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#(those are the other networks mentioned in the articles)
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in view of Netflix and a few other networks apparently announcing that they are no longer requiring actors to wear corsets/stays, but framing it as the ultimate in feminist allyship against an Oppressive Historical Torture-Garment (and presumably typing their press releases one-handed, if you catch my drift), I have a few things to say:
1. I presume they will also be condemning Spanx, dieting, weight loss surgery, obsessive exercise, breast or pectoral or ab implants, Flat Tummy Tea, editing actors’ bodies in post, etc. since this is all about promoting healthy body image. ...right?
2. Okay, this one is not tongue-in-cheek: if a costume designer forces you to wear massively uncomfortable stays or corsets and tells you your discomfort is an inherent feature of that garment type, they are lying. All the articles on this cited reports from actresses saying they threw up because of Regency stays or couldn’t eat in Edwardian corsets. And while  I’m sure some of that is giving interview audiences the sensationalism they want to hear, I believe them in general. 
Someone needs to tell them that that’s not normal.
I have worn corsets and stays a lot in my life. I know people who wear them as everyday support garments. And neither I nor anyone I know has been seriously hindered in normal activities by them. There are even photos and videos of women from corset-intensive eras climbing glaciers, playing sports, having snowball fights, doing manual labor...living their lives
 Sure, there have always been and will always be people who find corsets or stays inherently uncomfortable- that’s why it’s good to have many support garment options available for people who need them. And there have always been and will always be ill-made, ill-fitting, or extreme examples of the type- I’m not  saying corsets are always The Most Comfortable Thing Ever For Everyone, because that’s not universally true of any garment.
But these production companies have been hurting actresses under the guise of “historical accuracy,” and this latest pronouncement is just another attempt to shift the blame. 
Don’t let them get away with it.
EDIT: Apparently the Official nature of the source for this announcement is in question, but the gist of the post still stands, so I’m leaving it up. Will edit further if new developments arise.
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river-taxbird · 6 months
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There is no such thing as AI.
How to help the non technical and less online people in your life navigate the latest techbro grift.
I've seen other people say stuff to this effect but it's worth reiterating. Today in class, my professor was talking about a news article where a celebrity's likeness was used in an ai image without their permission. Then she mentioned a guest lecture about how AI is going to help finance professionals. Then I pointed out, those two things aren't really related.
The term AI is being used to obfuscate details about multiple semi-related technologies.
Traditionally in sci-fi, AI means artificial general intelligence like Data from star trek, or the terminator. This, I shouldn't need to say, doesn't exist. Techbros use the term AI to trick investors into funding their projects. It's largely a grift.
What is the term AI being used to obfuscate?
If you want to help the less online and less tech literate people in your life navigate the hype around AI, the best way to do it is to encourage them to change their language around AI topics.
By calling these technologies what they really are, and encouraging the people around us to know the real names, we can help lift the veil, kill the hype, and keep people safe from scams. Here are some starting points, which I am just pulling from Wikipedia. I'd highly encourage you to do your own research.
Machine learning (ML): is an umbrella term for solving problems for which development of algorithms by human programmers would be cost-prohibitive, and instead the problems are solved by helping machines "discover" their "own" algorithms, without needing to be explicitly told what to do by any human-developed algorithms. (This is the basis of most technologically people call AI)
Language model: (LM or LLM) is a probabilistic model of a natural language that can generate probabilities of a series of words, based on text corpora in one or multiple languages it was trained on. (This would be your ChatGPT.)
Generative adversarial network (GAN): is a class of machine learning framework and a prominent framework for approaching generative AI. In a GAN, two neural networks contest with each other in the form of a zero-sum game, where one agent's gain is another agent's loss. (This is the source of some AI images and deepfakes.)
Diffusion Models: Models that generate the probability distribution of a given dataset. In image generation, a neural network is trained to denoise images with added gaussian noise by learning to remove the noise. After the training is complete, it can then be used for image generation by starting with a random noise image and denoise that. (This is the more common technology behind AI images, including Dall-E and Stable Diffusion. I added this one to the post after as it was brought to my attention it is now more common than GANs.)
