#bluesky out of context

[bluesky-out-of-context]

[samartaheer]

HELP GAZA FAMILY TO SURVIVE AND REGAIN THEIR LIVES 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 MAY ALLAH REWARD YOU ALL THANK YOU

[realtimefanduboutofcontext]

SnapCube's Real-Time Fandub | "Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)" (2019)

requested by soupjpeg.bsky.social‬

[tarudce22]

Last day of the year is going great so far. It has me and my twin both agonizing over 1/4th scale figures we want but they're just SO BIG, and my dad telling me I should start drawing nsfw/smut.

[re-lmayer]

i can't afford rent because of my abusive ex and desperately need help. if i don't pay, it will cause a domino effect where i'll be homeless, lose my emotional support animals, and eventually i can be sued and my paypal account seized. i'll also fail this college semester, which will mess up all my student grant funding and getting a degree

i'm disabled and was recently hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, and stress is making me sick. i've been diagnosed with an ulcer

there's a lot of ways to help me and my cats. you can commission me on kofi, donate directly via paypal, check out my crowdfunds on youpay, share my twitter and bluesky threads, and of course reblog this post. sharing is free!

more context under the cut. it will be updated as things change

my ex boyfriend is an abusive alcoholic. he's raped me, tried to medically neglect me, stranded me at our new apartment alone with no food and a clogged toilet, and most recently refuses to pay any rent and is content to allow me to become homeless despite legal obligation

i have been granted a hud/section 8 housing voucher, but to use it a unit must pass inspection

the apartment i applied for didn't pass, and needed repairs. the landlord told me he'd accept the first applicant that could pay first month rent and a huge deposit. the housing authority told me i'd lose my voucher if i didn't proceed with this exact unit

originally, i was supposed to be on my own. but i was shoved between a rock and a hard place with the voucher and deposit. i couldn't afford the deposit despite friends crowdfunding for me, so... i asked my boyfriend for help

he needed a place to go himself, because he broke his lease bringing me and my cats in. (i was unaware of this, and had no suspicion he'd do something that would compromise his 2 bed/bath apartment)

my doctor also prescribed caregiver after my hospitalization so it seemed mutually beneficial from a financial standpoint, even if i wasn't enthused about it

we couldn't afford movers, so over the course of march we'd been moving things by the carload ourselves. the queen bed was too big, so the night before last he informed me he was dumping it while he had help from a friend to move it. i had a bedframe and mattress from the last place i'd lived, but it had already been taken to the new place. i thought we'd agreed i'd basically move in to the new place early so i'd have somewhere to sleep

come saturday night, i messaged him that the toilet was clogged. he refused to bring a snake, and told me i was using him because i don't hug and kiss him enough. (i'm a csem victim, asexual, and autistic and don't like physical affection)

he's decided he doesn't want to proceed with the unit, and it hasn't passed the inspection, so my voucher doesn't cover it yet. i can't afford the rent out of pocket, and i'm broke because i'm disabled. we agreed he'd pay rent until the voucher kicked in, then he would be added to it as my caregiver, because he'd take me to medical appointments, ensure i get my medication on time, ensure i'd and bathe, etc.

but that ship has sailed. now i'm left in a lurch, and desperately need help. a large portion of the security and pet deposits were nonrefundable, so all the previous effort would go to waste if i can't stay

because i was recently hospitalized, i don't know how i'll survive homelessness. my cats are prescribed emotional support animals, and losing them would be devastating

these are text messages from when he refused to bring the snake and dumped me:

after this, he proceeded to continuously ignore me when i'd bring up rent, that he's on the lease, and going to the bank to pay the landlord

he never responded to the above and then proceeded to act like nothing happened

he didn't respond to any of these except agreement to let me get my cats with the help of someone from my weekly ywca meetings

he is now proceeding to STILL not respond or accept responsibility despite me explaining to him in great detail what the repercussions will be if he doesn't help pay rent. he continues to say "you"

as of august 29, i don't have enough to pay the rent on my own, but i am keeping all of these text messages to present in eviction court if it comes to that. i also intend to take my ex to small claims court

the landlord's maintenance guy also """plunged the toilet""" after leaving me without a working one for five days, and after i was informed there was a problem with the entire complex's pipes. i was not here, so i can't vet if it was true. they """plunged""" without permission, and then sent me an invoice after the fact. i also can't afford this fee, and find it predatory in nature. the maintenance company is owned by the landlord

i have reached out to legal aid to ask about the legality of the landlord handling the situation like this. i will reach out to them again if i get an eviction notice

[taliabhattwrites]

Is "hijra" a slur? Contextualizing South Asian (trans)misogyny

A note on the sheer cultural diversity of the subcontinent

There is no realistic way for me to exhaustively examine the context of every South Asian transfeminized population (though believe me, I’d like to). As such, I’m going to limit my scope to India, but make a quick initial note about Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Pakistani transfeminized communities, according to my partner’s sisters who are in the community, do consider ‘hijra’ more derogatory than their Indian counterparts necessarily do and refer to themselves as part of the ‘khwaja sira’ community.

