#ppl who harm animals for example

[lemonthepotato]

I don’t think Mr. Beast knows how the Streisand effect works

[cripplecharacters]

hi, I saw one of ur posts talking Abt things that shouldn't be done for vitiligo rep, and one thing u mentioned was the like connect to animals that r black and white. I was wondering about kinda like, the reverse of that? The reason is I have a character I was designing who's kind of similarish to a mermaid, and I wanted to base some of his design off an orca. I was considering doing the black/white coloration, but I was wondering if that would be too similar to vitiligo. Personally his design is very early with regard to animal motif stuff, so I can put the orca elements into his design in other ways, but I also wanted to ask what you feel might be preferable handling with similar cases (like zebra centaurs, panda or cow humans and other animals who naturally have black/white coloring or similar contrasting colors)-

The main question is if u think the characters actually bringing up that they don't have vitiligo, but rather have common patterns, like saying "most of us have skin/hair/etc color variation bc it's just how our pigment works by default, but ppl with vitiligo have it bc of autoimmune reasons + (giving details on it and maybe mentioning a diff character in story w vitiligo)"

having the variation only affect specific things, for example black/white hair (like an orca mermaid having white eyebrows that mimic orca eyespots) without the skin pigmentation being affected (potentially also bringing up vitiligo to make it specific they aren't connected)

Or just trying to avoid having any animal based color choices that evoke the image of vitiligo, which is totally understandable if u feel the prev examples are still linking vitiligo to animals in a way that's ultimately harmful ppl w vitiligo.

Mostly I wonder if explicitly stating it's a different thing would actually help to combat the idea, or if it's just one of those things that is better to completely avoid doing

Hello!

I think it depends on how far it goes is the determining factor. A zebra centaur who has the zebra coloration on their horse part isn't a problem and doesn't evoke a vitiligo connection, the same way that a gray horse part wouldn't evoke argyria. I would say that the same goes for hair coloration, in media the hair color is kinda "anything goes" anyway.

But if you want to make a mermaid who has an orca bottom half, and vitiligo on the upper half, that is an issue. The problem is that readers, and people in general, just don't see the nuance and end up linking animal coloration with vitiligo anyway - I mean, it's not like cows in real life have it, but people still get compared to them. The visual is enough, even if there are in-universe explanations, in my opinion. Vitiligo is still dramatically misunderstood, and it's very much a case of "if it looks like vitiligo, it is vitiligo" when it comes to design choices like this.

In short; animal part with black/white coloration: cool, hair/eyebrows/etc: cool, skin: not cool. It just hits too close to the real life condition.

With that said, I don't think there's an issue having a character with vitiligo who's part animal if you're not trying to link the two. A catfish mermaid with vitiligo on her human part would be cool.

And for other ideas when it comes to mermaids and disability - a lot of people with limb differences that I know would enjoy a clownfish mermaid with an upper limb difference, the term "lucky fin" exists for a reason.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[bbgliker-teehee]

i genuinely hate how the only plus size/ fat rep in both shows is given to either BG characters viv wasn't involved in or just the "evil guys". you cannot tell me that woman has any respect for plus sized people at all.. she enforces harmful stereotypes and outright refuses to add ANY diversity to her characters (the "i'm afraid to draw muscles" bs for example)

• literally how can you make the embodiment of gluttony not at least a little bit chubby?? she literally can summon all types of foods & drinks?? thats her entire thing?? she is built like a kardashian.. how. if you're gonna depict the main two fat ppl in your shows as food addicted a-holes why not stay consistent (impossible for her)

•both main fat characters (adam, mammon) are always seen eating unhealthy stuff in masses. a very harmful stereotype. and also adding to the stigma plus sized ppl face on a daily basis.

•not to mention the constant fat "jokes" directed at moxxie, which are a) unnecessary and b) blatantly wrong?? moxxie isn't even fat?? and even then its always implied fat people are fat because they can't stop eating or only eat junk food, like blitz telling moxxie to eat a salad. or loona.

• husk. that man literally consumes alcohol like it's water and he doesn't have an alcohol belly??? hello??? thats...not avoidable when you're an alcoholic... SAME FOR VEROSIKA.

•the mammon & fizz bs. a fat character telling an already skinny person they're "chungo?" and he should lose weight cause people find it sexy af? and its outright implied its bad behavior? she's just immensly hypocritical with this. loona & blitz said similar things towards moxxie but there it's funny & acceptable? f off.

•mimzy is the only fat character that she designed that is close to the HH main cast and she's also portrayed as a shitty person. every fat character is a shitty person and called out for it.(adam with charlie, mammon with fizz, and mimzie with alastor) everyone else literally looks the same and is equally shitty as a person but is never called out because its her blorbos.

but we're talking about the woman who turned st. peter into a blue eyes, blone haired anime twink and refuses to draw BIPOC- or any diversity for that matter....

Adam and Mammon are so similar that Vivianne might as well make them the same character...

And Mimzy my love....they did you dirty

[wife]

there are so many ppl who love to say they have "no empathy" like it's something to brag about like. they're soooo proud of it they think it makes them look cool and often they also love to diagnose themselves with aspd about it.

but like. ok. firstly. having empathy isn't Literally being able to feel others emotions. that experience is abnormal & that's why ppl who Do feel that call themselves Empaths bc theyre sooo special for it. "emotional empathy" doesn't literally mean you feel other people's feelings. and if you don't experience it, plenty of people don't. so you're normal for that.

if you care about their feelings, even if u don't feel emotional about them, you're experiencing empathy. feeling uncomfortable when in the presence of someone who's really upset (bc you don't like them/don't care about their feelings) is also an example of empathy.