I know these terms are more technical, but they are also more accurate, and they can easily be explained in a way non-technical people can understand. The grifters are using language to give this technology its power, so we can use language to take it's power away and let people see it for what it really is.
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fairuzfan · 8 days
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Ok genuine response on Haaretz, they're like peak liberal zionism that's very clearly Israeli centric with only marginal concerns about Palestine in how it affects the Israeli image. People give then props for "nonbiased" reporting a lot but they're so biased and you can see it just by looking into who writes their articles before even reading the article itself. Like the reporters have obvious biases that shows through their writing and know how to use "peace" as a weapon against Palestinians especially. And people compare it with like Aljazeera and other Arab government owned networks and by comparison say "at least Haaretz isn't owned by the Israeli government" when the journalists participate in the IDF themselves and have family members who participate and friends like that is so biased. The definition of biased. They have a direct familial or relationship tie with the IDF and by extension the Israeli government so how in the world can you say "well I hate aljazeera cuz it's owned by qatar" (and I've talk on this blog that each region is managed by different people and different things — I can personally tell you I know people who have left aljazeera because of censorship so it's definitely still there don't get me wrong) but like completely neglect to mention that former idf soldiers and family members of the idf are involved in with Haaretz either directly or indirectly and don't give me the "they're civilians" if you served or know someone intimately who served in the idf then yeah you're not a reliable reporter because you'll always be thinking of reputation and how it will affect you.
Sometimes they do have stories that are kind of worth the read like how they published israel poisoning wells in 1948 to get Palestinians to leave, but those I think are random editors and individuals and not the norm in Israel. So like yeah they suck.
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fataldrum · 1 year
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Who's Afraid of Bad Attempts at Journalism?
Some of you may have seen a callout post on Medium about Rusty Quill. The author claims to have spoken with a number of people who worked with RQ. The allegations are worth considering, but they should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.
I have trouble taking the callout post seriously for a number of reasons.
The author is head of marketing for Fable & Folly. They initially failed to mention this, but later added this incredibly defensive note: "Editor’s Note: [name] is currently the Marketing Director for Fable & Folly Network, but has worked as an independent creator and journalist for longer." That's a huge conflict of interest.
2. I'm not seeing any evidence that this person is a "journalist." They don't list it on the resume on their website. If they are a journalist, they're not doing it on Medium with (as of this writing) 47 followers.
3. The article title is pure clickbait. It suggests Alex J. Newall is someone to be afraid of and makes vague allegations of RQ showing "aggression," but he's barely mentioned in the article at all. It's an unnecessarily inflammatory title, but that's what they seem to want: to stir drama.
4. The article uses TMA character names as pseudonyms. This was extremely distracting and gave the whole post a weird, cartoonish vibe. As was the decision to use the phrase, "Make your statement, face your fear" to link the post.
5. The article depends entirely on anonymous sources. While anonymous sources are necessary sometimes, the problem is that no one can independently verify what they said. They claim the sources asked to be anonymous because they were afraid RQ would retaliate and ruin their careers, or the fandom would attack them. That may be true. Or it may be because they signed NDAs, which would make it illegal to publicly discuss what happened. An NDA would be a good reason not to come forward, but unfortunately, we can't ask them about it, because they're anonymous.
6. They claim RQ has threatened to sue multiple people--okay, what were the circumstances? It literally never comes back up. Were these NDA violations? Breach of contract? No clue, they don't bother to elaborate.
7. They talk about salaries in different currencies without converting, in the same paragraph. Then they bring up the rates for freelance audio engineers, as if freelancers don't generally get higher rates than in-house staff.
8. The author is finding posts on Twitter and blocking anyone who disagrees with them. I've never interacted with the author, but they found my post and blocked me and others on the thread for daring to criticize the article. That alone speaks volumes about their professionalism. (And also explains why I didn't find any critical comments when I first looked: they're probably all banned).
There are doubtlessly far more issues with the post, but those are just the ones that were immediately apparent.
