#also hamas background too

[miqotepotatoe]

Second half of the Tetro Pink group

Horay for traumatised 17 year olds

[germiyahu]

Antisemites are desperate to assert that Judaism is a religion and nothing else (calling them ignorant is too generous) because that means that being a Jew is an ideology one ascribes to. And when pushed against the wall Jews can and should give up this ideology. This gives the antisemite plausible deniability when they continue to hate and persecute Jews as a people anyway.

And, they're desperate to assert that Zionism is either a fringe offshoot of Christian doomsday theology or Jewish racial supremacy (but I thought Jewishness was just a religion?) so that, logically, the answer to the (ahem) Zionist Question is just for Israelis to... stop. Move to Brooklyn, or just stop being Islamophobic and accept their new Hamas government in stride.

Zionism is not an extension of Jewish culture, it's not an extremely diverse oft debated political and social philosophy that is by Jews and for Jews. It's whatever non Jews say it is. Much like Jewishness/Judaism is whatever non Jews say it is. The goal is for the non Jew to justify their own beliefs about Jews and their own actions against them. Nobody will listen to what Jews define for themselves about themselves.

The real goal is to confound any discussion of antisemitism as a concrete real form of bigotry. "But I don't understand why calling the Israeli government a cabal of bloodthirsty fascist babykillers has anything to do with hating Jewish people as a religion," is exactly what you think it is. It's playing dumb. It's gaslighting.

And when antisemites want to strip Jews of their Jewishness and assimilate/fade into the background, to renounce everything unique about their culture and religious practices... well we already know that won't help because there are no Good Jews... but it also gives the antisemites permission in their own brains to blame Jews for antisemitism. If you don't unsubscribe from Judaism as a sterile cold ideology or disconnect from the concept of Israel as a fulfillment of a 2,000 year dream of a People, then you brought it on yourself. Because like in my mind it's so easy, I don't understand why you can't bring yourself to do it if you hate people calling you fascists so much? There must be a reason you can't do it. Hmm... I guess you actually secretly are a megazionist genocide apologist?

And all you did in this conversation was complain that people were harassing you for being visibly Jewish.

[lesbiansforboromir]

Here's a more compact review of the War of the Rohirrim film for anyone interested! SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Positives;

The backgrounds were all very beautifully painted and the lighting really elevated the character design and smoothed over the janky animation. Where other aspects of the film fall off, often the background artistry and lighting over all of it still manages to convey a very dramatic and immersive moment to the viewer. It's probably the best part of the film.

The part where Helm's ice-ghost phase is teased was really cool and atmospheric and I got a little thrill of what I'd kind of always been wanting from this film.

Frealaf was pretty lovely (what little we got of him) and I appreciated that his darker skin tone was implicitely associated with his Gondorian heritage. I THINK I appreciate the idea that Frealaf's father was Gondorian, though I wish it had been better utilised.

I also really liked the moment where Helm is about to fight Freca and he gives his crown, signet ring and mantle over to Frealaf in this like... symbolic giving up of his Kingship in this moment where his actions are about to make him unworthy of it.

I appreciated Olwyn existing as an older female character in a purely action based roll.

Helm's voice actor and design were pretty cool, I came around to enjoying how much effort they put into making him extremely imposing.

Hama being a twink who was born to be a bard but forced to be a heroic second prince was a nice touch.

General Targg of Dunland might have been my favourite character, inspite of the fact that I am really curious to know where this organised military of Dunland is for him to reach the rank of 'General' in.

Negatives;

Gurl the racism. See here for more details.

The overall narrative seems to me direly lacking in like... basis. I am lead to believe Hera's journey is about her reclaiming her right to choose her own life for herself. But she is never actually pressured into any choice, nor does it appear that her father ever restricted her freedom in any way. So I don't really see where her choices were actually removed to such a degree. If her desire is to see her choices respected by the men in her life, well that never happens for either Helm nor Wulf, who force her to let them die or to kill them, respectively. It feels like in their rush to censor any negative aspects of Helm they kind of removed the reason Hera is frustrated in the first place, he cant be TOO much of a misogynist etc etc.

This is twisted up within 'gurl the racism' but Wulf's manner and presentation make me FEEL like he is a villain we are supposed to mildly feel for? We see him as a child, we see him struggle with what he's doing, we see his clear desperation and despair and hear him talk about loneliness and suffering... but at the end of the day in the way that it is presented Wulf is fundamentally foul and deluding himself and all his problems appear to be of his own making. In general it is extremely uncomfortable for the 'obsessive stalker' villain to also every now and then say 'I am devastated because of how my dunlending blood has been prejudiced against all my life by your family and the wider rohir society' like... by only him mentioning it but it never being actually acknowledged by anyone else it just comes across so shallow and unsettling.

This is a review from my book-biased perspective so understand it within that lense but still gurl... the lore. What the hell do you mean the eagles speak a language only a wizard can understand? No they can just speak! What do you mean there is A watcher in the water in some undisclosed lake in Rohan somewhere? There is one Watcher and it's name is very specific to the doomed Moria expedition! At least give this new squid fellow a rohir name. Speaking of!!

IS IT SO HARD TO NAME ROHIR CHARACTERS IN..... ROHIRRIC?? OLD ENGLISH IS RIGHT THERE... HERA HAS NO MEANING... THERE ARE SO MANY COOL HISTORICAL ANGLO SAXON PRINCESSES YOU COULD CHOOSE FROM...

Included in the 'gurl, the lore' segment but in need of it's own post so I will try to be brief; (Theoden voice) where was Gondor... when a herd of Mumakil were marched by Haradrim mercenaries across the Anduin, up through the Pelennor, across Calenadhon and over Rohan's southern border... did they sneak by... were they stealth Mumakil, did they have elven cloaks too.

But also Where Was Gondor just in general. Like to the detriment of the actual narrative, opening up plot holes that didn't even need to be there, the fact that Gondor is ALSO supposed to be at war right now is completely ignored and discarded.

THE BATTLE OF EDORAS... TF ARE YOU ALL DOING! Like I know it is kind of hypocritical of me to request sensible war tactics when we're adapting Tolkien, he did not give a good example, but like... where were the horse archers, why are you charging down an infantry-only army, why even be on a horse if you aren't going to use greater mobility to your advantage, this isn't a siege, this is YOUR territory this is an open field!! Come on! AND ANOTHER THING, did we really have to make the victory of the Dunlendings over Edoras so disconnected from their own effort? Like betrayal is fine, but this was also a well supplied and competant force, and that was a major part of their victory. These were matched combatants! Just kind of another way in which the dunlendings were robbed of any cohesive motive, narrative or skill.

To my admittedly untrained eye... the animation sucks? Like it's clunky and janky and you can see the frames transitioning between each other, the movements often feel awkward and a lot of the drawings are just bad! The Eagles are SO stiff, as are the horses which seems like a cardinal sin in the Horse Lord Film. And then I couple that with the multiple completely unnecessary spinning camera shots Hera gets which are annoying, superfluous and a bizarre thing to spend time on when the rest of the film needs so much more care and attention. In general the GULF of difference between how beautiful the backgrounds are vs how bland the character art is is kind of jarring.

Hera's design.... I hate it. Look I know it's anime but DID Hera have to have thigh high boots... did she really... Why is she so pale if she's supposedly riding sleeveless across the vast countryside everyday? Can a single supposedly feminist film about a 'wild' female protagonist let that woman be like... dirty, or not so agonisingly thin, or give her messy or god forbid short hair. At one point when she is grabbed by a troll and hung in the air they linger uncomfortably long on her ass which her costume design is specifically designed to allow for maximum viewing detail.

The designs of the Dunlendings, Haradrim and especially the Mumakil are all so grim. Like I liked Freca's design to a degree, it was more potent with symbolism and patterning and such, but the rest of it is just SO FUCKIN- well they're ugly! and therefore evil! Do you get it? The ugly grey animalistic people are evil! The Mumakil have literal red snake eyes just so you know they're 'evil animals'. I can't take it anymore, at one point the guy who Eomer throws a spear at in the trilogy just... turns up, like it's literally just him down to the facepaint. And speaking of...

SHUT UP ABOUT THE PJ TRILOGY, SHUT UP AB- besties this film's intro plays alongside the ring theme... THE RING MUSICAL THEME!!!!?? Lines from the films are reused so often and so WILDLY outside of their actual context and meaning that it makes me flinch.

There is a plump little fellow called Leif who is the royal Page I think and everytime someone called Freca fat in such a vitriolic way I was like wow... I mean Leif is right there guys!

Overall a 4/10 from me, it is a watcheable but shallow film that I suspect was more of a cynical attempt by Warner Bros to keep their death grip on the rights to the books, since I think they would have expired if they didn't do something with them soon.

[girlactionfigure]

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

WHAT HAPPENED?

A Palestinian-owned café in Oakland, California kicked out a Jewish customer for wearing a blue hat with a Star of David on it, claiming that the symbol was “violent.”

This is a clear violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Note that this applies even if the Jewish customer went to the café expecting that something like this would happen (in other words, “he tricked us into discriminating against him!” is not a legitimate defense).

 It’s also worth noting this café has menu items titled “Sweet Sinwar” and “iced in tea fada” and its menu is decorated with the Hamas inverted red triangle. The café also openly expresses support for the October 7 massacre.

JVP TO THE RESCUE

What do you do when under fire for antisemitism? You tokenize (Not So) “Jewish” Voice for “Peace,” which openly supports terrorism against Jews and has even glorified Nazis in the past. For more, see my posts “Stop Sharing JVP” and “Time To Talk About JVP…Again.”

For those of us familiar with Jewish history and the history of antisemitism, this is par for the course. In the 1920s, the Soviet Jewish “Yevsektsiya” made it its mission to destroy “traditional Jewish life, the Zionist movement, and Hebrew culture.” The fact that the Yevsektsiya was “Jewish” was central to its purpose. After all, the Soviet regime couldn’t be accused of antisemitism when those shutting down all Jewish cultural and spiritual life were Jews themselves.

WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE

Historically there have been, arguably, two kinds of antisemitism: (1) Nazi antisemitism, in which Jews are physically exterminated, and (2) Hanukkah antisemitism, in which the antisemite does not necessarily intend to take our lives, but rather, seeks to strip Jews of all the elements which make us...well, Jews.

