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Merk

@merk94.bsky.social

580 followers 180 following 1.8K posts

He/Him — Born Nov. 14, 199X Writer, podcast host, gacha addict. #Paragons #Locacacast #Nikke Bots and bigots get blocked. Minors DNI with my labeled posts. I don’t do obligatory follow-backs. https://linktr.ee/ChrisMerkelStudios

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · May 1

www.scribblehub.com/series/13063...

It’s been a while since I first announced it (and a few days since I bumped the most recent chapter), so here’s your reminder to check out #Paragons. It’s my serialized webnovel about superheroes.

Paragons

In 1963, a Flying Man prevents the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It is the first known sighting of a superhuman. 41 years later, aging vigilante Moonlighter assembles a team of people with extraor...

www.scribblehub.com

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 6h

Headpat

Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 6h

Currently writing a story about superheroes. This here is one of the main characters, Sameko. (Drawn by @mollyskyfire.bsky.social) She was adopted by the superhero Moonlighter after he found her as a feral child on a derelict whaling vessel a few miles off the coast of Japan.

An anthro blue shark woman delivering a standing side kick.

Drawn by Molly Skyfire.

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💀 🎃 ThemBOO! 🎃 💀 @thembo.bsky.social · 2d

@ai-rights.bsky.social has added you to the "ai racists" moderation list

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 7h

*spits on ground* Fucking clanker-lovers.

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Jandri🔞 @jandri.bsky.social · 10h

Queer people love Vincent Price because he represents being very obviously and villainously gay and having everyone around you act accordingly as if that’s normal and completely expected of you. Icon shit

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 8h

Well, then, Nick: youtu.be/X-guvASsFE8?...

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ThirtyHelens🔞 @thirtyhelens.bsky.social · 16h

What's up buddy I thought you were a computer artist. Make something new, buddy. Huh, buddy? Make a new thing, buddy.

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ThirtyHelens🔞 @thirtyhelens.bsky.social · 16h

It really is funny how Sora users, who have been going on and on about how it's just a tool like a paintbrush or a camera, are now complaining that they can't make anything without using copyrighted characters

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 15h

Hex Girls, definitely. The first ones to make me realize my weakness for goth women.

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lou 🦋⚙️ @eatingseaweed.bsky.social · 1d

the secret to fandom is accepting the fact that you can view fictional characters as complex and nuanced and thoroughly enjoy the themes baked into the show
AND ALSO
imagine them bouncing on it crazy style in whatever way your peenor decides would look hot

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 17h

In #Paragons…

There’s Martians, specifically one ancient Martian city brought back to life by a Department of Temporal Corrections “reset bomb” that was stolen and activated on Earth but then launched to Mars before it detonated.

There’s also the Oberoons (inhabitants of the planet Oberon Prime), Migo the Conqueror’s species.

The Statesman, Earth’s first publicly known metahuman, is a Promethean, launched into space as an infant by his parents to spare him from a period of worldwide ethnic cleansing on Prometheus.

Reposted by Merk

The Onion @theonion.com · 1d

Health Experts Recommend Standing Up At Desk, Leaving Office, Never Coming Back https://theonion.com/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leaving-o-1819577456/

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 1d

I cannot stress enough how vitally important it is that the Dems not let this guy clear the primaries in 2028. Run someone else. ANYONE else. Trans rights must be a non-negotiable part of the 2028 Democratic platform.

LGBTQ Nation @lgbtqnation.com · 1d

Gavin Newsom vetoes gender education bill, declines to sign other trans protections - buff.ly/MTUAV85

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Dieselbrain @dieselbrain.bsky.social · 3d

Australia's petition hit its deadline, but there's still time to sign Canada and UK's anti-paypro-censorship petitions!

CAN- www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
UK- petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

additionally, you should sign canada's anti c-2 Bill petition!
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...

Petition e-6695 - Petitions

www.ourcommons.ca

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Nico Mara-McKay 🦇 (they/iel) @nicomaramckay.com · 2d

tl;dr: Bluesky began with genuine promise: a new social media platform where users could feel safer, but inconsistent moderation quickly eroded trust.

