#Division of Speech Communication

[cavenewstimestoday]

When Frogs Dream 2

CHAPTER TWO: The Billionaire’s Gospel Before Jackson, before the frogs, before Sloan vanished into a crater of her own becoming, there was only him. He was born Devin Carrick Vale III, heir to an empire built on oil, pharmaceuticals, data—and eventually, space. His family name opened every door, but it was his obsession with control that made him infamous. He didn’t want to run the world. He…

[ellipsus-writes]

Ellipsus Digest: April 2

Each week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. This week:

Meta trained on pirated books—and writers are not having it

ICYMI: Meta has forever earned a spot as the archetype for Shadowy Corporate Baddie in speculative fiction by training its LLMs on pirated books from LibGen. You're pissed, we're pissed—here's what you can do:

The Author’s Guild of America—longtime champions of authors’ rights and probably very tired of cleaning up this kind of mess (see its high-profile ongoing lawsuits, and January’s campaign to credit human authors over “AI-authored” work)—has released a new summary of what’s going on. They’ve also provided a plug-and-play template for contacting AI companies directly, because right now, “sincerely, a furious novelist” just doesn’t feel like enough.

No strangers to spilling the tea, the UK’s Society of Authors is also stepping up with its roundup of actions to raise awareness and fight back against the unlicensed scraping of creative work. (If you’re across the pond, we also recommend checking out the Creative Rights in AI Coalition campaign—it’s doing solid work to stop the extraction economy from feeding on artists’ work.)

Museums and libraries: fodder for the new culture war

Not to be outdone by Florida school boards and That Aunt's Facebook feed, MAGA’s nascent cultural revolution has turned its attention to museums and libraries. A new executive order (in that big boi font) is targeting funding for any program daring to tell a “divisive narrative” or acknowledge “improper ideology” (translation: anything involving actual history).

The first target is D.C.’s own Smithsonian. The newly restructured federal board has set its sights on “cleansing” the Institution’s 21 museums of “divisive, race-centered ideology.” (couch-enthusiast J.D. Vance snagged himself a board seat.) (Oh, and they’ve appointed a Trump-aligned lawyer to vet museum content.) The second seems to be the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a 70-person department (now placed on administrative leave) in charge of institutional funding. As we wrote last week, this isn’t isolated—far-right influence overmuseums and libraries means this kind of ideological takeover will seep into every corner of the country’s cultural life.

Meanwhile, the GOP is (once again) trying to defund PBS for its “Communist agenda.” It’s part of a larger crusade that’s banned picture books with LGBTQ+ characters, erased anti-racist history, and treated educators like enemies—all in the name of “protecting the children,” of course.

NaNoWriMo is no more; long live NaNo

When we initially signed on as sponsors in 2024, we really, really hoped NaNoWriMo could pull it together—but its support for generative AI and dismissiveness toward its own audience prompted us to withdraw our sponsorship, and many Wrimos to leave an institution that helped cultivate creativity and community for a near-quarter century. Now it seems NaNo has shuttered permanently, leaving the community confused, if not betrayed. But when an organization treats its community poorly and fumbles its ethics, people notice. (You can watch the official explainer here.)

Still, writers are resilient, and the rise of many independent writing groups and community-led challenges proves that creatives will always find spaces to connect and write—and the desire to write 50k words in the month of November isn’t going anywhere. Just maybe... somewhere better.

The continued attack on campus speech

The Trump administration continues its campaign against universities for perceived anti-conservative bias, gutting federal research budgets, and pressuring schools to abandon any trace of DEI (or, as we wrote on the blog, extremely common and important words). In short: If a school won’t conform to MAGA ideology, it doesn’t deserve federal money—or academic freedom.

Higher education is being pressured to excise entire frameworks and language in an effort to avoid becoming the next target of partisan outrage. Across the U.S., universities are bracing for politically motivated budget cuts, especially in departments tied to research, diversity, or anything remotely inclusive. Conservative watchdogs have made it their mission to root out “woke depravity”—one school confirmed it received emails offering payment in exchange for students to act as informants, or ghostwrite articles to “expose the liberal bias that occurs on college campuses across the nation.”

In a country where op-eds in student newspapers are grounds for deportation, what part of “free speech” is actually free?

We now live in knockoff Miyazaki hellscape

If you’ve been online lately (sorry), you’ve probably seen a flood of vaguely whimsical, oddly sterile, faux-hand-drawn illustrations popping up everywhere. That’s because OpenAI just launched a new image generator—and CEO Sam Altman couldn’t wait to brag that it was so popular their servers started “melting.” (Apparently, melting the climate is fine too, despite Miyazaki’s lifelong environmental themes.) (Nausicaa is our favorite at Ellipsus.)

This might be OpenAI’s attempt to “honor” Hayao Miyazaki, who once declared that AI-generated animation was “an insult to life itself.” Meanwhile, the meme lifecycle went into warp speed, since AI doesn't require actual human creativity—speed-running from personal exploration, to corporate slop, to 9/11 memes, to a supremely cruel take from The White House.

“People are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people,” Altman said in a post on X. “What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does.”

Still, the people must meme. And while cottagecore fox girls are fine, we suggest skipping straight to the truly cursed (and far more creative) J.D. Vance memes instead.

Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, (or join our Discord and share it there!)

- The Ellipsus Team xo

[croquis-el]

Self-addressing of minor male characters in Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) / Personal pronouns

We've talked about the main male and female characters, but we shouldn't forget about the minor male characters who accompany us throughout at least each part of the Ace Attorney (GKS) series

The first man who accompanies us throughout the first trilogy is Itonokogiri Keisuke (Richard/Dick Gumshoe)

And here's an interesting point. His pronoun is "jibun" (自分)

自分は、刑事課の イトノコギリという者ッス。

Jibun wa, keiji ka no Itonokogiri to iu mono ~tssu.

I'm from the Criminal Affairs Division. My name is Itonokogiri.

This is a rather rarely used pronoun; it literally translates as "self", although it has the meaning "I/me".

Jibun is used by about only 14% of men and 1% of women. This fact makes the pronoun gender-neutral, but predominantly masculine.

Compared to other first-person pronouns, the nuance of 自分 is introspective, and it's often associated with the military or athletic community, which have strong hierarchies. This suits Itonoko's personality very well, considering that he is a subordinate of the prosecutor and rarely thinks for himself.

Also, "jibun" can be an indicator of the Kansai dialect (Osaka), where it is used to denote both the first and second person. But, since Itonoko's speech was not noted to have any dialect (there are other features), and he was born and raised in the same city (and the city is from the Kanto region), this option is out of the question.

Interestingly, even after Itonoko realized that detectives should do their own investigations rather than rely on directions from prosecutors, and began making decisions on his own, his self-address did not change. Probably a matter of habit.

