Emerald Ur A FREAK

https://linktr.ee/Euaf - @greglemonlestrade - . ѕσмєтιмєѕ ιт ƒєєɭѕ вєттєя ησт тσ тαɭк. αт αɭɭ.αвσυт αηутнιηց. тσ αηуσηє. . 𝙰𝚛𝚝𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍.. 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎. 𝙰𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝙽𝚈 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

[emeraldurafreak]

After like two years I finally finished my Sherlock bbc fanfic ‘Emergency’ so if anyone is interested here’s the links-

AO3-

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Wattpad-

Emergency

Recovering drug addict Sherlock Holmes meets supposedly permanently hospital stuck John Watson. As they become freinds...

[emeraldurafreak]

Back to my roots

[its-always-sunny-in-city17]

happy 16th anniversary or whatevurrr

[urie]

americans are sooo desensitized to guns and sometimes it manifests in ways that affect your media literacy. like remember in the first episode of sherlock when john watson opens up his drawer and you see a gun in there and youre supposed to understand that this is narratively significant and conveys his suicidality as well as his willingness to skirt rules and laws but the first time i watched it i was like oh well theres his desk gun. lots of people have those

[a-mel0n]

reblog if you’ve had an online friendship that’s lasted more than 2 years

[alexseanchai]

[image: tweet by ick_real: "who actually has an online friendship that has lasted more than 2 years?"]

[nyaza]

Archiving an entire social media platform.

Look guys, Amino sucks. I know this, you know this (assuming you've used the platform before) and everyone else who's ever used the platform before knows this too. With the recent shutdown of Amino, I could only ponder: is it all just gone now? Have we lost this part of the internet completely? That was, until I remembered the project I had been working on for 3 years – archiving Amino. Please join me on this journey as I tell you how we got here.

You might ask: how did we get here in the first place? What even is Amino? And what's my connection to it?

Basically: Amino is was a social media platform where teens were trusted to run and moderate subcommunities about anything you can think of, with the occasional grooming sprinkled in. Basically: reddit with the modern customizability and chatting functionality of discord and more!! Quizzes, Photo Albums, if you can think of a feature for a social media app, Amino probably had it – in a lot of cases, even before a lot of social media platforms have started using it themselves.

I started using Amino in 2018, started contributing to a python library for amino in 2019-2020, got employed for Amino in 2021 and then left in late 2022. I've written a huge draft that goes into my employment at MediaLab and how it wasn't really... good nor lawful, but that's neither here nor there for now.

After my tenure I've started to use the platform less and less but one thing was always certain for me: if Amino were to disappear, I would be extremely sad to go out empty handed. So in 2023 I started working on an archival tool for Amino, which had matured in 2024 where I had started renting servers to run it on, as well as using my own hardware for running the tools in parallel with a selfhosted database cluster which I had to maintain. In total, I spent over 800€ during the runtime of this project to scrape amino as much as I could. Leading me to a database with about 30 million records

Developing that archival tool, was a huge pain. Not due to ratelimiting or platform security but due to the lack thereof. Lacking consistency in response schemas, exploits allowing to upload arbitrary data, malformed JSON Objects and everything you can think of. Every time the tool hung, I would notice days later because I couldn't be bothered to actually add good monitoring and had to patch out all of the mistakes Amino had made. That is also why I decided to use MongoDB for this project. SQL is great for sure but if the schemas aren't consistent anywhere then uh... Where do you even go from there? To me it was more important to get as much as quickly as I could instead of wasting precious time creating schemas.

The problems didn't just end at bad design on Amino's end though. The main problem for me was: how do I find a list of all major communities? There was no way to enumerate every community on Amino besides trying to iterate over every single possible community id or stalking their sitemap.xml (I ended up doing a mix of both) which were both suboptimal as that led to including a bunch of small and or private and or deleted communities which due to lacking security were completely accessible by the API.

I decided to archive those but strip them from any public release, should I ever make one. I made a different choice in favor of privacy regarding chats. I like archiving, yes, but a lot of chats contained extremely private information which would be impossible for me to filter out. Despite the value of archiving them, I made the conscious decision of leaving chat logs as well as photo albums out of the archive and only retaining sparse chat room metadata, if at all.

Going on a small tangent here, but, did you know that private chats aren't actually private on Amino? As with private communities, private chats can be accessed solely if the chat id is known! No auth needed! It's kinda stupid that this works but hell, what do I know.

That leads us to today. Amino has now "officially" shut down. I'm using air quotes here, because there was no official statement, subscriptions weren't cancelled automatically and had to be refunded and stopped manually, there is no way to make GDPR requests anymore and a bunch of other stuff that is outright unlawful. The only thing that remains up is the image servers which are purely AWS S3 wrappers.