I have sadly not been able to speak to any transfeminine people from Bangladesh, but I have spoken to cis queers who have told me that they use ‘hijra’ in a manner similar to India.

If there are desi queers from those communities who would like to add their perspectives, please feel free to reblog. And for the South Asian communities I haven't mentioned (such as Sri Lanka), please feel free to add your perspectives too! I'm curious to hear from you all.

Etymology and Usage

‘Hijra’ in its meaning and usage amongst the cis is most similar to the word ‘naamard’ (NAH-murd). The ‘naa’ is prefixal, a negation akin to ‘non’, while ‘mard’ is the word for ‘man’. It is a way of unmanning a man, of calling him lacking in the essential quality of manhood, of labelling him, in spirit if not in body, impotent.

As such, you can see how it’s an implicitly third-sexing construction (even before you account for how these communities are explicitly third-sexed, denied the epistemic autonomy to be recognized as women and now third-sexed by law). When Nanda called them emasculated homosexuals, it was not far off from how Indian culture forcibly categorizes and marginalizes them.

Members of the community have told me about their frustration and anger at being referred to as such, even though the word has now become a term through which they organize the community and sometimes advocate for themselves, a political reality that does not inherently contradict their campaigns to be recognized as women, and allowed to self-ID as such. (Recall, the Indian government currently mandates legal third-sexing of the hijra: they must first obtain a “Trans Certificate” and be documented as a third sex before they initiate the process of being recognized as women—a process that is contingent on subjecting themselves to transmedicalist scrutiny and gatekeeping!)

Others, however, have pointed out to me that the term is undergoing a process of reclamation. The term ‘hijra’ has a certain degree of legibility in Indian society even as it is a pejorative with degendering and dehumanizing connotations. It is being reclaimed intracommunally, but also by allies who speak of them without the usual stigmatizing connotations that cis society has saddled the term with.

Even still, I have also been told that the manner in which cis and especially Western academics use the term in scholarship—and I’m quoting here—"makes me want to tear my skin out". The fictions of “recognized gender role in Indian society” and “oppressed only after colonialism” are further simplifications and fabrications that obfuscate the role South Asian ruling-class collaborators eagerly played in petitioning for those colonial-era laws, and ignore such easily available empirical evidence as the Manusmriti mandating punishments for anyone who sleeps with—ugh—“eunuchs”.

Conclusion

In sum, I’d liken the use of the word “hijra” as analogous to the usage of “queer” in the 90s, as a slur in the contentious, contextual process of being reclaimed. As Aruvi put it to me on Bluesky:

We cannot allow cis people to dictate the discursive and epistemic terms of transfeminine culture. At the same time, the term “hijra” still carries with it heavy baggage due to South Asian transmisogyny as well as the academic misrepresentations and epistemic extractivism that Western scholarship has subjected South Asian transfeminized demographics to.

If you want to know how best to use the term, try to do so without third-sexing, and without promulgating fictive ideas of South Asian cultures being “gender-expansive” and “recognizing more than two genders”. Erasing the marginalization of the hijra is endemic to the way the term is used in the West, and that must absolutely be combatted.

On a final, personal note, I also wish to clearly state that I do not reject the label ‘hijra’ because I consider myself essentially different from them. Many Indian (usually upper-caste) trans women wish to distance themselves from the hijra, as though reproducing our society’s disgust for them will spare them from the same fate. That is not an attitude I share, or wish to normalize. The hijra—both those who affirmatively identify with the term, and those who wish to distance themselves from it—are my sisters.

I have simply not been granted the honor of being part of the communities and kin structures, and I do not wish to appropriate their struggles out of respect. Even still, their struggles are and will always be mine.

[bludragongal]

Are you Ok???? Do you need help???? I saw your posts on bluesky is there anything we can do???

For Context!

For the past year I was working for Ten Speed Press as the artist for an as-of-yet unnanounced graphic novel. In early March, I ultimately decided to fire the client after a history of rude and unprofessional behavior from them throughout the project, culminating in catching them in a lie. I already wasn't being paid a lot for this project; I certainly wasn't being paid enough to put up with this kind of behavior. In addition, I had become aware of just how exploitative some terms of the contract actually were when some experienced individuals had a chance to look at it. So I elected to terminate the project, but the publisher is not letting me go without trying to screw me over one last time on my way out the door.

I can't really go into further detail at this moment, but to actually answer your question: yes, I am okay! I'm just waiting to hear back from some people who are interested in helping me on this matter. It's a Staring Contest and Waiting Game at this time.

