#what even is the agreed upon name here for this trend

[nocurnalday]

Brooklyn Italian Miku

[niimda]

I've been following some of those plural poll blogs for a little while now. I think it's fun to answer questions, especially ones that make me have to think really hard or consult others. It's a good way to learn about the worlds I inhabit and the people I inhabit them with, but I've been noticing some (if not most) of the questions are almost.. not applicable to us or our experiences. Specifically now: questions that want you to answer as or for the collective.

"Collective favorite [X]", "[Y] that describes everyone", "Collective opinion on [Z]."

While thinking about these questions I realized that it probably feels pretty bad to be expected to be radically different from everyone you share a brain with. That kind of expectation can unintentionally de-legitimize peoples' experiences and make them feel like they aren't "separate enough" to count.

At the same time, we don't have…a collective anything. Even this body is off-limits to at least one person. Trying to make all of us agree on something has made us run into more butting of the heads than anything else in the past six years, and that feels very strange! Being asked to exist cohesively and uniformly causes some of the most upset I've ever seen.

My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio. Verin likes specifically Quality Dairy's Death by Chocolate. Oliver wants nothing to do with any of it. To answer with a single "collective favorite" would mean disregarding most opinions in favor of one. It's a silly example, and it's true most of the questions tend to be silly and un-serious in nature. So why should we have to fight over whose favorite gets the spotlight?

There are plenty of other common plural-community things that don't apply to us, being a system of less than ten with only one (introverted) introject. We don't tend to subscribe to common frameworks (roles, origin labels, and the shiny new consciousness labels), and microlabels in general just don't seem to have that luster. Being unconventional isn't new to us for many, many reasons.

The polls aren't even really my main concern here. We don't follow many, so it's possible it's just a few of them. But it's not the only context we're expected to present as less individual than we actually are.

The name of the group, Solsten, is neutral at best for more than half of us, but existing without a link to others in the system online is heavily frowned upon. "System tags" are commonly required in Discord servers that have bots for accessibility. Intra-system communication in public is laughable & weird at best, and outright banned at worst. We are expected to be a very single group of people.

We've known about each other for years longer than we've known about the plural community, so I guess it makes sense that we don't fall in with the norms presented here. We're in the age range now where we're "too old" for the youngest members to be comfortable with, and "too young" for the oldest.

The easiest thing for us to do has been to find others through our interests, and we've been very lucky to find three(!!) other systems who we're now very close with. They don't seem to be as interested in alterhumanity as I am, but I think all I can really do is take what I'm given. They listen and allow us as much space as we need to be uniquely and separately ourselves.

This was sort of an aimless ramble from the get-go. I haven't been here long enough to make in-depth critiques of common trends. (It's my understanding that other platforms like Dreamwidth and some personal websites host wonderful content of that variety.) But maybe we should start making all of our coworkers decide if they all had to be one animal what it would be. Even if our coworkers are already strongly and separately wolves, birds, and human beings.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

And thus we come to 1-3. Unsuprisingly this is the best of the Chapter 3s but the reason why is firstly as stated, its the only Chapter 3 where the double murder actually makes sense rather then be done because culprits drank the stupid juice, and as you mentioned its the only one where the culprit doesn't go insane for no reason as what Celeste does here, isn't too far removed from what her character has been established so far.

So a little bit of trivia. On the senyuu front Celestia actually has a massive name behind her voice as she's voiced by Hekiru Shiina, best known for playing as Hikaru Shidou from Magic Knight Rayearth. And if you know what that series is, you would know that Hikaru is as far removed from Celeste as you can get so it comes as a massive shock to Japanese fans to hear her voice come out of Celeste and again her breakdown is as dramatic as it is in the West, though I do prefer the English version as with her Japanese breakdown, its just her tone that changes whereas the English one changes accents. And from what I heard bilingual fans agree that the English version is better in terms of Celeste's breakdown.

Let's go over the main beats of this chapter. Firstly Alter Ego is a interesting way to extend a character's lifespan even if they are dead, I'm guessing Kodaka realised a Ultimate Programmer would be kinda OP to have but at the same time, wanted to have Chihiro help out more so thus Alter Ego. And it actually fits Chihiro to create an AI that can carry on his work even after his death. But while Alter Ego is a good idea, I'm not a fan of the Hifumi-Taka conflict which occurs because firstly Hifumi just literally loses all common sense. Espeically as you mentioned, Hifumi is quite an competent character and can offer some vital clues, for example he was in charge of the incinerator in Chapter 1 which reveals how Leon disposed of evidence and in Chapter 2, he found the broken Monopad which revealed that Mondo knew how to break Monopads, which was the final nail in the coffin in terms of his guilt. So for him to go OwO at Alter Ego upon his appearance is...quite diservice of the characcter and really the only way it goes this way is so he has beef with Taka that Celestia can exploit.

Taka is also equally grounded up because while after the last chapter he has completely broken down, there were other ways he could have recovered without going the stupid DBZ-like route which I don't even know how its even done. Is Mondo's spirit fused with Taka's? Why does the hair change colour? I know Danganronpa is a silly series at times but there's only so much you can willying suspend your disbelief and Kiyondo is not one of those examples. And once again Taka drinks the idiot juice because he thinks the AI is his bro. This is hands down the most pointless character conflict across canon and the Another series as its like both Hifumi and Taka decided to stop thinking and just be at each other's throats so Celeste can exploit them.

Unfortunely this sets the trend of Chapter 3s having stupid conflicts and characterisation going downhill or possible character development being cut short. And I believe this is why people hate 1-3 so much not just because of what narrative decisions were done in the Chapter itself, but because it lead the way and worrying trend of making Chapter 3s the infamous dumpster fires they are well known to be.

Onto Celeste herself this was both her best and worst showcasing. Unlike every other Chapter 3 culpirt ever, Celeste actually keeps in character and does something that wouldn't be out of place for her. She's already established to be lacking in empathy and often blaming the victims for why they get killed, and while she offers suggestions to keep the "group harmony" she doesn't take central stage. And on paper her plan is actually good; take advantage of a already established conflict, go for someone who thinks with their dick rather then their head, trick them into killing their love rival and then kill them so you get to be the blackened. Seeing how future games would later add on the rule that only the first blackened counts in the event of multiple killers, this really would only be a thing in DR1 as had it happened in say V3's rules, Hifumi would be the single blackened and Celeste wouldn't gain anything.

But while on paper her plan is solid, in execution its very much not. As while I do see her trying to misdirect and be as confusing as possible, it also results in her acting very much out of character, like she wouldn't be taking charge of the group, because she hasn't been established to be like that, if she took a more active role in group harmony in Chapter 3, citing Taka's current state to be why he's unfit to lead the group at the moment, then her actions while the murders were taking place wouldn't be so suspicious and it would confuse even more people. There's also the fact that making the Robo Justice suit the way it was just exposed Hifumi as her accomphice rather then if he went for a more simple design or have it be more mobile. I can see the logic of her framing Yasuhiro for the crime as he does have a solid motive to do so but again Yasuhiro's negative IQ score plays into this. Its the main reason why I have a serious issue with Iroha being a Void member because like Hiro, she's really, really stupid.

The slip up was also a capital mistake and while I know 1-3's main pull is more how she pulled it off and not who pulled it off because Celeste might as well be wearing a T-Shirt saying "I am the culpirt" on it with how obvious it was. But at the same time, the problem Celeste ran into is like all things she did in life, she gambled. In other words she relied on luck, and what's Makoto's talent again? Oh right, the Ultimate Lucky Student so there was no way Celeste was gonna win against Makoto.

I think a lot of the hate comes from the fact people expected Celeste to pull off a 4D Chess Plan when she commits murder but she keeps making silly mistakes after silly mistakes and they all come back to bite her in the end. However I do like the concept that Celeste's plan relied on her luck but she loses because she went up against the one guy who's whole thing is being lucky.

This is also where the BTB gets quite annoying since you do it very early on in the trial and not when Celeste is breaking down. While a nice change of pace, I do wonder if this trial is remade with modern minigames if the flow of the trial will change as a result. Though this won't be the worst case of BTB in Trigger Happy Havoc but we will get to that when we get to that.

Hifumi regaining his old school memories is a nice foreshadowing that everyone has had their memories wiped, and coupled this with the more pictures we see and Junko actually attacking Makoto at the end, is proof there is something else going on.

Kyoko starts to become more a character in this chapter as when she comes under sus from why she's vanished, and honestly it was a poor move on Celestie's front to not frame her as well as Yasuhiro due to her sussy movements, of course Kyoko would have immediately bust this open, but again if Celeste played on the fact Kyoko doesn't interact with the group that much and nobody really knows much about her, it could have harboured mistrust to the point that Makoto might have had to jump in and prove Kyoko couldn't have done it.

The single worst bit though, and the main reason why Celeste haters hater her, is when she goes for a false rape accusation on Taka. Not only is this extremely slimy as it carries a lot of uncomfortable messages to it that both the feminists and the misogynists in society love to use and I will leave it at that, but it also doesn't even make sense. Yes Taka was acting weird due to the stupid Kiyondo thing but he was taking on Mondo's traits and one of the biggest thing about Mondo is that he would not harm women. Especially as you mentioned all Celeste had to do to convince Hifumi to help her was take advantage over his feud with Taka and that would have been that. Adding on the false rape accusation was not only unnessarily warranted but it also comes with a lot of problematic messages and I honestly don't blame the Celeste haters for her hating her on that.

