#i accept that i'm not that interesting of a person

[perkeleen-lavellan]

Veilguard was the first time I actively found myself wishing a romance had been written specifically from a polyamprous perspective. I'm talking about Lucanis and Spite. The story of Lucanis needing to accept life with Spite was constructed in such a way, and Spite's interest in the PC Rook for that matter, that even just the ability to ask them 'so are you both into me or...?' didn't just feel like something I would have liked to see, I was surprised it wasn't there.

Personally though I would only want to see a poly relationship written in a way that is fundamentally a part of the entire romance plot. Meaning that whether the player chooses to engage in polyamoury or not, the polyanoury should be a core part of the romance subplot. Personally I have no interest in simply seeing various romance subplots written with monogamy in mind be 'opened' to a player who can then choose to do all of them at once without the characters involved ever acknowledging each other. Halsin from BG3 is the only poly character who has a romance that adresses that who comes to mind.

The reason I even thought to say this is because Fallout 4 actually has polyamoury, but this is how it works. The characters involved don't know they are in a poly relationship. (I suspect this whole feature is simply an accident no dev bothered to fix in a later patch.)

I think more games with romance should include polyamory as an option. Not just because of inclusion purposes but also because a lot of these games are super long RPGs and I sure as hell don't have time to replay the game 5 times to romance everyone I wanted to.

[lame-cameoliob]

Kallus' motivations are so interesting

I just need to get these thoughts out so I’m throwing this ramble here:

Now, this may totally just be me thinking too much (fork found in kitchen) but I feel like when it comes to how we tend to think about Kallus’ characterization, the implications of Kallus’ experience on Onderon are very overlooked. 

So he goes to Onderon with “the boys”-- which, the term “the boys” has its own set of implications about how Kallus must have really cared for those troopers under his command but I digress– and on a patrol they’re attacked, yada yada, we all know the story. 

But Kallus becomes fully paralyzed. He doesn’t describe the extent of his paralyzation but given that he had to watch as his squad was “finished off one by one” it’s pretty fair to assume that he could not move whatsoever. The fear that any person would experience in that situation is completely indescribable, that is genuinely some shit straight out of a night terror. 

He is– as we know– spared (albeit we don’t get exact details (did the merc try to kill him but reinforcements arrived before he could? Did the merc think that Kallus was already dead? Secret 3rd option?)) and he makes a full physical recovery, but there is no way in hell that he is not coming out of that encounter with some crazy PTSD. 

There’s not a whole lot of info on Imperial mental health services but I don’t think it’s a longshot to assume that they are probably close to nonexistent.

So the empire now has… an ISB agent with field experience… with untreated PTSD… where said PTSDs inciting incident pertained to a Lasat… and they’re looking to make an example out of Lasan……….. Are you picking up what I'm putting down here…...?

If you aren’t; it is BY NO MEANS a wild assumption to say that the Empire– essentially– weaponized Kallus’ PTSD, given that he would be less likely to question the moral atrocities happening on Lasan since he was already biased against Lasat as a whole. 

Now, we don’t really have a solid grasp on what Kallus’ exact role in Lasan was since he’s  kiiiiinnnd of an unreliable narrator– I mean we’re given the line in Droids in Distress where he takes credit for giving orders during the siege, but Kallus routinely just runs his mf mouth whenever he’s throwing hands so it’s like…  that could either be the truth or a crazy exaggeration, we as viewers have literally no idea what’s going on there– but it goes without saying that Kallus is obviously not excused from his participation just because of (likely) untreated mental illness, but that is literally like the whole point of his character so like we all knew that

Now, after Lasan, Kallus does something really bizarre for an imperial to do; he accepts the borifle given to him through the Boosan Keerah, and even though he doesn’t know about the cultural significance of that, he still takes it upon himself to learn how to use this weapon. I think that literally any other imperial would have tossed that shit out on sight, so I think it does kind of imply that Kallus did have a good deal of respect for Lasat culture.

Now we can all recall how Kallus is so annoying and also batshit insane whenever he fights Zeb for the first season and a half of rebels, and ME THINKS that this is because he wants to prove to himself that if he were not paralyzed on Onderon, he could have saved the members of his squad. He had to sit by and watch them die, and I think that he just wants the vindication; now you may be thinking, But Emma, he beat the Lasat who gave him his borifle, why would he still be obsessing over this– say it with me now– he is mentally ill. No victory will ever be enough to prove this to himself. Point blank period. 

(edit:) He is for sure operating from a place of extreme predjudice and bias but I think it's worth noting that he’s not operating under the usual xenophobic imperial mindset that other species are automaticaly lesser than. (end edit) This weird obsession that he has in seasons 1 and 2 deels like it's mostly there because he wants to outwit and outfight Zeb (and the rest of the Ghost crew… but especially Zeb) (edit: Though it is 100% influenced by Xenophobia-- his mental illness and xenopobia DO coexist!!)

And after the Honorable Ones???? It’s literally never brought up again. He chills tf out so hard after that it is high key uncanny. And like, yes duh that is because– for writing purposes– that’s the beginning of his redemption and they want viewers to root for him as fulcrum, but it also implies that after finding common ground with Zeb, and understanding where he’s coming from and who Zeb is as a person, he realizes that he’s been CRASHING TF OUT for basically no reason. 

And he is SO QUICK to switch sides?? Like, he is fulcrum at least a decent time before the beginning of season three. The whole point is that the second he asks questions and delves deeper into what the Empires motivations are he is disgusted enough that he doesn’t just drop everything and disappear, no, he became a spy for the rebels because he wants to help. I feel like that just goes to show that, at his core, Kallus is a good person. A deeply confused, and hurt, and misguided person, but a good one. 

I dunno, this is just a really long winded way of saying that Kallus is the perfect example of an imperial pawn. Like the Empire is an incredibly effecient indoctrination machine that exploits people at every turn, especially their own soldiers, and I think that Kallus’ relationship with that indoctrination along with his own motivations is just super super interesting and I think about it literally all the time

[harrycinnamonbun]

prince!carlos x noblewoman!reader au blurb 

as the daughter of a lord, you had a duty to your family to enter into an advantageous marriage. you had always been beautiful, attracting many suitors over the years, but none who had caught your specific interest. what you didn’t know was that you had caught the eye of the very handsome, and very eligible, prince of the kingdom. 

prince!carlos who sees you across the room at a ball, enraptured by your striking beauty. he is drawn to you magnetically, abandoning his conversation with his father, the king, to pursue you across the room. he pushes through the lords and ladies on the dance floor, craning his neck to pinpoint you in your baby blue dress. he is finally able to approach you, bowing his head to you respectfully. he asks for a dance and you graciously accept, too shocked to do anything else. 

prince!carlos who writes you letters after that night at the ball, inquiring more about your interests. he delights in receiving your replies, penned with swirly script and light strokes of ink. he sent gifts to your family home based on what you wrote in your letters. dozens upon dozens of bouquets of lilacs which you explained were your favorite, boxes of books to expand your personal library which you spent hours upon hours in, and a stunningly beautiful woven basket since you mentioned picnicking was how you spent your sunday afternoons. it was refreshing to receive this type of attention, as most previous suitors were only concerned with your beauty and the connections of your family. no one had ever tried this hard to capture your affection. 

