#or whether my language is clear enough that people actually know what I'm talking about

[pangur-and-grim]

[licorice-and-rum]

My response to some "critics" about Babel

Okay, I'm gonna start by saying this: English is not my first language so I may commit some spelling and grammar mistakes here but I felt like I just had to write this down, especially because of the negative reviews this book has that just… didn't get it.

Don't get me wrong, of course you're allowed to not like this book, I recognize that it's most certainly not gonna be everyone's cup of tea but some of the people here just didn't get what this book was all about. Babel isn't a fantasy like ACOTAR, or HP, or whatever (in the sense that, for those, the story guides the message while Babel is the contrary): like many classical books, Babel was written to make a point, it's a romance, sure, but it was written to argue for something - the necessity of violence.

So, first of all: Babel is a historical fantasy, it talks about colonialism, racism, sexism, and other matters with no qualms, no embellishing to make it digestible, no allegories or metaphors because this isn't the point. Kuang's "lack of nuance" as someone here pointed out is very deliberate and extremely important for the story because the points she wants to make are always lost in nuance (just think how many people go on misinterpreting Star Wars, Hunger Games, or even anti-system songs like The Wall ffs), and the message is too important to get lost in allegories.

Second, as to the story, many people seem to think what she's pointing out is obvious "ur dur colonialism is bad, we get it". No, you clearly don't. There's a profound difference between getting it and actually comprehending it to an elemental level. Robin's travel to Canton illustrates that perfectly: he knew that colonialism was bad, he knew it was violent but he didn't comprehend it until he was forced to face it happening in front of him - to people who could've been easily him. More than that, because that was when he finally connected the theory with the reality, it became palpable to him.

It's not enough to get it, you have to actually stay attuned to it, to feel the flow of its violence throughout the world because then, and only then, I'll realize you can't be complacent, you can't turn your head from it. And Babel is an attempt, however tiny, of showing this to you. Of telling you "Look, you're ignoring it, the discomfort you felt reading this is your conscience telling you you relate to that". So no, I refuse to accept that Kuang should have been more nuanced: she was as clear as she could because she knows people say they get it but they don't, not really.

Third, the magical system is just chef's kiss. I've seen many people complaining about it but the thing is: the silver working is not about having magic in the world, it's about creating a palpable, material place where Kuang could center her attention as she talked about the economic aspect of colonialism. That's because colonial power is not centered in one place or thing, it is scattered all around but you can't hardly make a point like Babel's if you have your characters fighting off colonialism in all corners of the world. Like the Capital in the Hunger Games, Babel is a material place that symbolizes something.

Moreover, the silver working symbolizes the Industrial Revolution and its need for the advance of colonialism. More than that, silver-working is about capital, it's about technology to generate more profit, quicker, for a specific class that doesn't care who they have to kill to continue, doesn't care whether it is good or bad for the common folk.

Fourth, many people pointed out how academic Kuang's writing style felt during Babel and they're right, it is indeed very identifiable. I'm sure I even commented something along the lines of "it feels like I'm having the best History lesson of all time". But I'm going to challenge people who say things against the notion that the historical description of Kuang was unnecessary: every time Kuang chose to give the readers historical context has served somehow to the narrative.

I remember early on in the book when Robin was still a teen walking through London and reading anything he could put his hands on, and then we get two paragraphs of historical and political context for the time, then Robin comments that he didn't understand why this mattered so much. That paragraph served so much, both because it made us know a little more about Robin and because it served to make us understand the profound environmental change England was going through at the time.

And every time she did this, it served for something. Again, Babel is a historical fantasy, it is supposed to make you think about the point Kuang is trying to make but you won't understand it if you don't know the context of which Robin and the other characters in the book are coming from. It was a time of decision: either England would consolidate itself as an almost all-powerful oppressor, or it could go down… if the oppressed people - who share a common enemy - understood their responsibility to do something.

The strikes of the English working class, the violent acts of rioters, the advancement in technology, the possibility of the Opium War, the colonialism… it's all important. It's important because it allows us to understand the deep connection between it all. It allows us to understand who profits off of it, and who doesn't; who is able to understand and who isn't. It's why Letty is upper-class. It's why Abel isn't.

It's not as simple as some people think to understand colonialism, the flows through which one thing is tied to another. Why do people ask "How does this affect me?" when we point out deeply unfair things like unpaid maternity leave (I actually saw an American once saying she "wouldn't want her tax money to go to someone who didn't plan through"), like the fact people starve when we have the ability to feed a world and a half, of that Palestine is going through ethnic cleansing? Because they are unable to understand how closely their lives are tied to other peoples they have never met and probably never will.

Kuang's message is not "colonialism is bad", she's saying "These are all the forms through which colonialism is bad to everyone but a few, do something about it", she's saying "Every single one of your struggles is tied together in more ways than you even understand. A person in Haiti, in China, in India, in the other side of the world, has more to do with you than these white rich people, fight with them, stand with them."

Fifth, I can't believe I gotta say this but I'm not going to even bother with you if you think this book is somehow "anti-white": just get over your main character syndrome. We're talking about a historical fantasy set in England in the epitome of colonialism through the eyes of a person of color. Of course, most white people are gonna be bad, get over yourself ffs!

The actual entitlement to the protagonism white people have is maddening. As a white woman (in Brazil, at least), I'm ashamed of some comments here. It's not because white people in this book are majorly racist (which, according to the setting is 100% accurate) that Kuang is talking about you (although, if you're so bothered by it, it's probably about you anyway). This is a book about the experience of people of color under the oppression of colonialism: white people are the problem!

You can't just expect someone to write about colonialism and not talk majorly about race. White people reap all the privileges of this system and not just that, they are responsible for it, and all the crying about being the bad guys is just insufferable (they're actually so right about having to console Letty once she learns about the racism they suffer).

Be f*ing accountable for your privileges, take responsibility for your internalized racism, and be accountable for the system that privileges you. It doesn't matter that it wasn't your fault, that you didn't set up the system, you still benefit from it anyway so get a grip. This story isn't about you at all, it isn't about how some white people fought against slavery or oppression, it isn't about you.

Let's be very clear about this: most white people who fought against slavery did so to serve their own interests, exactly as Kuang points out. This doesn't mean none of them were good people who actually believed slavery was bad but we're talking of a time when racism and racial discrimination weren't even discussed seriously. Most white people, even the ones against slavery would have a deeply ingrained racism in them, so get real.

More than that, though: if those people who actually have no shame in saying Babel is "anti-white" had actually read the book through, they would know that some white people actually help and are good people in the story.

Anyway, Babel is so good, it's so painfully real and so passionately well-written. You can feel Kuang's love for her people, the struggles of what it means to love something but still not be a part of it, the deep understanding of how the world works, and how intricately every single thing in our lives is.

I just felt so heard (as a person from a third-world country) reading Babel, like someone was telling me all this rage and indignation I feel is justified, it's valid. I just treasured it so much, how I identified with Robin's need for security contrasting with his indignation for the price of it; with the rage Griffin carried around him, sharpened and well-directed even in its volition; with the love Victoire had to learn to have for her country and its story; with all the pain I was able to share with someone who understood it.

