#we made outraged posts and marched?

[lazy-cat-corner]

In case some of you still don’t get it and think “it’s a tiktok ban” maybe I can put it in words you understand. *aggressively points to meme*

[yardsards]

thinking about the fact that i was so socially awkward as a teen that the school wanted to me out of class to attend "social skills classes" once a week (to which i attended one and demanded i be removed from the program cuz it was just me and about a dozen equally uncomfortable probably-autistic kids who also probably did not want to be there, being forced to do icebreaker activities by deeply condescending special education teachers)

how did i not receive an autism diagnosis til i was nearly an adult and specifically advocated for myself to be taken to a professional to get checked out for autism and adhd???

[kkoffin]

if what the Taliban is doing to women was happening instead to a minority racial group, especially if the oppressors were white, i’m just saying, there would be A LOT more outrage.

there would be encampments, huge protests, everything you see with palestine but probably a hundred times more extreme. We’d be listing the stage of genocide this is, and calling it a second holocaust.

I mean IMAGINE a certain racial group’s voice is made illegal in public, and they have to wear a HUGE, ridiculous, uncomfortable garment like that. They aren’t allowed to leave the house without an (oppressor) escort. Banned from education or employment. No protections from violence and rape, basically less than an animal in law. IMAGINE IF ALL THAT HAPPENED TO A MINORITY RACIAL GROUP. this IS what’s happening to women.

But it’s just women and it’s just their culture so there’s nothing we can really do, who cares. Maybe we’ll do a march or two, and maybe we’ll post about it on twitter, make a few articles. But it’s just women.

[fairuzfan]

June was working at the Goldie restaurant in Philadelphia on Sunday night when protesters started assembling outside the Israeli-American-owned eatery waving Palestinian flags.

"Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide," they chanted.

The 24-year-old June, who asked to be identified by his first name only, told Middle East Eye that they watched the rally through the window of the restaurant which sells falafel, hummus and other Middle Eastern cuisine. June was shift-leading at the time.

"I remember thinking it was a big crowd, given it had been raining," June said.

"No one inside was bothered. I didn't feel unsafe. There were orthodox Jews taking part in the protest. We even had a customer come into the business," June, who is also Jewish, added.

After a few minutes, the protesters left.

When June went home after the shift, they found social media alight with accusations that the crowd had targeted the restaurant because it was a Jewish establishment.

But June says they knew that this wasn't a case of antisemitism.

"The protesters had assembled outside Goldie because the restaurant owner had sent money to an aid organisation that supported the Israeli military. They had come because two employees at Goldie were fired for expressing support for Palestine," June told MEE.

Outraged by the feverish pace with which the false narrative of a marauding mob intimidating a business on account of their Jewishness was being amplified on the internet and the news media, June posted on social media in support of the protesters.

"If you don't want to be directly funding genocide, stay away from Goldie, Kfar, Federal Donuts, Laser Wolf or Zahav. Goldie's parent company CookNSolo held a fundraiser where sales from all their restaurants went to an org [sic] that gives supplies to the IDF [Israeli military]," June wrote.

On the way to work the next morning, June received a call from the restaurant. They were told that they were no longer needed and they was fired with immediate effect.

That made June the third person at Goldie to be fired on account of their pro-Palestinian advocacy since 7 October when Israel's war on Palestine began.

Since late Sunday, the US media, prominent Jewish Americans, Philadelphia's mayor, several lawmakers, and even the White House have issued statements condemning the protests outside the restaurant.

"This is idiotic and dangerous. Protest outside the Israeli consulate or the offices of your member of Congress, not Jewish or Israeli-owned restaurants," prominent Jewish-American writer Peter Beinart wrote.

Likewise, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, described the incident as "antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy".

On Tuesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, called Michael Solomonov, the owner of the restaurant group, to express support for his business.

But former employees at Goldie as well as pro-Palestine advocates who either organised or participated in the protest say the outrage was manufactured to distract from both the crimes of the Israeli state and those who have chosen to support it.

"While Goldie was not the goal of our protest, we briefly paused and led chants [outside the restaurant] because the owner, Michael Solomonov, has used proceeds from the restaurant to fund an organisation that works directly with the Israeli Occupational forces," Natalie Abulhawa, a spokesperson from the Philly Palestine Coalition, said.

Abulhalwa said that the group spent only a few minutes outside the restaurant and moved on to other stops before continuing the rally.

"We also stopped at Starbucks for the same reason and then continued to march. Our march was roughly three hours long and we stopped at Goldie's for four minutes, at most," Abulhalwa added.

June, who was at the business at the time, confirmed to MEE that the protesters were only around for a few minutes.

Sophie Hamilton, who worked at Goldie for more than two years, including as a store manager, confirmed to MEE that Solomonov had held a fundraiser in mid-October, where $100,000 was raised for United Hatzalah, an Israeli emergency aid organisation based in Jerusalem.

She said Goldie, part of the CooknSolo company, was not some small-time "mom-and-pop" business, but a sprawling company whose owner was appointed by the Israeli tourism ministry as its culinary ambassador for Israel in 2017. Solomonov is an Israeli chef who owns four restaurants in the Philadelphia area under the CookNSolo banner.

According to a statement released by the Israeli authorities at the time, the role was designed "to champion Israel’s extraordinarily diverse and vibrant culinary landscape".

Hamilton said the company had mischaracterised United Hatzalah to staff as "non-partisan, non-military aligned, like the Red Cross", when a cursory internet search showed that not only did the charity openly collaborate with the Israeli military, they also spoke like an arm of the Israeli state.

"The influx of terrorists infiltrating Israeli territory and the resulting high number of injured individuals also prompted United Hatzalah to provide additional medical supplies and protective equipment to IDF teams on the ground," a statement issued in late October by United Hatzalah, reads.

"Since the beginning of the war, United Hatzalah medical teams have treated over 3,000 soldiers and civilians and provided more than 900 soldiers, civilians, and volunteers with psychological first aid. The organization also delivered over 30 tons of medical supplies and humanitarian aid to the IDF and residents of southern Israel," the statement added.

Hamilton said when she had discovered the information, she refused to take part in the fundraiser because she didn't want to be complicit in the genocide of Palestinians.

However, when she returned to work after the fundraiser, she said she still wanted to show solidarity with Palestinians and decided to wear a pin bearing the Palestinian flag on her shirt.

A few days later, the company came out with a new policy that banned any pin or patch unrelated to the store on their uniforms.

"I wore the pin anyway in defiance of the policy and I was sent home that day," Hamilton says.

When she returned to work, she decided she needed the job and abided by the policy. But when one of her colleagues, Noah Wood, refused to take off his pin, and she wouldn't discipline him as his manager, she was fired. And so was he.

"I would never, as a manager censor someone I work with for showing their heartfelt belief in human rights," Hamilton said.

Wood, who had already resigned from his job on account of the suppression of Palestinian advocacy at the restaurant, was serving his notice period at the time when he was told to stay home.

He told MEE that it appears a customer complaint may have led to his dismissal.

"We've had LGBTQ flags up in the store. They might still be up. And one of the other locations had Black Lives Matter signage, so it wasn't as if it was an entirely politically neutral work environment," Wood said.

"You must remember Sophie and I didn't say anything. We didn't argue with customers. We weren't posting online. We were just wearing Palestine patches and pins and this seemed to make a customer uncomfortable, and this was enough for termination," he added.

Goldie and its parent company, CookNSolo, did not immediately reply to MEE's request for comment.

Activists say they remain appalled by the smear campaigns pitted against Palestinians on a daily basis. The rush to defend a business working with the Israeli army under the mask of an antisemitic attack was in line with the higher echelons of the American state to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, they say.

With the devastation in Gaza spiralling and the death toll ever increasing - now upwards of 16,000 Palestinians - organisers say the rapid resort to smear those who dare to raise the plight of Palestinians was the surest sign that officials had run out of excuses to justify the support of Israel.

Activists say the flurry of support for the Israeli-owned business also showed the close ties between the US political establishment and Israel-aligned businesses.

"The hypocrisy of our elected officials is despicable. Within a couple hours of our protest, Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro and others ran to Twitter to accuse us of antisemitism with absolutely no context and no facts," Abulhalwa, with the Philly Palestine Coalition, said.

"No one from their offices reached out to us to 'investigate'," Abulhalwa added.

Organisers said US politicians were constantly attempting to portray pro-Palestinian protesters as unhinged or violent when it was the US state that was supporting genocide in Gaza and it was Palestinians in the US who have either been killed or physically attacked.

In its report about the call made by Emhoff, the US vice president's husband, to Solomonov, the owner of Goldie, NBC News reported that the duo spoke about "how food was actually supposed to bring people together rather than be a source of division"

Likewise, Pennsylvania's Governor Shapiro, who was among the first to condemn the protests outside Goldie, baked bread with its owner, Solomonov, as recently as September.

"Being an Israeli ambassador is a big part of Solomonov's brand," Leila, a Jewish-American who took part in the protest outside Goldie on Sunday, said.

Leila, who offered only her first name to MEE, said the suggestion that any part of the action outside the restaurant may have been construed as antisemitic was simply absurd.

June, the former employee at Goldie, who had watched the protest from inside the store itself, said the charge of antisemitism was divorced from reality.

"They didn't come to the restaurant simply because it was Jewish-owned. If that was the case, they would've gone to hundreds of restaurants across the city," June said.

Likewise, Abuhalwa said the smears against Palestinians were once more exposing a double standard toward Palestinian life.

"Palestinian protesters being held at gunpoint by a racist, Islamophobe is a hate crime. Palestinians being shot for wearing keffiyehs is a hate crime. A grown man stabbing a little boy for being Muslim is a hate crime. Using your First Amendment rights and peacefully protesting is not a hate crime.

"They accused us of targeting Goldie because it's Jewish-owned, which is far from the truth. Solomonov is not being targeted due to his religious beliefs, but rather his ties to a violent apartheid state that is currently enacting a genocide," Abuhalwa added.

Meanwhile, June, the 24-year-old who lost his job at Goldie for supporting the protesters, says he has no regrets.

"If I could educate more people on how this company feels about Palestinians being killed, I'd gladly do it in a heartbeat," June said.

"I will always advocate and support anyone who advocates for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine," they added.

[rainbowsky]

On GG's album, and hints of what was to come

As everyone here likely already knows, I'm completely losing it over the news of a full album from GG. There's a lot more to all of this that I haven't yet discussed, so let's dig into it. I have thoughts...

Disclaimer: Most of what's discussed here is rumor and interpretation, and could be inaccurate. We'll find out what's really happening soon enough!

I never dared dream that GG would put out an album. I have been begging for crumbs of a song for years now, it would have seemed completely outrageous to dare to dream of an entire album!!!

But now that it's on its way, and I've heard more info/rumors about the release (more on that in a bit), I can look back over the past year and see some signs that have been there all along, of what's to come.

More on the release

Promo has already begun, and we now know more about the release schedule based on what's posted on the streaming platforms.

The songs will be released in 3 waves, with the first wave happening on the 12th, the next one on the 19th and the final one on the 26th.

The physical album is going to be coming in December, and there are some tantalizing rumors about what that will include:

The album cover was drawn by GG.

A Xiao Zhan Studio red gift box containing various items including postcards, t-shirts etc.

There will be a CD version and a limited edition vinyl version.

A music video is also rumored to have been completed. This has been confirmed, and will be premiering on the 12th.

Clues we've had all along

What's interesting to me is that for months I've been posting updates about changes to XZ Studio's business license, that have been clues to what GG might be up to.

In January a license was obtained to establish a domestic performance agency.

In March that license was expanded to include services for film production and live performances.

