."

caption: matchz, the mother ship of every kpop ship ever to exist

"okay, let's go." the aespa member then spots a shooting game and gently drags the bighit idol to the booth. hyunseol gulps at the sight of the booth when the camera moves away from her face with her hand subconsciously squeezing karina's soft one.

the sm idol throws the the txt member a look to see the underlying panic in the latter's eyes with her face getting pale and worriedly asks, "are you okay?"

"y-yeah, just a bit."

"do you not like the shooting game?"

"well, it's... complicated. it's not the game. it's more like the guns themselves. i don't find those things likeable, even it's just a toy. i'll stop now, sorry about that", the taller idol mutters as she looks away and bites her lip.

"no." hyunseol whips her head toward the shorter idol and finds the latter looking at her with such warmth she wonders how she's not melting in the concrete ground right now. "it's okay, seol. i'm glad that you told me about that. let's just find another game to play, okay?"

"are you—"

"sure?" the bighit idol nods and karina smiles, pressing her palm against the taller idol's soft cheek. "i'm sure of everything when it comes to you. it's a game, so choosing between you and that game, i'll choose you because i got nothing to lose from that game, but...

"on the other hand, everything about you matters. i will always choose you over silly amusement park games. you matter most to me out of the people or games around us. do you understand, seol?" the bighit idol nods again, but this time, she's smiling so wide she could feel her cheeks starting to hurt doing so. "i need words, baby.

the txt member giggles with a nod, "i understand, princess."

"good, keep that up. i'm princess only to you. not rina, karina, or jimin. just princess."

"all right, princess. i'll never do that mistake again, pardon me." hyunseol gives their intertwined hands a squeeze before she lets karina drag her to the basketball booth, her eyes falling on their hands. soon they arrive in front of the booth as the taller idol scrutinizes the six balls and basketball ring that has been nailed on the wall taller than her.

"one game, please." hyunseol snaps out of her observation and looks at karina the same the latter looks at her, making both of then wince in surprise before they share a small smile. the aespa member then grabs a ball and holds it out to the bighit idol with a slightly wider smile. "win me a plushie, please baby?"

the txt member gently grabs the ball from karina and says, "sure thing, princess." the taller idol shoots the ball into the hoop, a small smirk forming over her face when she heard the aespa member gasp and mutter, "that's so cool." she grabs one ball to another, each throw winning a point with no time to waste until she had none left. the booth handler then claps the bighit idol and grabs two matching penguin plushies hanging from the ceiling of his booth before giving it to them.

"uhm..." karina and hyunseol share a look before their eyes avert to the plushies, uncertainty laced in their voices. both of them couldn't gain the courage to tell the man since the moral and child in them are fighting what to say.

the barker notices and flashes them a smile with a small shake of his head. "it's okay, you can have two plushies. it's my way to say to say you guys look together. also, you two remind me of my wife and i, two different persons yet there's so much similarities between us."

"if you don't mind me asking, how long have you guys been together?", hyunseol politely asks and she grabs the plushies from the man with a bow, giving one to karina who started petting her plushie on the head. the couple keeps their attention on the man talk, seeing the expression over his face.

the man answers with the smile, "18 years and we're still happy, just like the first time we fell in love with one another. we're aware that everything takes time, and of course, the fights. those aren't inevitable when it comes to relationships."

"another question, what advice can you give us if there's a fight between a couple?", karina asks, still brushing her fingers against her plushie's soft fabric.

"well...", the man trails off as his gaze falls on hyunseol before averting to karina with his smile growing wider as if he knows something the couple doesn't, but the taller idol shrugs it off as she adjusts her hold on her plushie. "there will be always an argument no matter how long you have been together, so learning how to communicate is a must between the two parties. it may sound simple to others, but some find it hard to tell their feelings to their partner and that's where the problem grows bigger. you don't need to use big words to convey your emotions; you just need to be honest."

caption: he knows what's up with matchz, HE SEES WHAT WE SEE

hyunseol nods while karina throws the former a glance before looking back at the man to see him smiling at her. the sm idol gulps and the man bows while saying. "i need to tend the other customers now, but i hope you guys have fun with whatever the amusement park can offer to you.

"of course, of course. thank you for the plushies." the couple bows in exact ninety-degree.

the man waves his hand dismissively. "no, don't thank me. you two deserve those plushies."

"okay, bye-bye, mister!", hyunseol exclaims as she uses her penguin plushie's hand to wave and karina copies the gesture, a big smile on her lips before the man waves back, matching their smiles. "he's such a cool man, right?"

"yeah", is the aespa member's only response as she feels her heart race, remembering that the man saw something between her and the txt member. she then starts to look around the place to distract herself before she feels an arm snake around her waist and turns to the side, meeting hyunseol's eyes.

"let's ride the ferris wheel."

karina immediately grows worried. "are you sure—"

"yes, now come on, princess. i want to see the view from the top."

----

"how come you aren't as pale as you were from our namsan tower date?"

hyunseol plays with her plushie as she answers, "i'm not entirely afraid of the heights. what i'm afraid of is the sudden urges of me jumping from a high place. i might not be able to contain myself and jump, but in this, i'm not afraid since we're inside a passenger pod."

"that makes sense." karina then throws the taller idol the same time the latter looks at her, making the aespa member look away with pink dusting her cheeks. hyunseol keeps her eyes on the shorter idol and giggles at the reaction.

"do you need something, princess?"

"w-well...", the sm idol's voice weakens as her fingers find her plushie's arms to play with, refusing to make any eye-contact with the taller idol. "i just want to ask what you think of the man and what he said earlier."

"what he said about couple fight, right?" karina nods. "well, first of all, he reminds me of my grandfather. they're so chill and unbothered, but you can see that he cares for his family, especially the way his face looks when he said that they've been married for 18 years. if you ask me, i want to have that kind of future with someone."

karina's ears perk at hyunseol's last statement and looks at the latter', seeing a smile on the bighit idol's lips. "really?"

"yeah, it might be a long time for me to settle down, but i look forward to that kind of life for my older version of myself because i witnessed the life my grandfather has with his wife, so it made me imagine myself living that kind of life."

"do..." hyunseol averts her eyes from the view outside of the passenger cabin to karina who has still her eyes focused on playing with the plushie on the latter's lap. "do you already have someone in your mind to spend your life with?"

the txt member opens her mouth but no words come out and slowly closing them, her eyes darting away from karina's figure before throwing the camera a quick look and looking back to the shorter idol.

caption: why did air turn so serious all of a sudden?

"well, at this moment, maybe. it's still uncertain, but maybe soon i can confirm my feelings. for now, my answer is maybe. sorry if i can't give you a precise answer."

karina nods and responds, "that's okay, i understand. i'm sorry i asked you something so absurd and invasive."

the txt member looks down and reaches out to karina's hand, intertwining her hand with the latter as she sees the latter's fingers twitch in surprise before they relax as they curl against her hand, making a small smile appear on hyunseol's lips.

"it's okay, princess. it's water under the bridge. don't worry, your question made me think in a good way. i just... didn't worry about getting in a relationship immediately because i'm too focused on living my life, you know. i mean, i can see myself getting together with someone, but not right away."

caption: you better ask karina out, seol or i will

the txt member then raises their intertwined hands and places a kiss on the back of karina's hand, the latter blushing at the taller idol's soft lips. "w-what was that for?"

"nothing, i just wanted to do that since this morning and well, i only got the courage to do so." hyunseol meets the shorter idol's eyes and softly smiles, seeing the red hue decorate the latter's face. "sorry being so random at times, but i just want to let you know that i'm grateful that i get to spend time with you out of all people. i'll try my best to be fun and enjoyable to be with for you."

karina harshly shakes her head as she places their intertwined hands against her chest, disregarding the hard and rigorous beating of her heart with a hope that the taller idol doesn't feel her heartbeat. "you don't need to do that, i will always enjoy your presence no matter what. you don't even need to do any effort. just you being you is enough for me, seol."

hyunseol lets out a small giggle and looks down, still smiling. "thanks, you have no idea what you just said mean to me. i'm happy that you're enjoying yourself in this date and i appreciate your effort of telling me."