Under the Soviet regime, for example, Jews suffered from “Hanukkah antisemitism.” The Soviets heavily suppressed Jewish cultural and spiritual life, stripping many Jewish families of thousands of years’ worth of history. Speaking or studying Hebrew was punishable by law. So was participating in Jewish religious traditions. At the same time, Jews were unable to assimilate into Soviet society due to their ethnic background. Jews were often imprisoned under false pretenses, accused of vague “Zionist crimes.” People with Jewish last names were subject to highly restrictive university quotas or banned from performing certain jobs.

Maybe you’ve noticed a pattern over the past year. First, it was only “Zionism,” not Judaism, that was a problem, despite the fact that the Jewish connection to -- and desire for sovereignty in -- the Land of Israel is inextricable from 3000 years of Jewish tradition. Then, they started denying our extensively recorded history and origins in Israel. At anti-Zionist Jewish events, now praying in Hebrew is considered “too triggering,” so it’s best to pray in colonial languages, like Arabic or English. Now, the Magen David is a “racist, genocidal symbol,” to quote Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd.

Do you not see what’s happening? This is no longer about the State of Israel, the Israeli government, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or this current war. This is a thinly-veiled effort to methodically legitimize the discrimination of Jews -- and anything Jewish.

THE STAR OF DAVID

The Star of David, also known as the Magen David or the Seal of Solomon, is mentioned in Jewish texts as early as the first century. In fact, it’s found in coins from the period of the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Romans (132-135 CE). It was also used as a decorative motif in the Khirbet Shura synagogue in the Galilee in the third century. Though initially merely used as an ornament, the Magen David was ascribed deeper spiritual meanings since the 11th century. It has since been associated with Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.  

In the 17th century, the Jewish community of Prague was ascribed the Magen David as its official symbol. Shortly thereafter, the Jewish community in Vienna also adopted it as a marker. By the 19th century, the Star of David was the distinctive Jewish emblem.

More than anything, perhaps, the Star of David is a symbol of Jewish resilience and survival. For centuries, Jews in Europe and the Islamic world had been forced to wear distinguishing clothes marking them as Jews. After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Jews in Poland and in other Axis-occupied territories were forced to wear a Star of David, most often seen in the form of a yellow badge with the word “Jude” (Jew) or a similar variation. Therefore, for many Jews, the act of wearing Star of David jewelry or clothing is a reclamation of our ancient symbol that was once weaponized to oppress us.

A DOUBLE STANDARD

Hundreds of millions of people have been slaughtered under the banner of Christianity and Islam each. The Crusades alone took about 1.7 million lives. The Spanish Inquisition? Up to 300,000 lives. In the “New World,” some 56 million Indigenous people were killed in the name of Christianity. These are just a few examples. It’s estimated Islam’s conquests alone left some 270 million people dead. 

During the First Jewish Revolt, the Romans crucified some 500 Jews a day. Yet I would never dream of denying someone service at a coffee shop because they’re wearing a crucifix. 

When Jihadists carry out terrorist attacks, they shout “Allahu Akbar” — the same phrase used by the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world in their daily prayers. Muslims recite the Shahada prayer daily, the same prayer that is inscribed in the ISIS, Hamas, and Al Qaeda flags. And yet, I would never dream of denying someone service at a coffee shop because they’re a Muslim who says “Allahu Akbar” or recites the Shahada prayer.

Under Islamist regimes, such as the Islamic Republic in Iran, women are beat to death for not wearing hijab or wearing hijab “improperly.” But I think you would agree that denying a woman in hijab service at a coffee shop on account of the Islamic Republic’s crimes is plain bigotry.

You may be triggered by crosses, hijabs, or the Star of David, and your triggers may be rooted in valid trauma. But your triggers are no one’s responsibility to deal with but your own, and they are no excuse to lash out in bigotry.

Even if Israel’s actions were equivalent to those of Nazi Germany, equating the Star of David with the Nazi hakenkreuz (commonly misidentified as the “swastika”) is an inherently problematic analogy.

Unlike the Star of David and the Jewish people, the swastika has zero spiritual or cultural significance in German culture beyond Nazism.Within the German context, the Nazi hakenkreuz means one thing and one thing only.

On the other hand, the Sanskrit swastika and other similar symbols, such as the whirling log, have long, rich traditions in their respective cultures. While some Native American tribes have decided to retire the whirling log, others continue to use it. The Sanskrit swastika is commonplace in countries such as India and Nepal. 

Sure, if someone with zero cultural connection to the swastika or the whirling log decides to “reclaim” the symbol, I’d probably do a double take and consider it an antisemitic dogwhistle. But when I went to India, I saw the swastika everywhere, and because I am capable of critical thinking, I was easily able to recognize that the symbol has an entirely different connotation in this particular cultural context, despite my personal and family trauma.

A NOTE ON HOLOCAUST INVERSION

Holocaust inversion is a rhetorical tool used to portray Jews as morally equivalent — or worse — than Nazis. It’s often employed in discussions about Israel-Palestine and is frequently used by anti-Zionists.

 To understand why Holocaust inversion is unquestionably antisemitic, we must first understand what Holocaust denial actually is. Holocaust denial is not just an outright denial that the events of the Holocaust happened, but more often than not, it’s a denial of well-established facts about the Holocaust. For example, someone who says the Holocaust didn’t happen at all is as much a Holocaust denier as someone who claims the Holocaust did happen, but only one million Jews were killed.  

Therefore, Holocaust inversion is always Holocaust denial, because: 

(1) it relies on the minimization of established facts about the Holocaust. However harrowing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and it is — it’s just in no way equivalent in scale, scope, and methods to the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. This is a historical fact, and denying it is denying the Holocaust.

(2) characterizing Jews — Zionist or not — as Nazis is a denial of the well-established fact about the Holocaust that the predominant force in Nazi ideology was genocidal Jew-hatred. Jews cannot be the inheritors of Nazism simply because the Nazis wanted all Jews exterminated. A denial of this basic fact is Holocaust denial.

For a full bibliography of my sources, please head over to my Instagram and  Patreon. 

rootsmetals

I sincerely don’t understand how there’s still Jews out there who still make excuses for these people, who don’t see what’s happening. Learn your history. Have some self-respect.

[etz-ashashiyot]

About Me/FAQs

You can call me Avital. I am a non-binary traditional egalitarian Jew living in the US. Any pronouns except they/them are fine. (!היא/את בעברית, בבקשה. תודה)

I really appreciate human interaction. That being the case, if you follow me and I don't already follow you, please send me a DM with the following:

What you want me to call you (internet name, username, nickname, whatever)

What brought you here and made you want to follow me

Something random about you that you feel comfortable sharing (pet pics are always welcome too <3)

I had a whole lot of other rules on my previous blog to weed out the faint of heart, but I genuinely don't know how well that worked, so instead I will simply put roughly the same information below as resources and recommended reading. Fair warning: I will operate from a baseline assumption that you've done the reading and therefore will not be explaining anything in them.

I also had a listing of my firm opinions and other miscellaneous information. That got long and unwieldy, but a lot of people seemed to appreciate it, so I will post roughly the same list under the cut.

The current username refers to my current symbol of a tree of lanterns in the starlight. This is related to my desire to create self-symbolism, old school style (like I really want to create a family crest, a flag, a seal, and other heraldic nonsense. Why? Because it delights me, of course.)

This page is under construction and subject to change at any time.

B'vracha,

Avital

Recommend Reading

For followers who are Christian, were Christian, are non-Jews who grew up in a Christian culture and/or have only learned about Judaism through Christianity, these links are very helpful in unpacking some of the antisemitism you were taught:

Better Parables (specifically the article about Pharisees, but read the rest of the site too, it's great)

Antisemitic readings of the Temple table-flipping incident in the New Testament

The current Israel-Hamas war and just המצב discourse in general require a lot of background knowledge to discuss intelligently, and not just propaganda. There is a LOT of antisemitism in the public around this topic and it is having serious real-world consequences for Jews all over the world. The mis- and disinformation is causing problems for everyone involved. Islamophobia in the West has increased as well. If you're going to engage in this discussion, I am respectfully but forcefully asking you to read the following sources. They are useful regardless of where you fall on that political scale.

There Is No Magic Peace Fairy

Ways to help: [1], [2], [3]

Muslim organizations advocating for peace, education, positive interfaith relations, and fighting antisemitism

This is perhaps my best summary of my own feelings on the whole thing

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that

Please learn what Kahanism is, because it actually is what people think Zionism is. Zionism is simply a desire for Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland of eretz Yisrael. Kahanism is a type of racism that cloaks itself in Zionism but is fundamentally bigoted.

A non-exhaustive list of antisemitic incidents, attacks, and pogroms during [OP's] lifetime

An exceptionally long and thorough explanation of antisemitism and antisemitic violence throughout history

Why The Most Educated People in America Fall for Antisemitic Lies by Dara Horn (tumblr link in case the article link gets broken)

This explanation of the atrocities endured by Soviet Jews and how the legacy of Soviet antisemitism undergirds western "antizionism-not-antisemitism." If you call yourself an anti-Zionist, this is required reading.

An excellent overview of the basics

This is nowhere near complete information, but it's an important start. I will very likely continue to add resources as they become available and would love to create a primer on this topic more generally.

If you don't believe that October 7th happened or wasn't that bad, or really any atrocity denial please read this article from a reporter who was shown the actual footage, as well as this article documenting its effects on him.

If you are still in denial about the pattern of gender based violence, sexualized torture, and widespread rape as a war tactic committed by Hamas on 10/7, you are legally required to read this article.

About the blog:

I’m going to try my best to keep this blog to primarily Judaism, comparative religion and theology, with the occasional side sprinkling of queer & trans stuff, BUT it is absolutely a personal blog at the end of the day.

I talked about Israel and המצב stuff a lot on my previous blog and will likely continue a bit over here too. I welcome a broad swath of opinions, so long as they objectively treat all parties involved as human and deserving of safety, stability, freedom, dignity, and peace. That is apparently a large ask these days, and a not-small part of why I keep talking about this issue. Please be part of the voices that give me hope for the future, okay?

