#commit and commodify

[mafaldaknows]

Kylie and timothe are allegedly getting married next year. Now tell me how is thios PR and how he's still getting his cherry popped by Armie Haammer. And I want a logical explaination, not some cult guru shit about believing in love and all that nonsense.

Hello, Anon:

Let’s stop for a moment and consider what the word “allegedly” means.

It seems to me that an unfortunate by-product of our social media culture is that people conflate allegations with facts, to the point that all anyone has to do these days to make something true in many people’s minds is simply to say it somewhere on the internet. It doesn’t even have to be “official”.

Allegations are not facts. Speculation is not confirmation. Hypotheses are theoretical. None of these things assumes itself as the truth, but merely introduces a starting point for further discussion or investigation in order to discover the truth about something.

So why bother to come to my inbox to ask me what I think about something that you already seem to think is true? It seems to me that you don’t need my validation. And don’t worry, Anon. I’ll spare you the cult guru shit about love.

Because what’s love got to do with it?

It takes at least two years for people to stop being on their best behavior around their romantic partners, so making a lifelong commitment to love, honor, and cherish someone in less time than that is a serious gamble, and seems highly unlikely in this case, assuming that at least one of them still has functional critical thinking skills, and isn’t in the habit of setting their life on fire without first contemplating the consequences, as most reasonable grown adults do, especially when making such a major, life-altering decision like getting married to someone they barely know.

What’s ironic to me, Anon, is that if you wanted me to agree with you, this would be a good spot to give you some cult guru shit about love. Because I believe that there are some people who know right away that they’ll love someone for the rest of their lives. But they tend not to need a team of managers and publicists, and constant, chronic, random no-one-asked-for-it-but-here-it-is-anyway press attention to prove it to everyone on the internet, in order to seal the deal. Lovers just love, no press required.

They only just allegedly met this spring. One year’s time is most likely not enough time for them to know if they’re suitable life partners for each other, if they intend to stay married, especially if they’re not even “official in private” and only “casual” at this moment in time, depending on how their insider source is feeling that day, depending on which way the wind blows, even when no one asked. It might be helpful for someone on their PR teams to keep track of what their insider source is telling the media on an hourly basis on an excel spreadsheet or something so they’re at least all on the same sheet of bullshit.

If it happens, then mazel tov to the happy couple, and let’s hope there’s a prenup, to keep things simple when if it falls apart.

As for popping a cherry, that’s a one-shot deal. Once in a lifetime. You might want to brush up on your idioms, Anon. 💥🍒💥

However T & A chose to define their connection to each other is no one’s business but their own. I’ve said this time and again. And who T sleeps with is also none of my business.

How T chooses to share his business that’s nobody’s business like nobody’s business is the larger issue, imho. The fact that T&K’s presence together has become ubiquitous in the media has now made it my business, like it or not.

Selling their relationship seems to be the point, and that’s the part I struggle with. It’s difficult to see the truth of their alleged love story when it’s so deeply embedded within such an obvious PR sales pitch. Even if they’re madly in love, that doesn’t change the fact that they’re also using each other as a means to an end. Famous people marry each other all the time without ever having to ask one to commodify themselves for the sake of elevating the other’s image.

Unlike some other relationships, however, T &A do not make it their business to make it our business to know their business, every damn day, for months on end. So I have no idea about the status of their relationship; romantic, platonic, doesn’t matter to me, Anon. But I can still be hopeful and watch for signs, with both my feet firmly rooted in reality.

Only time or Tim will tell.

Thanks for your question. ❤️🧿☺️🍒👀

[bidokja]

I was joking a while back that the actor they have playing KDJ for the orv movie was too handsome for him and a friend who's read orv was like "KDJ is actually secretly attractive!!" And I just felt my soul leave my body right then

SIGHS...

Okay. Buckle in. I'm gonna finally actually address and explain and theorize about this whole...thing.

I'm not gonna cite any exact chapters cause it's like 11:30 and I've got an 8 hour drive in the morning but I'll at least make an approximate reference to where certain things are mentioned. Also, this post is just my personal interpretation for a good bit of it, but it's an interpretation I feel very solid about, so do with that what you will. Moving on to the meat of things:

There is one (1) instance in the web novel that I know of which describes specific features of Kim Dokja (especially ones other people notice). This takes place when members of KimCom are trying to make Kim Dokja presentable to give his speech at the Industrial Complex (after it's been plopped down on Earth). This is when they start really paying attention and focusing on Kim Dokja's appearance since they're putting makeup on him; I still don't think they can interpret his whole face, but they can accurately pick out and retain more features than usual. If I remember correctly they reference him having long eyelashes, smooth skin, and soft hair. These features can be viewed as (stereotypically) attractive.

Certain parts of the fandom have taken this scene and run with it at a very surface level, without realizing (or without acknowledging at the very least) that this scene is not about how Kim Dokja looks. This is, in part, due to not realizing or acknowledging why Kim Dokja's face is "censored" in the first place, and what that censoring actually means. I think it's also possible that some people are assuming the censorship works like a physical phenomena rather than an altered perception.

I'll address that last point first. The censorship of Kim Dokja's features is not something as simple as a physical phenomena. It's not a bar or scribble or mosaic over his face. If that were true it'd be very obvious to anyone looking at him that his face is hidden. But his face is not hidden to people. They can look at him and see a face. If they concentrate on his eyes, they can see where he's looking. They know when he's frowning or grinning. They see a face loud and clear. But what face are they seeing? Because it's not really his, whatever they're seeing.