"i dont care about anyone's feelings and am unaffected by them" ok, these things are also empathy: being able to see other people's pov. understanding ppl have their own thoughts & opinions that differ from yours. knowing that certain behaviours would be hurtful & damaging to others (and choosing not to do them)

"emotional vs cognitive empathy" they're both empathy. if you experience cognitive empathy you experience empathy. you are perceiving & understanding someone else's emotions & perspective, which is empathy

if you struggle with these things then it's perfectly acceptable to call yourself low empathy. but you clearly do have empathy.

"no i really truly do not have empathy" - this is impossible bc if you did not have empathy you would not have the ability to understand your experience is different from other people's.

i do consider myself low empathy - but i spent most of my life with no empathy. and you motherfuckers do not have no empathy i'm sorry. you have no fucking idea what the experience of no empathy is like if you're splitting hairs about emotional vs cognitive vs sympathy vs compassion & bragging about how no empathy you are and how nothing affects you.

when you don't have empathy you don't realise it because you have no way of understanding the way you think & behave is any different from other people. you are incapable of understanding the harm you cause to other people & no matter how many times people tell you you've hurt them you will keep doing it, because other people's feelings don't even register to you. the concept that other people have vastly rich inner worlds & lives & exist outside of you just doesn't click. you're locked out of such a fucking massive part of the human experience that is so fundamental that i don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it could possibly understand what it feels like - looking back at those times feels so dark because it's like i wasn't even sentient, i was literally just an animal acting on instinct. i was the only one alive in a world of flat npcs - no one else existed as real human people. and i didn't realise it because i had no empathy to understand that this wasn't normal

turning the concept of "no empathy" into this watered-down bullshit "i dont really care about peoples feelings but i'm able to be considerate of others and a normal member of society" gives absolutely zero space to talk about the Actual experience of having no empathy, which is part of why i've never talked abt it. because apparently it's so easy to be a good person while being no empathy, everyone else does it. so if i talk about how Actually i was often a horrible person when i had no empathy... that's MY fault, because umm you could just be more Logically Empathetic even if you didn't have empathy. that's not how it works and you don't know what you're talking about

so no i really don't believe every edgy poser on this site who brags about no empathy is no empathy. you can just be low empathy and brag about that shit you don't have to be Extra Special saying you're no empathy. and this doesn't even mean you are disqualified from an aspd diagnosis since u all cling to that so bad like it's the only thing you have going for you. but frankly if you so sorely misunderstand the concept of no empathy & twist the words to fit your agenda so you fit aspd critera perfectly im not really convinced aspd is for u

[sehtoast]

How are you able to like Homelander and not condone his actions at the same time, without feeling crappy? This sounds accusing but I’m asking bc I’m struggling with it. I know ppl who do the same with characters, but I’ve had an unwelcome fixation on him come out of nowhere and I feel sick and guilty bc I feel like everyone will think I’m some kind of freak or something. I’m very much anti-sa and other gross stuff esp as a victim but I still feel like I’m being hypocritical or something. I’m sorry for the weird message but I feel like I’m losing my mind

The short answer is that he’s fictional.  Think of… I dunno, an antagonist in media of a different form (let’s go with anime).  I was a naruto kid growing up, so let’s use Orochimaru for an example.  My guy was on some fuck shit through the entire show. Snatching bodies, murkin’ Hokages, wild experiments, all that shit with Sasuke, and so on.  People still liked him regardless because he was a cool character despite the bad things he’s done.  Some people may have even found him relatable in certain ways.  I feel like it’s the same concept here.

You don’t have to feel bad about enjoying fictional characters, no matter how awful they may be.  At the end of the day, they’re fictional and their actions have harmed nobody in real life.  Their actions may mirror that which does harm real people, but they themselves have not dealt real harm to real people.  Enjoying them does not mean you condone their actions.

I’m also extremely anti-SA, and am a victim of it myself, but I still find a lot of love and appreciation for Homelander’s character– but this isn’t hypocritical.  My love for him doesn’t come from the fact he has perpetrated that act, nor should it come from that.  I love him as a character with the bottom line that he is… extremely complex.  

I’ve said it for years now, but I think Homelander is a compelling tale of the dangers of commodifying the human soul.  He is an example of how awful someone can turn out if you deprive them of humanity with the goal of creating a product.  People are not products, we are not a means to an end, and we certainly should never be treated that way. He was, and this is how he turned out.  He’s a take on the cyclical nature of trauma in a lot of really interesting ways as well.

I find him relatable from a standpoint of my own traumas and being transgender.  Episode four of s4 revealed that I have a jarring amount of trauma that mirrors his own to some capacity.  I’ve always suspected these things, and I’ve had headcanons since the first season, and having them confirmed reminded me just how much I’ve latched onto this character because of it.  Homelander experienced some degree of sexual abuse in the labs– and I wager there may have been worse than simply being called ‘squirt.’ Homelander was subjected to physical torture and locked in a room where his mind slowly fractured, all while being conditioned to never seek escape otherwise he’d be too devastated from disappointing the scientists or losing their ‘love.’ 

I have experienced SA, I was locked in my room with nothing as punishment (my 'bad room'), had very little privacy and next to no access to boundaries as a kid, I was put through physical pain very often by a sibling (my furnace), I was reared and conditioned to have a fear of disappointing others so severe it made my blood pressure drop into the danger zone a couple times as a kid– and still has similar effects as an adult.  I’d literally pass out, have panic/anxiety attacks, vomit, etc.  I also know what it’s like, as a trans man, to have been raised and reared for a life that was designed for me, but was not me.  I was lucky enough to find my way to the person I needed to be; Homelander has not and likely will not ever be able to do so.  In all of the aforementioned, I have a lot of empathy and compassion for him that combines with my fascination with his complexity.  There were a lot of things in my life that should have pushed me down the road to be an awful person, much like the things in his life did. But I had a handful of people to guide me toward better things.  He didn’t.

