#<- in case folks have that blacklisted

[duckuwu]

not me just now thinking about how Liam made a character who has the deepest faith and love for his leader, keyleth. and Laura made Imogen. And like it's the twins really enjoy loving on marisha's characters specifically. lol

just like, well we hinted at it in c1, couldn't really do it in c2, but c3 is our time to overwhelm with an abundance of adoration.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Need to Record Asks, will be fucking up your dashboard for a bit today and tomorrow

im gonna spend some time organizing my requests by answering asks and adding them to my master notepad doc, to avoid the dashspam either blacklist “added to notepad” or unfollow me for the next coupla hours

remember that xkit should have a ‘toggle to hide blocked posts’ button so you don’t have a giant dash of ‘this post contains filtered tags’ or feel free to unfollow for a while

all the boxes except dm are closed rn to avoid confusion, they'll stay closed til i get all my shit sorted

the reason i do this is a) to keep shit organized and b) rely on yall in case someone tries to slip super obscure slurs past me again

The plan is to record a week's worth of asks (28 requests) today, and then record another 4 weeks tomorrow evening so that I'm all set up for April

Tomorrow I will be running a quick livestream to write up the cards that need to go up for the following week, sunday at 3pm est

thanks for yalls service folks

[todayisdeadinside]

"they're not being forced to do anything, this is just their job now and they stunt willingly!" are you fucking stupid.

rant incoming, strap in folks.

ive seen a shocking amount of longtime larries lately downplaying the severity of harry and louis' situations, acting as though their signals and codes are "coincidences," and pushing the idea that harry and louis have full control over their PR moves when that has never once been the case in the past 15 goddamn years. and its not just disappointing, its frustrating. where has everyone's critical thinking gone? what changed?

you all talk about how much holivia damaged harry's public image and compare holivia to mcdumblinson, but then in the same breath act like louis is choosing to stunt with zara. is the cognitive dissonance that thick? or are you all now suggesting harry willingly participated in holivia? both of those potential options concern me, frankly.

we can all agree zara is actively damaging louis' public image, right? so, why on earth would louis be stunting with her of his own free will? are you suggesting he's that stupid? because hes not. louis is incredibly intelligent and to pretend hes stupid enough to continue pushing this stunt when its clearly not helping him is insulting.

but i know what question will be begged: "they're multi-millionaires! they're grown men now! dont you think they have the money and freedom now to do what they want?" if that was the case, there wouldnt be anymore stunting. ever. money does not equate to freedom, nor does age. has everyone suddenly forgotten the kinds of contracts these men are under? the professionals they are stuck working for?

in terms of pure financials, yes, they probably could buy out of their contracts. and where would that leave them? blacklisted from the biggest companies in the industry, smeared in retaliation by the media those companies own, and honestly? their lives could be at stake. think of how many incredibly famous artists have died for political reasons or because they challenged the agencies that own them. this isnt to fearmonger, this is to bring up PRECEDENT. precedent you all seem to have willfully forgotten.

but even on top of all that, are we forgetting that these boys have been groomed since they were 16-18? jeff azoff has been scouting harry since 2013, and hes only one example of the terrible people these men have been surrounded by since they were teenagers. harry and louis have never escaped sony. when they respectively escaped syco, they both signed to other labels sony owns. harry has been signed to columbia (and the azoffs) since 2016, and louis has been signed to his companies and labels since 2020 when syco music dissolved. which makes me beg my own question- what the fuck do you all think has changed? in the past 5-9 years (respectively) what do you posit has changed to give harry and louis this freedom youre all claiming they have? theyre still closeted. theyre still being forced to stunt. theyre still being forced to surround themselves with shitty people.

louis looks beyond uncomfortable in every photo with zara. he is clearly not doing this willingly. harry is a genuinely good person, hes not willingly hanging around the likes of KID HARPOON, who GROPED HIM AT THE 2023 GRAMMYS. or did we all forget that? i think we did. zara is from love island, a show louis HATES. shes the type of person he never associates with normally. the azoffs are RIFE with controversy that could make its own fucking masterpost. if you think our harry and louis, two very smart, very kind, very intentional men, are WILLINGLY surrounding themselves with these types of people, you are biting the media koolaid and HELPING THE PROPAGANDA SPREAD.

AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, i want to REITERATE that these two men have been lied to and coerced and groomed since they were teens. that means, in case none of you have ever been in abusive dynamics with authority, that they likely dont know all of their escape options. firstly, their options for escape are few and far between, and at absolute BEST would end their careers and turn them into GP punching bags because of the smear campaigns that would follow any pushback or contract buyouts. secondly, the professionals and lawyers theyve been surrounded with for the past 15 years are all cogs in the industry music machine. even back on TXF we know their lawyers were paid off by syco to push them in the desired direction with what they signed. that was just one reality tv show, and its a microcosm of the industry at large. not only do they have limited options, they dont even know what all of those options are. its not like their abusive managements are gonna tell them how to leave. thats not how this works.

but again, even if they had access to all of their options, even if they had access to unbiased legal advisors, even if they wanted to end their careers- they wouldnt escape without being hurt in some major way. im not talking out of my ass here. look at other cases of major celebrities who have left their labels or publically denounced the industry. look into major artists who have mysteriously died. hell, look into the p. diddy case and the people he put hits out on. open your fucking eyes and look at the precedent you older fans were AROUND FOR. i wasnt even HERE, and i can see it.

my last point is anecdotal, but stick with me here. when you are a victim of an abusive authority figure- in HL's case, the entire industry full of abusive CEOs and managers- for as long as they have (15 years, mind), it becomes less scary to stick to whats familiar. they know its bad, they clearly hate stunting and being closeted, but its a familiar fire to burn in. i know that feeling. i spent 17 years under an abusive authority figure and during the brief windows where i thought i could feasibly get out, i was too scared and far too conditioned to try. taking a stab at HL, id guess this is where theyre at. maybe they could, in some lucky way if everything were to align, escape and minimize the harm they suffer from it. but theyve been conditioned against trying, conditioned against believing in that possibility, and conditioned to go along with what theyre told.

so again i ask, what do you all think changed? why do you think harry and louis are suddenly free to do as they please, after all these years, when theyre still signed to the same companies and still showing signs of distress? when theyre still coding their clothes as a subtle cry for help- which, by the way, never stopped. why on earth did everyone up and decide they stopped coding their clothing? because 1 popular larrie blog said it, and the rest of you parroted it like gospel? was a real reason ever given for that spontainious conclusion, or are you all just reverting back to the comfort of willful ignorance and slurping up the media slop?

nothing has changed with their situations. a lot of you just seem to have stopped fighting for them. its easier to be complacent, to only care about when new music is coming, to not worry about harry and louis as people. to not worry about supporting them and making sure they know that some of us pay attention and know their truth. some of you are losing those tenents, and its upsetting to watch as a newer larrie who has all the conviction in the world to fight for these boys and show them that they are supported.

the attitude ive seen from some of the older larries on here lately is akin to what id expect from the GP, or solos, but not larries. you are all smarter than this and you damn well know it. the downplaying and disregarding of things like louis' plead for our support, the coded clothing, the subtle hints that theyre still being controlled, is actively helping their managers and PR teams sell narratives like mcdumblinson. through your complacency, saying everything is "just a coincidence" or "the boys' choice," you are aiding the enemy in their pursuit.

this fandom has lost enough voices. i dont want to watch the remaining prominant voices turn into blind sheep and merge with the GP. thats the last thing HL need right now, in such an age of ignorance and finding comfort in participating in a lie. do better, reopen your eyes that i know must have been open at some point for you to become larries. not for some random tumblr user, but for harry and louis. they need all the support they can get right now.

[safftums]

consider this a sequel to my “you’re okay for liking vore” post: i think another thing a lot of folks in fetish communities, specifically vore in this case, need to internalize, is to just live and let live.

don’t like fatal? cool, but at least be polite to people who do. like fatal? great, same courtesy applies. not into other holes being used for vore? you can literally just blacklist tags and/or block. hate irl vore? block button’s right there, buddy.

blocking isn’t a moral thing. it’s literally just a means of curating your content. i’ve blocked for a lot of reasons, from people being underage, to posting about cock vore, to spamming ai pics, to just having bad vibes. it is okay to block if the content someone posts just isn’t to your tastes.

in the grand scheme of things, if no harm is done, let people be. we are literally playing pretend about eating people.