I would suggest how one would improve this chapter but that's pointless for two reasons. Firstly, suggestions are nice but they don't change the fact 1-3 is what we got, and we have the stupid Hifumi-Taka plot, we have Celeste being simultaneously extremely intelligent and a complete idiot at the same time, and we end up with a case which while its fun to solve and work out the logistics its also very obvious who did it. If you ask me this is what A2-2 should have been, yes Emma being the culpirt was obvious as day, but then comes figuring out how she pulled off and what went into it, and that would have been equally as fun if Kanade didn't decided to be a fun ruiner.

And secondly, I'm brainstorming a AU and one of those is a rewriting of Trigger Happy Havoc, where a lot of the ideas I have to improve Chapter 3 I'm gonna use in the actual story. And I'm not giving away spoilers on a countdown on what I'm planning to do.

This is a fun case to solve and when you catch Celeste, her breakdown is so glorious to see as well and she manages to be the one Chapter 3 culpirt who sticks to her previously estabished characterisation, rather then just go insane like the others did, but the way Taka and Hifumi are handled, how its quite obvious Celeste did it and how some parts were made for the intention of being confusing means while this is the best Chapter 3 by far, the fact its low down the list still is prove how much the Chapter 3s suck.

One last thing and a personal headcanon. After Celeste's execution, Kyoko starts screaming at Monokuma about what he did to her body. What is Kyoko going on about regarding this? Well I believe due to the events of Danganronpa Kirigiri, Kyoko has pyrophobia. And since Celeste's execution involved fire, maybe seeing this, triggered some primal fear in Kyoko and it ended up releasing her locked away memories of being the Ultimate Detective, so parts of her amnesia was cured. Hence why she not only screams at Monokuma but its afterwards Kyoko becomes much more involved in solving the mysteries of the school. As such in 1-5, when Kyoko claims to have amnesia I believe she was actually lying then. She wasn't at the beginning because her memories really were locked away, but after Celeste's execution, her talent memories started to come back to her so she's at the same state at the others are with their memory loss.

//This one took me a little late to get to because I effectively spent my whole evening writing one of the newer reviews for a trial that I honestly shouldn't have spent so long on, but there was a lot to cover.

//You'll see that when it comes out though.

//Firstly, in regards to Celeste's voice actor in Japanese, I think that is an equally creative way to go about it. Choosing a character who is well-known for voicing people who are pleasant to suddenly have a breakdown this emotional. But yeah, I don't mean any disrespect to Hekiru Shiina, but Marieve Herington just hits different, man.

//Hifumi going cookoo over Alter Ego can't really be excused by his previously established affixiation for 2D anime girls, because 1) As Hiro points out, Alter Ego still identifies as male, and 2) It really just throws whatever logical way of thinking Hifumi had out the window.

//Taka I think is a bit more redeemable, because when you step back and look at the situation, Alter Ego transformed into Mondo briefly, which gave Taka some semblance of hope that Mondo's spirit might live on. It just happened to manifest very negatively, and Taka ended up clinging to that hope like his life depended on it. It would have been perfectly fine to betray this without the use of Kiyondo though because that just shows that he's completely and mentally broken down altogether.

//But yeah, I already said this in a previous post, but I implore this to anybody who feels like making their own Fanganronpa, but please don't attempt a double-murder, not just in Chapter 3, but PERIOD, if you don't think you can pull it off effectively.

//Do not waste good characterization opportunities as a sacrifice for sticking to what is an arguably stupid trend.

//Also, the stuff that you were saying about Celeste kind of reminds me of how I originally throught Chapter 3 of V3 was gonna go when Angie took control of the school effectively. Three-Point Shot, which I keep drawing attention back to, kind of takes advantage of this.

//The stuff about how Makoto's luck beat out Celeste's luck though...I'm not sure. I do like thinking about it that way, because if you think about it, Makoto is played up to be very lucky, and yet over the course of the whole killing game, that luck manifests...once. At the end of 1-5.

//It's more like Makoto was relying on his redeeming qualities of optimism and observation than just chancing it. It's not like they just so happened to stumble across any major clues in the trial.

//The stuff about Celeste capitalizing on Kyoko's whereabouts is also a missed opportunity that I think LINUJ capitalized on with Another 1, because that happens to Mikako a few times in the early game due to her condition.

//But yeah, the stuff about Celeste trying to overly villainize Taka is my biggest issue with her plan too, which is kind of what I said in the review itself. And you're right. I'm pretty sure all Celeste had to do was tell Hifumi that Alter Ego was being kept hostage, and that would have been enough to convince him. Alternatively, if that hadn't been enough, she could easily just say "He threatened me to keep quiet; and said that he'd do terrible things if I didn't." It's still out of character for both Taka and Mondo, but if I was Hifumi, I'd find it more believable that Taka was willing to resort to violence if it was for Alter Ego's sake. Saying specifically that Taka threatened to have his way with Celeste is just an insult to the characterization of everybody.

//Also, that theory about how this is how Kyoko's memories started to come back isn't true, because Danganronpa Kirigiri would not have been planned at the time Trigger Happy Havoc came out, but it's not impossible that Kitayama thought about this and employed it as part of the scene in Kirigiri when he wrote it. It's fun to think about it that way regardless.

//That's basically all I have to say, but there is one more alternative to this that I want to talk about.

//I actually tried a rewrite myself of this chapter when I wrote Danganronpa ReProgrammed, and I can quickly break down what happened there because of the different circumstances. In case you don't want me to spoil it so you can go read for yourselves, DO NOT read beyond this point.

//In ReProgrammed, the way I change it up is Celeste still conspires with Hifumi to plan a double murder. However, Mondo and Chihiro actually survive Case 2, and Chihiro doesn't reveal Alter Ego to everybody until later, so Celeste gives Hifumi a different incentive to help her plan an escape.

//The monetary motive in this chapter holds even less weight than it did in the original story. In Celeste's case, it merely acted as a slight nudge to commit a crime she was already contemplating. To raise the stakes, ReProgrammed introduces a new, more compelling motive:

If someone successfully commits a crime that kills TWO people, they can leave the academy without facing a Class Trial. Furthermore, no one else is executed if the double murder is achieved.

//It's reminiscent of the First-Blood Perk from Danganronpa V3, but with added layers of complexity. Either way, Celeste exploits this new motive to manipulate Hifumi.

//She convinces him that if he sacrifices two people to escape and later seeks outside help, his actions will be seen as heroic despite the crime. Reluctantly, Hifumi agrees, driven by his insecurity and fear of being perceived as useless—an insecurity highlighted in this chapter.

//Celeste's plan involves incapacitating Taka while Hifumi kills Sakura through electrocution. She assures Hifumi that she will hide Taka's unconscious body, allowing him to deal with Sakura and then return to finish off Taka, meeting the two-victim requirement.

//However, in case you didn't already suspect as much, Celeste’s true intentions are more sinister: she plans to let Hifumi kill Sakura, then murder Hifumi while he’s vulnerable, and finally eliminate Taka to claim the quota for herself.

//Things take a turn when Hifumi kills Sakura as instructed, only for Hiro to witness the act. Panicked, Hifumi attempts to kill Hiro to silence him but fails, and Hiro kills Hifumi in self-defense.

//During the subsequent class trial, Celeste’s scheme is revealed, but since she did not actually kill anyone, she is not nailed as the blackened. Instead, Hiro is labeled the blackened for Hifumi’s death, despite his actions being in retaliation.

//What comes about as a result of the scheme means that we almost get a TRIPLE murder in a case, since Taka nearly dies from Celeste's initial injury and is absent throughout this trial, and Celeste actually sticks around for another chapter despite the fact that she's a known attempted murderer; kind of fixing the missed opportunity they could have had with Kiyo in Chapter 3 of V3.

//I feel in general this makes a lot more sense overall. It still retains Hifumi's gullibility, makes the double-murder pretty reasonable since you actually HAVE to go through with it if you want to get out scot-free, and the stars just align to the only possible way in which Hiro is able to commit a murder.

//To be frank as well, Hiro's character is retained because he honestly doesn't have to do that much cover up to hide his tracks, since Celeste and Hifumi do most of the crime anyway.

//If I do say so myself ;)

[brick-van-dyke]

Also, okay. This is going to be a bit, or VERY, controversial right now and maybe it's a bit much to think about in light of the dread many are feeling...

And yet, there's so much power in understanding how to become fearless in the face of persecution. It's something we're all capable of, but something we don't realise when we're isolated (and I don't simply mean socially, but in terms of having a solid community that will literally and physically protect you).

So, here's a story for all of you of how I became unafraid and how, I hope, you may find a way to break through this dread like I did.