"you're welcome, you deserve to know that you're not the only one who's thankful in this situation. you're worth of everything, seol. i hope you can see that."

"i can see what you mean, thank you."

"uhm..." the couple stops for a moment and turns to see the ferris wheel operator looking at them knowingly with a smirk on his lips before the pair blushes and immediately lets each other's hands go, looking away at the same time. "i didn't want to pop your bubble, but it's time to go, lovebirds."

"a-ah, y-yes, of course." hyunseol motions the exit to karina, her face and her ears still feeling warm. "you first, princess."

the aespa member then stands and hops out of the compartment, hanging her head low to hide her flustered face before the txt member follows suit, not even trying not hide the big smile on her face. hyunseol looks around and immediately stands beside karina once she spotted the strange man earlier several meters away from them.

despite the lack of space between them, karina doesn't turn her head and instinctively reaches out to hold the txt member's hand as the latter gently tightens her hold when they both noticed the forming crowd heading their way.

"please give us space, everyone", hyunseol announces, sounding her voice as stern as possible while discreetly keeping an eye for the strange man. "thank you for the ones who are listening."

"ahhhh, you guys look so good together!"

"yes, yes we are. thank you for noticing." the txt member regards the fan with a nod, making the latter squeal in excitement before the audience follows when karina landed a kiss on the taller idol's cheek. "looks like my princess right here also agrees."

"of course, i agree. i'm pretty and you're gorgeous. only blind people wouldn't see our chemistry", karina states as she reaches out and trails her fingers along hyunseol's face before they stop to the latter's jaw, gently pulling the taller idol closer to her. "you're so pretty it makes me stare."

the txt member then leans a bit closer, the tip of their noses touching as hyunseol smiles, noticing how the karina remains her gaze glued to the taller idol's eyes. "not even a reaction, really?"

karina tilts her head and hyunseol follows, making the former slightly raise a brow. "well, you're oh hyunseol. that's expected coming from you, if i say so myself."

the bighit idol then playfully rolls her eyes still smiling. "of course, it's expected. it seems like i already made a name for myself."

"hm... i think...", karina mumbles and throws the camera a look before she looks back at hyunseol as she moves her eyes, motioning her to look at the camera.

the txt member obeys and winks the camera with a smirk before pulling karina close to her using her free hand. "i think it's time to end this. do you think so, princess?"

"hm... yeah, it's time..."

the taller idol motions for the cameraman to move forward and announces, "this is the end, guys. bye, stay tuned for the next episode—"

karina thinks of an idea and pulls hyunseol by her shirt down to her face, but before their lips could ever get closer, the bighit idol covers the camera lens with her hand.

----

a/n: i feel like this is a downgrade from the 1st ep, but anyways, ep. 3 is next 😍💞💕

----

bbtr & matchmaker taglist (open!!): @curly-fr13s , @neuftaeng , @mightymyo , @yoontoonwhs , @nasyu-kookies , @awkwardtoafault , @osakis-gf , @dream-chasers-things , @woonie57 , @juhyunsthirdwife , @sewiouslyz , @yerevies , @asp-no , @kimsgayness

#eventuallyaugust #yoo jimin x oc #yoo jimin x reader #karina x oc #karina x reader #aespa x oc #aespa x reader #matchmaker #my matchz heart #matchz #matchmaker eps #bound by the rules smau #bound by the rules #from bbtr #bbtr

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

Little observations from AOTV, since Larries like to pretend that H and L sent them subliminal message via their videos, outfit etc. I thought, let’s see when does H appear in the film and in what context. Because larries love to mention that Louis included H in the movie and didn’t say anything bad or jeopardizing their version of how the break happened. So here’s what i found :

1. « We’re really just as-tight-as-could-be mates »: Liam and Louis are recording American dad voiceovers, Niall and Louis backstage, ARIA interview with Liam and Zayn. One group shot on Jimmy Fallon Christmas show.

2. « When Zayn left, that was like, maybe this is the start of the end » : Shot of Zayn on stage, and then one of Louis, followed by a shot of Louis looking at someone in the behind-the-scenes of the DMD video : this person is Harry.

3. Then the following sentence: « The more you kind of start thinking, Well, maybe this isn’t gonna last forever » : the last part is narrated over a close-up of Harry on screen.

4. « I’m like, Oh, have we become the band that we didn’t want to be? » : Once again, the close-up is on Harry, obnoxiously chewing gum.

5. « Starting to feel a disconnect » : shot of Louis, Niall and Liam. We can kind of guess Harry is there too because we can see a leg on the left part of the screen, but there is an empty chair between him and Liam, and he is apart from the rest of the guys.

6. « And then all of a sudden, now we’re talking about, maybe we’ll go on a break for a couple of years » : shot of Niall and Louis rehearsing then of Louis and Liam on stage.

7. « It hit me like a ton of bricks » : Shot of the group huddle before going on stage.

8. « I was not prepare for it, not at all » : We see Louis semi-jokingly forcing/bringing Harry into the group huddle/handshake thing they used to do, and did forever. Louis still does the huddle with his band. But Harry isn’t smiling there.

9. Title - All of Those Voices We see the last X-factor performance. Louis is alone on stage, Harry walks by without looking at him, then Louis is laughing with Niall. After that, we see Niall and Louis talking with a lady (probably vocal or production) and Liam talking to their band, but still close to them.

10. Liam rehearsing his thank you speech: Niall and Harry talking, Louis closed face, wanting to make the whole process faster

11. First shot of them in the dressing room: all of them are there except Harry. Oli says, « I don’t think all of the band wanted it to go that way, but it was going that way. »

12. Bathroom rehearsal with Helene Horlyck : Larries all say Harry couldn’t stop looking at Louis, but he looked at the camera the same amount. The thing I noticed was after Liam gave his thank you speech to Helene about how they couldn’t have done it without her, it seems like he exchanges looks with Louis as if to say, « What? Did I say something wrong? » or something like that. I wish I could see Louis’ face at that moment. Then Liam looks at the camera, does a little laugh, and points at Louis.

13. The infamous Simon Cowell speech, but we all know it by now, the rolling of the eyes, the half-smiles, etc.

14. History performance: Fetus video, lots of Zayn. « Even right up until we went on the break, there was still really no closure on the idea. we didn’t, or at least I didn’t, really understand what it was gonna be, you know. »

15. Louis’ part of History and finally: « I think the feeling that I remember the most was a little bit of anger, cuz I didn’t want to go on a break. It didn’t just upset me, it shocked me. I wasn’t prepared for it. I thought for me, it was the band or nothing. I couldn’t really… I never… it’s not as if in the five years I was in the band, I had ever dreamed of being a solo artist, not once, not once, because I was so obsessed with us moving as a unit and being part of this team. I spent all these years doing this, I don’t see myself doing anything else. » End of History.

And that’s the last time we see Harry.

What I find hilarious is the fact that Larries and OT5 never seem to have seen any of this, or even heard the words of the last quote— which was actually used in the AOTV advertisement.

So did they not see the trailer? Not see the movie?

I mean, I know the Big Larries reassuring their followers never saw the movie because they “don’t like what Louis does” — i.e. tell his truth.

In a weird way, because Harry stays silent on Larry, and his team larrybaits/ haylorbaits to troll his fans (for $$$), Larries can plug in their head canon for “how Harry feels”— “Harry understands Larries” (no, Harry just loves your money) but “Louis hates his real self” (no, Louis doesn’t like your lies and he’s disgusted by your UA). Larries set up a dichotomy where Harry tacitly supports them and Louis doesn’t, facts be damned.

I find the scenes taken on the day of 1D’s last performance incredibly moving and revealing in retrospect. There’s no denying Louis’ intense melancholy and grief on that day. I also sense Helene’s empathy to Louis, because as soon as Louis motions to rehearse alone, she immediately picks up on it— but they don’t rehearse. They say their goodbyes in the dressing room, by themselves, but also leave it open-ended.