But I see myself in there nonetheless. Homelander was the first time I ever saw so much of my own trauma on display in a single character.  I’d love to hug the man and tell him he’s enough, show him the humanity he was and continues to be denied, and so on.  When I realized that means that I would, in turn, do that for myself if I only viewed myself through a lens that wasn’t my own, my life changed.  This character changed my life.  I know I thirst-post about him a lot, but my love for Homie runs a lot deeper than just finding him attractive, you feel?

A fictional character doesn’t have to be one of moral high ground or superiority for it to be okay for you to enjoy them.  You can enjoy characters who commit horrible acts. This does not make you someone who condones horrible acts.  I was initially pretty embarrassed to admit I like Homelander as much as I do, but I slowly realized that it does not make me a bad person and it should never be used as a gauge to find out how ‘moral’ someone is or not.  People like Hannibal Lecter, people like Thomas Hewitt, Joffrey, Albert Wesker, Cletus Kasady– any number of fictional characters who have an ugly record or have done horrific things.  We do not assume someone is evil because they like Hannibal, nor should we do the same for people who like Homelander.

At the end of the day, do what makes you happy. If exploring Homie is something you would have fun with, do it! Engage in media, learn tales of caution and tragedy– stories make us human.  You are not inhuman for enjoying Homelander and his tale.  In fact, I would argue you are very human because of it.

[shenriku]

READ BEFORE YOU FOLLOW

I’m Zombu (he/him) & this is my TWDu side blog. Right off the bat: I care about the top/bottom dynamic in my ships because of my own personal preferences. Note that Top/Bottom is different from Dom/sub. I am not forcing you to like any of this, this is just my own particular interests.

Basically I like ⬆️All x ⬇️Rick Grimes (ShaneRick / ShaRick, CarlRick, Negick), and neggie (+some other maggie ships). If you don't like one of these just mute the pairing.

I call and tag ships via t/b way aka first name = top, second name = bottom, for easier filtering and access to determine my preferences. Example: I use Negick (⬆️Negan x ⬇️Rick) over re/gan.

Trying to “change my mind” or sending asks regarding the opposite dynamic / using or turning my posts to something OTHER than my specified preferences will result in a block. You can like what you like, but please respect my preferences when interacting with me and my work. Thanks!

Dark Problematic / sensitive themes… can’t name all of them but Idc as long as it stays within the realm of fiction. DNI if you harass people over fiction / send ship hate. FUBM FREE (meaning: feel free to follow / unfollow / block / mute)

My ramblings & uncensored sketches about just bottom Rick (no reverse 🔄❌) are on my 🔞 twitter (X): syeinlig. Please read the rentry link in the account’s bio before interacting or requesting. I sometimes go private on that account; if links don’t work, that’s probably why.

My fics are on Ao3: zvn

Multifandom Art Archive & Other Blogs: @zombu7

Tags under this are for navigation.

About Carl ships under the cut:

Please don’t ask me to draw anything regarding Negan with Carl as a ship or mention it anywhere in my posts or works. I get some people ship them but I personally don’t + I don’t wanna see any of it. It’s my notp/squicks grosses me out and I don’t like their portrayals. Thanks!

Anything I do draw of Carl will be him as an adult / based on older ch@ndler as he is rn (if I use his likeness) + the comics. I really only care about his relationship with Rick. Also older Carl is 🔝 to me…

I enjoy fictional dead dove for other fandoms but given this is a LIVE ACTION MEDIA and not an animated/pixel series, I just think it’s weird to use pics of an underage actor playing an underage character in a context like that. I understand Chandler turned 18 on his last season so I kind of get it, and maybe even younger fans who grew up with him / project onto him, but the fact is I see so many Carl shippers use pictures where he’s even younger and it grosses me out.

I’d be less judging if ppl based Carl’s looks off of an older Ch@ndler like he is now, from the comics, or made up their own version, but it’s not the majority case. I’m uncomfortable interacting with anyone who sexualizes real underage kids. It kind of misses the whole point of dead dove fiction not being harmful to real people.

Thank you for understanding 🙏.

[clmntne]

man. sometimes being a very involved sonic fan is so agonizing. if ur opinion about characters is different than other ppls ur like. violently attacked and mauled and maimed and killed online. if people interpret characters ages, sexualities, relationships etc differently like. why is that a bad thing ...? i have very specific opinions about things but im not gonna attack someone else for feeling differently. learn to just scroll away rather than shame someone. you will feel better.

even sharing what i'm about to rn feels scary bc of how viscerally people react sometimes. but honestly? i think people care way too much about character ages. it's like oh my god unless it's truly, and i mean truly, harmful, who cares. they are talking cartoon animals and also not real. i'm of the mindset that whether or not u are attached to the previously canon ages that were removed, i think it's better they're gone bc they caused more problems than not. i personally see sonic's age fluctuate from game to game and in all the different iterations of him (like movie sonic is definitely younger) but generally he's like... a young adult to me. these characters feel like they've grown up with me, and it's cool that the ages are vague so people can have creative liberty and connect with the characters in their own way, also like... sonic is a mascot he should've never been given an age to begin with. to me it's just... be normal about characters that are clearly children, examples being tails and cream, yknow? otherwise it’s fiction and it’s meant to be something you can play and experiment with. if you see the main cast as younger, great! but some people see them as older so like. leave them alone if you disagree lol

[cupcraft]

I just think it needs to be said that adults have to regulate themselves in online spaces in a way that is responsible for minors in fandom spaces. This will be long im sorry.