自分は、何をしたらいいッスか････

Jibun wa, nani o shitara Ī ~tsuu ka...

What should I do...

___________________________________________

Next is our dear friend's father, Mitsurugi Shin (Gregory Edgeworth)

His speech is very formal (like his son's), and he uses the formal personal pronoun "watashi" written in kanji.

私は弁護士の御剣信と申します。

Watashi wa bengoshi no Mitsurugi Shin to mōshi masu.

My name is Shin Mitsurugi, a lawyer.

___________________________________________

Let's not forget about Mitsurugi assistant - Shigaraki Tateyuki (Eddie Fender, almost wrote Raymond Shields)

Most of his dialogues take place with Mitsurugi and young Yatagarasu, and he stubbornly continues to call himself "uncle". (オジサン - ojisan)

オジサン、アトでここの館長に 文句言っとくから。寒すぎだって。

Ojisan, ato de koko no kanchō ni monku I~tsu toku kara. Samu sugi datte .

Uncle going to complain to the director of this place later. It's too cold.

It was not easy to catch his personal self-addressing with other people, but not impossible.

In dialogues with others, Shigaraki-san uses the polite male pronoun "boku" (like Naruhodō/Wright)

ぼく、その････! がんばって助けますからッ!

Boku, sono! Ganbatte tasuke masu kara ~Tsu !

I, well...! I'll do my best to help you!

___________________________________________

Let's not forget about our permanent presiding judge (here is someone who, with rare exceptions, is always with us)

ええ!わ、私がですか?

ē! Wa, watashi gadesu ka?

What? Me?

___________________________________________

The new generation is first represented by rock star and hard-working prosecutor - Garyu Kyoya (Klavier Gavin)

Despite his prominent image as a musician and rock star, Kyouya uses the polite masculine pronoun "boku" (the same one used by Naruhodō/Wright).

ぼくも楽しみにしているんだ。

boku mo tanoshimini shite iru nda.

I'm looking forward to it too.

His speech is generally polite, and in the original he uses various English phrases in his speech, written either in Latin or Katakana. These phrases, by the way, are often used at concerts of musical groups whose first language is not English. (In the localization, as you know, German was used as a substitute).

オーケイ、ベイビー!

ōkei, beibī!

Okay, baby!

___________________________________________

Mr. Garyu Kirihito (Kristoph Gavin) uses the personal pronoun "watashi", which is written in kanji, indicating formal speech and an adult character.

___________________________________________

The second prosecutor from the new generation is a master of psychological manipulation, Yugami Jin (Simon Blackquill)

To be honest, his image as a samurai somewhat clouded my eyes, and I expected some self-addresses inherent in this category (for example, "yo")

But no, Yugami-kun uses the crude male pronoun "ore" (like Odoroki/Apollo)

それと、俺は検事ってェ立場上、 おめえさんに手は貸さねェからな。

soreto, ore wa kenji tte ~e tachiba-jō, o-me e-san ni te wa kasa nēkara na.

Also, because I'm a prosecutor, I won't help you.

We don't know when he started using this designation (there are no monologues from him before his arrest), but judging by his characterization from other characters, he behaved very noble and politely, so perhaps he could change the personal pronoun to a more rude one to maintain the image of a "cruel criminal".

His manner of speech is, in principle, extremely interesting, and, I think, worthy of a separate post. In short - he speaks in a dialect + uses obsolete words + he has a special way of addressing other characters

___________________________________________

The third prosecutor from the new generation, who is also a monk from the kingdom of Khurain - Sahdmadhi Nahyuta (his name was not localized, thank you)

But this young man has an extremely interesting way of addressing himself.

"Sesso" (拙僧) literally means "inept monk".

This is a VERY modest form of address that was used by Buddhist monks.

拙僧がこの事件の担当に ふさわしくないと････?

sessō ga kono jiken no tantō ni fusawashikunai to?

Are you saying I'm not fit to take charge of this case...?

But, this is very different from his speech. Canonically, he is a foreigner, so he does not know all the features of the language in which the hearings are held. Therefore, Nahyuta uses, either unknowingly or intentionally, quite rude vocabulary and manner of speech (at the first hearing with him as a prosecutor, the judge, Odoroki and Kizuki were shocked). Even a native speaker, whose walkthrough I watched, was surprised and commented on this moment.

___________________________________________

Well, that's probably it for now on the topic of personal pronouns, but if you're interested in someone specific that I haven't mentioned, give me a sign.

[charleslee-valentine]

Trudy refills Vincent’s cereal. He’s 2-3 years old and blind in one eye. He doesn’t need more cereal, he just needs his bowl rotated so he can see the cereal that was left over on his blind side. Not that we necessarily know how Vincent communicates without speech, but she hardly gives him time to answer her question about more before she’s refilling the bowl anyways. This is her approach to parenting her boys in general.

There’s no interest in fixing their actual issues. Rather than help Vincent to see what he already has in front of him, she’d rather add more, inadvertently also adding more onto the side he can’t see. At some point, this would just add to the issue. Overcompensation into overwhelm. Bo is brought in for breakfast kicking and screaming and it’s sort of evident why Trudy puts all her love into Vincent to the point of it being suffocating and unhelpful. Sure it could be a simple case of favoritism, but with the aspect of overcompensation specifically, it seems that she wants to balance her guilt over failing to parent one of her sons by pouring more effort than necessary into Vincent. Rather than giving the extra attention to Bo, it’s refilling a non-empty bowl of cereal.

I don’t think that necessarily mean she loves Vincent more. She finds him easier to parent. Fill the bowl whether or not he needs it because that’s easier than unpacking where Bo’s massive emotional outbursts are coming from. It seems more like love-bombing than genuine kindness. He’s “being such a good boy today,” but the implied part is an unsaid comparison to Bo. As twins, and conjoined twins at that, they’re not independent of each other. Vincent’s behavior exists only to contrast Bo’s, from her perspective. “Fix” his needs, and she can fix them both. Hence, preferring just to duct tape Bo to a chair than help him any.

Then Vincent grows up to become her protege, starting in his childhood but lasting until even after Trudy’s death. Over thirty years have passed since they were toddlers in those high chairs, but Bo gives a hint about why Vince got that ‘special privilege’ to not be as physically abused. “She always said that your talent would make up for what God took away from you.” Only, God didn’t take anything. Victor Sinclair doing illegal, unqualified surgery on his babies is why Vincent lost half of his face. Trudy only uses God’s name and religion as a shield for her own guilt about how her boys turned out. But it’s more likely she included Vincent in the wax business because she again, was dumping affection onto him over and over as her strategy.