Look. As a transgender person in the middle of transition, who saw the Florida genocide, and yes they were laws constituting a genocide in he eyes of international law towards transgender people in that state and that led to immense violence towards us, all while Biden was in? I... personally just began to feel numb towards every politician or anyone else anymore because they all very evidently wanted/ want us dead. Maybe this comes from a place of ignorance as an Australian queer who doesn't fully comprehend the nuances of state powers versus the president's ability to prevent genocides within their own country, or who has seen the worsening of how we're treated both here and in the US by those who pretend to be our allies only to turn around and support bills aimed at eradicating us. Yet, regardless, I just can't move past this block where I just no longer can only fear Trump, because Biden already made me fear him and every single other politician because we have been dying this whole fucking time over and over and over while people forgot our names the minute they stopped trending. I became so tired by the mass persecution trans people have been facing for so long that I couldn't only feel dread for Trump, because I continued beyond him and people forgot that we were dying before him. I'm numb and only have the desire to rebel against the whole damn system. It's only pushed me further and further into realising I want to eradicate any ability for any people like this to be able to enforce these laws and do nothing in he face of the violence we face every single day. And, more than anything right now, I just cannot fathom how it is possible to see all those years upon years of bigotry, both before and after Trump, and see democrats as allies. All the while they are not only physically endorsing Trump's policies in the context of law, but have had the audacity to claim they don't do so and believe the opposite on camera. It infuriates me and I think it's important to recognise the exhaustion of trans people amidst all of this while we think about the genuine threat of Trump, yet forget the horrors of every other politician who will still enforce Trump's policies while denying they do.

I just can't be scared of Trump alone and hold any hope in other politicians anymore because my greatest fear of "seeing yet another genocide of queer people" was realised over and over after 2020 Biden was in and I now have to acknowledge that, no, democrats are very okay with not intervening in or preventing a genocide against people like me, if not even actively agreeing with it while crying crocodile ears, saying they care so much and morn is while they vote against us in the senate and in state elections. Within that realisation, there was this dread; the understanding that it actually will be the same result for us in the end no matter what a politician says because they'll endorse the other side behind the scenes and that is scary. I spent a long time from 2020 onwards being afraid because the policies Trump introduced in 2016 were not fixed, because I kept seeing that apathy from the democrats as worse and worse policies continued to be implemented even though Trump as supposed to be fine; because I felt nothing changed when Biden was in at all. And this was all even before Florida, though that was the final nail in the coffin where I completely realised how much democrats will actively support our demise and then swear up and down they Won't do that while actively doing that in pratice.

And, now, seeing the imperialist genocide in Palestine and Palestinians internationally having this same dread as me of realising they, too, are the price democrats are willing to pay while dealing on the same stage of people like Trump... Yeah, that shit hurts. But you know what else I learnt in that? The people who suffer the same prosecution from the nation(s) that oppress you will have your back; that community can be something that destroys fascism. Our shared existence has power, one I didn't have in 2016, 2020 or 2023 when people like me dying in the news was just, y'know, the news again and everyone would forget the names of the trans women lynched. Because I know how little trans people mattered to those in power when I was alone, but when I found other people willing to create that change with us? To fight alongside us and protect us? It changed things. I stopped feeling afraid.

I began to speak with indigenous rights advocates in Australia and the US, an I realised I was not alone in feeling like every single politician would sign our death warrant for the right price. I found a community that, irrespective of who was in and what happened in policy, would always protest and, if need be, physically protect me from those policies being enacted. I realised I wasn't alone.

The start may begin with a dress so deep that you feel all motivation to live leave you. But when you realise how many are willing to battle, tooth, nail, pepper spray and all to defend you and keep you safe? When you form those communities where you know you will be protected and you meet people you would rather die than not protect? When you see people from every walk of life fight against the same thing for the sake of all of us? You learn confidence in that and you find the dread ceases. In its place, you feel a warm, burning hope that won't leave until you and this like and unlike yourself are free from all persecution.

[talkingpointsusa]

Candace Owens uses a 19th century drawing to compare transgender people to Baphomet.

Candace Owens has been saying the most ridiculous and oftentimes horrifically antisemitic stuff lately so I am not particularly surprised that this bigotry filled episode slid under the radar of groups like Media Matters. Someone’s got to hold it up to the light though and I guess that someone is me. So, Candace appears to believe that not only do demons exist but that they're also transgender....I'm not even kidding.

This absolutely ridiculous belief is not as uncommon on the right as it should be. The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles said the exact same thing back in 2023 using the exact same drawing of Baphomet that Candace uses in this episode which helps cement my theory that Candace Owens has never had an original thought in her life nor met a ridiculous conspiracy theory that she didn't believe. Lets get into it.

00:56, Candace Owens: "So lately, Baphomet has been trending sporadically throughout 2024 on Twitter. I think most recently because King Charles premiered his painting and people were going 'Ah, I see the horns of Baphomet'. Maybe you agree with that, maybe you don't. I kind of do really see it but some other people that work with me don't. The point is that Baphomet is a sabbatic goat, a deity, first drawn up by a man named Éliphas Lévi who was born in 1810 in France. Now, Levi was an occultist "

I don't see the horns in the painting and even if I did I seriously doubt that King Charles intentionally referenced a Pagan deity in his royal painting but that's beside the point. Time for me to infodump about Baphomet to ya'll!

So, Baphomet is a Pagan deity that was first mentioned in the year 1098 by Anselm of Ribemont in a letter describing the events of the Siege of Antioch, a siege that occurred at the ancient city of Antioch in what is now known as Turkey during the First Crusade. Anselm wrote in a letter that the Turkish “called loudly upon Baphomet."

Now, most scholars believe that Anselm was actually referring to "Mahomet" or Mohammed, the founder of Islam meaning that "Baphomet" most likely was the result of a mistranslation by an invading army. Candace neglects to mention this fact because it pokes a bit of a hole in her narrative.

But what of this Éliphas Lévi? He was indeed the first person to draw the modern image of Baphomet but that doesn't really mean anything. There's a 99.9% chance that Lévi's drawing is just that. He didn't see the actual Baphomet because there is no actual Baphomet. As stated previously, the entire reason that "Baphomet" exists is because some guy in the 11th century misheard the cries of the people he was invading.

01:29, Candace Owens: "I'll let you take a listen to this exorcist Daniel Reehill who sat down with Michael Knowles for an interview. Take a listen."

Daniel Reehill: "So, when we talked about the transgender. I don't know if you know this but one of the ancient images of Satan is Baphomet. Ok, what is Baphomet? So, he's got the goat head, he's got the woman's torso with the breasts and the mans down below. So, that's not a new thing. So, imagine the devil, he identifies as transgender as that image."

Ok, two things here.

Number one): If you weren't convinced when I mentioned it up top, Candace is basically just stealing a narrative that one of her old co-workers has been pushing for years. So not only is this narrative a disgusting and bigoted way to dehumanize trans identity using religion, it's not even an original one.

Number Two): This so-called "exorcist" clearly doesn't understand his own religion because Satan is not Baphomet. They're completely separate entities and Baphomet isn't even mentioned in the Bible, which should be obvious given the history that I just laid out. If we're being generous, Baphomet is a Pagan idol that still has absolutely nothing to do with Satan. The only way you, even as a person of faith, could draw the conclusion that "the devil identifies as transgender" is to throw out years of history and your own religious text.

If you guys can't tell, I am a bit stunned that a guy who's supposed to be an expert on Christianity believes things that I found to be biblically inaccurate by doing a three second Google search and reading two articles. Naturally, I did some digging on Daniel Reehill. Turns out that he's a sensationalist wingnut who thinks that everything in our culture shy of Sonseed is communing with demons.

Some of Reehill's more insane claims include that Taylor Swift's Era's Tour "attracted a lot of demon's" because during one of the concerts her back-up dancers wore black capes. Reehill also believes that the spells in the Harry Potter books were "real curses". So, he's basically a wingnut who either is chasing after attention or he’s genuinely mentally ill and has a really hard time distinguishing fiction from reality which means that he doesn’t need a platform, he needs help. I'm leaning towards option one because his BS has gotten him a big old platform from idiots like Michael Knowles.

This all reflects a tiny bit worse on Michael Knowles than it does on Candace and if the dozens of posts I've done debunking Michael Knowles and the dozens more I'll probably do in the future don't tip you off, I'm not exactly the president of the Michael Knowles fan club either. However, it is still Candace's responsibility to fact-check the claims that she's presenting as abject truth on her show and she's absolutely failed on that front.

02:17, Candace Owens: "Now, we're not gonna get too much into the history of Baphomet"

Because it would prove that you're a complete idiot who doesn't know how to take ten seconds to read an article before running your mouth off? Guess that getting into the history of Baphomet is my job.

02:20, Candace Owens: "But suffice it to say that Satanists worship this deity. They have sexual rituals which include sodomy and homosexuality."

Equating being gay with sodomy and satanism is pretty disgusting even for Candace Owens. By the way, there's absolutely no proof that "Satanic sexual rituals" occur. Candace probably still believes that the lies told during the Satanic Panic were 100% factual.

02:29, Candace Owens: "So we look around the world today and we suddenly feel that there is definitely a certain agenda being pushed, specifically in the west. And I always recount this conversation that has stayed with me for a long time. I was walking down the streets of DC where there's a lot of pride and I was with a Romanian young woman and she said genuinely, not to be offensive at all, she was asking me this question meaningfully, she said 'why are there so many gay people in America? We just don't see this out east' and I thought, wow what an interesting question and she is correct because I have been to Romania and you don't see that."

The reason that you don't see as many LGBTQ people in Romania is because it's just a generally more conservative country that possesses an oppressive attitude towards queer identity.

