#whether people would understand

[danielnelsen]

while i get where this comes from and it’s true to an extent, i reeeaaaally don’t like how people try to explain “trans men don’t [necessarily] have male privilege” with things like “some trans men don’t pass”.

like sure that’s the most obvious example (someone who is seen as a woman won’t have the privilege that comes with being seen a man) but you’re still acting like being a passing trans man is just a free opt-in to male privilege which is………kinda the issue.

#personal #ohh don’t be weird on my post please this is just on my mind #i’ve seen it so many times just in the last few days #like yeah a passing trans man receives more benefits than anyone who’s seen as a woman #and i’m sure most people making those arguments DO understand that it’s not that simple #but very few people engaging in these kinds of discussions in good faith would argue that someone seen as a woman has male privilege #(note: VERY FEW people engaging in GOOD FAITH) #i see people be like ‘everyone thinks all trans men pass’ and like…….WHO is thinking that who’s also gonna listen to you here #maybe it’s just my grew-up-in-a-conservative-religious-environment thing but your experience is not universal #i would also like you to consider whether ‘anyone that looks like a man has male privilege’ is consistent with your other views #1k #(oh god guys please)

[aquanutart]

#wind waker #loz #zelda #beedle #linktober #link #aquanutart #day 1: merchant #i really liked beedle in the wind waker he just always seemed so genuinely enthusiastic and happy to see you #i thought his compliment card was hilarious. i always bought a lot of bait anyway to complete my sea chart #and because i liked messing around as a bird i guess i'd buy hyoi pears; so i always racked up enough points without really trying #however i wasn't a fan of what they did with his character in games after that. he became pressuring and insincere #i understand why people would find a two-faced salesman character funny or interesting in his own right #but it's the opposite of what i originally liked about him #unfortunately this makes me question whether it was meant that way to begin with? #i don't know but i like to believe wind waker beedle actually meant his enthusiasm #back when ww beedle was the only beedle i always meant to show appreciation for him so i'm doing that now

[anachronistic-falsehood]

i understand why there are so many people complaining about fitpac wedding but also guys. think of the comedy potential for a fitpac wedding. them having to make their minecraft characters kiss. ccfit has his head in his hands and won’t stop fumbling his words. ccpac is shrinking down in his chair and you can only see like three hairs on his head at this point. fit makes ramon his best man. richas is the flower boy. fit and pac both get so flustered when they’re calling each other their husbands for the first time. fit would probably do the jumping jacks emote at the altar. pac would probs do the fall to pieces emote like a thousand times. they would be just as silly and awkward as they always have been. the comedy potential guys think about it

#fitpac #qsmp #obligatory ‘this is not me invalidating the opinions of others on the subject of a fitpac wedding don’t get mad’ #also i understand why people wouldn’t want one like from a character standpoint!!! understandable!!! #but also imagine how fun and chaotic a fitpac wedding would be #i am happy either way!! #if they get married yay!!! fun!!! #if they don’t awesome!!! they’re still partners whether they put a ring on it or not!!! #i just think fitpac wedding could be fun :3 #and very very silly

[symbologic]

Law thought he'd need to change the world to honor Cora's sacrifice

But he was already living Cora's legacy: Simply by being with the people he loves, the family he created for himself in the wake of Cora setting him free

You'd almost expect Law to wander alone for years after Cora's death. And in a different story? I think that's likely what would've happened so the MC could finally show him what love means

But Law met Bepo and the others within a few days of Cora's death

And so Law fulfilled Cora's dying wish — continued to fulfill that wish everyday after that, even — without ever realizing it. There is something so devastatingly beautiful about that

#It's the intrinsic value in all of us #the relationships we create #and how those things truly ARE enough when viewed through the lens of unconditional love #/CLENCHES FIST AND CRIES #To understand what the heart pirates represent; I think you really need to read between the lines #People get hung up on power-scaling but that stuff is honestly SO irrelevant here?? #in the same way whether Law would change the world was irrelevant to Cora. #It's simply about how much Law loves them #and how much they adore him in turn 🥹 #trafalgar law #hearts pirates #bepo #corazon #donquixote rocinante #one piece #my meta #text post