Minors can follow and interact but please keep in mind that I’m probably closer to your parents' age than yours if you do want to interact with me directly.

Interactions:

Rude asks will be deleted. Harassing blogs will be blocked and probably reported.

I consider anything even remotely in the vicinity of trying to proselytize to me to be “harassing,” or at a minimum, rude. Just FYI.

Otherwise, nice interactions are welcomed.

Banter is encouraged; trolling will be ignored

If you are a goy and want to argue with me about Jewish theology, you have to match my perfect score on this popquiz, no cheating by looking things up during the quiz. I learned Judaism as an adult mostly through self-study so you have no excuse. If you're invested enough to argue with me you're invested enough to do the reading homework. (To clarify: I'm happy to explain Jewish stuff to anyone who is sincerely asking or just have a friendly comparative theology discussion or whatever. But I have zero patience for those who want to argue with me about basic shit claiming they know more than me, especially if what they're claiming they "know" is not only wrong but antisemitic and wrong.)

If I don't respond to your interaction, there's a strong chance that I (a) have no idea what to say and am thinking about it, (2) totally meant to respond and just forgot after the notif disappeared, and/or (3) got incredibly busy. It's not personal! Please don't be shy about following up with me if you like. I promise that if we have a problem that is fixable, you'll know. If we have a problem that is not fixable, you'll be blocked.

I am currently learning Ivrit and am delighted to have interactions in Hebrew. Please feel free to message me, reply to posts or reblog, submit asks, etc. in Hebrew and I will do my best to read and respond to it. (Responses will be slower, but not for lack of appreciation of your thoughts!)

Anything else, just ask.

Hard stances:

You're not going to change my mind on these things; I've looked at the evidence, my personal experiences, and thought about them long and hard, and I am not going to be swayed by an internet rando. I can (often, but not always) co-exist just fine with people who I disagree with, but if seeing my posts about this is going to upset you, just do us both a favor and block me now please.

I am deeply distressed at how many people are choosing to live in a "post-factual society" where the truth is based on truthiness vibes and the politics are based on the quippiest of slogans. I don't care who's doing it, misinfo, disinfo, propaganda, atrocity denial, and gaslighting are BAD. There is no nuance here; these are bad things. They are bad if they go against your cause and they are bad if they "support" your cause. No cause is better than the truth.

If we cannot have a discussion where we are operating from the same baseline reality of verifiable facts, we cannot have a productive conversation and I will not engage with you. We can agree or disagree on a lot and that is fine, but facts matter.

If you cannot be reasoned with in accepting verifiable facts as reality, you need help. I'm serious. That is cult behavior. Get off tumblr and get help.

I don't know how to tell you that you should care about other people. If you don't see the inherent worth in other human beings' lives, I can't fix that. Go take that struggle to G-d and heal your soul.

I support the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our ancestral homeland of Israel, the same way that I support other indigenous groups' right to self-determination in their ancestral homelands. If you don't, I'm going to need you to examine why Jews should be singled out of every other group to be denied this right or denied support in seeking it. That said, I definitely do not agree with many of the decisions made by the Israeli government, especially (but far from exclusively) regarding their treatment of Palestinians. I think both Jews and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, safety, freedom, dignity, and self-determination for both. No one is going anywhere; any real solution must recognize that. I tend to favor this proposal by A Land for All as an ideal (and given the grassroots nature of this idea, I think it could work pragmatically too, if the political will exists on both sides.)

I reject the Zionist/anti-Zionist dichotomy altogether for a number of reasons: 1) It impedes conversation because too many people agree but will never know it because they refuse to talk about what they actually mean by those labels and instead make assumptions about the other group. 2) It inherently puts the validity of an existing state up for debate rather than looking at real solutions for the future. You cannot unmake the state of Israel without widespread atrocities, but you can figure out options for everyone to live together in peace and heal from the collective trauma. 3) It also makes it way too easy to play Good Jew/Bad Jew and "Zionist" has basically become the slur de jour for "Jew." It sucks that people took a Jewish word for an important Jewish concept and made it synonymous with "bloodthirsty racist," but personally I don't think arguing over that at this exact juncture in time is helpful.

Bottom line: I'm a humanitarian and a pragmatist, and I care about all the people who call that part of the world home.

Update: for real, if you have trouble seeing Israelis and Palestinians both as human and deserving of safety, dignity, freedom, and inherent worth as living human beings, I don't want to know you. I don't want to talk to you. Go fix yourself.

🌻 I stand with Ukraine 🇺🇦

Free Iran from the Islamic Republic // Women Life Freedom

Abortion is a human right and should be safe, legal, available on demand, and shameless. It's a necessary medical procedure and it's completely barbaric that we're still talking about it as anything else.

Birth control, abortion, and no-fault divorce are actively positive parts of society and building healthy families.

Transition care is healthcare and also a human right. Allowing people to transition prevents self-harm and suicide, and has an extremely high efficacy rate with an exceptionally low level of risk or regret. We now have well over a century of data on this.

That said, detransitioners who are still supportive of trans people/aren't transphobic are more than welcome here, as any exploratory process deserves the right to say, "Interesting! But nope!"

Transunity, ace/aro positivity, and just inclusionism in general, 100%. Fuck off with anything else.

Queer might be a slur in the mouths of some people, but my identity isn't. Don't reblog my posts if you're going to tag it with "q slur" or "q word" or censored in some way. I'm not Gay as in "I prioritize cis men over the entire rest of the community" but Queer as in "my personal labels are none of your business but my political stance on queer liberation sure as fuck will be."

If you don't vaccinate yourself and your kids for any reason other than medical necessity, and especially if you promote anti-vaxxer views and the associated pseudoscience, you are actively harming the most vulnerable members of society for entirely selfish reasons and that makes you a bad person. I hope your kids bypass you to get vaccinated.

Wear a mask 😷

[theharmonious13]

Guys hear me out (this is a YouTube animatic/animation community deepcut I think??? At least for me it is)

🎵 Two Birds on a Wire 🎵

Kamimura and Hasegawa

"One tries to fly away" - Kamimura

"And the other watches him close from that wire" - Hasegawa

It summarises their relationship PERFECTLY

I can already imagine scenes now in my head. Kamimura branching out to Tamba, Mai etc. while Hasegawa watches him quietly in the background clinging to his one and only friend. And then literally every single

And the song is symbolic of so many things, ranging from Kamimura's more outgoing nature to his character development in finding a reason to live/future plans outside the killing game. Meanwhile Hasegawa is very introverted and closed off, he's reluctant to leave his room before and after Kamimura's death, deep down he wants to follow in Kamimura's confident footsteps but can't get himself to. Especially when they split up for the first time during the killing game :3

~~~

Other duos this would work for in my head (in chronological order of how passionate I feel about the ideas):

Tsuno and Wada: Literally their whole screentime together. As Wada struggles in countless ways throughout the chapters while Tsuno "tries to fly away" by being super duper helpful to the group OR by opening the woodshop door. Perfect duality by having Wada reluctantly not open the door, and Tsuno hyping him up in her final moments :3

Okazaki and Watari: Their differences and friendship exemplified, the sadness and bittersweetness of them having fun together as Okazaki does fucked up things to Wada and the others in the background. Watari having her final moments with Okazaki saying how she hates her, and breaking down at their unmistakable differences in morals. I love how both characters were bold in personality, but Okazaki was on a different level of existence to everyone else, and how she was delusional/thought that playing the role of a villain would solve all of her problems. I would be evil and draw Watari looking through glass at Okazaki's final moments of her being filled up with gold :3

Sasaki and Yanagi: Case 1 Angst mainly highlighting their estranged relationship in Chapter 1 and how they technically work together in the trial before Yanagi has to spit out the horrifying truth. Imagine Yanagi's face as Sasaki gets executed, and wanting to know why she used him afterwards. So much delicious angst, I love it hehe

Hama and Chiba: a HUGE commentary of Chiba's life during the killing game, how she's reluctant to live a normal life because she feels she's unable to. And Hama living his life with kindness/confidence while trying to get Chiba to do the same. Before something unfortunate and heartbreaking happens to Chiba regarding a certain tiger :3

Mai and Yanagi: Mainly an End Chapter 3/Beginning Chapter 4 recap following their interactions and fight regarding unlocking the door. Mai literally tries to break down the door out in the open while Yanagi tries to pick the lock in secret. If that doesn't scream the duality of these two/the song I don't know what does. Also them making plans together, being glad to have each other's company

Isono and Wada: Mainly a fun little recap of their relationship transformation, from streamer/viewer/parasocial to friends. It's a great way to highlight chapter 1 Wada too, he's very closed off and reluctant to get help from what I remember, you can even pan forwards to Tsuno's death/Chapter 4 Wada to see how angsty is he/far he's come. OR close it off with Wada talking to Isono quietly/in solidarity in her room. Or omg, breaking the PC when Wada finds out about the reward :333333

*Always assume for the above that the first person listed is "one tries to fly away" and person two is "and the other"

For example: Kamimura (Person 1) and Hasegawa (Person 2)

~~~

I feel so passionately about it being for Hasemura but this song resonates with so many of the cast duos it's unreal

[demaparbat-hp]

Hey, follow up on the Dandadan ask, with some of the character suggestions.

I am not sure if you want a suggestion based on the role the character had in the story or based on their personality. I will assume is by the personality first.

I think Toph would work well as Unji Suma.

Sokka would be Kinta. Both are nerds who like machines, make bad jokes, and try to be a lady's man and fail.

I was thinking Mai could be Kouki Yukishiro. She has a similar vibe and indifference to attacking people with sharp objects.

You could make Suki Rin Sawaki, and have her Guardian Spirit be Kyoshi?

Azula as Aira is really interesting! And you could still have the "crush" situation, but have her crush on Aang? ? ?

I was also thinking that Aang could fit Vamora, as they have similar backgrounds, but his personality and power is just Jiji. Look at that Face!

Maybe have Yue be Vamora? But invert Yue's situation. Instead of her turning into the Moon, she is the Moon who turned into a human.

