#like first of all I see people trying to uplift themselves by saying they have pretty privilege

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Imagine Ellies hanging out with Dina and Jessie and they were whispering to each other and Ellie was like super confused until one of them says the woman at the bar is super hot and when Ellie turns to see who their looking at its Joel and reader. Ellie being shook af and turns to them like "I- That's my mom." And she ends up telling reader and Joel what happened when they went back home😂

It's illegal how much fun I had scribbling this🙃

It was one of the community evenings. Where everyone who wished could come for an evening of food, drinks, endless music, and dancing. It felt almost like a hive of bees. All buzzing together, all excited even if everyone worked amongst each other all the time as it was. But this was special. Seeing people like this after the outbreak was special. It felt so uplifting to witness so many smiles and to hear laughter.

Ellie had rushed out of the house before you and Joel. She was eager to see Dina well Jesse as well but Dina was the real reason Ellie even came for clothing advice to you. You were so happy for her. That teenager's excitement. The chance to mingle with people your age. You and Joel had talked about this many times. Late at night, in the comfort of your shared sheets. You both wanted nothing more than to give her at least a somewhat normal childhood. Ellie had her spark back and that was enough to ignite the fire that burnt within you two.

Ellie had been dancing with both of her friends for what felt like hours. She had slipped away with Dina for a bit. She wanted to kiss her but they only ended up holding hands. But that was enough to make Ellie go all red. Gosh, how much did she want to just run to you and tell you everything already? But she killed out the excitement for now trying to make her way back to her friends with three glasses of house lemonade in her hands.

She found Dina and Jesse almost pressed together as they whispered among themselves. A ping of jealousy ran down Ellie's back, she didn't like how close Jesse was to Dina. Even if there was nothing between them it still felt like she was already losing. Now even the fact that Dina had reassured Ellie that they were ex-lovers didn't make her feel any better.

"What are we gossiping about?", Ellie said sitting down the drinks, "Shhh...", Dina pulled Ellie by the hand, "Tell me that I am still alive", Jesse turned to the two of them pressing his fingers to the pulse point on his neck. Ellie rolled her eyes, still not understanding what all of this was about. "You two are unbelievable", "I wonder what you will say when you see her", Dina's words made Ellie even more confused. Was there another girl their age here that had caught her attention?

Ellie looked around the room but didn't see any super unfamiliar faces. "No, by the bar more to your left", Jessie guided his finger and Ellie followed the direction. Her brain turned off for a moment when she saw you laughing with your hand on your chest, a smug-looking Joel by your side. She was so going to bring that up to him, the male who never smiles my ass she thought. But you. No, they couldn't have been talking about you.

"I don't get it...", Ellie whispered, "El, the woman in the white shirt, long hair", so it was you. A weird tingle ran through her. "Shit, she's hot", Ellie snapped her head towards Jesse, "No, you will take that back", she said, feeling a weird sort of frustration building within her. "Well she is sexy bet she is good at...", Ellie stood up quickly, her palms came in contact with the boy's chest. Both Dina and Jesse looked confused as Ellie breathed heavily, "That's my mom, you sick-ass", the people around had turned to look but Ellie didn't quite send daggers.

You and Joel had noticed the whole thing as well. Joel rose first, telling you to stay behind as he approached the kids. "Is there a problem here?", he asked looking Jesse up and down as if he was planning all the ways to cause pain if he had by any chance hurt Ellie in a way. The boy only swallowed thickly. Of course, Jesse's words would mean nothing. So he didn't even try to explain. Ellie started at him still, Joel touched her shoulder and her head snapped to him. "No, but I want to go home", she mumbled turning around and walking towards you. Dina called out her name a couple of times but she didn't give the girl a second glance. Joel sent the two kids a warning look as he two turned around.

Ellie was walking ahead of you both. Huffing and puffing. You had asked Joel what had happened but he only shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, baby, what happened? Did someone upset you?", you called out just as Ellie was about to slip up the stairs. She stopped but said nothing. "El", Joel called out her name and she instantly turned to him. They were like one by now. The relationship they built was above this world. If anyone could get Ellie out of her head it was Joel.

"It's... They...", Ellie started as she walked back down and into the living room where you both stood. "I just didn't like what they said, well what Jesse said", Ellie admitted, lowering her head. "Did he insult you in any way?", you asked already frowning but Ellie shook your head. "He... said things about you", Ellie looked up to meet your confused eyes, "Me?", "He said you were hot and that you are probably good in bed but he didn't finish that part, that was what he was going to say and that is so not okay, you are my mom and...", she rammed on. You just sat there. Joel however was clenching his fists already. Glancing at the door, the thought of going back out there to teach that young duckling a lesson swirled in his brain.

But then your laugh filled the room and the two instantly looked at you. "Does that make me a milf?", you cackled, "This is not funny", Joel groaned, Ellie quickly nodded her head in agreement. "Oh come on you two. First of all, be proud your mom is hot. And second of all", you turned to Joel, "Are you serious about fighting a kid? I'm quite literally yours", talking his clenched fist you spread Joel's fingers apart so you could hold his hand.

"I just didn't like it", Ellie said, "I'm glad you stood up for me and that you defended your boundaries", you reached out for her and she instantly walked to sit by your side. It was silent for a moment until Joel smoke up, "Should have aimed for his teeth", "Joel...", you whined making Ellie let out a laugh. You shook your head, "What will I do with you two, huh?"

#bubble with bubbles 🫧 #joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #the last of us imagine

[rolaplayor101]

After searching about, I've found others who've had and thought about the same issue that I did, which is that the Kingdom Hearts fandom has a HUGE amatonormativity problem. Which, yeah, most fandoms do, but the difference here is that the KH fandom is pretty small, which makes it way more prevalent.

There's a good amount of people who think Sora is aroace, grayromantic, or alloromantic asexual, but they keep it to themselves for risk of being harassed by shippers. They have to protect themselves with "aphobes DNI" on the few posts they do post about it. They have to continuously reblog their own art or go to a confession blog to lament about it.

And it's sad! This is saddening! And the thing is, I do ship SoRiKai. At least the minimum amount, enough to be fully invested in what's going on in canon. Because, canonically? They do care about each other intensely enough to usually go beyond the bounds of typical friendship. Especially Sora. The way he thinks, the things he does, it's all so grandeur in comparison to the things people do in real life for their friends. He flat out says he wants to be with Riku and Kairi forever in one of the first games.

The problem is that people still think being aroace means being apothi and aplatonic, but that's not the case. Sora feels platonic attraction so quickly, frequently, and intensely that it even puts off new characters he meets in the game. He's affectionate, uplifting, and confident(most of the time). But people can't see aroace people as a whole as anything but negative and loveless. Which is just plain not the case for all of us. Aspec people post about the different ways aspec people think all the time! It's mostly the only thing in the aromantic and asexual tags, and I frequent those a lot! So I'd know!

This is an issue thats brought up over and over and over again, and it's that being aroace-- feeling exactly zero romantic or sexual attraction-- does not mean you also feel zero platonic or queerplatonic (or sensual or alterous or any tertiary) attraction. It does not mean you can't feel attraction that is just as intense as allos feel romantic or sexual attraction. Sora has always attributed his strength and confidence to his friends, to his heart that belongs to all of his friends. He feels platonic attraction so intensely that it literally powers him up. It's the main theme of the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Saying that Sora feels queerplatonic attraction towards Riku and Kairi does not mean he'd feel any less than if he were romantically and/or sexually attracted to them.

Thinking that queerplatonic and/or platonic attraction is less than romantic and/or sexual attraction is incorrect, aphobic, amatonormative, and exactly contrary to what Kingdom Hearts the franchise is partially trying to do.

Kingdom Hearts normalizes healthy, platonic, life-long relationships, which wasn't well represented in the early 2000s. Most media represented friendships as on the back burner, especially when pit against romantic relationships. Affectionate arospecs watched shows and movies when they were younger seeing the main character dismiss their friends, grow out of them, or outright hate them, and then have their problems be solved by a romantic partner. Toxic or unhealthy friendships (and also sibling relationships) were the norm, so having Kingdom Hearts, and a few other media I can't think of right now, be made where there's no romance outside of background characters and established ones fron Disney Movies, and where friendship is treated as equal and as the most important, was revolutionary.

Tons of Shounen anime do this, too. Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Hero Academia, most sports anime. Then there's other stuff like most magical girl anime, Soul Eater, Little Witch Academia, Promised Neverland, Lucky Star, Baccano, most Miyazaki movies. A lot of popular anime are popular because people love the friendships between characters. And I bet most people in Kingdom Hearts love it specifically because of the friendships too. They like that they're friends. Because their friendships are wholesome, and healthy, and good. They make us feel good. KH isn't "Queerbaiting"(which is only ever brought up for mlm ships and never for aspecs or wlw) for having Riku and Sora care about each other and get along. Just because pop culture has forced f/m relationships start specifically because a girl and a boy get along(if even that happens), doesn't mean that all characters in all media that get along are romantically into each other. Both of those are bad and thinking that its not is a double standard. Platonic chemistry and romantic chemistry are not the same (even if pop culture media continue to try and make it seem like they are). But so many posts trying to prove Sora is actually canonically secretly in romantic love with Riku and Kairi only have evidence of him just being his regular old self, doing things he canonically sees as platonic-- things that are platonic.

It's not an issue of people headcanoning Sora with romantic/sexual attraction (or otherwise) for the other characters, it's about the harassing of other people that it's canon and the blatant aphobia and amatonormativity. All that's canon right now is that Sora cares about his friends, which includes Riku and Kairi, and the fact that I got so much negativity back for saying he's aroace and feels queerplatonic attraction for them only proves that some people in this fandom think aroace people can't care about anyone strictly because they don't feel romantic or sexual attraction. The aphobia in the fandom needs to be addressed, and the aspec content should be allowed to be post freely without push back.

TLDR; Once the main Kingdom Hearts fandom stops seeing every little interaction between certain characters as canonically romantic, it'll finally be a more open and healthy community that people won't be afraid to engage in.

I want this to be helpful to read and for someone to learn something. And if aphobia shows up again, maybe take that person to the side and say that's not cool? Defend us aspecs, please? Cause all that..really makes me feel bad about and put off Kingdom Hearts completely. (And again! I ship SoRiKai! But people that don't ship it shouldn't have to go through this either!)

#tw Aphobia #Arophobia #Acephobia #aromantic #asexual #asexuality #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #kh sora #kh kairi #kh riku #kairi kingdom hearts #SoRiKai #SoRiku #SoKai #RiKai #amatonormativity #Aromisia #allonOrmativity #Arospec awareness week #If You Ever Make Aspec Sora Kairi and or Riku content pls Tag me in it! Feel Free! #I'd like to see it

[kermiethefroog]

Lessons from a Global Ecological Restoration Conference

I know this is not the usual thing I post on here, but I wanted to gather my thoughts in a place I know that I'll check in the future. I hope that this is somehow useful for others and provides insight to work in this field.

