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things I made

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[First ID: A digital drawing of Leafy and Evil Leafy from BFDI, the former in her gray metal form. Leafy covers her eyes, crying red, leaf shaped tears over Evil Leafy, who seems to take the position of a shadow underneath her. Both are enveloped by tentacles and an overwhelmingly dark red, inky background. The text near Leafy reads, "all of my pain, all of my suffering... condensed, into something called "evil", by others." End first ID.]

[Second ID: A digital drawing of Evil Leafy from BFDI. The sketchy tentacles are sharper as they radiate out of her. Her left hand is raised. Text to the left reads, "how hideous, how cruel, how evil." The text to the write of her, which dominates the image, reads, "LOOK AT ME AND DON'T SHY AWAY FROM ME. YOU. LEARN TO ACCEPT THIS WORLD'S SERIOUSNESS, YOUR FRIEND'S HIDEOUSNESS. I AM PAIN. I AM TRAUMA. I AM THE ENTIREY OF LEAFY'S SUFFERING, CONDENSED INTO ONE. DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AWAY. YOUR GREENER PASTURES ARE OVER. YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT YOU CAUSED. I AM ANGER PERSONIFIED." End second ID.]

(metal) leafy and evil leafy

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As someone who has been the only poc in many primarily white spaces I often get asked "How do we get more poc to join us?" Which is kinda a fucked thing to ask and place the burden of figuring out on some random colored in your group but like lucky them I am actually passionate about increasing diversity in all spaces. So I see a bunch of people asking "what can we do about tumblr being so overwhelmingly white?" Of course just like in those other spaces they're placing the burden on others to figure out but let's discuss it.

Just inviting poc to join is not enough, they left for a reason. What needs to be done is fostering an environment that actually feels safe and inviting for those from ethnic and racial minorities. For starters, you see that post by, for, or about poc? You don't need to respond with some manner of "I'm white but..." Also show interest in cultures that aren't your own without prefacing it with how white you are.

Stop mocking aave, it isnt "genz slang", that shit is so embarrassing

Stop being condecending, holy shit the attitude of some of the people here reminds me of every white kid at my old pwi the way you look down on other people who don't have access to the same information you do. If you're an asshole to all the strangers you meet online and the poc on this site are already feeling unwelcome for other reasons, you are the one running them off the site

Stop assuming everyone around you is white. Its becoming like a self fulfilling prophecy atp

Uplift and share around the actual voices of poc on here, and not just on posts about racial justice but just in general. If we feel seen we're more likely not to leave and new poc joining the site won't feel as isolated

Stop being weird about random poc, if you find yourself commenting on a picture of a black woman, stop for a moment and ask yourself "would I use these words for a white woman? does it feel dehumanizing or objectifying?" (Y'all can be so weird about hot black people)

Seriously stop talking about how white you are, idc if you're trying to prove you're "one of the good ones"

Don't use racism as a " gotcha" when youre having your online arguments. It shows how little you actually care about racism as a societal force and you just treat it like a buzzword to shut up the other white people here

Make friends with poc, not just on here but like everywhere in your life that you can. So many people on here don't have any friends who are poc. I get it, maybe you grew up in a bougie white neighborhood where the only poc you saw where the landscaper but like its 2025, there is no longer any excuse. Go talk to people online, I am sure that whatever your interests are there's some poc out there who shares them (and this doesn't mean go seek out poc as your token friend, it means when you do meet poc online treat them with respect and dignity and maybe they'll give you the honor of being your friend

Lastly, care. Care about poc. Care about our pain and struggles. Care about things you have never and will never experience. Care about those victims of police brutality, of genocide, the people being thrown in fucking concentration camps and being ripped away from their families. Show compassion because those are not random hypothetical people, those are the people of color you're asking to join this site.

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[ID: A digital illustration of a bundle of narcissus plant flowers, one yet to blossom. They're tied in a thin, disability pride flag-colored bow. Text above and below the flowers reads, "NARCISSIST LIVES OVER ABLEIST FEELINGS" end ID.]

