beast-of-the-void

[beast-of-the-void]

Audiobooks, then with a fork and knife. Like a gentleman.

[beast-of-the-void]

someone got really mad at me for being pro-pornography so i'd like to be annoying for a little longer:

-there are enormous problems with exploitation in the porn industry that harm and endanger the people within it, and that harm is carried out mostly against women and minorities

-this is Bad

-however the last century of passing laws against pornography hasn't actually helped any of those problems, and what sex workers tend to advocate for is the legitimization of their labor, so that they can then access the same protections and regulations that people in other industries can access

-for instance football players, miners, roofers, and warehouse workers are also exploited and endangered by their professions, have to work long hours, and can end up traumatized and disabled by unregulated and unsafe working conditions. these people are used up and thrown away by powerful bosses they can't individually challenge.

-however because these industries are not de facto illegal to participate in, when these people form unions and demand better working conditions, they can at least fight for their rights.

-sex workers, who engage in heavily stigmatized work that's also often illegal, have little recourse to demand better treatment.

-even if you don't like porn, and especially if you don't like porn, if you care about the women who are exploited in pornography, you need to advocate for the legality of pornography.

-the more illegal the porn industry is, the less safe and fair it is, and people will still be working in it, no matter how illegal it is.

-again: the porn industry should be regulated like any other industry and subject to laws guaranteeing fair compensation for labor, safe working conditions, and legal resources for workers suffering exploitation and abuse.

-once it is legal to do sex work, then women can bring charges against the men who have broken their contracts and abused them.

-and that is why i push back against posts saying that pornography is evil. it is an entertainment product, made by people, to meet an ongoing demand. criminalizing the consumption and production of it may slightly lessen the demand at the incredible cost of endangering everyone involved. and i think that is what's evil.

[beast-of-the-void]

Throughout history, tyrants have understood that their major enemy is an educated public. Slaveholders prohibited enslaved people from learning to read. The Third Reich burned books. The Khmer Rouge banned music. Stalin and Pinochet censored the media. And Trump, like past authoritarians, wants to control not just what we do, but also what we know and how we think. He knows that an uninformed public is easier to divide and conquer. Gutting funding for public broadcasting is part of a broader attack on the American mind. This attack on our minds reduces our capacity for self-government, because ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny. [Cartoon by Drew Sheneman]

[beast-of-the-void]

You know your drunk art post about love and personhood from 2019? Every night at bedtime my late cat would lie on my chest, and her little heartbeat would be right on top of mine, and I'd think about that piece of art you made, and have a similar sort of image in my head. Anyway, yesterday I finally put the image to paper, and idk where this is going, just that that piece of art you created means a lot to me. Have a cool day ✌️

OHHHH MY GOD!!!!! EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LOOK AT THIS. ITS ALL BEEN WORTH IT

[beast-of-the-void]

Mastercard and visa have reported to a couple news outlets that they are currently being swamped with calls and complaints. Keep up the pressure and try to (politely) insist that you leave a complaint via phone instead of letting the rep direct you to emails. It's way easier to be overwhelmed by a much smaller number of calls so each one counts for a bit more!

[beast-of-the-void]

Commission for my friend @beast-of-the-void of their character Knight Officer of the Frozen Kingdom, Protector of the Sacred Graves, Enchantment Wizard Adurnarseh Sivsive.

I like drawing pretty men...

[beast-of-the-void]

Commission for my friend @beast-of-the-void of their character Knight Officer of the Frozen Kingdom, Protector of the Sacred Graves, Enchantment Wizard Adurnarseh Sivsive.

I like drawing pretty men...

[beast-of-the-void]

How it started:

How it’s going:

Just a lil reminder that even if it doesn’t feel like it, even if it feels so fucking slow and you can’t see it at all, you do improve when you keep doing the thing. I love you. Hang in there.

[beast-of-the-void]

god in hell, before chatgpt people used to have some class. when we needed info we’d ask narnia blogs

[beast-of-the-void]

If people are sad about The Wizard Facism game coming from someone you used to look up to and admire, may I suggest an author whose books are filled with nuanced characters and strong, dynamic women?