And im not specifically talking about adults with lists of DNI minors and block anyone at or under a certain age as well as make it clear their blog may not be safe for minors (ie spaces with a lot of nsfw content). Though curating an experience is a big part of being responsible of course. This post though is mostly delving into adults' behavior and how you need to be aware of your behavior.

For example, if you're an adult who purposefully curates a blog dedicated to fandom discourse, harming other people in the fandom, vagueing, and just having general toxicity about people ESPECIALLY when the targets of said harassment and toxicity are often the youngest in the fandom this is something you really need to reevaluate yourself about for a million reasons but including how this harms and serves as a poor example to younger people what a fandom space is meant to be. Like when I see minors involved in these types of toxicity, not to say they shouldn't be informed or held accountable or the ppl harmed should forgive them, but as an adult I mostly feel sad. I feel sad because I hope they're going to be okay when they're my age and look back on themselves. I hope they're safe esp when the adults around them act like this kind of behavior is normal and okay even though they've long graduated high school (even though ot wasn't okay then either for the record). Like does it not bother you that you're an adult who feels superior sending hate campaigns and ask box harassment and cyberbullying to minors on the internet because you're insecurities are that large and you've no ability to regulate them healthily? Does it not bother you that you teach young ppl in the fandom to do similarly by your actions, and affect their experience? Does the harm not bother you?

Because it should bother you. When you grow up especially in online fandom spaces you do need to be more aware of not only your words in general, but how many people may look up to you and use you as example and that you have a responsibility to be healthy online for the sake of yourself, others, and esp the youngest of the fandom.

Because it hurts to think ppl can grow up in fandom to think "oh sending kys and gore and dead animals over [insert discourse] plus potentially bigotry is normal because everyone around me does it and I want to fit in and I also fear speaking up against the adults who do this because you know the harassment".

And you might say "well cup im just gonna block all minors the end I get to harass people forever hahaha haha!" And well okay, but for another post (plus ones I've made before) there's still a million reasons this is fucked up you see but I'm just focusing on one aspect rn in this post.

And then there's the adults in fandom who all of a sudden hit my age and all they do is belittle kids and the way they act and there is all of a sudden a Certain Maturity that needs to be upheld for Everyone but Especially Adults.

So on the first point this includes adults who are like "I hate kids!!!! They are so [insert anything negative]" and it includes any comment to meta/writing/art/etc that is like not allowing a younger person in fandom to grow. Like the way I talked as 11 years on the internet was incomprehensible and frankly would've been subject to "omg kids are so cringe ew!" For sure these days, ig I was lucky my online friends were also 11 at the time. Looking at my old fandom Meta posts when I was 15, like I could imagine the way I see adults talking about takes like "oh shit I was worse!" Which is just a bag full of insecurity for me, but I also can't imagine being young in fandom and directly experiencing such critiques all the time. Like does it not bother you, once again? That you don't want to see kids in fandom grow into their creativity and co-exist safely in fandom as they do in public and experience overall and public joy? Why do you hate I mean hateee kids as an adult and why does their joy spark hate and misery in you (you might need therapy or to work that out srsly). And do the effects of your actions not bother you? What do you think you're doing other than silencing the creativity and joy in people and invoking ways to people please or for minors to Act Mature (in reality acting the way these adults want to avoid harassment ofc!) Instead of of course just experiencing joy and fun and community as they would normally.

And that brings me to my last pt of the effects of you hit [adult age] and must Act Mature and not Care About Cringe Fandoms or Watch Cartoons and do anything that would indicate you god forbid Don't Have a Real Job. This is the reality for growing up in fandom its finite once you're 19 no more Cringe of course /s! Because I've been subject to this take before as a criticism, and I've seen essays about how adults who watch Bluey are destroying the world forever, and I can take it because I go to therapy and I'm secure in my own maturity where it matters and joy where it matters. But imagine how younger people in the fandom feel. Like you're basically telling kids "btw once you're at Adult Age you must stop having fun forever and you must have a Real Job (or Education) and stop enjoying Immature things like fandom (even though I am in fandom btw im not a hypocrite saying this) or you're a freak immature adult who will never grow up". Like wow.

Like the conservative and near unnuanced take of to be Mature you need a real job (whatever that means) and to only watch adult shows in a normal manner (again whatever that means) aside, like you're really telling kids to grow up and be insecure. I'm serious! Like of course as you grow up it's important to mature no duh, but with real maturity means realizing there are times to be serious and there are times to enjoy things. Maturity doesn't mean I can never watch bluey god forbid else I have a not real job or become media illiterate as a consequence (esp when actually marketing wise a lot of kids shows are meant to also be entertaining for adults watching with their kids... and lo and behold your media literacy doesn't go away magically the moment the show starts). Like you really want younger ppl in fandom to be miserable and grow up miserable and create a cycle of miserable lest they become Cringe Adults that watch a harmless cartoon and enjoy it.

I'm never good at ending rants like this but conclusion. Get a grip on yourself and insecurities and be really careful how you foster fandom community for yourself but also to those that grow up in these spaces too.

As always add on/send asks/correct me/add nuance/etc. ❤️

[sylusmc]

literally show me one person who hates the mc bc she "gets in the way" of their "yaoi" ship . stop making up situations in your head to get mad at. this fandom is full of homophobic ppl trust me none of the gay ppl are going to hate the mc for that stupid reason.