It's an honor to allow words to change me so fundamentally. It's humbling to realize I'm not alone, that my actions and my feelings are shared by other people. It is really precious, you know, to be able to become a better person than I was before because of a book.

[barblaz-arts]

Hello again! Thank you for answering my question and well here is my "essay* (I tried to explain myself as best as possible so that I can be understood) I also regret any mistakes in the text, English is not my native language and I am using a translator:

I don't know if I'm right, I also modified it to how I sent it on the Hazbin Hotel confessions Twitter account, but I hope you like it.

I also thought I could make one talking about Husk and Vaggie and why I feel like the two are "similar" in some way.

Wait I actually do know what you mean!

I still dont think i have any right to objectively say whether you're right or wrong or if I can have anything intelligent to add, seeing as yunno i haven't watched the full show, but I do know enough about these characters to lean towards agreeing with you.

And i know exactly what you mean about Husk. I've talked about it briefly before when i was asked about what I thought of the other characters

And I've shared my thoughts on twitter too

Once again, i must make it clear, bcuz people always misunderstand, THIS IS NOT HUSK HATE. These are just my personal thoughts based on what I got from the show.

I'm sure i have some followers who adore Husk. I dont want to hurt their feelings and I dont say this to mean that they're wrong for liking him. If they find something about him to like, that's honestly totally fine. My criticism will always ALWAYS be on the fandom's double standards and vitriolic hate on Vaggie for the reasons they claim and yet ignore is also applicable for characters who aren't directed with the same hate. And no, this is not me asking for Husk or Ozzie to also get hate. I just want the people in this fandom to either chill out or admit the real reason why they hate Vaggie.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello. I am writing a character with intellectual disability, and I have found your posts about that really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make them.

I am trying to do research and write him well, and I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to do that. My problem is that I would like to describe the way he speaks and the sound of his voice, but I'm not sure how to do that respectfully.

What I would like to describe is the way he takes a little longer to complete his sentences, needs more time than others do to plan what he's going to say, and pronounces some sounds a bit differently because of motor skills issues. I want to honor his unique voice and also help readers understand that he is noticeably disabled.

Are there any words or terms that would be really good/preferred to describe this sort of thing? And, on the other side, is there anything stereotypical or hurtful that should be avoided?

Thank you!

Hey!

I recommend our guide on writing speech disabilities.

In-dialogue, you can try showing him taking a break mid-sentence or using a lot of filler words/sounds to show that he's taking his time. You can spell them out in his speech, but I wouldn't overuse it - you can put more of them at the start, but later your readers will remember that that's how he talks, and occasional reminders should be enough.

It's important to remember that;

1) ableists often mock the things I just mentioned, and

2) they're nonetheless real and real life people (me) talk with those patterns. I'd urge you to show them as just how he talks, not something that's inherently "annoying" or "child-like". Stray away from any sorts of infantilizing comparisons in general (that is, if he's not an actual child).

For him taking longer to plan what he is going to say, that's very real. How it shows (or doesn't show) will be very personal, I specifically tend to look up + fidget with my hands and people who know me can recognize that it means I'm trying to say something but need a moment (though strangers also often get it). But he can show it completely differently of course.

I don't think there's a consensus on what's the best way of "spelling out" someone's speech disability. My personal preference is leaving it out of the actual speech, but making it clear in the dialogue tags. It's also easier for readers who might have reading disabilities or not be native speakers of the language you write in. So you could make it clear there whether it's that he's slurring words, has a lisp, or stutters.

For terms, a lot of the accurate ones have also been used to mock how we talk. "Slow" would be the best example, "loud" would be there as well. A lot of us will talk slow, a lot will talk very loudly. I do the latter, and I know people who do both or neither. The key is to say it in a way that's neutral and not pass it off as some funny quirk or an outright gag. It's just a speech characteristic, the same way that someone could have a lower pitched voice, or speak very softly.

You can also show him struggling to follow the flow of the conversation. So sometimes it could be that he just loses the main topic and just asks what the discussion has been about (I do that all the time), or continues going on the subject that the other character(s) already moved on from.

Thanks for the ask and being thoughtful about it,

mod Sasza

[nancylou444]

Hi Nancy,

I hope it's okay I turn to you with this, but I just recently joined spn tumblr so I haven't really discovered many blogs I share my opinions with yet (though I did find some awesome blogs I'm excited to follow, but most of them only really talk about spn and the characters and not the actors, and this ask is concerned with j2m and danneel). Buckle up, this will be long because I tend to over-explain myself. Sorry in advance.

So I've been in the fandom since 2018 but haven't really paid attention to the cast other than watching some gag reels/bloopers, interviews with j2(m) and clips from cons. I never dug deep into the relationships/dynamics of the cast members (and also took like a 3-year break from the fandom so I'm not at all up-to-date)

I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people (in that when I find someone likeable they tend to prove themselves to be a good person and when I dislike someone seemingly for no reason I usually discover some pretty fucked up things about that person later on. Obviously with celebrities you never actually know what they are like irl but so far I've been right about people as far as I know.)

All this to say that I had an inkling about misha from the start, even though I never cared enough to do my research and justify my dislike towards him. I always got this pick me vibe from him, and like he's trying to insert himself into the j2 friendship to seem more relevant and likeable. And it seemed pretty clear to me that he is clinging to jensen and making it look like they are besties, ignoring jared or making him look bad as much as he can get away with only to fuel destiehellers in their belief that jensen also supports destiel and that jared is to blame for it not being canon. I've since found your masterpost about why you're anti misha, and finally feel justified in my feelings towards him, so thank you for collecting his shitty displays in one place.

So what my ask is about (getting to my point at last) is that in my browsing the anti misha tags I came across the anti danneel tag and decided to check it out out of curiosity (and arrogance, as I wanted to see if I was right about danneel as well, since I always got a bad vibe from her too (even though I never actually paid attentionto her)). And I did find some things that makes me think her and jensen's relationship isn't a healthy one built on mutual love and respect, and is possibly even abusive. I'm inclined to believe it not only because of my own instinct, but because of a video I saw where jensen's body language screamed that he is uncomfortable while sitting next to danneel who was rubbing/petting his back (though I don't have context for that clip so there might be another explanation for his body language that I'm not aware of). However the only 'evidence' about her being abusive was instagram posts that were (slight) jabs at jensen, that could just as likely be playful teasing as actual bullying depending on their relationship dynamic and whether the teasing is reciprocated imo (& there's no way of knowing how they interact in private so who knows). I'd be curious to know if there are more concrete instances of her treating jensen badly or generally being a bad person, but I couldn't really find anything useful in the tags.

But anyways, reading these posts I discovered yet another anti tag, this time anti jensen, which I definitely did not expect. I obviously know about The Winchesters drama but I thought they moved past it and are tight again, so I'm confused about what other reason there is for people to be anti jensen. I've seen some posts discussing him not standing up for jared/not being very supportive of him, siding with misha (though I'm especially sceptical about that one) etc.

I would like to be better informed about these things without having to watch hours of footage to analyse their interactions or read through hundreds of posts that either have some proof or not, without having to decipher whether what someone says is their opinion/interpretation or actual things that happened. From looking through some of your posts you seem to be well informed and trustworthy, so I'd kindly ask if you could explain the situation to the best of your knowledge or refer me to someone who has more information regarding danneel and jensen's relationship as well as jensen and jared's and can provide receipts. Thank you so much, and again sorry for this super long ask <3

Hello my darling.❤️ Nothing to apologize for.