1. Ecologists do have hope for the environment!

If there's one main takeaway I've had so far, it's that people working to restore and protect our natural habitats is that they have passion and a deep hope that their efforts will make a difference.

This field is full of so many challenges when it comes to funding and politics, so it was inspiring to see that despite present barriers people from all over the world are trying their hardest to make things change for the better.

2. This conference has set a precedent towards integrating and including the input from Indigenous and First Nations peoples internationally

The entire theme of the conference was to center and uplift voices of Indigenous people from around the globe who are working in habitat and ecocultural restoration.

This is exciting! Many countries do not have formal systems in place to allow Indigenous voices to be major informants and decision makers on projects that occur on their land. It has been and will always be important to include those who are traditional stewards of the land when considering any sort of restoration or land management decisions.

I cannot be sure what the results of this initiative will be. It is a small step in the right direction though and I hope that this conference created opportunities for connections, lessons, and more conversations in the future.

We all have a part to play in recognizing the First Nations Peoples who inhabit or inhabited our land in the past (this goes without saying that this applies internationally) and working toward a future that creates proper access to funding, land, recognition, reparations, and true reciprocity for Indigenous and First Nations Peoples.

If you have not yet invested time in learning, now is a better time than ever. Research your area, connect with community, and raise your voice to make a difference.

3. Collaboration is Key

Most talks I went to and projects I read about lived and died by their ability to collaborate with a diverse group of people who have stakes in each restoration project.

It works best when implemented early, if all groups are equally represented at all levels of decision making, and if factors like environmental outcomes and the human/social dimensions of planning are considered first before the financial.

The most successful projects in ecosystem restoration were only possible due to connections that spanned industries, cultures, generations, and modes of work.

If we want our planet to thrive we need to be willing to have everyone in the room so as many people as possible can have a hand in creating a better future.

4. Things are still an uphill battle

While many of the presentations I witnessed were hopeful and fulfilling, perhaps just as many lacked a positive or negative conclusion that could wrap everything in a neat bow. Navigating government systems, changing climates, barriers to accessible and affordable resources for restoration etc. are all things that impacted various projects discussed this week.

It's also without saying that governments themselves, the policies they hold, and the rates they pass legislation will always create a delay in working towards restoration of our environment in order to prevent further harm and degradation. This of course goes for most policy making (though I suppose it depends on the country).

Climate change still presents unprecedented challenges and will impact all aspects of our livelihoods. That being said, no one atteding suggested any of the efforts being made were futile. I know it can be challenging to see any bright future with the way climate change is discussed in the media so I want to approach this subject with some cautious optimism.

Beyond policies and politics specifically, it is clear that so many people care about and for the planet that we live on. So much so that I think that it can be taken for granted at times or looked over. Yes the science is bleak, yes the outcomes are scary, yes things are going to change no matter what. We still have time to determine the trajectory of that change.

Scientists, government workers, NGO workers, nonprofits, citizen scientists, and many more groups of people at this conference had a staggering sense of hope that was unexpected and so refreshing. As one of the presenters I watched said, "It's better that we at least try. If the outcome isn't ideal we can at least say we gave it a shot." and I think that's a beautiful way to approach any uncertainty. In this field or otherwise.

I would be happy to discuss my experiences more or elaborate on any points made. I put this together hastily at the end of the conference to make sure I didn't forget anything important.

#ecological restoration #restoration #ecology #forest ecology #juniper's ramblings #i feel like i have so much more to say but can't quite capture it or put it into words quite yet #climate change #climate optimism #science conference #science

[yooniesim]

So, I got this pretty gross anon last night, right. And me being me, on reflex I start answering it, I go through each part, etc. And then all of a sudden I look up and realize, it's late, I'm tired, and I spent almost an hour writing this reply. I said to myself, dude, what in the fuck are you doing? Why are you wasting your time again? Are you really going to post this vitriol, knowing this person likely doesn't give a flying fuck what you have to say anyway, and their bigoted words could hurt your followers that see it? You know better than this. I just reblogged something yesterday about not dignifying bullshit with a response, and there I was doing just that. The anon was already blocked, so I deleted my post I started. And it felt damn good.

Instead, I think I'm gonna say some of the more important things I was thinking about in a more general way. Cos there are a few things I wanna lay down so there's no misunderstanding or any hope that I will do anything different in the future.

First and foremost. From this point on, I won't be accepting or answering any opinions on who or what I am, identity wise. the fact of the matter is, you don't define who or what someone is. you don't tell me what I am, I tell you, and you either accept it as the truth or you leave. your opinion doesn't determine my reality and never will. I'm at the stage of my life where I'm simply not entertaining any bullshit from observers any longer. I will call myself whatever I please and speak on whatever I feel I should as the person I am & the life I've lived, and you will either deal with that or you just won't be around me. period. the block button is my friend now, and I've taken on the mentality that if I block you, you just don't exist to me anymore. you live your life, I live mine, I just never look at your blog or acknowledge you again. any mature person would do the same.

Secondly, I recently mentioned my features (lips, nose, etc) because I wanted to emphasize I am proud of them despite being mocked my whole life for having them. I've even been mocked for them on here in a bigoted manner because like I said before, my pics have been posted plenty. and there was just a debacle recently with a simblr mocking thick lips, because anti-blackness is a constant undercurrent in simblr. that's why I mentioned them. I emphasized that because I want everyone to know that I'm not ashamed of who I am and never will be, despite the fact that some on here fight tooth and nail to try to make me feel I'm somehow less worthy. they will never succeed with me, but I don't want anyone else to feel ashamed of themselves for how they look either. these features are beautiful and worth being proud of and uplifted.

Finally, I'm going to say again: to all my poc followers, mixed or not, you're worthy, and you should be proud of yourselves too. don't let opinions from terminally online people with no actual life experience cause you any shame about who you are. who your parents are, your genetics, your percentages, it don't matter I couldn't give any less of a fuck. you tell me who you are and your struggles and your pain, and I believe and support you. I'm in your corner, and I can only hope I can give back half the love I've been given during this time. You're valid and your voices are important. That's the most important thing I wanted to say, and if this subject comes up again, that's what I will emphasize repeatedly.

#ceci speaks #nonsims #text #negative #long post #racism mention

[rowanwithaz]

AFO: Poorly Written Or a Mastermind?

I was thinking today about AFO,and...it all CLICKED for me. I've seen a good amount of people call afo stupid because of the things he's done,and I will talk about that. I always like to say,this is my opinion and how I've seen it,so please do feel free to share your opinion as well,I'd like to see everyone's perspective.

Society.

Society uplifts and loves heros in bnha,the system works against Afo,but,I think Afo likes that it does. Let me explain.

The way afo has done things is to go to people who are quirkless because society shuns them,then manipulate and bribe those people to work for him. It works in his favor at the end of the day. He also goes to people who hate heros,and because society loves heros,it's easier to find people who hate them.

It's honestly really clever. Instead of outing the heros for their dirty business to where all people hate heros (because he does know about their dirty laundry) he instead uses the system and society meant to STOP HIM,against the people who made it. Clever. Also,I know you may be thinking, "well,why did he let the society happen in the first place if he knew about the bad stuff," Because,if you destroy a society with the thing that essentially has ran it for about a hundred years,confusion anger and anarchy happen,then you can use said confusion,and anger to your advantage. Again,another manipulative tactic.

Well,I know, "that's just unrealistic," is it really? Cuz, that's what he does and has done. With Shigaraki;he used the anger hatred and confusion he had to manipulate him. It's just on a lager scale. I mean,we see in the vigilante arc that people will turn on heros pretty easily.

But,there is oneeee colossal problem with this plan. Ofa. And what has afo done to kill off all the past users? (Expect the one that died of old age.) Targeted and isolated them to where they'd kill and destroy themselves all alone to try and stop him. And here's where the issues arises,Izuku would had died if it wasn't for one person.

Katsuki.

It's no secret Katsuki means a lot to Izuku,and that's why he "died",but there's more.

Katsuki is physical proof that people can grow away from society's standards and he's close with the person with the power that could stop afo.Katsuki breaks away from society,and that makes afo feel threatened. Soooo,what do you do when someone is in your way when you're a villain? Ya kill 'im!

The thing with Katsuki was; he knew full well that this power was a curse,so he was the one who was keeping tabs on it. To make sure Izuku was alive and is well informed on what he's getting himself into.

None of the past users HAD that. None of them had someone to care about them,to question what they were getting themselves into,who KNEW them.

Knew their limits,knew what they needed,when they needed to rest,that's why afo needed to get rid of Katsuki. Because without that isolation,without that REASON to live,they risk it all and he can win. That's the reason he went after Katsuki. Because he defied the society he was using against its self,so he got scared of Katsuki. And we know what FEAR leads to. Hurt. We hurt what we fear. So,he killed Katsuki to make Izuku fuck up,and to make sure he didn't have to fear the rest of society realizing how broken it was.

Ego.

Now,afo has done some stupid shit,taken some risks,and said some things were we're like, "Well,DUH." But, here's why afo is like that.

He's a narcissistic,arrogant,manipulative,self absorbed,piece of shit. And with what he's done,you kinda can't be surprised he's so full of himself and so self assured.

He's killed seven people with the power that could supposedly stop him,no fucking wonder he got so full of himself. This may seem to us like it's the story being simplified,but in reality it's just showing how arrogant he truly is. He's smart,just self absorbed. He doesn't care about something unless it concerns him,Shigaraki's strength and will power,it's something he's underestimated,so of course he wouldn't pay as much attention to it as he should had.

So at the end of the day Afo is:

An arrogant,self absorbed,narcissistic,manipulative master mind.

So,in my opinion,he's not poorly written,he's just so self absorbed that he's only realizing all this shit now. That's what it is. At least to me.

#Afo #Bnha #bakugo katsuki #midoryia izuku #Ofa #GreeNade #:')

[bengiyo]

Be My Favorite Ep 10 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Kawi and Pisaeng started dating and Not immediately ruined it by making everything about him as always. Not outs them repeatedly and tries to use it as an in with Pear. He breaks things off with Kwan, who genuinely likes him, and gets his ass handed to him by Pear. Meanwhile, Kawi is spiraling that once again his mistakes are causing problems for others, and Pisaeng pushes Kawi to try to see life more optimistically and just try to take care of each other. Pear is having her own problems as she reckons with her mom finding success as an artist after leaving her family to pursue that art.

Hopefully we get Max back this week.

Love us coming back to Kawi and Pisaeng affirming their connection and Pear affirming that she and Not do NOT have one.

YES, MISS PEAR! COME THROUGH, SIS! She said, “Kwan is my friend and you are a dick. DICK IS ABUNDANT AND LOW IN VALUE!”