While homosexuality is legal in Romania, same-sex unions are still not legally recognized by the nation. Perhaps the reason why this Romanian woman was so surprised by pride is because the nation simply has a bad track record with queer rights as well as a population that is less accepting of queer people and as a result many LGBTQ Romanian's are forced to hide their identities. Candace tries to address this point and basically plugs her ears whilst screeching "I CAN'T HEAR YOU".

03:08, Candace Owens: "And now some people would argue, especially people that are on the left, 'well, it's because they're all having to hide because the society is so backwards and so traditional'. Ok, doesn't matter where you stand it's the question itself that is interesting."

Except that if you do even the tiniest amount of research you'd find that Romania's attitude towards queer people is indeed super oppressive which in turn answers the question that Candace is asking.

03:20, Candace Owens: "And what I have noticed as of late is that androgyny is definitely getting the Hollywood treatment. I mean, I think it was before my show went off air, I was covering Kristen Stewart. She recently was on the cover of maybe Vogue, maybe Vanity Fair, doesn't really matter but she was promoting her new movie and she was so proud because she was portraying this butch lesbian."

This is exactly why the conservative movement's weird attempt to rebrand themselves into the "modern revolutionaries" is so stupid. If Candace Owens was around in the 60's, she'd be screaming about how rock music can lead to demonic possession.

Candace Owens isn't the artistic expression police and some interview that most people won't read isn't an indicator that some shadowy "gay agenda" is being pushed by Hollywood. By the way, for those keeping track we're only three minutes in.

04:01, Candace Owens: "And of course, we also see this in the education system. They are pushing gender theory, you can actually get a degree -- could you imagine spending six figures to get a degree in gender studies? The children are learning what it means to be nonbinary, not bound to any of the sexes or any of the genders."

"The children" meaning adults who are paying to get a degree in something that interests them. I love how Candace's one example of "queer indoctrination" in schools is the fact that some universities offer a major in gender studies. I'm sure that all those 8 year olds taking university level gender studies courses are fully brainwashed by now.

04:27, Candace Owens: "Which makes Katt Williams interview with Joe Rogan fascinating. Now, I'm gonna have to ask you to park aside the fact that Katt Williams is clearly high out of his mind-"

NOPE!

I have nothing against weed. I am for the United States federally legalizing weed and I live and go to school in Toronto, the getting high capitol of North America. That being said, there is absolutely no way I am going to "park aside" the fact that this guy who Candace is asking me to take seriously was high as a kite when he made the statements that Candace is asking me to consider! People who talk about transgender demons when they're high are usually not good sources.

Anyway, here's Katt talking shit while high as a kite. This is extremely serious stuff.

04:55, Katt Williams: "Things that are secular so I understood that the earliest I had seen that word transgender was ummm, Baphomet the transgender and so I knew that -- and the ritual of Baphomet the transgender, to show allegance to him you had to kiss his ass ring and it said both of those things so I knew that both of those things would become popular in the future and that umm, somehow calling people the goat would be normalized over the sheep being always the most popular reference."

You know what that sounds like? Some guy talking shit while blazed out of his mind! In that clip he literally says that calling people "the goat" is some form of pro-Baphomet conditioning, these are not the words of a serious person.

Again, I've lived in Toronto and met a lot of high people. I've been told the craziest shit by people who are high, drunk, and potentially even both simultaneously and it's always good for some fun. The difference between me and Candace is that I don't take what those people said and run with it as fact. Kiss the Baphomet ass ring, what the hell does that even mean?! Baphomet was never historically referred to as "Baphomet the transgender" either.

Candace gives a book recommendation and then says one of the dumbest things that I think I've heard since I started writing this blog.

09:01, Candace Owens: "Like if you had asked me before I read that book whether or not the conspiracy theory that the Beatles were a government controlled operation was true I would have been like 'are you crazy? What do you mean? The government controlled an entire group?' and now I'm like absolutely, they were part of a government psychological operation."

What?!

The Beatles were a CIA psy-op wasn't on my right-wing media craziness bingo card and yet here we are. Ah yes, the Beatles, a group that preached anti-war messages. This was naturally a message that the US government wanted out there. I'm sure they were especially thrilled since the Beatles were active during the Vietnam War and we all know how much the US Government loved peace activists during the Vietnam War! Good thinking Candace, you really cracked open that conspiracy!

09:22, Candace Owens: "Further to that point, which is not in this book by the way, is this bizarre fact that the doorman when John Lennon was shot, Jose Perdomo, he was once the chief of the secret service in Cuba. He later joined the CIA."

There are a wide variety of reasons why this claim is really stupid. Perdomo wasn't the "chief of the secret service in Cuba", that's totally ridiculous! I did some research and it does appear that there was a "Jose Perdomo" who was a policeman in Cuba who was exiled after Fidel Castro took power but there is absolutely no evidence that this guy was A): A CIA agent or B): that these two guys are even the same person. There are dozens of people who have the same name and it's totally possible that these guys were two different people.

Think about it this way, if the CIA did send this Perdomo guy to kill John Lennon and if he actually was a CIA agent than you would think that they'd give him an alias. I doubt the CIA is dumb enough to send documented CIA agents to assassinate a celebrity and act as a witness without tying up all the loose ends and wait, weren't the Beatles a CIA psy-op? Why would the CIA kill John Lennon if he was a major voice pushing their message.

This is the kind of thing that you'd see on WorldNetDaily. God, Candace Owens is so embarrassing.

Conclusion:

So, what did we learn? Short answer is that Candace Owens and Michael Knowles for that matter can go kiss Baphomet's ass ring.

Long answer is that this entire episode was bigoted and embarrassing as hell. She clearly didn't research a thing that she said and just went in completely half cocked in an effort to justify bigotry against the trans community. After all, we're fighting demons here and if Baphomet identifies as trans than it's totally ok to discriminate against transgender people. It's disgusting, dehumanizing and doesn't even make sense using it's own logic!

Cheers and I'll see you in the next one.

Original video:

Candace Owens. “OUCH! Tucker Carlson Embarrasses the Australian Press | Candace Ep 14.” YouTube, 27 June 2024.

Sources Cited:

Bauer, Pat. “Baphomet | History & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019.

UCL. “Romania.” UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), 26 Jan. 2021.

[mdhwrites]

What Are the Titles Telling People They Must Leave the Fantasy Behind?

This is a genuine question. I've gotten multiple people talking about the idea of having to leave the fantasy behind... And then no examples besides Amphibia that are modern. Gravity Falls MAYBE. I finally came up with a trend of it happening... Fifteen years ago for the last one I can really remember. Here in America we DID have a run of kids media that was about needing to leave the fantasy behind with Arthur and the Invisibles, Bridge to Terabithia, Meet the Robinsons and I kind of remember the trend dying out around when the live action Where the Wild Things Roam happened in 2009.

But... Since then, what the fuck has been doing this trope so much that people are acting like it's some big trend? After all, in modern media, accepting the fantasy world 100% is WAAAAAY more common because the modern isekai genre started in 2012 with Sword Art Online and most of those stories, funny enough SAO not included, don't even allow the option to leave the fantasy. Those are WAY more prolific than your Amphibias that go the more traditional isekai route of returning home... But only kind of.

You know the BIGGEST anime when I was young? Twenty years ago? That tackled this sort of stuff? Inuyasha... Which ends with Kagome living in both worlds. How about a secret society that a put upon child enters entirely and only leaves when he absolutely is forced to but never permanently? Hi Harry Potter. Most of the genuinely popular things I can think of, that people still talk about from the past two decades, are on the side of keeping the fantasy around or abandoning your regular life. Even Steven Universe never tries to say you have to give up on the fantasy unless that's part of Steven Universe Future.

Someone tried to argue that hey, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan all are ones that have the children coming home as part of growing up... But those are old. They're classic so they're still in our lexicon, they are still known but they're not a modern trend. Arguably, more have responded to them than followed in their footsteps in recent times.

So... Where is this coming from? Well, if I don't want to be just a dick and say it's just being defensive, or trying to justify their power fantasies as some special lesson versus this inherently corrupt one... I think it's just life.

"Stop watching TV and go outside."

"Those cartoons are only for kids."

"Remember, video games aren't real."

And a dozen other extremely condescending statements from parents that don't recognize that we're not idiots. Because until I actually had to write about this trope... I agreed. I inherently thought they were right. That this was overwhelmingly what kid's media said and pushed because it's just the right vibe, something someone else posited that I immediately agreed with while none of could as readily pull examples for it that weren't ancient.

That or it's because those stories, with their powerful lessons and well done themes stick with us more. There's a reason why we can name four cornerstones of fantasy that have done this trope... But who considers SAO a cornerstone of fantasy? Who would consider most isekai even worth remembering a year after they aired? Maybe these stories stick out more for us because they leave more of an impression? Because they have something to actually say and challenge us in a way that saying "No, the fantasy must stay," doesn't. Not as well, not until we get something that actually says it well.

So I ask again: What is making people talk like this is some overwhelming lesson put upon kids? Because I don't see it. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[driz-zle]

⌕ JUST IN: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

###EXTRA EPISODE: THE HAPPIEST THIRD WHEELER: BACHIRA MEGURU

VIDEO SEGMENTS: ###. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? #1. How can you describe their previous relationship? #2. Why do you think they broke it off? #3. Thoughts on the possibility of them getting back together?

###. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

"Bachira Meguru! Solo Artist and also a child of divorce!"

"Huh?!"

"What? Isagi and Y/n are broken up so~"

#1. How can you describe their previous relationship?

"Hmmm, if Isagi is like a lyric then Y/n is like the melody! Then BAM they can make a song all on their own!"

"Okay then...so they complete each other?"

"Yup!"

#2. Why do you think they broke it off?

"You're saying that as if they're totally over! They just need some space from each other, then they'll be back again!"

"How come you're so sure?"

"Well, you can't have Isagi with Y/n and you can't have Y/n without Isagi. They're like a packaged deal!"

#3. Thoughts on the possibility of them getting back together?

"Possibility? Isn't it a complete 100% chance?"

"You're really leaning into their comeback, aren't you..?"

"Hi guys! Welcome back to another video! So as of right now, I'm sitting at one of my favorite childhood restaurants here in Saitama!" Your voice slowly blurs out as Isagi admires you from the side. He's fidgeting with the velvet box in his pocket. Until Bachira climbs onto his back.

The two of them come leaning forward to your set, Bachira forcing the other to give him a piggyback ride. "Bachira!" Said man simply giggles at his friend's complaints and even poses for the camera, peace sign and tongue sticking out.

You simply laugh at their antics, "Well then, I guess we can have some special guests for this video. Introduce yourselves!"

"Hi, I'm Isagi Yoichi. Lead vocalist of the band 'EGOIST/S'." Yoichi flashes a smile at the camera. "And I'm Bachira Meguru! Their designated third wheel!" Already exasperated but nonetheless amused by his friend's actions, Isagi shakes his head.

Throughout the whole video, You and Yoichi practically have to take care of Bachira and his messes. Still, you enjoy your dinner nonetheless, even with the chaos.

Now cleaned up, you're standing on the second floor of the restaurant, outside on an overlooking balcony. You can see multiple childhood landmarks from where you were. Your old high school, your meeting spot after school, the convenience store where you had late-night runs.

There's a step behind you, and you turn to see Isagi Yoichi heading toward you. The both of you lean onto the railings on your forearms, and like a habit, you lean your head on his shoulder. "The sight up here is practically a blast into the past huh?" You mumble.

And you're right. From where he stands, memories flood into his mind. From his childhood. to his adolescence, to his teens, to him now as a fully-fledged adult. And one thing Isagi Yoichi realized is that you were the constant throughout all of them.

Maybe he hadn't brought along the ring for no reason after all.

By the next week or so, both of you are trending because of your video. Netizens already made videos titled "Y/n and Isagi still being in love for 5 minutes and 42 seconds." And when Yoichi stumbles upon one, he laughs while reading the comments saying that the two of you should get back together, them unknowing that you'd already agreed to become the future Mrs. Isagi.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

💄 Anomalous: Chapter One

Anomalous: You are attending a make-up artist convention in London, England for your work as a MUA yourself. Little do you expect to meet a handsome stranger at a bar, proceed to ditch your friends with him, have a one-night stand, and then flee because you are late for a convention event. Unbeknownst to you, that will not be the last time you see that handsome stranger, and now that you think about it… you really should have gotten his number. 

Warnings: Alcohol Mentions.

To Note: Tom Sturridge x MUAFem!Reader, Respect The Actor! (This is Fiction), Reader has long hair for reasons, You can thank @pinksirensong for this lovely mini series.

Word Count: ~2.2k

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“Y/N Y/L/N,” You offered to the receptionist, adjusting the strap of the bag on your shoulder. Fingers clicked away on an iPad keyboard for a few moments more.

“Ah, there you are,” They spoke, tapping the screen before twisting in their seat and riffling through alphabetized name cards. They pulled out a name card with your name neatly printed on it and held it out along with a lanyard. “Welcome to the London Radical Makeup Convention, take a bag, you will find the itinerary for the talks and demonstrations, list of vendors, and a few other helpful pamphlets.”

Thanking the receptionist, you grabbed one of the bags and joined your friends who were currently cooing over a nearby poster. It was one of the popular make up artists in the industry at the moment.

“Are you done fawning over them or shall I leave you alone with the poster for a few more minutes?” You asked them, your eyes crinkling as you smirked. You received dirty looks, even insulted ones, at your dig at their devotion to the artist.

“You do realize that this Benny, don’t you!?” Neli gasped dramatically, as if you had just stated an egregious sentence. Well, in her world you had. Your eyebrow popped up and you waved your hand at the poster.

“Yes, Nel, it’s Benny, their just another makeup artist that has talent.” Neli gasped further as Julien rolled his eyes and Isabella shook her head.

“No, you just don’t get it, babe, Benny’s the hot and upcoming star, they’re like the it person of the makeup artist world! They’re even making an appearance at one of the panels!” Isabella chirped, drumming her impeccable nails on her caramel arm.

“And? I’m here for the VFX panels, not an artist who made it up the chain by pure luck and not talent.” You stated dryly. “Benny’s an air headed influencer that doesn’t have any color sense and really needs to shave that stupid mullet. God forbid it becomes a new trend…”

Neli let out a strangled gasp, clutching at her chest, while Isabella’s face scrunched. At least Julien seemed to agree with you on the mullet comment.

“Babe, that mullet needs to go,” He nodded in agreement. “If I had two minutes and a pair of clippers…” Julien sighed, clearly daydreaming about getting rid of the backwater red neck abomination.

“You both are terrible, it’s their classic look!” Neli argued, stomping her foot on the floor.

“Yes and you can tell us all about how terrible we are on the way to our room.” You said, pushing Neli away from the line of people lined up and waiting to check in for the convention. “Come on, we’re blocking people.”

Neli and Isabella grumbled the entire way to your shared room on the third floor of the hotel. The four of you had decided to be frugal with certain expenses while in London. So you had reserved a two bed hotel room to share, it would be tight with four adults… but you would be able to spend your money on what really mattered: the makeup and experience of being in the city. At least Isabella was petite and Julien gay, it made your friendship and living together easy. It also payed to have a hairstylist just getting into makeup. Julien was often a godsend on bad hair days.

Upon entering the hotel room, Isabella flopped onto one of the beds and Neli darted over to the window to get a view of London. You looked at Julian.

“Bed partners again?” Julian gave Neli a wary side eye.

“Definitely, babe, I don’t want to wake up to face hugger over there trying to claw my face off again.” He made a face while you snorted out a laugh. The last time the four of you had shared a hotel room had been while you went out to see a runway show in Las Vegas. You and Isabella had been woken to Julien’s high pitched screech as he forcefully removed a very asleep Neli. That was the last time Julian had shared a bed with little Neli and you were family sure he had some sort of trauma from it.

“Sounds good,” You echoed, venturing further into the hotel room. You were looking forwards to hearing about the new types of makeup for your work and eager to learn about the advancements in prosthetics. The type of makeup art you did was special effects and prosthesis, and usually not beauty related. That wasn’t to say you couldn’t whip up a beautiful look with your makeup, you absolutely could… you just had a big interest in movie makeup and creating characters.

Dropping your shoulder bag on your selected bed, you let your luggage roll to a stop next to you. It was lightly packed with room for the makeup samples you were going to buy from the vendors. While you were digging through the bag you had picked up from the receptionist, you vaguely heard Isabella and Neli talking about going out to a bar one of the nights to enjoy the nightlife at least once. You didn’t have much interest in going out, your entire focus was on learning as much as you could. Whatever it was that the pair wanted to do, you had no interest in it.

“I’d really rather not,” You stated dryly, eyeing the clothes Neli and Isabella had pulled out. “Surely you’d rather have fun without me…” Neli raised her eyebrow at you and crossed her arms.

“No, not an option, Y/N, you are coming with us,” She insisted. “We came to London to have fun, okay? I don’t want to have fun with you moping around in our hotel room.” She pointed out, Isabella nodding along and agreeing with her statement. “I know they’re not really your thing, but don’t stay holed up in this room the whole time we’re here, will you?”

You didn’t want to, really didn’t want to, but your friends were looking at you with such pleading looks. You didn’t want to be the Debbie downer on this trip. So you heaved out a soft sigh and gave them all a wilted look. It would only be a few hours… right? A few hours of being at a bar, with loud people, drunk people, music that may or may not be palatable… it was unappealing but you loved your friends.

“Okay, but you know I didn’t bring anything nice to wear, just comfortable clothing.” You told them, eyeing the shiny clothing Neli and Isabella would no doubt be wearing. Julien perked up, a sly smile appearing on his face.

“Babe, you know that you and Izzy are about the same size.” He pointed out. Your eyes flickered to his.

“She’s like two sizes smaller than me,” You shot back, nose wrinkling at the thought of squeezing into Isabella’s tight skinny jeans. That wouldn’t work, your hips were far too curvaceous for that. Julian’s smile widened.

“Izzy baby, you bring that black dress of yours?” A smile stretched across Isabella’s face and she rushed over to her luggage and dug around. You groaned the moment she pulled out a slinky black stretch dress. This did not bode well for you.

“That’s not going to fit,” You meekly spoke, fidgeting where you stood.

“It’s body con, Y/N, it’ll fit.” Julien said, snatching the dress from Isabella and approaching you. He thrust the dress into your chest and you stepped back. “Put that on and I’ll work my magic.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes!”