So, instead of archiving blogs etc. Let's set out on a different journey. Changing the scope from gigabytes to terabytes!

Since I don't have the storage necessary myself, I reached out to archiveteam as well a friend who will help me download what we can from the static media in order to bring amino back from the dead once more. Couple that archive with a project of mine (self hostable amino private server) and one day you'll have a fully functional archive of amino browsable in the app itself.

So consider this as a teaser for a larger project yet to come! Be prepared for Aminoid!

Also note that in the title I said archiving an entire platform, that is a massive overstatement I archived a big portion but not literally the entirety.

[nyaza]

Archiving an entire social media platform (small update)

In my last post, which you should read first, I talked about archiving Amino. The last update I gave here was that the media servers are still up and I began a collaboration with ArchiveTeam and SciOp. Now Amino is finally completely dead, so I'm making a small update! Prepare for long rants & good news!

The ArchiveTeam collab

So, one of the major parts of the project was collaboration with ArchiveTeam to get the media archived. That actually went pretty well, I gave them a list of 55M URLs and they archived 54M URLs before Amino shut down the media servers, that means that nearly every single image, video, gif, profile frame, whatever is archived fully & functionally! Private media was not archived and as such media for larger communities that were set to private to prevent bot attacks might be gone. There are separate 7M files that got archived which might fill some of the holes but at most 61M URLs are functionally archived.

Public Preview

Because I got >80 E-Mails asking me whether a community was archived or not I decided to make a quick public preview that allows you to easily search through the archived communities as well as find out what has been archived from it. You can find that hosted at https://archive.azalea.sh/ please make sure to read the about page as that contains some useful information!

Rant (this is where I go crashout)

You really don't need to read this unless you're interested in the technical side of things but I CAN'T KEEP IT TOGETHER ANYMORE

I wanted to implement text search in a way where it's handled by a different service than actual DB lookups. Mostly to reduce strain but also to make text search quick and snappy. For that purpose I wanted to use MeiliSearch because I've used it on a bunch of other smaller projects (like archiving & indexing every Strawpage, that's a story for another day) and it generally worked great!

It turns out that it really does not scale well and I kept having a bunch of stupid problems with MeiliSearch which eventually just lead to me programming around the pitfalls that MeiliSearch inherently brings with it, that is, I started to write my own ingestion pipeline to auto compact the db because it would just grow exponentially otherwise. I started writing systems to partition the data automagically to prevent building monolithic indexes that do nothing but waste space.

The best part is: due to how slow the ingestion pipeline was because MeiliSearch apparently does not multi thread very well on v1.31 (but it worked on v1.17??) it takes days to run completely and every time I made a small mistake I had to re-run the entire pipeline from scratch because *apparently* MeiliSearch just doesn't actually delete content that you deleted so uhm yeah I wasted a bunch of time on that. But it works now. And that's good. Because if I have to redo it again I will actually just give up on MeiliSearch completely.

[slayitforward-deactivated202311]

Haven't been in the Sherlock fandom for a bit, but I can't stop thinking about this.

After the Reichenbach fall, after Sherlock returns, John can't stop touching him. It's small touches here and there, a hand brushing lint and debris from his coat, or resting on his head briefly as John passes by Sherlock who's laid out on the couch. He leans more firmly into him, stands closer, holds his eyes for longer, hugs him more.

A person, who doesn't know their history, doesn't know about Sherlock's "death" or his second coming or how symbiotic Sherlock and John's relationship is, takes a fancy to Sherlock. They watch Sherlock and John interact. They observe all the little touches and how they keep increasing over time. They see the restlessness of Sherlock buzz under his skin as he forces his body to pause for however long John's touches last. Day by day, their jealousy heats into a boil until they want to scream.

One day they confront John right after his hand slides up to give Sherlock's neck a firm squeeze, his fingers twisting in his dark curls as they leave. The person asks, "Why do you touch him so much?"

And John, who's been doing most of his touching subconsciously and the rest of his touching under the assumption that he's been subtle, freezes.

Realizing they've struck a nerve, the person adds, with a vicious hiss underscoring their words, "Like you think he's yours or something."

John's eyebrows lower and his mouth twists. An expression carves itself on his face that makes him look pissed, but also like he might cry. His arms cross defensively and he masks taking a step away from Sherlock as a shuffling of feet.

Before anymore can be said, Sherlock, voice deep and eyes icy, says, "I am his."

Both John and the person look at him. John's head cocks as his glassy eyes widen and blink rapidly a few times. His lips press themselves into a purse and his crossed hands clench into the arms of his sweater.

"I consider it an observational fact which, if you had any sense at all in that vapid little skull of yours, you would have realized before opening your mouth and proving yourself a fool."