Otherwise there isn’t as much favoritism between the boys. In their childhood photos, they both play piano, both play pool and baseball, both get to sit at the table with their birthday cake (without highchairs or bindings) and they play on the floor together. It's not entirely divisive between them, though it’s still obvious from which brother she’s slapping across his face and which brother she’s love-bombing which she’d prefer to deal with. Just not which she actually cares for more. Vincent wasn’t somehow spared from abuse in a house like the Sinclair household.

Interestingly, when Bo tells the story of Trudy and Victor, he mentions that once the Doc died, they were alone. Except, there’s at least one version of a prop newspaper stating that Trudy created a wax memorial for Victor. So this is just a false version of events most likely. Sure it could be that a decision changed, but there’s also the fact that, in the guns and ammo store, there’s a sign that says “Trudy’s Town or Wax.” And Bo tells Vincent, “We almost finished what mama started.” She’s also much older than the Trudy we see in the family photos and articles (even with the amount of cigarettes that woman smoked.) Ambrose is confirmed to have been abandoned for a decade, but to be turned into wax, Trudy would’ve had to die sometime between the abandonment of Ambrose and the present. Else she would’ve been properly buried most likely. The plan to fill Ambrose was hers, it’s just Bo that suggests using real humans (according to his apology to Vincent, he takes credit for the idea anyhow.)

Which makes her boys at least in their mid twenties when she died. In an older version of the script, Bo had killed her and Victor, but knowing it would put them all in foster care, that doesn’t quite make sense unless they were older. So the order of events is, Doc dying, the sugar mill closing, Trudy planning to reimagine Ambrose, and then dying herself.

The reason that’s important is because it’s emblematic of just how much pressure she was putting on both of her boys. And that’s not love. With two mentally ill, abused sons, (maybe three, since Lord only knows how they treated Lester once he came along,) that’s just manipulation. Victor and Trudy aren’t cartoon super villains for being bad to their boys. But when you can’t even just rotate a bowl slightly for your half blind little one, it’s shallow. Trudy has her cigarettes right in the boys faces in the opening and in most of the photos. Smoking was in one study linked to about 1/3rd of conjoined pregnancies, and in a similar case of conjoinment to the boys, one of the twins had lost an eye and had a prosthetic, but with minimal scarring because of the surgery being done in an actual legal hospital. It’s not about God taking anything, or about which is a little monsted and which is a very good boy- it’s about Trudy and Victor both messing up from the very beginning and causing the boys losses, then refusing to take accountability for it. Or, in the symbolic sense, to just do the right thing and turn a damn bowl of cheerios towards your blind kid.

[fromchaostocosmos]

Antisemitism makes strange bedfellows out of people and that could not be more clearly seen then with Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rashida Tlaib.

I think one would be hard pressed to find something that those two would agree on besides antisemitism.

And some of oddest logic in which they can't vote on a resolution that condemns antisemitism because other forms of discrimination exist.

Like the option to vote to condemn antisemitism and be against other forms of discrimination at the same time is apparently.

Also since when did Marjorie Taylor Greene care about discrimination.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, each voted “present” on the resolution, introduced in the wake of attacks on Jewish targets in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, DC. The women, both of whom have been accused of antisemitism themselves, each said they could not support the resolution because of what they said was Congress’s inattention to other groups facing deadly threats.

The resolution that they declined to back had bipartisan support. It was titled “Condemning the rise in ideologically motivated attacks on Jewish individuals in the United States, including the recent violent assault in Boulder, Colorado, and reaffirming the House of Representatives' commitment to combating antisemitism and politically motivated violence.”

“Antisemitic hate crimes are wrong, but so are all hate crimes. Yet Congress never votes on hate crimes committed against white people, Christians, men, the homeless, or countless others,” she tweeted. She added, “Americans from every background are being murdered — even in the womb — and Congress stays silent. We don’t vote on endless resolutions defending them.” Greene continued, “Prioritizing one group of Americans and/or one foreign country above our own people is fueling resentment and actually driving more division, including antisemitism. These crimes are horrific and easy for me to denounce. But because of the reasons I stated above, I voted present.”

Tlaib, for her part, denounced both resolutions as “Republican-led attempts to cynically politicize tragic acts of violence — like the recent horrific attack in Boulder — to demonize immigrant communities, praise ICE, and pave the path for the further repression of our constitutional rights to free speech and protest in support of Palestinian lives and human rights.” She noted that Congress had not issued resolutions when Wadea al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American near Chicago, was murdered or when three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont. “I stand firmly against antisemitism. And I stand firmly in support of a Free Palestine,” Tlaib said in a statement. “These values are not contradictory. Our fight against antisemitism is connected to our fight against Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, white nationalism, and oppression in all forms. We must continue to speak out for a world free from dehumanization and violence.”

[chronicallycouchbound]

Intelligence Doesn't Equal Morality

Intellect is rooted in ableist systems and stupidity and intelligence are pointless social constructs that don't relate to morals or character.

I try to be a pretty good person, I fight for human rights, I regularly engage in mutual aid, and I care for my community. I try to do the right thing and support causes I care about and make positive changes in the world.

But I also am not very smart. I have several neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as cognitive disabilities. I can’t do simple, basic math, it’s hard for me to remember facts or algorithms, I rely entirely on spellcheck and speech-to-text to write, I failed many classes in high school and I barely passed with a low GPA, I had low pSAT scores and I never took the SATs. I moved around a lot all through school starting in third grade, and I missed a lot of basic fundamentals in learning (like how to do division and multiplication) so when I went to a different school they had already passed it and expected me to know. After my TBI, I could barely read AFTER I was cleared from my “concussion” symptoms because letters and words would flip around and I’d get headaches. Which still happens sometimes.

A lot of people see me as smart because I've learned a lot of academic language and can formulate thoughts into cohesive posts. But I lack a lot of necessary skills and rely on my caretakers to assist me. Things like budgeting and planning are extremely difficult for me. If I need to do simple addition or subtraction, even with a calculator, I quickly get confused and struggle. I forget basic information about myself all the time, let alone other subjects. I'm talking, has to check my ID for my birthday type confused. Doesn't know my name or address or what year it is confused. It happens daily, sometimes multiple times a day. Being able to type out posts like this often takes weeks and many adaptive tools to get there. Focusing is extremely difficult on many fronts, severe chronic pain, ADHD, dissociation, fatigue, migraines, and TBI, are just some of the contributing factors. I struggle daily with many things because of my lack of intellect.

I’m also privileged in the fact that I had some access to education as a homeless youth, that I had some supports in place to help me (towards the end of school), that I was somewhat able-bodied at the time and could walk or bike to and from school when the school system didn’t provide transportation. I was fortunate to have a chance to succeed, and I’m proud that I graduated high school because it was a difficult task for me, and others often aren’t offered that chance or get accommodations. I almost didn’t and I dropped out many times before graduation. I passed on sheer luck and what little privileges I had. 