[anistarrose]

So the thing is, if people ship characters who are explicitly not into romance (whether aromantic or otherwise), that ultimately doesn't affect me on a level beyond "annoyance" — I can blacklist tags, and blacklist or block people who don't tag it. What I have to ask myself every time I see these things, however, is this:

"Does this reflect how this person feels about romance-averse people in real life? Does this reflect how this person treats romance-averse people in real life?"

Because how someone engages with fiction doesn't have to be a reflection of how they treat real people, obviously — and in this case, I would of course hope that it isn't. But if you know anything about what being aromantic is like, in real life or on the Internet... you'll understand why I'm not optimistic.

Thinking two characters are so cute together that you reject a bunch of their characterization to make it happen is just annoying, not a crime! But the second you make the leap to telling a real human person things like:

"I don't care how much you say you're not interested, because you just won't realize that you and X would make such a cute couple,"

or:

"I don't care how much you say you're not interested, because you're clearly just in denial which the Right Person has to come along and fix,"

or:

"But — but — but not falling in love is just so tragic! I want you to be happy, not sad and lonely your whole life!"

like the rationales that apparently motivate so many people to ship? Then that has crossed the line into harming real people.

I don't actually think that shipping aromantic characters is the primary cause in the cause-effect diagram, when it comes to the correlating the shipping with "likelihood to say these terrible, invalidating, autonomy-undermining things to real people." Precisely, I don't think it's a cause to a meaningful degree when you compare with the opposite direction — I think people who say these things to real aromantics (or anyone else who just isn't interested!), because of what they think about these real people, are in turn more likely to think amatonormative things about fictional characters. I think that there exists a feedback loop to some extent, because fiction can influence people's beliefs to some degree, but it's not symmetric. Real-life amatonormativity causes mass amatonormativity in fandom spaces.

So... at this point, do you see why aromantic people in fandom get a little defensive about aro characters, and about other characters who overlap with aro experiences? You see why we get kind of pissy when people very selectively throw a very specific part of their characterization out the window? You see why we maybe don't want to associate with those people? Why it makes us so uncomfortable?

"Stop shipping romance-repulsed characters," in my opinion, is a understandable outcry from the community that I obviously sympathize with — but it nevertheless conceals the core of the issue, especially from non-aromantics who aren't living with amatonormativity shoved down their throats at all times, and therefore might not be able to read between the lines. At the core, this isn't actually a debate about the morality of shipping in fiction, despite overlap with that discourse on the surface.

The real cry for change isn't "stop shipping that character." It's "start accepting me for who I am, without trying to either undermine or mourn it at every opportunity." Because at the moment, the overlap between people who erase fictional aromanticism and real aromanticism is significant — and even where they don't overlap, you know what? Romance-averse folks just trying to live in peace can't fucking tell the difference.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

On that note (regarding "PCU did good" thing), I would like to add that when my old Guild was approached by the PCU to participate the War of Thorn, we had to decline due to our own event at the time. We were a relatively small Guild with solid numbers but when we told them no, it was like a majority of the RP scene ignored us completely. It was heartbreaking to experience to see people just leave and would later fall apart when BFA was released. I would never forgive them for that. Ever.

Many such cases of the PCU players weaponizing the act of curation and corrupting into nothing more than creating blacklists of innocent players for no reason other than perceived slights to their ego. Our long term readers will recall the BFA era was when we here at CoAD began to methodically document all these cases of abuse.

We have nothing but the deepest sympathies to you and your friends were ostracized for not bending the knee. We can only hope that there is a small level of vindication for you knowing that the PCU have become reviled and hated to most decent folk on the server.

[autumnslance]

Hey Aeryn, I was wondering what you recommend to get past FOMO and overthinking. I know I shouldn't feel this way but I can't shake it. I want to play all of the story but I start to feel anxious. I start overthinking and second-guessing and the cycle starts again. I have a WOL I'm enjoying writing but I can't get her to translate in-game. Any advice?

I admit, I don't often get FOMO, but when I do, I stop and ask myself: is this something I actually want to do? A place I actually want to go? An experience I need? An item I want? Or am I just reacting to others, especially friends, having fun and talking about a thing together, so it's pinging a social desire/need?