You thought your bitch ass ate this up, as if I would ever lie about blatant misogyny. HERE YOU GO BRO!! here's ONE of these

Not to mention people on twitter keep posting "LADS should only have a male MC" or "LADS should've been a bl" or "LADS would be so much better if it was a bl". Do you know WHY that's harmful? I'll start! LADS is a game centered around a woman character, catered to women and made by a company which consists of 70% women. I am in no way saying men can't play the game, but THEY themselves are saying the female protagonist in a WOMEN CENTERED GAME, should be turned into a MAN or be removed entirely for yaoi. That's completely defeating the point of the game considering the creator himself said he made LADS because women had no good games to play. It's MISOGYNY because it's acting like a game made for women isn't good enough already because it's not centered around MEN, when WOMEN are the whole point!

If they said something like "I would love a Yuri version of LADS", now THAT wouldn't be a problem because Yuri is women centered content. Yuri can be consumed by women because it would be ABOUT women. Yuri also lacks in content DRASTICALLY compared to yaoi. Fujos complain for absolute bullshit that they don't have stuff made for them when that's literally the biggest lie of the century. Fandom LITERALLY revolves entirely around them. Homophobic comments are stupid as fuck and gross but that's not gonna change how BL constantly dominates spaces and many fujoshis are misogynistic. Fanfiction and fanart is dominated by yaoi. Fujos have manga, manwha, danmei, anime, tv-shows, western comics, BL Otome games and etc. Oh, and they also come up with mlm ships out of thin fucking air, so they literally never run out of content. This is like asking for more shit when you already HAVE said 'more shit'.

Reading yaoi as a woman also does not make you some super feminist. It means you just love consuming male centered content, and that's fine and normal if you acknowledge that certain things are not and will never be catered to you, and there's no reason to shit on female characters for your mid ass mlm ships. But fujos love doing this shit because it helps them feel "assured" in their ship if they humiliate the women. Case example? JayViks with Mel. SasuNaru's with Sakura. BKDKS with Ochako Uraraka, JJK fans with Utahime, Shoko, Hana and Ozawa. I can name more, but you hopefully get the point.

Oh, and if you want fucking screenshots, just ask next time before making yourself look odd. I would not waste my time complaining about this shit if it wasn't misogyny 101 from fujos, men, male centered women and etc.

[maid-of-the-golden-deer]

i have come to why i have come to dislike cats/cat ppl in recent years, and unfortunately its the actions of a reckless few that have soured me on a larger community

if a cat does smth with consequences (breaks smth, ruins smth with puke, hurts someone) there's very little... done about it. yeah there are a lot of dog ppl like that too, but ive found theres a greater sentiment of ppl telling others to discipline the dog or remove it from the situation. you dont have to scream at the cat, but maybe keep it out of that room, or dont reinforce the behavior?

not every cat can be trained, true. but im willing to bet many more can than people assume, but cats are allowed to be "assholes" and wont even do the bare minimum often to at least remove the cat from the situation- like for example: if ur kid is having trouble being gentle to the cat. work with the kid to be more gentle with animals, but if the cat is routinely hurting the kid (like drawing blood/biting) a lot of ppl just... keep both the kid and animal in the situation and hope itll work out, leading to both an injured kid AND animal who can do pretty substantial harm to each other

idk this may just be a bias from the kind of people who post online and who i meet irl but it simply feels to me that, even more compared to dogs (who i can acknowledge are often bigger and cause more immediate damage but that doesnt mean we should ignore it with cats) is ppl getting cats because theyre ""easy"" and then are rather irresponsible pet owners, bc cats dont need ""training"" or ""attention beyond pets and cuddles""

(ps if u adopted a rescue cat who came with these issues this isnt about u, this is about ppl getting kittens/younger cats and then just giving up on them)

[procelibacyactivism]

People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons. Some do it to alleviate animal suffering, others because they want to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Still others are fans of sustainability or wish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. No matter how much their carnivorous friends might deny it, vegetarians have a point: cutting out meat delivers multiple benefits. And the more who make the switch, the more those perks would manifest on a global scale. But if everyone became a committed vegetarian, there would be serious drawbacks for millions, if not billions, of people. “It’s a tale of two worlds, really,” says Andrew Jarvis of Colombia’s International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “In developed countries, vegetarianism would bring all sorts of environmental and health benefits. But in developing countries there would be negative effects in terms of poverty.”

'if widespread animal cruelty and exploitation end, poor ppl will suffer :(' is a legitimately retarded take. feels like something you'd hear before slavery was abolished -- 'if slavery is abolished poor hard working plantation owners won't be able to make a living :('

but black people could advocate for themselves. animals cannot. not that ppl would be ethical enough to avoid animal products on a large scale anyway.

[...]

Jarvis and other experts at the centre hypothesised what might happen if meat dropped off the planet’s menu overnight.

First, they examined climate change. Food production accounts for one-quarter to one-third of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and the brunt of responsibility for those numbers falls to the livestock industry. Despite this, how our dietary choices affect climate change is often underestimated. In the US, for example, an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meat they eat than from driving two cars – but it is cars, not steaks, that regularly come up in discussions about global warming.

“Most people don’t think of the consequences of food on climate change,” says Tim Benton, a food security expert at the University of Leeds. “But just eating a little less meat right now might make things a whole lot better for our children and grandchildren.”

Marco Springmann, a research fellow at the Oxford Martin School’s Future of Food programme, tried to quantify just how much better: he and his colleagues built computer models that predicted what would happen if everyone became vegetarian by 2050. The results indicate that – largely thanks to the elimination of red meat – food-related emissions would drop by about 60 percent. If the world went vegan instead, emissions declines would be around 70 percent.