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[ID: A digital drawing of Suitcase and Lightbulb from Inanimate Insanity. Both characters smile sweetly and look upwards, with Lightbulb putting her hand behind Suitcase. There are stars and spots throughout their bodies, and in the striped abstract background, alongside hearts and a bow. End ID.]

I have three top favorite Inanimate insanity uh uh uh women but but I wanted to draw these two. Third is test tube just so you know. I have top three men as well but this ain't about them

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[ID: A screenshot of Inanimate Insanity season 4, where Bot is invitingly smiling and pointing at unseen characters in the viewer's direction. End ID.]

You guys should have heard how hard people were screaming at the meet ups when bot came on screen

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:/ Mr payjay spoiled the wordle for her friends :///// problematic

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mmmh . Mocrophone

some others too

Let Taco have wrinkles but don't be mistaken. Shes not much older than Microphone she just looks like that. Do not "Mic is 14, 16 MAX" me. Please. I'm hungry

I never post this much art at once Are they gonna kill me

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now feels like a good time to reiterate that Iranians have been martyred by america + israel already, both empires that possess nuclear weapons, and that Iran does not have nuclear weapons. so now is not the time to joke about america getting nuked-- any retaliation on Iran's part is justified and the only way we escape this situation, but Iran is not going to nuke us, because the entire premise that Iran has nukes is how america justified bombing them and also the exact same rhetoric we used against Iraq and how we killed my countrysmen when there was again no evidence of nuclear warfare. New York City is not going to get fucking nuked. go listen to a podcast or something

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Well!

So first, let's clear a common misconception: no, President Abraham Lincoln did not love Black people nor see them as human equals. At best he was centrist about it (though, even his implication that 'exceptional' Black men ought to vote got him assassinated).

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do, it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union...I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free."

The "freeing of slaves" after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 was meant to kneecap the economic and military powers of the seceded South. Lettuce stop making a white savior figure out of Lincoln, or thinking that my people's shackles were unchained via anything other than desperate war strategy and extreme violence. Think on that, for a moment.

That being said!

But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.

Consider going through the Smithsonian website to learn about Juneteenth! Recognize why it's an actual day of freedom, versus July 4th and the independence of a select few.

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closes my eyes. why aren't normal working prosthetics Cool Enough for the osc. why do people have to "get creative" and draw prosthetics that clearly were made with No prosthetic references that work Impossibly and are a Perfect fix for the disability. why do people Refuse to look at even a SINGLE IMAGE of an actual prosthetic. what's so BAD about actual prosthetics??? why NOT draw them?? you CAN be creative with actual working prosthetics that DONT erase a disability, but people don't even TRY!!! it drives me Nuts

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[First ID: Two graphics, the first of which is labelled "what people think a spork is". The first graphic depicts two labelled silhouettes of a fork and a spoon, as well as a spork in the middle. However, the spork has two heads, one of a fork's tines and the other of a spoon bowl. The second graphic, labelled "what a spork actually is" depicts the same setup, but the spork in the middle is a typical spork, whose head has features of a spoon bowl and fork tines. End first ID.]

[Second ID: A purple and yellow banner with the intersex symbol to the left, and text reading, "This post is actually about intersex people with ambiguous genitalia*" End second ID.]

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Luckyfiles Analysis

[ID: A somewhat messily colored drawing of Cabby and Clover from Inanimate Insanity. Cabby has fangs and glasses added to her design. Clover is sitting down in front of Cabby, who is playing with one of Clover's leaflets. The two are looking lovingly at each other, blushing.

The background is of Paradise Island, various palm trees, bushes, and leafy plants far in the back. The most notable plants are various flowers closer to the front, simple in style and colored like the lesbian flag. End ID.]

Cabby and Clover, a ship that I will be referring to this point onwards as Cablover (sounds like Cab Lover, which is fun!), is something rather important to me! The two have a lot of potential for a dynamic (could be platonic, too!) that gets often overlooked even by the show itself, and I’m hoping that this will help explain why this has invaded my brain for the past several months by this point. :)

Please note that this was all written before Season 4, and therefore cannot take any of it into account. If there’s something that either furthers or weakens this by then, I cannot know about it! Just keep that in mind if you were to come across this later on.