That all being said, me being stupid (reclaiming it here) doesn't make me a bad person. I don't hurt people because I can't do math. I may mess up things or get confused but it doesn't make me want to harm others.

We often (wrongfully) equate morals with intellect. Being ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, or an ‘idiot’ doesn’t automatically make someone a bad person. Plenty of evil, awful, and abusive people are extremely intelligent. 

I see this most notably with people advocating for IQ tests to be able to vote. Often from left-leaning people, in hopes it'll make the right (that they view as unintelligent), unable to vote. The reality is, it just hurts some of our most vulnerable members of the community while not actively doing anything to restrict some of the most dangerous members of our community-- those who know what they're doing to harm others and deliberately doing so. My voice matters, and I speak up against injustice and participate in dismantling oppressive systems. Taking away my right to vote won't make the right stop oppressing minorities (which also puts a lot of faith into the two-party voting system, which is a post for another day).

Additionally, legislative measures that discriminate against intellectually disabled people such as IQ tests for voting are also rooted in racism and classism. 

Yes, education can be a vital tool when it comes to addressing discrimination and creating safer communities. But the kind of education that is measured with an IQ test (or any test) isn't the same. Building compassion and caring for others can (and should) happen at any IQ level. We can all practice this, we can all participate.

It harms our communities and stagnates our progress when we equate intelligence with high morals.

[awwkie]

Here is a quick list of lore stuff that Zeurel confirmed in the last QnA:

The area LAW polices is roughly 105'000 light-years wide. This matches up with our galaxy, the Milky Way. Taking into account the map in Oberon station (episode 1), LAW polices the whole galaxy except a small portion of it, called the "Uncharted Rim".

The species Ricket and Jawbone belong to are called "Osteons", as shown on a screen in episode 4. He also confirmed that the fire on their heads is actual hot fire and that it can burn.

Next episode we are going to get more information on the LAW divisions. Specifically about Enforcement (red/triangle) and the blue/circle division, which I assume has to do with communications and logistics from what we've seen so far.

Next episode will also give more insight into Terrans and the cataclysm. I wonder if we are going to see the speech by Primary Red mentioned in the news segment from episode 1. We might also get a speech from commander Tezoree, as we see her giving a speech in episode 4, and Zeu mentioned she is going to appear in episode 5. At the moment, I don't believe Tezoree to be Primary Red, for a couple of reasons I'll probably explain in a separate post. But I might be wrong.

We got a sneak peak on Dolion and OH MY GOD I'm so making a separate post for that because I have too many thoughts to fit them in this silly list.

Shrike and Beebs might have more traits from the animals they are inspired by than they are currently aware of.

The mercenaries at the top of the leaderboard might appear in the background of the next episode.

Ricket's eye wasn't injured, but it didn't form properly and that's why he keeps it covered. :(

There are some protections for endling species, and we'll see more info about that next episode.

Confirmed (a second time I think?) that Kara and the cats are totally unrelated species.

DH dislikes being watched while eating.

Some details might be missing becuase I haven't had the time yet to fully analyze episode 4. Sources below the cut (they are just screenshots from the asks for future reference LOL).

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Konstantin Toropin and Steve Beynon at Military.com:

It was supposed to be a routine appearance, a visit from the commander in chief to rally the troops, boost morale and celebrate the Army's 250th-birthday week, which culminates with a Washington, D.C., parade slated for Saturday. Instead, what unfolded Tuesday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, bore little resemblance to the customary visit from a president and defense secretary. There, President Donald Trump unleashed a speech laced with partisan invective, goading jeers from a crowd of soldiers positioned behind his podium -- blurring the long-standing and sacrosanct line between the military and partisan politics.

As Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom -- amid the president's controversial move to deploy the National Guard and Marines against protesters in Los Angeles -- as well as former President Joe Biden and the press. The soldiers roared with laughter and applauded Trump's diatribe in a shocking and rare public display of troops taking part in naked political partisanship. For this story, Military.com reached out to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office as well as the Army and the 82nd Airborne Division directly with a series of questions that ranged from the optics of the event to social media posts showing the sale of Trump campaign merchandise on the base, to the apparent violation of Pentagon policies on political activity in uniform. Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. The troops ultimately selected to be behind Trump and visible to the cameras were almost exclusively male. One unit-level message bluntly said "no fat soldiers." "If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out," another note to troops said. Service officials declined to comment when asked about the extent to which troops were screened, whether soldiers displaying partisan cheers on television -- a violation of long-standing Pentagon rules -- would be disciplined or if soldiers who objected to participating in the event, citing disagreements with the administration, would be disciplined or admonished in any way. "This has been a bad week for the Army for anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution," one commander at Fort Bragg told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "This was shameful. I don't expect anything to come out of it, but I hope maybe we can learn from it long term." Experts were quick to come out and say that the public silence from military leadership is a missed opportunity to reinforce the military's nonpartisan nature. Meanwhile, the political leadership at the head of the Defense Department was far from apologetic. Adding to the spectacle, a pop-up shop operated by 365 Campaign, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based retailer that sells pro-Trump and other conservative-coded memorabilia, was set up on-site with campaign-style merchandise on Army property. Soldiers were seen purchasing clothing and tchotchkes, including "Make America Great Again" chain necklaces to faux credit cards labeled "White Privilege Card: Trumps Everything." Permitting the sale of overtly partisan merchandise on an Army base likely runs afoul of numerous Defense Department regulations aimed at preserving the military's long-standing commitment to political neutrality.  [...] Trump is far from the first president to use the troops as a backdrop for a speech that had political notes. But experts say this speech crossed a line and showed the military's ethics can be vulnerable. [...] However, many of those examples were presidents choosing the setting to speak to the troops about military policy and issues that affected them personally, and with the exceptions of polite applause and laughs at presidential jokes, troops have not been especially vocal or reactive to the rhetoric being offered.

Draft Dodger Donald’s appearance at Fort Bragg this week was a partisan rally disguised as supporting the troops to prepare for the 250th birthday of the Army.

See Also:

Daily Kos: Trump’s gross abuse of the military takes an ugly turn—even for him

The Status Kuo (Jay Kuo): Bragg-adocious

[blackstarlineage]

Why Do Black People Get Distracted by Trivial Matters? A Garveyite Perspective

Let’s talk about something that Marcus Garvey himself would’ve dissected with surgical precision: why do some Black people (or communities) get caught up in debates, distractions, and petty arguments while ignoring the bigger picture of liberation and empowerment?

Garvey’s philosophy wasn’t just about fancy speeches and bold rhetoric; it was about self-determination, economic independence, and unity among African people worldwide. Through a Garveyite lens, these distractions are not accidental—they’re rooted in historical conditioning, systemic oppression, and psychological warfare. Let’s break this down.