In June there were some legal trademark applications made, pertaining to office supplies, calendars and paper gift wrapping.

And now we know that he's releasing an album, at least some editions which will likely be sold with bonus gifts, paper products and packaging (I think this is a very credible rumor because if he's going the physical album route, it's likely designer GG will want to do special editions like this).

Licenses recently purchased protect the studio's exclusive rights to produce and sell such items.

We also know GG and his studio love to produce stunning high quality videos. Was there ever any doubt that he'd make a music video? Maybe even more than one.

Licenses purchased earlier this year give the studio the right to produce such commercial videos.

And there's another license that is associated with live concert performances! I think it's highly likely we'll see a concert from him in the coming year or two.

Generous GG

As Fat Shrimp mentioned, the songs will be free on streaming. This has made a big impression on some fans, and there has been a lot of discussion about it, and about how much this album will have cost to produce, for GG to give it away for free (here's a compilation of some of the comments via Nili, and another from Estefanita).

People have expressed so many thoughts about this. Everyone agrees that it's almost unheard of to give an entire album for free. One or two songs, maybe, but just as a teaser for the full album - which must be paid for.

A lot of people have talked about the 'old days' (ack, I feel old!) when people would buy physical albums, often after having heard only one or two singles on the radio (although where I'm from people could go into a record store and listen to the full album before buying).

They say that he's opening himself up to that evaluation before people are expected to commit to paying for it, and that it's very generous and honorable, but that it will also open him up to being heard more by passersby who wouldn't otherwise be willing to pay for the music - therefore expanding his possible audience.

I personally think there are a few possible factors contributing to why he chose to share his album for free:

To me, this feels almost like GG's bigger 'debut' as an independent solo singer. He's finally releasing music entirely on his own terms. He wants to share and celebrate that with the world, as a gift to the world and to the fans. "I'm here. Please enjoy."

He's inviting people to listen to his music and judge for themselves whether it's worthy of their investment. It goes along with his personality as someone who wouldn't want people to associate any sort of 'buyer's remorse' with something he's sold them. He's always saying, "people are free to like or to hate," and this is his way of giving people that choice without judgment. "Listen and if you like it, buy it. If you don't, that's fine too." By doing this he's likely to build a bigger audience than by doing a traditional release, because everyone has a chance to hear and evaluate him without any up-front investment.

He wants to avoid any possibility of a repeat of what happened with Spotlight, where he was criticized because fans were buying dozens of copies as a means of boosting sales, and then bragging that their idol was the biggest seller of all time. He doesn't want fans to spend all their money on his songs or on boosting his 'sales', nor does he want any perception that the success of his album was bought by fans.

He could be bargaining on making more overall sales via charging for only the physical copies than by selling both, due to the expanded interest a free release is likely to generate.

He has confidence in what he's created, and is happy to share it openly.

He's doing this out of the joy of it more than anything else, and money isn't a central factor for him.

To me this approach, along with the stated plans for rolling all of this out, feels like a marketing plan, and we all know GG has a professional background in that kind of thing.

Yes, all those other elements of artistry, generosity and magnanimity come into it as well, of course. Marketing is treated as a dirty word, but we must remember that every marketing plan is based deeply in the values and intent of the individual/organization doing the marketing, and is focused on their goals.

I feel that his plan will have considered the factors I mentioned, and will be aligned with his values, intentions and goals.

This is just my take on it, of course. Only GG and his studio really know for sure what his plans and goals are.

Can't wait!!!

Whatever his feelings or plans are, I can't wait to hear this album, I can't wait to buy it, and I can't wait to see what kind if interest and critique it generates!!

I also hope that this is just the beginning - that he will be releasing more music, and hopefully doing concerts in the future.

[mariacallous]

In March, a little-known volunteer organization dedicated to “reviving the religious and secular unity of the Russian people” escorted agents from the Internal Affairs Ministry and the Russian National Guard on a raid in the remote city of Orenburg, a city of 500,000 near the Kazakh border.

Their target was a bar called Pose, which was locally famous for its drag shows. The volunteer organization, called Russian Community Orenburg, posted videos of the raid online, highlighting people in skimpy outfits, asking attendees why they were in a “faggot bar,” and showing clubgoers cowering on the floor as agents conducted their search.

“This is not [a scene from] the decaying West, this is from within the ranks of a country that is at war for a third year,” the group lamented when it posted the video online.

Conservatives in Orenburg had been outraged about Pose since it opened in 2021, according to the Russian outlet Mediazona, and a local media outlet published a sensationalist article about the club, complaining that laws like Russia’s longstanding “gay propaganda ban” did not give local law enforcement the tools to shut it down. That law, enacted in 2013, only bans materials made available to minors and carries light penalties.

The agents in Pose that night were armed with a major new weapon in Russia’s long crusade against its queer citizens. Last November, in a secret proceeding sealed to observers, Russia’s Supreme Court decreed the “international LGBT movement” to be an “extremist” organization, adding it to a list of banned entities that includes terrorist groups and the political operation of the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The decision is so broad that it can potentially be used against anyone who has—or simply “promotes”—a “nontraditional sexual orientation,” including people who are not LGBTQ but support queer people’s rights. People convicted under the law face up to 10 years in some of Russia’s harshest prisons, where queer people fear sexual violence or worse.

“This is not a decision to punish you for a few years. This is the death penalty, and it’s clear for everybody,” one longtime activist said, referring to the harsh conditions in Russian prisons. (The activist asked not to be named due to security concerns.) “We will not have a chance to survive there.”

Pose’s owner and two of its employees are now awaiting trial. A court announcement on Telegram notes they are accused of “being persons with nontraditional sexual orientation … who also support the views and activities of the international public LGBT association banned in our country.”

Others close to the bar are now living in fear. Only one regular Pose patron would agree to speak with me, and he said his friends had mostly stopped communicating with one another, afraid they could be discovered. Several had left the city or the country. He thinks he should maybe leave the country, too, but doesn’t have a passport or the money to go into exile, nor a safe place to flee to.

Pose, the patron said, “was my whole life. It was the only place where they accepted me.”

Homophobia became a major part of President Vladimir Putin’s political strategy in 2013. That’s when the Duma passed a national version of the “gay propaganda law.” The legislation was domestically useful to Putin, who was seeking to reinforce his political support by cozying up to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The law, which went into effect just before Russia was due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, provoked an international outcry, and Putin detected homophobia could also be a tool of foreign policy. His government leaned into the controversy, portraying Russia as a defender of traditional values against a degenerate West that had lost its way. Kremlin allies also began using it in a more targeted way in Ukraine, where an oligarch close to Putin ran an ad campaign warning closer ties to the European Union would force the recognition of same-sex marriages. His decade-long strategy has used homophobia to try to drive a wedge between Eastern Europeans and the West, as well as to delegitimize fundamental notions of human rights and democracy.

To some Russian LGBTQ activists, it was inevitable that the Russian government would double down on going after queer people following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Swiftly, the Russian government made a broad effort to dismantle the last spaces for opposition to his regime. Other steps have included shuttering Russia’s remaining independent media outlets and effectively banning any speech critical of the war or of Putin.

The organization Coming Out, which held an eight-day annual public event in St. Petersburg as recently as 2021, decided to move its whole team outside the country almost as soon as Russian tanks rolled across Ukraine’s borders.

“A few weeks after the war started, I understood that things were not going according to the plan,” said Aleksandr Voronov, Coming Out’s former director, who led its relocation to Lithuania. “I understood that they were going to start looking for new enemies.”

Putin also justified the war partly as a crusade against the LGBTQ movement, which he initially derided in a speech announcing the full-scale invasion as part of a Western plot to “destroy” Russia’s traditional values. Then, in September 2022, he referred to the movement as “satanic” in a speech illegally annexing four Ukrainian regions.

As the war continued, the regime’s propaganda machine pushed outlandish stories, rushing a state television crew to an LGBTQ center in decimated Mariupol that it claimed was “practically under the direct patronage” of U.S. President Joe Biden. Russian lawmakers also responded, expanding the gay propaganda ban in November 2022 and enacting a draconian anti-trans bill in 2023 that would outlaw gender confirming medical treatment, prohibit people from changing their gender on legal documents, and prohibit trans people from adopting children.

“A special military operation is taking place not only on the battlefields, but also in the consciousness, in the minds and souls of people,” said Aleksander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian parliament and an author of the updated gay propaganda law, in a speech to the Duma in October 2022. “LGBT today is a tool of hybrid warfare. And in this hybrid warfare, we must protect our values. We must protect our society and we must protect our children.”

Despite many threats to Russia’s queer movement—the original gay propaganda law, a state requirement that forced many LGBTQ organizations to register as “foreign agents,” growing vigilante violence—Russia’s queer movement had remained vital throughout most of Russia for most of the past decade. (A notable exception is Chechnya, where local officials have detained, tortured, or murdered dozens of queer people.) Queer organizations continued to work and even hold major public events like St. Petersburg’s long-running QueerFest, a multiday festival of LGBTQ-themed talks and exhibitions ending with a large public concert. But the extremism designation is far more dangerous than any previous threat.

Part of the danger comes from the court’s secrecy around the ruling. It not only closed the proceedings, but also barred LGBTQ organizations from participating when they tried to challenge the Ministry of Justice’s petition. Technically, any group the government seeks to declare extremist has a right to respond to the allegations against it, but the Ministry of Justice brought its petition against the “international LGBT movement,” which meant no specific organization would have standing to respond. And even when a group of LGBTQ activists formed an organization called the International LGBT Movement in an effort to intervene, the court refused to allow them to participate.

In fact, the Supreme Court never officially made the order public. It only reached LGBTQ activists in their lawyers when prosecutors in the city of Nizhny Novgorod attached it to their filings in a case against a woman who was arrested for wearing rainbow-colored earrings. (The six-color pride flag and other LGBTQ symbols were banned by the order, and the court sentenced the woman to administrative detention, despite the fact that the woman’s earrings were not discernible pride symbols—they had seven colors and were shaped like frogs.)

Olga Baranova, who has been executive director of an LGBTQ community center in Moscow since 2015, told me that the movement is now backpedaling after years of encouraging people to come out. They used to believe visibility would gradually make Russian society more supportive of LGBTQ people. Now it’s just dangerous.

“We’ve worked all these years just to be [out] and to be in the mainstream. And now we just say, ‘Okay, stop, stop, stop!’” Baranova said. Most people she knows who were visibly out have left the country, Baranova said—as has she—and she and other activists now advise people living in Russia to stay in the closet for their own safety.

Natalia Soloviova, chair of the Russian LGBT Network, a federation of more than 20 queer organizations from across the country, called the decision “absolutely horrifying,” but said that even despite it, the reality is that most queer people are not able or don’t want to flee Russia. The war has made it harder for LGBTQ people to reach countries that promise the most safety to LGBTQ refugees—like the United States or members of the European Union—because those countries have radically restricted visas for Russians. Georgia, which allows Russians to enter without visas, has become an important haven for Russian dissidents of many kinds in the past two years. But Georgia’s ruling party has advanced its own laws attacking LGBTQ people, one of many initiatives to bring the country closer to Moscow’s orbit.

Still, Soloviova estimates a significant exodus, with “hundreds” going abroad. Almost 40 percent of the Russian LGBT Network’s member organizations have relocated at least some members of their team abroad, generally visible activists or people in senior management. And many other queer people have been displaced internally, fleeing threats in their hometowns for larger cities where their pursuers are less likely to find them. Baranova acknowledged that if queer people all either leave the country or live in the closet, as she and others counsel them to do, “the movement will expire.”