On the other hand, it’s also very apparent that Harry’s not really present, mentally. He’s already distracted or disengaged, already checked out. His real future audience lies in the Azoff contingency that night (sitting with the boys’ families). The only person Harry really ever has empathy for is Harry Styles. It reminds me of the lyrics from Habit (applicable in several ways, to 1D, to Harry, to fandom):

Incidentally, this verse from Habit is also one that Larries never seem to know.

But Louis has been telling his story consistently all along. Even though Walls isn’t his favorite, it is still a great, cathartic, soul-baringly brave album, and Louis will realize it one day. To title an album “Walls” and to write the searing lines of each lyric, to look at experience in the eye and tell the tale, was an act of courage and healing, of seeing the past trauma for what it was, and separating history from Louis’ essential, hopeful, emotionally intact self.

#aotv #all of those voices #louis tomlinson #anon #one direction

[dilscft]

You should watch some twitter edit videos they have the voiceover of Lola and Gavin from the audiobook in them it's making me want to read the book no how she describes Jeremiah as the one her one and how they were inevitable it tells me how bad the third book is BellyJere should've got together and married I only know what I heard but the author turned him into the frat boy guy in media who cheats on his gf that is NOT Jeremiah I don't care what happened he's always 100% loyal to her it makes me remember back in season 1 where after that kissed once when he went to that party he rejected everyone hitting on him he stayed faithful even though they weren't together and after getting replaced by Conrad during the volleyball match. So the 3rd book is telling me he would randomly cheat after some fight or whatever? I don't think so I also don't think Belly would have feelings for Conrad after all he's done especially after being with Jeremiah as a boyfriend she should be super in love with him.

BOOKS SPOILERS!!!

I kinda do not consider this as cheating because they wete broken up already. Like she literally said that "I can't believe that we have broken up." Ofc, it was kinda weird thta he slept with another girl, bit still he had no responsibility to her at that moment. And if i dated someone like belly, i kinda would think that it's the end of all ends because she kinda never was fully emotionally with him. Agree, I feel like she added this stupid storyline in favor of a conrad who, by the way, had almost no qualities for being a good partner. They were in two year relationship, but he stayed loyal to her all those times.

Jenny Han is telling me he cheated on her after this scene in the book 2? Is she serious? It's totally OOC. BELLY'S JEREMIAH WOULD NEVER DO IT!!! HE WAS ALWAYS SO DAMJ GENTLE AND PAYED ATTENTION TO HER. IT IS JUST LAZY WRITING!

You know that even Jeremiah "cheated", it doesn't mean she should have gone back to conrad. Because it doesn't make him a good partner in this case, and it doesn't make him some kind of good angel boyfriend. And i hate that team conrad only use this scenario for his defense because they don't have any other arguments.

#the summer i turned pretty #tsitp #belly conklin #jeremiah and belly #team jeremiah #belly x jeremiah #team jelly #jenny han #jeremiah fisher #tsitp spoilers #tsitp season 2 #thesummeriturnedpretty season 2 #tsitp s2 #tsitpbookseries #belly and conrad #conrad fisher #bellyjere

[dollsonmain]

I have a new problem with the Amazon Associates program.

I am an Amazon Associate though I'm not very good at making money in that way because I can't lie about products and don't tend to see the good sales before someone else posts them because I stopped looking after deciding I needed to reduce my spending. I also can't "sell" a product I wouldn't personally use

Any product I reviewed I paid for other than a select few that were sent to me before Amazon changed their TOS regarding reviews, making it so that exchanging reviews for free product is now against the TOS unless you're in the Vine program.

My inability to work the system isn't the problem. I'm happy I fail at being that deceptive. This is why I can't do a sales position anywhere. I would tell any customer every bad thing about whatever I was trying to sell them in addition to the good things and wouldn't be able to push a product or service I wouldn't use myself.

Recently I'd been watching a lot of Facebook reels and the like, and noticed a trend of people using other people's videos, usually videos by Chinese creators with all of the words blurred out and/or the video swapped horizontally, then recording a voiceover as though it was both their own video and saying things as though they had used the product. Shit like "My life CHANGED when I started using Product"

They're lying AND stealing and it annoys me. How do they not feel disgusted with themselves?

[djvpensayosehistorias]

Should James Somerton be exonerated? - A 3500-word essay on plagiarism and ownership

Should James Somerton be exonerated?

Who even is this guy?

I had not heard of James Somerton before Hbomberguy’s video on Plagiarism and You(Tube). He is the main target of the video, as he has demonstrably plagiarized the content of his videos from other content creators, allegedly being hostile to them when they called him out for it. These accusations don’t interest me much; they are gossip from old Hollywood, and we should not turn the private conflicts of individuals into content. What I find deeply compelling and attractive about this case is that James Somerton became fairly successful by pretending to be a YouTuber. 

Content mills

As more people acquire a grasp on the basics of video making and start professional-looking channels more easily, and as more content is called “video essays” regardless of how the label fits, the bar for quality increases. Everyone is a YouTuber now, sure, but not everyone is a good YouTuber. Before, only people with camera-presence could run YouTube channels. Now, and for some time already, newcomers bet on running faceless YouTube channels and producing videos out of stock-footage, only providing a voiceover as the evidence of their presence. This is probably because so many people have been “exposed”, had their turmoil turned into microcelebrity gossip, become a liability for their companies, that being a corporate brand instead appears to be the preferable, smartest option. Lord knows what would be the current fate of James Somerton if he didn’t prominently show his face in his videos: Internet Historian, someone else who was demonstrated to have plagiarized an article for his channel, hasn’t had hordes of people go after him, perhaps because he uses the likeness of András Arató as his own channel mascot and because he’s never pretended to be a particularly moral individual. I personally have a preference for those who show their face in their YouTube content, even if it’s of poor quality, because they defend it with their life.

The danger of faceless channels is that they emulate, impersonate, corporate media that passes through quality control and is therefore professional and trustworthy, at least in the case of didactic entertainment. The amateurs immediately blow their cover when they say something out of place, something that would not fly in the worst, most biased fake news outlet, or they omit any references to their sources, as is common on YouTube. James Somerton is a rare case because, while he showed his face, he often presented conjectures as fact, and most importantly he rarely cited anything. That is precisely why he fascinates me. 

Embodiment of the simulation 

James Somerton, pre-cancellation, was a simulacrum of a video-essayist. He played the part to a tee. He spoke confidently, dressed up, and discussed the same things that the consumer demographic of video-essays enjoys. Perhaps it was the quality of his videos what impeded him from partnering with the independent platform Nebula; they looked the same as the videos of more prominent YouTubers who engage in queer cultural analysis, but their content was often either plagiarized or factually incorrect. They couldn’t get past a relatively simple threshold. Cultural analysis of popular media and the queer experience doesn’t necessitate much research; it’s precisely the type of discipline that can thrive on conjecture and subjectivity. The only thing his videos needed was proper citation and, perhaps, more rigorous investigation. I’ve seen the videos that are currently on James’ channel - the ones that do not feature plagiarism or flagrant misinformation according to him. I must say, these actually meet the threshold of quality for YouTube essays; they are authentic YouTube videos. No plagiarism, no misinformation. When he puts his mind to it, the man can craft a good video. (Note: James produced many videos in collaboration with writer Nick Hergott, who is quoted in a video by Todd in the Shadows from a post on James’ Discord server, “But that said…a lot of the claims [at least that I make]...are kinda based on just raw observation. I’m kinda fucking lazy and don’t WANT to look things up so I just kinda take something and ruminate on it.” Other, more succinct confessions of his are “Of course not because I don’t read,” and “I don’t do research.” It is clear that he is culpable for much of the incorrect information on the James Somerton channel.) 

To pardon James

I’m willing to put James Somerton’s plagiarism behind him. Since the beginning, I thought that all that was needed to avoid every single instance of plagiarism in his videos was to cite his sources. Had he done that, nobody would have cared, even if he didn’t ask permission to any of the writers and content creators referenced. It is courtesy on YouTube to ask for permission or let others know when you’re referencing their material, but in the doctrine of fair use that is irrelevant. If all of his plagiarism showed me anything, it’s that James is a good reader. It is crucial to be a good reader to be a good writer. A bad plagiarist (and keep in mind that James was a bad plagiarist) cannot demonstrate that he understands what he stole or that he learned anything. I listened to James’ podcast, where he spoke off-the-cuff, without any script, and he is knowledgeable. He has learned from all that he’s read. Under the definition I just gave, he’s more of a “bad copier” as Roberto Bolaño once defined them, “...those who simply plagiarize”, than a truly bad plagiarist. He has the potential of doing good, non-plagiarized content. 