1. Colonial Conditioning and Mental Slavery

Colonialism didn’t just take land—it attacked the mind. By dividing and conquering African people, systems of white supremacy planted seeds of mistrust and division.

The result? Many of us are conditioned to focus on petty disagreements or individual competition rather than collective liberation. Garvey warned about this mental slavery and urged us to reclaim our minds.

2. Miseducation and Cultural Amnesia

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey

When you don’t know your history, you don’t know what’s worth fighting for. Schools don’t teach us about African civilizations, global Black resistance, or the wealth of resources stolen from the continent. Without this knowledge, we focus on superficial issues that ultimately don’t serve us.

3. Media Manipulation

Let’s keep it real: the media plays a MASSIVE role in keeping us distracted. From celebrity gossip to polarizing social media debates, the system feeds us distractions to prevent us from asking real questions like:

Why is the global wealth gap so tied to race?

Why is Africa STILL being exploited for resources?

Garvey’s solution? Build our own media outlets to control the narrative and focus on what really matters.

4. Economic Disempowerment and Survival Mode

When you're stuck in a cycle of poverty, your focus is on getting through the day—not dismantling systems of oppression. This isn’t a flaw in character; it’s a symptom of systemic economic disenfranchisement.

But here’s the thing: Garvey didn’t believe in waiting for handouts. He urged us to build Black-owned businesses, support each other economically, and create generational wealth.

5. Western Individualism vs. African Collectivism

Garvey saw the problem with adopting Western values like individualism. The “me, myself, and I” mentality often takes over, leaving collective issues—like reparations, unity, or community building—on the back burner.

He believed in African collectivism: a worldview where community > individual. His motto “One God, One Aim, One Destiny” was all about shared purpose.

6. Internalized Oppression and Conflict

Let’s not sugarcoat this: centuries of systemic racism have left scars. Many of us, consciously or unconsciously, project our pain onto each other. This shows up as follows:

Colorism

Classism

Petty infighting

Garvey said it best: "The Black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness." Healing and unity are the antidotes to internalized oppression.

7. Symbolic Victories Over Structural Change

Representation in movies? Great. A seat at the table? Cool. But are these symbolic wins actually dismantling the systems that oppress us? Probably not.

Garvey didn’t care for empty gestures. He wanted land, wealth, power, and autonomy for Black people. Symbolism is nice, but ownership and self-governance are better.

8. Distrust and Fragmentation in the Diaspora

Colonialism fractured the African diaspora, leaving us divided by:

Geography (Africa vs. the diaspora)

Identity (Black Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, etc.)

Misunderstanding each other’s struggles

Garvey’s response? Pan-Africanism. He believed that Black liberation could only be achieved through global solidarity, transcending these divisions.

9. Fear of Revolutionary Change

Here’s the truth: change is scary. It requires sacrifices, courage, and shaking up everything you’ve been conditioned to believe. Sometimes, distractions and debates are just ways to avoid stepping into the discomfort of revolutionary change.

Garvey called us to be bold, reminding us that freedom isn’t handed out—it’s fought for.

10. Unresolved Trauma and Mental Healing

Centuries of slavery, colonization, and systemic racism have left behind intergenerational trauma. This trauma often manifests as misdirected anger or unproductive debates.

While Garvey didn’t have today’s psychological vocabulary, his emphasis on pride, dignity, and self-love was a way of addressing these wounds.

11. External Exploitation of Intra-Community Conflicts

Let’s not forget: governments, corporations, and other external forces actively infiltrate Black movements to create division. Garvey himself experienced this when his movement was sabotaged by agents who spread false accusations and encouraged betrayal.

The lesson? Stay vigilant. Build movements that are resilient to sabotage by fostering trust and transparency.

What Would Garvey Say Today?

Garvey would look at today’s distractions—celebrity gossip, performative activism, endless social media debates—and remind us that we’re wasting valuable time. His message would be clear:

Unify across the diaspora.

Educate yourself about your history.

Build your own institutions, businesses, and systems.

Focus on liberation, not validation.

Because at the end of the day, the only way forward is together. One God. One Aim. One Destiny.

Final Thoughts

Distractions are not random—they’re strategic tools of oppression. Garvey’s philosophy teaches us to rise above them, focus on what truly matters, and take control of our destiny. The question is: Are we ready to listen?

[beardedmrbean]

Jewish students stormed out of their graduation ceremony Thursday after a Massachusetts Institute of Technology commencement speaker accused the prestigious institution of supporting the erasure of “Palestine from the face of the Earth.”

Megha M. Vemuri, president of the Class of 2025, sparked a mixture of boos and cheers as she started her controversial speech praising her classmates for protesting Israel immediately after Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023. 

“You have faced the obstacle of fear before, and you turned it into fuel to stand up for what is right — you showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine,” Vemuri told the crowd as some students stood up and waved the Palestinian flag, according to a video posted by MIT.

“Last spring, MIT’s undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military. You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestine activists on campus,” she continued. 

“You faced threats, intimidation and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials. But you prevailed, because the MIT community that I know would never tolerate a genocide.”

Vemuri continued her speech, claiming that no universities remain in war-torn Gaza, as the divided crowd chanted in solidarity with others walking out and shouting, “Shame.”

“We are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the earth, and it is a shame that MIT is a part of it,” Vemuri charged, as she encouraged anti-Israel activists to push the school to sever all association with the Jewish state to scattered applause.

“The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with. This means that Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school.”

She concluded the divisive address by condemning the university of being “directly complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”

Vemuri’s contentious remarks led to her being barred from attending Friday’s undergraduate ceremony, an MIT spokesperson told Fox News Digital, noting that the speech she delivered was not the version submitted in advance to university officials. 

“MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organizers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony,” the university said in a statement. 

The Massachusetts institution was among numerous college campuses that saw hostile anti-Israel agitators block Jewish students from attending class, clash with police and deliver incendiary speeches last year in the wake of the war in Gaza. 

One Israeli graduate told the outlet that all the Jewish families — “not only the Israelis” — walked out of what was supposed to be a happy occasion. 

“All of our families came from far to see the ceremony and were extremely disappointed,” the disheartened grad said.

[seonsdiary]

⠀⠀★ ⠀˒⠀ fun facts about seon⠀⠀.ᐟ

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝓶asterlist!

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀ seolhyeon biologically comes from a fictional chaebol family who run ahnvière (안비에르), a prestigious, multi-generational luxury conglomerate and global powerhouse in korean fashion, high-end beauty, and couture design. seolhyeon’s adoptive family, a kind-hearted korean-american couple in seattle, gave seolhyeon a new name, a safe home, and the love her powerful birth family never could. they supported her olympic figure skating dreams and later her k-pop career.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀ seolhyeon has two biological siblings who are fraternal twins — dasom and daeseung (1991). she also has two adoptive siblings — theo (1992) and cassidy (1996).