@lightofraye recently posted an awesome anti danneel post with pics and videos. HERE

As for anti Jensen, for me, the prequel mess is a done deal. J2 have moved on from it and are besties again. I have the 'anti jensen' tag blacklisted. I really don't see him picking misha over ANYONE, let alone Jared.

Maybe @its-sassyboots @hologramcowboy or @walkergirlsposts can help you with the anti Jensen stuff.

[deathonthe]

mona lisa's smile | 1418

pairing: fernando/lance

rating: teen and up

word count: ~7000

tags: pre-relationship, 2021 season, non-driver lance au

summary:

Two-time world champion. Robbed from his third. A villain’s making—a slow descent from glory, trajectory fixed on an unfulfilling end. Back from his sabbatical. Fernando Alonso.

director's cut:

don't let my ramblings influence ur interpretation of the fic!

these are my notes/reflection on the fic. they don't have to be urs. different minds can come to different conclusions that are equally fantastic!

mona lisa's smile is supposed to disappear when u view her directly, but out of ur peripheral, she is always smiling mysteriously (eerily). i thought it was fitting given the characterisation of lance and the facade he kinda keeps up in the fic

my obvious issue is that since it is an incomplete fic, the focus on lance and esteban's friendship overshadowed his developing one with fernando

i thought the risotto scene was corny, i'm glad people liked it

yes, it's written so that u can't really tell if someone's talking about something or somehow implying it or thinking it

i'm impartial to when people portray lance as having daddy issues and lawrence being a bad father. obviously i don't know jackshit about lance's relationship with his dad, but i wanted to depict it in a positive light this time around

whether or not scotty was going behind chloe's back with daniel is up to u. i couldn't decide whether he would or wouldn't so i left it vague

i don't know shit about ice hockey. i had to google who the canadiens were. they're not mentioned more because i couldn't be stuffed doing more research

i back read way too many articles about lawrence buying racing point, because i thought the dts portrayal was a bit inaccurate

lance and esteban do speak french when they're together so i'm glad i at least got that part of their characterisation correct

i actually started taking duolingo lessons for french because of this fic

the style is choppy on purpose because i hate grammar and tense

the line of 'offers security physically in the only way he knows how' is not implying that lance fucks este. i think lance often grabbing parts of himself to kinda subconsciously reassure himself, i tried to transfer that vibe into his friendship with esteban

to be clear, fernando does not give a shit about lance really until he meets him again when lance is like 20/21

the part that goes 'lance had watched from the grandstands that day. the crowd roared. he hadn't thought much of it' was actually regarding fernando's abu dhabi retirement donuts, and not him winning in spain in 2013

if misappropriating classical writing in my trashy fics was a crime, i would be on death row

at this point, it is not clear whether fernando is approaching lance as part of his El Plan or if he's genuinely interested in him

re: esteban and pierre possibly both being in renault. hindsight is a beautiful thing

fernando's "we are like lions. podiums soon" is another reference to the iliad. i wasn't sure if the implication was strong enough

i was originally going to scrap the 'must've misheard italian for indian' line because i wasn't sure if it would offend people

in the risotto scene, sebastian is actually oblivious as to what's happening. he's not pretending to be. he is fully unaware

my most despised line in this fic is: a son of a billionaire he may be, but a waster of food he is not. i think it's too cheesy and doesn't fit with the style of the fic. looking back now, i'm not sure why i kept it

i think the 'lance's lack of passion' character choice stems a lot from how f1 fans think lance is somehow detached from the sport and doesn't really care for it as much as, let's say, fernando or max, who are always very clearly enthusiastic about racing. it's probably also got something to do with lance's 'monotonous voice' that people like to complain about. it's ok, though, because lance is plenty expressive in his face and body language

fernando's post-race interview after his bahrain dnf is an amalgamation of some of the actual post-race interviews he's given

my favourite line in this fic is: Un jour, vous en ferez l'expérience. Cela fait battre votre cœur pour la première fois et votre cœur ne cessera de battre après. too bad it had to be in french

the ass-tap was inspired by the video of fernando congratulating lance after lance got p3 in the wet qualifying for brazil 2023 (i believe, need to double check on that)

the aston engineer is 100% suspicious about lance and fernando

thanks for putting urself through all of that!

[rainy-sys]

i just think his wntire character is so cool. the chambers have been his WHOLE LIFE. he's been confined to the island his WHOLE LIFE. but he's changed what has been his entire life to fit his friends (the rooms, the dispensers for dirk, the lil slime in spirit room, NEED I GO ON???) but he's still so anxious being around them. i feel like. tell me if this is a stretch but. it's the fact that the letters are so personal, yet so distant. who has to work double time and overthink whether they're standing the right way, or not being too open with their body language, or moving the right way, or ANYTHING when they're just words on a page? i feel like he's so used to his friends being words on a page that he doesn't know how to function when they're REAL and RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. there are so many things that he has to worry about now that he'd NEVER had to worry about before, and i think it is very overwhelming for him. he's trying so hard, almost TOO hard, to stay within the box of "i am still words on a page, and i will play into however you imagined me". i don't think he really thought about how people viewed him until they could actually SEE him in person?

he is just. so desperate to fit into how other people potentially view him.

AND THAT ALSO. i think JUST MAYBE, and correct me if i'm reading into it too far, he might be especially working double time around dirk. because that guy is ELUSIVE. and we've already established that they barely talk, all thanks to hal, and dirk's inability to have human relationships .

by the way, if you can EVR find the words, i would LOVE to know how he views the whole situation with dirk, AND dirk himself

i wish you could see me so you could see how hard i punched my bed about this. /pos

FUCK YOU GOT HIM SO RIGHT. HE IS NOT USED TO SEEING HIS FRIENDS IN PERSON. HE'S NOT USED TO SEEING ANYTHING EXCEPT ANIMALS IN PERSON. HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO HOLD HIMSELF IN FRONT OF THEM?? HE'S NEVER HAD TO. he, while writing to them, allowed himself to express the joy he felt talking to his friends, at least a little. the chambers would echo his laughter. he could see his smile reflect off of shiny surfaces. he noticed once after reading through old letters (to be clear, he's kept every single one. if that wasn't obvious) that he was fighting better. but now he's gotta watch it.

speaking of fighting, the cdirk stuff. holy shit. it is not an exaggeration to say that when he saw cdirk in person, he could have just straight up cried. like just fully burst into tears. seeing roxy was insane enough, but dirk? he's in person, right in front of him, there's no guessing game of who's responding, no interference between the two, hal isn't there, it's actually dirk and, in the most nonscary way possible, he can't leave now. they have to have a real conversation. but also, at the same time, cjake is in person too. he has to be aware of himself, not freak anyone out, make sure they don't think he's insane about them when he IS (in the best way possible). he just got the opportunity to meet people, let alone to meet his friends?? he is not messing anything up if he can help it. he's going to mirror their energy, do anything he can to make them happy, make them comfortable, make sure they don't leave because he cares about them and also because he's been alone his entire life and he is not going back to that now that this is right in front of him.