[chuthulhu-reads]

[ID: Two panels from Dungeon Meshi. The first scows Senshi clutching his face as tears start to spill out of his eyes, saying, "I've always... always wanted to have this soup one more time." He's not wearing his helmet in this panel, so his face is unusually visible, detailed and vulnerable. The second panel shows himself as a youngster, surrounded by his old mining team, all smiling at each other, one of them rubbing Senshi's head. Modern-day Senshi continues, "Thank you. All of you. Thank you." End ID.]

Holy shit. I anticipated some tragic backstory from the "I must feed the young ones" panels, but what I'd guessed was that Senshi might have become so devoted to cooking and eating literally whatever because he'd previously survived a famine and had seen children starve to death. I did not expect him to have been the child who was the sole survivor of a doomed travel party, one of whom was determined to feed Senshi first because he was the youngest, and that Senshi has lived with the fear of having inadvertently committed cannibalism by eating stew that he'd never quite known the contents of. I'm happy for him that Laios deduced and confirmed for him that it was griffin meat, that he was able to taste the meal that saved his life once more and remember the friends he lost. Seriously, I'm crying, and also earnestly relieved that while his backstory is pretty dark, it's not the type of fucked up I'd been preparing myself mentally for.

#Dungeon Meshi #Delicious in Dungeon #Dunmeshi #though it IS really worth exploring the ethics of cannibalism in survival situations #The podcast You're Wrong About has a really interesting pairing of episodes #in the Donner Party and Flight 571 Crash episodes #Both about disasters in which people wound up eating their dead to survive #and an interesting connection they drew was that it wasn't the cannibalism itself #that destroyed the lives of the Donner survivors #it was the horror and disgust and societal rejection they got for having eaten human flesh #even the children who had no idea what they were eating were treated with revulsion #and this is clearly the response Senshi feared facing if anybody knew what he'd eaten #But Flight 571 like a century later #the survivors were faced with a lot of understanding when rescued #relatively little condemnation and revulsion #by and large commentators acknowledged that they did what they had to do #and sympathized with how difficult and painful it must have been #which is what Senshi gets from his party #Laios wants to figure out the truth because he knows it's hurting Senshi not to know #But at one point Marcille straight up says that none of them would think less of Senshi if he did eat dwarf stew #Okay so this is Marcille 'ardent student of blood magic' Donato #but Chilchuck agrees #anyway I think that would be a particularly interesting conversation to have in a cooking manga #how do you safely eat a dead friend when that's all you have to survive on? #what are the nutritional benefits other than 'better than starving'? #what are the risks? There's prion diseases and all sorts you can get #they write it off as eating the dragon part but they DO spend seven days eating Falin at the end #ARE there any in/famous cannibalism cases in this world? #Do peopel argue about whether or not it's cannibalism if a dwarf eats a tallman? #enquiring minds (mine) want to know

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

excuse me i need to Muse on something for a moment

so in Wally's secret 'vinyl' audios, specifically the last few (if we're listening to em in chronological order), obviously he starts to sound more strained/distressed. his breathing is more labored, like it's taking all of his energy to make contact.

but the audio that really caught my attention was the "But i still can't see" one. cause he just said he has more eyes than he did before. he knows We draw them a lot, and it's thanks to that that he can see. but he still can't see?

so my question is: where is Wally physically? cause although he can (assumedly) see the WHRP goings on, he can see through the eyes We draw, that could all be on a, uh... more Intangible level of sight. like the spiral pit is forming an eye, and then there's the eye on the ceiling in the secret Staff Only section - could Wally be in the pit, that space between his reality and Ours, "watching" through the eyes? but unable to actually see with due to the pit being pitch black nothingness? is he somewhere else? is he stuck? he can see, but he can't... see.