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon has a son named haneul (2020), who’s father is out of the picture. haneul was born hard of hearing, with a stable, sloping, moderate-to-severe sensorineural loss. seolhyeon has learned korean sign language (ksl) with him ever since, helping him with his speech and making sure he always feels understood. she is also a dog mom of a corgi named simba (2022) — haneul named him during his “the lion king” phase, in which he’d have seolhyeon watch the disney movie a thousand times with him every day and night.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀from ages 3 to 5, seolhyeon took classes for figure skating thanks to her biological grandparents, who paid for all her expenses just as they did with their other two grandchildren with their respective activities, but never once competing due to her biological parents never allowing her to. it wasn’t until she was adopted by the baeks and moved to the u.s. that she began taking classes individually with a coach — her adoptive mother’s ( now ex ) best friend, alyssa hunt ( a psychotic bitch, we don’t like her ) — and began competing in order to make it to the olympics, which was her life long dream.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon was a professional figure skater from ages 5 to 15, who was ( and still is ) well known for being a prodigy on the ice; there was no jump or movement that seolhyeon couldn’t master and everyone in the figure skating community knew that. her most well-known tricks are the cantilever, side aerial, the death drop spin, the triple axel, and the six quad jumps — she was the first woman to land all of six quads ( axel, lutz, loop, salchow, toe loop, and flip ) in one program, at the winter olympics 2014. she has great coordination and is extremely flexible. another trick she knows is the hydroblade (yuzuru hanyu taught her it).

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon won silver under the women’s figure skating division at the sochi winter olympics in 2014, yuna kim receiving gold (irl, yuna was robbed of gold by adelina sotnikova who won after scores were tampered with in adelina’s favor (allegedly! but yuna’s performance was far better than adelina’s in my opinion so roll with me yeah) — in seolhyeon’s world, yuna wins overall! sorry not sorry!) and carolina kostner winning bronze. [ yuna — 🇰🇷🥇 / seolhyeon — 🇰🇷🥈 / carolina kostner — 🇮🇹🥉 ]

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon used to compete under the u.s. flag (🇺🇸) from 2003 to 2012 but after she moved to south korea in 2012 and she regained her citizenship to compete in the olympics, she was allowed to register with the south korean flag (🇰🇷). speaking of which, she started her figure skating career in 2001 but didn’t compete until 2003 after she was adopted into the baek family.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon has a scar on her left thigh, running from the back of her knee up to her thigh, given to her by another figure skater's skates when she was 11. they were practicing before a performance and got too close to each other mid-spins without realizing it, leading the other skater to accidentally slice seolhyeon’s skin with her skate. the cut was deep but thankfully didn’t hurt anything vital, though, she was left with a nasty scar after she was dragged to the e.r. to get stitches before she could step foot back into the ice rink ( she got a huge earful from her coach, alyssa, when they were left alone together after the incident, calling her nasty names for “being dumb and not careful” ). she’s quite insecure over it and tends to wear clothing that covers it; if she’s unable to cover it with clothes, she covers it as much as possible with make-up.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon retired from figure skating in 2014 but she picked it right back up in 2020 and occasionally skates on her free time or whenever she wants to destress.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon has great memory when it comes to choreography or tricks. even after almost a decade of not skating, she returned to the ice as if she never left — doing the tricks she’s known for with ease.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon appears to be taller than she really is due to the platform shoes/high heels she wears daily and her body portions. sometimes army and bts themselves forget that she’s actually 157 centimeters ( 5’2” ft ), army always expect her to be much taller when they see her in person.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon is very clumsy. especially on normal ground … by that i mean she’s less likely to fall face first on ice; on there she could run a marathon and maybe even do some pirouettes while doing so.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon adopted a snow leopard from the organization snow leopard trust back in 2022 named frosty. she later became an ambassador for the organization in 2023. seolhyeon absolutely adores frosty, she keeps up to date with the little guy and is regularly renewing her adoption with him.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀while seolhyeon has a son, she wishes to adopt in the future just like how her own parents adopted her and gave her a wonderful life. she wants to do the same for another child.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon learned how to skate way before she learned how to properly write her name. it was then her biological grandparents realized she was gifted on the ice.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon almost debuted as big hit entertainment’s first solo female artist after spending months training with bts but as quick as the idea came, it was scrapped because seolhyeon didn’t feel confident in herself to be a solo act.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀unbeknownst to her fans and the media, seolhyeon anonymously donates a hefty amount of money to orphanages and shelters all over south korea every year on august. this all started back in 2017 to 2018 when bts blew up. after her son was born, she began donating to hearing loss foundations and mental health charities as well.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon always checks the stage floor before performing, a habit she developed very young during her ice skating days. she’d always check for chips or holes on the ice, and now she checks if the floor is flat and sturdy to dance on with her members.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀army like to say haneul is the fandom’s “little moon”. that little boy isn’t just seolhyeon’s son, it’s bts’ and army. majority of army are rather respectful towards seolhyeon and haneul when they’re together but there’s a few instances that isn’t the case.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀seolhyeon always wakes up at 5:00am out of habit; she’d always go into the ice rink before school started per alyssa’s request from ages 7 to 12.

⠀ ⠀ ׁ ࣭ ✶ ⠀ ⠀the first thing seolhyeon does before the babysitter arrives for haneul, even if she has an early schedule, she makes haneul a bento box and cuts his fruits into little stars something he absolutely loves.

2025　©　SEONSDIARY

୨୧　taglist › open!

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 6

Propaganda:

Kiriwo -

"Seems innocent at first and he's just a guy with a special interest in magic items, but watch out."

Arjuna -

"MASKING KING!!!!!! ok joke aside one of his biggest things is that he's super scared that if anyone gets too close to him they'll notice he's not perfect/has a 'secret darkness' (that's literally just a guy) and overall a lot of his storyline is a strong parallel for being neurodivergent and becoming more comfortable with accepting it. he's also super strict and hard on himself for any sort of failure that isn't in line with what's socially appropriate but at the same time he doesn't always have a good grasp on what that is which is how you get stuff like him blowing up a forest to try and impress someone. it also runs in his family bc his brother is autistic as hell too."

Sherlock -

"God, where do I start? I mean what Holmes adaptation, even if he's not the main character, would this be if he were not autistic coded? And our combo of autism and ADHD is absolute perfection, all tied up with a pretty, excitable face. Hit him with the crime hyperfixation and do not make him wear socks."