No one quite agrees on what he really looks like. And if they try and think about what he looks like, they can't recall. Or if they do, it's vague, or different each time. We notice these little details throughout the series. Basically, Kim Dokja's face is cognitively obscured. Something - likely the Fourth Wall, though I can't recall if this is ever stated outright - is interfering with everyone's ability to perceive him properly. This culminated in him feeling off to others; and since they don't even realize this is happening, they surmise that he is "ugly."

Moving on to the other point about what the censorship means: To be blunt, the censorship of his face is an allegory for his disconnect from the "story" (aka: real life, and the real people at his side). The lifting - however slight - of this censorship represents him becoming more and more a part of the "story" (aka: less disconnected from the life he is living and the people at his side). The censorship's existence and lifting can represent other things - like dissociation or depersonalization or, if you want to get really meta, the fact that he is all of our faces at once - but that's how I'd sum up the main premise of it. (The Fourth Wall is a larger part of the dissociation allegory, but that's for another post).

So you see, them noticing his individual features isn't about the features. It's not about the features! It doesn't matter at all which features got listed. Because they could describe any features whatsoever and it would not change the entire point of the scene. Because the point isn't what he looks like. The point is that they can truly and clearly see these features. For the first time. They are seeing parts of him for the first time. Re-read that sentence multiple times, literally and metaphorically. What does it mean to see someone as they are?

This is an extremely significant turning point dressed up as a dress-up scene.

---

P.S. / Additionally, I'm of the opinion that Kim Dokja is not handsome, and he is not ugly. He is not pretty, and he is not ghastly. Not attractive, nor unattractive. Kim Dokja isn't any of these things. More importantly, Kim Dokja can't be any of these things. The entire point of Kim Dokja is that you cannot pick him out of a crowd; he is the crowd. He's a reader. He's the reader. Why does he need to be handsome? Why must he be pretty? Why is him being attractive necessary or relevant? He doesn't, he doesn't, it's not. He is someone deeply deeply loved and irreplaceable to those around him, and someone who cannot even begin to recognize or accept that unless it's through a love letter masquerading as a story he can read. He is the crowd, a reader, the reader. He's you, he's me. He's every single one of us.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

it’s so fucked to me that people will use fucking war crimes as an excuse to spread bigotry like. imagine seeing the suffering of innocents and using that to spread bigoted propaganda. it has nothing to do with a whole group of people being inherently evil or vile solely down to religious and cultural differences- that dehumanisation is what leads to the war crimes against innocent civilians. antisemitism is vile and it’s horrific to me that bigots will use outrage and horror at a very real humanitarian crisis and demonise a whole group of people when not only is that obviously evil but it’s also just breeding the same sort of dehumanising sentiment that allows the war crimes in palestine to continue.

[roachalk]

I have so many thoughts about Hera's characterisation in KAOS, and at first I was really icked out and disappointed by it but now I'm seeing the brilliance of it.

Dumping some first unstructured thoughts here because I really have A LOT but not enough time to get it all down now.

SPOILERS FOR KAOS BELOW

First off, Hera is the goddess of marriage, women, family and protection of women in childbirth. First episode we are confronted with an unhappy marriage: Riddy and Orpheus. She is his muse, he loves her but doesn't truly know her - it's not a union of mutual love anymore. People fall out of love all the time, and marriage isn't always meant to last. Riddy's mother abandoned her at a young age to serve Hera as a tacita, and her tongue was cut out (in an abstract way this can be seen as NOT protecting women even though it is not in childbirth but it is after childbirth and was also witnessed by Riddy as a child).

Riddy's story in the first episode undermines everything Hera stands for, AND her prophecy is the same as Zeus' (!!!).

ALSO in her marriage to Orpheus she is his muse, she is commodified to bolster his career (not dissing Orpheus here, he's a good guy but he has a job and he is using her as inspiration despite her expressing her discomfort, he really really loves her but the more I think on it he loves her as a muse and doesn't see her soul).

To pivot back to Hera's characterisation: she is not the goddess of love, but marriage and family, which speak of COMMITMENT. Specifically of commitment to the societal structures that preserve ORDER. Zeus is losing it and is now a threat to that order. Why would she have an affair with Poseidon? He has a cooler head and his devotion to her allows her to leverage him as an ally in her purpose to preserve the current order: the reign of the gods above humans.

"You're the king, but I am the queen."

"Power is delegation."

Then there is the royal family: Ari's commitment to her family never breaks, but in contrast to Hera's commitment founded on order and preservation, it is a commitment founded on LOVE (this also helps explain Dionysus' attraction to her because he loves love). She loves her father Minos until she learns of what he did to Glaucus, and why did he do it? To serve the gods, aligned to Hera's purpose and interests. Ari's actions (killing Minos) are guided by love which then amends her lifelong emotional estrangement and hostile relationship with her mother Pas, who immediately recognises the validity of Ari's killing of Minos. To them both, in this scene the value and sanctity of family is not in its function as a unit providing order and structure to the hierarchies of society, but as a place of love. Granted Pas wasn't a loving mother to Ari, but (not excusing her just analysing) she was never over her grief and blamed Ari, irrationally blamed her for the death of Glaucus and for anyone familiar with Jungian archetypes and shadows, what is the inverse of love and forgiveness? Hate and resentment. Pas as a flawed human never did the psychological/internal/soul work she should have done to be a good mother for Ari, but Ari's perseverance and actions in alignment to her own values based on truth and love not only helped her own progression in her journey toward her prophecy but also helped Pas' own healing toward love and forgiveness (this is making me so emotional rn omfg).