“When looking at what would be in line with avoiding dangerous levels of climate change, we found that you could only stabilise the ratio of food-related emissions to all emissions if everyone adopted a plant-based diet,” Springmann says. “That scenario is not very realistic – but it highlights the importance that food-related emissions will play in the future.”

[...]

“There are over 3.5 billion domestic ruminants on earth, and tens of billions of chickens produced and killed each year for food,” says Ben Phalan, who researches the balance between food demand and biodiversity at the University of Cambridge. “We’d be talking about a huge amount of economic disruption.”

if 3.5 billion people were reproductive and domestic slaves, we would be horrified. and yet

enjoy the next zoonotic pandemic you lil aholes

https://chuangcn.org/2020/02/social-contagion/

[callmeoddity]

I have a weird take on AI

lemme just preface.

I DO NOT BLANKET CONDONE THE USE OF AI ART

however, I have some friends who get mad every time they see AI anywhere. and genuinely... it's not that deep. example: I sent a Sonic Adventure AI voice meme to the meme chat (meme is below) and they acted like it was directly harming ppl for existing.

my take on this is simple. If what you're creating isn't taking jobs then you're free to go about it. using the above meme as an example: who is harmed in the making of this? who's work is taken, truly?

so let's start with the "voice acting". Q1a) what do you think is the chance that you can get the OG VA of *Cop On The Street*, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails from Sonic Adventure 2 to do this meme? Q1b) how much do you think you'd have to pay them to do it? Q2a) other than getting the OG VAs to do the meme what're other options that don't require AI? Q2b) what are the advantages to using AI over those alternatives?

A1a) the chances are very very slim A2b) more money than the average shitposter on tiktok can gather A2a) there are two that I can think of, (lemme know if there are more and I just don't know them) there's sentence mixing1 and hiring an impressionist2 A2b) 1sentence mixing takes a Long Ass Time, and it's viscerally challenging to get them to say (or in this case sing) things that they haven't said (or sung) before. not to mention the fact that you're still stealing the voice of the actors 2the amount of money it takes to hire at least one impressionist to do this joke is still more than the pennies it takes to get an AI voice to do it. then you have to put it through a filter to make it sound like it's from Sonic Adventure 2.

and let's move on to other things. this won't take as long, I promise. 1) the background music is stolen directly from another artist. and somehow I doubt that ppl are upset when ppl steal music for memes. 2) the editing of the game's cutscenes is not AI done, obviously. They are at least editing scenes that have no connection together to make it funny/make sense. or they're taking assets from the game and moving them around in engine to make the scenes do what they want. either way that's hella impressive.

now I have one more thing to say about AI. There are some cool things you can do with just AI that ppl just can't easily replicate. especially when you're working on your own. there's this great TikTok account called "The Ministry of Latent Places" that uses a spooky AI generated voice and some uncanny images generated with AI to tell a story about a shadowy group documenting anomalous things that happen around the world. From what I know it's just the one guy making it. The AI voice and "art" are using to create an uncanny valley sense that you just Cannot Get as a single person without a ton of money to spend on animators, artists, and other things. it's the only example I have of this but it can't be the only account doing that

TLDR: AI can be cool and shouldn't immediately be used to shut down someone's work.

[kenobster]

The more pressure there is on creators to tag/warn (aka rhetoric like "its okay if ppl write [blank] as long as its tagged" rhetoric... discord servers that have heavy CW rules... comments/asks requesting certain topics to be tagged...), the less interest I have in actually tagging anything whatsoever.

Movies are a different beast perhaps, but, as an avid reader, I've never stumbled across anything unexpectedly dark or triggering in a book or a fic. The author's opening passages or chapters have always prepared me for the eventual nature of their story. The style, the tone, the synopsis, the foreshadowing — they have never failed to indicate an oncoming scene descriptive or explicit of something dark or uncomfortable. When I stumble across those preparative breadcrumbs the author has left me, it's true that I sometimes feel temporary discomfort... but I'll hit the back button or close the book or exit the app, and that extremely mild unease is soon forgotten. (If it is not forgotten, then I am grateful for the reminder to schedule my therapy appointment or spend time with a friend or find some other kind of tactic to address such unhealthy rumination. And even if I cannot address it, I'm aware that any attempt to avoid it will only worsen my tolerance for uncomfortable encounters in the long term.)

I can sort of understand the pressure in some scenarios. Perhaps a discord server would like to be inclusive of minors without legal repercussions. Perhaps a user is constantly filling a popular tag with triggering material without any warnings or tags. However, there are times when it makes less sense. A discord server dedicated exclusively to darker themes (especially with a small userbase) needn't mandate the use of trigger warnings. A tumblr user needn't tag every mention of "blood" or "vomitting" just to satisfy the possibility of one or two uncomfortable followers.

I support tags. I support warnings. I support information.

As long as it's voluntary.

The use of warnings and categories and tags and 18+ pages is the solution to any need for censorship. However, when such things become an expectation, rather than a choice, this wonderful solution so easily veers straight back to the slippery slope of censorship. "Fic authors should tag for noncon" so easily becomes "authors who don't tag for noncon aren't allowed to write noncon at all," which so easily becomes "authors who don't tag for noncon are abusers themselves." And throughout the process, the definition of what constitutes "noncon" will expand and expand and expand. In this way, the impetus is shifted right back from the reader (who can curate their fandom experience) to the author (who becomes responsible for reader discomfort). I am hardly the first to talk about this, nor is this the best way I've seen it described — but it is a problem that concerns me deeply.