(or is he trying to explain an abstract concept - he's not actually viewing anything, but he can sense it. like how he knows We're there, even if he can't see or hear Us. but he just doesn't have the words to describe it other than using physical senses - see, hear, look.)

and him saying "...that I can see. But it is still... I can't..." but it's still what, Wally? dark? something else that he doesn't have the words to describe, so he just says that he can't see?

i know that in the Livestream Trivia Document (compiled by @/the neighborhoodwatch) there was something said about Wally being in a box. my first thought reading that was "oh, so he's in storage? the physical puppet, i mean?" which would make sense - show's over, there's no more use for him. pack 'em up and put him away. but that paired with the "can't see" audio makes both seem a lil... connected.

Wally can't see > he's likely somewhere dark > the inside of closed boxes are dark > Wally's in a box. (or maybe the Neighborhood is the box? it's a stretch, i know, but the map is a box. television sets are often set up in "boxes". maybe it's less of a physical storage box and more of a 'boxed in' sort of thing...)

one question i've had since the Start of my interest in this incredible project is: how is Wally communicating? how has he connected to the site? how does he connect to our reality? the pit almost definitely has something to do with it - most likely acting as a bridge, or the deteriorating of the barrier between our two 'worlds' - but if Wally is in a box and Not the pit or even just in the puppet's reality... how is he reaching us beyond just seeing through the eyes he's given?

or is he in their reality, and he can contact through the pit or something, but he can't actually see the other side? Our side? he knows it's there - that We're there - but none of it is visible to him. maybe his apparent disassociation in the 14 bug audios is a demonstration of him contacting Us. we can see through him, but it's a one way street.

and speaking of the pit - i just had a thought. his whole thing with Us letting him in, opening... the pit on the neighborhood map is getting bigger and clearer. but the presumed Other Side, the one on the Staff Only ceiling, is small. it's the size of a ceiling panel. it seems to me that Wally is chipping away at his side of the pit or 'portal', trying to reach Our reality, but he needs Us to do the same thing on the other side. the QA can hear him calling, but there's no phone on their (Our) side of the pit. how do We call back???

there's a fundamental barrier & lack of understanding between Wally and the QA/Us. he's trying. he wants to be let in, but what does that mean, really? let him in where? open what? he's desperate. he wants us to understand. he's trying so so hard Without the right tools to clearly communicate what he wants. he can't see Us, We can see him, both know the other is there, but there's no way to connect. and the attempts are hurting all parties involved, however unintentionally

#and its very ah. Autistic/Neurodivergent Horror i think? #the Wanting To Explain but Being Unable To because the people you're trying to communicate with #function differently than you. they don't understand. they Can't understand. their brains are wired differently. #no matter how hard you try there will never be understanding. your attempts to connect are somehow Incorrect. #and often - in my experiences at least - being that Different gets you hurt. people perceive your actions/behavior as a slight. #or as intentionally malicious! and then they get mad and you just.. dont get Why? you didn't Want to hurt anyone. you wanted to Explain. #you wanted someone to look at you and Understand. say 'oh. i see you! i get it now!' and have that Connection. #but you will never be understood. never Seen nor Heard. left in the dark. you're accidentally hurting them. they're hurting you. #it takes all of your strength to try to reach them and yet you still. fall. short. because they don't reach back. #anyway ive had these thoughts simmering for a lil while #Knowing whether or not the bug audios are present day or not would cross some theories off and write up new ones i think #that confirmation seems Important imo.... #homebogging #welcome home speculation #welcome home theory #then of course there's the question of how Home fits into all of this... in the early days i was a 'home is evil' believer but now?? #nah. home's not outright Evil i think. there's something complicated going on between them and wally and its role in all of this #im just... unsure of what. i think confirmation of whether his morse code says 'help me' or 'hello' would massively help clear up the sitch #is home an accomplice? a victim? a perpetrator? a secret fourth option? who's to say (yet) #i have many Thoughts about it based on a couple different things - the distorted voice under wallys. the waLLy guestbook entry. etc #but this post has gotten long enough and its Not on that particular subject #*grips the bug audios & home's morse code* you two motherfuckers would clear so much up i stg- #the bug audio's timeline placement could tell us whether or not wally is with his neighbors or if the neighborhood is intact (in some way!) #home's morse code would give Major insight into their place in all of this!!! #AGH THIS FUCKING PROJECT MAKES ME INSANE. IT'S SO GODDAMN GOOD WHO AUTHORIZED THIS- #as always take my words with a Hefty grain of salt & i hope it's coherent! #anyway there's nothing more dangerous & all-consuming than the need/desire to be understood <3

[tangledinink]

Would you ever make a non-graphic comic on Donnie laying the eggs?