And Caeneus, who for 10 years in the Underworld waited to see his mum come through to confront her about his murder. Their family is also based on love, but divine destiny ruptured it. Then at the very end it his love for her despite his long struggle trying to understand her betrayal, his obsession with obtaining closure from her, in the Nothing his love is so great he unlocked a power not even Hades could do - bringing a soul back.

I feel this show was very intentional in its warping of Hera's characterisation because it is a commentary on what she stands for in society today. Marriage and family in capitalism are tools for the preservation of power, the protection of private property, to maintain the social order necessary for capitalism to continue. Do I think the show was trying to go for an anti-capitalist critique? No, at least not overtly or consciously, but so far in my reflections I see that is what is happening and as a commie that makes me a big fan.

[kaiderlou]

Taking Back Your Brain: tips from a medical student

I have a confession to make: I am incredibly terrible at looking up from my phone and engaging in real life. Like bad bad. Like I struggle to get through a lecture without getting on tiktok bad. So here are all the things I'm plotting and planning to take back my brain from the greedy fingers of tech billionaires who have commodified my attention span--hopefully some of this will help you too!

1. Recognizing WHY I'm reaching for my phone as much as I am

the hidden truth behind our declining attention spans : This video really helped me reframe the way I think of my reliance on social media. I encourage watching it, but if you don't have the time, here's the breakdown:

We live in a world that is designed to distract us. Media and tech as a whole have gotten continuously better at grabbing our attention. It grows their platform, it makes them money, and they are investing money into research to invent new tactics to distract us.

What cues us to reach for our phones? Leonie shares in her video that she does so whenever she has a negative thought, and I agree. The nature of short form content promises quick distraction without having to commit to a long holiday from whatever task is at hand (though it always ends up happening). I'm working on confronting whatever uncomfortable thing is prompting me to reach for my phone, rather than giving in and creating a cycle of dependence.

2. Utilizing zones

Designate zones for each different "mode" of life. Don't shit where you eat and don't work where you sleep. Have a space for studying, socializing, sleeping/leisure, etc. and don't mix them. This prevents you from mixing cues. When you're in your work zone, it signals to your brain that it's time to go into work mode, making it easier to focus.

This is the idea behind sleep hygiene too! Keeping your room or even just your bed reserved only for sleep means that when you enter that zone, it cues your brain that it's time for sleep.

3. Mindfulness practices

There is very little I resent more than being told as a busy student that the reason I'm burnt out is because I don't practice mindfulness (it's definitely not because the system is rigorous and asks too much of us, right????) but unfortunately, they might be right.

Mindfulness helps pull you out of the muck of what's happening inside your head and into the present moment. It has been so helpful with pulling me out of my anxiety and makes me feel like I'm actually living my life, rather than avoiding it. Instead of diving headfirst into my phone or maladaptive thinking, I'm grounded in the reality of the present moment.

In the same vein, feel your feelings. It can be uncomfortable, but running from them only works for so long. It takes more and more energy to avoid them until something finally gives. Feel the sensation in your body, be aware of it, then let it pass. Getting comfortable with doing this will eventually replace the avoidance tactics you've picked up, like endless scrolling.

4. Fill your free time with productive things

This doesn't mean don't rest. Rest is productive. But you have to actually rest and do things that are regenerative, not doomscroll.

Take the time to grow in ways that interest you. Do things for your body, mind, and soul. For instance, I like lifting weights, reading/watching video essays/seeing movies on topics I'm curious about, topics that make me think (balanced by fluffy books that DON'T make me think), and praying/reading my Bible. Growth is good for you, your brain wasn't made to be stagnant.

5. Be kind to yourself and your brain

Sometimes kindness looks like cutting yourself some slack, but sometimes it's having the discipline to do something now so you aren't kicking yourself down the line. This is the biggest principle that I live by and it helps me reframe doing the hard things. The hard things have to be done regardless, it's just a matter of under what circumstances. Wouldn't you rather do them when they're easier than when you're fueled by panic? Take care of future you

Anyways, these are the things I'm going to be focusing on with my dedicated STEP 1 study period fast approaching <3

[trans-axolotl]

"Disability justice is a requisite for abolition because carceral systems medicalize, pathologize, criminalize, and commodify survival, divergence, and resistance. The past and present connections between disability and all forms of carceral violence are overt and overwhelming. Disabled/neurodivergent people comprise just 26% of the united states population — but represent up to half of the people killed by police, over 50% of the incarcerated adult prison population, up to 85% of the incarcerated youth population, and a significant number of those incarcerated in medicalized carceral spaces like nursing facilities, group facilities, and civil commitment, “treatment” facilities, and “hospitals.” Whether under the pretense of “care” or “corrections,” disabled people are highly represented in all carceral populations. History explains this phenomenon.

The united states government and corporations have always used constructed ideas around disability and criminality alongside constructed ideas about class and race to classify, criminalize, cage, and disappear its “undesirables.” In this way, those in positions of power maintain the white supremacist status quo and create an exploitable labor pool while sowing discord within and across marginalized communities."