Good Plagiarists vs. Bad Plagiarists

Let’s continue on what I said about bad plagiarists, or truly bad plagiarists. James was a bad copier because he didn’t hide what he stole. However, there are good plagiarists, and widely celebrated by our culture, at that. We claim to abhor plagiarism while celebrating it at its most shameless. Here is the difference between a good copier and a bad copier: a good copier will transform and even surpass the original, whereas the bad copier will never go beyond simple appropriation and therefore never seriously challenge the existence of the original. To give a contemporary example, Greta Van Fleet became very successful off their first two EPs and debut album in which they emulated a specific period of Led Zeppelin’s career, while Led Zeppelin creatively spun everything they stole into products that are distinct from their influences, whoever they are. The funny thing is that bad copiers will deny that they borrowed from their influences. The members of Greta Van Fleet said that their inspirations for those early records were not Led Zeppelin, but rather AC/DC and Aerosmith. While the complexity of Greta Van Fleet compositions resembles AC/DC’s more than Led Zeppelin’s, the excuse is ludicrous. Everyone knew what they were doing, and the band just played it off. To be clear, a copier is not necessarily a plagiarist, which is a legal category, but plagiarists of course react similarly when they’re caught - No! It wasn’t me! It was the one-armed man! 

Artistic plagiarism 

The YouTuber TomSka posted a video titled TomSka’s Guide to Plagiarism (The Somerton Scale) in which he posits that “plagiarism exists across a spectrum of severity”, which he structures in a scale baptized after James Somerton - the Somerton scale. It consists of ten steps: no correlation, parallel thinking, subconscious appropriation, inspiration, influence, reference, allusion, derivative, imitative, cloning, and freebooting. The only categories that might plausibly qualify as plagiarism are the last three: imitation, cloning and freebooting - TomSka himself says so in the video, calling them “the danger zone” of the scale. His conclusion is that we all build off from the work of others and that originality doesn’t exist and therefore we shouldn’t fall into despair if we find out that our work resembles someone else’s by accident or coincidence and that if we are inspired by someone it doesn’t hurt to differentiate our stuff from the source. All of these are sensible conclusions, but they’re almost not at all related to the James Somerton situation. What TomSka is referring to with his video is artistic plagiarism, which does not exist. How come it doesn’t exist? It is the acceptable form of plagiarism. 

Academic plagiarism

The unacceptable form of plagiarism is academic plagiarism. Plagiarism in academia is extremely easy to detect, especially now that there are multiple plagiarism-checkers that schools utilize; schools also have access to the databases of scientific repositories which feature publications protected by copyright law. Because it is easily traceable, academic plagiarism doesn’t serve its purpose as plagiarism. Plagiarism only works if it replaces the original; it succeeds as long as it goes unnoticed. If you are found to have plagiarized portions of your grade thesis, for example, you get reprimanded; it doesn’t matter if it was a little bit or a big bit. Only if you become a politician you might be immune to any sanction. Returning to the purpose of plagiarism, if the goal is to make money off stolen work, academic plagiarism is the least optimal option, because academic writing does not make money, or at least not enough to be stolen and republished or resold. And just from a philosophical perspective, it is also futile to plagiarize an academic publication, especially if it is research on a hard science, such as medicine, physics, math, chemistry, and so on. Social sciences, such as history, economy, and philosophy, are more up in the air. The point is that there is not much merit in being the owner of a work on the discovery or inquiry on a fact. Facts are facts. Your subjectivity is of little importance to the objective world. The earlier you are on a scientific discovery, the more incorrect you are about it. The fight for originality is not fought in the realm of science. The fight for recognition is worthwhile (looking at you, Rosalind Franklin), but what matters about science is that it is done, not who does it. People will be wrong, but facts will only be right. So that is academic plagiarism: easily spotted, functionally unnecessary, unprofitable, and ultimately useless. But no one defends academic plagiarism. Besides, when it is proven, it is most often punished, which is why nobody considers it a pressing issue. Academic plagiarism is not a problem, because it is unacceptable. 

Artistic plagiarism, continued 

But artistic plagiarism is of importance to the public. The public doesn’t read scientific publications for leisure. They consume art: film and television, music, literature and poetry, theater, and a long etcetera. What the youth nowadays consumes, for it is an immediate form of entertainment, is content - creative content. That is what James Somerton did, creative content. I mentioned before that social sciences don’t have the same inherent protections against academic plagiarism because, although they employ the scientific method, their analysis is highly dependent on subjectivity. Art criticism is arguably the easiest form of critical analysis possible, because the literary world is a dimension separate from the scientific world. One doesn’t need to rely on fact to perform an engaging critical analysis of art. Of course, literary critique, art criticism, social commentary, however one prefers to call it, is enriched by maintaining a contact with the scientific world, and it borders on being scientific if it is compatible with scientific consensus and historical record. Still, what matters about art criticism is that it be truthful rather than factual. That’s why sometimes writers say wild things without justifying them, and we give them a pass. That’s why Nick Hergott felt completely comfortable admitting that he never researched for the James Somerton channel and still felt righteous in distancing himself from James despite contributing to bad information in their videos. Unfortunately, on YouTube and every other social media platform, it is not only in art criticism and social commentary content that we see this flagrant nonchalance about uncited information. It is still interesting that despite both being featured in Hbomberguy’s video, people resent James Somerton and fellow YouTuber Blair Zón or “iilluminaughtii” for different reasons. Zón actually engaged in academic plagiarism, ripping off (much more in volume than James ever did) documentaries and news articles, yet the criticism directed at her is all about personal drama with co-workers and former colleagues that I cannot be assed to care about. Nobody cares about her plagiarism. Perhaps because they don’t actually dislike plagiarism unless they are told. People dislike James Somerton because he plagiarized art criticism from other queer content creators, many of them freelancers and independent workers (and two passed away). Had he plagiarized the right type of content, maybe he would be written off as lazy, but he would still have a platform. 

On copyright law 

Andy of AtunShei Films once joked that the collection of content creators affectionately nicknamed Breadtube were “liberals who make YouTube videos.” It is incredible that one of the most prominent YouTubers making anti-capitalism content is such an ardent defender of copyright law. Copyright law serves to give creatives control over the value generated by their labor; however, it also exists to screw people over in abusive, petty ways. The lawsuits that have happened over music are the most outrageous example.

The Marvin Gaye estate successfully sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over the song Blurred Lines being too similar to Got to Give It Up, so they tried their luck again with a lawsuit against Ed Sheeran for supposedly copying Let’s Get it On to make Thinking Out Loud. Fortunately, they lost the second case. Similarly, a no name Christian rapper won a lawsuit against Katy Perry, whose song Dark Horse allegedly used the same riff from his song, whatever it was. Recently, that decision was overturned after Katy Perry appealed. One last case, that of Neil Innes, illustrates how one can be frivolously sued over a creative work and come out an authoritarian, an enforcer of and believer in the system. After he was sued by ATV Music for his Beatles parodies and forced to split the revenue with the company, Innes sued Oasis for eight notes of their song Whatever. He believed he was owed credit and compensation for a bar in a six-minute song. He had no empathy to spare for fellow artists. That is the ideology promoted by copyright law.   

It is ludicrous to uphold a mechanism that exists so that malicious agents can squeeze large amounts of easy money out of more successful people (and sometimes less successful people) while setting precedents to stifle creativity under the excuse of ownership.