I mean, I'm not opposed to exploring such concepts, generally speaking, (as I've repeatedly showcased lol), I just don't really know what a comic like that would really entail. I don't have a good story in my mind atm about this, so I don't have any plans r/n. 🤷🏻‍♂️ If y'all have specific questions about his experience and such, then maybe I'd get an idea for something, but right now I have no plans for it.

#i mean it's basically birth just to the left #i figure most of y'all (dear god plz) understand what that experience is like generally speaking #obviously every person and their experience is different but. you know. same basic steps for most people? #there's just a million different ways to do it and a million different ways to get through to the same end goal (more or less) #but r/n off the top of my head it would just be a lot of donnie swearing and crying and swearing and pacing and swearing etc etc etc #i guess it also depends on whether or not theres like? genuinely any interest for that type of comic #coz we've established im v down to make content abt '''taboo''' topics but i still often feel like im toeing the line lol. #so i kind of. gauge a lot of these things off of y'all. #gemini au asks #asks #anon #tw birth #cw birth #birth #kinda sorta #tw childbirth #cw childbirth #childbirth #sorta kinda #man whenever i tag these things one of the things that pops up under “popular” tabs is always like #things like b1rth k!nk and im like #nO #im trying to tag this for people who wanna blacklist it i dont wanna accidentally put it in the Pornography Bin #and there's nothing wrong with that like power to the ppl go off live ur life but like #A) thats not why im making this stuff and i dont rlly want it to be viewed that way #B) you know what im sure this isnt what the k!nk ppl are looking for anyway i dont wanna clog up their tags with off topic content--

[thatsparrow]

can’t imagine the watcher decision wasn’t informed by the success of dropout, a streaming service I and many other people happily pay for, but this news undeniably feels like a disappointment in comparison, and am trying to articulate why:

1. amount of content. I can’t speak to when dropout first launched (I think I started subscribing late 2019?), but I know that when I joined, it already felt like there was an enormous backlog of series to explore—not to mention the amount that was also uploaded to youtube, albeit on a delay (I know I watched at least the first half of fantasy high s1 on youtube, if not the whole thing, and by the time I signed up for dropout, there was also s1 of unsleeping city, bloodkeep, tiny heist on the horizon, and s2 of fantasy high currently live streaming. not to mention the number of full episodes they'd uploaded to youtube of um actually, game changer, breaking news, etc. and how much more was then available on dropout)

I don't know what conversations were happening behind the scenes at dropout, I don't know in real-time what was subscriber-only and what was getting uploaded to youtube, or what the breakdown was of series getting created and solely released on dropout in comparison to content they were releasing for free. all I know is that when I heard about d20 and wanted to check it out, I was able to watch a good chunk via youtube, enough to know that I wanted more, and also to know that dropout had a whole lot else to offer that I was also curious about.

so that's one of the things that feels immediately different about the watcher announcement. they're teasing new series that will be available, but for the moment, it seems like everything that will currently be on the new platform is already available for free on youtube (to clarify, because there's been a lot of confusion on this front, they are not deleting their old content off youtube. all those videos are staying there). there's also a question of release schedule — are they talking about weekly episode releases of one season airing at a time, as was their youtube model, with stretches in between? I guess I come back to, if you're trying to go subscriber-only going forward (with the caveat that the first ep of a season will also get released on youtube, and also with the caveat that obviously dropout had to reach a certain level of success before it was able to release content at the volume, consistency and quality it does now), are you creating enough to justify the sort of wholesale transition they seem to be implementing? i'm not sure the answer is yes