At first, I was thinking of having Suko be possessed by the Blue Spirit like you mentioned, but turn Hama into a Yokai that cursed Katara, giving her blood bending. Then have Hama become Turbo Granny, stuck on a plastic statue.

But Having Hama and Iroh become the stand-in for Seiko is interesting. Are you also having the "Too young and pretty to be your gramps"?

But yeah, the story does not need to have 1:1 roles with the cast, some can still be themselves.

But I do think Koh would be great as Count Saint Germain.

I loved all of this! You make some really, really good points here, and it's great to see things from a different perspective.

I've been working on matching characters through their roles rather than personalities, though it's always great to take it into account as well. Character dynamics make for very interesting matches!

When I thought of Mai as Rin Sawaki I was about twenty or so issues away from finishing the Manga, so I hadn't gotten to Kouki's backstory yet. Once I did, however, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with you—Mai and Kouki are a match made in heaven.

I have quite a few plans for my girl, including an earlier introduction, some initial antagonistic/chaotic neutral energy, and her connection to a particular spirit.

Mai, after all, is linked with Koh.

But more on that later.

Sokka would be a great Kinta! He's there from pretty much the start of the story, obviously. He's Katara's genius, if quite dumb at times, older brother. He's a skeptic through and through, which is kind of funny once you learn that he's spent years obsessing over a mythical library said to have been built by a spirit of knowledge.

Sokka does field research sometimes, going on long excursions he's sure will bring him to the remains of the library.

Wonder how that'll work out for him.

Toph is Unji Zuma. No questions asked. In any other AU, that would be Zuko's role. But he's already busy running around as Okarun, so Zuma's spot is open, and Toph is willing to take it.

(I love Zuma, alright? He deserves the very best and Toph is it. I still need to figure out how to make that particular match work, but Agni strike me where I stand if I don't.)

Suki as Rin is something I didn't see coming! It's a really interesting idea, though. Perhaps, much like Rin, Suki has been watching the Gaang's movements for a while, quite suspicious yet well-intentioned. That sort of angle could work, if given more thought.

Also yes! Azula's crush was always meant to be Aang! I love Aira and Jiji's dynamic in canon, even if I don't particularly push for a romantic relationship for them. They're so precious. And there's something very sweet and funny about collected and antagonistic Azula having a crush on silly ol' Aang.

Now.

The bit I've been waiting for.

Yue.

I. LOVE. THAT. SO. MUCH.

The Moon spirit taking human form because #reasons and then befriending this insane Found Family in hopes of remembering/finding out what it's like to be human? That's such a gutpunch and I'm in love with it. Yue as Vamola is something I'm not sure I could've ever thought of, but it's canon from now on. No questions asked. Canon.

Oh! Hama and Iroh!

Splitting Seiko's role was such a wild and fun choice that I'd love to delve on later. Most of my inspiration for Zuko and Iroh's initial dynamic draws from Momo and Seiko's own relationship in canon. Iroh is one of, if not the most spiritually enlightened characters in ATLA, so he was obviously going to be a very important player in this AU.

And it's also fun because, instead of "She's too young and pretty to be your grandmother!" we get "But he's so nice and funny! Are you sure you two are related?" And I find that hilarious.

As for Count Saint Germain...

Stealing energy and abilities from others is the Avatar's thing here. But manipulation and the eternal search for power using whatever means are necessary... Sounds like someone else, doesn't it?

[psychologeek]

I just think it’s wack that you only care about Israeli civilians. Yes their lives mattered. But instead of focusing on the real reason why they died, ie, the tremendously irresponsible government of Israel and their bloodthirsty colonialist mission, you focus on “”””antisemitism””””” where there really is none. I’m sure there’s like two (2) antisemitic pro Palestinians. The vast majority of us are normal people who want peace and freedom, and for Israel to stop killing people. And for Israeli innocents to stop dying too. Some of us are even Jews who finally woke up. Sincerely, a Jew who’s tired of colonisation being done in our name

So, I wasn't going to reply to this bc. LOL. Don't feed the troll.

But I'm currently hearing explosions in the background so I was like. Oh well.

Let's unpack it.

I just think it’s wack that you only care about Israeli civilians.

I mean. Y'know. אם אין אני לי מי לי? (Clearly not you).

Wow. I'm shocked. How dare I, an Israeli civilian with friends and family who happens to also be, by coincidence, Israeli civilians, dare care about such vile creatures? (Looking outside of the window) (Remember that I can't, bc it's blocked to prevent shattering by airwaves and sharpanels). Must be a day that ends with a y!

Yes their lives mattered.

I feel like there's a "but" coming.

But instead of focusing on the real reason why they died,

Are we still talking Israeli citisens? BC the current causes of death are missiles, gunshots and stabbing.

ie, the tremendously irresponsible government of Israel and their bloodthirsty colonialist mission,

Funny, you keep using that word. I don't think you know what that means.

Also, having strong opinion about a remote teritory which you aren't a citizen of? Tell me more about colonialism.

you focus on “”””antisemitism””””” where there really is none.

laughing out so hard I actually cry. Like, seriously?

Maybe you, personally, haven't met antisemism (or more likely, were unable to detact it). THAT WAS NOT THE CASE FOR THE VICE MAJORITY OF JEWS.

From vandalism and verbal harassment to physical harassment, beatdowns, and at least on one case - death.

[Funny enough, this article says "Alnaji’s and Kessler’s lives forever changed on Nov. 5 at a pro-Palestinian rally at Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards in Thousand Oaks." Well yes. Kessler's life ENDED. His poor killer may face prison. Poor man.

This is antisemic.]

I’m sure there’s like two (2) antisemitic pro Palestinians. The vast majority of us are normal people who want peace and freedom, and for Israel to stop killing people. And for Israeli innocents to stop dying too. Some of us are even Jews who finally woke up. Sincerely, a Jew who’s tired of colonisation being done in our name

Sorry, but if your "peace and freedom" refers to the myth of "The Happy Dhimi", you have a problem.

Some examples, though:

This is the official logo of the Houthis, the terror group pro-pals love so much. the "Curse upon the jews" REALLY gives some vibes of love and caring.

As someone who lived through the latest Intifada, this REALLY makes me feel safe out there:

So, the terror Organistion currently firing at me isn't a terrorist? do tell me more

And of course, the "resistence". Wow I wonder what happened on October 7th?

more (explained) #1, more #2, more #3, honestly just go to #antisemitism here.

And, last but not least:

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CANNOT BE COLONIALS IN THEIR ANCESTORS' LAND.

WE HAVE 3,000 YEARS OF HISTORY HERE.

But, well, I guess you're from america. Strange how you don't care about colonialism when it's actually. Y'know. BY-THE-BOOK.

~

Another case of kidnaps by terror organisation (Boko Haram). And another (ISIS) (Hamas connection).

[82mitsu]

{18Trip} <CHAPTER 001 SIDE-A: Sun will R1ze!> 001-A04 Dependable(?) founding employees

A translation of 18TRIP's CHAPTER 001 SIDE-A by 82mitsu. ENG proofreading by sasaranurude.

TL Note:

As mentioned in Kafka’s interview: The dog is named Shumai which is Siu Mai, a chinese dumpling. 

Kaede: (The first day of work is finally here! The other new employees will be here too, right… I’m nervous.)

Kaede: (That reminds me… I ran into Renga-kun here last week—I wonder if he turned out to be okay. He wasn’t looking too good there.)

Kaede: (Not that I can do much just sitting around and worrying! Alright, time for work!)

Daniel: Nah, what’cha making all these faces for. Someone’s a busy fella as always.

Kaede: !? Eh, Da-Daniel-san!? What are you doing here!?

Daniel: Ah? ‘Cuz this is my workplace, duh.

Daniel: Lemme take it from the top again, I’m director of HAMA Tours, Iwabuchi Daniel Hiroshi. Nice to meet’cha~

Kaede: …! …! …!

Kaede: (Y-you have got to be kidding me… Does that mean he’s my boss again…!? This guy who doesn’t lift a finger…!? Kafka, why did you hire him of all people…)

Daniel: While it’s our new workplace, you better be working till ya drop~ Chief-san♪ ‘Kay, I’mma head off first.

Kaede: D-Daniel-san, you are one of the founding employees, remember!? So please actually put effort into working this time around, okay!?

Daniel: Wahaha, I’unno ‘bout that.

Sakujiro: A good morning to you two, Chief, Director.

Sakujiro: Chief, we received the flowers you ordered. Thank you kindly for your consideration.

Kaede: Sakujiro-san, good morning to you too! So the flowers arrived safely then.

Sakujiro: Indeed. Young Master… Pardon, the President is most delighted with these.

Kaede: (...Oh, I see now. Sakujiro-san’s also one of the founding employees. Working together with someone who has been looking out for me since I was a kid—it does feel a little bit strange…)

Sakujiro: I am no more than a mere newbie of an ordinary employee, so please do give me orders regarding anything, even miscellaneous affairs at work.

Kaede: Eh… that’s really a bit too…

Daniel: Gotcha, Sakujiro. I’ll let ya take charge of all the annoying things.  

Kaede: Daniel-san… Don’t you have any common sense…!?

Daniel: Gotta use whatever’s at your disposal~

Kafka: Good morning. Everyone’s in high spirits already. Chief-chan, thanks for the flowers ♪ Could it be that you got these arranged in my image?

Kaede: Ah, Kafka, goo-

Daniel: Top of the mornin’ to ya, Bossman. 'Nother day of you looking all spiffy there.

Kaede: (Daniel-san, your tune sure changes with Kafka…) 

Kafka: Good morning. The other two who will also be founding employees are already here. Allow me to introduce them.

???: Good morning, Chief-san and Director-san if I’m right. 

Kaede: (Wah… A calm, proper looking fine young man!)

Kafka: He’s Kitakata Nayuki. He’s an old friend I connected with back in the investor community. This time I brought him on board as the manager for accounting.

Nayuki: If there are any problems related to accounting, please don’t hesitate to ask me about anything. I will properly follow through with you.

Kaede: (Woah, a genuine guy who has it all together…! Thank god…)

Kaede: (Hm? I kinda… feel like I’ve seen him before… Where was it again, like a magazine interview or something…)

Kafka: By the way, Nayuki also has experience establishing JPN’s biggest metaverse service mahorova under the role of COO under his belt. He’s your go-to guy to rely on. 