Cuz I can interact and talk with my friends in other ways and places. I don't have to do all the things they do, play the games they play, etc. I use in built filters and blacklists on my social media to not see things about games/shows/etc that I don't want hear about, and I stop following a lot of (usually sideblogs) accounts that deal with those topics. When I left WoW behind, I dropped a lot of those blogs, for instance.

(I think some people would be happier if they put down media they don't actually enjoy but only watch/play because the people in their lives do.)

What about playing the game is making you anxious? Is it doing the content? Most can be done solo now, but friends can help with the stuff that can't be, or there's always duty finder. Is it story and character direction? Afraid things will happen to your faves, or they'll grown and change in ways you don't care for? That's a risk in any ongoing media, and up to an individual where their "I'm done" point is where they don't enjoy that lore and canon anymore, and then make the decision to change it in fanfiction or drop the story altogether.

With everyone talking about new content right now, even trying to keep spoilers under wraps, it can be rough for sure. Everyone has opinions! And screenshots! And there's new fanfic!

Is the anxiety because of the WoL you started writing, and how she doesn't "translate" in game, and afraid the lore will continue to make that harder?

In that case, look at what the character is, what you've written...and what the character (your subconscious, really) is telling you they actually are, or need. If they don't fit the canon lore...It's OK. Change the story to fit as needed. Or....play through it and see what ends up working after all, with the benefit of knowledge.

You can't lock a character in stone; a story happens because characters want something (large or small), and in the course of the story they are changed in some way (large or small). WoL is an anime protagonist with plotstrong abilities and gifts that give players a lot of leeway in any direction. Some people don't play WoLs at all. Their OC is a person they roleplay and write about in the setting, the plot happens to someone else, and they just play the video game with that avatar.

So what isn't "translating"? Is it appearance related that can't be done without mods and artwork? Disabilities that likewise are tricky to show in game (which assumes a mostly able-bodied WoL)? A backstory that seems to not fit (the world's bigger than what we see)? A lot of detailed backstory and supporting cast that now make you feel boxed into a corner?

It can be hard, seeing people with deeply developed stories and characters and supporting cast, but you also have to remember: a lot of that is built over time. Aeryn didn't have nearly the detailed list of relatives to start, didn't have the "dad was a secret heretic" backstory until 4 years into playing her. I still haven't named all of Dark's siblings. I've seen some folks entirely rewrite their characters cuz something in an expansion spoke to them and it made more sense and made them happier than what they did before.

When I start overthinking a character story, I put the backstory away, and just play them for a bit. I keep a vague idea of what I think their personality might be, what reactions would seem right. And then I let "them" guide me as I play. And sometimes what a character tells me ends up far more interesting. Or I find the stuff I was anxious about adding to them...ends up being canon, or at least working out, anyway.

And if the concern is what other people will think about one's WoL....well, you can't control what others think. And trying to please everyone leaves you with a milquetoast bland sop who isn't interesting at all. Care about the character you want to write, even if that changes, and make them as interesting as you want.

I was saying in a convo yesterday that the shrieking about "Mary Sue and how to not be one" caused lasting societal trauma and people are still afraid of giving characters interesting traits and stories. A person was anxious about giving their WoL traits that might make them 'too much' or 'too special' but they're traits WoL canonically has. We're in an anime story as anime protagonists, be wild and weird. Not everyone will like it, and that's good, actually. Cuz others will love it, and it means you gave your writing and characters personality.

Final Fantasy XIV is a game that 90% of the time, the content isn't going anywhere. You go at your pace, you enjoy the story and side content. There's a lot, after 11 years. Do what you gotta to avoid spoilers, gushing, complaining, or otherwise talk about content you're not in yet to reduce the worry everyone else is having fun while you're spinning wheels a few expacs back. Figure out what you enjoy and love about the game, and focus on that for awhile. Let your WoL breathe, and just play without plotting out how they translate or fit, and remember stories aren't set in stone; they have to be malleable. Especially when trying to write/roleplay in someone else's world!