GRGRGRGGRGHH I WISH I COULD DO HIS FEELINGS JUSTICE WITH WORDS BUT KNOW THAT HE SAW CROXY AND WAS ABSOLUTELY OVERJOYED. BUT THEN HE SAW CDIRK AND, BROTHER, CJAKE LOOKED AT THAT GUY LIKE HE WAS THE MOST DETAILED AND BEAUTIFUL ROMAN STATUE OUT THERE. YOU'VE GOTTA UNDERSTAND

[huntunderironskies]

A Call to Action

Hi all.

I wish I had better news to give. I thought long and hard about whether or not I should share this because I will be functionally doxxing myself when I do. But I've had several days to sleep on it and think about what to do. I've come to the conclusion that this is more important than me. This will be a long post but I urge you to read all of it. I'm afraid I have to be thorough here given the situation.

I think everyone who has been following me for more than a week knows how much I love religious studies as a field. It is my single greatest passion in life.

Unfortunately my school, UNC Greensboro, is trying to eliminate our department under claims of it being "not financially justifiable," among others (including anthropology and all Korean language classes.) These claims are highly spurious. Debunking this in full will take some time but I'll try to cover as much ground as I can in the relatively short space I am given and provide some sources. If anyone needs further elaboration, I'll report to the best of my abilities.

This is all to lead into the fact that I would like to provide some opportunities for people to help us out over here, which I will cover at the end. The shortest possible version is: please signal boost this. I do urge you to read it in full, though.

With the first introduction out of the way...

A Second But Very Brief Introduction to Religious Studies and a Justification of Its Presence in Academia (Given the Natural Bent of this Site is Sometimes Towards Antitheism)

Feel free to skip this if you have any familiarity with religious studies as a discipline, I'm putting it here because I find that it's often confounded with theology and every time I talk about it someone asks me if I'm going to be a priest (no.)

To be clear, religious studies is not theology. It does not purport the existence of any higher spiritual powers or presences. It is strictly the study of religion and spirituality as a force in human culture. This falls under both negative and positive effects, and covers everything from historical impact to individual psychology to macrosociological effects of religion to the simple understanding and study of mythology and folklore.

While internalized cultural norms are of course an issue that must be overcome by any scholar, for a religious studies scholar the Catholic Worker, the Sikh ragi, and the long-dead Sumerian ašipu should all have their beliefs and inner lives treated with the exact same sort of gravity and understanding, no matter how far their own beliefs might be from our own. It is, in my subjective opinion, the most humanizing of all the humanities because we are forced to operate on a deeply personal, vulnerable level.

I wish I didn't have to explain why these sorts of skills are important, especially given the current climate of intolerance that has been growing across the world and the growth of anti-intellectualism. I recognize that I might have to but I don't want to linger on that given everything else I have to cover in this post. Go ahead and ask as I do love talking about my field but I might take some time to answer.

A Brief Summary of Events Beforehand

My school has hired a firm known as rpk Group (lack of capitalization true to actual title) to restructure school funding financially with a focus on eliminating programs deemed to not earn enough for the school. Here is a brief explanation from the source itself. I apologize if the school website's CSS is still broken and it's difficult to read due to the social media icons being about thirty times the size they should be. Apparently they couldn't find the funding to pay a web designer instead of an expensive financing firm.

Those of you who have kept up with news in American academia may recognize this as the same group that forced cuts at West Virginia University. Please keep that in mind as we go forward.

Here are the high points:

Religious studies attained a passing grade under the rubric set out by the school. There have been active attempts to hide the scoring system from anyone but faculty. The spreadsheet in which the data was published has been password protected (source, which also contains several other refutations to the chancellor's talking points.)

For those who wish to keep score, anthropology did as well and our anthropology program is known for being quite good. This is without going into the other benefits the anthropology program provides the school with, which include such things as a community garden.

There were lower scoring programs that were kept. In other words, the decision-making process has been entirely inscrutable.

This is supported by the fact that the administration has been giving out incorrect numbers regarding program attendance to both news outlets and students, with some programs proposed to be cut having their student enrollment off by several factors.

Religious studies had over five times as many students as was originally reported. The Chinese language minor was reported to have zero students when there were thirty-six. To operate with this level of error from alleged professionals beggars belief and undermines any faith I would've had in this process.

The administration has claimed that they used the correct numbers in their rubrics. As they will not publish further data to myself nor the public, I have no evidence this is actually true.

They were going to cut Korean language as a minor. We don't have a Korean language minor. We do have a track of Korean language and I am given to understand as of this semester, culture courses. Which are operated solely by one professor and are consistently full or close to capacity due to popularity. There is no evidence they are losing the school money and I have several testimonials that the Korean culture-related programs have drawn students to UNCG as it is a unique niche the school gives not just over other UNC schools but over other colleges and universities.

Faculty and students were given information about what programs would be cut at precisely the same time, through an email sent schoolwide. Many students and faculty were in class at the time this was sent and had to proceed as if they weren't about to have their programs eliminated.

The administration alleges that current students will be able to finish their degrees. I have little faith this is the case for reasons that will take a while to get into but, to summarize as briefly as possible, completion of a degree here requires certain high-level classes that may be difficult to obtain with faculty cuts.

The chancellor alleges that Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies will not be affected by the elimination of religious studies, despite the fact that they are hosted under the department and Islamic Studies uses the same funding. As such, I believe that the highly technical and academic category used to refer to this sort of thing is "a blatant lie."

The administration has tried to quietly edit out any errors in original reporting. I am pleased to report that, as many of us intensely online people know, the Wayback Machine exists. Here is the original statistically incorrect press release that was given, which they have tried to bury.

While they have held forums, these have largely been ceremonial gestures rather than serious attempts at communication. At the one I went to, all non-administration speakers were given only two minutes to speak while the chancellor and dean were given as much time as possible to respond. Their responses to concerns were often dismissive and rarely addressed the necessary issues. I believe any person present will back me up on this, though I am not currently in possession of a voice recording.

I must operate within the evidence I am given. The best-faith interpretation of their actions is that the metrics they were using to determine what cuts should be made are incorrect and must be re-done before going through with any sort of program cuts, and that the administration's collaboration process with the group they employed is poor to nonexistent given the scattershot information provided. There is very, very clearly a communications breakdown somewhere along the line that raises this entire procedure into question.

I think it goes without saying it's all downhill from there. The level of arbitrariness with regards to cuts, lack of professionalism, and total lack of transparency would lead a reasonable person to believe there are heavy political motivations involved here and not simple brute facts. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions anywhere along this spectrum, of course. I encourage you to be skeptical.

Lastly, if I can't convince you that it's worth stopping this process to save religious studies, think about the anthropology department. Think about the languages that are getting cut. Think about physics or mathematics. A large-scale public university without a physics program is quite frankly unreal and the fact it's primarily humanities being targeted runs parallel with some sinister trends within American education. This process should, at the very least, be halted for time being.

What You (the Reader) Can Do

Firstly, be aware that we have until February 1st before decisions are finalized. I apologize for the short time limit. Myself and other members of the community were taken completely by surprise as well, and once again as I mentioned above it has caused some level of cynicism around the motivations of the administration.

With that out of the way...make noise about this. The school administration is making all efforts to keep this quiet. I can say the good news is that according to other people on the ground, they are beginning to lose control of their narrative that they are making difficult financial decisions to keep the school financially solvent.