By Talila "TL" Lewis, in "Disability Justice Is an Essential Part of Abolishing Police and Prisons"

[cyarsk52-20]

“Slave music” “Harriet Tubman music” and now unc music??? Our culture is getting disrespected with racist shit and niggas is cool with it, we are cooked. 2025 better be the year you don’t allow any more yt people into black culture. Be a keeper of the gate.

Unc music, slavery music, Harriet tubman music and more ???? This whole week has been very insulting and I’m heated

HEWS Just say you don’t like black people respectfully… coz it’s getting so weird

WHITE MEN ruin nations & cultures bc the love power & hate consequences

*they… I’m so serious & it’s exhausting to live w The internal colonizer is always bubbling to the surface thru their decision making, their actions & their tantrums If Wm are sad the world suffers

If Wm are lonely, women suffer They take & abuse w impunity And we SUFFER

BlkAmericans, they hate Us cos they ain’t Us We’ve had to build ourselves up from nothing,

OurCulture dominates & feeds the world Be wary of ANYONE & ANYTHING that attempts to make you feel ashamed or inferior

WE ARE THE FUKIN BLUEPRINT OF THE WORLD & THEY HATE US FOR IT

They can't break us. And for that reason they will never stop hating us.

It’s the perpetual attempt at BREAKING us

BLKAMERICANS GATEKEEP EVERYTHING you hold dear. I mean everything. Don’t even trust a white friend the keys to your language.

BlkPpl you are Special

BlkPpl you are Deserving

BlkPpl you are LOVED

Your Culture, Style, Ambition, Magic… YOU ARE SKYDUST, Shining Bright Even in the darkest times,

you SHINE Never forget WHO & WHAT you are

B4 you were hated you were ENVIED, STUDIED & COPIED Remember You

Remember your power

Remember your duty to yourself

Your LIFE is as valuable as anyone’s

Your POWER is innate & infinite

Your LIGHT leads nations

Don’t be mislead by the narrative they try to feed you

I wish I could show you how valued & revered you are around the WORLD, cause you deserve to be valued and revered and loved

Like black ppl especially bw including me are EEEEEVVVRRRRRYTHIIIINNNGG!

Ima tell yall every fukin day until I can’t no more BLKAMERICANS YOU ARE THEM !!!!

They can’t make an argument or point w o including BlkPpl are a benchmark or alternative

You see it everyday… somebody using BlkPpl to exalt themselves, their respective womEn or lives BlkPpl minding our business

and here yall come w noise

you can’t stand the fact that WE’RE EVERRYYYTHIIINNNGGG

BlkPpl of 🇺🇸 secure your passports !!!

There isn’t a country on the planet w internet that don’t have somebody “rapping” in their native tongue

There isn’t a culture on the planet w internet that isn’t borrowing from TheCulture of BlkAmericans

They dress like us

Try to talk like us

Try to dance like us

WE ARE

There isn’t another Culture on the PLANET more copied, bastardized, commodified, studied or denied

If you’re not PROUD you’re LACKING

Stand up

Stay up

Show up

Step up

These next four (?) years,

spend it building from within

Block out the noise

RESIST the bait

DENY them access to your power

REFUSE to take the bait or teach a lesson

Your time & work are VALUABLE

NO MORE FREE LABOR to ANYONE

Unc Music, He is a valued member of TheCulture, he grilling & DJ’ing

SlaveryMusic, protest music a BUILDING BLOCK of any AMERICAN MUSIC

Harriet Tubman Music, pls be so ffr I’m not finna be me embarrassed to be associated w THE GENERAL

Y’all can be triggered Ima stand w TheAncestors

WHITENESS IS A LIE and a CRUTCH. It’s no different than Satanism. The color white does not necessarily mean purity, and the color black does not necessarily mean evil.

I am a living, breathing MIRACLE Thank you, Ancestors for your sacrifice, strength, foresight, wisdom & bravery I accomplished things that you have dreamed about and planning on things that you would be proud of seeing me doing

I don’t care what yall decide to do w the Party You’ve been plotting for years

WHITENESS on both sides hates BlkPpl & ESPECIALLY BlkWomn

so yall got it

I canceled all donations & all volunteer commitments

I’ll be using those funds & energy for BlkPpl & I’m so excited about it.

I don’t trust any other race unless they earn it. There’s no such thing as free support anymore. Respect must be earned as much as it is given.

GATEKEEP BLK🇺🇸CULTURE

GATE KEEP BLK🇺🇸DANCE

GATEKEEP AAVE

DO NOT ARGUE OR EXPLAIN with them nigpenes or hews especially HEWS

IGNORE & BLOCK

GATEKEEP EVERYBITOFBLKNESS from your head to your toes

New Year’s resolution for 2025 and onwards : NO MORE COOKOUT INVITES FOR EVERYONE. ESPECIALLY FOR YT PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO RESPECT FOR BLACK PPL AND THE CULTURE.

ALL PASSES CANCELLED FOR LIFE

ALL PERMISSIONS REVOKED FOR LIFE.

GATE-KEEP THE CULTURE 4 SURVIVAL

Blk🇺🇸ns, how are you GATEKEEPING TheCulture today?

