Poprocks

Originally a Kiribaku blog. Now more into MXTX and other gay shit. emerald_moons on AO3.

[poprocksromance]

Better Bets Taken

First Chapter out now of my "What if Ilya and Shane did summer training together?" AU. Starts immediately after The Cottage. Set in show canon for the most part and later follows events in TLG influenced by this change in trajectory.

This story will involve: Shane gaining more friends against his will, Ilya thirst posting about Shane "for the fans," examinations on how Shane's autism and orthorexia influence on their relationship, Ilya's #OttawaGirl, and more!

Summary:

“You should train together in the off-season.” Ilya lifted his head off Svetlana’s lap. “What?” “If your Canadian really wants to marry you someday, you might as well get used to spending your summers together,” she said, smooth and practical as ever. “You need to fix your public relationship from rivals to friends, and being publicly seen together will help. You need a new trainer anyway, now that you aren’t going to Russia.” - Or: Svetlana knows who Jane is. And it changes everything because she is smarter than both of these idiots.

Currently hoping to post weekly updates!

[pitviperofdoom]

I try not to fall into the "I never liked their work anyway" ditch when an artist/creator reveals themself to be a terrible person

BUT

a feeling I do have and will stand by is "While I enjoyed their work overall I did have some gripes that I overlooked out of affection and whimsy, but now that my loyalty is gone and my affection tainted there is nothing holding me back from enumerating my many grievances, to which the revelations of the creator's shittiness may or may not provide a new and infuriating context."

[beatrice-otter]

#such a good summation of this actually#because yeah there’s usually things that were always present#but which were easy to overlook or give the benefit of the doubt#that suddenly become relevant after a revelation about the creator#and it’s really not the same thing as the self-defensive “’I never liked it anyway’

tags via chimaerakitten

[sztupy]

Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers

A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previou

[ayeforscotland]

Let’s fucking go

[made-in-manetheren]

This is HUGE.

1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.

2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.

3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."

4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.

TL;DR Google reeeeeally stepped in it this time.

[rederiswrites]

Just watched Adam Conover (of Adam Ruins Everything) make such a solid point that I think we should spread far and wide. Yes, having AI write your emails is lazy, sure, but people love being lazy. We need to really emphasize that sending AI emails (or using AI responses on social media, or publishing AI flyers, or or or) is rude.

It's rude. You're making someone take their time to read something you couldn't bother to write. You're telling them they were so unimportant you couldn't be bothered to actually take the time to say something yourself. And frankly, you're lying about it while you're at it.

It's rude.

[swagsmeister]

napmaxxing

[pwhl-mybeloved]

[talahui]

Why Retailers Need To Prepare For The New Women’s Sports Consumer

Women's sports are cultivating a distinct, new fanbase, rather than merely converting existing sports enthusiasts. Sustaining this diverse c

adding the full article for people who want to look a bit more at where some of the data comes from

[phoenixyfriend]

Best/Favorite Modern AU Jobs for Anakin

Auto Mechanic (shop, F-1, other)

Professional Engineer (mechanical, software, robotic, aerospace, biomech, other)

University Professor (STEM) or Teacher (K-12)

University or High School Student (STEM) (includes Grad)

Race Car Driver or Pilot (non-military)

Artist (includes tattoo artist, photographer, etc)

House Husband

Criminal (mob, white hat hacking, leverage, getaway driver, etc)

Sex Worker

Food Service or Hospitality (bartender/barista/waiter/chef/concierge/chauffeur)

Fighter (MMA, Boxing, martial arts teacher, etc)

Military

Remaining time: 4 days 9 hours

Honorary mentions: physical therapist/sports physician, firefighter.

Anyway remember this post?

Here are the others:

Obi-Wan Modern AU Jobs Poll

Ahsoka Modern AU Jobs Poll

Padme Modern AU Jobs Poll

Feel free to reblog with commentary and "I like [occupation] but it doesn't fit neatly into any of the categories."

[poprocksromance]

Listen, how I would put these all together:

Anakin is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering who is freaking brilliant and coming up with the most amazing advances for the field but the fucking Council won’t give him a damn professorship so he’s just locked in PhD hell.