Plagiarism vs. Copyright infringement

To clarify, plagiarism and copyright infringement are different things. You can plagiarize something that is not copyrighted, to define the distinction through an example. Plagiarism is a claim of authorship: the seller of pirated movies doesn’t claim to have produced the films himself. Legally, it is easier to find someone guilty of copyright infringement than of plagiarism. The easiest way to determine an occurrence of copyright infringement is when copyrighted material is unlawfully distributed in its entirety, representing losses in the earnings of the copyright holder. Pirated movies, music, books; bootleg recordings of concerts or live theater. Episodes of television uploaded to YouTube. The material is reproduced, and the copy may not generate money, or it might generate money to the incorrect person. That form of copyright infringement is the easiest to find and litigate. However, if a copy is not a reproduction, a clone, but a new entity that somewhat resembles the original, claims of copyright infringement become shaky. If as much of a single atom of a copy is different, the accusation of copyright infringement is no longer completely solid, so it is safer to decry plagiarism, and at that point there is nothing that can (or should) be done about it.    

a brief manifesto on combating artistic plagiarism

As I see it, the problem of artistic plagiarism should be treated the same way as with copyright infringement: whether the copy threatens the original market. The threat should be quantified in practice: if a creative sees a dip in revenue that can be proven as caused by imitators, the imitators shall split the revenue with the original creative. Otherwise, imitators should be allowed to exist, for their right to earn money under the capitalist mode of production and for their right to free speech.  

The absurdity of ownership

Private property is a highly contested concept in ideologies such as communism and anarchism, and intellectual property, or intellectual private property, should be perceived with the same skepticism. Intellectual property is as preposterous as immaterial labor. We cannot own an idea. An idea is immaterial. We cannot prevent others from using an idea. That is the crux of the problem of ownership. Anything that is good should not be deprived from others. An idea is an inexhaustible resource, an infinite commodity. What is the use of limiting its distribution? You don’t have the right to have my idea. Who is any of us to dictate to others what they can or cannot do, with an idea or in general? While the discussion hitherto has focused on artistic and academic literature, intellectual property extends to inventions. How much progress for the benefit of humanity has been hindered by patent protections? To give an example, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to develop new vaccine technology to provide vaccinations to the population and lessen the debilitating and potentially fatal emergency. The distribution and rollout of vaccines was slowed down by Bill Gates’ refusal to waive patents on vaccines produced by his company. Patents on inventions are obviously a device to make rich people more money, but trademarks and copyright law help artists keep the money they make, right? No. Most of the money generated by the labor of artists is kept by the real copyright holders: publishers. Publishers, record labels, movie studios. In our current day, publishers are trying to devise methods to pay less and less royalties, with music and entertainment streaming and refundable digital books. The artist earns a wage as any other worker.

If intellectual property does not provide complete ownership of their labor to creatives, it probably does not merit the ardent defense of any creative. If intellectual property prevents access to knowledge, it probably does not merit the appreciation of anyone who values the utility of knowledge. That is why anarchists pay hosting fees on websites to distribute anarchist literature for free: they are committed to the spread of ideas, the education of the masses, rather than to privatizing their knowledge for profit and the prestige of ownership. Intellectual property is antithetical to the democratization of knowledge.  

Harry Brewis, the Hbomberguy, says on his Plagiarism and You(Tube) video, “On YouTube, if you have an original idea, if it’s good, it won’t be yours for long.” Good.

Conclusion & Call to action to the reader

After the fallout of the James Somerton spectacle, YouTubers are becoming bold and publicly calling out smaller YouTubers who copy - but not infringe on their copyright - their work. This is bad. People are not upset at content theft. People don’t care about quality content, or originality, or any of that bullshit. Nobody believes in that. What they are upset about is that some have found the solution. Nobody is angry at the copiers for doing things “the easy way.” Everybody wants to do things “the easy way.” Nobody likes to work. Everyone wishes to earn as much money as possible with the least labor. Those upset at James Somerton and other copiers are upset at the fact that some people found a way approved by the administrators of capital to make money. They, like every liberal, are angry at capitalism while believing in it and supporting it. Is there a solution for them? There are plenty. To ignore the copiers is a good first step; after all, the free market regulates itself and consuming quality content will create a demand for quality content. If you are more interested in the enrichment of the intellectual landscape, of common discourse, than in petty drama, my advice is that we all become active consumers. Passive consumers don’t question what they consume - they read something and believe it. Even if you think that the present essay is total horseshit, at least engage with its arguments, even if you disagree anyway. That is my advice to you: read. Read more. Learn to evaluate and critique sources. A list of references is not just a display of intellectual honesty: it’s the evidence of the quality of your research. Become an active viewer, an active reader, an active consumer, a participant in the discourse. If you are a good reader, you might recognize from where I borrowed the structure of this essay, and I’m sure he would not mind. And if you’re really desperate about the low bar for quality for video-essay content on YouTube, I suggest you graduate and start reading books. 

#james somerton #nick hergott #plagiarism #plagiarism and you(tube) #hbomberguy #intellectual property #copyright law #copyright infringement #2024 #Raúl DJVP #essay

[manifold-updates]

Jack replied to Wheat!

[VIDEO ID]

A video of Jack Manifold talking to the camera, whilst a voiceover speaks over him, Jack’s face keeps glitching.

Voiceover: Today on the 151st anniversary of the ‘Meat Mountain’ video, we are going to be playing some top mountains, some classic hits and some behind the scene details, more on that later. But first of all per playing the intro, it’s showtime!

The ‘Meat Mountain’ intro plays, showing various clips from the ‘Meat Mountain’ vlog.

Jack Manifold: Meat Mountain.

The intro ends and the editing process can be seen with Wheat explaining it.

Wheat: First of all, we’re gonna be looking at behind the scenes detail. Here we have the scene, and you’ll notice something, you’ll see these towers and you’ll think ‘what are these towers?’ Well, let’s go, let’s have a look at these towers.

Each time Wheat presses on the towers, the ‘Meat Mountain’ intro begins playing.

Wheat: Oh, it’s the intro. Let’s see this one. Ah, it’s the intro again. So there’s six intros in the video. You may ask ‘why didn’t you look at these ones? Why didn’t you count those?’

Wheat gestures with his cursor at some thinner and taller towers in the editing.

Wheat: These towers right here are responsible for the ‘Wildin’ Out’ section, which is pretty wild if you ask me, more on that though later today.

Jack appears on screen again, he is now only glitching occasionally.

Wheat: But wait, don’t you kinda wanna watch the intro again? Well, you might just be in luck because coming up now is top moments and hits from this intro. Take it away Mr. Mystery Guest Joe!

A photo of Joe Biden appears and gets bigger, as someone using a Joe Biden voice changer starts speaking.

Joe: Ah, my god. I am so grateful for this mystery guest opportunity, hm.

Clips from the ‘Meat Mountain’ intro start playing as Joe Biden narrates and explains them.

Joe: Coming in at number six we have Jack, clapping like a lunatic, now uh- this couldn’t make it into the final edit, but it had to go in the intro, just because of how whimsical and funny he looks, like a little gibbon-.

Joe: Which brings us to five, Wilbur passing out due to fear and panic when a stranger poisoned him. This clip is especially tragic when you consider the anxiety that Wilbur was facing before this moment.

Joe: Coming in at number four we have the final destination. Now, I’d just like to point out that compositionally, Jack just looks like a tiny little guy.

Joe: Coming in at number three we have the ‘Meat Mountain. We have Jack Manifold, clearly having belly full of ‘Meat Mountain’. It invents suspense in our minds as we realise that we don’t get to see the ‘Meat Mountain’ yet, this intro is merely that, an intro, and that keeps us watching.

Joe: Coming in at number two is Wilbur being shocked!

Joe: Coming up to number three we have what might be the best clip of Jack Manifold’s career. The corn dog. Oh my god, he really did that.

Joe: And of course, tube in later to find out what that behind the scenes detail was.