In our interpersonal relationships, I think most of us do understand the difference and agree on the issue. For example, I am triggered by animal death or harm. If I see too much related to the subject, I will be caught in a depressive episode that can last hours or days or weeks. I avoid movies that involve animals, and I religiously check relevant questions on doesthedogdie.com. However, if my friend comes to me for comfort because her pet cat is dying, I do not shriek at her for not considering my trigger or warning me first. Hell, I don't even ask her to stop. I sit there, and I listen, and I support her, because even though it's a trigger for me, I realize that sometimes in life we can't choose the subjects we encounter. We curate our experiences the times in which we can to make room for the times in which we can't.

AO3's option for "creator chooses not to archive warnings" is not a mistake; it's a feature. And as a creator existing in the current state of fandom, I consider using it more and more every day. Your discomfort with my writing's existence is not my problem, and my writing warns for itself.

[the-real-rain-world-confessions]

Long ask, got a little carried away. Sorry not Sorry >w<".

I do want to point out that equating shipping funny scugs with actual crimes is very drastic. Like, shipping discourse shouldn't go there unless you seriously believe that X ship is causing real world harm. Don't compare furries to pedophiles or zoophilia or incest. I feel like I shouldn't have to even explain why that is offensive. Do you seriously think that someone who thinks Artificer is hot is going to, like, turn around and fuck their dog? Do you really think that it'll even make someone more likely to accept someone fucking their dog? And I'm saying all of this because making drastic statements like this actually *is* harmful. It degrades the meaning of the terms and it justifies violence against a group that doesn't deserve it. And this part comes from the fact that most of the furries I do know are gay and/or autistic, but seeing ppl equate being into furry shit, which often isn't 100% about sex in the first place, doesn't sit right with me.

It also distracts from talking about actually harmful fandom ships; in this instance I mean fandom (ambiguous) because Rain World's fandom hasn't gotten any popular ship dynamics that are genuinely harmful. And, genuinely harmful ships is a more complicated topic than just "X ship bad" since ships are going to be interpreted by a ton of different people and taken in a ton of different directions. And the components that make a ship harmful can be complicated, but I think it usually comes down to the normalization of behavior. Like, that's why shipping a kid with an adult is always bad - the more normalized that is, the more that idea as gross or taboo gets eroded. Thus, the less likely someone is to respond appropriately to actual pedophilia. In this hypothetical, people shipping the adult and child aren't inherently pedophiles, but they would be contributing to the issue of pedophilia and creating a safe space for that behavior. So, again, I ask the people who are throwing the terms "zoophilia" around like candy, do you seriously believe that lewding slugcats creates a safe space for people who actually fuck real animals? Do you seriously believe that lewding slugcats erodes the barriers and taboos we have around fucking real animals?

I think Moon/Pebbles ship is a good example of what I mean. The reason incestuous ships are bad is because they normalize incest, which is its own can of worms that I'm frankly not equipped to address. While I could've sworn that Moon and Pebbles canonically see themselves as siblings and the one time I saw a Moon/Pebbles shipfic it was 100% intended as incest, that doesn't quite make it fair to pass judgement on everyone who likes the ship. Is the ship problematic? A little, maybe? But that's because the ship is prone to the same issues I said about incest, down to people talking around the fact that the two characters fucking are related, BUT Rain World is a game that very heavily leans on players making assumptions about the world based on scarce info, especially pre-Downpour. There's a ton of canon information that's easily missed. Like, the idea that Moon and Pebbles are siblings comes from their physical proximity and Moon being titled "Big Sis Moon." I personally like to imagine that everyone in the local group calls her that. This doesn't make ships like Lilypad and Eclipse a problem unless someone were to write them as incest. Likewise, someone could reasonably play the game and just not see Moon and Pebbles as siblings. In which case, shipping them isn't incest because it's not written as incest. Therefore, it's inappropriate to imply that anyone shipping these two characters is into incest. And I think Moon/Pebbles is the closest commonish RW ship to actually being a problem. And it's OK to be put off by the ship , I'm personally put off by it. But accusing people of being things that they are not isn't ok.

And, take a more popular ship - Sunstone. It has the capacity to be written in a harmful way. And there are plenty of fics where their relationship is written to be unhealthy, bringing up canon points to support this characterization. That doesn't make the ship inherently harmful. Wholesome Sunstone and Toxic Sunstone are both interpretations of an interpretation. Not to mention that Toxic Sunstone isn't even an inherently harmful interpretation to make art or writing for. There's a lot of value to be had exploring this kind of dynamic. On fact, fiction is probably the safest way one could possibly explore that. While it is possible to use Sunstone to glorify abuse, that isn't representative of the ship because the premise doesn't imply glorifying abuse.

This is what I mean when I say don't hurl serious accusations at people over ships. Even ships that have a tendency to be iffy. Even ships where the majority of content you've seen of them is just straight up disgusting. And this especially applies to Rain World, where canon is loose and easy to miss at best. Like, even going to the most concretely problem ship possible in the game, Surv/Monk, you can read the game's events as them being close childhood friends from the same colony. There's nothing explicitly calling them siblings, and I think that takes a reasonable assumption to make, especially if you're someone who doesn't pay mind to external sources of information. So, don't throw serious accusations at people unless you're being genuine about it, please.

.

[mysicklove]

hi mello ! i’m feeling a bit bold (as far as bold goes considering i’m asking anonymously) i wanted to ask abt your opinion considering how yk like usually nsfw pages tend to strictly ban minors (rightfully so ofc) but then write content of characters who are minors aged up, and idk why but to me aging up the character never seemed right cuz doing so gives the space for others (like those ppl that would justify sexualizing young characters and then say ‘oh but they’re like this dragon hybrid thing so they’re actually 9000 years old) to use this as an excuse to make said nsfw content,,

but yeah,, no hate ofc !!!! just wanted to explore the reasoning behind aging up characters cuz i don’t fully understand it so i wanna hear someone else’s opinion and you seemed to be the most approachable

no pressure tho, if you don’t wanna answer that’s totally fine you don’t owe it to anyone x

take care !!