prince!carlos who arrives at your estate to ask your father’s permission to court you, even though he technically doesn’t need it. he wanted to make sure he was obeying by all the rules of polite society, even though his status as the prince omitted him from many of these formalities. he respected you and your family, and didn’t want to make you feel lesser than. your father heartily gave his consent, pleased at the prince’s chivalry as well as his own luck. carlos hurried out to where you waited in the garden, capturing you in his warm embrace as you held each other happily. 

prince!carlos who took you horseback riding on the palace grounds for some bonding time. you both shared a love for animals, especially your horses. you raced through the trees on your mare, not minding how the branches ripped holes in your dress or how the whipping wind mussed your hair, looking back ever so often to see carlos chasing you with a grin. 

prince!carlos who eagerly introduced you formally to his parents, the king and queen, after a few weeks of courting. they were delighted to meet you and agreed with him, in secret, you would make a wonderful princess and future queen to the realm. they welcomed you with open arms to the family, making you feel like you truly belonged. he took you around on a tour of the castle, introducing you to all the staff you would sure be seeing again soon if things kept going the way they were. he walked you through the halls with his hand on the small of your back to guide you, respectful but intentional. 

a/n - carlos gives such chivalrous prince vibes i love him. part 2 will be more nsfw, but rn i'm obsessed with writing cute stuff!

have au ideas? send them in!

masterlist here

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Mitsuhide Akechi Sequel

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies.

Not a full translation. Not proofread.

Mitsuhide: "Let me hear that story as well."

Sasuke: "!"

(Mitsuhide!)

The moment I saw his face, my chest instinctively swelled, and a smile spread across my face.

Mitsuhide & Sasuke: "............"

(Wait, this isn't the time to be smiling!)

Mai: "Um, Mitsuhide, this person is my friend, and—"

Mitsuhide: "His name is Sasuke, and like you, he came from the future, correct?"

Mai: "Eh?"

Mitsuhide: "Apologies, but I overheard your conversation."

Without the slightest hint of guilt, he sat down beside me.

Mitsuhide: "Wearing such attire and sneaking into the castle must mean you're a member of a faction opposing the Oda forces."

(How could he deduce so much in an instant?!)

Sasuke: "Yes. I apologize for trespassing."

Sasuke: "Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Sasuke Sarutobi."

Sasuke: "And you are Lord Mitsuhide Akechi, correct?"

Mitsuhide: "Oh? You know my name, and you're still this calm?"

He narrowed his eyes, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Sasuke: "I understand I'm in a position where I can offer no excuses, but please allow me to say this one thing."

Sasuke: "Mai is my friend."

(Sasuke...)

Mitsuhide: "From the beginning, I had no intention of killing you."

Sasuke: "Huh?"

Mitsuhide: "Amidst a castle brimming with hostility, you risked your life to infiltrate enemy territory and rush to Mai's side."

Mitsuhide: "It would be foolish of me to use my sword against her beloved friend."

Mitsuhide smiled faintly and drew me closer.

Mitsuhide: "Thank you, Mai's friend."

(He seems to be stressing the word 'friend' a bit too much.)

Sasuke: "Being patronized by the famous Akechi Mitsuhide is one of the top five most miraculous experiences I've had since coming to the Sengoku period."

(Is Sasuke touched?)

Mitsuhide: "You seem like an interesting man, Sasuke."

After murmuring that with a laugh, his eyes sharpened once again.

Mitsuhide: "Mai, I learned about your condition from a letter from Kyubei."

Mitsuhide: "I'm sorry. I must have made you feel anxious."

Mai: "No, I'm just glad you came back."

(He must have returned to Azuchi immediately after reading the letter.)

Being this close made me realize how anxious I was when he was gone.

Mitsuhide: "Sasuke, would you mind continuing where you left off?"

Sasuke: "............"

Mitsuhide: "............"

(The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.)

As I watched them exchange wordless glances, my chest began to stir.

Sasuke: "From the looks of it, you may have reached the same hypothesis as I have."

Mai: "The same hypothesis?"

Mitsuhide: "............"

Mitsuhide fixed Sasuke with a piercing gaze.

Sasuke, accepting it head-on, nodded.

Sasuke: "First, I'd like to confirm the situation."

Mai: "Okay."

Sasuke: "The phenomena happening to you can be summarized in three points:"

Sasuke: "You're becoming invisible to others, your voice isn't reaching them, and the others can't touch you. Is that right?"

Mai: "Yeah, that's correct."

Sasuke: "However, you can still see others, hear their voices, and perceive them normally."

Mai: "Yeah."

(Hearing it laid out like this feels so surreal.)

Sasuke: "I believe these anomalies can be rephrased as follows: Mai, you are gradually losing the ability to interact with people living in this era."

(Losing the ability to interact...?)

Mai: "Does that mean I won't be able to connect with anyone around me anymore?"

Sasuke: "Yeah."

Mitsuhide: "............"

(That's almost like I'm a...)

Mai: "Ghost."

Sasuke: "............."

Mitsuhide: "Continue, Sasuke."

Mitsuhide, maintaining his composure, urged Sasuke to proceed.

Sasuke nodded and handed Mitsuhide the Travel Guide.

Sasuke: "Lord Mitsuhide, are you familiar with this book?"

Mitsuhide: "Mai has told me about it. It's a history book from five hundred years into the future."

Sasuke: "That's right. This book, however, has a peculiar flaw—the section following the Incident at Honnoji is completely blank."

Sasuke: "What happened that night was significantly different from the events recorded five hundred years later."

Sasuke: "The most crucial difference is..."

Mai: "That I saved Lord Nobunaga?"

Sasuke: "Yeah."

Sasuke: "That said, the cause of the historical alteration lies in the time slip itself. Mai, you're not at fault for anything."

Sasuke: "But if there's a significant difference between the original history and the current one, that would be it."

(He's right. Sasuke's explanation makes sense.)

Sasuke: "This might be an unscientific and utterly speculative hypothesis, but perhaps Mai is being rejected by this world as divine punishment for altering history."

(Divine punishment...)

Mitsuhide: "............"