[END ID]

#jack manifold #twitter #video #video transcript #wheatskins #5uppp #wilbur soot #ranboo #jacks vlogs

[personinthepalace]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Aww thanks for sending the ask! 💜 I do not write fic (I believe I’ve written a total of one😅), but I do make video edits. So if you don’t mind, here are some that I’m proud of:

Vanessa x Dennis - The Goes Wrong Show (This Will Be An Everlasting Love)

This was intended to be a crack-ish/joke video since Vanessa and Dennis accidentally got engaged to each other in s2 of The Goes Wrong Show. But then I started to actually ship them as I worked on this video. And this was the first video where I went wait - this is actually good? Usually I nitpick my edits even after I publish them, but I like everything about this one. The clips chosen, the timing, the song - good job past me haha. Honestly, I am still waiting to make a video that gives me the same satisfication I had while making this one. Definitely a favorite that I always enjoy rewatching :)

The Ladies of Mischief Theatre - Wannabe (Spice Girls)

A video celebrating the Mischief ladies of 2022! Proud of myself for managing to include all the women involved in Mischief shows that year - I was trying to figure out how to work in the stage shows. Very happy with how it turned out. My favorite moments are definitely the beginning where there is a little intro to each of the mmni ladies and the later section with the mmni Emmys :)

Olympia and Otis - Odd Squad MV (Friendship Song)

Olympia and Otis are my favorite Odd Squad partners so I've been wanting to make a music video for them, and over 6 years later I finally managed to do so! When I came across this song, I knew it was the perfect song for these perfect partners haha. Quite happy with the timing (I tried to to make the high fives line up with the beat) and the parallels I added in. This was also one of the first times I tried adding voiceovers over different clips, and I think it worked out well. I enjoy rewatching this video bc seeing these two together brings me so much joy :)

Shut Up and Dance | Odd Squad Edition - Happy Birthday to Odd Squad! Odd Squad Dancing Montage

A dancing montage made to celebrate the 8th anniversary of Odd Squad last year!! This was definitely one of my more ambitious projects bc I literally went through each episode of s1 and 2 to grab every moment of dancing (I didn’t have access to s3 so I had to work with whatever clips I could find on youtube). So that was a lot of episodes and a lot of dancing haha. And then figuring out where each clip should go - I tried lining up the similar style dancing next to each other. Also I think this video had the most clips I’ve ever worked with. But I am very happy with how it turned. This video always brings a smile to my face - the dancing + the music are so fun!! :)

Lucy & George (Someone To You) - Lockwood and Co Netflix

A video I made earlier this year dedicated to Lucy’s and George’s friendship. I have loved the books for years, but the show came out earlier this year, and Lucy’s and George’s friendship was one of my favorite parts of it. (Plus there was a lot of locklyle videos but a severe lack of videos dedicated to these two haha). This video uses the most voice overs to date, and this was the first time I experimented with cutting out the background noise/music in the clips to isolate the dialogue so that was a fun challenge to figure out. It is very stylistically different from the edits I usually make, but I’m extremely proud of it, and I think it showcases the evolution of their relationship very well. Literally the only thing that slightly bothers me is the coloring/lighting but that was a result of me trying to color the video bc omigod the dark scenes are dark. But like I said, I’m very proud of this. I like to think it showcases how far I’ve come as a video editor :)

#thanks for the ask! #I rewatched these videos and I’m honestly so proud of how far I’ve come??? #yes I know these are not the best in the world #but I made these videos for my own enjoyment #and I still love watching them #self recs #my top 5 videos #edits in the palace #videos in the palace #rambles in the palace #the goes wrong show #mischief movie night in #mischief theatre #mischief comedy #vanessa x dennis #vanessa wilcock wynn carroway #dennis tyde #olympia and otis #odd squad #anna cathcart #odd squad pbs kids #lockwood and co #lockwood and co netflix #lucy and george #lucy carlyle #george karim #answering asks in the palace #firesoulstuff

[fryingpan1234567]

I have a new favorite ship in Empires and it’s just because of ONE POST by @this-tumbleweed-surecan-fish (yeah it’s that easy to give me a new OTP just ONE POST)

so here have some ship and normal character headcanons in my Empires college au because there is one piece of writing about them out there and it was a short post. literally fuck me

Pix, Joel, Lizzie, and fWhip. that’s the ship. I can’t believe this.

Joel is the tallest out of them and fWhip is the shortest

fWhip and Lizzie are really good at talking and Pix and Joel are really good at listening

They all have ADHD

When they’re in public they usually pretend to be two separate couples because the public isn’t exactly used to polyamory, and none of them are really ‘BE LOUD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!’ people

Lizzie, Pix, and fWhip are all like parents to Hermes (that kid has literally five parental units what)

Speaking of Hermes!! The rest of them know of and are perfectly fine with Sausage, and he and Joel adopt Hermes one day because they find him on the streets and they couldn’t just leave him there, so. ✨child✨

fWhip and Pix are cave bros and love dark/ tight spaces, but Lizzie and Joel hate them

Pix does photography!!

And Joel does bouldering and climbing

As per Fish‘s post, they call each other gf/ bf/ wife/ husband even tho they don’t actually get married lol

Hermes made friends with one of the dodos in the orchard one day when Pix was watching him and now they’re besties; it’s like Disney Hercules and Pegasus

With that plus Lizzie’s zoology; fWhip’s cave creatures, and Sanctuary’s whole deal, he grows up to be a huge animal person

Anyways moving away from Hermes lmao

All of them flirt so aggressively help

MAKING FUN OF JIMMY TOGETHER

If they’re out and someone asks Lizzie if she’s there with anyone, because the four of them are hanging out together, they’ll all just laugh until the guy gets freaked out and leaves

They all get their hair dyed at least a little bit- Lizzie (obviously) goes all pink, Joel has his green stripe, and then Pix gets a navy blue one and fWhip does full teal and green until the roots grow back in orange. The idea was started because Lizzie was getting hers redone and asked if they wanted to participate (her kitten eyes were like a fucking off switch on their strength of will)

Everyone thinks Pix is the responsible one. He’s not. He’s just as crazy as the other three

Lizzie has dubbed herself mayor of all the pets in their dorm building, Joel drinks sketchy protein shakes with all normal ingredients other than a splash of water from the fountain outside the Historical Mythology building, fWhip reads hanging off the couch upside down like a fucking bat. Pix seems normal enough on the surface, but my man single-handedly discovered a new species of fruit trees in 3 variants, a thought to be extinct species, and a machine that’s been around since the beginning of time, and he considers emerald ore to be worth more than his life. He’s pretty far from ‘normal’

Pix runs the campus news channel, and his partners find it adorable and also kind of worrying when they walk into the living room at two in the morning for water to see Pix sitting on the floor, surrounded by stacks of paper and two laptops, three cups of coffee and one of tea, and him in the middle wearing sweats and one of Joel’s shirts/ no top if he couldn’t find any, scrambling to get the next weekly episode out. Once he had to record the voiceover around Hermits, and they harassed him the whole time and threw pencils when he made a bad joke

Lizzie and Pix got American driver’s licenses, but Joel insisted that ‘he was loyally British and he liked being British and unless America changed their shtewpid driving habits, he’d have the rest of them drive him around the whole time’

Dishes never get done in their household I swear to god

Uno/ board games/ video games are a fucking nightmare because they’re all scarily competitive

They like sleeping in one bed, but sometimes it’s too hot for that so there is two beds

They actually do go on trips!! It’s like a thing for birthdays and stuff that they’re taken somewhere

For example, they took Lizzie to the San Diego zoo, fWhip to the Carlsbad Caverns, Pix to the Smithsonian, and Joel to the Parthenon

When one of them is sick, they have a whole lot of simping from the rest of them

fWhip and Lizzie have morning classes, Pix and Joel have late ones (that usually means the first two are making/ getting dinner while the other two are in class)

Anyways. Them <33

#Pixlriffs #ldshadowlady #smallishbeans #fWhip #ships #shipping #esmp #trafficshipping #college au #glass spouses

[cagedchoices]

About using AI to write replies... Why does it matter if people do or not? Maybe they don't have time to come up with a reply on their own but still wanna be active on tumblr. I just don't see why everyone paniced the minute this came up and jumped to banning anyone who might use it.

It matters because as of now, there's not really very many restrictions on what writing AI language models are allowed to pull from or not.