Soloviova is one of those who’ve left the country. She first spoke to me in April from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, but has since left Georgia. (She feared that country’s new propaganda law and also knew of three queer Russians who were attacked on the street.) She is from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk—Russia’s third-largest city—and said she’d never thought she’d live outside Russia until the extremism designation.

Even today, key details about the Supreme Court order remain secret. For example, the order refers to a list of 281 individuals and 40 organizations considered part of the outlawed movement, but no one knows who is on those lists.

“The hardest thing here is that you have no opportunities to protect yourself,” Soloviova said. “You never know if you’re going to be prosecuted or not, and you will know only when the police come to your house directly and get you to prison directly.”

The charges in Orenburg are the first to reach court, but police appear to be flexing their new muscles across the country. In February alone, Mediazona reported several raids on “private parties” and a night club. LGBTQ activists told me they knew about several other similar incidents but didn’t want to share details, fearing publicity would put those involved in greater danger.

The arrests in Orenburg are just the beginning, worries Stanislav Seleznev, a lawyer with the Russian human rights organization Net Freedoms Project. Regional security officials generally have quotas for making significant arrests, and now LGBTQ people are an untapped pool of so-called “extremists” that can help them reach their goals.

“I’m compelled to assume that we are currently witnessing a model process that will be spread as much as possible all over the Russian regions,” Seleznev said. “Many more people are in a very dangerous situation now.”

Additional reporting contributed by a Russian reporter who asked not to be named, fearing that this article could lead to their arrest under the extremism law.

[roguekhajiit]

TW: Transphobia

I had my first ever encounter with a transphobic member of the LGBTQ community this week.

At work on Monday, I overheard some co-workers discussing Transgender Day of Visibility and how President Biden issued a statement acknowledging Trans Day. Since it just so happened to occur on the same day as Easter this year, my very close-minded co-workers took that and Biden's statement as evidence that Trans people are trying to take over Easter!

Now, I consider myself to be Non-binary (specifically Demi-girl/Agender), but I tend to fly under the radar, which is very helpful since I live in a very, very red state. It doesn't hurt that my normal sense of personal style is very casual and all black. So, I can wear traditionally "men's" pants, and no one pays much attention to me, which is the way I prefer it. I hate anything that draws attention to myself.

So, I bit my tongue and hyperfocused on my work. Then, when I went home, the non-binary gremlin in me just couldn't be contained anymore; I opened Reddit and made a post about how no one is going around trying to steal stolen holidays.

Now, I was fully anticipating pissed off Christians to rain their uninhibited fake outrage down onto the comment section (which happened) but I wasn't anticipating a self-identified 60 yr old gay man to come into my comments saying things like, "Why would you put a Trans holiday anywhere near a religious holiday knowing every seven years it's gonna land on said holiday" and "As a gay man I believe that the one part of our community is stifling the rest of us."

Tell me you're transphobic without telling me you're transphobic.

Now, since I can't just ignore the sheer inaccuracy of his math; according to Google from 2001 to 2100, Easter will only land on March 31st 5 times. Five times in an entire century. The last time Easter was on March 31st, it was 2013. So, 11 years ago, or over a decade ago. No one gave a shit in 2013 that Easter and Trans Day were on the same day. But let the president acknowledge it in a statement and everyone loses their fucking minds.

So, why would you avoid celebrating something important in your life on the off chance that it might coincide with someone's religious holiday? Of course, you wouldn't. If your birthday is on Christmas, do you no longer have a birthday?

"Next, why wouldn't you place it in the month of pride then each day of pride month could have a different day celebrating each letter of the lbgtq+ community."

Yes, that is what Pride Month is for, celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. But are you gay only in June?

But sadly, even some in our diverse community isolate and vilify trans individuals just like what this old gay dinosaur is doing. For 15 years, a vast majority didn't know or even give a shit that Trans Day existed. That is until a president acknowledged it.

"May I point out there's no gay holidays that coincide with Yom kipper or Ramadan."

True, Yom Kippur and Ramadan don't coincide with any "gay holidays," but Shavout is directly in the middle of Pride Month. Any outrage there?

"So just piss off the Christian's so they have one more thing to hate us for. I find many in our community asking for acceptance while giving none, just my opinion and nothing more."

How very accepting of you to say, my lord.

"Maybe it's time we all in the gay community and cis people give the whole year to the Trans community."

But they aren't asking for the year, or even a month. They just want one day that is their own. And even members of our own LGBTQ+ community can't even give them that.

"I'm gay so I can't be transphobic."

Your statements say otherwise. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you are absolved of your transphobia.

Perhaps it's time we stop placating these dusty ass old gay dinosaurs and call them out on their hateful thinking. Their "I got mine" attitude only harms our communities. Just because you won the fight for same sex marriage doesn't mean you're safe. The fight for equality is never-ending.

More and more of us are having our rights stripped away right before our very eyes. Roe v. Wade has already been overturned, and they aren't going to stop there. They never planned to stop there. They are very methodically chipping away at our rights. Right now, they are focusing their efforts on the trans community, slowly outlawing their very existence. And while they have you distracted by that, they are quietly overturning same sex marriage laws. Your rights aren't safe and never will be safe as long as we have members in our communities who subscribe to this kind of thinking.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Pamela Paresky

Published: Oct 9, 2024

Jews across the world have the sense that the “universal collective” to which we thought we finally belonged has thrown us out and turned its back.

Ever since witnessing an ecstatic pro-Hamas celebration in Time Square just 24 hours after the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, I thought nothing could surprise me. Then to commemorate the one-year anniversary of those atrocities, the Guardian published an essay by Naomi Klein titled, “How Israel has made trauma a weapon of war.”

“What is the line between commemorating trauma and cynically exploiting it?” Klein asks. “Between memorialization and weaponization? What does it mean to perform collective grief when the collective is not universal, but rather tightly bound by ethnicity?”

As someone who encountered gruesome videos of Hamas’s “cynical exploitation” and “weaponization” of Israelis’ trauma exactly a year ago, watched as terrorists referred to terrified Israelis in the South — those who just happened to be most likely to oppose “settlements” — as settlers and dogs, and heard firsthand from people who witnessed livestreams of family and friends held at gunpoint, most of them murdered or taken hostage, I found the premise grotesque.

It was particularly appalling because beyond the therapeutic effect of creating artwork, the cri de cœur that motivated the art installations from Tel Aviv to American college campuses, “kidnapped” posters across the globe, the Nova Exhibition, online maps of the massacres, and documentaries about October 7, is the denials of the trauma itself. And the feeling that since that horrific day, we have been abandoned. That we are profoundly alone. That every day in Israel is October 7th.

Given the depth of depravity of what happened that day, some Jews initially believed the world would finally stand with Israel. I didn’t. But I did think that everyone would at least condemn the atrocities. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Israel has faced obscene denialism and false accusations while young people across the globe celebrate monstrous barbarism and valorize those who perpetrated it. Jews across the world have the sense that the “universal collective” to which we thought we finally belonged has thrown us out and turned its back.

Where is the world’s outrage? Where is the world’s empathy? Where are the calls for Hamas to return our stolen souls? Where is the Red Cross? Where are the organizations and so-called allies with whom we stood, we marched, we campaigned? It’s #MeToo unless you’re a Jew.

American college students have borne the brunt of the rise in antisemitism. Days after the massacres, rapes, and kidnappings, when antisemitic student groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) used images of motorized hang-gliders to advertise their anti-Israel demonstrations, I wanted to believe that they didn’t know what really happened. When they used the same image to advertise celebrations of their “resistance” and “martyrs,” marking the one-year anniversary, they no longer had an excuse. “Happy October 7th everyone!” at least one school’s SJP posted on Instagram. They all refer to the massacres by the name the terrorists use for it, “Al Aqsa Flood.” To mark the anniversary, the openly pro-Hamas student group “Within Our Lifetime” (WOL) organized demonstrations, calling them “Students Flood NYC for Gaza.”

Last semester, Columbia University student activist Khymani James publicly declared, “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” and “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” His anti-Zionist student group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) issued an apology for his remarks. This year, the group apologized to him for its “so-called apology,” which, they declared, “does not represent Khymani or CUAD’s values or political lines.”

That was apparent when CUAD celebrated a recent terrorist attack at a light rail station in Tel Aviv/Jaffa. Terrorists murdered 7, including the young mother of a baby, and wounded at least 16. The group referred to the horrors as a “bold attack” and a “significant act of resistance” that “reached deep into the heart of settler-colonial territory, further destabilizing the Zionist regime’s claims to security…”

Almost a year after going to the October 8 Times Square demonstration, I went back to the scene of the crime. This time, there were signs glorifying not just Hamas, but Hezbollah. There were also more activists, more keffiyehs, more police, and more of the same familiar chants calling for the eradication of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people.

“There is only one solution: intifada revolution.” (Bonus points for harking back to the Nazi “final solution.”) “Palestine,” if they got their way, would extend “from the river to the sea,” making everything within Israel’s current borders as Jew-free as the Palestinian territories. If you thought they wanted an end to the shootings, stabbings, beheadings, suicide bombings, rapes, tortures, kidnappings, burning people alive…etc., you’re sadly mistaken. “Globalize the intifada.” “Long live the intifada.”

To hear the media tell it, though, especially when demonstrators add “ceasefire now” to their chant list, they’re “anti-war activists.”

This year, while students across the country attempted to hold anniversary vigils for the victims of October 7, terrorist-sympathizers celebrated the same events within earshot. As if that weren’t enough, anti-Zionist posters now include images of red anemones, the symbol of Israel’s South — where the atrocities happened. This is especially galling because survivors of October 7 see the red anemone as a symbol of their connection to the land. Many now have tattoos of the flower to remind themselves of resilience, possibility, and hope.

Relatedly, a chant that stood out to me as I left the Times Square anniversary celebration is “Hey hey, ho ho; Zionism has got to go.” Maybe because it seems banal compared to the others, it doesn’t get much attention. But in some ways, it’s more illuminating. We all know that for terrorists and their supporters, intimidation, harassment, and unimaginable violence is their love language. “From the river to the sea” is a threat. “Intifada” is a call to arms. But “Zionism has got to go” is something else.

Our connection to our ancient, biblical, historical, and permanent home is intolerable to those who hate the Jews. Perhaps that’s why student-jihadis now appropriate not just the date of the worst massacre of Jews in most generations’ living memory, but’ symbols too: In addition to red anemones, there seems to have been a proliferation of Anti-Zionist charms and t-shirts sporting maps of Israel.

That our connection to the land predates the birth of Mohammed, that we are the prototypical indigenous people and our presence in the land has been continuous, that we acquired the land through purchases and other legal means, that the majority of Israelis have relatives who were ethnically cleansed from Arab countries, that the only non-colonial, non-imperial sovereign power that has ever existed in that land was, and is, Jewish, and that the State of Israel came about in exactly the same way as countries that don’t face delegitimization campaigns, all puts the lie to the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews are “white settler-colonialist” robbers and thieves sent from Europe who stole land rightfully owned by ethnic Palestinians in 1948 — a time when there was no such designated ethnic group.

The Zionist-hating chant illustrates how antisemitic terrorists intend to take more from us than our land. They want to rob us of our hopes and dreams, too.

Maybe that’s why we always end up singing Hatikva when confronted by those who wish to destroy us — as if to say, “you might take our ability to live in peace today, but we won’t let you take our hopes and dreams.” As long as the heart within the Jewish soul yearns, and toward the East, an eye looks to Zion, our hope is not yet lost. Our hope is two thousand years old: To be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.