The dress stretched around your body, nearly bursting at the seams. You hated it. Hated it so much! First, your cleavage was nearly bursting out of the neckline (a bombshell look Isabella called it). Second, you had to continually tug on the hem of the dress because it kept hiking up… and the shoes. No, you weren’t wearing shoes, you were wearing heels. Your feet were shoved into one of the pairs Isabella had brought. Why she needed to bring so many, you didn’t know. All you knew was that you were dolled up and you didn’t like it. It wasn’t you, you didn’t do fancy dresses, heels, makeup. As ironic as it was for you to say, you preferred to be the one doing the makeup, not wearing it. Oh course your friends thought otherwise. Isabella was almost drooling over your cleavage, Neli was currently raving about how well your body looked in the dress, and Julian was gushing over your eyes.

You were silently willing time to move faster.

Walking to the bar, you hated that it was summer and you had no reason to bundle up in a coat to shield your body from pedestrians. They were looking, and most certainly appreciating. Isabella was already humming under her breath, clearly excited for the night, and Neli was practically skipping. You could take solace in this night that at least they were enjoying themselves. Upon entering the bar, you experienced exactly what you were expecting and disliked. Loud music, equally loud people, a smell of smoke and sweat, drunk people already.

“I have so many regrets right now,” You muttered weakly as the girls dragged you to the bar and you tried your best to ignore the hungry stares you received. Keeping your head down, you scurried up to the bar and tried to disappear into the bar top as Isabella and Neli ordered several drinks. Your eyes flickered around the crowded space, and you spotted an empty table tucked away in the corner, it was like a little safe haven at this point. The moment the drinks were placed in front of Isabelle and Neli, you snatched them and scurried over to that table, tucking yourself far, far away from the eyes of hungry people.

As the pair eyed you while you sat down and practically hunched over to hide your more than adequate cleavage, your eyes swept the bar for where Julian had gone. He was already chatting up a pretty man on the far side of the bar.

“He moves fast,” You commented dryly. Neli snorted in agreement as Isabella raked her eyes over the crowd of pub goers. She was already looking for someone to hook up with, you just knew it. Or maybe someone to have a quick and dirty bathroom fling. You tried not to think about what your friends had in mind for the night and turned your attention to your drink. Hopefully your night wouldn’t entail being harassed by unwanted advances and people would keep their hands to themselves.

You had sulked in the background of the bar for at least two hours and were ready to slam your head against the small table you had not moved from. The drink you had been sipping was empty and as much as you wanted another, it was in your best interest to not have another alcoholic beverage and just get a water. You wanted to keep your wits about you, certainly in this type of situation. So standing up from your seat, you grabbed your glass and carefully picked your way through the crowd to the bar. You had to shy away from wandering hands and ignore blatant cat calls. This was exactly why you ignored bars in general. You made it to the bar and discovered that you were only really going to have a chance at asking for a water if you went to the very end of the long bar.

Wiggling your way to the counter, you waved at the bartender who gave you a chin lift in acknowledgement. She finished the drink she was making, and started making another as she walked over to where you stood.

“What can I get you, love?”

“Just a water, please.” You requested, ignoring the stares from those around you and choosing to look up at the line of bottles on the wall. Your water was delivered quickly and you sipped it as you retreated to the back of the bar for a reprieve from the hungry gazes and stares. This was the last time you were humoring your friends because you were both miserable and starving. Gulping your water, you dropped it in a bussing bin and took to aimlessly staring at the pictures on the back wall. It was covered with polaroids and other pictures of people, just randomly taped to the wall. “Do they ever take them down?” You softly mused to yourself, noticing that the pictures were simply placed over others.

“They don’t,” A voice replied from next to you. You looked to your left and saw a dark haired man staring at the wall. His eyes met yours and you were shocked by the blueness of his irises. “The owners just let people tape new pictures over the old ones.” You blinked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“And how long has this place been open?” You questioned, wondering just how many pictures were layered on this very wall. He shrugged while his lips twitched, then he turned toward you.

“Decades I think, been coming here for as long as I can remember.” He said, his head tilting to the side while he smiled. “But I haven’t seen you here before and you look like you’d rather be anywhere else.”

Date Published: 12/17/22

Last Edit: 4/25/23

Masterlist | Next

[xartus]

My Issues with Wicca

Here are my top criticisms of Wicca, upcoming will be my thoughts about modern "witchcraft and paganism"

Heteronormativity and Gender Essentialism:

Wicca relies heavily on patriarchal ideas of gender and sex. It is nothing new or revolutionary. The divine is divided: a male aspect and a female aspect that make up the entire cosmos. The masculine aspect is traditionally masculine, virile, handsome, and often depicted as aroused. The feminine aspect is divided further into 3: a carefree, beautiful maiden; an attentive mother; and a wise, helpful old crone. The most sacred rite and indeed, the force of all creation in the cosmos, is the act of heterosexual, procreative sex.

The male is depicted by a phallic object or a phallus, and the female by an object to be penetrated or a womb or pregnant woman- reinforcing the idea that males penetrate and create, and that women are penetrated and gestate life. Penis for men, womb for women.

Diving the cosmos into human sex/gender dichotomies is ignorant at best and arrogant at worst. All, if not most, of the religion is reinforcing patriarchal, Western values. The Church would heavily agree with the emphasis on procreative, monogamous sex. The only thing that *really* separates this from the mainstream, Christian view of gender and sex is lack of emphasis on marriage and of course, our guy Oily Josh.

It is liberating to no one. Honestly, there's more gender nonconforming and queer ideas from within actual historical Christianity than from this neopagan religion.

Dogma

Many will try to claim to the contrary, but Wicca is a dogmatic religion with a founder, creed, sacred texts, and sects. It is heavily based upon Victorian ideas of the occult and paganism, which come from the Renaissance and late Middle Age ceremonial magic. This type of magic was practiced by the elite, almost always men. There's nothing "rustic" about it.

History

Wicca isn't even 100 years old. No ancient people practiced anything remotely similar to it. If we go by Victorian occult history, then its roots can be traced all the way back to the 1880s. The ideas that its based upon are founded completely in outdated 19th and early 20th century scholarship. On what Victorians and Edwardians *thought* pagans did back in the day. Or what they fantasized about them doing. Ancient pre Christian beliefs were highly localized, regional belief system. And even "paganism" refers specifically to public and communal worship, not individual beliefs and practices.

Conclusion

I'm tired of people pushing this as something ancient or something liberating. It has no room for queer people and acts to strengthen traditional gender roles and sexual ethics. It's based in deeply problematic and racist, sexist, you name it, Victorian occultism. I've noticed a deeply, deeply disturbing trend in ALL neopagan communities where oppressive gender/sex roles are being enforced. Where these things are being said to be an intrinsic part of a pagan spirituality. Womb energy, phallic energy, women as hearth-keepers, men as "givers of life", whatever.

How fucking arrogant are we to assume that the cosmos and all spirits abide by human made categories?????And not just that, but THESE specific ones that have been used to oppress for 1000 years? Yep, we got it figured out, turns out all of reality is masculine/feminine and procreative hetero sex is what causes the world to turn.

Can you see how exhausted I am?

[brckensocietyarch]

Vibe. That was the name of the latest trending app, mixture of Onlyfans and truth or dare, but more so dare. Those who signed up as users would be given challenges by their followers of what they should do along with a sum of money they'd recieve in order to do it. Some were simple, like answering questions about their sexual experiences, others more sexual including making specific porn style video and then there was the more risky challenges, the ones that would cause havoc or could result in trouble for the user. Grey had been using the app for the last month, agreeing with her boyfriend that doing the simpler stuff that didn't involve others was a good way to earn a lot of cash without working as hard as she did as a P.A., something that she hated given how shitty her boss was. It had been going well and like she had promised she hadn't accepted anything involving other people. That had been until last week. She'd gotten a request that she knew was trouble on many levels but the amount offered was something that could make it possible to take the rest of the year off to relax, maybe even do more challenges to get enough to cover the entire next year too. Upon acceptance she'd gotten a second request for video proof, a hefty sum so she wouldn't simply send a photo as proof. That was what led her here, calling her best friends boyfriend over under the guise of needing help with a surprise for the girls birthday. She'd been playing it soft and smooth to start, getting a few casual drink into their systems before making her move. "You know... You're looking fucking hot tonight," the femme spoke as she leaned in closer to them. "Would it be bad to admit i've always wondered what it'd be like to kiss you?" @zercandten

[thefamilyeldritchabomination]

Chapter Six: In Old Yellowcake Pt. 2

“Hey Dorian, how would you feel if I joined the neighbors?” Dolly asked to see what Dorian thought.

 “Don't….they're a cult..” Dorian swampily answered in full honesty. “Even if it meant I wouldn’t be able to get you your kibbles?” Dolly asked in return. “I..can always break in…” Dorian shrugged as a bubbling popping sound accented it. 