OpenAI is being sued in California because reportedly their AI was found using material protected by copyright from two best-selling authors. The authors were hosting both published and unpublished work on SmashWords. This means that the artists who created the work that the AI used and Frankensteined together, weren't paid or credited for their contribution to its dataset. This is currently a HUGE concern being observed with AI art and AI voiceover capabilities as well, with the fear being that if you can just use an AI to make a painting or replicate a voice for free or otherwise at only a small cost, then why would you pay an artist or actor for their time and effort? And I believe it is a valid concern.

I saw a thumbnail for an AI cover of A.rthur M.organ singing on YouTube just yesterday. I didn't even click on it. I blocked the channel, which was called "Made With A.I." or something like that. Because what this means is that R.oger C.lark, the actual artist who portrays the character of A.rthur M.organ, is most likely not getting paid for his work even though the AI is pulling from audio/video clips of dialogue he recorded and then emulating the voice by cutting together and simulating all the different sounds it needs to process to make it sound like A.rthur singing. Thus, now YouTube is profiting from the site traffic and ad revenue that video is creating for them (because they put ads everywhere now regardless of if the video is monetized or not), and the company that built the AI voice program is profiting from its use, and possibly the channel creator is profiting off of posting these kinds of videos. The actor is not getting paid even though it's his voice on the line.

When it comes to fan works such as fanart, fanfiction, tumblr roleplay, we are in a different boat. We legally cannot claim copyright infringement or make a profit off of our work in any way. Everything we do and everything we make falls under a social contract.

Most of us believe that stealing is stealing. When people repost art and other graphics or writing and claim that they made these things when they didn't or they trace over or repaint someone else's fanart, we call them out for it and tell them to reblog from the source, give credit to the original poster and stop being an art thief. That's generally what the social contract is. AI as it stands right now, violates our social contract. It doesn't give credit to anything it finds on the internet. It assumes that everything it finds is fair game.

Now all of that said, I have not personally picked out anybody using AI in the rpc yet. What I have seen is a confession blog in which somebody stated in one confession post that people were starting to use AI chat bots to write positivity for them and they hated the idea of that. I found some evidence that something like this has been happening on ao3. Bots are allegedly using the usernames of existing ao3 members to leave anonymous comments, most likely after datascraping fics so that the number of hits don't look as suspicious in proportion to the number of comments and kudos.

There have also been more than a few comments on anti-AI posts in which other users admit to using AI language models to continue unfinished fics they stumble across, with some feeling entitled to do so because "well if you leave a fic unfinished for a year i'm gonna assume you're never coming back and take matters into my own hands to get the ending i deserve" Which is an insanely entitled cold take.

And for another thing, we can't trust the companies who are developing all of these AI programs, because they could be lying to us. Currently there's a bit of a panic going around concerning Google's new beta AI assistant. There have been several conflicting reports. Some have been saying that the AI scans all of the Google Docs you've saved, public and private. Others claim that it only looks at documents you have set to public, and still other claim that it doesn't scan or save anything that it scanned without your permission. The problem is that Google as a company has shown us repeatedly through past experiences that they cannot be fucking trusted. Remember when they said they would never sell your data without permission? And then they got caught and 'apologized' for selling everyone's data without permission? Yeah. It's that lack of transparency surrounding how the AI actually works that truly makes it unethical.

I'll admit that yeah it may have been a little hasty of some of us rpers to start adding rules against using AI to write as quickly as we did and with only a minimal 'wait are people actually doing this?' mentality, but the way I see it is, I would rather outline my stance on it now before it becomes a huge problem, than risk leaving it alone until it's effectively too late to matter.

And as for being a roleplayer in a hurry to get replies done... I think we should address the root of the problem there. People are so anxious and afraid that their writing partners will ditch them and move on or that they won't seem interested enough in writing if they aren't pumping out replies all day every day and honestly, that's sad and it's really reflective of how transactional fandom spaces have become in the modern day, I think.

Using an AI to poop out a reply so that you don't have to feel anxious about not replying fast enough is not going to help us get out of that situation. It's just gonna make it worse. What we should be doing instead is encouraging people to go at their own pace. Not driving them right into the arms of AI authoring by stressing and pressuring them to respond within [x] amount of hours/days.

#mobile tbt. #long post. #i...went off i'm so sorry 😭 #the thoughts kept coming and they didn't stop #mel vs AI

[chawarin-panich]

the power dynamic between mangkorn and yai is so layered that it fascinates me endlessly, there are the obvious variables of who is in control determined by their BDSM activities [and i dont mean to imply that the dom is in control, maybe in a scene but not of the relationship] and the SD card ie blackmail material.

The upper hand keeps changing hands through the episodes until it is essentially rendered useless.

i think we as the viewer always knew that mangkorn never intended to release those videos. he's consistently used it to get closer to yai but takes little else other than his time. mangkorn shows all the signs of someone who's been in love with yai since before the show started (which...bless the strength of his heart)

it just makes me think about how real the power imbalance even was to begin with when the first thing yai asks himself upon mangkorn blackmailing him is this

when you think about it yai is very rich. in the series he's even richer than mangkorn, so how much would the sex tape even affect him and how much damage could mangkorn actually do to him? and perhaps moreover did yai actually ever intend to make this tape. he pressed play but what did he even intend to film?

In the book yai himself never means to be on the tape but in the show yai just gets right on top of him doesn't he (lol? like im laughing but its awful). I usually hate voiceovers but this moment keeps ringing in my head because what *do* you want from mangkorn, yai? and perhaps more importantly what have you always wanted from him?

[more embarrassing need of a cut on my seemingly endless thesis length meta about big dragon]

yai is almost suspiciously ready to submit to mangkorn, using the ballgag on their first night decisively feels like a yai idea [ep 2 mangkorn asks him 'you like the violence, right?'] and i think its significant that the show makes a point of showing that yai hasn't submitted to anyone else since mangkorn either.

with the embarrassing amount of time i spend thinking about this show [and its also book canon but the show preserves literally 0.1% of the book thankfully] i am getting more and more convinced that yai too has been in love with mangkorn the entire time.

there are two routes enemies to lovers usually go: 1) due to circumstance you get to know your enemy and you find your view of them was incomplete/you have more in common than you thought/ it was some stupid misunderstanding 2) you've always been obsessed with them but are too emotionally stunted to admit it

I think we are lulled in the beginning into thinking its 1 but it is starting to feel like 2 - so what is the powerplay in their relationship even for? and how much do they actually know each other?

yai demands to know why mangkorn couldn't just tell him the truth about his engagement but my immediate thought was when?? when would he have- like at what point did yai start feeling entitled to this information? they legit entered into this relationship in some official capacity the morning of their conversation about mangkorn's engagement. but the earliest confirmation we have that yai feels entitled to this info is here:

but yai follows mangkorn around everytime he's in the vicinity of a woman almost compulsively...and the first episode his reason for doing whatever he did is...that mangkorn was hitting on a girl [who yai supposedly liked but im just pointing out the common theme here]

anyhow the point im trying to make - and it is perhaps the worst meta i could have written about yai - is that drugging and a failed attempt at raping him is yai's method of wooing his crush which in and of itself isn't particularly new [toxic relationships are the bread and butter of BL] what's new - and maybe even unprecedented - is that mangkorn is the type of person who would successfully be wooed by this to the point of becoming the active wooing party [so is the SD card even a symbol of power? or is it interest?].

they are both such garbage cans of a human being and most importantly to equal measures through and through, they both have plunged into this relationship with naught a thought in their pretty heads, they've both created the problems that plague their relationship - at this rate there is little hope of them being together unless something significantly changes between them or about them and i just - when i say im vibrating to find out....

#big dragon the series #big dragon meta #big dragon #mangkornyai #holy jesus can you believe i cut this meta short? #like there was so much more i wanted to talk about but then it would have been a thesis #im so embarrassing #anyway if mangkorns mom comes in and solves all their problems i will be disappointed #but it will also be relieving? #i need this dance to end i need it to end for my sanity #oh my god DANCE - they were literally dancing in their second sex scene #i just want to *tears hair out*

[astralsi]

hello, elli! how are you doing? i'm always very impressed by your builds, you seem to craft them very carefully and you definitely have an amazing eye for detail. there's lots of small touches that make them feel alive/realistic and they have a warm atmosphere that really appeals to me. because of that, i'd like to ask you if you have any tips when it comes to building and finding inspiration. oh, i almost forgot, i'd love to have your last builds and its residents when you reach the milestone!