[bathypelagicbutch]

the first time i was treated even remotely respectfully in public when i first transitioned was at 3am in a 24 hour pizza place while high out of my mind on shrooms. i was in full drag with a full face and it was the first and only time i was ever gendered correctly and respectfully in a public place while presenting femme. i pass now, and I'm thankful that i do, but the amount of effort I've had to put into making my body as acceptable as possible for people just so i don't get harassed for more reasons than being Black in places i don't belong (super white grad school lmao) is wild. i shouldn't have to make myself look like you want me to fuck you for you to respect me, and it really shouldn't be that hard for queer people to realise that that is literally what most of society, including white queers, forces us to do. there's a weird intersection with Blackness and masculinity for both Black men and women that i feel gets pointed out a lot, but i feel like the hypermasculinisation of Black women unless they present sufficiently slutty is something that only gets talked about at length for cis Black women and queer Black women in general. mainly because whenever the dolls try to bring it up the only response is immediate horniness or complete denial. it's also interesting that when i started presenting more masc i started passing, but since then the amount of horny white people who've been unable to remove the rupaulified fucktoy version of me in their brain for long enough to listen to me when i try to talk about how much it sucks being butch and trans has increased. exponentially. you all have too many issues with Black men to even notice how your racism affects every part of how you view Blackness in general.

speaking of! follow up to that earlier thing i said about not being able to be masc and trans without ppl needing to remind you that they only support you for your ability to fuck them ‐ it's worse when you're Black, and you white queens do it too. and i really don't think you realise you do! because I've talked about this with almost every person I've been with (if I've even been allowed to before being dismissed without a hint of concern) and most of them just admitted to doing this at some point in our relationship. so instead of being philosophical I'll just use a few examples from the past 3 years (because they get worse if you go earlier and also i. do not have to)

you don't get to call me sir in bed because I'm masc and you said you want to treat me like a guy in bed (you're gay please stop confusing Black masculinity for being a man and work on your issues before fucking me) and you especially don't get to use this as leverage against me whenever i discuss how racist the relationship dynamic is despite your incredibly vocal support of my activism. you don't get to use my body or the right to demand that i use your body because you have a fetish for Black men, and you aren't allowed to get upset when i point out that this is the most supportive attitude you've had towards any part of me the entire time we've been together. you don't get to take out your frustration against Black people or Black men by making me fuck you, and again you don't get to get upset when i point out how fucked up that is that you call yourself an ally and then only use that allyship to get dicked down. you don't get to assume that because I'm Black and masc i'm the most aggressive top you've ever come across and you don't get to white woman tears your way out of it by using your own transness as a pass. you aren't allowed to enjoy Black bodies if we're only a commodity to you (which you openly admit) and you similarly don't get to white woman tears your eay out of it by using your confused sexuality as a pass.

i think I've made my point so I'm gonna stop! but yeah can you all be normal about Black people thanks a million blushes sweetly

kinda uncomfortable how ppl cant celebrate black trans women unless they are superduperhyperfeminine with 19 layers of makeup + expensive surgeries/weaves/dresses and looking like theyre going to walk the red carpet every day

[solradguy]

I just want to know, out of pure curiosity, whether you headcannon Jack-o valentine/Aria Hale as cis or trans? (Asking as a transwoman)

I usually headcanon her (and Sol) as trans but I've drawn/written them as cis before. It mostly depends on what sort of mood I'm in at that moment haha

But I think their dynamic and characters are really interesting through a trans or t4t lens. They both have this uncertain sense of identity; Sol is angry about what he is and Jack-O' doesn't know who she is. I don't see people talk about it often, but not everyone is happy about being trans or it takes them a long time to come to terms with it and I think Sol's Gear stuff works really well as a metaphor for that.

Jack-O', on the other hand, didn't have a strong sense of personal identity until about Xrd. She had accepted the identity people had assigned her based on her being a vessel for Aria's data and just went along with it even though it didn't really sit all that well with her. It took until the very end of Strive when Sol basically grabbed her by the shoulders and told her that she was her own person, not just an Aria replacement, for her to realize that she was in a situation where she could be who she wanted to be and not what everyone else did.

I really really really really hope we get some story stuff in the future where it's basically just Jack-O's World Tour where she goes and tries a bunch of stuff to catch up on all the time she missed out on. As much as I love her dynamic with Sol, I'm kind of worried she's just going to become "the girlfriend character" and not get a chance to explore...

[theloganator101]

Vaggie and alastor are confusing characters. Alastor is the showrunners favorite so she tried to shove in scenes of him being cool and scary, when he’s just an insecure manlet that gets into fights with men who are more alpha than him, and surprise they always knock them down and trolls women (Charlie and Vaggie) because that’s the only way he feels powerful

Vaggie could’ve been an interesting character, a fallen angel who seen how unfair and cruel heaven is too sinners but still believes there is good in them and they deserves a second chance, but also feels guilty and hates herself for killing so many in the past. Nah she’s just an empty husk that extremely codependent on her gf and her flaw is she doesn’t trust or love Charlie enough. Also her name actually is vagina and was named by Adam, whose just Andrew Tate and instead of changing it she keeps it. Vaggie being reveals as an angel goes nowhere and is just resolved in one episode. Charlie is mad vaggie lied about being an angel, instead of the fact vaggie has killed “her people” for years, threaten to tell sera and everyone about the extermination, if they didn’t give charlie a chance to prove the hotel can work, she could’ve helped in the trial but chose not too. Carmilla and Lucifer didn’t need to be in S1 because everything they do could’ve been done by Vaggie and it would’ve given her the depth she desperately needs. Knows all the angels weakness, knows about the hierarchy in heaven, what are the rules in heaven, but she doesn’t know anything and looks like an idiot because of it. Even when they go to heaven Vaggie just doesn’t care, you’d think she’s be conflicted about returning home but just nothing, this is what I mean when I say vaggie is an empty husk.

Given what's been revealed about Alastor in the leaks... I can't even deny this. He had so much potential to be such a morally grey character that keeps you on your toes as to what he's gonna do next, only for him to turn into egotistic prick like everyone else in this show.

And as for Vaggie, all of fucking this.

And the worst part is that she ALREADY had a bit of a background planned. She was originally died in 2014 in her early 20s, and she was originally gonna be paired up with Angel. Honestly that woud've been way better than what we got in the actual show.

And I'm sure there are ways to make the plot of Vaggie being an angel work, but personally it just doesn't work for me. Because the twist literally added nothing, it didn't challenge Vaggie or Charlie in any meaningful way, it didn't bring anything new in terms of lore or character building, it's just accepted as easy as that.

And it just makes you ask "What was the point?"

[cursedtrans]

Stars in Lobotomy Corporation and Libary of Ruina

Spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina

Stars in Project Moon are a incredibly eldritch and horrific concept, and they have massive implications for the story of Limbus and Project Moon as a whole.

Let's start with the origin point of the Project Moon universe, Lobotomy Corporation, and the references to Stars and the Galaxy as a whole there.

Note: While many Lobotomy Corporation abnormalities are based on mere trauma or city lore (such as W Corp inspiring Dimension Shredder or the Head inspiring the Bird Trio), I believe there is extremely important info thanks to several real characters and events having references to the Cosmic Trio's events in their logs.

There's three specific abnormalities that call out the concept of Outer Space and everything it contains. In my opinion this is very notable, as other groups like the Wizard of Oz, Magical Girls, and Bird Trio are all highly important abnormality groups that take up multiple abnormality slots.

First off is the TETH level abnormality Fragment of the Universe.

They're the lowest risk rating of their outer space related brethren, but subsequently have some of the least cosmic horror. While their cry is enough to damage both the mind and body, and is incomprehensible to mortals, it's not that relatively dangerous compared to other concepts.

Likewise, it's by far the most innocent of it's kindred. It's a mere part of outer space that is trying to 'sing' to mortals to convey it's love to them, and it's entire physical form is created by it's connection with a small child. (it wanted to make the child happy, and thus took on the form it uses now)

It doesn't seem to understand the damage it's doing, but it seems to have a permanent effect on certain individual's in it's lobotomy corp logs. All of them seem to be repeating the phrase "coming, coming, still coming" and other incomprehensible noises, and staring into the sky.