Believe it or not, the farther removed you are, the better. If this hits a national scale then the school may be finally forced to acknowledge they are rapidly causing the otherwise prestigious UNC system, typically considered to be one of the best public university systems in the US, to be a national laughingstock and that they will lose money as their reputation declines in a way that they would not have if they'd simply carried out this process in a more reasonable way.

You can sign our petitions here and here. Easy enough, takes about three minutes, self-explanatory.

Finally, reach out to an academic or any passionate learner in a specialized field today. A lot of us feel understandably threatened and demoralized. Again, this is not just about me or even about my school. This is about trends within the American education system. Explaining the hows and whys in full detail is not within the scope of this post, but I think a reasonable person can conclude after looking at the current evidence that there is a dismantling of American schools in favor of a corporatized existence. For those of us who love knowledge and learning, this is incredibly sinister. Knowledge should not have a price tag put on it.

A Final Word

I and several other people have Chancellor Gilliam on record saying that he has dedicated his life to working at the collegiate level and towards students. While he and the administration have tried to ensure that their statements outside of highly controlled environments are not easily accessible, I should be able to provide a clip if needed given that this statement was livestreamed and North Carolina is a one-party-consent state in regards to recordings.

They have consistently characterized this process as having to make hard decisions to keep the university afloat. The chancellor is currently the highest-paid employee within UNCG itself and the fourth highest-paid member of administration within the UNC system as a whole (source.) Please be aware this does not include other benefits, which in 2022 put his salary above $500,000 (source.) As others have, I must ask why these "difficult decisions" within the school have not included a salary cut for himself if he is so dedicated to improving the lives of students.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you've gotten this far, you've already listened more than anyone outside of the academic departments have and that means a lot to me in and of itself.

[lightandfellowship]

It took a really long time but I finally settled on Dream Eater teams for the upperclassmen + Baldr. (Dream Eaters in these images do not reflect their actual sizes.)

As usual here are the explanations under the read more:

Vidar

Aura Lion (primary): I really wanted to give Vidar a wolf Dream Eater because of the mythological Vidar's connection to Fenrir, but alas there are no wolf Dream Eaters in this game (which is very surprising to me; seems like an obvious choice?). I felt a lion Dream Eater was the closest thing, and a lion's reputation for being the "king of the jungle" fits Vidar's leader role and his pursuit of Kingdom Hearts. This Dream Eater is also a Light type, which is perfect for Vidar who is fiercely loyal to the Light. It's one of the most powerful Dream Eaters as well with a lot of Light attacks and support abilities, which fits a powerful leader who watches out for those under him.

Juggle Pup (secondary): I'll admit, I had a hard time picking Vidar's second Dream Eater. What convinced me to pick this guy is its color scheme, gambling theme, and its description. It's primarily blue and yellow which nicely matches the colors in Vidar's design. And much like this Dream Eater, Vidar "took a risky gamble" on Kingdom Hearts. Its description also says "their poker faces are hard to read", which I think fits Vidar as well (just look at how straight-faced he is when Vor despairingly talks about her emotional issues, haha).

Vala

Peepsta Hoo (primary): Because owls are considered wise. And this Dream Eater has an ability where it "scans" enemies for weaknesses to exploit (along with having a name that evokes "looking/peeping at something"), which fits the "vision" thing Vala has going on, along with how she watched Urd from afar to assess her abilities. This Dream Eater also uses a lot of elemental magic attacks (as well as some light magic despite being Dark type) which fits how Vala primarily uses magic. Finally, it has a link attack called "Fly-By Knight" which will be relevant…right now.

Lord Kyroo (secondary): Mostly because of my knightly Vala headcanons I've talked about before (tbh "samurai" could probably work too and would perhaps be more fitting; I just go with the European knight thing because of her debuting in Beast's Castle and because I'm more familiar with knights.) That being said, its description does call it a "smartypants" for some reason, which I think fits her. The clear reference to the Frog Prince fairytale also works well with her debuting in Beast's Castle since the Beast is also an enchanted prince turned into something "ugly". And of course this Dream Eater uses magic.

Vali

Me Me Bunny (primary): Me Me Bunny is the closest thing to a ninja-themed Dream Eater due to its appearance/body language and its description saying it knows "bun fu". (I know, not Japanese). It is Physical-attribute which fits how Vali uses physical attacks.

Kooma Panda (secondary): Gonna be honest, not much logical reason for this one, I just think they would make an adorable team. I'm imagining Vali taking naps on Kooma Panda's belly and them climbing trees together. That said, color-wise, I think Kooma Panda's blue-green claws match Vali's eyes extremely well. Oh, and it's a Physical and Light type; I don't think I need to explain why Light types are good for the upperclassmen in general, haha.

Heimdall

Cera Terror (primary): Mostly just because this Dream Eater's crest (head) resembles the shape of Heimdall's collar. I just love it when people visually resemble their pets in some way, whether in shape or color scheme or vibe. Once again, this one is a Physical and Light type.

Skelterwild (secondary): I wanted to pick a rainbow Dream Eater as a reference to the mythological Heimdall who guards the rainbow bridge "Bifrost" (funnily enough this Dream Eater is ice-themed as well…"frost" is in the name Bifrost, even if it doesn't actually mean that. It can just be a silly pun, y'know). And yeah I guess our Heimdall gets to have a dino theme for his Dream Eaters.

Helgi

Keeba Tiger (primary): I knew I wanted either Aura Lion or Keeba Tiger for him because of these animals being considered strong, scary, and wild, but I think the ice age theming of a saber-tooth tiger better fits how Helgi looks like he's dressed for the cold with those furs of his. In addition, its ability link board includes a lot of attack boosts and attack hastes which fits Helgi's confrontational personality. Plus, much like Aura Lion this Dream Eater is just pretty powerful in general.

Tyranto Rex (secondary): For a lot of the same reasons as above: it's large, powerful, imposing, and wild. (I guess I accidentally went for an "extinct" theme here.) One of its dispositions is called "Tyrant" (and Keeba Tiger has one called "Conquerer") which fits how Helgi thinks force is acceptable for maintaining righteous order. Both of his Dream Eaters use fire attacks, coincidentally.

Sigrun

Wheeflower (primary): Wheeflower's head shape actually perfectly matches the flower shape on Sigrun's sleeves. But yes, I chose this one because of the flower theme. I also really like the headcanon from user rosie-kairi that Sigrun is distantly related to Lauriam and Strelitzia, and wouldn't you know it this Dream Eater is not only a flower, it also has a dandelion themed attack. It also has access to Protect and Shell which fits how Sigrun jumped in front of Heimdall to protect him from Dragon Maleficent.

Eaglider (secondary): I wanted to pick a Dream Eater that could reference how the mythological Sigrun was a Valkyrie, and I think this one works well for that. Its head shape is very helmet-esque, and I frequently see Valkries depicted with feathered wings.

Hoder

Pegaslick (primary): It was absolutely necessary to me that Hoder have at least one Light type Dream Eater, so here it is. Also, I feel like Hoder's hair kind of resembles white feathers (plus she's got that whole angelic look going on), so a pegasus just makes sense. It has support abilities like Haste and Regen.