I want to say here that while I absolutely despise Not, I think Title is giving a great performance in this role. He’s very good at playing disaffected man who is also the source of his own problems.

Okay, this boy just put hands on Kwan. Let’s stomp his ass.

I’m with the dad on “The more you forgive, the stronger you get.” It’s so easy to burn yourself out in righteous rage. I was there for a long time early in the BLM movement, and all I succeeded in doing was giving myself a bunch of a stress-related health issues. The work I do now is about uplifting now and less about fighting. We talked about this on @the-conversation-pod in The Eighth Sense about how forgiveness isn’t about admitting the other party is right. It’s about accepting what happened, determining the boundaries you need to establish for the future, and then focusing on what’s important to you. Holding resentment traps you in the moment you were last offended. You become a living ghost.

Oh interesting. Kawi is reading Crazy Rich Asians.

They are crushing me with the fathers today. I’m going to need Tom Phollawat and Kob Songsit to get off my neck. In all seriousness, Kob is clearly ridiculously talented. Krist is responding to his emotions better than he has with anyone else in the series.

There is something so poignant about Kawi doing everything he could to try to save his dad, still losing him, but getting closure this time because he was able to say goodbye to his father before the surgery. I’m trying not to cry right now.

I love that the first people we see Pear interacting with after that talk with her dad are Pisaeng and Kawi. Love that she made sure to clear up any angst between them. It’s beautiful because the show says she has a right to be disappointed about how things went even as she commits to maintaining two important friendships. These boys are throwing themselves before Pear about who should be castigated more and I love that.

Yes, now that Pear has affirmed her support for gay love, let’s go hang out with the gays. Welcome back, Max. I’ve missed you. You look amazing as always. Love these boots.

I love Max. He’s correct. Just because we know what’s going on doesn’t mean we also don’t need to be told. Up until we’re told, we technically just suspect. Kawi is lucky to have community.

Before I engage with Pisaeng’s mom’s latest form of gaslighting, I need to know what show they’re watching on this projector in the background.

Sowing doubt into your son’s first real relationship is so cruel. Pisaeng knows exactly what she’s doing, and Gawin is playing his hurt and offense completely legibly.

I’m really loving the theme in this show that there is a difference between avoiding misery and finding happiness.

I do love seeing folks figure out the early parts of their relationships. Kawi doesn’t like Pisaeng avoiding his problems with his mom around him, especially when Pisaeng came to him for comfort. Now we get to see these two sort out how intimacy is going to work for them.

I’m never going to complain about parents turning things around and choosing to support their kids, but I don’t think I like Pisaeng faking a conflict with his mom in the hopes that Kawi will be intimate with him.

The mom’s smile is giving Gates McFadden at the end of Make the Yuletide Gay (2009).

I’m really enjoying the way Gawin plays Pisaeng as flirty or cheeky.

I’m obsessed with Max wearing this big black jacket but having these shorts He has such long legs that the juxtaposition fees intentional.

The Ace Friend and Gay Slut duo is undefeated. Kawi being on the ace spectrum doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure people are going to chide Max for how he spoke to Kawi, but I get Max. He’s a sexual being and it’s clear that some of his experiences weren’t great. There are things to unpack there. However, this show is about accepting people as they are and understanding where they’re coming from. We’re not aiming for perfection. We’re aiming for honesty and kindness. Kawi does need to consider the needs of his partner if he’s going to be in a long term relationship with someone who isn’t on the spectrum like him.

Oh, Kawi. Don’t pretend to sleep.

For a moment I really wondered if the snow globe would transport Pisaeng, but he’s already rejected magical help for his problems.

I’m really hoping this show does something interesting with the asymmetric sexual desire between Kawi and Pisaeng. We were here before during SOTUS and it’s hard not to recall that.

The amusement park thing is not subtle, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. Kawi has always wanted to visit a place full of excitement and thrill, but is here just to soak in the vibes and eat food. Pisaeng isn’t on that wavelength and is a bit frustrated.

Okay, so the preview seems to indicate that Pisaeng maybe did time travel. Unsure about how we went from a kinda botched date to their first sober kiss and implied first time.

I’m not sure where I sit on the sex stuff this episode. I think I’m going to leave myself in this moment of uncertainty until next week to see what we learn about Pisaeng’s potential time jump, and Kawi’s follow up on Max urging him to consider the role of sex and intimacy in romance.

#be my favorite #be my favorite meta #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

[kipandkandicore]

alright, so we feel like we need to respond to @eeveecraft ‘s post that they made using the document we’ve compiled.

looks like they’ve blocked this syscourse blog… but not our main. so we cannot reblog their post with our thoughts, but we can still see it (and therefore are going to respond to it). we don't think it's block evasion to respond in this way… (though if it is, let us know and we'll rewrite this response on our main blog which isn't blocked).

we don’t like to vague or to talk about a post without reblogging it directly, but we don’t see another way for us to respond properly, so here we go.

we are anticipating this will be quite long... so we're preemptively putting this under a cut.

here’s a link to the original post so you can read it for yourselves and come to your own conclusions!!

and here is a link to our document compiling thoughts on tulpamancy language by those affected. it is so important to center voices of marginalized groups in discussions that impact them!!

but after witnessing an announcement by Plural Nest that they’re switching to parogenic terminology because they’ve been convinced by sysmeds that tulpa = appropriation while literally “sourcing” things from minors, singlets, non-Tibetans, and yes, of course, sysmeds is just so goddamn frustrating that I’m going to write this post. I will be referring to this Google Doc Plural Nest themselves linked in their announcement that contains a motley of blogs and accounts by various people:

it's weird to us that at the very beginning of this post the author claims that the poc voices we've included should be disregarded because they are "minors, singlets, non-tibetans, and sysmeds."

first of all: do minors and singlets not get to have a say on their culture? do they not get to speak out when they notice cultural appropriation that is causing them harm? additionally, is this not an issue that concerns buddhists, and specifically asian buddhists? as we understand it, the term "tulpa" has direct ties to vajrayana buddhist practices. we believe that a buddhist does not have to be specifically tibetan in order to understand this language and to feel affected by western cultural appropriation.

also: how does this person define "sysmed?" because many of the individuals linked in the document are not system medicalists, nor do many of them disbelieve that the western practice of tulpamancy exists. as far as we know, this has always been an issue of adjusting language to respect people of color. not attacking the practice itself.

last, it's interesting that they linked the doc (which includes our tumblr information) but didn't feel it was necessary to @ us, either on this blog or on our main. huh.

now onto their prefaces:

Something that has always bothered me about this “discourse” is that the people who go on and on and on about how they’re protecting minorities and stopping actual harmful, real appropriation by attacking the Tulpamancy community never: Go after actual harmful depictions of tulpa that actively profit off of sensationalizing the paranormal version of the word and deliberately linking it to Tibetan Buddhism (Supernatural, Mandela Catalogue, Slenderman, etc). Uplift the voices of actual Tibetan Buddhists, even ones who disagree with them (which there ARE Tibetan Buddhists who are 100% okay with tulpa as a term, not just the Tibetan Buddhist AMA). Explain how us using tulpa to describe our systemmates is actively harming Tibetan Buddhists. They just say it’s harmful without providing any real examples of harm besides the word annoying them.

why put "discourse" in quotes? are we having a conversation? or are you trying to make it look like these discussions are one sided?

we're a white system. however, we are doing what we can to learn about racism, and are trying to become an active antiracist in our spaces. a big part of unlearning racism is learning how and when to pipe down and listen to the voices of people of color, especially when they're speaking out about something that harms them.

we're not the ones insisting that tulpa language is harmful with no basis for these claims. we are doing what we can to uplift marginalized voices who have said as much. centering poc voices in issues that they feel concern them is an important part of having less racist discussions in our spaces. idk if we’d say we're "protecting minorities" here... rather, we're attempting to make sure the voices of these minorities are heard, acknowledged, and taken seriously. and eeveecraft has done the first two in their post, but not the last.

1) we are personally unfamiliar with supernatural (watched a few seasons years ago and haven't touched it since), mandela catelogue, or slenderman. in fact, we haven't really seen tulpamancy acknowledged in public spaces and fictional works at all. that doesn't mean that we condone the racism within these works!!! we just can't speak on them as of yet because we haven't consumed that content. we certainly would like to, so we can understand what this author is saying about tulpamancy portrayals in media. but we feel like sensationalized instances of tulpamancy in popular media is not the only way this language has been harmful. people online using tulpamancy language have proven to be racist and unwilling to listen to marginalized groups. and since we're more involved with the system community than with the supernatural, mandela catelogue, or slenderman communities... we haven't spoken about it. because we are not a part of those spaces, and are still pretty uneducated about them specifically and how they have portrayed tulpamancy.

this doesn't mean we'll never get around to it! we'd love to help shed light on the racism of tulpamancy in popular media, and we hopefully will one day soon! but that doesn't negate the fact that advocates for tulpamancy language online are being incredibly racist...

2) again, we think that asian buddhists have the right to be upset about this, whether or not they're specifically tibetan. what's more, multiple people with testimonies in the document are actually, specifically tibetan! we'll be interested to see eeveecraft's sources of tibetan buddhists who are pro-tulpa language... maybe they'll be referenced later in the post? (edit side note: they referenced one person they know personally, one tumblr user, and one twitter user, whose thread we could not access for some reason. we added the testimony of the tumblr user to our document, though!)

3) we have explained it. language appropriation is real. it has genuinely harmful effects. our words don't exist in a vacuum. cultural appropriation is not some nebulous thing that never causes real harm to those who experience it!! i mean seriously... is that really what this author believes? we'll include some links to cultural appropriation and specifically how it affects buddhists and/or people of tibet:

x x x

we've said this before, but we will choose to believe the marginalized groups who say that this language directly affects and harms them, rather than those who claim otherwise without the ability to back up those claims with articles, resources, or testimonies from those minorities.

how are these not examples of real harm?

the testimony from the tumblr user referenced in eeveecraft’s post did speak favorably of tulpamancy as a practice, but didn’t say much if anything about tulpamancy terminology, which is what we have been trying to learn more about and discuss.