None of this is to say I think RQ is a well-run company. The dismissive treatment of their server mods alone tells me they have serious problems. But we should all think carefully when we read the allegations in the post, and consider the credibility and motivations of the author.
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geekandmisandry · 23 days
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listen while i generally (begrudgingly) agree that if it does come down to just trump and biden, then it's better to vote biden, as much as it sucks to do so — do you really still believe the "russian psy-op tumblr blogs" thing was real, and not just a systematic purging of PoC social justice bloggers? like i've never seen an actual source on those claims — including in that article you linked — beyond "tumblr said so" (and as recent events should show, they're not exactly the most reliable source of information). even that lagonegirl post you reblogged to make a point just looks like a regular case of "knee-jerk posting about a headline without reading the whole article" at worst, not some evil agenda
I'm pretty confused as to why anyone would think there would be a benefit to suddenly purging a lot of these random social justice blogs. In terms of content, lagonegirl for example, was hardly anything ground-breaking or even the most well-known sjw blogger out there.
And given that the lagonegirl blog was in the news, in articles, their alleged picture was circulated...I find it odd that lagonegirl has never ever responded. Never gotten a Twitter to talk about how it was unfair, never reached out to a news organisation to get them to take it down. Nothing. Complete silence.
And let's not forget that, while a lot of users might have heard of this story through the email, there were investigations outside of Tumblr that had identified these blogs and were reaching out to news outlets to try and pressure Tumblr to answer, because they wouldn't.
Jonathan Albright is an investigative journalist and digital forensics researcher. He was able to gather the data, not to mention a lot of these Tumblr accounts have been linked to other accounts (by themselves, they said it was them) on Twitter and Reddit that were also shut down on other platforms as being non-authentic.
I think the idea that it is just "knee jerk" and not an "evil agenda" is severely underestimating propaganda. Propaganda is less effective when you know it is propaganda, obviously. While repeated expose can wear down your psychological defenses it is much easier when those defenses are not up.
So, it has to be something that you are likely to believe or want to believe for it to be effective propaganda.
Sharing these things uncritically is common, frustrating but common, sharing them in a network of people who all interacted with the same few blogs, sharing their content, with seemingly minor things that are incorrect or falsified. It has a name: soft propaganda.
The design of it is to coerce and manipulate. And on social media that is widely accessible to all, that is often the shape it takes.
Think about it this way. Let's just say you are a propaganda peddler, you have been hired to, say, spread fear about "15 minute cities" in leftist spaces, how do you do it?
You need to be as effective as possible, so you need to tap into the place where right and left meet: distrust of the government.
There were also a number of blogs pointing out that the aave patterns shared by those blogs just...didn't fit. They felt they had an imposter. Aave patterns are pretty hard for those outside of the know to recognise and leads to a lot of, in this case, weird uses of emojis and "fukk dis" kind of language.
Also, while it may not fulfil your needs, here is a Buzzfeed article from before Tumblr released their list. If I saved it correctly, since I accidentally published this too early. And a Wired one.
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55sturn · 3 months
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.𖥔 ݁ ˖ BEEN AWAY
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↳ masterlist!
↳ summary: in which y/n grows tired of chris constantly being whisked away on business trips and taken to fancy parties every weekend, she knows it’s part of the job but it’s taking a heavy toll on their relationship and she can’t take anymore.
↳ pairings: chris sturniolo × female!reader
↳ warnings: swearing, chris is stressed and kind of a dick, mentions of parties, implied sex, i lowkey shit on laura in this sorry not sorry, angst angst angst, oh and more angst!
↳ important things to note: this is completely fictional, i truly don’t think that chris would act the least bit toxic, like the way i’ve portrayed him in this piece or at all!
↳ important notes pt 2: purple text blocks are the lyrics that each part are based off of. during the text section, orange text is chris, and pink text is the reader!