You should be in this for yourself. Because you find it fun, relaxing, enjoyable to experience. Because you want to tell a character's story even if it takes a hard left turn from canon lore. And if you have to mute and filter out and block some things and people on social media or chat or whatever, do what works for you. But when overthinking, turn that around and interrogate yourself: "OK, why do I feel this way? Why would this be bad? Do I want this or am I trying to follow the crowd?" Make lists, pros and cons. Figure out if it's actually FOMO and anxiety...or if you're trying to tell yourself something and you're just not listening.

Give yourself grace. This game is just one piece of our life's tapestry, and while there's probably friends who want to see you clear content, the world won't end if you don't catch up to the current patch right away, or write a 200k fic about your WoL's life by year's end, either. Go at your pace.

[lol-jackles]

(Li 1) I revisited a former favorite tag of mine, the tag "jaawy" at the tumblr blog likestarsonearthj2. After years of shock at JA's true face, I wanted to see for myself how his real horrible self was obvious but I couldn't see it in his pics & gifs under the tag (short for Jensen Ackles Always Watching You, the blogger's tag for when JA is looking at JP). And... it's like a completely different person! Was he "on" (acting like he cared abt JP I mean) nonstop? BTS, onstage? I just... wow.

I've always said the J2's codependent-ish friendship came first, and the (platonic) Wincest came afterwards. Writers write what they see in front of them. It's why I don't blame Tinhatters for thinking they’re in a relationship or J2 shippers for shipping them.

Jared was 22 when he was suddenly a lead of a show and responsible for the livelihood of 300 people (150 crewmen plus their families) to pay their rent and their kids’ colleges.  I would be surprise if Jared didn't turn to Jensen for support and became dependent on him to some degree to quell his anxiety.  Except people are not medicine and eventually Jared would realize that.

Jared might feel that he owes Jensen because he convinced Jared not to quit in season 3 or 4 due to mental health issues. If Jared had broke his contract before the show was syndicated (and why Kripke was "losing sleep"), then he would have been blacklisted by furious producers for costing them lucrative licensing deals because shows rarely survive without their lead actor. Jared publicly credited Jensen for convincing him not to leave and now Jared is a lead on another successful show, so Jared’s success is in part due to Jensen even though Jensen was looking out for himself at the time.

Jensen needs Jared to stay with Supernatural not only to keep the cash cow going, but to benefit from Jared's work ethics and business acumen. As the "Taker" in their codependent relationship, Jensen relied on Jared to assume or soften the negative consequences for his actions as well as compensate for his under-functioning.    Jared the "Giver" was a people-pleaser and cleans up the messes other people have made, lie or make excuses and pretend things are OK when they’re not.  Givers like Jared don't empower, instead they enable and make things worse.

Jensen knew 2 years before the series finale that Jared was leaving SPN, and from his pov, Jared has been leaving him for 2 years. In my experience with acquaintances who are Takers, they do not feel good enough for their Giver, and becomes resentful because they feel the Givers undermines their sense of competence.  Then the Takers tries to take the "mature" route by avoiding texting or talking to their Giver while feverishly working on themselves or their jobs.  in Jensen’s case, the prequel spinoff project.  Jensen planning a prequel spinoff without Jared’s knowledge is his twisted way of being “good enough” for Jared. 

At least that's my take based on witnessing some real life emeshed and codependents folks.

[aeroargonic]

Genuine question: do you folks like it when I share my art online? Because it feels like I'm often being ignored. I have severe paranoia about being blacklisted in online spaces for reasons I don't understand or are never properly explained to me (yes, it has happened in the past and it cost me so many friendships).

So unfortunately, and I know this is extreme, I can't help but take radio silence as the worst case scenario. I understand I can't please everyone; that I may not be everyone's cup of tea and that's alright. But still, I can't deny the fact that it stings to just feel so ignored all the time. It's draining and exhausting to work myself up over literally nothing like this.

I like drawing and I like sharing my creations with people, and perhaps this is a selfish mindset to have, but if nobody genuinely cares, what is the point of me running this blog then?