2. paying/supporting artists. no one's arguing that you shouldn't pay or support artists, and there are incredibly valid critiques of how youtube hamstrings creativity and the issues with being beholden to advertisers. more creative freedom is a good thing. more independent artists is a good thing.

that said, it feels like there's a disconnect between what supporters are looking for from where there money is going and how watcher wants to spend it. the video really emphasized wanting to make tv-quality productions, and that they feel like they've hit a ceiling with the youtube business model in terms of achieving that aim, but are watcher fans looking for tv-quality productions? of the new series they mentioned, travel seemed like a pretty big element, which is obviously expensive. I think of new shows released on dropout, and they've clearly got solid production value behind them, but they're also still all filmed on a set (it's 3am in a warehouse!!) — even ambitious and expensive episodes of game changer are still basically shot in the same set of rooms, with the stakes raised from there (the escape room ep, bingo, etc.)

look, I don't work in digital media, and so I don't have a sense of what it costs to put on a show, but I can't help but look at some of watcher's stated ambitions that clearly need to have a significant budget behind them vs something like too many spirits (something I have to imagine has to cost a lot less, but which is just as enjoyable to watch) and wonder if part of the backlash has to do with how it feels like their current revenue is being spent/prioritized

and maybe the problem is that there's just a fundamental disconnect between the kinds of shows watcher wants to make, and what their audience is looking for, but if that's the case, it doesn't feel like moving to a subscriber-only system is the solution

#watcher #now hyping this up as some big exciting announcement without understanding it Will price out some viewers is tone deaf. wild choice #also given the level of miscommunication around whether or not old videos would be deleted off YT i'm hesitant to assume the new service #won't be available to people outside the US and wonder if this isn't another miscommunication or technical issue that needs to be ironed ou #anyway. a mess all around #kayla posts

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: Dan

So I have a lot of thoughts about Dan, and just so we're clear I haven't read the new comic yet so not sure how the new material affects his character

Dan is a character that in DPxDC is see being just casually there... which is wild in context of his character because he was like suuuuper evil. Like i get liking his character and wanting to include him, but it rarely makes sense, sometimes it does, but man we love to do a handwavy "after his redemption arc" thing without actually talking about his redemption arc

So, let's give him a redemption arc, and lets make it get pretty gay

So stages of grief, I'm going to outright misuse it intentionally so don't tell me I'm using it wrong, I am well aware it is about coming to terms with your own death. Let's say in ultimate enemy, he was in the stage of Anger. He was angry. Angry at himself, at the world, at the stupid ghosts that messed up his life, he was angry and he took that out on everyone. Now here he is, his family is alive, his friends are alive, and he still is angry, but at himself. He can't go back to them, he's literally a whole other person than the Danny they know

So self destructive spiral. He's hard partying, hard drinking, waking up in a random gutter in Gotham, and doing it all again. He might also be dabbling in other illicit substances. The point is, if he wasn't already dead his behavior would lead to a quick grave

So we have this miserable, sad sack of a man who has done terrible things regularly abusing alcohol(and maybe more)

Now there's another character that had a similar issue. One Red Arrow turned Arsenal and his heroin addiction...

So who better to find Dan than the same man that got Roy sober and sponsored him?

That's right, Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc

To large, beefy, grumpy men with goodness hidden inside them bonding, maybe falling in love? all while Waylon helps Dan work through his emotional baggage and get clean

it has everything:

angst, emotions, bonding, gay, and potentially a happy ending for two former villains

#dp x dc #danny phantom #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #dpxdc #this is inspired by the fact I think the first step to redeeming Dan is making him absolutely miserable and self destructive #Also just need to ask the question of whether he can be redeemed #which considering ho many people he killed probably not? #idk it's just i rarely see people actually want to handle his redemption #they just have him be already redeemed so he can be there and also usually don't do anything with him #I like the character but it's always distracting #like we pay more attention to Jason's villainous past than Dan's #and Dan is probably a sub darksied level threat in canon #I feel like if there was anyone who could understand Dan and struggling with a past as a villain it would be waylon