[jesncin]

Have you read/heard of the two DC Graphic novels, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star and Bad Dream: a Dreamer Story? (PS: If DC ever let you 2 do a graphic novel I would probably buy a million copies and never shut up about it adhksks)

I have heard of both Galaxy: The Prettiest Star (because Lunar Boy's been compared to it!) and Bad Dream: a Dreamer's Story (because Lunar Boy was on a Queer Books To Read in 2024 list with it!) and I'd love to read both!

Oh man!! Their MG/YA graphic novel imprint is so interesting to me, and probably the best fit for my writing and art style. I'm still probably not an exact match for DC overall but if I were to pitch something to that line (if you'll entertain me being a pitch salesman for a moment!):

I know people probably want me to do a Superman & Lois graphic novel, but with Smashes the Klan and Girl Taking Over, I'm sure Lois Liando would be a hard sell as it is! Not a bad thing, since both graphic novels are already excellent with great creatives attached!

Supersons MG graphic novel that focuses on both boys struggling with school life as a background supervillain plot looms. There's already a Supersons (behated) graphic novel so I'm sure I wouldn't be given this but I'd love a Supersons story that focuses on slice of life more, especially exploring both Damian and Jon's backgrounds as kids of the diaspora.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER MG/YA graphic novel give me either MG or YA I'm flexible!! If I'm not trusted with big-name characters, give me the obscure blorbo. Smashes the Klan committed to the portrayal of Superman as an immigrant, I want a graphic novel that portrays J'onn and Ma'al as first gen immigrants too! But unlike Superman, they don't pass as human and have far more othering alien customs. I can either give the twins space adventures or culture shock adventures on Earth. All while they're hunted by some martian bounty hunter! Would love to team up with a Black deaf creative for this. Martian deserves a good book,,,

Conner Superboy YA graphic novel ! Re-contextualize the 90s run's themes of superhero child celebrity shenanigans into a contemporary context that teens can relate to. Influencer culture, the way identities are sectioned off and commodified in the capitalism machine, Livewire as the reactionary villain with her own youtube channel/podcast, Conner going to school and NOT getting yanked out of it constantly! So much potential to refresh his cast for the modern age. Would also love to team up with a Black creative for this!!

Stay with me. John Constantine MG graphic novel. I know there's already a YA graphic novel (that isn't particularly beloved) but listen. Send young 12 year old Constantine to a haunted boarding school with an occult conspiracy mystery at the center of it. Imagine the vibes of Gotham Academy with the energy of Goosebumps meets the tone of Series of Unfortunate Events. Who is the golden child who haunts Constantine?? What is this mysterious backstory he has?? How will he upset his newfound school friends this time?? It's tragic you should look away,,,look away,,,

SO IF ANY OF THOSE SOUND INTERESTING, DC, HIT ME UP lmao. I'm often told "DC should pick you guys up" and that's always flattering! I have complicated feelings about what it would mean as a fanartist to get picked up, and the possible red tape that means for me interacting with fandom (that I've grown to love), but hey. We can have fun and imagine an Elseworld where I got picked up!

[stillness138]

vincent van gogh has become the male marilyn monroe the way people just en masse misuse his image (that pop culture and capitalism have utterly commodified) and completely dismiss the hardships he went through while alive. we all gawk at the starry night and attach it to messages of how all it takes is will and work and conveniently ignore how the man lived in poverty and severe mental health struggles until he committed suicide at the age of 37

[jalwyn21]

unrelated but your latest post (joe, email thing) — it kinda takes me back to when joe did that times magazine article and simply said he’s not gonna spill anything about what happened between them and it’s only that it’s a long, loving, fully committed relationship, but somehow some swifties on twitter responded to that article by saying he’s… bashing her? like somehow blaming her for their break up? and quip on TS & Travis’ public relationship? like idk why they make that conclusion but it was ??? because if they have good comprehension skills, they knew he never meant anything like that lol. it’s just him saying to the journalist “no, me & TS’ relationship details is strictly just for me & TS” HAHAHAH…. but i’m kinda happy the general public response was “whoa he’s very sane no wonder they didnt work out” LOL 😭😭😭

Exactly. He never changed. He just doubled down on what he always said. My personal life is private. 🤷‍♀️ Joe Alwyn for the Times: "it was never something to commodify...I see no reason to change that now".

The problem is that she changed. So now him not changing feels like an attack on her and tk. But it's not. It's just who Joe is.

[librarycards]

Nevertheless, the fact that some vegans can be annoying, misguided, or worse, is not a reason for people on the left to dismiss the question of animal liberation or to grant some of the world’s largest corporations a free pass. (If being annoying were the litmus test for leftists, we’d have a small cohort indeed.) In addition to relentlessly critiquing and combating objectionable business practices, we believe that feminists and anti-capitalists have a duty to ask an even more profound question: What grounds our species’ right to commodify and dispossess other sentient beings? What gives our species the right to violently exploit another animal’s sexual and reproductive capacities in the service of capital?

[...]

[W]e see veganism as “an act of the imagination,” a beginning and not an end in itself. It is an aspirational category, an acknowledgement of values that cannot be fully manifested in the world as it currently exists. Refusing to consume animal products is not an act of negation, but a proactive commitment to working to usher in a more emancipatory, egalitarian, and ecologically sustainable society. This process of structural transformation can be aided by a shift in self-understanding. Identifying with other creatures — recognizing Gunda and her piglets as fellow creatures not commodities — while still honoring our myriad differences, is one way to challenge capitalism’s perennial politics of divide and conquer.