If you would like to support me, I am on Patreon. My patrons have supported me financially disproportionately more than these "professionals" at this publishing house have done over the past year.

Sorry for being vague; things are just not yet resolved and going into detail at this time is not advisable.

Thank you for your concern! You are great! Sorry I can't say more.

[suppermariobroth]

Super Mario Galaxy 2 contains an unused music track that is notably in a much earlier state of production than the rest of the soundtrack, using generic MIDI instruments (which would presumably later either be swapped out for more professional samples or the track would be orchestrated outright).

This track has been known since the game's release, as many early unofficial soundtracks have included it under different names despite it not being used in-game (since the soundtracks obtained the files through datamining, without having in-game context for it). However, only much later was it discovered that this track also includes a Yoshi drum version, which is the one playing in this post.

The preview image used for this post is a piece of concept art for Blimp Yoshi for this game.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

[full---ofstarlight]

alt text for some of the rookanis-focused lucanis storyboard art shared by Nick Thornborrow on BlueSky! i think this adds some delicious context hehe

[Alt text:

Four screenshots of text

Lucanis with Spite wings out kissing Rook in the rain. This sketch was meant to portray an intense moment in the midst of going into a battle we don't expect to survive.

An intimate moment between Rook and Lucanis in the hot springs at the Dellamorte Estate.

Lucanis holding Rook in an embrace but looking warily back at Spite's wings protruding from his own back.

Rook and Lucanis having a wholesome (read spicy) experience in a secluded tunnel on a gondola. Lucanis's back is to us and his shirt is half off. Rook is obscured by Lucanis but the two are kissing.

One screenshot of storyboard pics with the text "Don't think for a second I haven't seen your fan art. 👀]

BONUS bc this one just made me laugh

[alt text: Ilario being seduced by I forget her name. But the villain in Lucanis's story. The villain is in a glowing red pool and drawing Ilario towards her who sits on the edge. Lucanis spies in the foreground.'

[doodlebeeberry]

It's OSC gift exchange number 4, baby!!

Thats right folks!!! once again so so excited to host the gift exchange, hopefully itll be yet another fun one! :D

doing things slightly differently this year: if you wanna join you can just fill out this google form! You can also still join by replying/reblogging/dming me with what you'd like if you prefer to do it that way though.

Rules, dates, and details are all under the cut (and also in the form), please read them through fully before joining!!!

Entries close November 28th at midnight (est)!

For those not in the know, the gift exchange is just what is sounds like! Upon joining, you tell me what you like to see in you gift. After, you'll be randomly assigned a giftee, and will make a gift for them based on what they've requested. When the day comes, you'll post your gift and @ the person it's for!

The timeline this year looks like this:

Nov. 7-Nov. 28: Join the gift exchange by filling out this form, dm-ing me, replying, or tagging this post with what you'd like to receive. You can ask for anything--shows, ships, ocs, whatever! Additionally, if there's anything you dont want to see or can't make (ie, ships that make you uncomfortable), you can make a note of that as well

Dec. 1: I'll let you know who you've been assigned and what they'd like! This'll most likely be done through tumblr dms, so if that's an issue do let me know!

Dec. 1-30: You make your gift! This can be anything, from art to writing to music and more! so long as you follow your giftee's request, the possibilities are endless!

Dec. 31: Post your gift, being sure to @ the person its from! Please do not post your gift before this date!!!

Some other things to note:

You can request anything--shows, characters, ships, etc--just please make sure they are osc related! it is an osc gift exchange after all

Asking for OCs is very much allowed, just be sure to provide me with a reference when you join

in regards to things you can't do, please do note that "i haven't seen x show so i wont do it" or "i'll only do requests for x show" are not being treated as valid requests in this context, so i won't guarantee them. also please remember that giftees are assigned randomly.

If your giftee requests more than one thing, you aren't obligated to fulfill all of their requests if you don't want to. Just be sure to do one of them and you're good!

If you need to drop out for any reason, that is completely ok, it happens! just please be sure to let me know ahead of time so I can re-assign your giftee!

On that note, if you have reason to believe you will be unavailable or otherwise unable to post your gift on the 31st, please be sure to tell me so we can work something out! Additionally, if you can't reach out on tumblr (say, your blog gets deleted) you can also poke me on bluesky (@ bumblebeeberry) or discord (thatonegaycat) about it

You can not join anonymously! I just don't think it'd fair to your giftee

While I highly doubt I will need to, I can bar you from participating if I deem it necessary. Again, unlikely, but in the off-chance it does happen I will message you to let you know, pretty please do not yell at me if I do

Not a requirement but when I send you your giftee if you could just let me know you saw the message i would greatly appreciate it!

As per usual I'll be tagging everything with #osc gift exchange, feel free to use it on your gift as well!