The intention of these people never was to protect vulnerable minorities, it was to deliberately blacklist a word a community has used for over a decade and a word that is literally being used in academic studies. If we as a community dropped tulpa, cold-turkey, 100%, we would lose access to so much of our history and access to scientific studies that the community NEEDS to be more accepted by the general public.

we vehemently disagree! our intentions are to uplift the voices of vulnerable minorities who have genuine, understandable concerns about tulpamancy language. we don't believe that if this language was changed that community members would lose access to their history and scientific studies.

language changes all the time. researchers have to adjust their language accordingly all the time. there are tons of words that used to be used in research, but aren't any longer because it was discovered that those words were bigoted or culturally appropriated. this literally happens quite regularly in academic spaces, as far as we're aware (examples: multiple personality disorder -> dissociative identity disorder, transvestite -> transgender, etc!)

we have a separate post we're actually working on that refutes these claims made by eeveecraft. we'd call this sort of thinking fearmongering: the action of intentionally trying to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable, within system spaces. eeveecraft's post is actually rife with fearmongering, and there is a huge issue with fearmongering in pro tulpa discussion.

after this, eeveecraft links to a tibetan buddhist who was open on reddit about the practice of western tulpamancy and how it relates (or doesn’t relate!) to the buddhist practice. from what we can tell, the author of the post believes that western tulpamancy and buddhist tulpamancy are similar in the name alone, and that’s it.

our issue with this is… if they share a name but are not the same practice at all… why wouldn’t the tulpa community want to change their language? if the language was shifted, there wouldn’t be all this confusion and arguing about a western practice with an appropriated tibetan name.

it’s true though that this is a post concerning tulpa language made by a tibetan buddhist, so we’ll be adding their testimony to our doc. it was never our goal or intention to cherry-pick testimonies - we genuinely weren’t aware of dharmayokeyodasampa’s post!

eeveecraft’s next large section discusses the differences between modern and paranormal tulpamancy, how one is harmful while the other isn’t, and how the two terms should not be conflated.

but they fail to mention how common and likely it is for people to conflate two different terms that have the exact same name. how is the average person supposed to know that when the community talks about tulpamancy they’re referring to modern tulpamancy and not paranormal tulpamancy?

it’s especially bizarre that they claim alexandra david-neel’s tulpamancy definition is the one that is harmful. don’t get us wrong, we completely agree! but that line of thinking doesn’t align with that of other pro tulpas discussing tulpamancy. many tulpamancers are huge supporters of adn and still today claim that she was not racist and did not commit cultural appropriation through her “fact or fiction” tales in magic and mystery in tibet.

like, this is incredibly common. for as long as we’ve been in system spaces and have been trying to learn about tulpamancy (which has been more than a year at this point) we have never seen a single person try to separate sensationalized media portrayals of tulpamancy (aka “paranormal tulpamancy”) from the western practice (aka “modern tulpamancy”) that eeveecraft talks about. if other tulpamancers were also trying to make this distinction… wouldn’t it be more regularly included in discussion? we think it’s a huge and important distinction, if it really exists as one. but we’ve never seen anyone talking about it.

this also leads us to wonder… if people within the tulpa community themselves are having to make distinctions between two different types of tulpamancy - one of which is perfectly fine and normal while the other is racist cultural appropriation… wouldn’t practitioners of modern tulpamancy want to change their terminology as a way to distance themselves from the real racists?

they later write:

Also, important that another blog reblogged that post [our post with the doc, we believe] and mentioned that they’ve spoken to actual Tibetans on Facebook and how none of them think tulpa is harmful specifically because it’s so far-removed from Tibetan Buddhism. Like, they’re cool with it as long as the community doesn’t try and link it to Tibetan Buddhism, which is literally what the community does and has been doing for YEARS.

the most glaring issue we have with this is… if the term was coined by a white explorer appropriating tibetan culture in the 20th century (which it was…), and if other tulpamancers will readily admit that tulpamancy language has close ties to tibetan buddhism (which they do… and it does…) why the huge push from pro-tulpas to distance themselves from their own language and their own language’s history?

this post both claims and denies that tulpamancy language is connected to buddhism. other tulpamancers will readily admit that tulpamancy as a term was created by alexandra david-neel, an explorer which bastardized the terms “sprul pa” and “tulku” in order to write a best-selling book and make money.

it’s weird that those who are pro tulpa language recognize these facts while simultaneously trying to brush them off and sweep them under the rug.

the community is trying to link tulpamancy to tibetan buddhism by maintaining their culturally appropriative language. tulpamancy language directly ties this western practice to vajrayana buddhism and the asians who practice it. we don’t understand the willingness to acknowledge and deny this fact at the same time? maybe we’re misunderstanding this part of the post, but it seems incredibly bizarre to us.

the next section explains that asian poc should have no say over what is and isn’t cultural appropriation of tibetan buddhism. and at first, this does seem like an important point to make! the author explained how chinese individuals should have no say over what is or isn’t japanese cultural appropriation as an example.

but this point still sits weirdly with us. what about diaspora tibetans - those who are culturally tibetan but live outside of their homeland? what about those who are buddhist and who have concerns over their religion and how aspects of it are being taken, bastardized, and promoted without permission or adequate education? as white people, why do we get to decide who has more of a stake in these discussions than the buddhist people of color expressing their worries and concerns? do white non-buddhist voices matter more than asian buddhists regarding this topic?

we really don’t think so.

next:

All it [tulpamancy terminology discourse] does is segregate the community and draw unnecessary lines, which is exactly what sysmeds want because it’s ways easier to harass and kill smaller communities that way or turn them against each other until they eat each other alive. And they won’t just stop with tulpa terminology, they’re just using tulpa because they found a convenient scapegoat to attack it. Sysmeds literally find ANY excuse to demonize or take away a word from the endogenic community, it’s no different here.

To further prove this point, sysmeds literally tried to say “system hopping” is a term appropriated from RAMCOA survivors, which was completely false. They are not afraid to pull the appropriation card on any word they can, tulpa isn’t the only instance of it.

again, many of the people who are bringing up these concerns aren’t even sysmeds. many of them actively support the practice of tulpamancy and endogenic plurality in general. this 100% has to do with racism in the community and unlearning racial biases. the goals of this discussion are not to destroy the tulpa community.

we genuinely don’t see what system hopping has to do with this. because again, the people making these points against tulpamancy terminology are mostly not sysmeds at all.

and if eeveecraft themself can admit that there are two different kinds of tulpamancy - one good (modern), one bad (paranormal), why in the world wouldn’t those who practice the “good” tulpamancy want to change their language in order to be respectful to people of color while further removing themselves from the “paranormal tulpamancers?”

they then say that many people who are against tulpamancy terminology don’t even know what it is. and that may be true for some systems, but certainly not all! we are against tulpamancy terminology and we understand completely what the practice is. our wife has created a thoughtform (which she achieved using tulpamancy guides and engaging with the tulpa community). she has been an active member of this community for quite some time, and changed her labels recently after learning about the dubious roots of the terminology.

just because willogenic (one of the proposed terms to replace tulpamancy) as a label does not cover the whole scope of tulpa experiences, doesn’t mean there are no other terms that have been suggested.

parogenic exists. paro/paromancy exists. thoughtform exists. and if none of these words truly would work as a suitable replacement, we fully believe in the community’s capability to come together and select a new, less racist term. we have complete faith that the tulpa community can achieve this.

it’s also worth noting that many of the proposed replacement terms were created by and for the plural community. we fully believe that if there is no term which perfectly fits the definition, we can change the definition of the term!! so paro could mean any headmate created in the way tulpas are created. the community made these terms, and the community can change them if they need to!!

it’s a shame to see eeveecraft does not share that same faith in their community.

next, they talk about how discussing tulpamancy terminology actually causes harm:

Let’s start with me. On multiple occasions, I have had multiple anons harass my inbox, calling me racist, calling me slurs, and even sexually harassing me in the comments of one of my posts specifically because of this issue. In fact, several sysmeds tried raiding our Discord server alongside harassing us on Tumblr because of what Amanitasys’s post started, and this has also happened to @cambriancrew, @sophieinwonderland, and more because we happen to be blogs that intersect both communities.

we have never, nor will we ever, support doxxing, targeted harassment, suicide baiting, or any other horrible thing that can come out of people being vicious and self-centered online. of course, we can see why folks may call eeveecraft racist, because they are promoting incredibly racist ideas.

the user cambriancrew has been a loud, ableist voice in discourse spaces for years.

the user sophieinwonderland is a proud racist, and is a promoter of zoophilia and other outrageously harmful ideas like transx. we’ve written on this before.

it makes sense that people want to call out and address these issues when they see them. while we do not condone harassment, it’s not fair to call those who are voicing understandable concerns “harassers.” it’s not fair to lump these people in with actual online bullies who cause serious, long-lasting harm.

further, they talk about how anti-tulpamancy terminology discussion harms the plural community by dividing it.

The relationship between the Tulpamancy and broader Plurality community was already tenuous, and for most of the Tulpamancy community’s history, it has stayed isolated from other Plurality circles. It was only within the past few years that the communities started to intermingle, but this drama can ruin that.

Because as someone who HAS been in the community for over half a decade, I can tell you that the majority of the Tulpamancy community thinks this drama is stupid and aren’t going to change terminology for multiple reasons. Now, do NOT take this as the community going, “Tulpa is a completely unproblematic word!” when the community has debated the term’s usage for YEARS. Nobody is saying the word is perfect, but it’s what the community has used for over a decade now and every attempt to change the word has failed. And honestly, as someone who’s reviewed the vast majority of Tulpamancy guides in existence, I likely know better than anyone else that if tulpa was blacklisted like some people want, the community would lose so much history and resources, it’s not even funny.

it's interesting to see the author here claiming that those within the tulpamancy community think this drama is stupid and aren't ever going to change the terminology. especially when multiple times in the post, eeveecraft admits that there are issues with the terminology that tulpamanvers will readily admit, and that those who are "paranormal tulpamancers" are somehow completely distinct from and unrelated to "modern tulpamancers."

we recently created a post on reddit's r/tulpas, hoping to share our document compiling asian buddhist voices on the matter. we wrote about our experience here - basically, our post was removed less than 5 minutes after being posted, despite complying with the subreddit's own rules and guidelines.

it leads us to wonder... how many other posts like ours have been taken down by the moderators without a second glance? how many other pro-tulpa, anti-tulpa terminology folks have tried to speak out on this issue among their peers, only to be immediately dogpiled, shut down, and have their posts removed? how can good-faith discussion happen in these spaces when the community leaders are so quick to remove content, and those seeking answers and discussion are dismissed as bad actors?

we think that those with concerns (either from within the tulpa community or from asian, buddhist spaces) absolutely have the right to air their grievances. and by ignoring, deflecting, and brushing off these voices, those who are pro-tulpa terminology are not doing anything to help, participate in, or even put an end to this discussion. instead, they are perpetually putting it off, and allowing a wound within the community to fester and get worse over time as resentment builds.

to us, this poses a more significant threat to the tulpamancy community and the plural community overall than any real attempt to discuss the issues of racism and cultural appropriation regarding tulpa language.

eeveecraft then claims that changing tulpamancy terminology will cause others to lose access to the wealth of resources created by tulpamancers over the years.