Second off, Child of the Galaxy, HE Level.

Child of the Galaxy is a very interesting abnormality that never breaches, but does get extremely violent when someone they care about seems to forget them by instantly killing them. While not uncommon in Lobotomy Corporation, it is a significant thing for them to have the instant kill at any range and no limit on their number of targets.

Additionally, it seems aware of what it's doing. It's extremely possessive in it's log and seems to know that it's very presence and pebble is haunting the person writing the log. Of note is his final two logs, which will show some themes that repeat over and over. I can't take it anymore. I can't escape him. I thought I was in charge, but the truth is I was just a pebble in his hands the whole time. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I hear his whispers. (I have to end it, but I’m not even sure if I can.) -- "...I came from afar. I'm so glad to meet you. Become a pebble, and let's walk the galaxy together..." I hear his whispers and breath. Pitch black darkness follows... just like the night I met him."

Finally, Blue Star, the Aleph level.

Blue Star is an extremely potent abnormality that seems to break out if the person working it is not competent enough, and is capable of massive areas of sanity damage. Even moreso, when they do finally wear down someone's sanity, they absorb them into themselves.

Their abnormality log details some very important details, including the rising of a cult that is infected with certain thoughts, that want to willingly throw themselves into the center of certain abnormalities (read:blue star). Additionally, one of these infected members writes a letter detailing some very important info.

"We are all sinners, and our Blue Star is the only sanctuary that accepts us. We will be cleansed of our sins there. We all go back to that place someday. This is an instinct. You thought Emily died when she threw herself into the Star, but she simply returned to her rightful place. She's a martyr. She has become an eternal star. The rise of a star is a brand new beginning. Don't you hear the everlasting sound of the trumpet? When you stand close to the Star, you can hear the welcoming cheers and singing. If every employee returns to that place, only Blue Star will remain here. Let us meet again as stars."

This begins some of the themes of Stars and Outer Space as a whole in Project Moon, and one of the key ones is rebirth. The employee writing a log ends up being requested to become another pebble by the Child, and each of the cultists of Blue Star firmly believe that they will be reborn as stars when they end up in Blue Star.

Ruina compounds on these cultists by showing us them and their idol in tandem. Notably, Blue Star is not fought, a trait shared solely by Apocalypse Bird (a symbol of the omnipresent and invincible head that rules over the City) and WhiteNight (a symbol of the omnipresent ghost over the City that distorts people into monsters) The only way Blue Star is beaten is by destroying it's Shrine, which ends the fight immediately. Additionally, Blue Star's only action in this is to emit a simple sound through it's Shrine. It does not slam the floor like Apocalypse Bird or emit circles of hell like WhiteNight. It's so far out of our reality that all it can do is show itself and sing through it's statue. Blue Star is also arguably even more important in Limbus, because of the host of connections it has to both the Blue Man Group and several different Star related abnormalities, but that's a post for a different day.

All that is to say for now is, don't be afraid of the stars in Project Moon. All they want is a new life for you...

(as usual thanks to @lu-is-not-ok for inspiring posts and getting me to think about the unregistered abnormalities in Limbus, and sending me down a Star rabbit hole)

[just-hyde]

AI is theft.

Character.Ai still uses **stolen** data. Support real artists and writers. RP with real people.

IAMREALpleasegimmeahotchocotugmeinandgimmeasinglegoodreasontoliiiveeeeaaaaAAAAAAA

*Breakdown joins the chat*

An anon? How courageous of you. /lh

Actually right now you did what many chatbot users do— hide behind Persona just in case people don't accept your writing/rp style. But it's easier to play safe, I give you that. Your mental health should be your first priority no matter what people say

I do my art, write snippets of text, develop OCs and RP with people, but still make chatbots on different platforms

Why?

For shits and giggles

But no, friends, seriously

We already live with that and apparently are gonna continue to, unless the authorities decide to step in

For me cai was a tool to improve my vocabulary since 1) not so many native speakers were willing/had time to help, 2) even if they did, we had jobs and damn timezones which made our coordination harder, 3) I found out that ppl were simply too shy to play

Recently I've learned the term "Cringe culture" which is cringe itself and hella annoying at that— some writers are fucking scared to post, to be met with toxicity instead of actually useful critique

Anywho, the topic is controversial af.

On one hand, it did writers dirty. Well, fuck. On the other hand, your T9 was also trained on something and I deem LLM no much smarter than a huge T9 [a predictive text technology which almost every keyboard for phones and tablets has]

The problem I see is that the ai developers didn't ask for any data

How much easier everything would go if they had manners and/or paid for some materials? I usually don't mind lending a pen if someone asks, but can bite one's hand off if they grab it

As you might've noticed, I wanna use this ask to bring up some other interesting topics

My man, I've heard enough of "Why trying if ai renders better than me/uses better words"

Anxiety.

That's what makes me sad

If we ever manage to change that, to make people realise that human-made art is a freaking precious treasure with hours of effort spent on it, maybe earth heals and unicorns return

You buy funny one-nickel-worth stuff from Aliexpress, no? That's AI. As well as a half-gnawled pencil one finds in their old school backpack to write down an anecdote they've just heard

It's easy to focus on the bad side

If fish is ill in a dirty tank, are you gonna add more sand? Pfftt. I assume you gonna change filters, scrub that bastard clean and add more lil fishies to make others feel less lonely, instead of rumbling that you shouldn't have gotten any new weeds for the the bowl in the first place, because, who would've guessed, fish eat that. And poop. —a process natural as breathing

My suggestion is that we try to create a safe space which would encourage writing outside of roleplay, make young artists feel safe regardless of their level of skill

Or maybe I'm too far from the Internet in general and don't understand why writing example messages for a silly toy is suddenly a bad thing when it encourages kids to try themselves in text RPGs without any risk of being judged for that

An interesting topic you gave me, really, I've spent some time contemplating about it

Feel free to suggest things that we, as a community, can do right here and right now, because, gods know, I'm personally unable to atta-ta a corporation for "using language we all speak", especially when chatbots have some features which would be a damn shame not to use in language learning since it's so engaging and teaches kids new words in a forgiving game-like way

Though I hope there will be some law regulating ai and the use of ai-made products soon. Let's give it some time

[tiredandoptimistic]

Wait now I’m so curious on why you don’t like the Sebastian demon blood plot line !!

I mostly find it frustrating because of how it intersects with the overall themes of TMI.

Jace spends a lot of the early TMI books being treated as though he's some sort of villain because he's Valentine's son. Even Maryse, his adoptive mother, basically throws him out because the memory of Valentine is more powerful than the seven years she's raised Jace for. (She of course comes around by the end of COA, but that initial reaction was still there, and it still hurt Jace deeply!) Valentine himself did everything in his power to increase this feeling in Jace, and tried to position himself as the only one who could possibly understand and love Jace, while also setting Jace up to see himself as a monster because of his attraction to Clary. (There's literally a scene in COA where Luke says that Jace visiting Valentine is proof that the rest of them failed, because Jace clearly feels that the closest thing he's got to an understanding parent is the genocidal maniac). All of this is compounded when Jace learns that Valentine treated his son with demon blood, because suddenly he's got this proof that he's tainted not only by Valentine but by Hell itself. I haven't read COG in a little while, but I remember there being a scene where Jace and Clary make out, but Clary realizes that indulging in the incestuous relationship is basically Jace's way of punishing himself. Being into his sister is just a natural extension of being part demon, and if he allows himself to embrace his worst instincts then he won't have to worry about trying to be good anymore.