A day before Klein’s poisonous piece, the New York Times published a fawning article about a student-founder of WOL, one of the anti-Zionist organizations behind many of the activities that make campuses hostile to Jews. “Pro-Palestinian Group Is Relentless in Its Criticism of Israel, and It Isn’t Backing Down,” the headline reads. The goal of WOL, to be clear, is to destroy Israel“ within our lifetime.” Calling that “criticism of Israel” is like referring to the defacing of priceless artwork as “criticism of Monet.”

WOL “has galvanized pro-Palestinian activists who are calling for the end of Israel,” the subtitle reads, “and [are] facing accusations of antisemitism.” The message seems to be: Let’s be reasonable. They don’t hate Jews. They just want to destroy the home of more than half of them — the one country where Jews aren’t a minority. Can you believe they’re accused of being anti-Jewish? The poor dears.

In the past year, I noticed a chant I don’t remember hearing before. It’s in Arabic, and it means “from water to water, Palestine will be Arab.” Anyone who thought this would finally put an end to the nonsensical claim that “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” wasn’t about the destruction of Israel might be right. It seems we’re all on the same page now: It is a call for the annihilation of Israel.

But get with the program; calling for the destruction of Israel is now merely “criticism.” To quote from Dr. Strangelove: Our source is the New York Times. 

[understandableparadox]

Queer Charecters in One Peice.

The queer community lives and dies but those who remain in sight. What constitutes this sight? From top down, it's Activism. Advocating for yourself, those around you and those you will never see. Community, advocating for yourself and those around you. Then there is seeing yourself as something worthy of protecting, worthy of expression.  Worthy to speak in your own defense. That was an exceedingly pretentious opening for a post regarding one piece and its themes but I do believe that it's a good flat layer in which we can build our understanding of the importance of seeing Militant Queer characters. 

To be militant means to be combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause, often in favor of extreme and confrontational methods. It is often shown to be a negative state of being. Survivors of the rise of JpegTubers angrily waving their stick puppet around yapping yelping and parking because a lesbian was miffed that she was only socially acceptable as a tab on someone's browser may sit this explanation out, please enjoy the cookies, pizza and soda left outside of the seminar hall, don't bitch about them being store brand tho. 

We still see this bastardization of what it means to be militant in shows and movies, Milquetoast hand wringing writers eager to join the laughs at the straw men they crafted with dyed hair and pronouns waved about to pantomime the faux outrage they believe comes with being militant. “Ah yes, those Snowflakes will most certainly care that I'm placing this Sticker on the back of my truck~! Mmmm, their outrage, delightful, tasty, a Special Little treat for a Special Little Man~ WAIT NO, BIG MAN, BIG MAN, BEHOLD THE BALLS ON MY TRUCK, A SIGN THAT MY OWN BALLS ARE JUST AS SWOLLEN AND ENGORGED, A BEACON OF MASCULINITY THAT ANY MEDICAL PRACTITIONER WILL WEEP AT!” What was I talking about…? 

Oh yeah if i ask you to come up with a list of characters that follow this little diddy. A well meaning, white suburbanite, oft well to do who is overly vocale on social issues much to the detriment to their own social circles. Switching the tracks, a young black woman with a protective hairstyle or Big afro. Maybe a green jacket in most weathers.Attends rallies and goes about abusing bullhorns via shouting about black issues, often alienating her from her own friend group or creating discord between them because she may have white friends that are rather Perturbed by her rhetoric.  The second may be played to attempt a positive characterization but it still comes from the same hay bale. 

This character comes from a shift in public perception that the Advocates words must be genial and pleasant if it is to make the mark. That their struggles must be made palatable and consumable to the larger audience if they are to be accepted. Of course this is a larger load of shit then the streets of london prior to the advent of public plumbing. 

Yes this is the Malcom x vs Martin luther bullshit again, a million smarter authors have penned this shit enough time for the squids to beg for a bit reprieve and I promise i'm not going to go over it to much as I have nothing clever to say on it aside from a brief summary of pop cultural digestion and acidic markings. 

Martin Luther is seen as the Soft Figure, the Proper advocate. The one that will go to a place and make a heart warming street and march and hope the police will beat them a little bit softer or hope the towns water pressure isnt as bad (an unforgivable assertion by the by, those marches were massively disruptive, you cant march that many people down a large street and not have it be in some way fucking disrubtive.) This gets turned into someone like Professor X, one who balks at his own power and helps humanity in hopes of appealing to the shared empathy of all. This is contrasted to Malcolm X, the black panther movement, the Threat of violence in service to a social cause. The Scary Other. This is morphed to magneto, the one who demands mutant acceptance now but is revealed to be a mutant supremacist. Song Meet Dance. 

Now what the fuck does all of this have to do with one piece? Simple. It is the story of the Militant Other. 

But do I hear someone say, it's a shounen manga that's filled with gratuitous fighting! Of course we're going to see those labeled as the “other” being militant! Well I must simply retort that you are trespassing, please leave im vary scared, im holding a sword and quivering in place, my fucking teeth are chattering, get out please, you can have a bottle of water on your way out but take no more I beg of thee. 

The story of one piece is about characters that are othered at birth, made others by circumstance and society or choosing to embrace their otherness and becoming militant.  Who shall we look at first? The main character?! Oh you treat me so well, what a delight~!

Now Luffy and his story isn't inherently tied to him being queer but it sets up a very clear arc path for other queer characters that we will see later on in this post. If you are not aware, luffy is almost violently asexual, by violent i mean in that way that if I was an obnoxious power scaler i could easily list it as a power feat. please note the episode when he first met boa hancock, a woman drawn to be sexually attractive with the explicit power of turning people who find her cute or attractive into stone. Luffy gets hit with this and just ignores it. Fuck you it counts and I like it… ok im sorry, i dont know how you reacted to that information, that was so rude of me, im so sorry, please sit down, you can have another water bottle ontop of the courtesy failed robbery water bottle you recived. Please try to remain hydrated. 

Funny aside, Luffy is Himself. He is always Himself. There is no situation in which he can act as anything other than himself in all situations the self that he embodies is indelible. He understands this about himself thus surrounds himself with people that are able to not change the self but help the self become more with the promise of the same happening to those around him. 

He is also astoundingly passionate in what he believes in, he is passionate about the causes of his friends, he is passionate about the causes of people he finds to be good. This passion often shows itself as Extreme, Violent and one may even say Confrontational. Of course some may not consider punching someone directly in the face multiple times as confrontational but apply your better judgment to this matter as you consider it. 

Luffy is a militant activist. When he supports a cause, it's mostly for its ideological aspects. He believes that people should be free in the most basic of terms, they should be free to travel, grow, eat, laugh. Anything that hinders that is a direct insult to Luffy's ongoing system of thought and means you are going to be punched or ignored. 

Lets keep going down the line to see who else fits in this theme, shall we? No? What the fuck man? I gave you two water bottles, and they're like…Good water bottles, they don't even have those squiggly walls, they're like… smooth plastic square bottles. 

Well I'm going with or without you, starting with my beloved Bon clay. We meet bon prior to the start of the alabasta arc, fished out of the water by the straw hat crew in which he gives his express thanks, here we are given a stark humanization. We get to see him eagerly match pace with the energy of the crew, eagerly feeding into their jokes, showing off his powers, laughing with them.  

A side note. Laughing has always been made a huge deal in one piece, whether it's the other characters' starkly unique laughs or most arcs ending off with the crew and cast laughing. It's a show of celebration, that you are in a joyous mood, that you are Happy. I wonder if that's important to any narrative theme… anyways

I think this is all astoundingly important because they show bon clay as a fun weirdo who is in love with the self they have become before they are shown as a part of the villains crew. It establishes that they are more than their narrative born role as a minor antagonist, they are a complex human that is capable of complex thoughts and ideology. Show cased by the end of the arc, the exact moment that i fell in love with them, like really fucking hard. I'm talking about running into senpai, bread in mouth. My hearts going doki doki, doctors are flipping shit trying to label it as heart arrhythmia but oh no it's not you P.H.Dick it's the power of love burning like a goddamn cyclone smashing into a oil refinery, that explosion isn't disrupting the wind flow but it is sucking up those flames like a really well thought out sexual innuendo that your super duper impressed by and think is really funny and want to congratulate me on for making such a cool sexual joke. 

They sacrifices himself in order to allow the straw hats to escape from alabasta. Ending their appearance with a heartfelt farewell to the crew that they have fought with only a day ago, that he was willing to kill on orders a day ago. Leaving them with the words

“One may stray from the path of a man, one may stray from the path of a woman, but we never stray from the path of a human.”

FUCK THATS A REALLY GOOD LINE, anyways we see him again later in impel down in one of the hell layers, with even the scorching heat and arid air unable to squash his eccentric personality like the god damn wonder they are. Dancing in the depths of hell they soon hear that luffy has broken in and rush lower through the layers to meet up with them, Eager to join up and fight with him. 

Again, we are seeing behavior Vary similar to luffy, that actions which serve their passions are to be taken always. A passion for friendship, loyalty, all of that. The willingness to serve time in a massive human rights violation of a prison…ok thats a little vague, thats most prisons… Anyways we do get to see more of bon clay's belief system as we meet both our next queer character and our next militant character. 

Ivankov. They to me are the true exemplification of all three levels of advocacy in service to a group of peoples existence. At the most basic level, ivankov cannot hide who they are, it's impossible, I mean look at her! He has powers that can increase the size of their face, they wear makeup so thick it can be peeled off, they are Violently of the self. 

For their community, we have the new kama queendom, she has created a paradise in the depths of super hell jail to protect those around her. Even outside of the jail he has done much of the same by creating the okama queendom, the island outside of government control in which men and women flock in order to be able to express their true selves. Notably, despite ivenkovs ability to turn men into women, many of them do not make use of this power. They are free to express themselves without the expectation of fitting into that role visually. That's the community aspect to me. 

Then we get the more militant activism, ivenkovs role as a member of the revolutionary army. The way he provides an outpost in the middle of the grand line, his funding through his miracle medical work, his willingness to fight for those she will never ever see. 

And there are more, we see other queer characters in the revolutionary army, and they have yet to be shown in any sort of negative light. Their militant activism, their willingness to fight and rally others to fight for a cause is shown to be positive. 

The desire to fight for a cause throughout one piece is shown to be an overall positive cause, all forms of it. Whether it's through the more peaceful methods such as otohime or through violence and confrontation such as Fisher tiger. 

So to reiterate because this is getting hella long, I love One Piece because it allows its queer characters to fight for what they believe in, in any way that they desire. That queer characters are allowed to be weird, they are allowed to be evil, they are ugly, beautiful, powerful, anything and everything! 

Thank you for reading.

[coochiequeens]

A male is being asked to speak about a recent spike in femicide and people are surprised that women are pissed?

By Reduxx Team October 17, 2024

A trans-identified male was invited to speak in Northern Ireland’s parliament on “gender-based violence” and “LGBT youth education” following the brutal murders of four women in the country in just six weeks.

Northern Ireland has recently been shaken by a spate of murders involving female victims who, in many cases, had appealed to the police for help prior to their deaths. The most recent, Mary Ward, was a 22-year-old mother who was found dead in her south Belfast home on October 1. Ward is the 24th woman killed in the small country since 2020 according to Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, and the fourth woman killed since August.

But women’s rights advocates are expressing outrage after the matter was raised in Stormont by a trans activist who has previously called for males to be allowed to enter women’s shelters.

Alexa Moore, a male who identifies as a “woman,” was invited by the education committee this week to speak on an inquiry into relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in schools. Alongside Moore, Sophie Nelson from HERe NI, a Belfast-based community organization and registered charity for lesbian and bisexual women, also gave evidence.

But during the meeting, Nelson spoke about the recent killings, stating: “We have an epidemic here of gender-based violence and the prevention of this needs to start in school.”