If we completely dropped the word, the ability of new people to look up and find these guides becomes FAR more difficult. “Tulpa” is a unique and consistent word and makes it easy to look into the community, which in turn helps people discover resources that can help them on their tulpa creation journey.

their responses to the anticipated "just change the resources" argument are as follows (paraphrased)

there are tons of guides, resources and research articles already published using tulpamancy language. and tulpas need these to remain the same in order for tulpamancy to spread in the public sphere

the majority of people who wrote resources are no longer in the community and may not consent to their resources being adjusted

they personally are critical of and found flaws with other tulpamancy replacement terms

there aren't as many resources being created now as there used to be

we've seen a lot of these claims before, and are actually working on a separate post that refutes many of them. but basically:

we believe sites like tulpanomicon, tulpa.io, and tulpa.info could include information as banners and on their front pages that express community concerns and explain that they are making the shift. sites can also be set up so they redirect to others. so, say, if the terminology changed to "paro/paromancy," the sites "tulpa.info" could redirect to "paro.info." the community could rally together to rewrite many resources that exist, while creating new ones. this wouldn't be an instantaneous shift, but it certainly could be achieved over time.

for those who aren't in the community or don't want their resources changed... they can be left alone. if the host sites (reddit, tulpanomicon, tulpa.io, tulpa.info, etc) included disclaimers on their websites about the language shifts, it wouldn't be that big of a deal for many guides and resources to be left untouched

if the community were to come together and choose, say, paromancy as a replacement for tulpamancy, the definition of this term could probably be adjusted to accommodate for tulpas who were created naturally or spontaneously. with such a huge language shift, it makes sense that some adjustments need to be made in order for everyone to be represented. additionally, we see no issue with "thoughtform" being both an umbrella term and meaning something specific based on the context. there are many, many umbrella terms which function this way!

honestly the shift of language might bring with it a resurgence of interest in the community. especially if people are vocal about the change and why the community has decided to commit to this shift! we genuinely think that this could bring so much good press to the community and help it regain popularity.

after this, they speak about how those pushing for a change in tulpa terminology remind them of sysmeds, and that they have to be doubly careful about which spaces they interact with because those which claim to be "inclusive" may be phasing out language that they believe is racist, ultimately excluding those who use tulpa language and cutting them off from the plural community.

we don't think this has to happen. we think this makes a lot of assumptions and assumes the worst about these communities, and fails to recognize or acknowledge the genuine concerns people have.

we run a positivity blog for systems, plurals, and multiples of all sorts. right now, we're nearing 2k followers. on that blog, we are very clear in our stance that we are pro tulpa, anti tulpa terminology. we will never turn away a tulpamancer from our blog simply for the words they choose to use to identify themselves. we will be vocal about lifting up marginalized voices, we will be honest about our concerns, and we personally will not be using or advocating for tulpamancy language on that blog. but we certainly have not and will not cut off tulpamancers from that space.

we don't see why this can't be the case in more places. it is not our goal to divide the plural community from the tulpa community. rather, we think this shift could bring us together as we join to make a long overdue shift away from culturally appropriative language. we fully believe this could make the community stronger as a result.

So, in the Tulpamancy community’s perspective, we either: A.) Give up our most used word and people lose access to so much history and resources, and create a huge divide in our already fragmented community. Or: B.) Stick to our guns, but be excommunicated and villainized by the broader Plurality community.

we aren't a fan of the false dichotomy here. we think there is a secret third option, which is:

c. band together with the plural community to address this issue, choose a new term, commit to change, and adjust the resources we can while uplifting the voices of those who have been so often silenced along the way. this change could bring the community together and also shed positive light on the community in public spaces, bringing us together and strengthening both communities as a result.

personally, we like this option a lot more!

in their next section, eeveecraft writes:

So, what are people trying to attack so hard and blacklist from plural spaces? What are people fighting so hard against to conform to their standards, or be labeled as racist? What Tulpamancy is, for a lot of people, is a means to living a better life. I cannot tell you how many stories I have read of tulpas stopping their hosts from taking their own lives, how creating a tulpa has hugely improved the mental health of others, or how tulpas encourage their hosts to socialize and take care of the body, or how just making a tulpa connects you to a community with the mutual interest in self-improvement and self-love, and so, so much more. Tulpamancy improves people’s lives, and Tulpamancy techniques are not exclusive to us.

we absolutely agree that the practice of tulpamancy can be immensely beneficial, beautiful, and positively life-changing. we ourselves have seen our wife's mental health and outlook on life drastically change for the better through fostering connection and building a relationship with her thoughtform, nevetien. nev has improved our wife's quality of life so much, and the community they've found online and with each other truly is something special.

we love this for her. we want them to be able to grow and flourish in the future together, and we feel so lucky to be able to help them nurture each other and witness their strength and joy as they grow closer together as a team.

this does not negate the valid concerns over tulpamancy language by buddhist poc. it is possible to support the practice of tulpamancy while rejecting the racist roots of the language. and shifting away from tulpa language does not mean abandoning those with thoughtforms, willomates, paros, or whatever term is chosen in the future.

finally, the conclusion:

“Tulpa” as a term, at best, is murky. Nobody is arguing that David-Neel was a saint. She wasn’t, and she’s dead and buried. Tulpa isn’t her word anymore. People in the Tulpamancy community are just fed up with outsiders trying to dictate how their community should be run. We know the term has issues, we know its history is not all sunshine and rainbows. We do not need outsiders barging in and stating the obvious and acting like they know more than we do about our own community and history. And look, I know some people who believe tulpa is appropriative have good intentions and just want to be non-offensive, but people take advantage of that. Sysmeds took advantage of people wanting to do right and weaponized people into being their mouthpieces under the guise of, “We just want to be racially-sensitive.” But instead of actually protecting minorities, all it did was harm another minority while ignoring groups who are taking advantage of the word, and using it for clout and profit. That is exactly why I started this LONG essay with why this whole thing is a bad-faith argument.

it is weird to us that eeveecraft is willing to acknowledge issues with alexandra david-neel, while deflecting issues that arise from the terminology coined by her. she may be dead, but the cultural appropriation she committed is still alive and well today, and will be for as long as tulpamancy terminology remains in use.

we understand the frustrations with not wanting the community's path to be dictated by outsiders. however, this language does affect many outsiders (i.e. asian buddhists and practitioners of vajrayana buddhism). it also does seem like there may be many people within the tulpa community who are uncomfortable with this language and want to shift away, but their voices are buried or silenced by others within the community.

you can't say "some people who believe tulpa is appropriative have good intentions," then follow that with "sysmeds will take advantage of that and weaponize others while claiming to be racially-sensitive." that attempts to negate and cast aside the real concerns of those who have issues with this language and want their voices to be acknowledged and included in the conversation. in this way, eeveecraft, you weaponize the voices of anyone worried about the racism of this terminology, by lumping them in with sysmeds so that you can ignore their valid concerns.

we are not attempting to ignore groups who are taking tulpamancy terminology and using it for clout and profit. we genuinely will take some time to learn about tulpamancy in popular media (specifically aforementioned supernatural, the mandela catalogue, and slenderman) in order to speak up against the use of culturally appropriative language. we just felt the need to address the problems in our own home (tumblr, and the plural community here) before stepping outside our front door. we can't be expected to properly or accurately discuss issues that we were never made aware of, because we just hadn't been exposed to it before.

we did not make that document in bad faith. we have never argued against tulpamancy in bad faith. we are not a sysmed, and in fact are vehemently pro-tulpa and accepting of systems of all origins. however, as we learn more about racism and struggle to call it out and come to terms with its existence within our own communities, we can no longer continue to support tulpamancy language in good faith.

we know this was incredibly, incredibly long. if you've stuck with us this far, thank you so much for reading. we are not an expert on tulpamancy, though we have been involved in the community for a while. we're no expert on race, cultural appropriation, buddhism, or anything that we've talked about today, really. we're just a system who truly cherishes the plural community, trying to confront our own internalized biases and sharing how we feel about this response to our document.

thank you for your time. take care.

#syscourse #tulpamancy #tulpacourse #pro tulpa #anti tulpa terminology #racism

[disciple-of-frost]

Okie dokie then... (0 A 0)

Also! I'm just going to be answering these as a comprehensive list and not send out more. I'm really really sorry, I just don't want to send more to people I might have already sent this to. Just know I appreciate each and every one of you and my inbox/messages are always open if you want to chit chat more!

Also Also! I'm just going to be answering 12 things that make me happy, a nice happy medium also cuz my brain like to freeze up whenever I try to think about myself and my interests. (T _ T)

--

1.) My mutuals OCs! Seeing the love poured into each character and the unique takes everyone has done to fit MSQ/character dynamics to them is so cool! I know we aren't all a hivemind and we won't like all of the same characters, but seeing you all uplift and be supportive to one another helped me be more open and post about Ishi.

2.) Coffee. I am a caffeine fiend and I have done my damnedest to recreate a lot of the drinks Starbucks has released at home. And I will say, I make a mean Lavender Cream Matcha. If you think you can't make something like that I'd say don't be afraid to try. You might surprise yourself.

3.) Monster High. I was in high school in conservative, small town nowhere when they first released and my parents didn't feel the need to buy things that weren't necessities. So now that I'm an adult and enjoying things I never got the chance to when I was younger I have 5 Draculauras hanging up in my bedroom.

4.) My cats. I know I said Animals already in another post, but I don't care. I have four fur babies and they are so special to me, I'm currently living in a really small semi-beaten up apartment because any houses for rent where I am have pet limits and I am not going to abandon two of my cat's just so I can live in a slightly nicer but exceedingly more expensive house. It's not a perfect place to live by societal standards, but it's ours and my boys are everything to me.

5.) Music. I am expanding my music horizons, but for the most part I still listen to a lot of the music I did as a teenager. Linkin Park, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust, Breaking Benjamin, etc. But I do try to find more independent artists that emulate a similar sound to my old favorites; Mallavora, From Ashes to New, Aviators, Magnolia Park.

6.) Gonna move away from physical/material things for a sec. That feeling you get when you get done cleaning a room and you sit down, take a deep breath, and just smell the clean.

7.) The satisfaction of finding a new recipe and nailing it on the first/second try.

8.) Seeing people be kind. I know there are horrible things happening in the world right now, but seeing seemingly small acts of kindness get's me teary eyed. A person rescuing goose eggs from a pond and returning them to their nest. A man picking up trash from a forest creek. Somebody getting gifted a plane ticket to go see their family in another country or having a family member show up to surprise them. I'm honestly getting misty eyed just typing this out. I'm just a really emotional/sentimental person.

9.) The fact that I have been able to keep a single plant alive for more than a week. My partner and I got a potted plant at a baby shower for his boss almost a year ago and that little guy is still kicking.

10.) Giving compliments to people when I'm out in public. I never got a lot of positive affirmation as a kid so whenever I see someone being unabashedly themselves and just wearing their style proudly I like to let them know they look good and that they're killing it.

11.) Finishing a game that had me emotionally invested. Lookin' at you Persona 3: Reload.

12.) Seeing my friends in person after not hanging out in a while. Being an adult can be lonely and people have responsibilities in their own lives that they have to put first before leisure and friends. So actually finding time to be together with the people I love and being able to hug them is super important to me.