[taegularities]

some men are textbook villains fr

#tw religion? #kinda need to rant.. kinda wanna explain what's going on #some ppl are part of humanity but don't know how to be humane... like the guy i started talking to almost 2 weeks ago #liked him a lot bc he was funny sickeningly sweet mature and understanding.. until he was not #tl dr version is that we somehow drifted to the topic religion and i told him im not too religious and don't believe in superstition much #i was extremely respectful and even when he said that he does believe a lot i was like 'thats cool!! different people believe in different #things!!' and at first it was a normal convo until man went all psycho on me (after one damn week!!!) and started talking about how #id have to be religious in a relationship with him.. my dude i barely know your fav food can we not talk about relationships yet #but he says he doesn't even need a woman who cooks/cleans just someone who believes.. n im like i get it but i can't change myself like that #and then guy moves to marriage and is all 'well my entire family is religious' n my mom and sister (who's 16) would be putting pressure on #you n force you to pray etc.. and I'm like???? who can force anyone to a thing like that are u kidding #things escalate and my absolute STUPID ass tells him about my deepest fkn trauma to explain what made me abandon religion bc #life just never got better and this trauma remained for yrs... and he gets so angry that he says he wants to stop talking to me just to spam #me all day next day.. he'd keep messaging me switching between 'i still want you we shouldn't throw this away i have feelings for you' #AFTER A WEEEEEEKKKK!!! and then goes back to 'i wasted my time with you you were so unnecessary im in a bad mood bc of you' #even said 'you'll never find a guy with a trauma and mindset like this. i will find a religious girl but no one will love you like that' #and the worst thing is that he told his friends and mom about the trauma i had just to spite me.. note that he promised to never tell anyone #(and then still asked for forgiveness and for me to rethink whether we want to end this after telling me 473626x he wanted to end it) #(nothing even ever started you bitchass) #also note that his mom knows my mom n basically most of my relatives.. so i was here trembling for days fearing they'd get to know about it #mom somehow convinced her to not tell anyone bc it's important to me and very very fucking personal.. #but he harassed me all day - i wouldn't answer and he'd send 55 messages.. multiple missed calls like dude i got so fkn scared #my heart jumped whenever he texted he was so fkn aggressive and SO MEAN #'you just needed to adjust and we would've been okay' 'tell me are u gonna fkn be religious or not????' 'you ruined everything' kinda mean #i just :') it was the worst time and i don't think i've ever seen someone degrade me so much or make me feel this defective #but.. it's finally over. his mom called my mom and mine was like pls teach him some manners.. n since i couldn't and wouldn't text him back #and literally avoided whatsapp bc of him she ended it all for me and now it's hopefully done forever #anyway i saw jks gcf performance yday n him singing still with you put a genuine smile on my face.. ill stick to THAT boyfriend honestly lol #def gonna delete later #but ty for reading if u did <3

[statementlou]

Please tell me you get that all I do is about performing not larry. That metaphorical comparison between performing and addiction is all over Walls: Habit, Aways You, Kill My Mind.

if you think that even one of Louis' songs or even individual lyrics is straightforwardly about only one thing I feel sorry for you, that you are missing out on the number one thing that characterizes his writing style- the clever overlap and interplay of meanings and references in every line- and for him, that his fans are out here completely oblivious to the thing he is, I would guess, proudest of about his lyrical craft, the thing that's his writing SIGNATURE, in favor of just being like "x is just About this and only this that's what he Means period end of". The Way I Do is or can be about lots of things, but that has nothing to do with the fact that for Louis to use phrases such as "it's not one thing it's everything" and "next to you" (and both in a single verse even) that had been catchphrases and slogans basically of the larry fandom for a decade at the time he wrote and recorded that does not exist in a vacuum and is kind of fucking unhinged (and there's literally zero chance he doesn't Know). And the habit reference is used the same as he uses it on Walls; as a fluid is it love or is it addiction is it love of a person or of the fans/ performing metaphor. Of course it refers to that! And that doesn't for one second rule out or even make less likely that it also refers to any number of other things, have some damn appreciation for his CRAFT and subtlety!