Notably, Moore has previously made controversial social media posts describing women critical of gender ideology as “fascists” for seeking to uphold women’s single-sex spaces. The concerning tweets were circulated on X today by popular gender critical user @ripx4nutmeg, sparking debate and discussion from users.

“What an insult. How can anyone take a cross dressing mans input seriously when talking about male violence against women? Shame on whoever organised it,” one user replied.

Moore, who describes himself as a “women’s sector lobbyist,” works as a policy, campaigns and communications manager with The Rainbow Project – a non-profit organization that promotes LGBT ideology and activism in Northern Ireland.

He has regularly been featured as a guest for women’s events, including during International Women’s Day, when he was featured on a panel of “young women” to discuss “inspiring inclusion.” He was also allegedly involved in an International Women’s Day march where he led the crowd to chant “trans rights are women’s rights.”

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development, a self-described “feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movement,” also had Moore speak on the Women’s Policy Group’s 5-Pillar Feminist Economic Recovery Plan, which targeted how austerity and cuts to public spending, has been shown to “hit women the hardest.”

This is not the first time a trans-identified male has sparked backlash for being chosen to speak on women’s rights following an incident of femicide.

In December, the University of Toronto in Canada invited a trans-identified male to speak at a memorial ceremony dedicated to the women who lost their lives during the École Polytechnique massacre. Despite the event being dedicated to the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, the speech instead focused on “addressing transmisogyny.”

The year prior, Fae Johnstone, another trans-identified male, gave a keynote address at Durham College in North Oshawa, Ontario, during the 33rd anniversary of the massacre.

[houseofbrat]

I don’t think Catherine is ever going to divorce William. She didn’t stick it out this long to not get a crown on her head and her family haven’t briefed the media for over a decade not to get some lesser titles from King Willy one day.

With this new reporting - do you believe she ever had anything related to cancer? I’ve always thought she had a breakdown of some kind and these latest reports just confirm that even more. Even if you had cancer, there’s zero reason not to be seen by anyone - which she hasn’t been.

And again, the entire fiasco shows what liars KP are. People want to forget the week of the video announcement, she did her bouncy shopping experience and Kp was calling in favors for people to talk about her doing school runs and being all over the school. How would that have been possible if she started “preventative chemo” the month before 🙄

[this ask is from 24 May 2024]

Perhaps this phrase is more apt: “Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.”

Or, perhaps, the right Benoit Blanc quote should be:

"A doughnut hole in the doughnut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a doughnut hole at all, but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not whole at all!"

Why was Kate's "planned abdominal surgery" and hospitalization announced in the afternoon of 17 January 2024? If her surgery had been "planned," then the pr plan for announcing it would more likely have been put into place prior to surgery or at least during surgery at the minimum. However, a full day and the following morning had passed by the time an announcement was made by the Kensington Palace comms team. By KP's own statement & timing, the surgery happened on the 16th, and yet by the following morning, they were still not ready to announce that Kate had had major surgery or would not be performing public duties in the near future for a lengthy period of time.

Why the delay?

If it was routine surgery--as KP comms team wants to suggest by their statement--then why not announce on the 16th? Kate would be staying in the hospital regardless of whether the announcement to the public was made on the 16th or 17th. However, the delay insinuates that it was NOT a routine or "planned" surgery that Kate had. Seemingly that William and the KP pr team were not prepared to handle the situation. That perhaps Concha Calleja was right in that either Kate's operation or immediate post-operative period did not go well.

But now Kensington Palace comms team is telling Becky English that Kate was "unwell for some time in the run up to her initial abdominal surgery." A detail that--if true--would have made perfect sense to reveal to the UK media back in January or as late as March of this year. However, KP's initial statement on 17 January said that Kate was not expected to be doing work until after Easter, which was 31 March this year. (And yes, regular royal watchers would know this includes the kids' Easter break, even though the general public would not.) Even still, the Easter deadline gave Kate two and a half months notice that she would not be in the public's eye.

If Kate was truly "unwell for some time in the run up to her initial abdominal surgery," then the medical team would have been aware of that prior to her hospital admission. The BRF has their own medical team, which includes doctors outside of medical facilities such as The London Clinic. These doctors would know Kate and her medical history quite well by this point. They would know very well how she would respond to certain kinds of treatments and procedures.

In late February, William misses or skips the memorial service for King Constantine II of Greece. According to Valentine Low, that decision may have been made two weeks earlier. However, this absence did not cause him to miss other engagements later on in the week, such as St. David's Day in Wales.

Nonetheless, a string of outrageous and undeniable pr failures are suddenly committed by the Kensington Palace comms team, which includes the release of an altered Mother's Day photo and a public spat with the British Army over the Colonel's Review. Will and Kate become an international joke with so many people rolling their eyes about the shenanigans coming out of Kensington Palace, until Kate makes her video announcement that "cancer had been present." All the questioning of Will, Kate, and Kensington Palace's leadership all stopped after that one announcement.

Until people saw the pictures of Kate at Trooping the Colour and then Wimbledon and realized she did not look so ill. Many people know someone who has or is undergoing treatment for cancer. Many people have to work while they undergo treatment for cancer.

And then there's the recent Nerf story about how Kate and the kids went to an outdoor party to run around and play in the mud. There are plenty of people, who do not idolize Kate, who have wizened up to the fact that she clearly does not seem ill. At all.

And let's not forget Benoit Blanc's quote up top:

"A doughnut hole in the doughnut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a doughnut hole at all, but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not whole at all!"

Many people have grabbed on to this situation in disbelief that Will & Kate are telling the truth. Rightfully so when you consider all the red flags. This is why so many people believe that Will & Kate are either getting divorced or separated.

However, what would be the reason for Will & Kate to separate or divorce? Many people speculate that the rumors between Will & Rose Hanbury are true, and William is planning on replacing Kate with Rose. However, that does not seem at all likely to me, as there has never been any substantiation at all to those rumors, even in a British or foreign tabloid. Also, I would suggest that it is unlikely William has the game to pull off an affair given that he gave Kate a pair of binoculars as a present when they were dating. It's unlikely that guy could manage the ins & outs of having an affair.

Whatever is the source of the problem(s) between Will & Kate, it didn't originate in 2024. It had to be something in 2023. What--or whom--is the issue at hand? That is the question.

I too believe Kate had a mental breakdown with subsequent self-harm. It does not make sense that she was "unwell for some time" when she looked perfectly fine at her last Christmas concert and on Christmas Day. The way KP released information and William acted in January does not support that they knew she was "unwell" for some unspecified period of time prior to her hospitalization.

I'd like to point out two articles from this year of likely relevance. First, Kate Mansey's article from mid-March, "Prince William is a team player — why can’t he work with King Charles?"

At Buckingham Palace –– the office of the King and Queen — some are beginning to feel that the heir to the throne might do well to join forces with his father. Instead, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are run as two very separate and distinct entities. The first step towards better collaboration between the two courts, it is suggested, is for the heir to the throne to keep the sovereign better informed of his plans. This might be seen to be particularly prudent while the 75-year-old King is following medical advice to stay away from large public appearances while he continues his cancer treatment. [...] It means that Charles has no appetite to attempt to meddle in his son’s decisions, particularly as they both have very different approaches to the job.

The second from The Daily Mail's pearl-clutcher-in-chief, Richard Eden.

When I later spoke to the friend of Prince William, I had hoped that he would bring news of a change to this uninspiring policy. However, what he told me left me worried about the future of the monarchy. The friend said William was in 'full agreement' with his father about the need for a 'slimmed-down monarchy'. He told me: 'When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness won't be inviting anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals.' At 59, the Duchess of Edinburgh is the only other member of 'The Firm' under the age of 60. This means that by the time William ascends the throne, he and Catherine may be the only full-time royals. 'That is what William wants,' the source claims. 'He sees the small European monarchies as the model for the future.' However, when King Charles made his plans for a 'slimmed-down monarchy', Prince Harry was a key part of them.

Interesting that we didn't hear about William's plans when his grandmother was alive. Or that we still get public photos of Charlotte and Louis for their birthdays, if William is truly not going to have them be working royals as adults. Interesting all the changes he's making tend to be hidden, such as saying he paid taxes when he offered no proof, now that he is the heir to the throne and is his own boss.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

A classic corporate apology (non apology)

Hmmmmm. That wasn't much of an apology from Geffen, not that I really expected anything.

I've made it pretty clear (if you've read my previous blog posts) that I don't think it makes sense to focus on Geffen when BigHit/HYBE is the driving force behind the unforgiveable roll out of Jimin's MUSE. Geffen is simply following orders. That said...

All ire and outrage focused on that Ray dude and Geffen the company, followed by coverage from major media, has the potential to damage the relationship between HYBE and UMG. And for that I cheer.

Read the above if you feel like throwing up in your mouth.

This is only my hunch, but I believe Bang Si Hyuk is really hoping for Universal Music Group to acquire HYBE. I think that's why he's entered into this relationship with UMG for Geffen to promote HYBE Labels groups, even if the terms aren't in the best interest of the artists or HYBE itself. I think that's also why he structured HYBE to look a lot like UMG with multiple labels under the corporate umbrella.

Corporations are always looking for ways to streamline, cost cut, reduce redundancies. From a profitability standpoint, a corporation should run the leanest operation possible. It makes zero sense for HYBE to have so many record labels when most of them have between 1-3 acts. Are you telling me a single label couldn't handle all the groups and solo artists under HYBE? That's absurd. And its inefficient as hell. It's more like delusions of grandeur.

Check out all the artists under IGA (owned by UMG) to see what I mean. This list is just Interscope artists.

I could see a scenario where UMG may want to cut ties with HYBE just because they're too big of a liability. BTS fans are bullies, company oversight is trash (insider trading charges are in the news today), and public sentiment about the labels continues to fall. Will UMG eventually decide that the HYBE partnership is more trouble than it's worth?

Now we wait and see how the Geffen/HYBE joint venture, aka KATSEYE, goes.

Anyway. New music from Jimin is hours away. Yes!!

[lavander-gooms]

Fellas, I think I finally got (noir) Peter Parker's age.

Alright, I know what you may be thinking, that you've read posts like this before that basically end with "erm they say he's a kid so I uhh guess he's 19" (we've all thought this ngl).

Let us begin, shall we?

This mostly began because I hated Felicia and Peter together.

I love Peter's noir comics so much, everything Peter goes through is such awesome writing and symbolism (Peter swearing to take power away from people who abuse it and then ends up abusing his own power ahgdgsgdgag) but Felicia' and Peter's "love story" weirdo lust pedo sub plot gave me the major ick.

Tbh I got tired of people defending this ship because they "didn't know Peter's age". I really wanted to prove them wrong. So I am.

And I just want to know.

Let's boogy.

Peter is referred to as a kid numerous times.

Above are most of the times Peter is called/referred to as a kid in the first comic run (which was only three issues).

I couldn't fit all of them, gosh darn Tumblr.

Anyways, it's clear that Peter appears as a child to all of the character, due to all of them referring to his as a kid. Every character he interacts with as Peter Parker calls him "kid" or "son" or "boy" (etc.). He obviously appears as/is a kid, or they wouldn't have made it a point to keep saying this.

Okay, so this means Peter's a kid. We can eliminate all ages over 21 and under 12. You were considered an adult at age 21 (age of consent was 18- https://worldhistorycommons.org/age-consent-laws -). And I think we can all agree that Peter isn't 12.

My next idea was to turn to the original age of when most Peter Parkers were bit. The problem is, it's all at scattered ages. The most common one I found was he was bit at 15.

But is noir Peter Parker really 15? No. Bear with me.