Cyber Yog (secondary): I really struggled with picking a second Dream Eater for her until I realized that the dispositions for this Dream Eater are all references to Santa's reindeer (Comet, Blitzen, etc.) And, well, mistletoe is important to the mythology of Hoder and Baldr. Because Cyber Yog is Thunder attribute and Pegaslick is Light, it can do a dual link with Pegaslick called "Ragnarok", something else important to Hoder and Baldr's mythology. Cyber Yog being red also matches the red accents in Hoder's design. Finally it has access to Protect and Shell which fits Hoder's original intentions of protecting Baldr.

Baldr

Ghostabocky (primary): Like with Hoder, I knew I wanted Baldr to have at least one Dark type Dream Eater on his team (he actually gets two). This guy being a mischievous, gluttonous-looking ghost just fits Baldr's color scheme and vibe, right? (I mean, it wields a knife.) One of its dispositions is called "Split Personality" which can (figuratively) reference a couple of things, like Baldr hiding himself and his darkness from everybody, or his symbiotic relationship with Darkness.

Woeflower (secondary): This one was so easy to pick because of how perfect it is. It's a Dark type, of course. Its head shape, thorns, and color scheme match Maleficent, the one who, y'know, had a major hand in killing Hoder. But the best part is its description: "This Dream Eater is a total downer, inflicting negative status effects left and right and getting pouty when companions leave it behind." Just like how Baldr feared Hoder leaving him behind.

[squaletta]

There are many strengths that you have in general when it comes to writing, but I think your strongest one would be that you have an undaunting spirit. To explain what I mean by this, I think there are different facets in which this can be seen, whether it’s the fact that you rp in a language that isn’t your mother tongue because you want to write more and connect with even more people, or even the fact that you put an incredible amount of energy and creativity into forging the female portrayals of Tsuna and Squalo.

I’ve seen a lot of people simply go down the ‘everything about the character is the same, but they are trans, and therefore are a [insert gender here]. I don’t often see people anymore directly state that their portrayal is such that the muse was born a different gender and you’ve catered their past to create a character who is like the original, but also different enough to be discernable from the original. The fact that this is the muse and not a AU that some people will request for, it shows that you’re and adventurous soul and one that truly just wants to have fun and not pay much attention to if others will have anything negative to say about your choices.

It was also recently seen in the talk that we had on discord a bit ago. We’re similar in ways that we won’t be stopped and we won’t allow sad things to keep us down. People may hurt us, but we’ll trek through it anyways and continue to do what makes us happy and what we think works.

Perhaps this doesn’t really make sense, but in the simplest of terms, you’ve got a lot of courage. You’re brave to venture into trying interesting things, and aren’t afraid to reach out to new people and try new interactions. You’re sociable and friendly. In RPC, that’s a very good quality to have. ((OOC: Greatest strength meme btw if it wasn’t clear))

What do you think is my biggest strenght as roleplayer

I do not know what to say. Your words motivate and encourage me to continue doing what I am doing. I respect you very much, and I'm glad we met. I don't want this to sound like a speech for winning some award, but every kind word is like I won some kind of award.

I know I'm not perfect. I know I need to work on many things related to this account. Whether it's my English, handling technical things, completing a account and content side (bio, verses etc.), and the aesthetic side.

I like different things and like to try different things, and this can probably be seen in my portrayal. Yes, it is an adventure in a way. Since I also work in the field of language and literature in the real world, roleplaying is my love. I'm actually an introvert, but here, the interaction comes naturally to me because I'm in my element.

However, I am very glad that you see what I see in my interpretation of the character. What I am trying to say and achieve with her. I also encounter negative opinions and misunderstandings, so I'm all the more happy with kind words and, of course, constructive criticism, whether it's good or suggesting what I should improve.

One big thank you. ♥

[ben-wisehart]

But how can you ban them if you can't detect them? At least when people tag them I can filter it instead of reading and wondering was that ai or bad writing/not first language/young writer?

Hi Anon! I'm glad you've asked this because I've been talking about it on Twitter all afternoon. I'm going to link you some threads and then I'll summarise my stance at the end:

Not mine but I highly recommend reading as it answers the above question much better than I am about to: https://twitter.com/dcyiyou/status/1658821419491262464

mine: https://twitter.com/bobby_speeds/status/1658867137870725121

In essence...

I'm literally advocating for only removing the ones that openly say they're AI. That’s my stance.

Ao3 already hosts fanworks that are against its TOS. I mentioned placeholder fics in the post you're responding to (here if people missed it), but much more seriously: commissioned works. Stories written for profit do not fall under fair use and are therefore against the Archive's TOS - but we all know there are still hundreds of them (probably more) on there. It's impossible to regulate when the authors do it quietly and don't mention it on the archive itself. Everyone knows that this happens, but that doesn't mean Ao3 shouldn't have a policy against it and shouldn't remove the ones that are blatant about flouting the rules.

AI fics aren't fanworks. Right now it's still unclear whether they would even be protected under fair use the way non-profit fanworks are. It's not about completely removing them from the archive, it's about drawing a clear distinction between what is and isn't a fanwork, which AI objectively is not.

People who post AI works for fun and people who pass off AI output as their own are fundamentally different people. The former are jumping on a bandwagon. The latter are pathetic losers and they'll eventually get bored. And they are, I cannot stress this enough, already doing it whether AI works are allowed or not because the thing that makes you go "hey guys, look at this neat thing I got from playing around on ChatGPT!" is not the same thing that makes you lie about making something on a platform where the only currency is praise.

I genuinely don't think the increase in untagged AI fics will be anything like people are suggesting, but even if it were, I guess I just don't care. Maybe I just don't understand this panic over not being able to filter out AI works because I already back out of 90% of fics I click on. I am unfathomably picky, and AI fics are so bad it takes less than a minute to recognise that it isn't worth reading (whether you know it's AI or not). I would rather back out of 91% instead if it means Ao3 actually taking a stand against a technology that I find so fundamentally repulsive and antithetical to everything the OTW stands for.

[thatstormygeek]

"And I think there’s more Republicans still out there that perhaps don’t want to speak publicly. They don’t want to get the backlash or the retribution that the former president has talked about if he’s reelected."

Huh. Sounds an awful lot like how they've been describing cancel culture all this time. But I thought only the "left" did that to people.

“And just because someone disagrees with your opinion, on a policy matter, or something like that, doesn’t mean they’re a bad person. And so I think a lot of times these days, people take things so personally, or they make it personal, when it doesn’t have to be. And I think that’s the way we move forward is being civil, allowing for discourse, especially discourse from the other side. And we can find common ground.”

The problem is that common ground has to include respecting the rights of people to live in ways you don't agree with. And Republicans are horrid at that. So y'all can opine about the need for common ground all you like, you're going to have to show us something, prove that you can do that, before we can begin to think about where that common ground might lie.

Personally, I don't know that there is anything they can manage that will make me trust it's not just a ploy to get us to let our guards down. YMMV. In my experience, the only time the right is decent is when they are forced to be.

Clay Wirestone practices what he preaches in that piece. He is willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to Representative Howe, ready to meet him partway.

Me? I'm not so nice.