Astra & Sunaura Taylor, Our Animals, Ourselves: The Socialist Feminist Case for Animal Liberation.

[ladyofthenoodle]

noodles your ask box doesn't like me it won't let me copy-paste 500 words (it kept cutting me off at like 100 or something?!) so for the director's cut ask game i will simply say any 500 words from "wax lips to wax lips" will do

picking the most unhinged section possible:

“The wax is nearly as hot as skin,” Marinette continues, oblivious to Adrien’s impending cardiac event. And then she… sniffs his neck? Adrien struggles to stop himself from cringing. While he knows his skin is flawlessly smooth and will hold up to close inspection, he is pretty self-conscious about his smell, thanks to Plagg’s Camembert habit. “It even smells exactly like him...!” Well, at least she doesn’t sound disgusted? Maybe the Camembert scent isn’t as strong as he feared. Or Marinette really likes the smell of Camembert, which would be weird, because Marinette smells way better than any cheese. Not that he spends a lot of time smelling Marinette! But, well, she’d been standing close when she caressed his cheek, and he may have… noticed the way she smells like fresh-baked bread and something sweetly floral. She starts moving again, and he quickly schools his face back into his model-stare��an expression that gets harder to maintain as she begins monologuing.  “Oh, beautiful statue of Adrien, your wax is so soft! ” she dramatizes, gesturing boldly as she speaks. Once again, her fingers stroke his cheek, and Adrien wonders if the goosebumps on his skin will give him away.  “Your yak hair is silky, ” she continues, and this time he can’t stop his eye from twinging at the sharp, sudden pain at his scalp. Did she just… pluck his hair out with her fingers? It occurs to him that pretending to be a wax statue may have been a flawed plan. But he’s committed to it, and it’s too late to back out now. Hopefully she doesn’t take any more hair. His father would probably start charging her.

because of course the biggest challenge of writing this fic is how to include marinette literally plucking out adrien's hair as part of what shifted his feelings towards her.

but the thing about embarassing yourself is that most of the time, people are more worried about what they themselves are doing than what you're doing. marinette sniffs him? well, adrien's not thinking about how weird that is, because he's worried about whether he smells bad.

marinette plucks out his hair? okay, kinda painful, but adrien's used to parts of his body being commodified. after all, they're at the wax museum because someone stole wax adrien's whole arm, so really, he's probably just grateful marinette didn't want any limbs 😂

thanks for the ask!!

wax lips to wax lips for the director's cut ask game

[catdotjpeg]

Yesterday (6/7 Dec) kayakers were able to successfully prevent the ZIM/ZIM Partnered ships from departing the dock for the day. Photos from Whistleblowers, Activists, and Communities Alliance (WACA).

Their media release, sent out while the action was taking place, reads: 

A group of activists in kayaks has blocked the path of multiple container ships attempting to depart the Port of Melbourne this afternoon.  The ships, the Dax, the Vanessa, and the Star, are currently unable to pass the protestors flotilla of around 40 vessels, which has created a line across the Yarra near the West Gate Bridge. The kayakers held Palestinian flags and were joined by a group of protestors onshore. The three ships are currently operating on ‘partner voyage’ arrangements with the israeli company ZIM. The Dax is owned by Contships Management Inc, and the Vanessa and Star are operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, who in September expanded their partnership agreement with ZIM to include further vessel sharing.  Shams Moussa, a Palestinian activist, had this to say: “Australian politicians have Palestinian blood on their hands. Weapons and parts manufactured in Australia are shipped to israel using companies like Zim to commit evil acts of genocide, land theft and ethnic cleansing. Children have lost their families and homes, happiness has been bombed and burned. Yet, with each loss, a seed of resistance is planted, a determination to liberate and seek justice, that is the true Palestinian spirit.”  Anna Angel, a Registered Emergency Nurse, said: “As a nurse, I have an ethical responsibility to denounce israel’s war crimes past and present. israel is targeting hospitals filled with nurses, doctors, healthcare workers and patients.  ZIM and their partners Contship and MSC directly profit from the multi-trillion weapons trade that commodifies this loss of life, creating devastating impacts on human rights and on health outcomes.”  Another protestor onshore, Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg, said: “As a Jewish educator, I applaud those taking action against the occupation. ZIM has a well-documented history of shipping weapons to israel. Targeting these ships costs israel money and, in tandem with actions all over the world, makes the occupation less viable.  This has been a successful strategy in ending apartheid in South Africa. In recent months ZIM’s CEO Eli Glickman has pledged the use of the company’s ships and infrastructure to support the israeli government, with israeli security touted as the company’s ‘top priority.’” 

[akolnoix]

I've been following for a bit and I was wondering about your p4 au(?)/rewrite that you have going on honestly seeing you p4 posting has been making me think about it a lot more recently. Also you have a lovely art style!

thank you! it's honestly nothing very concrete, just an assortment of musings that i play around with in my mind for fun... might as well post some of my ramblings (apologies that it's long and a mess)

-im kinda obsessed with trying to make accomplice ending work? the ending itself in p4g is pretty great (seeing the "yu has forged a bond that cannot be broken" text you get for max social link is sooooo good) and fits thematically, it's just that it has like NO proper buildup to it to make it feel even remotely plausible.

so i'm thinking you'd have to really go out of your way to get it. like in addition to maxing out adachi's SL, you can't advance any other characters' SL past like rank 3 or something early on, and you have to select certain dialogue options (like the original game has so many mean/detached responses you can pick to be a dickhead lol), you have to refuse optional hangouts with your friends. and Then you have to choose to not reveal him. so through consistently refusing to truly connect with/care about the people around you, the protag can somewhat reach a similar worldview to adachi, and conceivably relate to him.