I came to this conclusion and sank to the ground and cried out in agony. Truly noir Peter Parker's age was a mystery, I thought. So I gave up.

But I was rereading the comic, and noticed a tiny tiny detail I overlooked upon my past rereads.

Here is the comic panel where the Goblin dies via spidery-Kraven, and Peter just watches. While Peter is watching, he thinks back to the time Uncle Ben snuck him in to see Frankenstein.

Okay, there are two versions of Frankenstein Peter could be talking about here.

The first Frankenstein that ever came out was the 16 minute long version on March 18th, 1910. Now, that's way further back than I think Ben would've taken Peter to go see it, as AT MOST (if he's 21) Peter was born in 1912. It is possible Ben took Peter to see a rerun of the 1910 version, but reruns were incredibly rare and the 1910 version of Frankenstein was deemed to be lost until the 1950s (I don't know WHEN it was lost). If Peter was taken to see the 1910s version as a child it could have given him nightmares. But I really doubt this is the Frankenstein movie Peter was referencing.

The second movie is the one I believe to be the movie Peter saw with Ben. This Frankenstein came out on November 21st, 1931. It fits much more with the time line, and fits the whole "couple years back" things (a couple means two to you guys too, right??).

Okay, so we know the date of the movie that Ben snuck Peter into. But, there is one very important word in that sentence. Snuck.

Either, a- Peter wasn't old enough to see the movie,

Or b- Aunt May didn't want him to see the movie.

The 1931 Frankenstein revolutionized the horror movie genre, and brought with it an outrage from the church and adults. It was censored mercilessly, and brought around the "H" rating that deemed anyone under the age of 16 was too young to see. But this came as a result of Frankenstein, in 1932ish in Britian and 1934ish in America. So when did Peter see the movie?

This is where my argument gets flimsy.

We can assume he saw the uncensored version as it gave him nightmares, so I speculatate he saw it around the same time as it's release date.

Peter was under 16 when he saw the Frankenstein movie, due to Ben having to sneak him into the movie.

OR

Peter was freshly 16 and begged Uncle Ben to let him see the movie, he's old enough isn't he? And Ben can't say no to his nephew so they sneak around Aunt May to go and see it together.

Either of these two are plausible, but I'm going to go with the second.

Mostly all the Peter Parkers were born around August/October, so we'll keep that.

On November 21st, 1931 (or whenever he saw the movie) Peter Parker is 16 years old.

Which, one year later, makes him 17. And as the comics take place January 1933, we can make the safe assumption that Peter is 17. Which means in September, he's 18/about to turn 18.

Whew. I think I got it. If you have any other stuff please give it to me 🙏

Felicia and Peter relationship study coming soon.

[bzhitstruth]

A little about the types of "candy"

I apologize in advance for my English - this is not my native language, I do not speak well (and maybe sometimes I speak like Master Yoda).

Recently, there has been a wave of outrage among the turtles on Tumblr, because from time to time there are malicious anti-accounts that try to devalue our fandom and “wash” candies. This pissed me off and I decided to write a post.

But now this is not about these accounts.

I want to organize (mostly for myself) candies and arguments that we all love so much and look for in every GGDD action.

I am of the opinion that many of the candies are probably really wrong, but this is very individual, and if many people are happy with candies that seem unconvincing to me, they have every right to be. I also have candies that I strongly believe in and, in my opinion, they can not be "washed".

Maybe my "organization" will help someone better understand and also determine for themselves what kind of candy are more reliable, and which ones can be "washed" over time (and are really unintentional).

And one more thing: all these my fabrications are completely fantasy and fake, I just talk about all sorts of nonsense, in reality this nothing doesn't exist! 🤡🤡🤡

There are a lot of materials in Yizhan's world, I will give only a few examples. You don't have to agree with me at all. Everyone has their favorite “candies”, if you are so interested of GG and DD that you want to follow their life and work, then on this way you will find many exciting and intriguing details that you personally will like.

1. "Numeric candy" in social networks — kadian

I like kadian very much. I won’t talk about what it means and how to use it, many already know, and who doesn’t know, there are many materials on this topic, for example, there is good post of @rainbowsky.

Before, when I first became a turtle, I counted everything that was published by GGDD, but over time I realized that this is not worth doing. It is unlikely that DD, GG or their teams bother counting the date and time numbers in each post. It's just absurd and no one busy person would do that. But I think they make sure the numbers look neutral and won't post every day 28 or 23 knowing full well what it mean.

On the other hand, I believe that the direct kadian (for example, the time 18:33 or 23:38) wasn't made by chance.

Sometimes I believe in kadian with counting numbers (for example, 1+8+5+9 = 23), and I have reasons for this - sometimes they both publish such kadian (for example, 28 and 23) on the same day, and that reduces the likelihood of coincidence.

If someone is trying to "wash" kadian, then his argument can be only one thing - "this is an accident." It is impossible to prove intentionality or unintentionality of numbers. In this case, you'd better just decide for yourself whether you believe it's an accidentally or not. Look at the type of post with kadian (it is most less likely in advertising and it absents in posts on social and political topics), what circumstances preceded it and what happened after it. And if you understand for yourself that in this case it is quite appropriate, then no "washing" is valid here - kadian, by definition, cannot be "washed", it's just a matter of probability and faith.

I will give a little example, when the kadian in the ad looked suspicious, and I am inclined to believe in it - this is the time of the publication of GG's advertisement at 10:18 on March 26, 2023. Yes, this is just an advertisement that GG constantly publishes in the morning. But firstly, the timestamp :18 is completely atypical for him, secondly, he knows perfectly well what it means and what kind of reaction may follow, and thirdly, the accompanying circumstances. This post appeared on the morning after the ambiguous Weibo Night, they were in the same city, and in the morning GG was leaving, and bad rumors and gossip spread immediately after the event. I personally believe in this kadian, because for me the circumstances are convincing, but in each specific case, everyone decides for himself.

This category also includes GG's posts of 18 (actually 33) or 12 (actually 28) photos with which he periodically pleases us, 18 photos, including 8 “movie tickets” from GG. It is impossible to prove whether this is a coincidence or not. Look at the likelihood and yourself decide. I believe in this kadian.

2. "Numeric candy" (kadian) that GG and DD demonstrate personally

These are the hands and numbers on watches, the numbers on the sleeves, above the head, spoken verbally personally by GG and DD etc.

I noticed this most often with DD: the numbers 31 and 5 on DD's jacket before GG's birthday, 21:33 on the clock above DD's head in Los Angeles, 32-33 on DD's sleeve on June 21, “2nd row 30th place, 3rd row 20th place” at a fan meeting in Qingdao, and the like.

As for the GG, he has an episode in the vlog on February 7, when someone stops the radio dial at numbers 8 and 3. Although GG himself is not in the frame at that time, this is still his vlog, and it seemed remarkable to me. GG makes it more elegant and not so obvious (the picture can be enlarged).

Can it be "washed"? Some of this, of course, can be controversial and it can be explained as coincidence. For example, a clock display in LA could show a random time. Or DD not chosen the clothes with numbers by himself, but the brand insisted on this (I believe that this is DD's choice).

But how do you "wash" what DD said personally twice at the fan meeting if he and the whole world know perfectly well what those numbers are? If the anti's claim that he "disapproves bjyx" were true, then this just could never happen.

And Y.-Off. posted on Instagram that photo from LA with 21:33, and in fact they could easily not have done this, but they did.

3. Specific things that are pretty obvious

One example of such things is the glowing BJYX sign posted on Weibo by DD's team on October 29, from the final of SDC5. This photo was placed in the very center, and the light sign could be easily cut off or simply erased, and a million photos were taken at the final, but this was chosen. Try to explain why the person who allegedly "disapproves bjyx" did this. This is the very reliable and loud candy.

The same category includes DD's “sneakers and ice cream”, “give the scorpions to WB” (GG's food vlog in Qindao), UGG shoes in GG's vlog June, 7, the text “heart with a mole” in DD's Weibo post on April 26, 2023, and the like.

Something can be "washed", for example famous GG's "rainbow" umbrella, which many considered as such for a couple of years, turned out to be black, we had seen this in his recent July vlog.

You can try to “wash” UGG, refer to the fact that DD was not yet a brand spokesperson when the vlog was filmed. But going back to the previous point - GG KNOWS who the brand ambassador is now, he KNOWS how it will be perceived, other things in the room are blurred and hidden but shoes are on display. It is unlikely that he and his studio did this publication in a state of clouding of mind.

4. Very subjective things that are perceived emotionally and awaken the imagination

These are meaningful words in the songs, the “wedding” outfit on Weibo Night, mention of lychee and camping, a certain arrangement of photos, GG's photo with the dog, DD's T-shirt with the dog. Where DD looked and how smiled, how GG greeted DD's colleague in a special way, images and allegories that GG shows in vlogs and uses in interviews. Jaw and finger DDGG (which pops up again and again and haunts turtles! I'm agnostic about this "candy"). GG's drawings, DD's dances, "I'm out of the habit of spicy food", voices of GG and DD behind the scenes, birthday greetings to DD, sunset, moon and so on.

And our favorite bone necklace also falls into this category, because no one knows exactly where it comes from and what it really means for DD. We can only believe or not believe.

This is the most vulnerable category due to its extreme subjectivity. This is purely a matter of faith and individual perception.

Sometimes such candy are "washed" by GG or DD themselves. If you remember, in November 2022 GG posted several photos, and among them one with incomprehensible blurry red-blue stripes. Many have decided that this is blurred photo of Lego "Titanic", which GG bought for DD. But in the December vlog, GG showed that those were streetlights that he filmed from the car. He sometimes advises us to hold our horses.

I really love things of this kind, I like to look for strokes in the drawings and peer into the photos of GG, guess what this or that emotion can mean, and what DD wanted to say with his dance. GG especially likes to make such riddles, his vlogs are special works of art, I always really look forward to them and find a lot of secrets in them.

It is very difficult to confirm these things. It is unlikely that GG will ever come forward and say what he really meant by drawing two boys on the beach … But I hope at least a small part of this will someday be clearer. Let it be so.

5. Timing of actions

After a long silence on social networks, the posts of both appear one after another. Or after a suspicious period of time - for example, after 13 or 85 minutes, or after 3 hours and 28 minutes. Same posts style. Simultaneous arrival in Beijing after the Hong Kong concert, supposedly from different cities. IP addresses from the same location. The gestures that DD made at the "water show" on July 10, GG shows us the next day in his vlog.

The simultaneous disappearance of both from the field of vision (August 4, 2023), GG being late for work during the DD's illness. This can be “washed” if you prove, for example, that there were definitely other reasons for being late or absence.

An example of such "washed candy" - many thought that GGDD were together on DD's birthday in 2022, but later it turned out that this wasn't.

6. Clothes

I put this in the separate category, because this section is quite large. These are fun candies that many turtles love (myself included). We've already lost count of the same brands that GG and DD wear. It is difficult to "wash" such candy, because that they both wore We11done, Alexander McQueen or Maison Kitsune is a fact. This is observed very often, and sometimes things of the same brand appear after a short period of time.

If I'm not mistaken, once was counted about a hundred matches in GGDD clothes (now there are probably more), and it was noticed that DD's employees used things those brands are represented by GG and on the contrary.

7. Acquaintances, colleagues and friends

These are a few people who sometimes hint to us that they know something. This is “Uncle Lan”, other CQL colleagues, DDU brothers, songwriter and her comics, colleagues from the industry, I won’t tell names, they are known among the turtles.

Sometimes their hints are quite transparent, and we are always happy to see that GG and DD are supported by other people in their circle.

To refute it is the same as to assert that all these people have conspired and are fooling us for some reason for years. Agree that this is absurd!