Apollo -

"Not canonically autistic but he has ZERO volume control plus he scripts/repeats stuff (“I’M FINE!!!”), sometimes mimics other people’s speech patterns (like replying “ja” to Klavier), sensitive to loud noises (stayed backstage at a concert cuz it was too loud) and bright lights (complained about the stage lights being too bright at the same concert + screamed when opening the hatch to the bright stage at magic show), and has been really into space since he was a kid, which could definitely be a hyperfixation (not to mention how he read every single one of Phoenix’s old case files back when he admired him). Plus he’s a little TOO normal, to the point where it circles back around to making him the odd one out, which is absolutely what masking feels like for me. Even when he tries to be fun and weird he gets strange looks/made fun of for not being weird in the right way. The list of autism symptoms is just a checklist for him at this point."

Heiji -

"90% of the cast in detective conan is autistic but heiji is the most autistic of them all."

Urara -

"Another alien who is so excited to dance with everyone that he does not understand that his intended purpose of inviting people to dance via water communication is brainwashing them into dancing and is causing extreme chaos. He nearly causes an apocalypse by being so excited about dancing but he apologizes and tries to make friends with Yuki at the end of the story. He is extremely soft spoken and try, finding it difficult to begin conversations and fidgeting."

Shu -

"speaking specifically about the first season but he was the "explains everything so the audience knows whats happening" guy. he was pretty antisocial (not sure if thats just how he was or if he lived alone [which was fucked up cause he was 11]) . im trying to think of more but my brain goes hghghhhggggh im just a big fan of him."

Vash -

"ain’t no way i’m the only one who’s submitted him. go look at the gif of him crawling in the dirt like a bug while he dodges bullets and get back to me."

Hyakkimaru -

"Due to a terrible curse he has lived his whole life without several body parts including his eyes and ears. Because of this he is often overstimulated and awkward in new situations (when he doesn't do what he does best, killing monsters and samurai with his sword arms) He can't say or express much, and often comes off as strange and creepy, but he is actually a cutie patootie full of emotions, has a big heart, a keen brain, endless inner strength and loves the people close to him! This adorable, cursed, demon slaying boy deserves everything!"

Kei -

"He has the tbh face. Also he canonically has sensory issues and gets sensory overload. He constantly wears earbuds. He has an extremely rigid sense of morality and considers himself a savior figure. He has a hard time relating to other people and is a bit awkward in his interactions."

[blackfilmmakers]

genuine question, as another black person who cant go out and protest what should i do? im not gonna lie, i listened to some of malcom x's speeches and mlks final speech and broke down. it feels like my family will never be safe here, but as someone whos unemployed and cant even drive (and even if i could drive, i dont have the money to leave) it feels like im doomed. it just feels like the majority of america and even the world assumes that just because the civil rights movement is 'over' racism isnt that bad anymore. someone tried to argue with me that racism isnt that bad in the usa compared to european countries because its 'not as in your face anymore'. what about police brutality? what about right now??? sorry for venting i just. this shit is breaking me man, and i legit dont know what to do

I'm feeling it too, and it pains me to see Black people struggle like this when we just want to be left alone

Here are some things to consider:

1) Your mere existence is a protest of itself. White people legit thought we'd all naturally die out at this point. It sucks that just living as a Black person is considered to be politically divisive; but that's why just being present is itself a protest

2) Not everyone needs to be a foot soldier or protester to join the fight. If there was a war and there was a side that was made up of nothing but fighters, they would lose. You need your scribes, you need your medics, you need your journalists, you need that kid that goes around the neighborhood, and plasters stickers of uplifting slogans

3) Do not feel obligated to engage with racists and bigots. I don't care what any nonblack leftist on here tells you, most of them cant stop using aave w/o having a breakdown. Your saftey comes first. This does not mean to bubble yourself, always stay woke about what goes on around you. But Black people are always expected to be in the front lines always physically fighting. Let others do their part

4) Search for community aid, community gardens, local/rec libraries, etc. Set up Black focused community events. Whether they are physical communities or online communities. Look into Black groups that focus on cooking while on a budget

5) Read various Black literature and essays. You have a physical copy? Try scanning them and having them on file. Spread it before people try erasing all traces of the material

6) Look into information by Black and Indigenous people about their thoughts on walkable cities and gentrification, mainly because these are topics that directly affect you from what I'm reading. But also look for bus/public transit modes of transportation

7) Share mutual aid, and don't be afraid to share your own when you need help.

8) Remember that every month is Black History Month, so we always have the opportunity to share and celebrate Blackness

I can't guarantee these are absolute solutions, but they are a starting point that I hope helps you in the long run ❤️

[b1asho]

(Sees the expressions ask) What about the Pantalon dragons?

Augh the bugsss

Silkwings and Hivewings can see UV! They move their iridescent scales to flash different colors convey emotions, which happens very quickly. No one else can see this happening.

Silkwing-specific visible signals are done through the antennas, spinnarets/tongue, and general mouth region. different positions mean different things (for example, open mouth/bared spinnarets combined with forward-facing straight antenna means happy :) ). Tongue and arm grasping is a common way to show affection or show that you have their attention (like eye contact for others) but otherwise theyre pretty adverse to touching. Other than ruffling their hair things and rotating their wings for the aforementioned color language, they don't do any other kind of body movement and their face doesn't really move otherwise. They do produce scents that can mean certain things (in very broad and simple strokes, usually only as support for one of the other forms of communication, such as making a Im scared or Lets mate gesture more intense and concrete), but those arent as complex as the pheremones of hivewings (they can still detect and understand hivewing pheremones because of their shared ancestry). Silkwings can speak, but its quiet and wheeze-like (they rely a lot more on the colors). Adults will raise eggs communally. once they hatch and pupate, those kids leave their birth region to go join up with unrelated individuals (who they will work together with to gather food n such. These flocks tend to be small and self sufficient, but there were some larger ones with divisions of labor. Their sizes can fluctuate as adults and kids come and go) Before hivewings did their thing, they were largely decentralized and did not recognize a single authority among their flocks.