And then of course, we learn about Sebastian.

Jace was never the baby with the demon blood, that was Sebastian. Jace gets to learn that not only is he unrelated to Valentine and Clary, he's also got angel blood in his veins. Suddenly he doesn't need to worry about his girlfriend being his sister, and he's safe from the inherent evil that he thinks must come along with demonic contact.

While I do find Jace's internal angst and the ways in which he responds to be very interesting, the thing that bothers me is that rather than accepting that it's not his blood that defines him, he learns that he got good blood instead of evil blood. Sebastian on the other hand did get the evil blood, and so he is inherently evil. The story could have been about how the way that you treat a kid does more to determine their behavior than the way they were born, but instead it seems to reinforce Jace (and everyone else's) initial assumption that whoever has demon blood must be cruel and unfeeling.

Now, I know that a lot of people will claim that Sebastian wasn't inherently evil because of the demon blood, and that it was Valentine treating him as a demon that caused him to turn out that way; but that's just not how I remember it being treated in canon. Again, I haven't read the relevant books in a couple years, but I'm pretty sure that Sebastian is said to be the way he is specifically because of the demon blood. Jocelyn held him in her arms after giving birth, and saw something evil brewing in the eyes of her newborn. That scene could have meant that Jocelyn saw how Sebastian resembled Valentine and reacted in horror because of her feelings towards her husband, but I don't think that's how it was intended by the author. I also remember specifically that "True" Jonathan Morgenstern is treated as a different character in several instances (such as having his own flower card), and this "True" version of Sebastian has green eyes like Jocelyn and Clary and also isn't a terrible person, because he's not influenced by demon blood.

So basically, what I'm saying is that the demon blood storyline bothers me because it takes agency away from the characters. Sebastian is evil because he has demon blood. Jace thought he might be evil because he might have demon blood, but he doesn't have demon blood so he's not evil. It all seems to go against the main thesis of TMI, which is that children are not defined by their parents (and are in fact very capable of rejecting the bigotry their parents believe in). Everyone in the TMI gang is treated as a foil to their parents, and because we know that their parents bought into bigotry at a young age, we know that the kids could very well make the same mistakes. It's all about free will, and how they learn from history to do better in the future (Robert, Maryse, Luke, and Jocelyn all became far better people in middle age than they ever were as teenagers, but because Alec, Isabelle, and Clary have them as examples, they don't have that dark era at all. Stephen died before he could change though, and Valentine lived to prove that he didn't want to change. This puts Jace in a far more complicated position, which is why he clung to the Lightwoods as his true family to guide him towards the person he wants to be). That's a side tangent but I typed it out so I guess it's staying.

Anyways, yeah. I think Sebastian is one of the least interesting villains in TSC, because he isn't given the free will to choose villainy. (This is also why I'm less interested in demonic villains like Belial and Asmodeus). I still do enjoy how he acts as a foil to both Clary and Jace though.

[vonbabbitt]

Hi Von! Dropping in to say that you are absolutely incredible.

I could never imagine how hard it is to do a project of this scale basically completely yourself, save for the voice actors and people who help with editing. It takes a level of dedication, responsibility, and patience that many people do not have. Whenever I mention Tetro to my friends (which happens quite a lot), the moment I mention you and go on a spiel of everything you do, they're all stunned.

What I'm getting at is that you're so talented, strong, and just an all-around powerhouse. Tetro is such an amazing and interesting series, and I commend you for being able to finish it and start a second season. Not only me, but the entire community. The fact that you and your staff get treated with disrespect is so shocking to me. It has not only some of the best voice acting I've seen in a while, but also some of the best writing and representation of disabilities I've seen. You and your staff deserve as much love and appreciation as physically possible from the community that follows you. I do hope that the good outweighs the bad, because you already work so hard that the added stress of fans who harass you is something I don't even want to imagine. You also deserve as much rest as possible.

You don't have to answer this ask. Ever. But please let this serve as a reminder that the community appreciates everything you do for them. It's okay to take as many breaks as you need. You're an incredible writer, artist, voice actor, director and creator.

I wish you the absolute best going forward, and I hope you have a good rest of your day.

thank you very very much anon its really reassuring to hear

the positive response to tetro definitely outweighs the negative, which is something im definitely trying to get better with accepting instead of focusing way too hard on one or two people who arent enjoying it. im also learning to accept that just because someone doesnt like something doesnt mean that something is BAD, regardless of whether or not they say it is. just because people dont like my writing doesnt mean my writing is bad (not that it would matter if it was bad either way, as im only doing this for fun!)

im really really grateful for the level of support people have shown me and going forward into the new year im going to try and be better with letting criticism roll off my back - this is my passion project and at the end of the day, my opinion on it is the only one that matters. im the only person who knows my intentions in every line, im the only person who poured myself into writing it, im the only person who has any sort of obligation to tetro. if others like it, im glad! but its not the end of the world if they dont

thank you for the kind ask anon!

[jheselbraum]

Birth of a Nation revitalized the KKK in America and is perhaps the only piece of "irredeemable media" I can think of that's actually like. You know, a story, and I don't know of anything else off the top of my head that had that kind of lasting, palpably harmful impact that isn't like, direct state mandated propaganda like Mein Kampf. In 1915 the KKK was effectively dead, they'd slowly dissolved around the 1870s (particularly after the introduction of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871) and Birth of a Nation led to the most notorious American terrorist group reforming. As far as I'm concerned, DW Griffith has actual blood on his hands, for murders committed at the very least through the 40s (they disbanded temporarily in 1944 after America's most effective violent crime task force, the IRS, got involved, though it could be argued he's only responsible for murders committed by the KKK through the 20s, as membership declined rapidly after that once people saw that being part of a terrorist organization wasn't like how it was in the movie).

And like, look I generally don't think the word "irredeemable" can really be applied to art in any form, but there is something viscerally reprehensible about Birth of a Nation that makes us not want to watch it. Like it (arguably) pioneered a lot of film techniques but that's more of the science side of film than the art side, I'm completely certain that people would have figured out that contrasting long shots with close-ups made movies more interesting if Birth of a Nation was left on the cutting room floor. (In fact, several of the techniques 'pioneered' by Birth of a Nation were actually from earlier films, it's just that DW Griffith was more popular and his films are the ones that were remembered). But like we don't screen this movie publicly, we don't like it, we don't like the what DW Griffith had to say. Birth of a Nation just... repels people away from it. Its in person screenings are relegated to a few film classes and maybe some klan meetings, though I'm certain there are some racists on 4chan who've downloaded a copy. If you ask normal people to pick one movie to stop existing, there's no way out of it you have to pick one, chances are they'll pick Birth of a Nation, assuming they've even heard of it (my first exposure to it was in high school, some people might not get to it until college, or even later, that's just kind of what happens with something like this. It's not like you can learn about something through cultural osmosis when the culture is trying like hell to osmosis that thing out of itself). It's an acceptable loss.