[pjstafford]

Not An Actual Review of the Movie a Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is an excellent movie highlighted by truly amazing acting and musical performances.  Most people who are familiar with Dylan’s career and/ or the history of the sixties likely have some basic details about the Newport Folk music where Dylan “went electric” and started to play rock and roll instead of acoustic folk music and protest songs.   It is an unusual occurrence for a change of genre of music to be considered not only significant in the artist’s career but a major historical event with potential repercussions for the civil rights and peace movements of the day.  It is enough of a historical event for a book to be written on the fiftieth anniversary of the event and now a movie is to be made.  It’s true Dylan isn’t an ordinary artist.  But from the distance of time, I never understood it.  As much as I love Dylan and as much as I understand the history- it always sounded a little absurd to me.  Dylan changed his genre of music and people got so mad that there were rumors a peaceful, peaceful man like Peter Seeger would try to cut his wires with an axe.  On a subsequent tour people bought tickets to boo him, call him Judas and throw things at him.  People staged protests marches outside of his home because he wouldn’t’ write a protest song.   People believed that his songs could lead to full equality of African Americans and bring peace to the world and if he didn’t write them that might not happened.  Dylan refused because he wanted to play rock and roll.  He chose rock and roll over full equality and world peace.  I mean it all seems absurd. 

The movie really helps to set the stage for how the event came to be.  It was a strange time.  It’s helpful to be transported, through the power of a movie, to a place and time – a distant past so we can understand how this all occurred.  It’s not an easy task though to portray such a time and space. 

I mean first you must understand that in the United States of American there were powerful congressmen who were true fascists.  They wrapped everything they did and said in patriotism although often the people they were going after were people who simply believed that all people had inalienable rights.  They would label them as communists, unamerican, woke… oh, wait, that last one might be another time I’m thinking of.   Then, they would silence them by blacklisting which meant they couldn’t perform or sing their songs.  So, performers who were very successful could suddenly be, like… we would call it canceled.  And some of the courts upheld the decisions these powerful congressman  would make.   And the world wasn’t at peace at all.  We were afraid of nuclear attacks.  If you can imagine, children in school had to do drills where they would learn to shelter in place, get under desks or in a closet.   Can you imagine children going through drills as to how to shelter in place in case of an attack?  Some people begin to think the end of the world was possible.  Also, women had no reproductive rights.   Abortion was illegal. 

I mean when you put yourself in that time you can understand how people were desperate for hope and how absurd things could happen.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Need to Record Asks, will be fucking up your dashboard for a bit

im gonna spend some time organizing my requests by answering asks and adding them to my master notepad doc, to avoid the dashspam either blacklist “added to notepad” or unfollow me for the next coupla hours

remember that xkit should have a ‘toggle to hide blocked posts’ button so you don’t have a giant dash of ‘this post contains filtered tags’ or feel free to unfollow for a while

all the boxes except dm are closed rn to avoid confusion, will open em when i wake up tomorrow

the reason i do this is a) to keep shit organized and b) rely on yall in case someone tries to slip super obscure slurs past me again

For now, I need to record 56 asks to the writing doc (two weeks worth)

Tomorrow I will be running a quick livestream to write up the cards that need to go up for the following week, monday at 3pm est

thanks for yalls service folks

[leftistfeminista]

On Paul Robeson's 126th birthday, I would like to celebrate one of his lesser known songs. His rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy with his own interpretive translation of the lyrics. It captures the humanistic spirit of the Enlightenment, French Revolutionary and Romanticist eras in which Beethoven worked. And the egalitarian ideas Robeson championed. Those who struggle are supported and those who might dominate are kept in check. It is the deepest level of solidarity and fraternity where none are allowed to fall. A powerful antidote to an age of unchecked individualism, competition, cruelty and glorification of strength for its own sake.

..Build the road of peace before us, Build it wide and deep and long Speed the slow and check the eager, Help the weak and curb the strong. None shall push aside another, None shall let another fall March beside me, oh, my brothers, 

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

Paul Robeson Sings For The Underdog 

During his career, vocalist Paul Robeson usually avoided singing classical music, once stating that European traditions had “nothing in common with the history of my slave ancestors.” He almost exclusively devoted himself to spirituals, protest songs and folk ballads, championing the oppressed through music. That was certainly the case with his unlikely but devoted relationship with group of working-class miners in Wales, whom Robeson supported in their protests against low wages and unsafe working conditions.