#I haven't even been here half as long as so many people but it is weird to be here a long time #and get to where people have no context for the fact that it's wild for Louis or harry to do or say certain things #like people who joined after harry started singing still the one who are just like sure thats why it's associated with him like NOOO #it was like louis getting the dagger! or understanding the role and weight those phrases have #and that it's CRAZY to see them coming out of louis' mouth in this decade #this isn't even about whether they are together or not: me belivng louis is referencing larry has literally nothing to do with that #and honestly to be like he would never in any way reference this thing that's completely dominated his entire career #is just bizarre #there are so many potential reasons why he WOULD in fact do that #louis songwriting

[betterbemeta]

A weakness I remember in my public school education in the northeast USA is that it was clear on what the US Civil War was fought over (slavery) but it didn't actually explain why.

Like, really really WHY.

I don't mean the obvious human rights issue of slavery. If anyone is enslaved it should be intuitive to a decent human being that action needs to be taken to secure their freedom. What wasn't discussed in detail was why people were enslaved.

And by 'why' I am not stopping at 'to do work on plantations'; we read about that and saw pictures in our textbooks of how people were packed in on slave ships and tortured with beatings and giant metal collars because it wasn't a choice 'to work on plantations.' I mean like, why human beings who DID choose things, decided to commit to enslaving other human beings.

The answer to that is that wealthy people liked slavery and didn't want to give it up.

Not just in the sense that it's cheaper to not pay someone than to pay them. The obvious inequality suits the wealthy landed class; they won't be removed except by force, and they keep slaves, so to exist in proximity all people must then adopt some kind of framework to subdue natural empathy for other human beings or else just... be unable to tolerate reality.

If you can get people to accept that 'some people are slaves', and that's the normal way of the world, you can get them to accept basically anything.

#when education is impeded #its way more than 'they don't want to be guilty' or 'they resent they lost a war' #if people were actually educated they would also understand how the motivation to do the same crimes still lives on #or how it can define laws and structures that can live on when the thing that takes the blame is sacrificed #'what do the people who decided this... want?' is an important question to ask and even if we're allowed to know about 'the crime' #'the motivation for the crime' can still be left a little obscure and that protects who still may be motivated in a similar way #like I dont want people to believe that its just florida or 'former confederate states' that fall short #whether its because of institutional cowardice or maybe I just had coward teachers in a white majority town #its not like we 'teach the civil war' up here accurately either #You can be totally truthful about the atrocities but draw no real connection to anything with implications about the modern day

[porcupine-girl]

Seeing the “it was racist for the Hugo committee to just ASSUME the Chinese govt would censor things” and “they just used the imagined threat of censorship as an excuse to censor the things THEY didn’t like” takes today and… *weary sigh*

The way they went about this process was fucked up and wrongheaded and their research wasn’t even accurate BUT

They were neither imagining nor maliciously making up the threat of censorship. The article itself showed evidence that the Sichuan government was applying some type of pressure, and that was a public post, not even getting into private communications we may never be privy to.

Self-censorship based on vague and ever-changing guidelines is how authoritarianism works, and it’s how authoritarianism works in China. That is not a racist statement, it is a simple statement of fact that anyone familiar with the Chinese entertainment industry is well-aware of.

Should the western committee members have self-censored with absolutely no transparency or attempts to explain the situation as it was happening? Absolutely not.

But could they realistically have done absolutely nothing to mollify the CCP and still ensure both the safety of the Chinese committee members and the ability of WorldCon to actually take place? Extremely unlikely.

Just… if this is your first ever real exposure to how censorship works in China, before you post please take ten minutes to Google “Xiao Zhan 227” and “Zhang Zhehan”. Neither of these are about publishing (other than how 227 was likely part of the reason AO3 was banned in China) but they are illuminating examples of how the government does not have to be the one directly enforcing censorship for things to go very badly very quickly. Xiao Zhan was lucky enough to bounce back; Zhang Zhehan has had an uphill battle and is still persona non grata on the Chinese internet despite the fact that no official government agency has ever formally accused him of anything.