When systemically marginalized users pushed back, Bluesky’s leadership minimized concerns and began to target them for bans.

Bluesky’s CEO meltdown: How leadership continues to fail its most marginalized users

tl;dr: Bluesky began with genuine promise: a new social media platform where systemically marginalized users could feel safer, but…

plutopsyche.medium.com

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Star @phazon-star.bsky.social · 1d

So I guess let it be known that the Bluesky team does not actually believe in decentralized moderation! Sounds like a good point to add to a Play Store review, for example.

carrion🐛 @carrion.bsky.social · 2d

just don’t create a moderation list, bluesky said that’s bad

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 1d

I can’t believe THIS is how I find out Canadian Supreme Court judges dress like (or I guess, USED TO dress like) Santa Claus. Can’t even have a little bit of whimsy in this world.

Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 2d

Tragic news from Canada where the Canadian Supreme Court has gone from the official dress on the left to the one on the right

Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in bright red wooly gowns, with a beige trim. It looks sort of like a Santa robe

The Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in black gowns with a bright white kravat, and two thin red vertical lines on the side of the robe

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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 1d

"I'm poisoning Gotham's water supply with my transgenderizing Joker toxin, and there's nothing you can do to stop me Batman!"

a close up of the joker 's face with a gifmovie tumblr.com watermark

Alt: a close up of the joker 's face laughing maniacally

media.tenor.com

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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 1d

"Transgender for everyone" is such a lazy god damn thing to claim, like it's just insulting everyone's intelligence. Nobody believes it, it's just such an incomprehensibly stupid thing to say, nobody suggests such a policy.

What would that even entail? Mandatory transition for everyone? Yeah, sure.

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🪱𝔼𝕟𝕠𝕔𝕙🪱 @oddoblivion.bsky.social · 1d

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Standplaats Kraków @standplaatskrk.pl · Nov 14

Mike Godwin (@sfmnemonic) Yes, *that* Godwin on Twitter:

"Drawing Bayesian inferences after extensive sampling, I've determined that it's 99-percent certain that anyone who uses "woke" as pejorative will turn out to be a fuckhead. Please don't blame me for pointing this out--it's just science."

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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 2d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Merk @merk94.bsky.social · 1d

Guess it’s too much to ask that news coverage pertaining to current protests in Portland use photos taken this year in Portland instead of 1992 in Los Angeles.

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Col. Boozy Badger @boozybadger.lawyersandliquor.com · 1d

Dunno man, seems a little misleading to write an article about Trump describing activity in Portland and Chicago as “insurrection” with a 33 year old photo of a burning donut shop taken in the 1992 LA Riots (sans caption explaining that) as the header on all your posts about it.

The picture from
The article with a picture of an armed men standing in front of a burning donut shop. You must click through to read the caption “
Two National guardsmen stand guard outside a burning donut shop in Los Angeles on April 30, 1992.
The National Guard was called in to aid police during the second day of rioting in the city.”

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himham @himham.bsky.social · 5d

Here is an excellent example of an email sent to Greylock, one of Bluesky's investors.

The author hits all of the points, emphasizing how the decisions of the CEO (and CTO and others) will impact the investors *financially*.

It's polite and well structured, so it will likely be read.

Great job!

Questionable Taste Hours @goodnighteye.bsky.social · 5d

Email sent to the Greylock guy, with alt text:

I am a Bluesky user who is concerned about the CEO, Jay. She is unable to take criticism, and is currently in the process of a full on meltdown on the website because users called her out on unfair moderation practices that harm transgender users and sex workers, who were some of the earliest adopters of the site, while bending Terms of Service to allow hateful people like JD Vance and Jesse Singal to avoid consequences altogether.

I have been made aware that your company is a major investor in Bluesky, and that your company values empathy. The app is also tanking in reviews because of Jay's behavior and the unfair ToS; the score on Google Play went from 3.4 to 1.4 within weeks. With that in mind, I question whether it is wise to continue your investment. An unstable company head and an angry user base does not sound like a sustainable business venture.

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