 “I wouldn’t recommend it, we don’t sleep often. Also, you really ought to do something about that window.” Someone said after busting through the flimsy cardboard barrier. Dolly jumped out of shock as Dorian let out a banshee shriek as a weird man with the same bad fashion sense as Envy came climbing in through the busted window, appreciative that he didn’t have to bust anything. His hair was short and had a pulled back sort of spikiness to them with a face that would remind one of a bull terrier. Removing their circular sunglasses, Dolly could see that this man had the same violet reptilian eyes as Lust and Envy. The strange man sauntered over to the chair and sat down, giving a sharp tooth grin as he relaxed on the furniture as if he lived there. “Okay just who are you and why the hell did you climb a six story building!?” Dolly asked once she came out of shock from the audacity and started to learn that this is sort’ve the trend with homunculi. “Oh right, I knew I was forgetting something! I’m Greed, I want money, food, women, and power. I also want Freddy and the building was good exercise.” The one named Greed said while grinning as he relaxed on the chair. “Okay didn’t realize that Freddy had formed his own little fan club of sorts and how did you find out about him?” Dolly asked as she went to buy some time to figure out how to dispose of the weirdo named Greed. “I guess that the old hag hasn’t realized we are still able to tap into the phone line and radio channels. So I take it you’re the maid or something?” Greed spilled as he carelessly shrugged. “Close, I’m his babysitter.” Dolly said as she looked at the door to the apartment, taking a peak at the clock up above, eyes lighting up upon seeing what time it was. “Right, guess I’m camping out here till Freddy comes back.” Greed said with a bit of a bored tone to his voice. Greed continued to make himself home as he got up from the chair to walk over to the table of journals. Picking up one of the journals by the cover, Greed briskly looked over the content with a whistle before carelessly tossing it back onto the table as he made his way to the kitchenette. Somehow by some cruel twist, Greed proved himself to be a far worse houseguest than Envy as he took out the carton of eggnog and just drank directly from it. Dorian was making horrible gurgling growling sounds from the couch as Dolly ready the backpack for Dorian to slither into. There was a confused look on Dorian’s face before his golden orb eyes followed Dolly’s eye’s to the clock and gave a smirk as he slithered into the bag. Then came the sound that Dolly was counting on hearing, the loud knocking on the door before it got kicked open by Envy. Dolly was late for the agreed upon visitation next door and did what was only natural, Envy bursting in like a home intruder. Greed had paused mid kitchen raid when Envy’s brain registered Greed’s presence. There was no movement by the two homunculi, just this frozen and tense state. This wasn’t the usual thing Dolly had gotten used to while around Envy who would’ve pounced in violence right away. No, this was more like the silent fury of a dragon finding someone in their hoard from the fairytales Dolly would read for recreation. 

  Lust and Gluttony had followed in to see the frozen and tense standoff in the kitchenette. Knowing full well that this will not end well for either parties, Lust went in and speared Greed into the wall, her fingers becoming long pikes of horror. Envy calmed a bit at that as they turned their attention to Dolly and marched over to the couch. “Where’s Freddy?” Envy asked, their voice getting a bit venomous after this little ‘surprise’.

 “He’s at work.” Dolly answered clutching her clay filled backpack to restrain herself. “Good, Pride can watch him for the day. Now, answer me this. Why is that vermin in the room?” Envy growled out as they pointed to the Greed on the wall.

 “Oh, Greed came in through the busted window wanting Freddy.” Dolly said, keeping up with her job of keeping Freddy at least semi safe. “Hey! You know I don’t fight women!” Greed could be heard complaining in the kitchenette after becoming wall art.

 Envy whipped their angry little head around towards Greed before something clicked inside of their mind. Greed was being way too calm and nonchalant about being captured like that, he hadn’t even switched into his ultimate armor either. However, there was one key detail that had Envy on edge when the question came up.

[mu24-hobbies-and-dei]

The Coddling of the American Mind

With a title like that, you might be a bit skeptical about what I've written here, but hold on a second and bear with me.

Trends of anxiety and intolerance to different (not dangerous) ideas have been on the rise in America, especially in colleges and universities. Researchers Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff set out to investigate why this is happening, claiming in their book (see post title) that it comes down to a few primary factors, namely a misunderstanding of the strength of young minds, as well as tendencies towards emotional reasoning, confirmation bias, dichotomous or black and white thinking, and tribalism.

Young minds, specifically children and teens, are often considered fragile, requiring protection from the “dangers” of the real world (ideas that are often considered to be “harmful” where they were previously only “different”). In reality, these minds are antifragile–resilient to these challenges and dependent on them to function correctly in that same real world. Haidt and Lukianoff liken this comparison to a candle and a bonfire. While the candle can be put out by a small gust of wind, the bonfire grows brighter.

This poor preparation–good intentions and bad ideas–worsens the impact of the other aforementioned psychological pitfalls, which all together snowball into the increased levels of anxiety faced by young people today.

Instead, Haidt and Lukianoff claim we should “prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.” Instead of trying to keep conflicting or confusing ideas and situations away from children, we should encourage them. I decided to read this book over the summer before my first semester of college, as I figured it’d be interesting, considering I’m part of the group it’s discussing. I was initially skeptical that some of the language might be “kids these days” type talk (in retrospect, I should’ve known that wouldn’t happen given the authors), but upon reading, I agreed. 

In many cases, kids these days aren’t presented with healthy challenges to their belief systems. I say healthy because there are still things like drugs that children should be shielded from. These experiences are different from ideas in that they are far more likely to negatively impact a young developing mind. They aren't challenging the existing structure, they are reshaping it directly.

And even still, kids need to learn about these things and how they work. Fully "protecting" kids from these sorts of "dangerous topics" makes them ill-equipped to responsibly navigate an unguided encounter with them in the future and more likely to make poor decisions that could lead to addiction.

Overcoming these fears and normalizing (for lack of a better word) obscure and different ideas in general conversation help make people more resilient to environmental stressors because they are equipped to handle them effectively.

Publisher Link

(note for instructor: Analysis)

[decoruss]

Best Modular Kitchen Manufacturer in Lucknow: A Complete Guide

When designing or remodeling your kitchen, choosing the best modular kitchen manufacturer in Lucknow is crucial for creating the perfect space. A modular kitchen offers a blend of style, efficiency, and customization to meet your modern-day requirements. Whether you're looking for sleek designs, functional layouts, or high-quality materials, the right manufacturer will provide all these elements and more.

In this article, we will explore why Decoruss is regarded as one of the best modular kitchen manufacturers in Lucknow, how their services stand out, and what to consider when choosing a manufacturer for your kitchen design needs.

What is a Modular Kitchen?

A modular kitchen is a modern kitchen setup that consists of pre-fabricated units or modules, such as cabinets, countertops, and shelves, designed to fit together seamlessly. These kitchens are known for their sleek appearance, customizable features, and efficient use of space. The goal is to enhance functionality while maintaining an aesthetic appeal.

Advantages of Modular Kitchens

Customizable Designs: Modular kitchens offer a wide variety of designs, colors, and layouts, allowing you to personalize your space.

Efficient Use of Space: The modular design maximizes the utilization of available space, making even small kitchens more functional.

Easy Maintenance: The units are easy to clean and maintain, making them ideal for busy lifestyles.

Durability: High-quality materials used in modular kitchens ensure long-lasting performance.

Why Choose Decoruss?

When it comes to modular kitchens in Lucknow, Decoruss is a name that stands out. As the best modular kitchen manufacturer in Lucknow, Decoruss has built a reputation for delivering high-quality kitchen solutions that cater to the diverse needs of homeowners.

Expertise and Experience

Decoruss has years of experience in the industry, specializing in modular kitchen design and manufacturing. Their team of skilled professionals understands the latest trends and technologies, ensuring that every kitchen they create is both stylish and functional.

Customized Kitchen Solutions

One of the key reasons Decoruss is considered the best modular kitchen manufacturer in Lucknow is their focus on customization. They work closely with clients to understand their needs, preferences, and space constraints. Whether you need a minimalist kitchen design or a more elaborate layout, Decoruss ensures that the final product aligns perfectly with your vision.

High-Quality Materials

The quality of materials used in modular kitchens plays a significant role in their durability and aesthetic appeal. Decoruss uses only premium materials for their kitchen modules, ensuring longevity and ease of maintenance. From high-grade plywood to laminate finishes, every component is selected with care.

Innovative Designs

Decoruss is known for its innovative designs that combine functionality with style. Their designs are tailored to modern homes, offering a perfect balance of aesthetics and practicality. Whether you prefer a contemporary look or a classic design, they have options that cater to all tastes.

Timely Project Completion

When you hire a modular kitchen manufacturer, timely project completion is essential. Decoruss understands this and is committed to delivering on schedule. Their efficient project management ensures that your kitchen is ready within the agreed-upon timeframe, without compromising on quality.

How to Choose the Best Modular Kitchen Manufacturer

While Decoruss is a top choice for many in Lucknow, it’s important to know what to look for when choosing a modular kitchen manufacturer. Here are a few factors to consider:

Experience and Reputation

A manufacturer’s experience and reputation in the industry are critical factors. A company like Decoruss that has years of expertise and a strong reputation is likely to deliver high-quality results.

Customization Options

Modular kitchens should be tailored to fit your space and preferences. Ensure that the manufacturer offers a variety of designs, materials, and layouts that can be customized according to your needs.

Quality of Materials

The durability of your modular kitchen depends on the quality of materials used. Always opt for a manufacturer who uses premium materials to ensure your kitchen stands the test of time.

Project Timeline

Delays in project completion can disrupt your daily routine. Ensure that the manufacturer you choose has a track record of completing projects on time.