Tamora Pierce has been writing since the 80’s and has two worlds of magic and fantasy and bonus!!! Isn’t a transphobic POS.

[beast-of-the-void]

"When you're trying to have a hot girl summer, but the governments decide to start WWIII😭😭"

Location: Bumfuck, Oklahoma

"Dying in WWIII wasn't on my 2025 bucketlist 💀🫣"

Location: Sydney, Australia

"Look at the strawberry varenyky I made"

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

[beast-of-the-void]

Dropped the Netflix anime "Babanba Banban Vampire" midway through ep 1. I had hoped it was a "Vampire watches over kid and family much like a farmer watching over cattle, waiting for them to mature before slaughtering them." No. It's "Vampire wants virgin blood because he is outright LUSTING after a child and gets visually sexually excited waiting for the 15 year old to turn 18. Oh, and is actively in the 15 year old's life as a role model." Netflix putting out a openly lgbtqia+ grooming story tracks.

[beast-of-the-void]

We will evacuate now after the Israeli army advances under cover of artillery shells and missiles. The situation is very dangerous.

[beast-of-the-void]

"came back wrong" is what happens to those little dehydrated meat chunks in instant ramen

[beast-of-the-void]

I think I may never be sad ever again. There is a statue entitled "Farewell to Orpheus" on my college campus. It's been there since 1968, created by a Prof. Frederic Littman that use to work at the university. It sits in the middle of a fountain, and the fountain is often full of litter. I have taken it upon myself to clean the litter out when I see it (the skimmers only come by once a week at max). But because of my style of dress, this means that bystanders see a twenty-something on their hands and knees at the edge of the fountain, sleeves rolled up, trying not to splash dirty water on their slacks while their briefcase and suit coat sit nearby. This is fine, usually. But today was Saturday Market, which means the twenty or so people in the area suddenly became hundreds. So, obviously, somebody stopped to ask what I was doing. "This," I gestured at the statue, "is Eurydice. She was the wife of Orpheus, the greatest storyteller in Greece. And this litter is disrespectful." Then, on a whim, I squinted up at them. "Do you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice?" "No," they replied, shifting slightly to sit.

"Would you like to?"

"Sure!"

So I told them. I told them the story as I know it- and I've had a bit of practice. Orpheus, child of a wishing star, favorite of the messenger god, who had a hard-working, wonderful wife, Eurydice; his harp that could lull beasts to passivity, coax song from nymphs, and move mountains before him; and the men who, while he dreamed and composed, came to steal Eurydice away. I told of how she ran, and the water splashed up on my clothes. But I didn't care. I told of how the adder in the field bit her heel, and she died. I told of the Underworld- how Orpheus charmed the riverman, pacified Cerberus with a lullaby, and melted the hearts of the wise judges. I laughed as I remarked how lucky he was that it was winter- for Persephone was moved by his song where Hades was not. She convinced Hades to let Orpheus prove he was worthy of taking Eurydice. I tugged my coat back on, and said how Orpheus had to play and sing all the way out of the Underworld, without ever looking back to see if his beloved wife followed. And I told how, when he stopped for breath, he thought he heard her stumble and fall, and turned to help her up- but it was too late. I told the story four times after that, to four different groups, each larger than the last. And I must have cast a glance at the statue, something that said "I'm sorry, I miss you--" because when I finished my second to last retelling, a young boy piped up, perhaps seven or eight, and asked me a question that has made my day, and potentially my life: "Are you Orpheus?" I told the tale of the grieving bard so well, so convincingly, that in the eyes of a child I was telling not a story, but a memory. And while I laughed in the moment, with everyone else, I wept with gratitude and joy when I came home. This is more than I deserve, and I think I may never be sad again.

Here is the aforementioned statue, by the way.

[beast-of-the-void]

[beast-of-the-void]

Communication has been lost with the Madleen, the last posting from activists aboard indicated they were being surrounded and boarded by the Israeli army in international waters.