Meanwhile, from what I've read, I'd say the decision to use A Serbian Film alongside Birth of a Nation is actually a reasonable one, not because of the graphic nature of it's content, but rather its themes and message and how flat it can feel because of who's saying it (DISCLAIMER: I haven't watched it, I'm not going to watch it, take this with a grain of salt). It's about a man who's forced to commit horrific crimes to survive (economically, though he may be directly threatened with death I'm not sure, he's doing it as a job basically). If you'll recall, Serbia committed genocide during the Bosnian War in the 90s, the targets being primarily Bosniaks but also including anyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina that wasn't Serbian.

The director of the film, Srđan Spasojević, had this to say when asked if the acts depicted in the film were related in any way to crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars:

A Serbian Film does not touch upon war themes, but in a metaphorical way deals with the consequences of post-war society and a man that is exploited to the extreme in the name of securing the survival of his family.

Additionally, he described the film as "a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government ... It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotize you to do things you don't want to do. You have to feel the violence to know what it's about."

A Serbian Film is an exploitation film that's apparently considered one of the most disturbing of all time, but the film is not a snuff film as many people have claimed. A snuff film is the filming of actual gruesome crimes like murder, torture, and rape, committed for the purpose of selling the resulting film and making money. It's not "a movie that depicts gruesome crimes like murder, torture, and rape through the use of special or practical effects."

Based on the quick read-through of the Wikipedia article I did, it seems like most of what the film is trying to say is through the lens of the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars, or at least that's how the audience largely interpreted it. The script writer, Aleksandar Radivojević, said this about the process of securing funding for the film and the state of the Serbian film industry in general.

you had this EU arts council funded production using Serbia for EU's political agitprop agenda of 'promoting tolerance and reconciliation in the post-war Balkans' by boosting sappy local projects of no aesthetic value whose sole reason for receiving EU financing was their respective authors' willingness to amplify the EU-approved message, i.e. to express 'Serb contrition over what happened in the Yugoslav Wars' via essentially making victim porn, showing small miserable Serb people who are struggling mightily while nevertheless simultaneously 'doing their part in search of collective redemption' by being extremely remorseful

Now, I'm a white American who does not experience racism of any kind, let alone the violently dehumanizing prejudice necessary to convince a group of people to commit an ethnic cleansing, but if my people had been the victims of a genocide, and I heard someone from the group of people that committed that genocide complain about media depicting his people's remorse, and saw that that guy also wrote a movie where the plot is a man is forced to commit gruesome rapes, and again, my people were gruesomely raped as a part of that guy's country's plan to wipe my people from existence, I'd be fucking pissed. Like again, I haven't seen A Serbian Film, and Radivojević wasn't the only person in the writer's room, so maybe in practice it reads less as "our government was controlling us we did nothing wrong" and more "our government is controlling us and we're monsters for listening." And we can argue the merits of the latter another time, but at least the latter acknowledges that genocide doesn't happen in a vacuum because some schmucks at the top said so, that the people bear as much responsibility as their government.

Now, is A Serbian Film actually trying to say anything about the Yugoslav Wars at all? I don't know. I haven't seen it. Maybe it isn't about the Bosnian genocide at all. But then what is it saying about Serbia? Serbian actor Dragan Bjelogrlić said this about the film and its director, a year after its release:

I have a problem with A Serbian Film. Its director in particular. I've got a serious problem with this boy whose father got wealthy during the 1990s—nothing against making money, but I know how money was made [in Serbia] during the '90s—and then pays for his son's education abroad and eventually the kid comes back to Serbia to film his view of the country using his dad's money and even calls the whole thing A Serbian Film. To me that's a metaphor for something unacceptable. The second generation comes back to the country and using the money that had been robbed from the people of Serbia, smears the very same people by portraying them as the worst scum of the earth.

OP was right, it's fucking insane that this site only uses words like irredeemable media to talk about cartoons for children. Like, no, Steven Universe or The Owl House or My Hero Academia or whatever TV-Y7 cartoon you're hyper focused on that week isn't irredeemable media. Your bar for even discussing it as a possibility is "did this story's public existence revitalize a terrorist organization and lead to several murders," a qualification which A Serbian Film, despite its content, themes, and possible interpretations, does not meet. It's offensive, and disturbing, it possibly excuses genocide, but as far as I've read, no one has gotten physically hurt because it exists.

A Serbian Film is more violently graphic than Birth of a Nation. Birth of a Nation did more to physically harm real people than A Serbian Film ever could.

It's fucking wild that the above reaction to A Serbian Film mentions next to nothing about what it's trying to say, how well it works, who's saying it and in what context, but focuses purely on the graphic and violent scenes depicted in the film. It's probably why they slapped Salo on at the end even though a cursory glance through Wikipedia (I don't care enough to read thoroughly on the plot and themes you get the point graphic exploitation films aren't inherently evil for depicting murder or rape or whatever I don't want to read about more graphic shit it's not something I personally enjoy doing) reveals that that film is strictly antifascist, though several actors were actually injured during filming. Notably, the director of Salo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, was gruesomely abducted, tortured, and murdered in 1975 shortly before Salo's release at the Paris Film Festival. He was openly gay, and a Marxist, and while his death was initially contributed to one Giuseppe Pelosi (17 at the time of the murder) after he confessed, he later retracted his confession claiming that he made it under the threat of violence to his family (which unfortunately tracks, Americans may recall the more recent case of Amanda Knox, who was arrested in 2007 for the murder of her friend and forced by Italian police to confess to a crime she didn't commit and was later exonerated from). The case was reopened after Giuseppe's retraction in 2005 and other evidence that had come to light, and as of 2023 the Italian authorities are looking at the far right group Banda della Magliana as possible suspects. While I agree that "I hear it's kind of. nasty" is frankly an understatement when attempting to discuss the graphic content of Salo, and really fucking hilarious in the context of trying to argue that Salo shouldn't exist at all, I don't know that that's really a fair criticism to make, considering the other two examples are if not directly far right (using the term because of the changing political landscape between 1915 and 2010, like I can't really call Birth of a Nation fascist because it was made before fascism was a fully congealed political ideology, even if it upholds the ideology of fascism) then at least debatably so. As previously established, the actual content of the film, as in, the acts depicted, don't immediately make a work reprehensible. Remember, A Serbian Film is more graphic and disturbing to watch than Birth of a Nation, but Birth of a Nation is worse than A Serbian Film.

Tldr; op is right, and the person whose tags have been drowned is exactly the kind of person op was talking about

'Irredeemable media' is such a funny concept to me because it's never used for stuff like Birth of a Nation or A Serbian Film. It's always The Owl House or My Hero Academia because these people only watch things for children and can't stand any conflict more complex than Super Mario Brothers.

[who-is-page]

Inky Paws on Hiatus

Hi y'all. Like the title suggests, I'm gently putting the Inky Paws fiction zine anthology on hiatus.

The feedback and support I get for this project is unbelievable and amazing, and I know that there's a huge amount of interest for Inky Paws #4. I'm overwhelmed with appreciation at the contributions that folks have made to this zine, especially over the course of three whole years. This wouldn't have been possible without all of y'all!