Dynamic

I think it’s best to start with their overall dynamic, or at least how I’d perceive it. Due to how little these two actually interact, this section in particular may end up having a lot of assumptions, so just keep that in mind.

To start with the basics, I think at its core, Cablover can be considered an “opposites attract” relationship. Clover is more carefree, Cabby is dedicated. Clover is lucky, Cabby has constant bad things happening to her. Clover is a plant and often connected to nature, Cabby is metallic and therefore can be considered “unnatural”. On its surface, there’s a lot of appeal for those who love relationships in which the characters end up rather different.

And yet… there’s still similarities, especially once you start digging! Both the two can be rather perceptive; in fact, Clover can identify her butterflies just by their differences in movement, and that requires a really good eye!

[ID: A screenshot of a transcript. It reads:

Brybee O...Oh... So... how can you tell your butterfly friends apart? They all look similar.

Clover: Oh, well, if you look closely: Cordelia tends to bob a little bit when she flies; Catalina is always precisely two to three inches above the others; Cassandra breathes a bit too loud; and Jake has less flaps a minute than the girls. But he makes up for it by being the lovable wittle scamp that he is. Don't you, Jake?

End ID.]

Both of them can be quite silly; Cabby very frequently cracks jokes about situations, often involving puns of all things.

[ID: A screenshot of Cabby and Bot from Inanimate Insanity. The two are among several gears, Bot even holding one of them. Cabby closes her eyes and points upwards as the captions describe her dialogue as:

"Alright! Now how about we go ahead and- SIFT GEARS! [CHUCKLES]"

End ID.]

Both of them care a lot for others, both of them have different struggles with self-centering, and both of them have felt like they had done too much to hurt others, even sharing a similar coping mechanism of self-isolating.

Their few interactions also indicate a friendly relationship. Cabby states herself that she thinks Clover is a “sweet girl” even if she gets distracted easily and was the first to observe that she was missing from the meeting. It’s also notable to me that Cabby never saw Clover’s luck as a bad thing; rather than viewing it as something that inevitably led others to harm (an assumption made by Nickel that even generally thoughtful contestants like Candle did not disprove, merely instead stating that Clover did not intend this harm), she viewed it as a way to help others in challenges. Even if a large motivation was strategy, Cabby did still seem fond of Clover while including her in the egg drop challenge, even side-hugging her while pulling her close to explain her idea.

[ID: A screenshot of Cabby and Clover from Inanimate Insanity. Cabby has her eyes closed with a finger pointing up, explaining something as she holds Clover close to her. End ID.]

Even shoving her off the cliff was more out of intent to show an example, accurately predicting that Clover would’ve been perfectly okay, and Clover found that fun! This is furthered by Clover directly telling Cabby that she had fun in the Season 3 finale episodes, even.

I think that’s a nice way to segue into more of Clover’s side of things. I think it’s easy to take Clover’s comment about “I would’ve done the same to you!” as some sort of lighthearted threat in response to something she didn’t enjoy, but like…

[ID: An image of Cabby and Clover from Inanimate Insanity. Cabby is looking confidently towards Clover as Clover seems excited, having a big smile with her eyes closed and her arms raised. End ID.]

Look at her :) she was truly so happy to experience that, I can imagine it would’ve been like a fun ride to her! Even if Cabby was confused and maybe anxious at the suggestion, I think it’s very possible that Clover has an inkling that Cabby actually would enjoy such a thing. Cabby is durable, so there’s far less of a danger to her than there would be for many other objects, and she had a blast literally leaping off a cliff in the first challenge; maybe Clover couldn’t have seen how joyous she looked during the action, but she surely would’ve noticed Cabby had no reservations coming out of the tube. Clover herself noted that Cabby had not done anything particularly malicious, and I think this was merely a clumsy attempt to bond with and cheer up somebody who evidently seemed quite unsure of herself even just in her speech.