That's it! if you have any questions, comments, notes, what have you, please don't hesitate to dm me! :]

[ellana-lavellan-official]

Weekes on Solavellan after Veilguard

I'll be documenting everything they say on bluesky/interviews that may add more context to what we see in a game.

Disclaimer: Personally I'm happy with the ending, but the execution leaves to be desired. Still Weekes replies helped me look at last exchange between Solas and Lavellan in a better light, so hopefully others will find what they look for too.

Question: Does he want to reunite? Is it a choice he makes himself? Lavellan is open and proactive during conversation, but he almost seems resigned. “There is no fate but our love” does he realise he can say no?

Weekes: My intention was that after almost destroying the world, he does not feel he deserves love until he fixes what he did wrong (just like he couldn't move forward until he fixed the wrongs he did in Mythal's service). That's why the Inquisitor has to reach out to him.

Question: Was the nature of that solas/Mythal was more queerplatonic than romantic? And if Solas had to choose between Mythal and Lavellan, with whom might he consider sharing his life or save in the face of great danger?

Weekes: Mythal is Solas's past. Horrible mistakes made with good intentions. Lavellan is the hopeful future Solas doesn't think he deserves until he fixes the world he broke.

Question: Can you share any insights on what was going through Solas's mind after Mythal freed him and before he goes into the Fade with Lavellan?

Weekes: That one I think I need to let sit until it's been a bit longer.

Question: One more question, if you can answer! Was solas under a geas for Mythal?

Weekes: It's a possible reading, but there are plenty of people who made terrible decisions for a charismatic person and then felt like they didn't have a way to go forward. It's a story about regret, and regret requires choices.

[bluesky-out-of-context]

[taylor-titmouse]

I'm Taylor Titmouse, I write and illustrate queer erotica featuring freaks and monsters. I also draw a lot of porn that I can't post here, so those will be posted as crops with links to my various uncensored locations.

You can find my illustrated novellas and artbooks on Itchio. I've published a Lot of them. If you don't know where to start, I recommend the Dragon Double Feature series or Roger Crenshaw, or Spring with the Unicorns--that one's free! I've also written up a guide to all of them here!

Some of my latest releases, try The Long Road if you like gender-based worldbuilding!

You can find the most complete collection of my uncensored art on Patreon and Subscribestar (both are equally served.) I post high resolution art regularly, and everything is neatly organized going back to 2022 (that's longer than I've been posting here!) $5 patrons get access to over 180 exclusive illustrations, and can vote in monthly polls from suggestions made by the $10 tier--who can also commission me at any time with a 10% discount!

Just .05% of the exclusives you unlock by subscribing!

You can also follow me on Twitter or Bluesky, where I post my art uncensored. Below the cut is a list of story tags, which will link you to art and posts about those stories, and provides some context to what they're about. Thanks for checking out my work!

TT Art: my art tag TT Talks Drawing: my tag for talking about the art-making process TT Talks Writing: my tag for talking about the writing process TT Testimonials: my tag for asks reviewing how good my books are :^) TT Asks: my tag for answering asks