THIRD PERSON POV
“I KNOW I BEEN AWAY, I’M JUST TRYNA GET MY PAPER STRAIGHT GIRL.”
chris sighed as his phone pinged with another text from his girlfriend, with every imessage ping, his heart clenched tighter in his chest.
his trips, more so the business trips that laura and the rest of the triplets’ networking and public relations team were taking them had begun to cause a massive strain on his relationship with y/n.
he would bring her along when he could but laura, his manager was adamant that these trips were meant for the triplets to build their network, so that their brands, the collective one all three shared and their own personal brands could grow and flourish. laura felt that the triplets’ personal relationships had no place in their professional lives and often made a point to exclude their significant others and relationships when planning their trips and events.
so when a trip or event was labelled as something to do with networking, it meant that y/n couldn’t tag along. and most of the time, at these events, the triplets were meant to paint their faces with effortlessly charming smiles and flirt with anyone they could, to gain a good rep.
and while y/n know what those networking trips and events entailed, her knowledge didn’t ease the loneliness and heartache she felt when she’d open up her phone to see backstage footage of the events. her heart would drop as girls would attach themselves to chris, flirting and hanging onto his every word, watching as he’d give the same flirty smile back to them.
y/n sighed tapping cautiously through private snap stories of some influencer party that was taking place, all of the most popular influencers making an appearance and posting about it, per their managers’ requests. as she paused in the middle of larray’s story, she saw chris in the corner, clear as day, talking to some pretty little blonde thing whose hand was on his bicep. rolling her eyes, she opened her texts with her boyfriend.
START OF TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N
Y/N: when are you coming home? i’m tired and i can’t sleep without you
Y/N: chris???
CHRIS: i know i’ve been gone a while ma
CHRIS: i’ll be home soon, just gotta make a couple more rounds and reach out to ppl and offer to collab
Y/N: you say that every time chris
Y/N: and then you don’t come home until 3 or 4
Y/N: i’m sick of it chris i’m done
CHRIS: come on ma you don’t mean that
Y/N: whatever just be quiet when you get home i’m sleeping on the couch
CHRIS: ma come on, i’ll be home soon
*read 12:31 AM*
START OF TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N
“THEY JUST WANNA FUCK WITH YOU, CAUSE THEY KNOW I FUCK WITH YOU.”
chris sighed as countless articles flood his screen, random female influencers claiming to be in some sort of lowkey relationship with him, random male influencers trying to get at his girl.
he knew it was only because he had finally announced that he and y/n were together. she had her own fanbase prior to be connected to the triplets and it only grew, but the growth came with overly possessive and protective supporters. and it became like that for chris as well. in theory the over and slightly intense protectiveness was endearing, to an extent.
but the fans created these rumours and let them swirl as a way to try and debunk the announcement of chris and y/n’s relationship, almost as if their respective fans were gatekeeping the two.
“do we say something? should we say something?” y/n mumbled, her face tucked into chris’ chest as they talked about the things metaphorically floating around online.
“no.”
“why not?” y/n piped up, her tone almost defensive and accusatory as she pulled away from his chest, her eyes boring into his.
“they’re only doing it because it’s confirmed that we’re fucking with each other. they wanna mess with us, get under our skin, and cause a rift so that we break up so they can try and swoop in. it’s better to pay those rumours no mind.” chris spoke, his hand rubbing up and down her thigh, squeezing lovingly as his hand reached her hip, letting her know that it was okay.
y/n sat up for a moment, letting his words sink in before nodding and laying back down in her previous position, knowing that she had to trust chris.
“IF I PUT MY TRUST IN YOU, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? WOULD YOU JUST STEP OUT? WOULD YOU THUG IT OUT?”
“i need you to trust me y/n! can you do that? can you please just trust me or do you want out of this relationship?” chris yelled, pacing his room as yet another fight broke out between the couple, rumours of chris cheating had been rampant for the last few weeks and it was getting harder for y/n to decipher what was true and what was false.
“i don’t know chris! every day it’s something new about you and some other chick and it’s getting to me! it’s hard to see what’s fake and what’s real right now when the whole online world is against us being together!”
“why are you paying attention to what’s being said online when i am right here telling you myself what’s true and what’s fake?” he yelled back, running his hands through his hair as she cried on his bed.
“chris you literally have to flirt with girls at those parties, what’s stopping it from becoming something real?”
“i don’t know, maybe the fact that i’m with you and not them?”