In addition to all this, beyond any categories, we have BTS of CQL, Rumor Houses and BottledJoy. There's been a real circus going on with BottledJoy lately, so it will be very interesting to see where this all leads, and it's a very funny to watch them performances.

Perhaps I forgot something important and didn't mention some categories, because there are too many materials regarding Yizhan. And this is great, because even if a few candies are "washed off", we will not lose anything, we always have many others!

And no antis can cope so much evidence that we believe in and that tells (and sometimes just screams) to us, that BJYXSZD💚❤️.

[generalluxun]

ML Fanfiction: Showing Love

This little one shot is a rewrite of the end of Queen Wasp. It never sat right with me, Marinette badmouthing Chloé to get Audrey to pay attention to her (and we see how well it turned out having her in Paris) Who wouldn't prefer something with some awesome Marinette and Moma Sabine in it? Link to the post on AO3 in my bio. Full text below the break.

Marinette was so sure. She had seen what everyone else had, but unlike so many people she couldn't, wouldn't look away. She might have every reason to, it might be any number of people's responsibilities before her, but she was Ladybug. It was more than a costume. It was more than fighting villains. It was saving people, and everyone deserved to be saved.

She was so sure. When that 'go away' came through the door, it was expected. When that baffled 'Dupain-Cheng?' left Chloé's lips -she never used Marinette's first name- it had been a victory. Yes Chloé, even you.

She was so sure. She marched up to the helipad with a plan fully formed. She declined Audrey's offer. She stepped aside to present Chloé to her mother. It was easy to brush aside the 'Chlorine?' It was just a quirk, right? Nothing else made sense.

She was so sure. 'Why don't you love me, mom?' broke her heart. No child should ever have to ask that. It was Chloé though, Chloé could be trusted to misread anything. This was the way to clear everything up. It was all a misunderstanding.

"But… Uh– of course I-" Audrey choked. She turned her head. She wouldn't even look at the girl, hunched and desperate before her. When she managed to force the words 'love you' from her lips they were almost unrecognizable.

She was so wrong.

"No."

Both Audrey and Chloé turned to her, one still wallowing in confusion, the other with indignant surprise.

Marinette had to fight to find her voice. Hope, warmth, and pride had turned to a burning anger and disgust. She looked at Audrey and saw something incomprehensible. "You… don't… Do you?"

Marinette was stunned, but after being contradicted twice in as many minutes, Audrey was moreso. She looked at Marinette over her sunglasses, "Excuse me?"

"You don't. It doesn't make sense, but… you don't." Marinette found strength in her anger. "You can't even make yourself say it! The one thing every child should be able to count on, and you can't even do that much!"

"Listen here Mariachi, don't you tell me how to handle my employees, Cardamom is-"

"She's your daughter, and her name is Chloé!" Marinette was shaking with rage. "I hate her and I can remember her that much! She's awful, mean, cruel, and makes my life hell but even she deserves better than you!"

Marinette snatched Chloé's hand and began dragging her off. The blonde was stumbling after her passively, clearly still reeling. Her 'Dupain- wait- I-let me-' protests were meek, Marinette ignored them.

She was waiting, listening, holding out for that last little bit of hope as she marched away from the pad. There was still a chance… but no. No outraged scream, no fervent protests, no last vestige of maternal instinct followed after them. Just to drive home the point, the sound of helicopter rotors starting up was the sound that saw them off the pad.

"Dupain-Cheng, stop!" Chloé finally found her strength and yanked back, pulling herself free. She turned back, scanning the sky.

"Chloé, where are you going?"

She didn't even look Marinette's way, instead pulling out her phone as she answered. "She can't have gone far, the limo is fast. I can get Jean-Loius to chase her dow-"

Marinette caught the phone even as Chloé lifted it to her ear. The look she got for it was crazed. She moderated her tone, speaking softly. "And then what?"

Chloé's eyes snapped to her, a hunted look to them. "Then we can- I can- … " She want from shock to shout, "Dupain-Cheng you were the one who dragged me here!"

The truth stung. Marinette channeled the pain though, admitting, "And I was wrong! Who can blame me? Who could think that… that… just, how?? It shouldn't be hard for a mother to love her daughter!"

Chloé sniffed, posture changing again, chin up. "Oh it's not hard, Dupain-Cheng. All you have to do is be exceptional."

Chloé spoke such nonsense with complete confidence, Marinette was left gaping, "No! No, that is so messed up, don't you see? You want to win a medal? Sure, be exceptional. You get your parents' love just by being alive. You're her daughter."

Chloé's head snapped to the side, she scoffed, "You're talking presents, Dupain-Cheng. You get presents by being alive. Love you have to fight for."

Marinette wasn't sure she'd ever heard anything more wrong in her life. The insanity of it threatened to overwhelm her. A part of her mind went into overdrive recontextualizing years of interactions. She wanted to just shut down. No!

She wouldn't be wrong, not about this. She grabbed Chloé's hand again and started off, "Come on."

Chloé stumbled after her again, "Where are we go-going? Dupain-Cheng!"

"It's Marinette! And you're coming to dinner. You're going to see what a family looks like."

"What? Dup-" Marinette glared and Chloé corrected herself, "-arinette. You don't even like me. I heard you."

Marinette stopped, but didn't let go. She looked back at Chloé, the girl was on the ropes, worse even than when Marinette had found her. A small selfish part of Marinette wished she could enjoy it, a very small part.

Instead she spoke evenly, "You're right. I don't like you. Can you blame me? You've been a terror, bullying me, harassing my friends. The thing is I don't have to like you to know what you just said isn't right, and I'm going to show you. You might be the worst person I know -second worst now- but even you deserve a parent who loves you."

Chloé started to talk, stopped, looked around as if the answer might be walking past them, ground her teeth, then tried and failed to speak again.

Marinette held up a hand to stop the meltdown-in-progress. “We can call it off if you want. You can go home, I can go home, and we can pretend this never happened.” She lowered her hand and tried her best Ladybug voice. “If we do that though, nothing will change. Whatever you’re feeling right now, it won’t go away. What I’m feeling won’t go away either. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that. I want things to change. I want things to be better, for both of us, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever have the strength to do this again.”

Marinette let out a sigh, her anger was flagging and her energy with it. While she still could, she offered her hand.

She tried mimicking a familiar smirk as she asked, “So, what do you say, Bour-geois?”

Chloé flinched at her offer, more emotions played across her face in a cascade. A hint of determination flashed and she reached out, pausing halfway and looking around again.

Marinette prompted, “No one’s watching. Even if they were, just make a scene.”

A small light sparked in those deep blue eyes. Her lips curled into a smirk that was familiar but without fangs. She set her hand in Marinette’s and said, “This is ridiculous.”

Marinette turned, pulling her along before either of them could change their mind. “Utterly ridiculous!”

------------

Another small burst of adrenaline saw Marinette all the way home. Chloé didn’t let go, and neither did she. It wasn’t a tender connection though, it was a lifeline. Her too-loud greeting clued her mother in right away. Her father just accepted the strange situation with his usual gentle confusion. It was still a whole bottle of nitro-glycerine waiting to go off.

Sabine spoke first, “Marinette! Honey! You’re home! And you’ve brought… a friend?”

Her mother’s doubt was palpable. Marinette spoke, again too loud, “Mom! You know Chloé from school. She’s going to be coming to dinner, if that’s okay?”

Sabine looked between the two of them, then visibly clicked into ‘mother’ mode. “Yes, of course. I was just going to go up to begin preparing it. I can call you when it’s done.”

“Call-” Marinette realized a flaw in her plans. Everything was working as long as she kept momentum, but now…

From beside her, “Don’t you design things, D- Marinette? Show me some of it.”

Choé’s voice rose and fell in a strange oscillating tone. It kept trying to settle back into its usual domineering affect, but then being knocked out of it, seeking another groove. When Marinette looked at her she snapped her head away quickly, but slowly turned back, waiting.

Marinette took a chance she was right about what she was seeing. “Sure. We’ll be upstairs, Mom.”

They had to let go of each other to climb the narrow stairs into Marinette’s room, and suddenly Marinette was adrift. On top of that, Chloé Bourgeois was in her room! Alarms, warning bells, klaxons, and a little voice perpetually screaming all sounded at once in Marinette’s head. Instead of doing any one of the dozen sane things though, she walked across to her desk and picked up one of her notebooks.

“This is your room, huh?”

Marinette froze. That voice, here. She was still fighting to force her paralyzed limbs to move when the voice came again.

“It’s small… too small. You should have it expanded. You- you’ve got a chaise too? They’re so comfy. I used to flop on mine after dance cl-  I um.. Steps, I have some leading up to my bed too, but this many Marinette? You’re just showing off.”

Chloé’s voice was still working the scales, looking for a place to call home. Marinette recognized babbling when she heard it, long proficient herself. She found she could move again. Turning, she held out the notebook. “Well, you know me, can’t do anything halfway. I think your balcony is bigger than mine too, but I like my view. If you’re still here when the sun goes down, I can show you.”

Marinette had just long enough to panic at her own offer as Chloé hesitantly reached out for the notebook. Their eyes met again and she saw the panic was mutual.

The exchange turned into a snatch, but as Marinette braced for ridicule Chloé instead retreated to the divan, opened the book, and went silent.

The pause gave Marinette a chance to question, to doubt. She shuffled to her desk, but then was stuck. She couldn't just sit there staring at Chloé, but history had her trained not to turn her back either. She settled for half-facing and with her phone out, then she wasn't *staring* staring, right?

Needing to get her thoughts down but not daring to open her diary, Marinette began typing out a note to herself with her thumbs.

What am I doing? It's Chloé. Yeah, but that isn't right no matter who it is. Why me? I could probably try and ask Miss Bustier. But

Marinette drummed her thumbs on the sides of her phone as she thought. A quick glance showed Chloé had progressed through several pages of sketches, but there was not a peep out of her. In fact Marinette wasn't sure if she had ever seen Chloé so focused. Hiding in details to keep from thinking about the big picture. Marinette was very familiar with that trick too.

I want to do this. I want to be the one.  It's not like I like her, or want to hang out. It's…

I want to win. I can't do anything about Mr. Flaps yet, but this I can do something about. Beating this villain doesn't do anything. I've been doing that all year. So maybe getting her to stop being a villain would work. That train thing was awful, and wrong, but she didn't run either. How long would she have tried to stop it on her own? All the way? She liked Ladybug. Can I use that? Is it too soon to talk about her using the Miraculous? Would clumsy Dupain-Cheng asking just embarrass her? Gah. Akumas might be hard, but at least I have my lucky charm.

She looked up again. The notebook was closed in Chloé's lap and the other girl was looking around Marinette's room in more of her uncharacteristic silence.

Marinette hit delete on her note. "Nothing in there to your liking?"

Chloé startled. She ran her hands over the front of the notebook and started softly. "No, I-" Her fingers gripped the cover and she regained some fire,"What am I supposed to say? Hmm? Should I gush? Should I pick it all apart? I was miserable in my room, with mommy leaving and you with her. Now she's still gone, I'm here in your room, with you, and I'm still miserable. Should I call Daddy? What would I even scream for? What am I doing here, Marinette?"

Marinette went through a flash cycle of feeling sorry for Chloé, being angry with herself for feeling sorry, then feeling guilty for being angry. "You could always be honest… about the designs I mean. There's no one to hear. As for the rest…"

Marinette tilted her head back and spun slightly in her chair, she didn't have Cat Noir to buy her time here.

"I-" Marinette leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Look, I'm still processing what I just saw. It's a lot. I thought if I just got you together, away from the lights things would be better. Now… Now I'm realizing it wasn't a fluke. Seeing her was like seeing an adult version of you. Or, really… you're a little version of her."