Kaede: Ah…! You’re the boy genius who created mahorova at the tender age of 12…!?

Nayuki: That is something from 11 years ago. Currently I’m a mere section manager for accounting so please treat me as such without reservation.

Kaede: (Such an amazing track record, yet so friendly and humble… Kafka, you actually hired a respectable guy…!)

Kaede: (...Honestly, why come to our company with a background like that? is what I’m thinking, but… maybe it’s because he’s friends with Kafka?)

Kaede: (...That also reminds me, something’s telling me I heard “Kitakata” somewhere else… What was it again?)

Kafka: Well, Nayuki will be taking on another job besides accounting sometime soon. Leaving that aside for now…

Kafka: There’s one more person, a guy that I employed as an intern but…

(Sounds of glass breaking and rattling)

???: Wah, uwaaaaah, I fell over and the flower vase is……��..Guh! Hweeehsorrysorrysorrysorrysorry—--!!!

Sakujiro: Oh good heavens. The flowers we received from Chief are a mess.

???: P-picking them right now!!! Ouch!!! There’s blood from touching the vase shards… bloooooood~!!  

Kafka: Sigh… Sakujiro, lend him a hand, and put the flowers back together.

Sakujiro: I shall wrap this up within three seconds. 

Sakujiro: SWISH, SHWIWIWIWIWISH!!

Kaede: (T-they’re the perfect picture of a clumsy boy and overpowered butler…!?)

???: Ah, awawawah, I blinked and there’s band-aids… G-God, was that you~!?

Kafka: Yachiyo. Come here. Those flowers are VERY! important to me so you better not be coming near them ever any time soon, okay?

Yachiyo: S-s-sorry… I won’t ever be in the same room as them ever again… 

Sakujiro: Fuefuki-kun, if I may. Once you open the door first look to your right, and then to your left. Then proceed to keep a one meter distance from anything that seems breakable on impact. 

Yachiyo: Ye-yeshhhh!!! I’ll write it down!! I’ll make a memo of exactly every single spoken word!!!

Daniel: Oooh, whatta hard worker, takin’ proper notes and all. Intern-kun fella.

Kaede: (It’s kind of like… another unique person joined the bunch…)

Kafka: This is Fuefuki Yachiyo. The details of his application form were unusual and funny so I hired him ♪ Do get along with him.

Kaede: (Hired because it was funny… Kafka, your bad habits are coming out again!)

Kafka: And~ last~ but~ not least~ Ta-daaah, our poster dog Shumai.

Shumai: Borf!

Kaede: Eh, where did Shumai pop up from!? Wait, why did you bring him here!?

Nayuki: What a cute little doggy. Are you acquainted with him, Chief?

Kaede: Uuh, more than knowing him, we found him injured in the courtyard of the hospital Kafka was staying at back in the day…

Kafka: Chief-chan and I rescued him and looked after him at the hospital. I took him in my care when I got discharged from the hospital. Since he came running after me, and all.

Kaede: Really? It’s been so long, I’m glad to see you again, Shumai.

Shumai: Pant pant, boworf!

Kafka: Ah~ so unfair. Only wrapping your arms around Shumai. You should embrace me like you used to in the past, Chief-chan.

Kaede: W-what are you saying, geez…

Nayuki: Fufu, the president and Chief sure are good friends.

Kaede: Eh, no no it’s because we’re childhood friends…! Sorry for messing around at work…!

Kafka: It's not like we're messing around for the hell of it, this is how good friends act ♪ Manager Nayuki, don't go making eyes at Chief-chan, okay.

Kaede: (No, but seriously, what are you going on about, Kafka…)

Yachiyo: Do not make eyes at Chief… I-I jotted that down!!

Kaede: Yachiyo-kun, you don’t gotta take notes of that!

Kafka: Now then, given how all founding members have come together… Suppose it’s time to hold our first strategy meeting.

<<previous chapter / next chapter>>

chapter 001 side A directory: TBA upon completion

[716chr]

Chihiro Natsuyaki SR - “From Now, The Two Of Us” (Part 1)

Location: HAMA House - Living Room

Tao: 『You can freely decide your room layout with your roommate. Feel free to bring in any furnitures, equipments, or anything else, as long as it fits through the door』……

Tao: The president is so generous

Chihiro: Hey, hey. Tao-Tao, what kinda room do you like?

Chihiro: As for Chii~, somethin’ colorful and cute will be perfect ☆ The kinda room that just by bein’ in it can make Chii instantly super hyped!

Tao: You’re into streaming and all that stuffs, right? It’s probably best to have a good-looking background

Chihiro: And also~, a place where Chii’s TuRyStA Bears merchs can stay too! Chii will, like, put them where Chii can see them at all time and then say g’mornin’ to them in the mornin’ and g’night when it’s night!

Chihiro: Tao-tao, don’t you have stuffs too? You can put whatever you like in your own space, y’know?

Tao: Ah…. I might have to buy everything all over again, so just having a roof over my head is enough

Chihiro: Eh~? Ain’t that just no different from prison at all~?

Chihiro: C’mon, c’mon, why don’t you give it a try? Try askin’ Chii-sama to do you a solid

Tao: Then…..

Tao: Chihiro, you’re welcome to decorate my space as you please. I’ll leave it up to you. That’s what I want

Chihiro: …..Eh? You sure?

Tao: Instead of me going on about this and that, I’m sure it’ll definitely turn out great under your hands

Tao: Ah, I’m not just throwing it all on you. Of course I’ll lend a hand, so feel free to ask me to help carry stuffs or anything

Chihiro: ……No, I got this. Tao-Tao, just wait for me

Chihiro: Chii will get everything that Tao-Tao wants!

Tao: That’s reassuring. Then….. I’ll be in your care, Chihiro

Chihiro: Okay!

Chihiro: Let’s see. In that case, gimme a day to work on the coordinations

Chihiro: Sorry, but Tao-Tao, can you stay in the living til then?

Tao: Got it. Then I’ll go get my blankets and whatever else I’ll be needing for now

Chihiro: Alrighty, then Chii will go get ready!

Tao: Ok. Call me right away if you ever need a hand

Tao: ……Maybe I should get some necessities too while I can

Location: HAMA House - 2F Corridor

Tao: ……To think that you really finished it all in one day

Chihiro: Heh-heh, amazin’, right?

Chihiro: But y’know~, if you took a look inside the room, you’ll be even more surprised

Chihiro: Ta~da ♪ It’s room reveal time ♪ I present to you, our brand new room!

Tao: This is….!

Part 1 | Part 2

[infiniteglitterfall]

Just stumbled across an important and timely article - from 2021.

Here are some excerpts!

During the 11-day crisis in May, it was Russian-speaking American Jews who rose to the occasion, exhibiting a sense of Jewish peoplehood, solidarity, and pride that seemed to evade many other American Jews. Neither shaken nor insecure—and, most important, not surprised—they had no trouble calling out fabrications and slander. What did these immigrants know that the native-born American Jews didn’t? Quite a bit, it turns out.

Fun fact: People claimed Israel was committing genocide in 2021, too. And in 2014. And in 2009.

At a recent United Against Terrorism rally in Beverly Hills, Jennifer Karlan, 17, spoke passionately about why American Jews should stand for Israel. With remarkable confidence, she talked about a new form of antisemitism facing American Jews:

“Today, they no longer say they hate the Jew; today they say they hate Zionists. Today they no longer say they hate the Jewish people; they say they hate the Zionist entity. But the hate is the same.”

Some 2,000 people had gathered for the rally. Karlan drew cheers as she insisted that Jewish identity and Israel are deeply interconnected: “Israel is not just the name of the land; it is the name of our people. We are the people of Israel, each and every one of us: Am Yisrael Chai.”  Karlan is a graduate of Club Z, a Zionist club for teens and quite possibly the most important American Jewish organization you’ve never heard of. Club Z was founded four years ago by Masha Merkulova, a Soviet Jewish immigrant from Minsk. Along with a handful of other organizations that Russian-speaking American Jews have started over the past few years, it is changing the conversation about Jewish identity, Jewish peoplehood, Zionism, and Israel. Disappointed with the way the United States’ organized Jewish community has treated these issues, and alarmed by the growing embrace of politically weaponized Zionophobia—the form of antisemitism that they know so well from their lives in the Soviet Union—these immigrants are taking matters into their own hands. The recent Hamas-Israel confrontation

again, this is in 2021

unleashed an antisemitic onslaught on social media and in the streets of U.S. cities of a kind that American Jews had never seen before.

twenty twenty-one.

It wasn’t just the intensity of the hate that was shocking—it was also its source and nature. Suddenly, violent antisemitism was coming at American Jews from the left. Suddenly, it was progressive politicians who were fanning the flames of antisemitism, while the Democratic Party—the political home of most American Jews—looked the other way. Nothing in American Jews’ background or system of beliefs had prepared them for this moment, and many did not seem to know how to respond.

hahahahahaha MOOD

Merkulova, Club Z’s founder and CEO, came to the United States in 1992 when she was 18 years old. She put herself through school and spent some 15 years working as a registered nurse. A decade ago, she found herself volunteering with a Bay Area nonprofit that awarded small funds to pro-Israel student organizations—a position that often took her to campuses of prestigious Northern California universities. It was there that she first began to meet Jewish students who told her about being stumped by anti-Israel rhetoric on campus. “Many of these kids had finished Jewish private schools. They were kids who wanted to do something pro-Israel, who had been to Israel, who had been to Jewish summer camps and were part of Jewish groups,” Merkulova told me recently. “Their parents had given them everything Jewish that they could.” Yet they knew nothing about the history of Israel. They knew even less about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They had no idea what their anti-Israel professors and classmates were talking about. “A Jewish student would say, ‘Israel invented the cherry tomato,’ and he’d hear back, ‘Asshole, you planted your cherry tomato on my land.’ So the conversation was very short.”

it's the snappy disinformation zingers for me

Soon she began to encounter Jewish kids turned anti-Israel activists. She began to read their blogs—the pre-social media social media of 10 years back.

it is honestly so jarring to see them have to explain that there wasn't social media in 2011, there were just blogs

i have too many thoughts about social media and discoverability and archivability but this is not the place, i'm already well inside of a rabbit hole I did not intend to climb into

Here’s how she characterized the content of their rants and confessionals: “I thought I knew everything, I went to Israel, I planted trees with the JNF, and now I learn that it was stolen land. What horror, nobody told us anything.” When IfNotNow burst onto the scene in 2014, Merkulova might have been the only American Jewish parent who was not surprised: She had been reading that stuff for years. Her Soviet Jewish parental instincts now fully engaged,

lol this delights me

Merkulova began to wonder how to prepare her teenage son for the antisemitic reality he was going to face on campus. She knew that there was something that the Jewish educators were getting terribly wrong. She began to ask herself, “Why can’t we tell the kids that there is a problem, that it is complex, and that it doesn’t have an easy solution—but let’s at least begin by naming what the issue is.” She started to look for resources and quickly realized that she was on her own. Synagogues and Hebrew schools proved useless, as did her son’s Jewish day school. She dismissed the occasional three-hour workshop on the conflict that she saw advertised here and there because “what can you understand in three hours? Only that there are endless shades of gray.”

dude but for real tho.