-🩰

hm. well, it’s because i literally do not give a fuck LOL

to me, it is drawings. they don’t have feelings, they don’t breathe, they aren’t human. they were made up. so, if they were made up to be a certain age by someone, what is stoping me from changing that age? they aren’t real…so idk man it just doesn’t seem immoral to me.

just like i age down characters for my big brother au, or i wrote a shit ton of characters as literal hybrids. it’s not real, so i can change characters in the way i see fit because i am an author. you are x reader fics, which in no way will ever be real, so i just don’t think that being able to change a characters age will do harm.

so when i see, for example, yuuji itadori, and i think that i am attracted to him, never in my mind does something flash the words “he is a minor” because to me…he isn’t, at least in my fics with him. it’s just the way you interpret it, and that’s what causes the “controversy” on tumblr.

i also see characters in my fics as prototypes? ig u can call it? with the same example, my yuuji x reader fics, he would look like yuuji itadori, act like yuuji itadori, but he isn’t. he isn’t written by gege, he isn’t animated by mappa. he is written by me, which means i have the power over him to do what i seen fit. if that is to write smut/romance, then he will be a adult, because I am an adult and i made this au. although neither of them are not real, they are two separate entities of each other

andddd this is completely different than minors irl. a drawing of something is completely different than a human being that is under the age of 18. tbh if you can’t separate fiction versus reality then…no offense but i do not see whoever you are as an intelligent being LOL. but that sounds mean, i am not bashing anyone who doesn’t agree with aging characters up, but it is the same people who bash on this who read/interact with dark content. like all of the sudden they can seprate fiction and reality when it regards to yandere…..

but like i said in the beginning, i don’t give a fuck what people do with my work.. if you want to interpret a character as a child, that’s disgusting, but it’s not my fault? if your mind is to think of a character as a child when reading smutty things, then you are sick in the head, but it’s not like my readings spurred it on. they will always be like that, regardless of what they are reading.

i write (95% of the time) for myself. i don’t see the character as a child, and honestly that’s all that matters to me at least. i can’t stop the small amount of people from having pedophilic thoughts about my work, but to be honest, i am not going to let that ruin my fun. i think about myself firstly — i am not a good person anon

hope this didn’t come across as rude, and when i say “you” i am not regarding you as yourself, ig i’m talking to people who shit on others who age characters up. not the people who disagree with it, and remain silent (respectful) about it

[caitie-likes-talking]

Speedwagon: JJBA’s First ‘Woman’

aka a commentary on the treatment of Speedwagon by the fandom, and how it’s managed to fully feminize him in a unique way.

Speedwagon is a main ally in JJBA Part 1. He’s Jonathan’s best friend and yknow does a bunch of shit for him, including creating the Speedwagon Foundation.

Now, what I really want to talk about is how fans treat Speedwagon. The main ‘joke’ of the fandom—which is for some reason both long running and ongoing—is that Speedwagon is the ‘#1 Waifu’ of both JJBA and anime in general. Now, in case u somehow don’t know, a ‘waifu’ is a female anime character that people simp for/consider ‘wife material’ I guess. It’s a term generally used by greasy guys who live in their moms basement. A good example of a ‘waifu’ would be Hinata from Naruto.

So already, this idea of Speedwagon being a waifu feminizes him an intense amount. I mean, it’s literally grouping him together w a bunch of otherwise female anime girls. However, this ‘joke’ also branches into simply using female terms for Speedwagon. Wife, mommy, best girl, and terms along those lines are commonly used to describe him (who I would like to remind everyone is a MAN…)

“Caitie, it’s just a joke. Why is this a problem?”

Well, first of all, it’s just unfunny. It’s the same level of unfunny as when ppl include tequila Joseph or Bruno in a pic of “hot anime girls.” Secondly, part of why I find this so harmful is another factor. Most people agree that Speedwagon is into Jonathan.

It’s not like it was much of a secret. However, people use Speedwagon as a way to joke about gay men. They call him a woman, wife, and overall feminize him the same way homophobes treat actual gay men.

People also use him as a way to joke about other people being gay. This joke isn’t really harmful but it sure is annoying

But the thing that really takes the feminization of Speedwagon to the next level is the way the fandom boils him down to what he’s done for Jonathan—the main (and male) protagonist. Many fandom spaces do this. They only treat female characters “well” if they think she’s been helpful enough or has done enough for the male mc.

I’ve also seen people compare Erina and Speedwagon in a way that’s very reminiscent of arguments like Sakura vs Hinata.

This is what I think makes Speedwagon’s feminization so different from other characters that are also feminized. For example, Noriaki Kakyoin from JJBA Part 3. (Or Bruno, or Doppio, ect, ect) Kakyoin is feminized in a way that fetishizes gay men, as it’s always in ship art/fan fictions with him and Jotaro. Kakyoin is depicted as weak, small, girly, and just overall the female love interest. However, he is still a man. Why? Because this is fetish art drawn by women who are into gay men that fit heteronormative dynamics.

Meanwhile, Speedwagon isn’t generally depicted as small or feminine. Yet, people genuinly act like he’s a woman. They compare him to Erina, they use feminine terms for him, and use him to be their little gay joke.

Anyways I’m done. This is a silly rant but I’m passionate abt it. Leave Speedwagon (and Erina tbh) ALONE!! He is not ur waifu. He is not ur wife. He is just a guy!!