But this project takes a lot of time, energy, and focus to put together and make every year. It's also entirely free-- I don't even accept donations for it on my itch.io, because I feel weird about doing so when the crux of Inky Paws is a showcase of other folks' art. And three years is a long time for an ADHD dog like me to stick to a single project. Inky Paws takes up a certain amount of my spoons every year, and I kind of want to use those spoons to chase the rabbits of newer projects and ideas that I've had bounding through my head. So I've made up my mind to put a pause on this for now, until I feel ready to come back to it.

Thank you all so much for following this zine. If you've read through it, I hope that it's inspired you to write, draw, create, and share what you've made fearlessly with your peers. The spirit of Inky Paws is the joy of creation and collaboration, of leaving tracks and trails for the generations ahead and for those who may just be discovering themselves now, and I sincerely wish that people feel that spark of inspiration and passion when they page through the stories and art that others have shared through it. Inky Paws may be a closed book for now, but please don't let that dissuade you from leaving your own prints on the digital footnotes of our community's history and in doodling across your own personal timeline with claws and fangs and feathers and fins and voids and handprints. I can't wait to see what you all make, and thank you again for following this project and what it's become over these past three years.

[keepthedelta]

Hi Delta, what do you mean that Lewis was always more weirder about Nico during their careers? Because I totally agree with you. My older brother, who was quite into F1 since early 2010, used to tell me about these two, who were not teammates but were always together. Nowadays, he is not so into the sport anymore. He says there is no passion and the drivers play too much PR.

okay it's a totally personal opinion, but when you look at their actions when they were racing and after nico's retirement, i think lewis is the one who comes across as a bit weirder. it's stuff like the whole "i don't remember when i met nico that's the sort of thing you remember about your lady" thing, even though he had literally already written it in his book. it's the fact that when things first started getting nasty between them, nico's media line was "yes, there will always be a certain level of respect rooted in that friendship" while lewis went "well we're not friends". and after lewis said that, iirc there was a journalist that asked about their history together and lewis got very quiet and a bit lost and a bit emotional and didn't really have an answer. there was a time when lewis was asked by a journalist how he and nico had changed since they were children, and lewis said "well he's married now" (he did also follow that up with and i'm almost married, so i think some of it was about nicole scherzinger, but i think it's interesting that his response was about their personal lives).

and i think the way lewis has defined their relationship over the years is interesting. he's gone from talking about nico in his book to pretending he doesn't remember how they met to saying they're not friends to saying they were best friends to saying they were never friends. the story has changed so many times from him, while nico has generally been quite consistent about it. and although people think of nico as the one who can't stop talking about their relationship now, when they were racing together, lewis was the one largely defining the relationship to the media. nico mostly stuck to pr line "it's complicated" etc. while lewis was telling them that nico watched him swim in the pool and then came down to talk to him. and while this is something that had definitely happened at some point (i think they mentioned it in 2013), i personally have my doubts that it happened in 2016. lewis said that to the media just after baku i believe, which was where he fucked his quali astronomically and destroyed his drivers room he was so annoyed with himself. niki lauda said that they were barely talking and wouldn't even say the others name in the garage, so while it's very possible that they were trying to ignore each other at work and being desperately weird at home, i think it's equally possible that lewis was making the whole thing up to make the relationship seem better than it was (but also in a way that positioned nico as the weird one).

and then there's all the ways lewis tries not to say nico's name or acknowledge their friendship. when he was talking about coming to monaco for the first time on some british tv show he said he came to visit "a frien - someone i used to kn - a friend". like, someone is clearly not over that whole relationship. and when talking about having harder teammates than max verstappen, he can mention george and valtteri and jenson and fernando, all people he's beaten, but not the only teammate to beat him to a championship? and his excuse of "oh i've just had so many teammates" well you managed to name everyone except nico and lets face it that was not an accident. he put effort into not saying nico's name, and not talking about their relationship. meanwhile nico can say that they're neutral and that lewis gives his daughters presents at christmas because he has totally accepted their relationship and their history for what it is in a way that i don't think lewis has.

and i do agree with your brother, there's way too much pr now. i don't need the drivers to be physically fighting each other on the track but i think the way everyone has to pretend to be best friends is frustrating. it's a sport, and these are competitors, and if the fans are expected to have sports feelings about it then the actual athletes are also going to have sports feelings about their own careers. pretending otherwise is both boring, and almost insulting to the viewer. i know it's for marketing purposes, but most of the people watching are adults who can conceptualise people in competition with each other, even if they're on the same team, not being best friends.

[skyrages]

it's always been weird to me how people moralize feeling things and having actions driven from emotions rather than logic and personal ethics.

people hear "low empathy" and assume that means low-empathetic behavior: things like abuse, manipulation, and conceptualize this cold, calculating, Inherently Evil thought process, and so when someone with low empathy is convicted of a crime, I think people who think emotional empathy = emotionally intelligent behavior think of it as those "inhumane" urges breaking through this "inauthentic veneer" that's able to be dispassionately thrown aside at any convenience.

I think people who are agnostic or not incredibly religious deal with the same sort of issue, because incredibly religious Westerners think that without being afraid of some greater enacter of divine or cosmic punishment, humans descend into selfish, cannibalistic anarchy. I've never personally understood it, but I'm autistic so I don't think I can explain it to you, it's just something I've had to accept that some people think lol

the issue with all of this, of course, is that emotional empathy isn't the only kind of empathy that exists, but neuroconvergent people like to pretend it is. people who struggle with "feeling" empathy should still be able to develop logical empathy. but people who feel empathy get weird about that for some reason.

I deal with dynamic empathy, so I'll be using my own experiences when talking from here on in.

say I find out that something that I've done inadvertently hurt someone I'm close to, either socially or through work/school or whatever, and I hadn't realized it in the moment.

when I have "normal" emotional empathy, I'm able to "feel bad" which tends to translate to physical sensations of guilt, such as an unsettled stomach or sometimes my hands start sweating. I find out I hurt someone I'm close to, I "feel bad," and so I'm emotionally motivated to go to that person and apologize, make things right, explain where I was coming from, and figure out how to avoid that kind of conflict in the future.

but I have moments when I have low emotional empathy. people who don't deal with empathy issues assume that when I'm in these states, I react to the knowledge that I've hurt someone with scorn and disregard, and make no effort to right any wrongdoing, because I "don't care."

in actuality, I'm able to step back and realize, hey, that was kinda a dick move. I'm not emotionally motivated to go and make things right with the person, but I'm inclined to do so because I'm aware that, according to my equity-focused code of ethics, I did something that wasn't okay. I may not hate myself for whatever happened, but I'm still aware that, hey, this person is important to me for a variety of reasons, and even if I'm dispassionate in this moment, I know that I have reasons to care about this person that extend beyond me "feeling bad." I will still make efforts to make appropriate amends, but I might not go out of my way the way I would when I have moments of hyper-empathy and be tripping over myself with emotional guilt.

sorry if this is kind of long, but emotional vs. logical empathy is a huge thing when talking about AVPD and NPD and other such personality disorders. it's always been very strange to me that people assume that because you don't "feel" a certain way doesn't mean you don't know what's right and wrong, simply by growing up and being aware of (if separate from, for a variety of reasons) your surroundings. it's something that, again, doesn't make sense to me, but I've had to accept that some people view the world from such perspectives.