--

Okay then. That's about it for now, if I do get another one of these I'll try my best to list a few more.

Thank you to @paintedscales, @shadesofblades, @myreia, @draconian-empress, and @corsair-kovacs! 💙

#inbox answered #paintedscales #shadesofblades #myreia #draconian-empress #corsair-kovacs #about me

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 3 - The Interstellar Union of Republics

AKA; I liked Torchship before it got all political.

Today, I’m going to do a short dev diary about our protagonists. Not the players, but the government they serve, our take on the Federation, and some of the reasons we’re portraying them the way they are.

Star Patrol is an agency of the Interstellar Union of Republics, better known as the Star Union. The IUR is, simultaneously, a direct democratic council assembly, a multinational alliance of post-capitalist states, and a forum for other Republics (associates and observers) in the style of the UN. Its most prominent member is the Solar Union, the nearly-unified human astrostate, and it has three other full members (the post-human colony of Proxima, the mid-uplift Corvus Peasant’s Republic, and the Lunar PoW-camp-turned-alien-enclave Camp Aldrin). 

Most of the other powers, even some hostile ones, have associate or observer membership; the Star Union is a big deal, and even the people who don’t like it have to put up with it. Which is to say, whether it likes it or not, it’s an empire and the local superpower; dealing with the implications of that is the central thrust of the game.

On Utopia

The inevitable problem with trying to write utopia is that all that ends up happening is exposing what kinds of oppression and violence the writers don’t acknowledge or understand. Which is part of the reason (besides wanting to make something interesting and layered) that the IUR is not written as an ideal world. It can be, in many ways, aspirational, but it’s got more than its share of complex problems. By writing them in deliberately, we hope to use those stumbling blocks as the driver of the metanarrative.

See, the Star Union is a socialist state which stands at the crossroads of a lot of different possible futures. Before first contact, the Solar Union was nearing its own dissolution, slowly dismantling its military and centralised bureaucracy for the transition to a stateless form of communism. Being thrust into an interstellar war, and subsequent hostile galaxy, reversed a lot of that progress; the military’s power and presence is hugely expanded, the bureaucracy is more powerful than ever, and a lot of the minor powers of local space are tripping over themselves to get in good with the new empire.

That last point is a huge part of what makes your missions in Star Patrol interesting. A lot of people have heard of you, long before you make formal first contact, and even totally uncontacted aliens are quick to recognise what it means to find out their space is patrolled by a superpower that spans a thousand light years. The dilemma ‘do you involve yourself against the will of others’ is not interesting in any group with the slightest moral fibre, so people invite you to get involved in their business, begging for your help, promising you riches to back their side, squabbling for your favour. 

There’s other acknowledged internal problems in the IUR. Despite its official positions, many humans are fairly xenophobic, especially regarding species they fought against in the War. The bureaucracy is overbearing and set in its ways, the medical advances have atomised a lot of disabled communities, and many are still clinging to the last remnants of the capitalist market. There’s a constant trickle of wildcat human colonies founded by people trying to get away for whatever reason, which itself causes problems when they settle in dangerous places or on planets that already have inhabitants. 

I don’t want to overstate it; a lot about the Star Union is really cool, it’s just very much not perfect. My goal was to create a world where you could understand the moderate perspective; to make something good enough that violently overthrowing it probably won’t be the first priority of most players, while still having enough obvious cracks that it’s clearly not there yet, with where exactly there is being the central question a campaign is built around.

Speaking of which…

Internal Politics

Through your campaign, you’ll be moving the Star Union on three political axes through your actions in the narrative, through upgrade purchases, and through other choices. The players are representative agents, after all; whatever you’re up to, the rest of Star Patrol probably is too, which says things about society back home.

These axes are called State Metrics, and they are:

Militarisation: Is the Star Union a peaceful, idyllic community which compromises with its neighbours, or a bastion of hope and progress standing against a hostile universe?

Centralisation: Is the Star Union a voluntary assembly of independent communities with some common goals, or a unified body pursuing a specific vision of utopia?

Intervention: Does the Star Union respect the boundaries and views of others, even those hostile to them, or do they work to spread their definition of good and right to others?

You start your campaign near the centre of all these tracks. As you move down these axes, in one direction or another, the Star Union changes, as do your options when you return for resupply. No matter which way you go, there’s some benefits; even pacifism comes with a positive reputation you can leverage.

Furthermore, you’ll receive events when you go back to resupply between episodes, news stories from back home rolled on a random table (and influenced by your State Metrics). A lot of these will just be flavour that shows the way that the changing Metrics are affecting things back home, some will be free bonuses, and some will change something about your ship. A high Militarism rocket might hold a vote to institute military ranks and saluting, for instance.

The biggest events, far at the ends of each Metric, are Crises. These aren’t likely (especially if you’ve been spending Upgrade Credits on keeping state Stability high), but a Crisis basically transforms your campaign as you suddenly lurch from playing classic Star Trek directly into the later seasons of Babylon 5. If you’re a pacifist without enough allies you might face an invasion, while their military counterparts might face a coup. If you’re really isolationist, maybe they just defund Star Patrol. Addressing these Crises can become the exciting conclusion to your campaign.

Finally, so these Crises don’t come out of nowhere, the internal politics of the Star Union have been defined enough that we can see where it comes from, and players can use these groupings as inspiration for giving their own character a political flavour. We’ve come up with a set of political identities for your characters, complete with flags, histories, and stereotypes.

In short, the political groups are…

Centralists are the moderates of the Star Union, old-school socialists and grateful immigrants who don’t want to destabilise a system that offers so much hope to so many. Which is to say, they’re ignorant conservatives who need to get with the times. The future is now, old man!

Civil Anarchists want the Union to finish the job and dissolve the damn state already, and are the only thing holding the bloated and controlling bureaucracy to account. Which is to say, they’re naive idiots who are going to burn everything down prematurely. Fucking wreckers!

Neo-Trotskyites want the Union to support revolutions in the alien powers, to use their position as a superpower to liberate the billions of people in the galaxy living under awful regimes. Which is to say, they’re bloody-minded red imperialists with a jumpjet fetish. Fucking harriers!

Cybernetic Democrats are a revolutionary movement to create a predictive algorithm to replace or supplement economic democracy, in what they see as the next stage of history. Which is to say they’re a bunch of computer nerds who got schooled at the council meeting and got so mad they’re going to make a hive mind about it. Fucking Talyorists!

Universal Transcendents are the only ones who noticed this setting has ubiquitous psychic powers, and want to eschew all this material bickering and stupid wars to get everyone to connect with the universe, man. Which is to say they’re a bunch of weird New New Agers convinced they can crystal healing their way out of historical materialism. Fucking hippies!

There’s a quick rundown of all of them in character creation so you can jump right into it if you want. Otherwise, they just provide flavour for when the Crisis hits, giving you a face and ideological backing to whatever wild bullshit has just happened to the Union which you have to deal with.

#torchship #ttrpg

[lutiaslayton]

It’s coming.

Hellooo, just giving you all a little update and teaser regarding the event I have mentioned for a while, and which is finally about to begin!

Yes, it is finally time. To reply to an earlier reblog I saw some time ago: yes, I guess we are going to Dracula Daily the Layton novels now. Or at least I will try to keep this up for as long as I can. I am very much hyped too 👀

The Eternal Diva novel will be cut into about twenty parts,

so this will be a twenty-week journey (unless one part happens to be extremely short, then maybe I’ll merge it with the previous or next one for example). And after that, hopefully by then the transcript of another novel will have progressed enough to start all over again with a different story! So far, a French friend (who doesn’t have a tumblr) is helping me make a transcript of the Illusory Forest novel; so fingers crossed, as this might be the next in line! Yep, for those interested in my theories, it is the very same novel that I’ve talked about for so long, and it is arguably the craziest of all. Just the way it starts is an absolute roller-coaster.

Also, I lied. Updates are going to be on Mondays now.

I was not ready to post yesterday, Sundays already have their Layton-related weekly event, and since I am too impatient to wait until next week, I thought I might as well make this a thing for Mondays instead. Gotta end the first, universally depressing work day of the week, with something uplifting, am I right? :3

I am going to give you a warning, though: as much as I’d like to keep the translations as close to the originals as possible, I am also, unfortunately, a fanfic writer, and the novels’ writing style is very different from what I usually write. Also there’s some weird stuff such as verb tense consistency in Japanese… Ohhhhhhh dear this part is such a nightmare. You can have verbs in the present tense and others in the past tense in the same sentence. You can have a sentence in the present tense and another in the past tense right after. I hate this. I hate everything about this.

So, I will try to restrain myself (because if you already took a peek at SLS, you already know what my writing style is really like), but I sometimes couldn’t help but add a sentence or two, cut a sentence into multiple ones, make the dialogue less robotic and more lively, that sort of thing. For example, if there’s a lot of dialogue going on and on without any narration in-between, I might sometimes add a sentence or two just to break it up a bit and make the scene sound less static. That sort of thing.

I will try my best to make it sound similar to what the official game translations did, in the end! The Japanese dialogue is usually rather bland and repetitive, but the official translations added a lot of details and quirks that are completely absent from the original text, but which also make the characters feel like, you know, themselves as we know and love them.

So here’s a reminder that if you want to know what the real Japanese text says, do NOT take this fan-translation series as a reliable source. I spent months writing a transcript of the real novel precisely so that people willing to know what the original Japanese text says (including me) would be able to check it out and compare, regardless of what anyone else translating it will say. Even without speaking Japanese, you can copy-paste the Japanese sentences into a translator such as DeepL, and so you’ll be able to see which parts exactly are in the novel, and which parts I pulled out of my magic hat. The “9/10 accuracy, WhatTheHeckIsThis/10 readability” translation is going to take a LONG time to make, but it will also come eventually (though don’t expect much before at least something like 2024).

So now, with all that being said:

See you all tomorrow at 6PM (France time) for the first chapter of our reading journey!

Though if you have preferences for how you would rather see things (e.g. better time that fits the majority), then I am open to suggestions! I can easily rename a tag or reschedule my queue.

#eternal diva novel #so if we have Sycamore Sunday what should I call this other event #guess we might call it... uh... Eternal Monday? #holy shoot no that sounds so dreadful forget it #monograph monday? yeah no that's not good either #layton's book club #still nowhere near a good name but that's better than nothing #and since there's at least three other novels that are even longer we might as well make this a common tag #lutiasreplies

[ultfreakme]

I’m so obsessed of the fact that Jon is stated to be more like Lois than Clark. Like I would love if someone make a post about this, but I’m general I think making him resemble his mom more than his dad is a good way of difference them. Now we need to get Jon with purple eyes and so people can stop saying he’s a clon of Clark

Oh me too I'd love a post showing how he resembles Lois. SOKE made a very pointed effort to show it. I like to think in AOSJK he does have purple eyes because in a lot of panels they're bordering on some shade of grey? I think the artist is trying to draw his eye shape specifically to look more like lois but that might be me being delusional.