On the occasion he did perform classical works, he reframed them as folk music. Robeson’s “Ode to Joy” replaces the orchestra with a single piano, and he opts to sing in English rather than German, driving home the message of brotherhood to his English-speaking audiences. Robeson’s leftist politics lead to his blacklisting during the McCarthy Era, leaving him unable to travel with a revoked passport. So when the Welsh miners invited him to perform at a festival 1957, his only choice was to sing across the sea via a transatlantic telephone line. He dedicated his version of “Ode to Joy” to the crowd of 5,000, supporting their struggle for what he called “a world where we can live abundant and dignified lives.”

Chilean Women Protest A Violent Dictator

In 1973, military dictator Augusto Pinochet assumed power in Chile and oversaw the imprisonment and torture of tens of thousands of people belonging to opposition groups. At the risk of their own lives, female protesters gathered outside torture prisons to sing the “Himno a la Alegria,” a hymn based on “Ode to Joy,” to bring hope to those being held inside. You can see a clip of the protest in the documentary Following the Ninth: 

Another of his lesser known performance is of Luther's famous hymn, which launched in the religious sphere the bourgeois democratic revolt against Medieval Feudalism.

While we are still a long, long ways away from the just society Robeson dreamed of, we have at least made some progress from the McCarthyist days in which he was blacklisted, to being officially recognized today in our nation's capital.

[woodchipp]

Alright, so

That post about Mari from a couple of days ago? Frankly, that was an embarassing mistake on my part. I deleted it because I could see just how trollish it sounded. The best outcome I can hope for is that the folks over at the subbreddit had a good laugh and forgot about it, but considering they didn't even bother to blot out my handle (despite bashing me for not tagging my critique appropriately), I doubt that'd be the case.

Either way, this is a heads-up - from now on, OMORI's main tags will be used mainly for the more serious posts and analyses that don't have the overly confrontational tone. Most of the caustic shitposts and complaints will be tagged with "#omori critical", which people may use for blacklisting.

Be seeing you soon.

[raideoarts]

Hey just a little psa type thing real quick, I see a lot of folks reblog my work with many of the slightly different but mostly redundant tags I add to it when I post like for example:

Thus spoke kishibe rohan drama, thus spoke kishibe rohan, kishibe rohan, rohan kishibe (etc...)

and that is fine if you's like to continue doing that for your own archiving purposes! I know sometimes I can't remember what my exact tag is so rather than taking chances I will put it in both. But it doesn't serve much of a purpose for visibility of reblogs, the only time it matters as far as people following tags and getting searching tags on tumblr is on the original post, after that if you reblog something from other people and add tags it's mostly for 1: blacklisting purposes so that your own follower's filters can catch it or 2: so you can search for it and have it organized and archived in your own blog 👍 (and 3: I guess little comments can go in tags too)

It's not something that bothers me I just figured I'd mention it in case yall were going through all that extra work with the intent of helping me (i appreciate the thought!) honestly just reblogging it at all helps :3 💖

[sheydim]

NOTICE as of 2/22/24: i have been posting a lot of Palestine stuff. it's not consistently tagged as Palestine. there is occasional graphic content, and i DO reliably tag that as "graphic tw" / "graphic cw", "graphic description of violence" or in some cases "child death". such content may include body bags and, very rarely, the deceased themselves if not particularly graphic. i reblog this kind of thing to keep some accountability in circulation -- and because we cannot look away. we must be ruffled from our complacency. HOWEVER. please take care of yourself. use a blacklist if you will find this triggering. there are other ways to bear witness. there are abundant resources on my blog and all over tumblr. much love to you, my friends.

uhhh i've been putting this off for like years but. pinned post?

you can call me any of the things people on the internet have through the years. sheyd, tepsul, corv, any of my actual names if we're in the DMs, whatever you like.

about me...?

i don't always tag things consistently. and i talk to myself a LOT in the tags.

i have been on tumblr since 2012ish? i took a hiatus from posting for a few years, but still lurked and managed my archives on my sideblogs. now i'm back! i can't tell who anyone is now, but if we interacted, i still miss you and think of you. (srry tho, i kind of sucked then.)