-izanami brings up the tv world also being a product of outside perception, but the actual implementation of it in the game feels messy and often like it's just there as a way to give reason for the shadows desiring transgressive things for shock value without committing to them being real aspects of the characters (like, how kanji's shadow is extremely stereotypically gay not just in mannerisms but in overtly showing interest in men, but in kanji's acceptance+future appearances they make sure to assert that the real kanji is not actually gay)

so i've been kinda toying with the idea that instead of the shadows as presented in p4, there would be like multiple fractured shadows in conflict? like i think it would be neat to play more off the tension between how the characters are perceived by the town vs their repressed selves, idk

-i've been turning naoto's arc around in my head a lot over the years... like the easiest thing to do would be transplant the existing (attempted) narrative to a trans woman naoto. but i also want to do right by canon naoto, who sees himself as a man, desires to be one, only gives up on that because he believes he can't become one, and gets treated like dogshit by the narrative for it. so lately i've drifted to the harder challenge of working out the logistics to make a satisfying+believable arc for trans man naoto. i've got concepts but i don't have enough worked out in this regard yet to talk about here.

-im autistic and rise has always read as such to me, so i'm being self-indulgent and making that an overt aspect of her arc. i grew up subconsciously masking my autism, and it wasn't until i experienced autistic burnout just after graduating highschool that i discovered just how much of myself i had been suppressing, and how much was constructed. it was like i had never known my true self until age 18, or noticed just how badly that repression hurt me.

so um. you might say i saw a lot of myself in rise. she's got a slightly different scenario, but still a pretty autistic one. a child with no friends because everyone thinks they're strange, who decides to learn how to be Normal in hopes of obtaining any human connection. but because she can't be herself, the connections she does make don't feel genuine. her becoming an idol specifically is really fantastic thematically, a career all about commodifying not just your body or talents but your very personality, for a girl highly manufactured on every level to appear Normal.

for the brief period you see her in person before her shadow, rise practically has a flat affect and monotone, with everyone commenting on how different she is from her idol persona, and i'd like to actually retain that as an aspect of her character. i'd like to shift her arc to being about relearning that aspect of herself, and allowing herself to be that. even if just among friends. her idol persona is still part of her (she made it after all, and it can be useful), but she was harming herself by thinking it was all she should be.

i've always hated her going back to being an idol (especially the way they executed it ugh) but it might be nice if she stuck with music...

-yosuke internalized homophobia arc is a gimme

-naturally a major aspect is in the differences btw a playthrough as yu narukami vs femc. as an ex-delinquent she experiences more hostility from the general populace and dojima. oh and i don't care for super self-inserty protags so yu and masami have more established personalities+history+etc.

i imagine the narukami sibling dichotomy is that yu tries to be perfect and masami intentionally disappoints (opposite attention-seeking responses to their ambiguously distant parents), and in their trip to inaba yu takes the opportunity to let loose, while masami reigns in the delinquent behavior (because dojima will actually react to what she does). and they both benefit from the power of friendship etc etc

-sometimes i enjoy daydreaming about a "cross-dressing" sequence that's actually fun. where the crew hang out in yu's room or something and try on each other's stuff for fun. and chie gets a buzz cut

-while it's very true that women can be bigots, that p4 claims that kanji would think that men are more accepting of gender nonconformity in men than women is something just. utterly detached from reality. it makes more sense that he thought there was no possibility of acceptance from boys so he never tried, but he thought there was a chance with girls but was rejected by them too, so he distances himself from everyone.

and i think kanji can be gnc AND gay. for many people there is a real fear of stereotype, of reinforcing them, but that repulsion is misplaced. stereotypes are bad when they are used to dehumanize, but to be a effeminate gay man, a fat butch lesbian, a trans woman with a beard, are not bad things to be. and i think it'd suit kanji to have that sort of conflict, and metatextually to take those aspects of canon that were so negatively presented and transform them

and i think it would suit his love of cute things to eventually start dressing cutesy.

-i've definitely got more in my brain i could say or i forgor but this post is long enough

[the-greatest-fool]

what's your opinion about Bojack's self destructive tendencies?

I think that broadly speaking, BJH (which I hereby use to denote BoJack Horseman, the show, vs “BoJack”, the person) does two things with his self destructive tendencies. Spoilers.

The first thing it does for much of its run is peel back the layers of his self-destruction. From the first episode we see fairly relatable examples of BoJack’s self destruction. So for instance, he fails to meet deadlines, doesn’t like commitment, etc. But, over the course of the next seasons, we see him destroy his public image, sabotage the closest he’s ever had to a healthy relationship, commit ethical violations you wouldn’t even want say out loud—in short, he fucks up real bad.