Building off Clover’s surprisingly good perception, there’s a subtle detail in the argument between Cabby and Test Tube, and how Clover mediates it. Under closer inspection, it’s clear that Test Tube is who turned that into specifically an argument by outright insulting Cabby, even if Cabby was rather irritated while voicing a concern. While Clover does seem to view both sides at fault for the argument, it’s very interesting to me that she, again, goes to first flip Test Tube’s “smile”. Cabby was not perfect in that argument, especially not with what happened after that, but keeping in mind that subtle acknowledgment of the true instigator combined with Clover later saying she hadn’t viewed Cabby as malicious? I think it’s pretty clear that Clover had a far more optimistic view of Cabby than most other contestants did, and saw her intent to do well even through things that could be so, so easy to misunderstand.

Even if that’s about where their interactions end, I think there’s still more to explore with how this dynamic could develop.

Both of them have struggled with their self esteem issues, and even if they largely figured out ways to cope and feel better, that isn’t to say they could never still struggle with those emotions, never feel reminders. How much both of them could connect over the fear of hurting others, assuring the other that they truly mean well, that they don’t seek to cause harm, that they are worth being around.

Focusing on more positives, I think Cabby could help ground Clover in some ways, help her truly bring out that analytical side of her. Clover I think excels most at emotional understanding, leaving logical deduction to be harder for her… at least going off the fact that she assumed Bot would’ve incriminated themself through a crossword puzzle, of all things. They could come up with puzzles as a fun game, perhaps!

Maybe Cabby could even help Clover focus a little more. Obviously it is impossible for anybody to solve everything– Clover’s easily-distracted nature seems to just be how her mind works– but I imagine Cabby could still find coping mechanisms for her that could help, and I imagine it just feels nice to have someone else there for support regardless.

Similarly, I think Clover could help Cabby loosen up a little, feel happier about things. I think Cabby has come a long way in her development, feeling overall better about herself and feeling less of a need to be competitive, but I could still imagine that could be something she’d struggle with over time– and having a little bundle of joy in Clover would be perfect for that. Truly, they could go back to the simple days of leaping off cliffs, kept safe by both Cabby’s durability and Clover’s luck.

Knowing how well Clover can understand others, I think it’d help Cabby a lot to have another perspective on that, too. I imagine that even if she truly tries a lot, it can still be hard to understand others well just because of how her mind works. Having somebody more patient talking through situations with her, helping her analyze things she may be unsure of I imagine could go a long way.

There’s simply a lot to think about! Dynamic-wise, I think this is about all I can extrapolate without getting into outright headcanon territory, at least more than I already have– but I think this is at least a good start. I have more up my sleeve, though!

Connections

There’s some other notable things connecting the two even beyond what I’ve already mentioned, and I wish every single day this was all capitalized on. I can only hope for future content…

Regardless! I think the first thing that’s notable to me is that Cabby had been studying Clover from day one, and we even SEE this in the first episode.

[ID: An image of Clover, Fan, Bot, Goo, Test Tube, and Cabby from Inanimate Insanity. Clover is looking towards the rest of her team, who are all covered in pink dye; while most of her teammates seem excited to have Clover on her team, Cabby instead seems much more focused on writing down something in a file. End ID.]

Like, yes, surely she found her abilities to be very interesting… but, like, she pulled Clover close to her. She called Clover “sweet”. No matter what context you view these interactions in, it’s clear she had a fondness towards Clover.

Cabby’s intense studying of Clover is what led to the wide realization of Clover’s luck, including by Clover herself. In a twist of irony, what Cabby considered to be beneficial for everyone is immediately considered to be a curse by Clover herself, jumpstarting Clover’s arc from being a lighthearted, albeit self-centered girl to somebody with a deep fear of hurting others, now left trying to figure out how to just do good even in the face of outright murder accusations.

…Sounds a little familiar, putting it that way.

Truly, what Clover needed to learn all along is that her luck is beneficial, at least most of the time– she just needed to share it with others around her! Almost what Cabby seemed to pick up on all along by wanting Clover’s luck to help her team.

And yet… Clover does more than that. She needs to constantly be helping, to be making up for this innate gift that she has, no matter how much hatred it’s caused her from some, no matter how she could feel about situations where it may have even hurt her.

I think that’s something Cabby could understand all too well.