I have not gone to any of the things my synagogues offer about it, but this is the vibe the announcements give off. sort of an "it's complicated and we're sad for everybody" vibe that tries to accommodate everybody's feelings about it and then go home

Eventually, she came across a seven-lesson curriculum from the now-defunct David Project, which focused on the links between Israel and Jewish identity. She liked that framing. She thought, “If I can help women birth children and teach them how to take care of them, I can teach seven lessons about Israel and Jewish identity to a bunch of teenagers.” She began to invite teens from her son’s eighth grade to her home once a month after Shabbat. “I would cook them dinner, and then we would study together,” she said. “We would study what is Israel, what is Zionism, and why we need all of this.” Soon the kids asked for more. They began to meet every other week, then every Saturday night. “Somehow these teens understood that this was something special, something cool. We were learning amazing things. The more you learn about Israel, the more in awe you become, even with the warts, even with the problems,” recalled Merkulova. Four years ago, she quit nursing and founded Club Z.

that's so for real though. it is mind-blowing to me that a newly-founded country, that hadn't been allowed to import weapons until the moment Britain left, managed to survive being invaded by every surrounding country the moment Britain left.

i always assumed that global warming would eventually lead to water wars and massive deserts and shit, because (1) I've lived in California my whole life, where we had a drought from 1987-1992, another one from 2007-09, and a third from 2012-2016. Like, at that point you just kinda assume you will always have a drought. and (2) uh I watched Tank Girl a lot in college.

finding out, while researching water issues in Israel and Palestine, that Israel invented the desalination technology that Gaza uses to produce 93% of its water, and that this technology actually means we won't have to worry about water wars, was mind-blowing.

finding out on Reddit that no, people aren't being dramatic or exaggerating when they say Tel Aviv is 25% queer, was also mind-blowing. and kind of appalling: how come i've been out for one million years and nobody has ever mentioned that there's a city on earth with such a high percentage of queer people?

(bonus: just came across a hilarious comment that said, "I live here and I highly doubt that 25% identifies as gay. That being said, I literally just walked by a man laying in the lap of another man who was lovingly stroking his hair.")

Today Club Z has five chapters (Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, and Charlotte, North Carolina), plus an online track. The community includes 300 current students and recent graduates. There are weekly study sessions, hangouts, retreats, and the annual conference titled “Zionism: A Love Story,” which everyone I talked to raved about. Perhaps the best way to understand what Club Z is about is to hear what its students and graduates say about it. Teens typically join Club Z in the eighth grade and graduate in the 11th grade. At a recent Bay Area chapter graduation, Natalie Arbatman talked about arriving at Club Z as a shy and inarticulate teenager who had no idea what it meant to be a Jew. She is graduating having spoken in front of hundreds at a rally, defended herself online and at school, and pushed back on the opinions of her teachers and classmates. She is leaving knowing that “I carry on my shoulders a memory, a history, and a tradition that I couldn’t trade for anything in the world” and that she is “part of a people” that she feels deeply proud of. 

The annual conference takes place in San Francisco, where one of my two synagogues is.

How come I've never heard of either the conference, or Club Z?

omg no fair, it was last weekend! it literally ended two days ago.

I mean ok, it's for teens. My kid is too young and I'm too old for this. although I think it would be really smart of them to have an adult track for their families. Like, something where people could organize around antisemitism in schools and that kind of thing. But also, I don't see any emails mentioning Club Z ever, except from JWeekly.

Gonna be writing some emails of my own, then.

Pro tip: they have their own newsletter you can subscribe to!

[pettytiredandjewish]

Are you pro-Israel or pro-Palestine?

I honestly don’t think it’s any of your concern but if you really want to know my “stance”, I’ll tell you. You may or may not like my answer but I’m at the point where I really don’t give a flying F. So here we go-

A little background about me-I’m not Israeli, I’m from the states but my great-grandparents on my mom side left Germany sometime a little before WW1 due to antisemitism (they were Ashkenazi Jews.) Not everyone left and the ones who did stay ended up in the concentration camps/ghettos during WW2. Honestly if my great grandparents didn’t leave Germany- well there is a high chance that I wouldn’t be here and that this family tree branch would be non existent.

I’m gonna be honest I’m a “zionost”. There is no safe place for Jews. A lot of countries made it known for many years and they are still making it known to this day. Not only is the land of Israel is considered holy (I’m not super religious but I do recognize and respect that it’s a sacred and holy site) but it is also considered a safe place for many Jews who had to leave their own homes due to all the antisemitism/hate/etc. I’m not an “anti-Zionist”. Did you know that one of Russian’s leaders during- I believe the Soviet Union created that term as a way to help destroy Jewish culture during that era? That term just rubs me the wrong way.

I constantly worry about my friends and family. I worry about mine and their safety. I have to keep looking over my shoulder when I leave the house or when I go to the store, it to work… I know my parents worry too and I know my mom is secretly happy that I attended Shabbat services via online. I don’t want to think about what would happen if something happened to me or to my family/friends. But I don’t hide my “Jewishness”. I love being Jewish- I’m not ashamed of it. It’s a beautiful culture but it also is sad too. The history is not all butterfly’s and rainbows. We (Jews) have suffered for generations but we also overcome everything that people throws at us. Are we traumatized? Probably yes, but we don’t give up. We work hard to keep our culture alive so that we can keep passing it down.

The situation in Israel and Palestine is/has always been messy. It’s like a pressure pot- every little issue and conflict has been cooking up for some time. And every once in a while someone will let some steam out- to help let out some pressure but if you keep it covered and not let out the pressure, well it’s all going to build up and explode. And il that’s what’s happening here. That’s what we’re seeing now. This is the aftermath.

So to answer your question- I’m “pro Israel”: I think that Israelites have the right to live there. It’s their home. They did not colonize it. It is also not an apartheid state. Really people- please read a dictionary to understand these terms that you keep throwing out. Gaza’s government has been unstable for some time and it did eventually fell to hamas control sometime earlier 2000’s(?) for those who don’t know and or still in denial about what they really are- hamas is a terrorist organization. They’re not a resistance group of freedom fighters “fighting to save their people” cuz they don’t give a damn about their own people. They a literally using their own civilians as human shields. They’re stealing resources that’s mental for the civilians and using it themselves.

Also quick question(s) but why is Israel getting blasted for defending themselves after Oct 7? Is anyone gonna call out the other neighboring countries for how they are handling the situation- why aren’t they opening up their borders for refugees? Also why are most of y’all blaming Israel citizens and well- Jewish people in general- i mean I know the answer to this (*cough* most of y’all hate Jews and are using this as a reason to unmask yourselves).

I honestly could keep going- I’ve mostly kept this to myself, so it’s building up, but to be “nice” I’m gonna stop there for now. I don’t know what your “stance” is and I really don’t care per se- the whole situation has been stressing me out like crazy. If you don’t like my answer to bad so sad- I’m no one’s “good Jew”. If you or anyone have any questions you can ask but if you say some antisemitic crap I will block you and depending on my mood- call you out on it too. Have a happy holiday.

Am Yisrael Chai

[realtimefanduboutofcontext]

I suppose we should start with why this strike is happening in the first place.

Here's a rundown of the historical background behind the Global Strike for Palestine.

(note: this is long but very oversimplified, please research the details for yourself! feel free to correct me)

By the way, the details before 1947 aren't relevant to this thread, please read the writeup by Decolonize Palestine about it!

In 1947, the UN split "Mandatory" Palestine into two states along ethnic lines - one controlled by Arab people and one controlled by Jewish people. The choice was controversial, since the border was forced upon Arabs in Palestine.

It brought in a political idea called Zionism. It's the belief that the home of Jewish people is Palestine - not IN Palestine, it IS Palestine. Problem is that Jews and Arabs were already living there together. Zionists believed that they were entitled to it, and so kicked Arab people out. In 1948, Zionists kicked 750k people out of their homes and killed thousands in an event called the "Nakba". They weren't allowed to come back to Palestine.

This process created "Israel", which slowly controlled more of Palestine over several decades, with no plans of stopping. They controlled Palestinian people's food and water, information, travel, job opportunities, etc.

This ideology of Zionism was fed into the US too. Every President since the 40s has recognized Israel, and because of geopolitical interest, has supported it as a key player in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The US gave it weapons and money, and they became besties.

Palestinians tried to resist their homes being stolen again multiple times, with protests ranging from diplomatic to very violent. They tried it all. Military and political organizations (like Hamas) formed to govern Palestine and fight (or make peace, if possible) with Israel. They failed every time, due to the weapons and intel Israel gets from the US, and the trust that it bargained from the rest of the world. All while Palestine had to make do living in an "open-air prison" inside their own country, invaded by Israel.

A lot of unhappiness with Israel and ineffective attacks culminated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked a temporarily defenseless border and killed 1139 Israelis and keeping over 200 Israelis and foreigners hostage. Israel was VERY quick to respond.

Two disclaimers:

Israel already knew about the attack months ahead and let it happen.

What follows is far worse.