Hivewings have more robust communication/emoting system because they're strictly social. A lone hivewing will die of depression, pretty much. The face is very important for emotion (like with silkwings) but they are way more tactile. They use their whole body to convey things, moving their legs, wings, arms, and tail to show other emotions and ideas in tandem with what is being said with their colors (usually while pressing against the person/people they're talking to). They produce pheremones that can induce some behaviors and feelings in others (such as "go forage" or "work faster/follow me" Soldiers can make the "SWARM KILL!!!" pheremone, which can also affect workers). Theyre capable of speech too, but its usually shrill and brief to convey something that their other signals can't show (such as if they're in a low light area or are trying to say something that colors/pheremones are too blunt to convey). Like their name suggests, hivewings live on colonies where there is one queen who has hundreds of kids. Nearly all of them are female, with some males who only associate with the Queen. They dont have a shared consciousness, but a lot of their movements are coordinated together and decentralized (like real bees, murmuration of birds, or shoal if fish) They have multiple queens/colonies across their territories, but currently those queens answer to one Queen (who's doing something with Magic to make them all more like a shared-mind hivemind with her at the center) (I think)

Leafwings emote in ways more familiar to the mainland dragons, using their hood and other frills to emphasize what they're feeling. Their skin is translucent, so blushing is very evident and is a sign of either anger or being flustered. While able to pitch down to an audible range, they usually emit ultrasound clicks to communicate (something that also helps them hunt. When combined with their Massive eyeballs, theyre crazy good at hunting at night) however, the clicks make it harder for the silks and hives to hear them (they aren't really built for verbal communication). Leafwings are mostly solitary and only pair up for a brief time to have kids, where afterwards the female raises them alone. Males are smaller and are more likely to live in little groups, females are all solitary. In terms of society, they don't really have one (at least not in the way a silk or hive would understand). Depending on whether one decides to get rid of the other, multiple leafwings can live on the same tract of land, hunting the same area but not sharing kills or other resources with the others on purpose. They will sometimes communicate and do things to benefit themselves and sometimes each other (such as having a shared herd of animals or one of them making shelters that others can use when they arent there). However, they dont live together and dont speak to each other for casual purposes (mostly to just share something important, like a new invention or danger in the area, before leaving again. They also dont tend to share information with those living outside their territory, so one area of leafwings could have discovered iron while the others are using bronze, and they would never know.). Comparatively, the other see them as completely alien and indecipherable (their skin-color changes make no sense, they live alone and with no queen, they don't do anything with their mouth/face and don't touch eachother, we can't even hear them, they're only out at night, they can't detect our pheremones and can't reciprocate, etc). These differences, along with their physical freakiness (theyre clear-skinned, big-eyed, carnivorous, nocturnal bone-havers. Very scary to the average bug) made it easy to depict them as uncivilized monsters.

I should probably note that I haven't read these books and even on the last post I'm just making stuff up based on what I remember from their general vibe lol

[nonbinarynow]

"It is fatal for anyone who writes to think of their sex. It is fatal to be a man or woman pure and simple; one must be woman-manly or man-womanly. It is fatal for a woman to lay the least stress on any grievance; to plead even with justice any cause; in any way to speak consciously as a woman. And fatal is no figure of speech; for anything written with that conscious bias is doomed to death. It ceases to be fertilized. Brilliant and effective, powerful and masterly, as it may appear for a day or two, it must wither at nightfall; it cannot grow in the minds of others. Some collaboration has to take place in the mind between the woman and the man before the art of creation can be accomplished. Some marriage of opposites has to be consummated. The whole of the mind must lie wide open if we are to get the sense that the writer is communicating his experience with perfect fullness."

- Virginia Woolf, A Room of Ones Own, 1929

I adore this quotation, not just as a womanist feminist, not just as a writer who seeks to write about experiences other than my own, but as a transandrogynous person, who understands the beautiful, natural creativity and empathy that mental androgyny lends me access to. The word is bipartite, dichotomised into a binary, where one must be better than the other. It is not in our nature to just hold two states, two things as equal. There will always be a victor and a failure. A better and a worse. But to choose to marry those two things into one, to force both to coexist in one life, to consciously (because as humans, it's in our nature, but consciously choosing this path is different) combine aspects of both into your everyday reshapes the mental experience into an androgynous one, with the ability to debinarise and marry every single little binarised thing; from the manner of blinking to the theory produced on the human condition and the science of life and creation.

In a world of binary dichotomies, to exist in a mental state that incooperates all aspects of the binary, to marry all of its silly divisions, to live as proof you dont have to lock your mind into "one or the other" brings forward the capability to expand ones own thinking long beyond what was previously thought, to access the "whole mind." To live as an androgynous, or at least as a being unaffiliated with the gender binary, shows an incredible ability to break away from the notion you must perceive, experience and live in the world only one way; it is the realisation that you are locking up half of your human experience. It is the realisation that you are falling into a pit of "pure simplicity." The death of new thought, the death of unity and the death of the complexities of human expression is surely inbound if not for beings of androgyny redefining the human experience out of these unmarriable dichotomies; man-womanliness and woman-manliness allows access to new perspectives on old concepts, and the birth of new ones. Birth that cannot happen in a mind confined to the rigidness that is binary thought. This is evidenced in real life, through people who live outside the binary, present outside the binary, transitionwithin the binary offering new perspectives to those who don't, and to all others who resist the binary.

This is the birth of new, beautiful, creative and expansive minds and communities. The breaking down of the rigid colonial capitalist thought that permeates all of society. Seeking empathy across false borders, the unity of all people, and the understanding between the man and the woman. Helping people realise that they are capable of androgynous thought despite being binary, by being someone who is a unification or a disassociation with it. Androgyny is universally understood in binary individuals, it helps them understand the opposite from their perspective. Helping them see that they are more similar than they think, but it will take active mental androgyny to help realise this fact. Helping the creativity, the empathy, the understanding "grow in the minds of others." Mental androgyny is radical in the sense that is the realisation of shared humanity, with baseless binarisation being a detriment to society. Below is my personal favourite quote on androgyny, ever.

"The androgynous mind is resonant and porous; that it transmits emotion without impediment; that it is naturally creative, incandescent, and undivided."

- Virginia Woolf, A Room Of Ones Own, 1929

[cambriancrew]

There's a big difference between polyminds and endogenic systems.

With polyminds, you're recognizing parts of your own personality - the part of your brain that's anxious all the time. The part that nags you like your mother used to, in her voice. Your inner child. The part of you that comes out when you have to give a speech that can do it without breaking a sweat. The part of you that really loves Legos and dreams of building an entire room in your house out of them.

Endogenics aren't giving names to parts of one personality. Each member in an endogenic system has their own subparts. We're more separated than in a polymind - we don't all aquiesce at the end of the day to one overarching ego. We each have our OWN id, ego, and superego. We each have our own inner child, inner critic, inner Lego fan (LOL) etc.

What's more, we're each people, with all that entails. We have our own thoughts and opinions. Hopes and fears. Motivations. Reasons for living. Senses of self, gender, sexuality, identity. Patterns of thinking and behaving.

We're not simple parts of one person. Not even us median systems - we medians may usually be to some degree parts of a whole, but we're more independent than a singlet's or polymind's parts. There's more division between us median facets, and we're much more closer to whole full separate people than in a polymind.

So please don't say or imply that we endogenics should just call ourselves polyminds and separate ourselves from the system community. We're systems. We're many independent entities in the same body and brain, not mere parts of a single person given a name and treated like separate people to help the central individual better understand their own self.

Each endogenic systemmate has their our own selves to figure out. That's what makes us a system.