Hiya!! this is such a sweet ask and the ideas are brewing in my head so you get a dissertation under the cut :D (ps ily you made my day HEHE)

ALRIGHT! so first of all a little context, i've been building since i got the sims 3 alll the way back in 2011. i think. i was 7, couldn't speak or even understand english yet and my game was stuck in it so for a very long time i was just doing whatever and most of the time it.... sucked! I got the sims 4 back in 2014 with the mac release, and back in the day the build mode was revolutionary so i spent a lot of my time in there. For me building is fun, i know a lot of people who see it as frustrating and timeconsuming and while it can be- it can also be very enjoyable in the right setting.

first of all, style changes a lot and my builds look different every year! the style i've been building in now only really started in 2021/2022 with this build:

now for some tips:

there's a lot of ways to get inspiration, but my favourite and most useful is pinterest! i have a board full of exterior and interior designs, some i use for vibes and others i follow very closely, i find using references (just like you might for sims) helps a ton when trying to build something realistic. Also think magazines like architectural digest, design blogs on tumblr, youtube home viewings, other video games, tv shows etc. When i'm building for DFM i like to keep Stranger Things, Gone Home and Bones And All in mind as inspiration, and when i build the house in this post for @literalite's Dgwicf i referenced the house from Bosch.

Along with that comes inspo from other builders on Simblr. Go and look at your fav builds, what makes them stand out to you? how can you incorporate that into your own builds? what do you need to be able to do that? One thing i did a lot while learning was watching speed builds; and i mean the REAL kind not the stop motion ones despite them being weirdly satisfying lmao. Ones with a good voiceover help too. Seeing someone actually build makes it a lot easier to figure out more complicated building styles.

One thing i like to do is to build through storytelling. I personally mostly build for sets, so then i like to consider what the viewer needs to see to be able to understand a character without having to know them, where you are/live says a lot about you! But for gameplay it works similarly. Ask yourself questions; who lives here, what is this lot used for, how much money do they have, where is this set, does this match the rest of the neighbourhood/town. If building many lots for something like a story or save file, i like to make a pinterest board for the town vibes too.

Technically, i think there's two main tips for making a build look nice in this specific style. Landscaping and Clutter! i actually think landscaping is the most important part of building as it ties the entire thing together; even if its just three trees in a planter pot. Don't forget about terrain painting either! this one's hard to learn if you never do it but i'd say start out with the softest but largest brush option and kind of airbrush some dirt/gravel around the lot and add a little extra dirt underneath houses and roads. Last tip; if you struggle with roofing there's lots of tutorials on youtube, or you could just choose builds that have less roofs.

i have no idea how to explain how to clutter but you could walk around your house to look for stuff you'd normally clean up if someone would come over. add that into your build :) think trash, laundry, study materials, craft projects, little random nicknacks, cooking supplies, etc. sometimes i go through my clutter folders and just put everything i want to use in one room and distribute it later once the furniture is in!

so uhmmm,,, i hope this was helpful lemme know!! have fun building and don't forget to take snack breaks... sugar helps hehe

#ts4 #ts4 build #ts4 building #anon #ask #you're so kind i was giggling at the compliments hehe

[arabellaflynn]

Life updates or: "Where the hell have you been?"

Hello! I am not dead. I have at points wished I could just be in a coma until it stopped being hot out, but alas, we do not always get what we want. If you are one of my Patrons, you've been getting sporadic updates, but for the lay public, here's the rundown:

Bad news: Cheddar has left us. Obituary here on Instagram. I figured the respiratory problems would eventually get them both, but didn't expect it quite so soon. Cheese is still here, although he is a little lonesome. I am consoling him with pets and pudding.

Good news: I have yet another new job. Someone figured out I could work the sound board at one of the theaters and started paying me to do that. About 50% of the people who ask are also willing to pay me adult amounts of money for it. The adult amounts of money are enough that I can politely turn down the ones who think "exposure" is as good as a paycheck. I'm not going to be buying any superyachts anytime soon, but money has come in faster than I spend it. It's weird.

More good news: The COVID recovery grant I've been waiting on finally showed up. The grantors bit off a bit more than they could chew and kept sending us 'soz, handing out several million $$ in five grand increments is taking longer than we thought, plz stop calling us' emails. I had to borrow to keep myself afloat, but it's all paid back now and I'm confusingly solvent, at least for a while.

Yet more good news: I'm moving. Why is this good news, you ask? Because my current roommates suck. One moved out to shack up with his boyfriend and the replacement has a raging case of Main Character Syndrome. The married couple broke up and it turns out the one who moved out was adulting for both of them. I have been stuck floating the rent for one useless narcissist who doesn't think 'rent is due by the first' applies to him and one dysfunctional soon-to-be-divorcee who has no job and no income. I found a new place to park myself, the paperwork came back with all the rubber stamps today, I just emailed the same guys who moved me the last time to ask for another quote. 

Sorta bad news that might be okay?: All of my short-term and one-off performance proposals for the summer have been politely turned down. With the grant money in the bank I could technically sit on my ass for a month or two before I even had to start looking for more work, but I would die of boredom. Instead, I am signing myself up for a bunch of one-off classes and summer activities that I've always kind of wanted to take, but could never wedge into my schedule or budget, and once I get moved into my new place I'm going to start work on a sort of... video essay let's play thing? Final Fantasy II (the Japanese edition, not the SNES one) is an incredibly boring game, but it's boring for interesting historical reasons. I've been toying with doing a letsplay of the game with a fun rambly history lecture in the voiceover. I'll be able to get a goddamned air conditioner in the window of the new place, so there's no reason for me not to hole up in my room in between gigs and classes and just play video games for a while. 

As mentioned above, I'm pretty okay for right now, but if any of the anony-mice are inspired to help anyway, here is a list of things I intend to have Amazon dump directly onto the porch of the new house. The bed frame and sheets are the most important things; the previous occupant had a king-size mattress she didn't need, and rather than make anyone haul that thing down the stairs I'm just taking it over. (My current bedroom is small enough to violate the Geneva Convention. I have a twin in here now.) I'm going to enjoy being able to sprawl again without falling over the edge.

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#IFTTT #Blogger #Unsolicited Advice

[jinxedshapeshifter]

Hey y’all! I got some tips for shops on AJPW.

This is just how I do it, there are tons of ways to set up and run shops on Animal Jam.

Firstly it’s always a good idea to label your shops.

You can do this with masterpiece labels like I did here, you can use color coding and use a masterpiece to color coding, you can even use specific shop names for different types of shops!

If someone is looking for specific items (for example, crafting crystals or pets) this can help them find what they need.

Tip 2: Make sure your shops are easy to find, unless you’re specifically doing one of those “hidden shop in my den!” things.

If your shops aren’t immediately visible, make sure you point people in the right direction!

I hate searching dens for shops, other people hate searching dens for shops, it’s a hassle. Keep your shops somewhere visible, people are more likely to buy from you if they know where your shops are.

Tip 3: Use the My Shop Explorer in Coral Canyons as a reference for prices!

Some things might be worth more or less than you think. How I’ve used the My Shop Explorer as a reference is taking the prices on the first 3 or so pages (or less depending on how many items are in the Explorer), adding them up, then taking the average and using that for my price. Generally I keep prices in a Google Docs document so I know what price to use when I put the item in my shop. I also have a habit of rounding to the nearest 5 (so if something comes out as 221 sapphires I’ll set it to 220) but that’s just me.

For anyone who doesn’t know how to find averages, you just add up all the prices, divide by the number of items you used for example prices, and there’s your average!

ALSO if you’re reselling someone else’s art, make sure they’re okay with it and check any rules they have in place. It’s rude to go against any rules artists have set for reselling their art/mastertracks/masterblocks and could result in you being blocked.

I do plan to do a video on this as well, but it’s not gonna have a voiceover because I’m recovering from being sick. I will make sure I share the video once it’s done tho!!

#animal jam #animal jam play wild #ajpw #animal jam tips