I can appreciate the effort Howe spent laying out Trump's history of lying about elections being stolen long before he was even in the running for office. And I get the desire to weasel out of your own responsibility, especially when writing a public opinion piece. But my dude...come on. You lay out how your guy was an obvious liar and openly vindictive, then make a big deal out of how y'all were lied to, but then you tell everyone you voted for Trump twice.

So the lies and overt grudges weren't enough to turn you off. I guess I'm glad open insurrection is, but jesus fucking christ the bar is in the deepest level of hell and most of the GOP still can't clear it.

"Every Republican, with hindsight as a gift, needs to thoroughly examine the actions of the former President, and determine whether or not you think he exemplifies the virtues and values we hold dear as Americans."

If only. I mean, I think the values and virtues Republicans hold dear are kind of shitty a lot of the time, but it would be nice if they'd at least try to pretend to care about those.

"Several years have since passed, and with hindsight and a willingness to accept the facts, I decided to write this article for my fellow Kansas Republicans. While we may have different perspectives and analysis of what happened on January 6th, and what happened leading up to that day, what actually occurred that day must be accounted for and fully addressed by Republicans and the Republican Party."

Overall, I'm glad he wrote this. We are going to need more (a LOT more) in that party willing to openly hit the brakes if there is any chance for this nation at all. And I hope he stands by his declaration to not support Trump.

But I also wonder what his options are otherwise. Who is running on the GOP ticket that he feels he can vote for? If open insurrection truly is the line, there are others he can support, but if he's being honest about wanting the direction of his party to change, well...good fucking luck with these primaries.

And that's where the weaseling I mentioned earlier comes in. Ultimately, I don't give a shit if this guy experiences any consequences or whatever if he's truly committed to changing things and willing to actually investigate his own biases. But it's hard to know if the dodging accountability is just ego protection or if it's a sign he really doesn't see what the issues are.

Time will tell, I suppose.

[signedeclipse]

Omg I'm so glad to see someone doing demon slayer matchups- if your open could I get one? Romantic (demon and demon slayer results if thats ok!) and male results please! I'm a 5'0" girl with a grunge style, with poofy brown hair and bright green eyes, though my hair is usually covering them lol. I'm generally quiet, unless I'm comfortable around others, and then I get rowdy. I tend to space out a lot and fidget with my hands, and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I'm loyal and tend to get into fights over things I'm passionet about, and very stubborn when I think I'm right about something. With an f/o I'm very patient with things, and tend to give gifts or draw things for my other as a love language (i am not good with words). Drawing is a very big hobby of mine, though I tend to get frustrated when a doodle isn't going as planned. I tend to ramble a lot from time to time, not realizing how long I've actually been talking. A bit self consious about my laugh, so I tend to hide it a bit, whether just covering my mouth or stiffling a laugh at all. (Pls let me know if I missed anything or misread your inbox was open!)

You got…Muzan & Sabito!

Muzan knows passion unlike any other, passion is what drives loyalty, love, and devotion. He considers all these things to be what fuels his love for you, not only in that he is devoted to you, but he knows you would never give up on him.

He does not see humour in many things, but he does enjoy hearing your laugh whenever you are out together. You might laugh at how your styles differentiate; him always in fine attire but yourself in casual clothes, or after meetings with the demons, listening to them bicker. It calms him down, and has saved many humans and demons' lives from his wrath.

As much as he loves you, he can be a bit rough when he wants something from you. He would never hurt you, but he might squeeze too tightly or scare you. Thankfully for him, you seem to find his 'tantrums' amusing enough, and brush it off. Still, he tries to make up for it by bringing you back expensive drawing tools and clothes you might like.

His favourite drawing of yours is one you made of a blue spider lily held in his and your hands. He's used it as a study or example for many demons to find it, since you had put hours into replicating all the details from the many small images he's found.

Whether you become a demon or not is up to time, but Muzan would not turn you until you are dying because he wants you to feel the sun, and wants you to live the life you had before as much as you can.

Sabito, on the other hand, is always getting into altercations because of his to-the-point perspective on things. He doesn't like to dance around the point even if it means potentially hurting someone's feelings, and he appreciates that you are similar in that regard. Either fighting with him against someone, when you never give up and are sure they leave educated and all the wiser, or against him, you won't stop until there is a clear solution.

Because of this, your relationship is very healthy. You've both come to understand each other's needs to the details, and when something is bothering either of you it's solved the very same day. Sabito is very good at telling when something is wrong, too, so he usually puts a stop to anything you didn't like before you say it.

He appreciates that you talk a lot, because he never knows what to say or how to say it. Listening to you discuss topics of interest lets him spend time thinking about how he can add to the conversation, and has also made him a lot better at socialising since he's learnt so much from you.

I hope you like drawing, because Sabito wants you to draw a lot of things. He even writes a small request sheet of things he wants to mail to others or to have of the both of you. He hopes those drawings remain preserved, so that in the future people will know of the love he had for you.

Authors Note - This one is a bit longer to make up for both! I know these two are such opposite sbut at the same time both are so stubborn I think it works well! I hope you enjoy <3

[phalgun]

The podium finish

I got 95.84% in my 10th board exams. Until a guy came up and said "congrats on the podium finish", I didn't realise what it actually meant.

I was 3rd in school. I could now truly quantify where I stood in the school and in the world (tbf school was my entire universe at the time). This was very new feeling to me.

I was never a school topper per se. I had an incredibly terrible year in my 9th std (grade, for you ICSE types). I had some insane prepubescent behaviour at home and my grades slumped hard. And then my mom got a call from my class teacher on how I bully girls in class (I wish I had the balls my teacher thought I had). So, I didn't really expect to be "doing well" in school or life. Growing up, "doing well in school" was literally the only metric of success given to me.

So, coming in 3rd kinda painted a clear picture of where I stood in the world and it left me rather pleased with myself. Until then I hadn't really realised the extent of what my percentage meant. Because, looking at the number in isolation - I did not know whether it was good enough or not? Podium finish didn't stay for long. One of my friends, Nag, had his marks revaluated and came up to 2nd. It is funny that I actually witnessed Nag playfully challenge Ani (who actually was 2nd before the recount), that he would score more than Ani a few weeks before the board exams. Was funnier to see both of them banter each other throughout the summer that followed. But that's not the point of the story. The point is about how drastically my metric of success changed over time. I soon stopped believing in ranks, after my 1st semester of engineering. I stopped taking the college for my world once I experienced the internet. I stopped taking the country as my world after I started traveling. I realised my voice is the only that matters, after traveling solo. Living in worlds entirely new, either in culture, or language, or where no one knows me - gave each day a fresh start. It made the voice in my head clear and created a two way communication for the first time. Being in love taught me the best relationships actually merges your world with someone else (and stay true to yourself). Covid helped me learn family is a big part of my world. And living alone in the city taught me, my community matters too. This sphere of influence went from a small space surrounding me (classroom) to bigger sizes until it imploded and to an atom (me) and then to the sphere I influence directly (partner, family, and community). Gradually, the metric of success changed from where I stand in the world to how positively have I changed and influenced change compared to my earlier selves. This makes defining success very very easy. It makes accepting failure a lot easier too. Reading the teachings of Buddha, I'm starting to believe (not fully there yet) a life pursuing happiness of only yourself or your loved ones cannot be as fulfilling. There needs to be a component of giving and committing to the community or the broader universe. Eg. Dalai Lama talks about parenting well being a service to the world. If your offspring is going to create a net positive in the world, you have in turn helped do that. Same goes with mentoring. Or, helping people directly or indirectly.