Jon is very much Lois's son, it especially comes out when he sees injustice(pun unintended but very fitting). His first reaction is this impulsive anger that he doesn't know how to control yet but after he does get it under control, he investigates, he doesn't think everyone can have redemption or be forgiven and he holds his grudges.

Jon's resemblance to Lois is often shown in his decisiveness and righteous anger(idk the word for it) when he sees that something is wrong. He's not afraid of angering people, and he uses his powers to uplift others instead of taking things into his own hands. Lois's journalism is about letting the downtrodden speak through her platform. Clark's a lot more diplomatic and tries to keep things....peaceful? Like he doesn't take the kinda moves Jon does with how forward he is when he's figured out who's in the right and wrong.

Him going to jail in #3 and angering Bendix in the news

Threatening a senator

Barging into said senator's office to question him

Going to Bendix and questioning him. Clark has done something similar to Lex. Clark doesn't make a move or do anything until he's got everything, he usually hovers and gives them warnings, give them a chance to defend themselves or stop. Jon doesn't. He walked in and started asking questions to both Bendix and Lex.

This right here? All Lois.

I'm pretty sure Lois did exactly this in a comic. She was arrested and started interviewing the people with her and I think she didn't leave until everyone else was out too.

Concurred nonnie, Lois-Jon resemblances need to happen more often and they need to give Jon purple eyes to truly complete the bisexual flag that he is (pinkish-red + blue suit and purple eyes).

#jon kent #adventures of superman jon kent #superman #superboy #jonathan samuel kent #jon el #jonathan kent #superman son of kal el #soke #aosjk #riki asks

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

A common symptom of ptsd is to not talk about your past traumatic event, to avoid reliving the trauma as much as possible. I think Magnifico having ptsd is an interesting idea, thought I'm not sure it's what the writers intended. But I lose you when you start to expect Amaya not only knows he has ptsd, but knows how to react to him having it. If he's avoiding talking about it, even if she knows it's traumatic, would she know how to help him? I think Magnifico not going to her for help all the time isn't a sign of a lack of love. I think he has the feeling he needs to deal with things on his own. And for Amaya's part, I think she knows this about her husband and that's why she tries to give him space.

Hi anon,

I might not have been clear enough about this in my last analysis, so let me touch up on this a bit further.

First of all, and again, I.dont.hate.Amaya! I criticize her behavior and her choices.

Now to PTSD once more. PTSD and C-PTSD can have many different levels of intensity. And while yes, it is true, that in some cases ptsd-people won't talk about the triggers and the very thing that traumatized them, it's not the case with Magnifico. He openly talks about what traumatized him in hopes to be understood! In his conversation with Asha, we clearly see that he longs for someone to understand him!

Ok, let's analyze Magnifico withdrawing himself all the time. Yes, sometimes people need to be on their own and ptsd people might isolate themselves but really, they long deep down to open up to someone who understands them! I wouldn't ramble so much about it if I didn't have first hand expirience in this! The very fact that he feels the need to deal with everything on his own is terrible! It's sad! Because that shouldn't be the case. Of course he cared for Amaya, I never said he didn't but for goodness sake, she's supposed to be his "wife!" He shouldn't think "I need to handle everything on my own!" Especially not, when he's at the peak of breaking down emotionally.

My Dad isn't the one who comes running to my Mom with every single problem he has either, because he's also the type who deals with most things on his own, but when it truly matters he seeks her comfort. He opens up about what bothers and or pains him and he knows he can be vunerable and weak in her presence. He knows she won't judge him and even if she doesn't understand, she will try her best to be there, be a help somehow and uplift him. And in trouble look for a solution.

Amaya not doing any of this because she simply doesn't know how and wants to give him space, because she knows thats what he says he wants, isn't a solid justification or proof of her love.

I never claimed Amaya should be perfect! I never said Amaya should know all the answers all the time or know how to react right in every single situation! To be fair, she's a human with flaws as well but that was never what I criticized!

Yes, being his wife, she should know that he has PTSD, and she most likely does because he even told Asha about his past. It should be clear as day that horror like this would traumatize the heck out of everyone!

Now, not everyone is a cuddlebug and not all couples are lovely dovely, but good grief, was it too much to expect a wife to actually show her husband she loves him? We got not one single hug (and Magnifico deserved a 1000 hugs througout the movie) we saw not one single kiss! None besides a 1 sec. Peck to her hand. She didn't hold his hands for longer than 3 seconds, never caressed his cheek, never did anything that would show us that she actually loves him! Everything she did showed us she cared for him but you can care for someone very much but not love them.

And if we are talking married couple, true love soulmates, I expect to see it! It's not hard, taking the fact we have a 100 year history of disney showing us true love. And saying, disney didn't make Amaya show her true emotions because Magnifico was supposed to be the villain everyone would kick off in the end anyway and we shouldn't make people like him, is literally the worst arguement ever.

And even if one doesn't agree with anything I said, what she did at the end summs it all up! If my soulmate, my one true love, would be under some curse from an evil book that says its unbreakable, I would be like "Screw what the evil book says! Cause how trustworthy is an evil book? Also, screw what anyone says or thinks, screw it if he accidently hurts me in the process, I promised to stick with him in bad and good times, I swore to love him in life and death, I'll fight with every fiber in my body and soul to get him back and if it kills me! I'll do everything in my might!" And if I'd still lose him, I would grieve!

But Amaya dumped him as easily as a pair of old shoes she doesn't like anymore. She knew he only went bonkers because of the book and still she's like "He's all evil! Away with him!" She even mocks him by saying "But you do love mirrors." 0 grief, 0 regret, 0 love. She became cold and even afterwards we saw her continue happily. How the heck am I supposed to believe she truly loved him when her actions literally say no?

Would she have known how to help him? You don't always need to know HOW to do something, what counts is that you try, that you just go for it! And if you truly love someone, you can help by being compassionate, understanding, forgiving etc. With PTSD people, you won't believe what wonders a loving hug can do. Or just telling us "I might not fully understand what's going on in your mind and heart right now, but I want to understand, I want to help you and I want you to know that I see you and you're not alone. I acknowledge your pain! You don't have to go through this on your own. I'm here for you no matter what!"

I don't think Amaya is all terrible, and like I said, I don't hate her. But I do not believe she ever truly loved Magnifico.

#anon answered #I'll defend Magnifico like a lioness does her cubs

[sixty-silver-wishes]

Thoughts on the Barbie movie

So I finally saw the Barbie movie! I was excited to watch it for a long time, and overall, I really liked it, although I wouldn't consider it quite perfect. Here are some thoughts upon first viewing-

First, what I liked. The set design, cinematography, and costuming were incredible; it was so fun and refreshing to see practical effects and the sort of artistry that went into this film. The characters were mostly likeable (put a pin in that), and the comedy definitely landed; I was laughing out loud multiple times, and the fourth-wall breaks were a ton of fun. While I've heard different people say different things about the feminist (or at least attempted feminist) messaging and how effective it was, I really liked the point that women didn't have to be extraordinary to be fulfilled or respected. It didn't shy away from topics like aging, emotions, or bodily changes, and I loved how older women were also uplifted in this film, as well as the messaging that patriarchy is damaging to both men and women. And I really appreciated that Barbie and Ken didn't end up together; as an ace person, that representation was really nice to see. Michael Cera as Allan was adorable, and I loved Kate McKinnon as "Weird Barbie." It was nice to see a diverse cast, and in today's climate, after the barrage of hate towards trans people in politics and society, seeing "Doctor Barbie," played by Hari Nef- a trans woman- being called "beautiful" in a big-budget mainstream film was honestly heartwarming. I was definitely crying a bit towards the end, and I'm hoping to watch the movie again sometime.

As for what I didn't like, most of it comes down to the character of Sasha. She was exasperating every time she was on screen, and was written in a grating "how do you do, fellow Gen Z's" way I couldn't stand. While it's true that activism and social justice are obviously components of Gen Z culture, Sasha felt like a caricature of this in the worst possible way. Her calling a Barbie doll "fascist" for setting "unrealistic standards for women" was especially eye-rolling, considering that actual fascism is on the rise both in the United States and around the world, and it felt belittling to the concerns that young people have been vocal about in recent years. For a character representing the "real world," she felt incredibly unrealistic and one-dimensional. However, I did like Gloria's character, and the relationship between her and Barbie.

For a film sponsored by Mattel, I wasn't expecting much in terms of anti-capitalist critique, and while it was sort of there on a surface level, I feel like the film could have gone more into how the concepts of patriarchy and capitalism intersect. They touched on it a little with the Mattel CEO claiming to care about girls and women but only because they were his target market, but I felt more could have been done there.

Some people have been saying the film focused too much on Ken, but I personally didn't mind his arc; it was mainly about how patriarchy harmed men, while Barbie's was about how it harmed women. While I feel like the Kens deserved consequences (conse-Ken-ces?) for trying to overthrow the government and enslave the Barbies, I guess you could also argue that the battle amongst themselves counted as such, as the film displayed that patriarchy is a self-destructive construct. I felt like the Barbies being brainwashed represented internalized misogyny (the "tradwife" movement came to mind), and while Gloria's speech was good and all, I would have also liked to see that concept deconstructed further.

Overall, I'd give the Barbie movie a 9 out of 10. Beautiful visuals, interesting thematic points, and a lot of fun, but I just wish it could have dug a bit deeper.

#barbie #barbie spoilers #barbie 2023 #barbie movie #review #movie review

[demonicintegrity]

Ngl when I was skimming past Barbie posts and people were saying it was profound in how it addresses Ken’s plot line of toxic masculinity and how it parallels watching a boy grow up and fall into that and what not, I got a little skeptical because I noticed the movie was only an hour and half. Cuz like, surely you’re couldn’t deconstruct both Ken and Barbie in the real world to that degree in just 90 minutes?

But they did. Like surprisingly well.

I think what struck me about Ken is that it’s a great analogy about how a boy’s support system is almost entirely dependent on their potential/girlfriend. And that’s where the root of the problems are. Ken is setting up his entire source of validation and emotional support onto Barbie. Not once do we see him confide in another Ken about being upset that Barbie always has girl’s night, or anything of that nature. It’s either trying to address that with Barbie directly (not always well) or just bottled up inside.

“Where do the Kens go?” There’s no structure in place for them. Therefore, the best they can do is attach themselves to their Barbie.

And it’s only for validation and what can she provide for him. Maybe it’s because he’s feeling that neglected (he does say theyre boyfriend-girlfriend but she never does say that so hm.) or maybe it’s because he’s only focused on what he wants. As soon as the two enter the real world, she’s explicitly stating she doesnt feel good and instead of asking what she means or even acknowledging it at all, he says he’s feeling great!