i work in Book World in various ways. which is to say: the creation of texts, the various stages of production of what will become books, and their distribution. i have to interface with trad pub a lot, but my heart is more oriented towards indie and DIY and small press. working on it! <3

i have multiple sideblogs that may reblog from you. i'm not usually willing to confirm those usernames to you tho because this is my personal anonymous-ish corner of the web! in all honesty, this blog feels less like my main than the others. if i could change it, i would.

i suspect no one who would fit my DNI would even linger here for very long. so i don't really need one. just don't suck, okay? i think we can handle that!! :P and if i follow you or interact and you don't want me there, feel free to block me; you have a right to your space!

about me?? but personal this time

my pronouns are they/them. i'm bi but also... it's complicated. i'm polyam and very sex positive. y'know, ethical slut stuff. i'm seeing a few folks right now. do people care about anything else?...

if you're trans, i love you. thank you. i hope you are pleasantly surprised by something today.

some tags i use a lot:

writing

life stuff

jew tag

trans tag

feelgood

book world

some other tags i'm slowly building:

taking action

the world to come

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Note to self: do not stitch in every ditch when there are so many ditches to stitch.

It took nearly 11 hours to machine quilt June's Joy, and today shall be spent binding it. Then pics to see a before and after washing because the effect is always fascinating. I rarely prewash fabrics because we use a laundromat, and it will cost more money to get it done. When we have a working washing machine (ideally a Speed Queen because they make the laundromat machines), there will always be a prewash. This means less shrinkage, yes, but it also means the risks of fabric bleeding will be greatly diminished. Toss in some salt, a couple color catchers, and wash with like colors. Can't really do "with like colors" for a finished quilt.

After the binding, I'm likely to read my Dragon Age comics again, while typing out notes. I'm a HUGE DA fan, and intend will be preordering the game as soon as that comes available. I may not be able to play it when it arrives due ot the lack of a necessary console (XBox Series X), but I will have a copy of the game...and blacklist all things Dragon Age until I can play. Just in case I do get to play when it's released, I'll be giving my hands necessary rest so using my controller won't cause me problems or worsen current ones.

This means commissions will be for short quick things, and nothing larger than a table runner. It'll be coasters, mug rugs, placemats, and table runners when I open commissions in September. These will all be machine quilted. Commissions will close November 1st, and likely not reopen until next Spring. I'm seriously considering not offering commissions larger than 50x50 inches, simply because of time and the effect on my hands.

If, however, I'm diagnosed with EDS and fitted for and acquire splint rings for my fingers and thumbs, things will be very different. My joints will be stable and I'll be in less pain. I've got several friends and followers here who has suspected I have EDS because of how my hands move, and the other joint issues I have. My kneecaps like to slide out and dislocated, an issue I've had since early childhood, my thighs pop out with little effort and have been doing this for the last five or six years, and my legs collapse accordion style when I try sprinting. Then there's the orthopedic folks I saw for my wrist who told me my elbows, shoulders, wrist, and fingers aren't supposed to bend the way they do. I honestly didn't think it was odd that when I give a thumbs up, my thumb bends back to form a C at an almost 90 degrees backwards. It also appears my bruising like an overripe peach is also a symptom, so that's been interesting to learn. I'm being evaluated on July 5th. Honestly, I'm hoping for the EDS diagnosis. It'd explain sooooo much of why my joints are the way they are, and I can make accommodations for it. Like getting the quilting frame I want/need. Handquilting with the ring splints will also make a HUGE difference.

The ring splints may also result in the controller being easier to hold...after an adjustment period.

A couple physical therapists here told me to get the exercise equipment I have on my wishlist seeing as strengthening my muscles will help keep my joints stable. The muscles will work like natural splints kind of thing. The stuff I want/need, an air walker and squat assist, are relatively inexpensive, but right now we can barely afford groceries and our bills. My husband has a job interview for a dishwasher job today, so let's hope he gets it and it pays a decent amount. Minimum wage in Oregon is I think...$12/hour in our area. Not great, but better than nothing. He wants a relatively mindless job so he isn't so stressed and can focus on things that matter, like painting his miniatures. Stress does not mix well with diabetes nor hypertension after all.

I'm gonna finish my lunch and get back to sewing. When the June's Joy is done and in the laundry, I'm taking another five day break for my hands. It's gonna be boring, but I'll find things to do that won't be so taxing.