#I keep going back and forth on whether to tag this #on the one hand I do want people to understand this #but on the other hand I have seen people argue these points WITH XIRAN JAY ZHAO already so like #if they won’t take their word that govt pressure was almost certainly involved where we can’t see it why would they take mine? #hugo awards

[susandsnell]

my hot take on Lizzie: the Musical is that the love story becomes infinitely more compelling the more actors/the production lean into Alice's flaws and selfishness rather than presenting her as some fragile little flower who's the voice of reason (tag novel below)

#lizzie the musical #alice ultimately prioritizes her own feelings and unhappiness over repressing her sexuality over lizzie's mental distress over her abuse #(which in fairness alice isn't really in any position to do anything about) #and she can be very sweet to the people she cares about but that doesn't negate/isn't negated by how she's putting her needs and wants firs #while also willingly being lizzie's refuge because she does love her #then in act 2 her turning on lizzie is. very understandable considering anyone would be scared shitless in her shoes #(whether either of the parents 'had it coming' or not your loved one snapping and committing gory murders is objectively terrifying) #(unless you're mrs. lovett which alice is. very much not though they share a selfishness) #and lizzie trying to use their love/sex to manipulate alice into perjuring for her - thus implicating her - is also obviously upsetting #add to that alice's words during the hearing + her overall proper lady schtick show she's drunk the edwardian patriarchal koolaid #'turn of the tables between me and you' is SO much in a lyric #anyway both of them are acting from a place of real suffering and real love and they're both wronging each other #and THAT is what real toxic yuri is all about #no one in this show is a good person. no one in this show (who is onstage) is an entirely bad person either. #everyone is acting from a place of oppression and pain and anguished love. they are all caged birds!

[kradogsrats]

me, extremely slow on the uptake, realizing that Miyana is the thematic parallel counterpart to Lissa in her narrative position and choices like:

#this was my like... 5:50 am thought #i was gonna write a whole thing about the parallel orbits of all the central relationships even JUST in s5e8 and s5e9 #and how miyana will eventually have to choose whether to continue to support karim or walk away and lose everything #what would you do in the name of love? #vs. what do you do when the person you love has warped themself so far that you no longer recognize them? #even if they did it for you or a cause you believe in #but miyana has all the hallmarks of a character 90% of people will fail to understand and therefore decide to hate and i'm already tired #miyana #lissa

[ssaseaprince]

It's time for my annual controversial Hunger Games post

The fact that Gale is so villianized is such a strong testament to the fact that people will only stand with the oppressed if they find them palpable enough. If you think his anger was extreme and his actions were unnecessary, then you have no real grasp on how revolutions actually work.

#I can understand not liking him on a personal level for how he treats Katniss #But I'm talking about the people who villianize him for his actions and feeling during the war and revolution #Suzanne Collins did a remarkable job using real life revolutions as models for her books #Everybody is basing whether or not everybody's actions were justified around how Katniss personally felt and it doesnt work like that #Because yes Katniss's input was necessary and important but so was everybody elses #Because if it was all up to Katniss 100% realistically they would not have won the revolution #Which makes sense because Katniss was a 16 year old girl and it would be unreasonable and unfair to expect her to be the sole decision make #They all helped win the war - Gale included #This is also evident in how people react to Johanna vs Gale when their actions are so similar and if anything Johanna would be more violent #But Johanna is more palpable so people support her more #Its just such an obvious example of the fact that people don't care about the oppressed unless they find them personally likeable #And people don't want to acknowledge the undesirable parts of wars and revolutions and what it takes out of people #People just want to see everybody as black and white #ANYWAYS Suzanne Collins is a genuis I adore her #the hunger games #catching fire #the mockingjay #gale hawthorne #katniss everdeen #thg #gale #katniss and gale