The person flinches back.

John's lips pinch in the corners the way they do when he's trying not to take ungodly glee in Sherlock's observations.

Sherlock delivers the final blow. "For as long as John Watson can stand me, in whatever way he wants me, I am his."

[simphonia-cruel]

Немного ностальгии вам в ленту внезапно

(не моё)

(NOT MINE)

[therealsaintscully]

The year is 2025, and here I am, still very troubled about BBC Sherlock. Now, it's been a while since I wrote any Sherlock meta, but there's something that's been bugging me, and I’d love to get people’s input and thoughts.

I'm a screenwriter—not a professional one, but an autodidact. I haven’t had anything produced, but I have written several original screenplays. One of the most basic things you learn as a writer in general, and especially in screenwriting, is the concept of the character arc. It’s the art of starting a character off as one thing, taking them through a process of deconstruction or challenge, and letting them emerge as something different.

An exercise I enjoy is watching films or TV shows and analysing a character’s arc. I try to spot hints of how a character will change by the end of an episode, a season, or the entire series. That’s part of why I particularly love Michael Schur’s shows—Parks and Recreation, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In the Michael Schur universe, character arcs are blatantly laid out for you in the pilot episode. There’s absolutely no need to philosophize or guess: the characters often state it themselves, or it’s clearly expressed through others.

Take, for example, Michael Scott.

In the Office pilot, he’s genuinely a terrible boss and a trashcan of a person. But we’re immediately shown his arc via one simple prop: a coffee mug. “World’s Best Boss.” That’s his journey—to become that boss, if not in the world, then at least in Dunder Mifflin.

Or take Jake Peralta. In B99’s pilot, Terry introduces the squad to Captain Holt with:

“Jacob Peralta is my best detective — he likes putting away bad guys, and he loves solving puzzles. The only puzzle he hasn’t solved… is how to grow up.”

From that alone, you know where Jake is headed. By the end of the show, he’ll still be the squad’s best detective, but he’ll also be a grown-up: a dad, a partner, someone who takes his job seriously and earns the respect of his captain.

In the Parks and Rec original pilot script, Leslie outright declares that she’ll be America’s first female president. In the aired pilot, the message is softened a bit when Leslie says:

“You know, government isn’t just a boy’s club anymore. Women are everywhere. It’s a great time to be a woman in politics. Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, me.”

There it is: Leslie’s arc will involve her rising through the boys’ club of American politics and becoming a truly great public servant (and maybe—even if it’s never clearly stated—the first female president).

So now that I’ve set the scene a bit—understanding how a character arc is seeded in a pilot—let’s talk about Sherlock.

What are we told about John and Sherlock in the pilot that sets up their character arcs?

Let’s start with Sherlock, because that one is spoon-fed to the audience—by none other than Lestrade. In response to John’s question, “Why do you put up with him?”, Lestrade says:

“Because Sherlock Holmes is a great man. And I think, one day, if we’re very, very lucky, he might even be a good one.”

That’s it. That’s Sherlock’s arc. The writers are telling us outright: here’s a brilliant but emotionally disconnected man. And the journey ahead of him isn’t about intellect, but about goodness. About connection, humanity, compassion. Becoming not just great, but good. And, if I might add a bit of Johnlock, not just to anyone—but through John, with John, and ultimately because of John.

Now, John’s arc is a little less obvious in my opinion, though just as important—and it’s given to us by Mycroft, who says:

“You’re not haunted by the war, Dr. Watson—you miss it.”

To me, this says: here is a traumatized soldier who never fully came back from war. He’s unmoored, disconnected, half-alive. "Nothing ever happens to me." And the arc we should expect? A man who, over time, things happen to him and he finds peace. Who finds meaning in his civilian life—back in London, in friendship, in purpose, in (perhaps) love. Who, by the end of the series, no longer misses the war.

That’s the setup. That’s what we were promised. Or at the very least, that's what I feel I was promised.

Only… whatever I feel was promised never actually happened.

In fact, Sherlock ends up delivering the complete opposite. In Seasons 3 and 4, the show leans into Sherlock as a mythic, near-supernatural figure—the “adult who never was a child.” This directly contradicts the idea of humanising him. The sudden introduction of Eurus shifts the focus from internal growth to external spectacle. His evolution becomes a reaction to trauma, not a conscious transformation toward goodness.

By the end of The Lying Detective, Sherlock is still fundamentally isolated and emotionally unavailable. Despite supposedly learning to “connect,” he doesn’t share emotionally in any meaningful way—not with John, not with Eurus, not with Molly. The “I love you” scene is a puzzle to be solved, not a moment of genuine vulnerability. John and Sherlock’s confrontation at the end of TLD achieves absolutely nothing in terms of their openness or intimacy.