And within the real world, the first person to give him some general acknowledgement and praise is The Patriarchy. And they don’t do it because he’s Ken and he did something, they do it because he’s a man. But he doesn’t notice the difference.

And this is a real thing with a lot of boys and teens falling into pipelines. Once you’re too old to cry there’s nothing in place to be supportive for them really. Mommy’s not gonna baby you forever. But you can go compete for a girl’s attention. Little Timmy you were nice to Samantha once you must like her Hm? Go give her flowers you pick in the yard she might like you back. Oh he’s playing rough with the boys? Oh that’s just how they are.

Brotherhood isn’t encouraged, not in the same way sisterhood is. Girls are told to look out for each other, uplift each other, stick together. Boys are told what? It’s okay to hit and roughhouse and shove because boys will be boys. But if girls did that to each other they would be told to be nice.

(Brotherhood is encouraged in war, in finding woman together, for a task. Sisterhood is encouraged in community and in protection.)

Where do the boys go?

So Ken gets validation and support, and it feels like brotherhood. It feels like respect. But it’s not because it’s so superficial, it’s the patriarchy. It’s “you’re a man so you’re better and qualified.” “You’re a man so you inherently deserve these things.” “You’re a man so you have the right to push women aside for what you want.”

(And that’s what makes the Kendom so different from Barbieland. The Kendom actively pushed the Barbies aside. The Barbies just didn’t think to make a specific space for them.)

And that’s how the pipeline works. A boy just wants some acknowledgement and praise. And typically the first one to give that wholeheartedly and enthusiastically is misogynists because being a man is inherently amazing and worth praise for them. Or it’s more like how Ken discovered it, he just was looking for horses and trucks. But got horses and trucks and don’t forget!! Men are on top of the world!! And he internalized that!

(And the fact he got all this from a middle school library didn’t escape me. It’s how boys at that age fall into these things so easily when just trying to learn and/or just find things of their interests. No this isn’t me saying ban books it’s me seeing the metaphor of how easy it is to look for one thing and get Patriarchy deeply embedded into it.)

“Once I realized the patriarchy wasn’t about horses I lost interest.” Because how often do men get to have interests without it somehow reinforcing the patriarchy really? Yes trucks are cool but they’re MANLY cool and so how MANLY cool you are unlike those WOMEN cars!!! But patriarchy says you get to have these because of itself so it cannot be separated so easily. If it’s what’s giving you it, then sure I guess.

The patriarchy is the only “support” system that actively seeks out men to some degree. While women have that sisterhood they’ve been encouraged to seek out and build since they were little. The weird Barbies/kens built themselves their own little place away because they knew they had to built from scratch for weirdos like themselves. Solidarity together.

And here’s the catch: it’s because the Barbies didn’t set up anything up specific for them. And why would they? It wasn’t asked for. And the Barbie’s made everything for themselves just fine, what really was stopping the Ken’s from doing that too? Especially since we see the weird Barbies and Kens build their own place.

Because that’s how it is as a woman. You build your own support system, take the time to check in and talk to your friends. Your mother encourages it, go make friends with the other girls. You’re encouraged to make friends and learn conflict resolution and stick together despite bumps.

And when building all that up for yourself, as you’re suppose to, the boy beside you has nothing. And it’s not your responsibility to make something for him, but now feel obligated because at best he’s expecting it from you/moping around in your space despite the boundaries or at worse he’s falls into The Patriarchy and is encouraged into community with Andrew Tate stans and the like and that becomes a problem for everyone.

Idk. I just saw Ken and went “oh no” as soon as he stepped into the real world because you watched the dominos fall in real time and knew what was happening and why. Someone else here said every woman has That Ken. A childhood friend or family member or something. And I think about me, and the eldest daughters, with little brothers trying so desperately to give them a system and teachings even though it’s not our jobs because we don’t want them falling and becoming the next bad guy. We did it ourselves but by god we gotta help them because they were never taught to help themselves. Hm.

#barbie 2023 #Barbie spoilers #long post #this got a lil rambly and escaped me cuz I’m at work fkdndn

[starwolf479]

Scrapped Scene from my New Story

This is a small scrapped excerpt from my story [ERROR] [REDACTED] [REBOOT] I've been working this story on and off for about six months now, and am finally getting to the point where I feel like I have enough done to start posting. To celebrate getting to this point, and honestly just because I am excited, I wanted to share some of it with everyone, This is a little scene that I loved, but couldn't get to flow in the original story. Context: This is set between season 4 and 5. The ninjas are going to Borg's Tower for the first time since Zane was brought back from Chen's Island.

The bustling city really never did sleep. The sun had only finished rising an hour ago, but the traffic was already bumper to bumper along the highway, especially now that a lot of Borg’s inventions had been phased out.

Zane’s new visual processors were more advanced allowing him to see some of the onlookers in the higher buildings pointing at The Bounty as it flew overhead. None of them would be able to see the ninja themselves, and the other ninjas couldn’t see them.

It was a private, uplifting sight for Zane alone.

And maybe it was because of city folk smiling and waving, or perhaps it was from the chill of being so high in the sky, or it could have been from the familiarity of being on a flying ship again after all the years, but as Zane stood at the helm of The Bounty the tension in his shoulders started to relax.

He leaned into the railing, letting the wind catch his hair and the sash of his gi, the rolling concrete jungle under the ship passing by in a blur of colored lights.

Well, the view wasn’t Zane’s alone, but that actually caused a pleasant buzz when he noticed; in the shared portion of their mindscape, the other android’s avatar was also enjoying some people watching. He could see P.I.X.A.L.’s face change from a soft smile to a full grin as she saw a boy, no older than six, jump up and down while pointing at the ninja’s boat. His mother, who was holding his other hand, smiled up at it too but before long her head was tilted down to give that loving look to her son instead.

// This is- This is amazing, Zane. //

// You never do quite get used to it. It is only a small portion of Ninjago, but the people are… they make everything worth it. //

Borg’s Tower was finally within view now, if only for the nindroids. P.I.X.A.L. going rigid and eyebrows pinching in a doleful expression even as her smile remained.

// It is going to be alright, P.I.X.A.L. Cyrus is going to be ecstatic to talk with you again. //

// I have never been away from my inventor for so long. I know it is illogical to be nervous, but I cannot quell it. //

// Your nervous because you care about him, but rest assured he cares about you too. //

The two said nothing for a while; Zane choosing instead to listen to the faint creaking of the ship’s wheel as Nya steered it over the buildings. Deleting his thought queue, he began to focus on the energies of the world around him.

Noticeably, when they got close enough to Cyrus’s building that Nya announced it over the comms at the other boy who were inside the cabin, P.I.X.A.L. started talking once more.

// You always had more emotion than I, but I didn’t realize that you felt more physically too. It is fascinating. //

// What do you mean? //

// My body did not register temperature. I could give someone an analysis of it, but I could not perceive it. This is ‘cold,’ correct?” //

// Different beings have differing tolerances. I would say that this is ‘brisk.’ However, I am the Master of Ice. //

“It’s freezing out here!”

“Oh, stop being a baby!”

// And that would be the Master of Fire. //

// Indeed, P.I.X.A.L. //

Zane turned around to watch the sibling show down with Nya batting at Kai who was trying to steal some of her warmth. Zane doubts that she would normally mind, but as she was trying to pilot the ship, he could understand her frustration. From the port side of the railing, Lloyd raised an eyebrow at Zane as they both watched the fussing.

The only thing that would make the scene even more reminiscent of their early years as a team was for Jay to come out humming sea shanties.

#[err] ninjago fic #[err] au #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago pixal #ninjago nya #ninjago kai #ninjago lloyd #ninjago jay #ninjago fanfiction #ninjago fandom #ninjago au

[mariamastermind]

We need to shut celebrity gossip channels down. I just saw a video on Taylor Swift winning AOTY at the Grammys and seeming “fake” because she was genuinely shocked she broke a record, pulling her friend who was on the album and deserves to be recognized by the academy is “embarrassing” to her friend, and announcing her new album is her being “greedy” because she was “gloating” in front of her peers when her music got her on that stage in the first place.

This channel has videos on so many celebrities, and NONE of their videos are praising them. They have one about how Taylor and Travis Kelce’s relationship is “strategic” and is NFL promo, Selena Gomez is “addicted to sympathy,” Nicki Minaj has lost her whole career because of her behavior, every video on Meghan Markle basically says she sucks, Selena Gomez is a “mean girl,” Ariana Grande is “toxic,” and the list goes on. Notice how majority of the celebrities I’ve listed here are women.

The best part? This particular channel is run by two sisters. Two women. Two women who I’m sure have said something in a video about a celebrity not being a “girls girl” or one who doesn’t support other women when they are clearly not doing so either. They called Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hypocrites when they’re being hypocritical.

Have you ever wondered why some celebrities are so relatable? It’s because a lot of them have some sort of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, hell, even eating disorders. Do you know what can cause these? Stupid accounts like celebrity gossip channels. One says, “so and so are gaining so much weight because of blank” and then the normal reaction of the person being targeted is, “ok, I’m gonna loose weight because I need to please everyone.” Am I the only one who sees how toxic this is? Celebrities are people too. They have lives and relationships and struggles and all anyone wants to do is make them feel bad about themselves.

“Sorry, she’s fake because she was shocked she won an award.” She was genuinely shocked she made history.

“Hey, she saw her winning an award as a business ploy to get herself more money.” She loves making music and wanted to thank her fans for making her album reach new unimaginable heights by surprising them.

“It was so wrong of her to embarrass her friend who just lost her, who also deals with anxiety, by pulling her on stage.” Maybe, but her friend was a singer and producer on this album and should be recognized as such. And a point needed to be made to the academy of how amazing her friend is as an artist and deserves so much more than she gets.

“The other people in the room got tired of seeing her on stage winning.” It was late and most of them were drunk, what did you expect? Bright smiling faces like their coffee just kicked in? It was the last award of the night. You’d be tired too. And almost everyone in that room was happy for her.

Celebrity gossip channels need to be stopped. They turn everyone into a villain, pitting people (fans and celebrities) against each other. We should be uplifting other people, not breaking them down. And to all those gossip channels out there, have you ever wondered why exactly, the news outlets don’t post everything you do? No? Well, here’s why: they know what seems true and what doesn’t, and a lot of what could be said in their articles are true. Leave them to do their jobs while you go find a real one. And to all the women out there, stop trying to turn another woman into a villain to fit your fantasy. Jealousy doesn’t look good on anyone.

#stop gossip blogs and channels #this needs to stop #taylor swift #swifties #1989 taylor's version #party like it’s 1989 #speak now taylor’s version #long live taylor’s version #red taylor’s version #evermore #fearless taylor’s version #it’s just so tiring #just let them live #spread true news #selena gomez #nicki minaj #meghan markle #prince harry #lana del rey #pls support