Obi-Wan is Anakin’s thesis advisor. Ahsoka is masters students who works in their lab that Anakin is reluctantly fond of and Obi-Wan keeps thinking if Anakin mentors her he’ll finally be able to submit a thesis that doesn’t violate ethics rules and follows proper protocol of how to conduct research.

Padme is the hot-shot politician who visited campus for an event when Anakin was an undergrad and Anakin was immediately besotted with her. Secret relationship ensues after he started his PhD program. She has influence of the funds that go toward his lab and it’s a conflict of interest for them to be involved.

[dogmotif-deactivated20240505]

the main problem i have with america is that nothings old as hell there. i cant be so far away from a castle it damages my aura

[chillyfeetsteak]

man people really just say stuff on here huh

[lame-kid-on-couch]

Noooo haha don't spread racist ideals and colonizer propaganda by idolizing white european aesthetics above all else and denying the life and accomplishments of native peoples on their own lands

[brehaaorgana]

People have been living in the downtown area of Tucson, Arizona for at least 4,500 years. The greater Santa Cruz river valley has been occupied by humans for 12,000 years.

You see this?

That's not a river. That's the South Canal in Mesa, Arizona (Phoenix metro area).

This is a view of the East and South canals. At least half of all the Phoenix metro canals were originally built by the Hohokam (from roughly 200-1400 CE), and are still in use (restored) today.

Phoenix, Arizona actually has more miles (kilometers) of Canals total than both Venice and Amsterdam. No, really. Phoenix has about 180 miles of canals, many of which are built on ancient canal foundations.

below is an aerial view photo taken in the late 1930's of one branch of Phoenix's canal systems:

Also have the "Montezuma Castle," if you need a castle:

I don't need to look at some 12th century European castle to see age.

[runawaymun]

Don’t forget the continuously inhabited pueblos!!

The Taos Pueblo, Orayvi, and Sky City (Acoma) were all founded sometime before 1150AD and have been continuously inhabited since then.

There’s the Medicine Wheel in Wyoming - called Annáshisee by the Apsáalooke, who also say that it was there before they arrived. We don’t know how old it is. Oral history from several different indigenous tribes say it was built by ancient ancestors who lived without iron.

And then there’s the Serpent Mound in Ohio, which, by the way, is the largest serpent effigy in the world.

Radiocarbon dates it back to at least 300 BCE. (2300 years ago), so, you know — the time of Ptolemy and the Punic Wars, and was later repaired by indigenous people about 900 years ago.

This just scratches the surface. So, yeah, we have a lot of old as shit stuff here built by indigenous people. Don’t even get me started on South America.

[soundoftheirwings]

Gotta tell you guys something wild in the Chinese fan sphere

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

And that is how this charity received over 1 million in donations in three days lol. Oh btw the “freedom of expression” side won by a landslide (960k to 40k)

[tlbodine]

From now on this is how all petty fandom disputes should be settled.

[telomeke]

[ID–

Screenshots of the donation tallies. The winning side got 959,805.16 while the losing side got 33,373.61.

End ID.]

‌

[raptorific]

[poprocksromance]

A cautionary tale about the growing literacy crisis

[mxhenriksen]

trans shane is so real to me that he's too real and I know he would for sure be an egg uncracked for a long time and he'd play in the pwhl and he'd still be the best and he'd be obsessed with/hate ilya rozanov because he knows he's just as good (maybe even better) but in this world no one is bothering to compare them and maybe he tracks him down at some event because he needs to tell him "im better than you, you asshole" and. well. hollander isnt ilya's usual type for girls but there's something about her and they end up getting each other off and exchanging numbers and meeting when they are in the same cities and shane does NOT want people to know but he isnt really sure why but ilya is fine with that it's just casual sex. except ilya started watching hollander's games and she really is good maybe actually better than him and maybe he's thinking about her a bit too much and. and then they meet up for the fifth or sixth time and ilya is sort of obsessed at this point and really wants them to actually fuck but hollander sort of freaks out stuttering panicking blushing then finally admits he only wants to do that if it's in his ass and ilya isnt sure what possesses him to say well that's okay ive done that with guys so I can make it good for you and shane is all the sudden very interested in the fact that ilya likes guys and he isnt sure why it makes his stomach twist up with excitement and arousal like what is wrong with him but ilya has this thinking look on his face and then says "yes. I like pretty people, pretty girls," he lifts his hand up to cup shane's face, "but also pretty boys" and oh does shane want to be his pretty boy. And then he is a good boy and a pretty boy and my boy for ilya from then on but he's not that for anyone else for a long time. Even after he comes out i think he doesn't medically transition for a while so he can keep playing and it sucks and him and ilya are fucking and hiding it through all this too and it makes it even harder for shane (unfortunately) because he is realizing he is in love with ilya and that transitioning and coming out is what has now made it so hard for them to be together without hurting ilya's career and making it impossible for him to go home but they love each other ilya loves him so much and they finally tell each other ilya still tells him first and he still takes a trade to a Canadian team because it isn't safe for shane in the US and they live happily ever fucking after