The two have had to do so much to prove themselves far beyond the bare minimum, to make up for their very being, just for who they are. They can’t just be baseline acceptable, they can’t just be some person who exists, they need to actively be doing GOOD for everyone around them at all times. I’d argue both have very significant struggles with moral OCD, but I think that’s a conversation for another time. The important bit is… I think both of them would get it. They would get the idea of just their mere selves being what causes harm, just from being there as themselves.

It is evident that this is something the two have also internalized to their core, causing them both to self-isolate in various ways as a result. There are implications throughout I Am Chocolate! that Cabby had been isolating herself away from others, rejecting any means of connection until close to the end, and even episodes later she still says that being alone is “what she does best”. Clover had done similar after believing her luck to be a curse, avoiding others as much as she could in order to avoid potentially “hurting them”.

There’s even something to be said about the avoidance of things deeply meaningful to them. Cabby had stopped using her files for a while after believing them to be a harmful, reductive view of everyone else, and when Clover temporarily became luckless, she went on to talk about how Goo and Balloon being evenly matched is exactly why there shouldn’t be any luck. Neither of them viewed something so important to them as good or helpful, even worsened by how everyone else seemed to treat these things.

And as a side note… even their eliminations have parallels. Both unanimous, and yet so different. Cabby unanimously eliminated out of pure hatred, Clover unanimously eliminated out of pure concern. If Clover is full of luck all the time, then Cabby is devoid of it with how awfully her life had gone throughout the season.

If Cabby was the one to see Clover’s luck as good all along, then Clover was someone who saw Cabby as good all along, even if she didn’t get many chances to say so. Clover pointed out that Cabby wasn’t malicious, and I think she meant it. Even if ultimately Clover wasn’t among those who voted for Cabby, I can still imagine it would’ve meant so much to hear that from somebody, especially somebody less biased due to not quite being friends.

I think there’s a lot of parallels that could’ve been capitalized on between the two. So many things that feel connected, that could’ve led to more ties than what were there. Even if the show hasn’t currently capitalized on any of this, I definitely sure will.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts about these two, and if I’ve helped you understand the ship more, then that’s a win in my book :)

As a bonus, here’s Clover’s favorite moment during her time on Season 3!

[ID: A screenshot of a transcript. It reads:

Brybee: Woah! Exciting! I think that's our cue for the lightning round! Fast answers! Phew! I am nailing this! What was your favourite memory from your time on the show?

Clover: Oh, stargazing with Bow and Goo! Cabby and Test Tube told us all about the constellations and how we-

End ID.]

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[ID: The Girls The Gays and Coleman meme, but edited to have Cabby replace Coleman. The text reads:

"Hey guys when you say something is for The Thinkers can you include me in that as well? The New Old Thinkers and Cabby if it's not too much trouble thanks guys"

End ID.]

My understanding of that alliance

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Mapping The Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color

(Kimberle Crenshaw, 1991)

I'm gonna leave this linked here, because I plan on using it in future lessons and I don't want it conveniently "lost" amongst the "long post" tags.

This essay is 60 pages. Not a hard read length-wise, but a harrowing one, for sure. Despite my personal inclinations otherwise, I've chosen not to post some of the more graphic quotations.

In exchange, I think that if you genuinely want to understand how both antiracism and feminism often leave women of color out, and how your own (presumably progressive!) beliefs may very well dismiss the experiences of or even actively harm women of color (particularly Black women) around you, this is one of many good resources; one of the OGs on the topic, in fact.

Be willing to get uncomfortable! You want to understand how and why a lack of grace and understanding towards Black women and girls (as characters AND in real life) is a very real, specific experience- "misogynoir"- and how it's been internalized and expressed by both those who hate and those who intend well, take a read!

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Leafy's Lament

If you hadn't already gathered, this is based off of Taco's Tirade screenshots (sorry that they're all super low quality)

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[ID: A digital illustration of Bomb and Orange Juice from Inanimate Insanity. On a dimly lot Halloween night, Bomb is lifting up OJ to help him reach pieces of candy in a tree. End ID.]

been getting into Bomb lately ft oj

[ID: A screenshot Inanimate Insanity Season 1 episode 7, "Sugar Rush" where the scene described above is occuring. End ID.]

redraw of this