Story Tags Barnyard Bound: F/M, human/furry, bondage, breeding kink, Harvest Moon also for some reason. Cherry Brilliant Ryder: M/F, aliens and medical play (The Xenosexuality Conference) Brilliant, Dr. Lindon, Dr. Odonata, Dr. Pinkie, Dr. Menura, Councilman Somato, Zeal-and-Duty Cadogan: Trans masc wizard, fantasy monsters, predicaments and situations. Cadogan, Madog, Myrddin Chique: NB/Various, fantasy monsters, elves, nudism, catch/fuck (The Sunken City, The Wild Woods) Chique, Lien, Lutin, Fuck-elves The Dragon Double Feature: M/F, M/M, M/M/F, dragon/human, oni/human, plus size. Fantasy princess/dragon CNC, Edo era Japan (The Dragon Double Feature, The Dragon Double Feature 2) Eveline, Gundrid, Wakatake/Taki, Kenta, Mrs. Arakawa, Jerund Eternella 7: M/M/M, Gundam-inspired space opera erotica. (Eternella 7 Parts 1-3) Risk, Turn, Engel House Gerhardt: F/F/M, vampires, trans women, femdom, male humiliation, 1800s. Lady Cygnet, Countess Gerhardt, Conrad House of the Risen King: M/F, old god, exhibitionism/nudism, sex cult. (House of the Risen King) Vee, Zihbeh Knight of Thorns: M/F, giant faceless knight/petite princess forced marriage. Rosaline, Knight of Thorns Laurestine: Trans unicorns, monsters, bondage/stuck in situations, catch/fuck (Spring with the Unicorns) Laurestine, Barberry, Mazereon, Edelweiss The Leylic Sea: M/M, historical fantasy, pirates, university wizards (The Captain of the Tybaltine, The Boy from Karkutt) Mr. Todd, Oliver Bullock, Lucas, Mirza The Long Road: Goblins, dwarves, bandits, a princess and a knight. Gangbangs, rope bondage, CNC (The Long Road) Tourmaline, Angre, Vanesse, Samwell, Georgie and Markie (the Twins), Jarett, Bingo, Goblina. Lover Rescue: F/F/Genderfluid, magical girls, monsters, plus size, cam girling. Lover Pink (Momoka), Lover Gold (Hikari), Lover Blue (Aozora), Lord Heteracuto (Hiroto) The Masson Circle: M/M, M/F, 1970s crime romance, multiple ships, femdom, trans male character (The Masson Circle) Ezra, Tessa, Leonard, Lionel/Nell, Jean, Mathieu Max and Mortis: M/F, exhibitionism, naturalism, photography, nudism. Max, Mortis/Daisy Monsterfuck Mountain: Fantasy monsters, WIP erotic CYOA (You're A Mage on Monsterfuck Mountain) The Mage, Trolls The Night Guest: M/F, young man/older woman, oni/human (The Night Guest) Mrs. Arakawa, Tōru Objects of Affection: M/F, F/F, robot girls and people being weird about them. Touma, Shima, Mari-ko, Ratna, Mari Mouse, Samart, Marinette Season's Breedings: Gnomes, Imps, and probably other critters, and their biology/breeding habits. Applecore. The Sleeping Garden: M/Agender, alien, science. Dr. Arbor, The Flower Starbuster: M/M, a WIP novel-length superhero romance. Mitsuo, Tom, Starbuster Roger Crenshaw: Trans M/M, monsters, occultism, early 1900s (The Vampires of New Haven, The Wolves of the West, The Shadow in the Shelves, The Dogs at Duskfall) Roger Crenshaw, Professor Reed, Grigori, Mateo, Johnny, Sweet Nate, Jackie-Ralph, Cam Ellis, George Adler, Combe Hooper. Romick: Evil wizards, obedient doll, magical sex, experimentation kink, dungeon bondage, monster sex (The Tenebrous Tower) Romick, The Doll, Osmund, Vester

[coyoteprince]

If you follow me on bluesky you may of seen this, but I'm posting it here because it means a lot to me.

I could tell he was queer (and probably neurodivergent) from a mile away, and graciously credit PeeWee for giving me the courage to be openly queer, autistic, weird- despite all the pressure to be anything but.

I grew up watching Playhouse, seeing PeeWee as supremely autistic, recognizing him as one of the few people "like me". Being diagnosed as autistic young then getting hit and screamed at daily for it, his TV presence was a great comfort. If could be so openly weird yet loved- why can't I?

Idolization is something I'm careful about, but I still adore him. He has always been my role model. And what he taught me was to be as authentically myself as possible while staying loving to one another.

Remembering how adults talked about him so vitriolicly, assuming he was a predator, a fairy, a pervert has always been annoying. With more context, enraging more than ever. I don't think it was a secret he was queer at all, but with the public mistreatment he got in the 90s after being arrested at an erotic theater by cops looking for an easy arrest, its no wonder he made an attempt to avoid attention of it. I always saw him as an example of being openly weird- yet he was fearful to the end. That's unacceptable. Not of him, but that he (and many like him) were terrorized into that position.

If there's one thing I hope people take away from my own thoughts on this, it's that we need to resistant those who want us silent more than ever. The 90s were a particularly cruel time for the queer community, and its obvious that people in power want to try to dimish our safety. We need to look out for one another, love and be open about ourselves, and fight for our right to exist as we naturally are.

This article genuinely made me so mad on his and our community's behalf that I walked away with the thought "I can never hate myself again". I can't afford to keep doing a bigot's job for them by beating myself down for being different.

None of us can.

[hussyknee]

Courtesy @crutchesandspice

Please view the video directly on TikTok to support the creator.

Follow Imani Barbarian on bluesky, twitter, Instagram

Please understand the context behind this request: a Black disabled woman is asking those who have the privilege, access and capacity to speak MAGA people, who they might listen to because they come from similar backgrounds, to try and understand them and talk to them. She's not demanding that a mentally ill queer person try to argue their humanity with family members who think they should burn in hell. She's talking about those liberals (especially white ones) who are tempted to dehumanise and write off anyone that voted for Trump as an act of political tribalism instead of engaging with why fascism takes hold of ordinary people.

Video description and transcript under the cut.

Video description:

A TikTok of a Black woman with locs speaking in front of a screenshot. The screenshot is of a YouTube video by Ben Shapiro titled "The EVIL Revolutionary Left Cheers Murder!"

Transcript:

Something is happening. Something is definitely happening. And I would be remiss if I didn't talk about this particular funnel into the alt-right that is informing how the alt-right is reacting to this moment right now. [Screen changes to a diagram titled "Right Wing Content Funnels", showing four red funnels that all point down to "The Alt Right". The first three are obscured by TikToker's head, but she's pointing to one that has "Health, Fitness Cures Holistic" over the funnel labelled "Eugenics".]