Starting October 7, Israel launched a full invasion of Gaza (which Hamas governs) as "revenge" for the hostages and deaths. But in reality, this was just their excuse to invade what they left over of Palestine to build more colonies and finish what they started. In the following 3 months, Israel would bomb Gaza relentlessly. It would cut off power, fire at phone towers, turn off the Internet, prevent anyone from making or bringing in food, wound or kill innocent people, bomb schools and hospitals, and far far more.

Israel also pretended to care about the Israeli hostages - however, when asked at the UN if they'll stop bombing Gaza in exchange for the hostages, Israel and the US said no. (Yes, the US said that. The US is also funding this, with YOUR taxpayer money)

The Israeli Defense Forces (pejoratively "Israeli Offense Forces") originally raised a campaign to convince the world what it was doing was fair and just, in the name of revenge. Countless protests across the world have shown them that most of civilization doesn't buy it. They HAVE, however, realized that those in power don't really give a shit and will be happy to cover them in any way, and thus have been bragging about their attacks in very sick and twisted ways through viral videos and propaganda. The United States is mostly the one taking the blame, since it's Israel's bestie and biggest donor. Its biggest businesses are also Israel's biggest profits (I will talk about this another day). Meanwhile Palestinians have had to prove to the world through tragic footage and live accounts of the genocide, that doesn't get mainstream media coverage. Most of the accurate coverage is from Al Jazeera, whose reporters and their families are getting killed in action.

As I'm writing this, 25,000+ people have been killed by Israeli strikes. 64,000+ are wounded. Most of them children.

Most of the population has gotten sick from unhealthy conditions and white phosphorus gas (illegal, no one is supposed to own that).

There are no hospitals left in Gaza because Israel bombed all of them one-by-one, to ensure Palestinians in Gaza can't get medical help and die as soon as possible. All schools and universities were bombed to dust.

Israel has also expanded their war on Gaza to other places, like the other part of Palestine (West Bank), as well as Yemen, Lebanon and Egypt who had nothing to do with it aside from opposing Israel's attacks. They started fighting them too.

And that brings us to today, January 21st, 2024.

One of the most prominent figures in this tragedy, a filmmaker from Palestine named Bisan Owda, who has led us through her reporting of the genocide, called upon the world to strike. Not just for one day, but an entire week. The intent is to halt businesses from funding Israel, divert the conversation to Palestine, and grab the attention of those with the power to stop this; instill fear in them so that they see the negative consequences of funding a war.

That's why this strike matters. That is why it is happening, and why I changed the entire gimmick for it. Because while all of this is due to some geopolitical and racist bullshit, to care for Palestine here is to care for humans. So many humans who are suffering for no reason.

Now that you are armed with this knowledge (hopefully you read this far), I hope you do your best with it and understand the power. I will provide you with more resources and information in the coming days.

Thank you for your understanding.

[theharmonious13]

Trial of the Double Feature

Omg I love the Blurple background to honour Tsuno and Kamimura

So unreal to see the 'death portraits', Tsuno's stab trap holes and Kamimura's blood coming out of his mouth and subtle blood along the neck because of his sweater 😩

Poor Watari and Ken are inbetween two podiums of the deceased 😩

~~~

Based on the layout... if we are to assume every survivor will end up between two deceased podiums that leaves Watari, Ken, Mai, Hama, Wada, Hiroaki and Okazaki alive

Meaning Yanagi, Ojima and Tamba are getting killed off next

Probably won't happen but I LOVE theorising based off of visual elements

(Note: After learning Okazaki dies this theory is debunked immediately but I like to have fun okay? 😭😂)

~~~

Danganronpa rules for who escapes, makes sense

Omg Tamba accusing Wada, so naive but you're ded to me anyway Tamba 😩

Hanano getting coy... *yes*

I love how Mai, Yanagi, Ojima and Hiroaki agreed straight away that Wada was telling the truth and that stabbing Okazaki was deserved

Watari popping off with the voice acting and raw emotion, being on Wada's side, calling him her friend 🥺

Ken telling Tamba not to talk about Kamimura that way... thank you for showing respect

Ken saying Kamimura wasn't weak 🥺

Hama telling Wada to breathe/they just have to clear his name, he can understand what he's going through and it's a very sweet moment

Ken jabbing at Tamba (I'm using the 'exactly what it sounds like' in regards to the 3D printer' as an example) is what I live for now

Wada yelling at Tamba is deserved

Man I'm really hating how accusatory Tamba is even though this literally happens every trial

Hama guarding Wada going to the bathroom omg he's so sweet guys I love their dynamic

Why does Hiroaki even care about the above lol

Okazaki accusing Ken of murdering Kamimura and everyone else dog piling him... knew this was coming but I hate this so much anyway

DON'T INTERRUPT KEN WHEN HE DOESN'T GET A CHANCE TO BUD IN, LIKE EVERY TRUAL

I give Okazaki the middle finger while she spurts out this stupid theory

'Stop talking like you know me! Or him, for that matter! You don't know shit about either of us!' YES KEN (and voice actor) POP OFF (especially at Okazaki lmao)

Okazaki claiming to be Ken's therapist is 💀 especially after she said she was his guide councillor which is very different...?

Body discovery announcement came in clutch LET'S GO - Wada and Ken didn't kill their besties

'The infernal energy coming out of that room was disrupting my arm's structural integrity' Hama 😂

ANXIETY ATTACK? Ken nooooo

OKAZAKI WE HAVE SELF PRESERVATION HERE PLEASE, ALOT OF THE CAST THINK BADLY OF THEMSELVES

Hiroaki being blunt about the self harm isn't exactly tactful but needed for the trial

Hama says he was bopped on the head, Okazaki replying with 'he wasn't bopped' 😂

Hama saying Okazaki being in the chemlab was a violation and her agreeing 😂

Tetro is teaching me new words like flunitrazepam (also why was Okazaki keeping an eye on it, sus)

I'm with Watari, THEY HAD CYANIDE?

I've been wondering if the killer took Kamimura's tongue as a trophy too, can we just body check the entire cast right now please? Lmao

'Finally! It was poison!' Good for you Tamba but why did it have to be so ironic that it was on Kamimura's case that he couldn't shut you down 😭

Hiroaki just admitting he was going to kill himself and replying with 'why are you looking at me like that's 😭

Means Tamba was wrong about the poison though hehe, thanks Hiroaki

Yeah Tamba had a blonde moment, I'm on Okazaki's side for this one being annoyed at her

Poor Tamba is cooked, at this rate she's definitely not surviving unless Von wanted to do the stereotypical mainline Danganronpa games survivor cast archetypes trope 😭

'How did they get into Kamimura's room?' guys we LITERALLY just mentioned the 3D printed room key 😭

Omg I'm one of the biggest Hayashigeki shippers out there BUT THIS ARGUMENT IS AWESOME! I AM THRIVING! Well written for both characters and there's been chapters worth of tension stock piled out until now that they need to work through together hehe

Why are we assuming Kamimura knew about the second key? Anyways

KEN AND KAMIMURA (wholesomely and shippingly) SLEPT TOGETHER 🥺

'Do we have a pickpocket in here?' Stares intensely at Okazaki

Wada freaking out about not solving Tsuno's case, thanks guys for solving it anyway 😭♥️

If Kamimura somehow built the trap without Ken noticing that would be messed up (I've thought about Tsuno killing Kamimura because of the fandom but not vice versa)

I really want to know if Tsuno was the intended target or not, if she wasn't it'll be even more sad

I love everyone telling Tamba to shut up, especially Mai 😭

Tamba really needs to stop gunning for Ken or Imma get mad 💀

Man all of the resentment/arguments are coming out of this trial

Yanagi you don't want the reputation of throwing off trials but we're doing it a third time, that establishes a pattern 😭

'If you don't tell me where you were last night you've lost all my trust' Mai omg that sentence went HARD

Omg Yanagi was trying to get into the locked room, please don't tell me he's going to get executed for admitting it 😭

WATARI AND HAMA ARE BECOMING FRIENDS, I actually jumped for joy when I heard Hama say he was watching Watari practice fire dancing in her room

That's very vivid description from the Hall Overlord, I do have to wonder if she just so happened to peek out at all the right times and then continue to prep for the murder

Here we go, Tamba where you at 😭😂

I proceed to be so engrossed in the trial that I have no comments, I am fully obsessed

I don't want to think Tsuno is implicated, but if there isn't a second key (which there obviously isn't) then logically it makes alot of sense for her to be involved with the pre existing alibis 😩

Gets engrossed in the trial again

Okazaki has a coat THAT'S HOW IT DIDN'T GET SEEN

WE ARE ONTO YOU OKAZAKI

We have less than 20 minutes yet PLEASEEEE ISTG THIS BE THE LAST SUSSED PERSON

'Okazaki was patrolling' Nah bitch more like moving around freely without anyone suspecting you ✨

'Can you open your coat then?' OJIMA YES

Blood in the coat

SHE'S GETTING PANICKY AND BACKED INTO A CORNER, OMG MY PRAYERS MAY BE ANSWERED

OKAZAKI IS SNAPPING!? WHAT IS KONKONKONKON

FACE REVEAL WHATTTTTTT

SHE'S BEAUTIFUL! AND HAS A PAW EARRING!? OMG THE WHOLE SUIT IS BLOODY OMG

SHE'S A COMIC BOOK VILLAIN? THE EDITING OF HER NEW SPRITE/CG MOVING OMG

SHE'S MOCKING THEM FOR BEING SLOW TO SOLVE IT!? I'm actually amused at this oml

THE MUSIC IS SO DERPY, I FEEL LIKE I'M IN UNDERTALE RN HELP

'A band of dimwits this easy to kill!' Omg why am I loving Okazaki at her killer reveal

WATARI IS SO UPSET AND RIGHTFULLY SO

The way she said Oni boy got me crushing a little bit 😳

Okazaki giving vital hints because she wanted to create an extremely interesting murder case makes a TON of sense

Gdi I was fairly confident it was Okazaki but I should have been ride or die on it lol

If she somehow ISN'T THE KILLER and reveals a truth bomb right now my jaw will drop to the floor

She's talking like Gundham Tanaka and I'm loving it

THE PHANTOM THEIF OF NAGOYA!? WAS SHE TSUNO'S GREATEST ENEMY OUTSIDE OF THE KILLING GAME TOO BECAUSE SHE'S LITERALLY THE ULTIMATE SUPERHERO? THEY'RE LITERALLY BOTH FROM THE SAME AREA

OMG I WAS RIGHT

I had headcanoned she was a crime doer outside of the killing game because of the gun ownership BUT OMG IT WAS SO OBVIOUS ALL ALONG WHY DID I NOT SEE IT

WADA IS GOING TO STAB HER AGAIN, AND KEN CAN JOIN TOO

KAMIMURA MUST HAVE SEEN HER DOING SOMETHING SUS AND HAD TO BE KILLED BECAUSE WITNESS TESTIMONY

I love Okazaki's monologue so much you don't understand

She's kinda crushing on Tsuno desperately wanting attention? Must be a small town crime doer who WANTS to Tsuno to be her rival because it's not her talent

THAT LAUGH VOICE ACTING WAS AWESOME OMG

She called Hiroaki a Dunk Ass 😭😂

WADA POP TF OFF!