I'm sure this is not the end in my search for meaning. It will likely change over the next few years - exciting times ahead! It's like that TV show with plot twists and drama, renewing for another 3 seasons.

Going back to the original story of the podium finish. Rank 1 got married v soon after engineering, now lives in New Zealand with a kid pretty much cut off from the world. Rank 2 went to IIM and is a director at Flipkart. He is a close friend I regularly hang out with. Rank 3 met the lohl in his first job (where we worked together), went to Cornell and subsequently Google. We meet whenever we are in the same city. And Rank 4 is currently unemployed and living a very different life while feeling as successful as the others.

[rivalcobalt]

oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't ask to try and get you to give information about yourself you'd rather keep private. I personally don't care what anyone's ethnicity on here is. I wanted to ask that because I wondered about the thought process behind the renaming of mixed anglophone trans people. Also was thinking about the potential societal pressure mixed trans people might feel to conform to some degree when renaming themselves. I know some immigrant parents give their kids local names to fit in

so I thought maybe t. people do that too and wanted to ask you that. Tho I realize my question wasn't clear on that. I don't think you need to worry about talking abt your ethnicity tho. Atrocities sure, EVERY people have a history of them. They're always committed by a group of people tho. It's never a defining trait of an entire population. You shouldn't have to add a disclaimer like that. If people online or where you live have made you feel bad about that I'm sorry, but they're blockheads. or not just mixed people but also 2nd gen immigrants and such. well it figures that people would consider naming themselves in their other native languages as well. I guess the everyday racism can be too much when coupled with the transphobia. I don't think you are a coward at all.

Oh no don't worry, you're good, it's just that I'm being careful for general internet safety reasons/not being visible to parents or employers here. I don't mind sharing my naming process in more detail (I'll add it under the cut in case it answers any other questions you had).

The disclaimer was definitely me being hypervigilant because of tumblr being tumblr moreso than from actual bad experiences that have happeend to me. Generally people don't even know the history of the area well enough to use it to justify racism against Turks, but I have seen it happen a few times. I mostly just don't want to be associated with Turkish nationalists, but yeah it really isn't something anyone should have to worry about when saying what ethnicity they are. I do think that if, say, Kurds or Armenians hate Turks that's kinda justified though.

Anyways I hope this helps answer some questions? I can't say racism and transphobia weren't things I thought about, but I pass pretty well as cis and white, so they were probably less significant than for some others.

Funnily enough, I think my dad (Turkish) who actually wanted to give us more typical English names as kids but it was my mom (white) who was like "nooo it's so much more interesting to give them Turkish names" and didn't really understand why he was apprehensive about it until we started like, getting shit at school for it lol. 2000s islamophobia + elementary school kids parroting youtube and all that lmao

I actually didn't really have memorable incidents in high school, just everyone mispronouncing the name to a point where I just kinda stopped bothering to correct everyone. I was probably less bothered by that than most cis POC would be, since it wasn't a name I really intended on keeping anyways. I did consider whether or not I should go with a Turkish name, but I was mostly just like "man this is annoying, I don't wanna have to explain how to say my name all the time" yknow? I also didn't feel particularly strongly about wanting to keep a Turkish name since like... my parents had some bits of Turkish stuff around at home, but I can't speak the language and I wasn't really raised with distinctly different cultural values or religious practices from the average white kid. It's not that I don't think it's important, and I understand why it's important to a lot of other people, but it didn't feel critical enough to me to have a signifier to everyone about it.

(Plus, uh. Kinda heavy but my mom was catastrophizing at the time about how me transitioning would impact the family and threatening suicide if people found out that I was trans and traced things back to them, so I definitely didn't want it to be anything that would give hints for that.)

Michael was actually an impulsive compromise with myself around not outright kin naming (Mikaela -> Michaela -> Michael) lmao. I don't regret it though; it's been so fucking funny having a common name so I can get online "hate" messages like "why is your name Michael" and so friends can send me new shit like this regularly

[omamervt]

An observation I've had about a frankly massive number of fictional villains is that, despite their vanity, arrogance, etc, they usually knew they were the bad guy. And I'm not just talking about cartoon villains who were evil for evil's sake. Movies geared towards adults very often do the exact same thing. It often comes up in the form of the villain deciding to change their plan last-minute or agreeing to a temporary truce when the hero appeals to their arrogance and convinces them that this change of plans is in their best interest, whether true or not. Villains who are otherwise complex can be completely undone when it becomes clear they're fully aware that they're acting purely out of self-interest, regardless of whatever motivation or backstory they're given.

Something I picked up as a liberal in my teen years when trying to reason with Republican classmates was, for lack of a better word, talking to them like they were movie villains. And I'm clearly not the only one, given how often I see posts of people defending the existence of wasps and mosquitoes by trying to explain their vital niche in nature. As teenagers, anyone who didn't threaten violence or try and change the topic some other way could usually be convinced to either consider new information, or at the very least reveal why they're invested in their original way of thinking to begin with. It wasn't enough to change minds or anything, but as a young liberal, I didn't really see that as a necessity.

But as I matured and saw the world fall apart and I became more and more left-leaning in response, I began seeing that my old stances and people I respected who set me down this path to begin with were actually fairly conservative, even if they thought they weren't. So I started talking to them in this same way they'd taught me to talk to conservatives - by focusing on their self-interest. It's my first instinct of an arguing style at this point.

The problem with this way of framing things against liberals and some leftists who refuse to examine their biases is that they've convinced themselves that they aren't arguing off self-interest, even when they are. They're often convinced that the things that serve them, even things that serve them poorly, serve everyone, or think that they can keep, like, the "good" parts of it while tearing down the bad, even when the miniscule perks are only possible due to the bad being done at the same time.

For instance, my TikTok feed just occasionally becomes filled with videos of women who bill themselves as feminist and speak in "woke" language but are ultimately arguing in favor of like, "men need to be the provider in a relationship [even if the very concept of a provider in a relationship implies one party is incapable of taking care of themselves and I am declaring myself to be that party]" Or people who may be oh so upset by all the racial injustice in America but if you suggest that the police (not even the whole criminal justice system, just the police) are the primary enforcers of said injustice then they shut down and refuse to have an intelligent conversation on the topic anymore. And if you suggest that the effects of voting are so miniscule that they don't even count as activism? Practically a free license to ruin your day, your week, or maybe even your life.

Pointing out how it's in their best interest to do, or even just THINK about something differently, all they can think about is the minor comfort that this shift in thinking would require they forego. The books and games they couldn't buy. The billionaire musician they'd have to start treating like a billionaire. The people they'd have to stop treating as inferior. The friends and family they'd have to admit were maybe never really good people to begin with. The society they spent their life building that they'd have to admit was a mistake. The self-interest is on full display for all to see, but they'll never, ever admit that's what's going on.

I don't know what the solution is, if there is one. I still only kind of know two ways of arguing - the appeal to self-interest, and just pointing out basic reality or morality. But I think there's gotta be a better way to talk about stuff. Hell if I know what it is, though.