Because despite Ben Shapiro uploading this video, this was their response. And we'll all do image descriptions for this but yeah. Yeah.

So Ben Shapiro uploaded this video that says "The Evil Revolutionary Left Cheers Murder!" in reference to the United Healthcare CEO being gunned down in midtown Manhattan. But then something happened. (And shout out to Wild Greeters on Bluesky for bringing this up.) [Screen changes to show a post by user Wild Greeters showing screenshotted comments.] But these are the responses to Ben Shapiro on his own video:

"I'm as much right wing as they come. I have as much empathy as he had for those who lost their lives due to not recieving healthcare."

"Sorry Ben but nobody on either side feels sympathy for this man."

"As a long time Ben Shapiro fan buddy, your wealth is showing. It's not a right or left thing."

And that's what encapsulates this moment the most. Let's go over some more responses.

"Deny. Depose. Defend. We don't recognise him."

"Benny this is a non-partisan issue. Please stop trying to constantly divide the country."

"I'm proud of this comment section."

"Idk why you're trying to keep pushing this as a left issue. It's clearly across the board."

"While I don't agree with people celebrating this man's death, I don't believe this is a partisan issue like you're making it out to be. It's not right or left, it's people who have health insurance (it goes on to say)"

"Ben can afford any healthcare out of pocket plus his wife is a physician, must be nice."

And a lot of people have otherwise been flummoxed. I've even seen sentiments like this from liberals. I myself have gotten comments like "I can't believe that the alt right wants to celebrate this, the right is so violent, that's why they voted for that man."

No. No. This is one of the very few times when a majority of people are agreeing on the exact same thing. And it's important to understand how people get into alt right to understand why the left and the alt right are reacting to the very same thing in the very same way.

And it's because of this funnel right here: the "Health, Fitness, Cures, Holistic" into "Eugenics" and then into the "Alt Right". A lot of people can easily brush off why people get into the alt-right. The reality is that a lot of them did not start off with racism and sexism as their ideals, and the things that the left and liberals attribute to why people voted for Donald Trump. The reality is that with fear-mongering, which the right is very skilled at, they take advantage of people's fear of the healthcare system, not necessarily poor health in and of itself. This is why you're just as likely to find people in the alt right in groups on diabetes, cerebral palsy, autism—because the system itself is so terrifying that people will find any alternative to it. That's why they get into eugenics and then into the alt right. Not necessarily because it starts off that way a 100% of the cases, it's because they fear the very system that would allow for somebody like Brian Thompson to deny them care over and over and over again.

And in general, and this is probably a very unpopular opinion, I find it very irresponsible for people to consistently just boil things down to, "well, they're part of the alt right, they're just hateful," because a lot of the times, people don't start off that way. A lot of the times, their desire to go into the alt right starts with fear. And fear over being rejected as part of these very systems.

The issue is though, what the alt right does, is it blames the individual and not the systems because they want the systems to remain in place, or for those systems to get worse so that people they don't like die. Which is why our healthcare system is considered a medical apartheid.

This is also the reason why I'm not really impressed when you cut off your MAGA family members a 100% of the time, right. You share this moment. If you are not talking to them now about healthcare—and be mindful, I'm not saying berate them or argue with them— but this is the one thing you all relate on! Talk about it!

But yeah. I don't want to hear you cut off your MAGA family members now, and then hear from you two years from now asking everybody what we're gonna do. Now's the time! Now is it! Go out there! Go talk to people! Because if everybody is reacting to this moment the same way, now. Is. Your. Chance. Do you hear me? Now's your chance!

End transcript.

[umishiqu]

☀️ “a friend like me” - quick kalim analysis (i lied i thought it was going to be quick but it wasn’t)

a recent compilation by @yuurei20 on twitter and bluesky piqued my interest, so i had to go back into the stories mentioned to see if there’s anything specific on the context of the mentioned situations. warning for book 7 jpn spoilers!

kalim’s definition of “friendship” is explained in book 7 and in previous personal stories (explained later) where he considers others as “friends” if they helpr him, and himself to them if he helps them. if it isn’t noticeable yet, the thematic reason why kalim has such a loose idea of friendship is because it is based on the genie’s idea of friendship. in the genie’s perspective, he is a friend to aladdin (“friend like me”) because he is able to do things for him. after aladdin promises him that he will free him, the genie starts referring to aladdin using casual nicknames that are synonymous with the word “friend” (buddy, pal, etc) (and yes, i did check, it was only ever aladdin’s name or “master” before this promise).

there are a few unique situations that the game touches on and some of it is more obviously written than others.