Tsuno cared about Kamimura and that drew her attention... Tsuno died for love? DELUSIONAL SHIP COMING ON?

Harada inspired her by saying 'life is short' and 'Kamimura is short too!' Okazaki omg you cannot be serious 😭😂

I NEED SOMEONE TO TRANSCRIBE OKAZAKI'S MURDER CASE RECAP BECAUSE I CANNOT EVEN RIGHT NOW

'When the temperature started dropping and it was clear that someone had to die I thought hey, now is my chance to end a long and tumultuous character arc!' WOAHHHHHH 😂

Okazaki calling Kamimura a Sad Sack 😩

OKAZAKI SPRITE IN THE TRIAL ROOM

THEY CUT HER SUMMARY SHORT, JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED 😂😂😂

Or almost lol, loved the intermission anyway

She admitted Hasegawa is smarter than everyone which is a... compliment in a weird and twisted way?

Okazaki calling Wada a sad little loser 😭

KEN BEAT UP OKAZAKI LETS FUCKING GO

WADA WAS GONNA GO TOO AND I WAS THERE FOR IT

Omg Okazaki said Watari could have been the perfect sidekick one day

Watari said she will NEVER be like her and she HATES her this is the angst I needed omg I LOVE IT

POOR WADA, KEN AND WATARI THOUGH THEY ARE ALL EMOTIONALLY DESTROYED

Okazaki's about to get the most mid execution like Celeste because she's so outlandish

Okazaki wanted to give each individual student a goodbye? How strange and unexpected

'Nishi, in our next life, we'll be foxes okay?' 😭😭😭

'In every life after, I will follow that flame too' At least Okazaki genuinely liked Watari 😭

Midas Touch

Dr Haruka is absolutely disgusted by Okazaki's actions 😂

Torturing is quite the dubbed down word for what Okazaki did lol

Is Okazaki's name Yume? Does Dr Haruka know Okazaki?

Dr Kan was disappointed Tsuno didn't kill and Dr Haruka saying Tsuno didn't seem to be the type to crack shows how strong she was 💪

This was the most unique execution I've ever seen, I love it alot

Cheap motive? Wonder what it is

Kan put on the music at the trial? LOL

264 - Regulation Review

No don't modify the body discovery it comes in clutch THEY'LL GET THROWN OFF AND BE HEAVILY MISLEAD 😭

Monomoko was smart with turning off the cold tbh

Monomoko has got ALOT of dark splotches now oml

OKAZAKI WAS DR HARUKA'S KID? AND SHE WAS JUST UPSET WITH HOW SHE DID REGARDING THE KILLING GAME INSTEAD OF LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT HER *CHILD!?*

Okazaki's name is Yume... or is that a dead name maybe? Disapproving parent my god...

She's trying to get Dr Kan's child in the killing game, probs because she hates Dr Kan lol 😭

265 - Tactical Retreat

Takeshi too overwhelmed, how relatable...

He finally spaced out again 😩

266 - Apology Tour

Wonder how this cat fight will go

She's done with Yanagi? NOOOOOOOO

Mai is going on her vigilante and angsty arc

Tamba's apology is making me almost cry ngl

Mai called her Rui 🥺

267 - Grieving Process

Wada's so drained, my poor boi

Hiroaki talking to Tsuno in front of Wada will be good for both of them I think, hopefully they can bond more because of this

Wada says I love you to Tsuno again 🥺😭

HE MADE WADA NEW CLOTHES? OMG

SOFT CLOTHES FOR WADA, HIROAKI IS SO THOUGHTFUL

HUG!? YESSSSSSSS

HE WOULD ALSO GIVE WADA A HAIRCUT? WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE? NEW SPRITE? OMG MAKEOVER? OMG I NEED TO SEE IT NOW

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Shiryn Ghermezian

Amsterdam’s famed music hall the Concertgebouw has reversed its decision from earlier this week to cancel performances by the Israeli group Jerusalem Quartet amid concerns about anti-Israel protests taking place at the venue and around the city.

The Jerusalem Quartet was originally scheduled to perform at the Concertgebouw on Thursday and Saturday. The first show was cancelled, but Saturday’s show will take place inside the venue’s Recital Hall with “tightened security measures, adjusted visitor flow, and an adjusted start time,” the concert hall announced on Thursday. The in-person concert is sold out but will be available via livestream on the Concertgebouw’s website.

“The earlier decision to reschedule the planned concerts has been met with understanding as well as disapproval,” the Concertgebouw acknowledged, after organizers were called “cowards” and accused of capitulating to “bullying and terrorism” for its “shameful” decision on Tuesday to cancel performances by the Jerusalem Quartet.

“Every concert must be able to go ahead,” said the venue’s General Manager, Simon Reinink. “The Concertgebouw fully supports its mission to connect and enrich everyone with sublime music, regardless of background, religion, culture, or any distinction. We must continue to stand up for the free society we want to be. Every day.”

The Concertgebouw originally cancelled the Jerusalem Quartet’s two concerts because it said it could not guarantee the safety of the venue’s employees, visitors, and musicians while multiple anti-Israel demonstrations were set to take place in the area. Reinink said social media users also urged the public to demonstrate at the Concertgebouw and the music hall received “a flood of messages” from people who opposed the Jerusalem Quartet’s appearance at the venue, likely due to the Israel-Hamas war.

On Thursday, the venue further elaborated on its original decision to cancel the shows.

“A particular factor was that concerts were scheduled simultaneously in the Main Hall and Recital Hall; with so many visitors, the security situation could have become precarious if disturbances had occurred,” said the Concertgebouw. “The recent demonstrations in and around the University of Amsterdam were the direct and only reason to take this decision. The Concertgebouw felt the risk was too great. This decision was taken solely on the basis of our concerns for the safety of all those involved. With the extra security measures now in place, and changes to the start time and visitor flow, we are able to let the concert on May 18 go ahead.”

The Jerusalem Quartet shared news about the restoration of Saturday’s concert on its Instagram page, and thanked “all the people who supported us and helped make this happen.” They also commented on the original cancellation of their shows, saying that “due to violence in the streets, and threats to the Concertgebouw, ours were the only concerts cancelled, which evokes memories of darker times for Jewish artists in Europe.”

“Our quartet has a decades-long relationship with Concertgebouw, and we have a loyal and committed audience in The Netherlands,” added the string quartet, which is comprised of two violinists, a cellist and a violist. “We will not allow this bond to be broken and want to assure our audiences that we will continue to perform and share our music with them.”

[vanguarddawn]

So r/SonicTheHedgehog changed their icon today. The subreddit moderators often change the icon in support of marginalized groups or ongoing equality movements. For a large chunk of 2024, it featured the rainbow flag in the background. Even when they did the Shadow rebrand a couple of weeks ago, they kept the rainbow in a small corner of its icon. It was probably about 4% of the image.

I really do not want to post screenshots of the reaction to any of the three mentioned icons because they range from "politics bad, let's just talk about Sonic instead" to "mods are openly supporting terrorists, and if you're not actively condemning them for this you are too", with the latter sentiment appearing to be far more common as of right now. A lot of people are calling on the mods to publicly apologize, and some are even demanding that they step down.

I am willing to try and understand why people would say using this specific flag on this specific day is perhaps a touch insensitive, but the vast majority of these people don't just frame it as a weird decision, but as active, public support for Hamas. I am not willing to see eye to eye with these people regarding this claim; again, while I can see why they'd say that, it just feels conspiratorial. You know Occam's razor, right? The old adage that "the simplest explanation is often the correct one"? This situation has an explanation that's so simple, that I'm surprised that not one person has mentioned it so far besides myself.

It is October 7 as of the time I am writing this. We all know what happened one year ago to this day, but just as a reminder, this date in 2023 marked the initial attack on Israel by Hamas. While the attack tragically resulted in the deaths of nearly 700 Israeli civilians, and a total of 71 foreign nationals, I want to make it very clear that Israel's following actions were callous at the absolute best, and actively genocidal at their worst. As of the time of writing, there have been 41,595 known deaths on the Palestinian side, over the last twelve months. While I don't have the exact statistics on how many were militants and how many were civilians, I'm of the firm belief that if even one civilian were to be killed by Israel, then they'd already gone too far. But we all know that they did not stop at one civilian casualty. That is about 2% of the Palestinian population that has been killed in this war. For comparison, an equivalent death toll if this were to occur in the United States would be around 6.5 million. My statistics could very well be off, too; I've seen estimates as high as 5.7% of the population.

The Palestinian death toll has been the subject of international attention, and when also factoring in the astronomically higher number of displaced civilians, whose homes and businesses have been leveled in the retaliatory actions, I'm sure you can understand why the general opinion towards Israel is... mixed. While I do somewhat agree that the subreddit for Sonic the Hedgehog is a weird choice of platform, I can absolutely see why it was chosen; it's one of the largest subreddits on the platform (with a userbase equal to over 1/8 of Gaza's total population), and the moderators do often take a stand and show support for marginalized groups. In this case, I think they're choosing to remember the nearly 42,000 Palestinians who have been killed in this conflict, and that they're choosing to remember them on the day the conflict started.