Sherlock's arc—of becoming a good man—is never achieved. Now, we can argue about that, because Sherlock is a softie at times. He is kind. And don’t get me wrong—when Michael Scott leaves Dunder Mifflin, he’s by no means a perfect boss. But he’s loved by Pam, he’s missed by Jim, and the Dunder Mifflin team has learned to respect him in their own way.

I know some of you are itching to shout that Sherlock's arc won't be complete without S5 and in theory, I agree! But! Lest we forget, Lestrade’s “prophecy” (supposedly) comes full circle in The Final Problem:

"No, he’s better than that. He’s a good one."

This, supposedly, is the great moment of The Payoff. Here stands Sherlock, A Good Man™.

Which… always makes me scratch my head.

Is he, Lestrade? Really? What is it, exactly, in those last few days that convinces you of that? What moment between The Six Thatchers and The Final Problem gives you that impression?

Nothing. Really—nothing. This, for me, is absolutely zero character arc payoff.

Now, what about John—who was supposed to come back from the war, or at most, get his adrenaline kicks chasing criminals with Sherlock through the streets of London?

Mary’s death completely hijacks John's growth as a character. Rather than showing John finding stability in his marriage and family (or with Sherlock, in whatever shape that takes), the show strips it all away. And worse, it distances him from Sherlock once more—throwing him into another spiral of guilt and rage, effectively rebooting his trauma rather than resolving it.

The finale gives John no closure. We don’t know where John is emotionally by the end of The Final Problem. Is he at peace? Are we supposed to believe that a happy montage fixes everything? Does he still crave danger? Does he still feel violent impulses toward Sherlock?

I can’t even begin to think when or how Mycroft’s seed of John’s arc—“you miss the war”—comes full circle in The Final Problem. Unlike Lestrade’s line about Sherlock, there’s nothing that brings that theme to any kind of resolution. It’s as though Moftiss forgot to give John a conclusion altogether.

I’ve sometimes wondered if Sherlock’s words to John in TLD—“We might all just be human”—were meant to gesture at John’s arc. But… why would it?

John never struggled to understand that he was human. That wasn’t his arc. That wasn’t his flaw. He knew he was human and he always craved for that humanity from Sherlock. So what, then, was that line supposed to resolve?

I can play devil's advocate here. Character arcs can be negative. A character doesn't always have to have a happy ending, and had Moftiss boldly done that, I would have appreciated it. But they hadn't- they give us a weird ass montage with John and Sherlock happily giggling at Rosie. It's just feels like there's absolutely no conclusion for John, whether negative or positive.

Adding insult to injury, Mary’s 'speech' during the final montage is actually dismissive of their "growth":

“There are two men sitting arguing in a scruffy flat. Like they’ve always been there, and always will.”

Which completely negates the idea that they’ve changed. At that point, they’re not like they’ve always been. John's quite possibly worse than when we met him.

“The best and wisest men I have ever known.”

Again—what’s with the John erasure? Let’s say, for the sake of argument, Sherlock is better now—what makes him wise? And John’s arc was never about becoming wise, so what does that even mean?

“My Baker Street boys.”

Are they? Are they still the Baker Street boys (I hate that nickname)? We’re never told if John and Rosie move back in. In fact, in a Q&A Moftiss declare John does not return to Baker Street.

And that’s just it, isn’t it?

The Final Problem finale doesn’t fail because it was mysterious or ambiguous or hilariously bad or tragic. It fails because it abandons the emotional contract it made with its viewers in the very first episode. It forgets the arcs it promised, the healing it hinted at, the people these characters were meant to become.

We didn't need a happy ending. But we did need a real one.

[helloliriels]

"I know what you two could be"

to

"Who you are doesn't matter"

[beelock]

He said that he’d rather have anyone but you. Anyone.

[emeraldurafreak]

Anyone. “That one word and my whole world changed”

Heart wrenching.

[dramatisecho]

01. 02. 03.

[emeraldurafreak]

“Electric lover, was I always alone? Was there ever a spark inside your heart or was it my own?”

-Electric Lover, Coyote Kid.

[emeraldurafreak]

“Of your cold heart, no spark restarting your true dark. With mismatched animal parts, cannibal starved, natural, death is just the start of progress.”

- Dark Science, Coyote Kid

[emeraldurafreak]

“…Filled to the brim with the victims of your so called morality.” Good Intentions, Coyote Kid

[emeraldurafreak]

“…In his violence thеre is wisdom, in his silence there is pain. But he can’t wipe that hollow grin from his face.” Vision in Black, Coyote Kid.

[emeraldurafreak]

“.. And I can't fix what's broken and it won't fix in time.” Strange Days, Coyote Kid.