Chloé puffed up slightly at that, but it was an unsure sort of preening.

Marinette continued, "So like, everything. Everything, was that you, or you trying to be her? Has Audrey Bourgeois been my bully by proxy for all these years?"

It seemed to take hold. Chloé deflated again, and when she rallied it was the sound of someone desperately treading water. "Mommy is a winner! Winners step on losers and little people."

"And the unexceptional?"

Chloé's mouth snapped shut. Marinette could see the tears forming in real time. She knew what would come next if a certain someone was paying attention. That wasn't what prompted her though. She was just so sick of pain.

"You're not unexceptional, Chloé. You are a whole lot of things, things I would get in trouble for saying if my parents heard, but unexceptional isn't one of them. If your mom can't see it. Then she's blind."

Marinette sighed. With Ladybug it was easy, fight and flee before the timer. Staying, talking, this was hard.

"It's more than that though. You want to know why you are here? To see how it is supposed to work. My mother, she's amazing. I'm not bragging or trying to rub your face in it. I want you to see what a mother is supposed to do. Maybe if you do, you'll see that it's not worth chasing after one who doesn't. It's not worth bending yourself into her shape. It's not worth hurting other people. Hurting people is easy, Chloé. Saving people, like Ladybug does, that's hard."

As she finished, Marinette realized her trap door was slightly ajar. She was trying to steal a look without making it obvious when Chloé's voice rose in a mumble.

"I liked.. the coat."

Marinette couldn't follow, "The what?"

Chloé was still slumped."The coat, page seven. I would wear that."

Marinette squinted until it clicked. "Oh!" She tried to remember back that far. "The cropped one, with the feathered collar?"

Chloé picked at the edge of the notebook. "I always liked feathers, but… ridiculous."

Marinette filled in the blanks. "Then I came along and," She did her best Audrey impression, "feathers are in."

Chloé nodded. She stopped picking, flexing her fingers but silent.

"That just proves it, right? You shouldn't have to live like that, no one should."

"So, what? If I stop, I still don't have a mother."

Marinette struggled. Chloé wasn't wrong, and Marinette couldn't picture a life without her own mother. Not just as a mother, but as someone there, supporting her, encouraging her, and correcting her, loving her.

Marinette went to her last resort, honesty, "I don't have all the answers, Chloé. I brought you here to show you there was something else to want, a different way to be. Maybe, if you want that, you can try a different approach. It might not be Audrey -probably better if it isn't- but there are others. Ms. Bustier seems to care a lot about you."

Chloé brightened suddenly, "Or Ladybug?!"

"I, ahhh, don't think she's, unmm, looking to have any daughters right now…" Marinette hedged.

Chloé's cheerfulness evaporated. "You're right. She probably hates me now, you saw what I did. Everybody saw what I did."

"Chloé, I think Ladybug might be very understanding. I can't imagine it would be easy for a hero to hate anyone. But, let's not focus on that. Let's focus on the here and now." Marinette glanced towards the trapdoor, "And I think I smell dinner cooking."

With that, the door swung open and her mother appeared. "You do indeed, my dear. If the two of you would come down and wash your hands, it is time to eat."

-------------

Dinner was… well, it was awkward. Marinette wasn't sure if Chloé had eaten a family dinner ever before, and with four people the potential for miscues was exponential. Her mother was a blessing in all this, as Marinette had believed she would be.

Sabine prompted Chloé with a steady flow of questions. Like clockwork the blonde would start with a full head of steam but peter out quickly into uneasiness. Without acknowledging the change, She would simply ask something else, seemingly unrelated. Her dad was largely quiet, his eyes ping ponging back and forth between the two, and a spoon often forgotten in his mouth.

Marinette missed a good chunk of the exchange, lost in her own thoughts until a sharp clearing of her mother's throat and, 'Isn't that right, Marinette?' in just the right tone of voice clued her in. Her mother was pumping Chloé for information. It was a flood of details and stories that Marinette herself would never have been able to pry past sealed lips.

They seemed honest too. The usual bragging melted away quickly before her mother's gentle, 'That's nice, dear.' Genuine stories earned genuine engagement. Chloé was speaking to Sabine like a daughter, or at least like someone desperate to know what being a daughter felt like.

Chloé didn't eat much, which was fine because Marinette stress-ate for three. Dinner was winding down when Chloé's phone went off. The change was instant and complete. Her entire body language shifted as she pulled it out.

"What, Daddy? … So what? … No! You never come up any-"

That clearing of the throat again. Marinette's response was Pavlovian, and already she wasn't the only one. Chloé cut herself off mid-word and both girls looked to Sabine. Marinette's mother merely looked serene, the smallest of smiles on her lips. Marinette instantly tried to figure out something she might have done wrong. To her surprise Chloé winced visibly and when she spoke her tone had changed.

"I already ate. I'm eating at a… classmate's house … okay, Daddy … It's the Dupain-Cheng bakery … no rush."

She hung up and prodded an untouched portion of tofu and vegetables on her plate with her fork.

"I have to go home."

It was the weirdest experience for Marinette, feeling upset at that news.

“Well, honey,” Sabine broke the stalemate, “Would you like to take anything home? I may not work at a Michelin hotel, but I like to think my food is good the next day too.”

Chloé cast around the table. Marinette was holding her breath. Chloé eventually mumbled, “Some of those gougères, maybe?”

Sabine nodded, “Right. Okay everyone, clear.”

Marinette stood, grabbing her plate and a nearby server. Her dad hastily shoveled several more bites into his mouth before grabbing as many plates as his big hands could carry. After a pace, Chloé even picked up her own plate and followed Marinette like a lost puppy to the kitchen. By the time the plates were scraped and stacked, Sabine had bagged up several puffs and pressed the bag into Chloé’s hands. “Marinette, why don’t you see our guest downstairs? Take care, Miss Bourgeois. You are welcome to come again.”

Chloé stood there for a moment, bag held in front of her like a shield, then without warning launched herself at Sabine, nearly knocking the smaller woman over as she threw her arms around her.

Sabine braced herself, and patted the girl gently on the back, “Bao bei.”

Chloé disentangled, shot Marinette an embarrassed glance, then dashed for the stairs.

Marinette had the space of time it took her to follow to try and catch up mentally again. She found Chloé looking out the door to the shop and stepped up beside her. “Did this help? Can you see what I mean?”

The bag crinkled in Chloé’s hands. “Don’t ask me that right now. I have to go home and sit by myself in my room, unless I can convince Sabrina to come over. I probably shouldn’t yell, right?”

“There are other ways to do things.”

“People say ‘no’.”

Marinette gave a little laugh at that. “Yeah, asking is a lot scarier, believe me.”

“You don’t like me, Marinette. Why did you do all this? And don’t give me some high-and-mighty Ladybug talk. You’re just a normal person, like me.”

Marinette shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Everyone wants to beat their bully. I do too. I just saw a way to maybe have a person left when the bully was gone.” She glanced sidelong at the other girl, “How did I do?”

Blue eyes met blue. Chloé looked away and crossed her arms, bagheld in one hand. “I’m going to take you off my list, Marinette. I guess I should take everyone off for now, so maybe that isn’t so special. You’ll be at the top of the list of people who aren’t on my list though. That’s the best I can do for now.”

Chloé’s limo pulled up outside. Chloé tried the door, then Marinette unlocked it for her. “It’s a start.” Marinette had a flash of inspiration and added, “I’ll tell you a secret. It’s not losing if your new self is the one to take down your old self.”

They exchanged another look, then Chloé stepped out into the evening. Marinette locked the door behind her and watched years of problems get into a limo and ride away, maybe for the last time.

“That was the Chloé, right?” her mother’s voice startled her, even being soft.

Her mother knew the answer, she wasn’t really asking, she was prompting again. “Yeah.” Marinette touched the window, “It was.”

“You’re not going to New York, then?”

“No, even before all this I had decided. I have too much to do here to run away around the world. Then I saw… I don’t understand it, Mom.”

“You weren’t raised to understand cruelty. Maybe I should have shared more of what is out there sooner, but I never wanted to add too many shadows to your world of color.”

“Does this mean I can’t be mad for all the things she did?”

“Of course you can. Pain is pain, and it hurts. This just means there might be a way to stop the pain and heal, rather than having to cut off that wounded part of you, like so many do.”

Marinette thought about that. The idea made her smile. She wasn’t sure, but she was hopeful. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I’m proud of you, ma choue.”

------------------------------

End Note:

Sabine uses the phrases on purpose. Mandarin for Chloe so she won't necessarily understand it. It's more for the tone and the action. It could easily have been 'there there' but Sabine's a mom and her heart also goes out to a child, so she uses the term of endearment.

For Marinette she switches, so that it's not the same phrase she used for Chloé so close. Each child should feel special.

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

A famous theater in the Ontario province of Canada is facing widespread criticism over its “postponement” of the upcoming Hamilton Jewish Film Festival, a decision that many observers have interpreted as a cancelation motivated by anti-Israel animus.

“After receiving numerous security and safety related emails, phone calls, and social media messages, the Playhouse Cinema reached a difficult decision to postpone the Hamilton Jewish Federation’s venue rental,” the Playhouse Cinema, located in the city of Hamilton, said in a statement posted to X/Twitter on Tuesday. “On Saturday, March 16, our decision to postpone this venue rental was reached amid security and safety concerns at this particularly sensitive time.”

Organized by the Hamilton Jewish Federation, the event was slated to feature six films across three days, April 7-9, with each exploring different eras of Jewish history, from life in modern day kibbutzim bordering the Gaza strip to Poland during the communist purges of Jews in the 1960s. Several of the films were written and produced in Israel by Israeli creators.

On Wednesday, the Hamilton Jewish Federation said that Playhouse Cinema, in canceling the festival, has acted dishonorably and adhered to the wishes of antisemites.

“The Hamilton Jewish Federation is outraged by the recent decision made by the Playhouse Cinema to backtrack on its commitment to host the 2024 Hamilton Jewish Film Festival after the theatre received a small number of complaints and threatening emails objecting to the fact that Israeli films are included in this year’s line-up,” the group said. “The decision, coming just weeks before the scheduled event, is a lost opportunity to engage the Greater Hamilton community in a Jewish cultural event during the highest rise of antisemitism we’ve seen in recent history, and in the aftermath of the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.”

Antisemitism has skyrocketed in Canada since the Hamas terror group’s onslaught across southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The Hamilton Jewish Federation added that the films that would have been screened are culturally relevant and valuable for portraying the past and “contemporary Jewish experience,” as well as the “reality of co-existence” between Jews and Arabs living in Israel as neighbors and citizens. One of them, it noted, is the final project of a filmmaker Hamas murdered during its Oct. 7 massacre, a tragedy that has left an indelible scar on Jewish communities throughout the world.

Jewish nonprofits commented on the matter on Tuesday and Wednesday, describing the festival’s scrapping as an injustice and calling on lawmakers to intervene and restore the original agreement between both parities.

“Unacceptable and appalling,” tweeted HonestReporting Canada, a nonprofit that promotes fair media coverage of Israel. “Silencing Jewish voices in a time when Jews are the #1 targeted religious group for hate crimes in Canada is a dangerous precedent and only gives more ammunition to those who hide their antisemitism under the guise of ‘anti-Zionism.'”

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose mission is to combat antisemitism and spread awareness of the Holocaust, added, “We denounce Playhouse Cinema’s decision to reverse its commitment to host the Hamilton Jewish Film Festival this year, in the latest example of an organization yielding to threats and intimidation from anti-Israel activists.”