I think different ways people feel things is interesting. Anyway, I agree that judging by emotions is absurd. But I do think your logical empathy has an emotional part that you don’t really count and isn’t universal.

[sometimesraven]

Also you can not support porn while recognising its legality is important to the lives and safety of not only sex workers but also trafficking and revenge porn victims.

Also also if you think *all* porn is racist misogynistic and paedophillic I'm going to kindly ask you to stop browsing the frontpage of Pornhub bc wym??? Did you forget there are thousands of amateur porn artists who are trans, female, PoC, etc and work completely off their own back? Porn made by queer people for queer people? Porn made by women for women? Porn made by gay men for gay men? It exists in abundance and will continue to do so whether it's legal or not.

Not to mention that things like sending erotic imagery of yourself to your consenting life partner who you are married to also comes under the definition of porn. And where does it stop? Written, drawn or animated media can be porn. Someone taking a lewd or suggestive selfie could be considered porn. We've already seen in the UK that they didn't stop at just banning the production of porn, they then banned specific kinks from even being consumed on the basis of it being "grossly offensive, disgusting, or otherwise of an obscene character". As in, anything the government decided was gross. So that means not just BDSM, but also shit like piss play.

When you allow the illegality of things based on it being "obscene" or "disgusting", that gives the government power to ban literally anything they want as long as they have a good enough argument that it's gross. Like I dunno, homosexuality?

Oh, look at that. Element 3b in the list of "obscene" porn categories:

"An act which results in or is likely to result in serious injury to a person’s anus, breast or genitals"

That means under this particular law (Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 for those interested) anyone who engages in anal sex could reasonably be prosecuted for it. Which would disproportionately affect gay men and other queer people.

Now fortunately those laws were relaxed in 2019 and as it's down to individual judges what counts, these persecutions largely didn't happen (that we know of). But if porn were outright illegal the public sense of what is and isn't "acceptable" would change. Obviously it would, you want that right?

Except once the patriarchal systems can't blame porn for the high number of rape cases and sexual hate crimes, but the number of cases doesn't reduce or even increases (given that now even consenting women would be persecuted under anti-pornography laws), what would they then turn to?

In the UK we have a habit of banning things outright rather than addressing the root cause of the issues stemming from those things. We see it with, for example, modes of transport we decide are "a nuisance". A new mode of personal transport gets invented (electric bicycles, hoverboards, etc) and incidents happen because of people using them in the street. Instead of realising the infrastructure is lacking and forcing people using these modes of transport to use them on the sidewalk, we banned the use of them on the sidewalk. Since using them on the roads isn't safe, most people stop using them. Then another invention comes around, rinse, repeat.

This is relevant because if porn is illegal it's not going to be tackling the root of issues in the porn industry -- that is: sexism, transphobia, racism and paedophilia. Those are societal issues which, as @absolxguardian aptly pointed out, are present in all media. So naturally as rape and sexual hate crimes doesn't decrease, the UK's previous actions show that they would most likely then turn to the aforementioned "obscene" sexual acts. Which has actually happened to a point -- our assault and sexual violence laws do not recognise consent as a defense. It specifically states that "a person cannot consent to actual bodily harm". Actual Bodily Harm as a legal term in the UK is literally anything that causes pain or discomfort, which has driven most BDSM clubs and practitioners underground.

This was done to protect women against the defense of consent in rape and assault cases, which sounds reasonable until you realise a) adults consent to pain/discomfort literally all the time, it's called tattoos and piercings and fucking gyno. b) literally anyone could mark another person during sex by accident. If someone were assaulting you, might you not claw, bite and punch your way out of it? What happens to you then, if the person who did it claims consent and didn't leave a mark on you? What if you were in an abusive relationship and your partner consented to or even coerced you into marking them during sex? That person then has grounds to press legal charges against you if you try to leave them or otherwise piss them off.

Not to mention that again, this assumes it's "rough sex" that's enabling this kind of defense, and not the judge and jury who decides these people are innocent and the rape culture that emboldens them.

And who is disproportionately affected by this kind of law? I'll give you three guesses.

Anti Sadomasochism and "obscene" sex laws have been tied to homophobia for about as long as they've existed. In the 80s there was a nationwide investigation that led to many gay men being interrogated and persecuted for sadomasochism. Coincidentally (/sarcasm) Section 28 was passed in 1988, and although homosexuality itself was partially "decriminalised", in 1989 consensual gay sex made up a huge percentage of the persecutions under "gross indecency".

All of that to say that finding something gross, or shocking is never grounds to legally censor it.

But maybe you don't care about gay men. Maybe you don't care about BDSM practitioners or other kinksters. You still want to see it all banned.

Imagine, then, a scenario where all of this happens but it's not gay people or BDSM they turn their sights to. Imagine they ban porn for all the "right" reasons. Let's say they, just as you do @progressofthepilgrim, cite misogyny as the main problem with porn and ban it for that reason.

Porn goes away. Misogyny does not. They then turn to the statistics to figure out what else is perpetuating sexual violence because again, they are misogynists pretending to be protecting women, so they will never look at themselves or the society they perpetuate first. They will look for some other perpetrator.

What's to stop them turning to a racial or religious minority? There are already stereotypes that black people are disproportionately violent, what's to stop the government going and raiding their houses and interrogating them about their sex lives the way they did with the gays?

Or, to put this specifically in the lense of your personal interests: what if they turned to the Church? You're pentecostal, I see by your bio, and I know this is a Protestant denomination, so perhaps you believe the Catholic Church should also be banned for its large number of sexual assault and paedophilia cases that never seem to end? For its misogynist and sexist denominations that demand women be subservient?

What, then, if I told you that sexual assault is also prevelant in the Protestant churches? As Protestant churches outnumber Catholic ones, it would be easy for them to cover it up for longer. Do we then ban Protestants too despite y'all being outwardly more progressive? Where does it end? Do you really trust your government or mine to uphold these laws fairly? After everything they've already done to women and minorities?

I'm not telling you to like porn. Or even to support sex workers ideologically. Fuck, I hate most mainstream porn, I agree the mass-produced frontpage stuff is fucking disgusting in any category.

But you have to understand that the outright legal ban of sexual expression cannot ever be a good thing in the society we live in. You can believe porn is inherently evil, whatever, that's your right as a person with opinions. But at some point you have to stop patching up cracks and notice the huge, gaping hole at the top of them. Problematic porn is a small symptom of an enourmous problem and banning it will only give that problem more room to grow. The patriarchal and colonial powers that be want people like us to be focused so much on the easy to hate so they can keep getting away with it themselves. They want you to focus on the fruitflies so that you never have time to throw out the rotten fruit.

Puritanism is getting worse around the globe and conservatives and fascists will absolutely be first going harder against porn, then use that against queer people. You HAVE to realise this and oppose anti porn measures and laws, be in solidarity with sex workers, and listen to them when they call this shit out. It's going to be vitally important.