[cyberdelph]

by @aary_soap

[poprocksromance]

Sometimes I’m like “man where are the messy exes in Heated Rivalry” and then I remember.

I already read the most perfect heart-wrenching “friends to lovers to enemies to teammates to exes who are fucking to nothing nothing nothing to teammates back to friends to lovers” hockey romance ever. And what I really want is fanfiction about that pleeeease.

[saggeses]

I’m gonna be so fr rn, yall gotta stop acting like women’s sports only contributions/offerings are 1) that most of the athletes are queer 2) some sort of “morally pure” version of the sport. you don’t realize that you’re doing it but you’re de-valuing them to a point of queerness + morality meter. which the latter is just insane when there are POS’ amongst women’s sports

[saggeses]

“Don’t watch the NHL, watch the PWHL! They’re actually gay!” why is that the only selling point to you

[mostbelovedqueer]

Most Beloved (non-canon) Queer Ship Tournament - Round 4

Which queer ship do you love more?

Cherik (Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr) (XMen)*

Merlin and Arthur (BBC Merlin TV Show)*

how dare you make me choose

Remaining time: 3 days 6 hours

Disclaimer: This tournament is based on submissions! Please respect all identities, characters and fandoms! Hate or aggressive language (even if jokingly) will get you blocked instantly!

[newyorksirens]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/01/massive-immigration-raid-on-chicago-apartment-building-leaves-residents-reeling-i-feel-defeated

This is why Curl is gonna get booed at the Chicago takeover game BTW

Like what she celebrated Rittenhouse for doing is exactly what ICE and CBP did except they have better weapons and prisons to kill people in. Until she addresses saying shooting people because they're "rioting" (and let's be real, not white) I don't care if shes a trans ally or pro-vax or whatever.

look I already have this person blocked or they blocked me but for anyone else:

I have never defended Britta Curl's political views; god knows we have radically different poltics. I've also never said that I don't understand why people boo her or that people shouldn't do that.

But what I have said is that if the extent of your activism is booing her at games and posting in the liveblog tag about how much you hate her and how much you enjoy when she gets hit, then your activism is performative and you should investigate why you're spending so much time performing outrage at a hockey player who doesn't care about your opinion of her. Me booing Britta Curl at a game might signal to other queer, trans, or minority fans that I and other fans don't endorse her beliefs, but it doesn't do anything to change the fact that the league does. So why not take some of that energy and direct it at the league?

I get that it feels good to have an outlet for feeling helpless to all of the horrible things in the world, but I personally would rather do what I can to channel those feelings into concrete actions that might begin to make a change, which is why I posted that email template and pledged to donate. If you disagree with me that's fine, if you engage in activism in other ways that's fine, but I know I'm not the only one who is exhausted by the incessant anti-Britta Curl posting (Frost fans who need to asterisk their support for the team, for example) by people who don't keep that energy up for any of the other structural problems in the league.

[newyorksirens]

reblogging this again to preserve my original tags on this post and also remind people that i've been talking about this on my blog for months now.

Anyways, check my pinned for the link to the guide I developed for emailing the league to release their gender inclusion policy, which is a real thing you can do right now to combat transphobia in the pwhl.

[andreii-tarkovsky]

We didn’t have a word for our, as you guys call, gay/lesbian people. So we coined that word as an umbrella for all our tribes. We never said, “Well, you’re transgender. You’re bisexual. You’re lesbian.” We never knew those terms. Those are all from Western culture, you know, LGBTQ and all that. So on some level, it’s about getting rid of labels. Those terms were forced upon us.

[gaylor-moon]

This is really important