1. normal (for kalim standards) (emphasis on “for kalim” + a projection onto jamil) friendship-making

this is the situation that we see the most, and it’s mostly based on, again, kalim’s loose standards for what constitutes as a friend or not.

the one in jamil’s ceremony robes is one i wanted to touch base with the most, because although he has a loose definition of friendship for himself, he uses the proper word to describe other people knowing another person (“acquaintance”).

“knowing each other” is the logic that kalim uses to describe acquaintance, which is the correct definition, as he uses the same logic to come to the conclusion that sebek may also know silver. when sebek mentions that he and silver were taught alongside each other by lilia as fellow pupils, kalim mentions that “silver and i are in the same class”. i know it’s a simple way of explaining their friendship, but it’s nice that sebek mentioning that sebek and silver were taught alongside each other got kalim to mention the same context between his friendship with silver (they’re in a class together = taught alongside each other).

it’s here when kalim then starts to suggest that “you and I should be friends too!” meaning that, like silver and kalim, sebek and kalim should be friends as well. this is taken out of the Japanese version of the card, where kalim only mentions that him and silver get along great in class without implying a desire to be friends with sebek. ill explain later why it might have changed. (on a side note, i find it really interesting that kalim was smiling during jamil’s lecture after this until jamil tells him “i keep telling you not to trust new people so easily”, considering that the only one kalim says he trusts is jamil. i might talk about what the differences are in their definitions of trust in another post) (on another side note, kalim mentioning “sebek wasn’t even a spy!” implies that was a possibility he was thinking of).

last thing: kalim says “who cares which dorm he’s from? we know his name and we’ve chatted. that makes us friends! and friends help each other out” to try to convince jamil to help out sebek. I’ve mentioned this a few times in other posts, but kalim’s specific idea of friendship (polished and finetuned by the narrative) is based on reciprocal deeds. these can lead to helping each other out, but initially they don’t always start off that way. this might mean that exchanging words is a reciprocity that kickstarts kalim into treating the other person as a friend. sebek wasn’t an assassin or “even a spy” (aka, ulterior motives, which, to kalim, would mean that the exchange of words and value in those words wouldn’t be reciprocal) (more on this later), so by kalim’s standards, sebek is a friend. however, there is one problem with this interpretation from the story.

there is a time between when kalim says “we should be friends”, which means the idea of being friends with the other person isn’t true presently but could be true later; versus when kalim says “that makes us friends!”. but during this time, kalim and sebek don’t exchange any more words - the conversation happens between solely kalim and jamil, or jamil and sebek. you can go back and see for yourself! this is potentially one of the reasons why the former line was added into the official english translations, because one more thing changes later on.

with this, there is a big implication that kalim was projecting his idea of friendship onto jamil in that moment; he wasn’t describing his friendship with sebek at the time, but jamil’s friendship with sebek. (pronouns in Japanese are vague). jamil should help sebek because he is friends with him, and if jamil won’t go, then kalim will go instead to help jamil out. this is also implied when kalim describing his relationship with sebek uses the term “schoolmates” rather than “friends” to describe himself helping out sebek:

id like to note that the term “schoolmate” isn’t used in the japanese version. kalim doesn’t specifically say a term for what he calls sebek in this moment. again, the original japanese version of the card leaves things vague on who is referring to what. it could be true that they wanted to translate that ambiguity into the official english translation of the card by subtly showing the difference between how kalim wanted to be friends with sebek but didn’t do much after he mentions it to pursue the friendship, and how kalim thinks of sebek as a schoolmate but sees jamil and sebek as friends because they’ve chatted together more than him.

to summarize the logic: kalim would like to be friends with sebek, understands he is just schoolmates with him, but believes that jamil is friends with sebek. unlike when he calls himself sebek’s schoolmate to justify himself helping him out, he persuades jamil to go help sebek because they are friends. if jamil doesn’t go to help, kalim will go instead, because jamil and kalim are friends and kalim should help jamil out if he can’t do something. kalim, later on, understands that he “basically forced jamil to walk him back and all”, so followed after them to make sure they were getting along.

if it helps to add context to his behaviour, kalim sees jamil as a brother, and kalim has a lot of younger siblings. he is practically obsessed with making sure jamil had good relationships with other people (…doesn’t this sound like both of our favourite matchmakers in aladdin) (im talking about the sultan and genie here) (i need to make a compilation of parallels between them and how it’s relevant to kalim’s character). lab coat was also a thing where the main objective of throwing the party for jamil in the beginning was to get him to bond with other people. (good job kalim for understanding that codependency between you and jamil is a problem) (or he’s getting tired of jamil’s own micromanaging lmao). this pops up again in the nbc event when he encourages jamil to make friends with students from other schools. that was potentially his objective here, which is why he then follows the both of them to see if they’re getting along, despite him forcing jamil to go along (and kalim himself acknowledging this).