After-Sales Support

After your kitchen is installed, you may need assistance with maintenance or repairs. Choose a manufacturer that provides excellent after-sales support to address any issues that may arise.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the best modular kitchen manufacturer in Lucknow is key to transforming your kitchen into a functional and stylish space. Decoruss offers everything you need, from high-quality materials and innovative designs to excellent customer service. With their expertise and commitment to delivering the best, you can trust them to bring your dream kitchen to life.

Whether you’re remodeling or building a new kitchen, choosing the right manufacturer will ensure you get a space that not only looks good but is also highly functional. Explore Decoruss today to start your kitchen transformation!

[herdeardiaryy]

devotion 45

"The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom."

Proverbs 10:21

What comes from our mouth is very powerful. I remember my Mom's sermon when I was still in the Philippines, she spoke about the power of tongues, saying that the words that come out from our mouth can either bring life or death, which is really true. If we speak beautiful words, it come out wonderful not only for ourselves, but for the ones that we've been talking to, same goes if we speak bad words.

I too, speak bad words before, but now that I'm realizing the consequences of my actions, I lessen doing it. Even in my actions, instead of being pissed off and say things that might be a regrets for me later on, I'll take a deep breath and will stay quiet (but my face will say it all haha), but sometimes we cannot really control ourselves when needed.

In this verse, it teaches me to be more watchful to my mouth, because we don't know how people can interpret the words came out, and not only ourselves can understand it. It says here that, "...but fools die for want of wisdom.", people have lack of wisdom because of innocence, ans by innocence, people ended up just approving on everything they have heard even if they don't understand what people just said. And I admit, sometimes I am like this, because my mind cannot accept words anymore for being tired and I think that's the other thing.

Let us be careful on the words that we are using, it might be satisfying and gave us confidence of our own, but let us also think on someone else's point of view, and that depends on the situation. Because sometimes being so careful to the words ended up taking advantage of, and that's not even fair. Let us also use our mind before our mouth do its thing.

Let us not be fooled on the things around, it is not bad to be on trend or to do whatever we want, but be careful. Also, let us not agree too easily on the things because we can be judged as a fool for agreeing in everything without using our mind.

This is my prayer:

"Lord, thank You for this wonderful day that You have given to us. Thank You, Lord, for giving us blessings that we can enjoy and give back to You the Glory. Father, in this verse of the day, may You help us to be more careful not only on the things we say, but also to the actions that we may take. Give us more patience, oh God. Do not let us be fooled by someone or anything else, Lord. Help us get through with everything that we are currently taking. Forgive us, Lord, if there are times for today that we speak and move not according to Your ways. Forgive us, Lord, if You see us uncontrollable, forgive us. I am asking for Your forgiveness, God, and change it into something that made You glad. Thank You, Lord God, I receive blessings from You God, You are indeed Faithful and Majestic, Lord. Thank You, Jesus, thank You so much. I am asking for the protection for my family in the Philippines, Lord, and I thank You for giving away Your provisions to my Sister and Brother-in-law. Continue to heal my Father in his heart disease and diabetes, Lord. I declare healing upon healing, in Jesus Name. I declare Strength and success to our family and friends. I declare financial stability and savings, in the Name of Jesus. Thank You for giving us authority to get closer to You, Lord, thank You.

Everything I pray and asked, I'm lifting them up to You, Lord, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

Amen."

210823 | 23:03

[crazynewsindia]

Kamrunag Shrine from Mahabharata times

  Enclosed by the snowy mountains, Kamrunag Shrine of Mandi is situated at an altitude of 3334 meters above sea level. It is believed that the Lord KamruNag wanted to participate in the great battle of Mahabharat. However, he was not allowed to take part in the battle. However, he witnessed the battle until its end. Kamrunag’s original name was Ratan Yaksha and he was a self-learned warrior. He practice by keeping Lord Vishnu’s idol in front of him and considered him as his master Guru. He got to know about the story of Mahabharat being fought in some far corner of Bharat and decided to take part in it. Brave and courageous he was, he decided to fight with the weaker party, which meant he was going to join the army of Kauravas. But his dream remains dream because Lord Krishan did not allow him to take part in battlefield. Disguised as a yogi, Lord Krishna appeared before the Yaksha. He asked him about his journey and told him about the hardships being experienced by wounded soldiers. Ratan Yaksha listened to the story and it strengthened his determination. Lord Krishan gave him a tough test to find out the strength of his arrows and said, “I will be convinced if you can pierce every leaf of that enormous peepal tree with thy arrow.” When the Yaksha was preparing his arrow, the Lord plucked some leaves and hid them in his closed fists. To his surprise, the arrow pierced even the leaves in his fists. Then Lord Krishan asked him about his guru, upon which the Yaksha replied it to be no one but the almighty himself. The yaksha could not resist and he had to offer what the Lord had asked for, his head. He gave away his head and asked the Lord to keep it alive until the Great War was over. The Lord immediately agreed and blessed him with the same, his head was brought to the Kamru Hill and today it is known as Kamrunag Temple. To witness the special ritual of immersing currency notes, gold and silver jewelry worth lakhs in the lakh, thousands of devotees visited Kamrunag Shrine. In Kamrunag temple money and jewellery offered by devotees is not deposited in the banks rather immersed in the lake water. This trend is being followed by centuries. The legends also say that villagers visit the lake and the temple to pray to the Rain God during summers and it is believed that only after prayers have been offered to the Lord, the rainy season marks its presence in the valley.   Kamru Nag Lak Kamru Nag Lake has enormous religious significance in the region as the temple of one of most revered deities in Mandi, known as Kamrunag Dev is situated on the banks of lake. Pilgrims take holy bath during Kamrunag ‘jatar’ in the lake. A fair is held here on 14th of June every year. People make various offerings especially of gold ornaments, coins etc. People have been making offerings of gold and other precious metals and stones since centuries. Thus gold and other ornaments much more than anyone’s imagination lies buried in the depths of the holy lake of Kamrunag. Thieves have attempted several times in the past but without any success. During winters the lake is completely frozen. Read the full article

[vyl3tpwny]

ANTONYMPH (Vylet Ponystep Remix)

art by @astroeden

—

So I just released my remix of Antonymph, and you can read my original Tumblr post about the original song here if you want to.

There's a lot of substantial stuff going on under the surface with this remix that can be broken down into two major things:

Breaking out of burnout

Fulfilling a childhood wish

The former of these things is something that I've been dealing with since the release of CUTIEMARKS. I suppose I don't necessarily mean I've been experiencing burnout in that I haven't been working on stuff. Rather, the response to CUTIEMARKS (especially seeing the reviewbombing done over RateYourMusic) left me feeling like I wasn't quite good enough for some reason.

I think I'm good enough though, I don't think this feeling occurs because there's any merit in these thoughts. Rather, I feel oddly self conscious now about appealing to the more widespread music critic world. A lot of music in the spaces I create in (namely electronic dance music) is often looked down upon in the 'higher echelons of music enjoyment'. Paired with the fact that I do very colourful pony music, it makes me a rather big target for people to come down on.

Going into making Fish Whisperer, I specifically set out to make a project that would both criticize and appeal to the critical music consensus. I've done my part in doing that, now, and I feel more able to try and work through these feelings of self consciousness. This remix is one of the first things to aid me in doing that. It ties in very heavily with the fact that it's a style of dubstep that has been considered "uncool" and out of trend since probably 2015 or 2016. It's a really melodic, complextro-ey, Bend +/- growl type of song.

I used to try making this style of dubstep rather often. However, a quick tour through my discography revealed to me that I actually never completed and released something in this style for the near decade I've been releasing music publicly. I came to this realization only after I had actually completed the remix. This takes me to the second point I established, in that I am now fulfilling a childhood wish.

It's a huge deal to me to finally release something in this style of music. I haven't really innovated on it much and it's hardly more than the sum of its inspirations, but it also makes me super happy anyway. I was not skilled enough or had the attention span to actually accomplish a song like this when I was younger, and when I finally was able to, it was already out of style and not worth pursuing at the time.

So here I am pursuing it.

I think the whole thing of trends in the EDM community is really annoying actually. In some cases in can drive new ideas to new heights, but it can also really oversaturate other things even though there are really cool things to support it. Things like Big Room and Future Bass are considered really cheesy and silly right now, but I think that's because nobody is innovating on those things and making them fresh. I think that needs to happen, I want to see lots of genres become consistently innovated and reimagined. You see this happening widespread with a lot of genres that seem to have this trend agreed upon, like the rise of breakbeat inspired stuff in the indie electronic scene again. I think we should just consistently innovate things. Sound is kind of infinite, so it's always possible.

Anyway. The Antonymph spirit of everything is to create things for yourself and to feel as whimsical and in love with the smaller things in life as possible. I think I'm going to do a lot more music that is considered out of style and not very trendy in the EDM community. And I definitely need to regain my ability to not care what critical people think of my work. I can improve the fundamental stuff on my own time. If people really get upset at me for the styles and content matter that I write about, so be it. I'm writing for the weirdo in the corner of a school dance, not the people dancing.

Love you poniez.

P.S; the art that @astroeden made was inspired by the galaxy dubstep cat that showed up in every other dubstep compilation in 2014 or something. (You can see the full art on her page instead)