So what do I think about that? It’s easy to say he’s just a simple moral metaphor, a cautionary tale. Don’t be consumed by alcohol, sex, self-loathing, and pettiness like him. Don’t cope like he does, do the terrible things he does. But maybe that’s too easy an answer. We see his back story of childhood abuse, constant self-doubt, and alcoholism. There are many times when I feel the BoJack in myself coming out.

It’s “easy”, and even in vogue, to believe in Good People and Bad People. We normal people watch in horror as The Bad Men, or indeed The Bad Hollywood Men (you know who), have their way and wreck wanton violence on the world for their gain and pleasure. But we have the kernel of possibility within us, and in many ways act out similar behaviors in our lives. Here I am somewhat ready to blame this conclusion on my masculine perspective so that I can be One Of The Good Men who knows It’s My Fault and I Should Do Better. Which—yes! I should. But the fact that there are even Bad Hollywood Women (fine, just think about Princess Carolyn if real world examples are too controversial) goes to show that it’s not so simple so as to reduce the problem to people’s “fundamental natures”, whether it’s just that “some people are bad” or “men are bad.”

And this brings us to the second thing the show does about BoJack’s self destruction: it tries to undo it. The last season comes in the midst of MeToo. Should BoJack see justice, or at least be freed from his Sisypheseun cage? Well—it’s complicated. He works on himself, as I should, and as we all should. He tries to better himself, make amends, and do good unto the world.

But even after all that, he seems to fail. He starts drinking again. His attitude towards women—as disposable or instrumental—seems to remain. He loses it all. And in a moment so rare in fiction or real life, he gets punished, *but* has a chance for redemption in the final. What I read from this is the genuine difficulty of changing.

I have terrible habits. I wish I didn’t have them. I wish I treated my loved ones better. I wish I processed pain and difficulty better. It’s not easy, but everyday you wake up and you just have to try. You have to. It’s what we’re called to do. We do right.

And the thing is, destruction is NOT just self-inflicted. Self-care can’t undo structural harm. BoJack runs into producers who commodify and pervert his genuine artistic dreams, media environments that are swift to condemn and unlikely to admit fault or nuance, and generations of trauma, violence, and misogyny. What’s truly needed is a family of care and love, a little luck, and his bravery to try to live in the face of a world that seems not to care.

For most of BJH, BoJack feels like a tragic character in the truest sense, always seeming so close to redemption or fulfillment before crashing down. I don’t think there’s a guarantee we always get a happy ending in life. We can only try to live not as bitter cynics and nihilists who don’t care because it’ll all fall apart one day, but as genuine artistic romantics who do right for right’s sake.

[vzyt]

Blog Post Due 11/14

1. In what ways do virtual communities both positively and negatively impact individuals' identity and belonging?

Virtual communities have enormous influences in shaping individuals' identities and belongings. On one hand, there is a connectedness among people, an expression of oneself, especially among marginalized groups. Social media creates spaces for people to reconstruct their identities, and their bodies, with the curated creation of online personas, creating homeplace. Yet, this sense of virtual community runs alongside its own negative ramifications-for being toxic, moving spaces that more often than not distort and reinforce harmfully stereotypical ideas of the self. Gamergate became an example of how online communities can foster harassment and exclusion, taking a sense of belonging and making it divisive and hostile.

2. What role does profit play in the construction of ethnic online communities, and how does this possibly affect questions of authenticity and purpose?

Profit is also one of the key factors that shapes ethnic online communities and often directs the course they may take. According to Steven McLaine, the creation and maintenance of these online spaces are increasingly being driven by commercial interests. While these may function as nurturing communities with regard to cultural solidarity and common experience for subaltern ethnicities, commercialism could weaken the authenticity of such means and ends. Commercially oriented interests may commodify cultures to make money, even though more community oriented or culturally specific goals are also at stake in this regard. This tension between profit and purpose raises questions about whether ethnic communities are compromising their values to fit into a broader and profit driven audience.

3. What are the ethical issues raised in the construction of virtual communities, surveillance, privacy, and exploitation of users?

Virtual communities often raise a number of significant ethical issues to do with privacy, surveillance, and exploitation of users. Social networking sites need their users to constantly perform and divulge parts of the self, which raises a concern about privacy and the commodification of personal data. Moreover, most of these platforms track user behaviors, increasingly utilizing this for profit in a manner that has raised key ethical questions about surveillance. The commercial intentions of many of these sites that benefit off of the user's cultural identity. This kind of exploitation can destroy the credibility and legitimacy of ethnic online communities, begging the question of who benefits from these spaces, and at what cost.

4. How do the dynamics of online harassment within communities such as Gamergate point to the darker side of virtual community?

The dynamics of online harassment epitomize the darker side of virtual community with the very same spaces that afford agency for persons and forge solidarities can be those reinforcing toxic environments where harassment and abuse occurred. Gamergate centralized misogyny and racism in an online harassment campaign and demonstrated, in crystal clarity, how quickly such a movement ostensibly about gaming culture could spiral into a tool for cyberbullying. The toxicity can be further exacerbated by anonymity on the internet, where one could commit crimes without immediate repercussions. It also underlines the vulnerability of certain groups, especially women and minorities, within these online spaces. Moderation and community guidelines are important in combating that section of the virtual community.

Hathaway, Jay. What is Gamergate, and why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks

McLaine, Steven. Ethnic Online Communities

Lee, L. (2015). Women of color and social media multitasking blogs-virtual homeplace.