2. implications of times where his interactions with other people didn’t mean they were interacting as friends (or an initial desire to be friends from kalim’s end)

this is unlike sebek’s situation, where kalim says he wants to be friends with sebek or is implied to want to be friends with sebek but didn’t get a chance to form a proper friendship outright, but understands that he might be able to later on. to my knowledge, this specific situation only ever happened once, and the only time it happened, it’s acknowledged as a thing of the past that kalim would like to change - and is mostly a result of the type of people both Kalim and the other are.

i won’t explain everything because you can deduce for yourself how kalim thinks of riddle, but back to the idea of “friendship” and reciprocity - kalim mentions to riddle that “you don’t have to take everything upon yourself either, you know. if you ever need help, you can always come to me” implying that it is very unlikely for riddle to start the “friendship-making process” by asking for help. when kalim does try to help riddle out by giving him advice, riddle is always against it: “must I stand here and take advice from YOU?!” is a repeated statement from him twice in the same personal story.

conversely, in riddle’s gym story, when kalim does offer to help by offering to be his partner, and gets help from riddle when he forgot his running time, in both instances, riddle reacts rather poorly and kalim notices it/acknowledges it with a small “hm?” from him. i have a summary of kalim’s opinions of riddle based on these two stories lying around in my docs that i need to post, but to be frank, he didn’t consider him as a friend before kalim’s school uniform story. for more proof, back to said school uniform story: kalim runs off after getting his ingredients, but runs back to tell riddle that he should come to the banquet because they’re “both sophomore housewardens, so it’s about time they hung out as friends”. this implies that, although kalim interacted with riddle in situations before this, learnt his name, and chatted, in very few or none of those situations was the context “as friends” to kalim. this further adds to the idea that kalim’s idea of friendship - “we talked and are now friends” - was him encouraging jamil to be friends with sebek by projecting an idea of friendship onto jamil and wasn’t actually an indicator of how he makes friends or sees his relationship with sebek himself.

coming from kalim, not being considered his friend sounds very harsh at first, but you have to remember he naturally doesn’t trust other people and had to make a conscious effort and change to begin trusting others enough to not scare himself at the dinner table. and this only came about because he actively worked on detecting poisons himself. and even with this, he still hates eating by himself.

speaking of, this is exactly what the game tries to emphasize in the same story when kalim, rather rudely than normal when it comes to denying food from other people, tells riddle not to bother with bringing food to the banquet. even though they can start hanging out as friends, they initially come from a place where they didn’t, so kalim still can’t trust whether the food riddle brings will be poisoned or not. but riddle, who didn’t catch the initial “ooc moment”, or the second one for that matter, also didn’t catch this conclusion. the conclusion he did catch is only what the readers at the time needed to know - that kalim was possibly poisoned. it’s framed this way (narrative-wise) for both the readers who look into kalim’s character - which at this point, would be none at all considering this is his very first card - and for new readers. which is incredibly perfect writing and i wish the events and newer stories would try to do some of this when balancing out “new readers who didn’t experience main story vs old veterans”, especially when it comes to scarabia… anyway, expanding on the former idea, it’s like a lot of kalim things where it’s encouraged by the narrative to look back at these moments in hindsight to understand it (aka every single one of his lucky breaks in events where something he did previously led to a lucky moment in the end).

this card is probably one of the purest instances where, although kalim treats someone as a friend, he still keeps an arm’s length emotional distance from them. his idea of friendship is very loose, but doesn’t necessarily mean - or maybe because it doesn’t necessarily mean - he regards everything the other does with utmost faith and trust. he’s positive, yes, but just like the development of his relationship with riddle, it wasn’t always that way. to a certain degree, describing him solely with his positive and generous nature when it comes to his idea of friendship still might not be entirely accurate either.

3. being told who he becomes friends with

the situation of “becoming” friends with fellow and gidel is an interesting situation because it was influenced by the people around him. before the group agreed to a temporary truce to help fellow out (again, back to the idea of “helping each other out” as a key standard for Kalim’s general standards of friendship), kalim then says that he’s always wanted to be friends with fellow and gidel. this implies a similar situation like sebek’s, where kalim recognizes a desire to be friends with someone, but never really got the chance to in full. you can tell when this is the case vs when it’s not depending on the vocabulary and terms kalim uses, which is why this is different from riddle’s situation, where this wasn’t vocalized in their conversation with each other.

i don’t have much to say on this one, but it is a thing that happened! so it’s important to mention. he didn’t actively start thinking of fellow and gidel as friends until this truce was made and approved by other people, which is a different situation in general. a lot of the other times we see kalim refer to someone as friends either 1. makes sense for his character, or 2. projects his idea of friendship onto someone else.

i hope this (supposed to be short but is now long) post made it a little easier to understand kalim! if i missed any other special situations let me know :D