“chris we met just like that, at some stupid fucking social media party!” she spat, climbing off his bed and grabbing her jacket as he scoffed.
“so you think that just because you and i met that way, it means that i’ll throw away a relationship that means the world to me?” he seethed, laughing dryly as she rolled her eyes.
“no i think that you’ll throw it away because it doesn’t actually mean the world to you.”
“the fuck does that mean, y/n?”
“actions speak louder than words, chris, and you haven’t done a whole lot to show me what i mean to you.” she whispered, grabbing the rest of her things that had been scattered around his room as he shook his head.
“where are you going?”
“i need some space to think chris, we’re not over, but i need to spend a couple nights alone at my place, to calm down and collect myself. you should do the same.” she spoke, her voice small and uneven as she quickly made her exit, leaving chris to think to himself as he flopped down against his mattress.
“DON’T GIVE MY SHIT AWAY, I’M JUST TRYNA GET MY PAPER STRAIGHT, GIRL.”
“c’mon y/n, can’t you just store it somewhere?” chris groaned, trying to focus on the email he was typing up while on facetime with his now ex-girlfriend, y/n who sat on the floor in her apartment, going through a pile of chris’ clothes and other shit that she had rounded up.
“chris i don’t want your shit in my apartment, it hurts to look at it.”
“well whose fault is that?”
“i couldn’t handle it chris, you know that.”
“i know ma, i’m sorry, i’m just stressed and trying to get this email to some fuckin’ company out and i-i can’t do it while you’re sitting on call trying to hide your tears while you’re going through my shit because i prioritized my job over our relationship.” chris whispered, his voice cracked slightly as he looked back at her, watching as she wiped her tears.
“it just hurts so much chris, we should’ve been able to make it through. our love should’ve been strong enough.”
“it’ll be strong enough one day, i just gotta-“
“get through this part of your job, i know chris.”
“so please don’t give away my shit. just store it somewhere until you and i can make it through, okay?”
“okay.”
“THIS PENTHOUSE VIEW AIN’T AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU. DON’T EVER HAVE TIME, BUT I CAN MAKE TIME FOR YOU.”
chris anxiously bounced his leg as he waited for y/n to arrive, he had flown her out to the city he was in for work, and as timid as she was about showing up, she pushed herself to go. she missed him, his smell, his smile, his touch. god missed his hands in hers as they tangled themselves up in the sheets. so instead of being stubborn, she boarded that plane and made her way to chicago.
she stood outside the penthouse hotel room that chris and matt had booked, she felt her stomach turn, she was going to see him again, and god she needed this. with a raised but shaky fist, she rapped her knuckles against the door.
chris and y/n had spent a few hours exploring the city, visiting all the touristy spots that she had been dreaming of seeing for years. once they got back, they both took a hot, steamy shower, and spent their time reminding each other how much they loved one another.
“the view is gorgeous.” y/n whispered, her hair and face tucked into one of chris’ hoodies over a pair of lace panties that left little to the imagination as chris’ arms were wrapped around her waist with his chin tucked into the space between her jaw and shoulder.
“so i talked to laura, told her that i’ll be booking my own networking appointments and trips from now on, i’ll run them by her of course but i told her i’m making my schedule now. and that you’ll be my plus one to every single event, on every trip. you’ll be a part of everything.”
“chris, what?”
“i don’t have much time myself but i made a promise to you and to myself while you were in the flight here, that i will be making time for you. you come before my job from now on.”
“is that why you flew me out here?”
“yeah. you’re my girl and you deserve my time and attention. i’m so sorry i ever made you feel like you didn’t. i love you, ma. you’re more important than flashy trips and parties.”
“i love you chris.” y/n cried, as she turned in his arms and pressing affirm but loving kiss to his lips.
“i got my paper straight ma, it’s our time now.”
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sabertoothwalrus · 2 months
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Hi!! I hope it's okay to ask, which university are you/were you attending? I want to study animation in university but i have no idea which one to choose, so can you please tell me about yours?👉👈
I go to CSUF! It’s definitely one of the cheapest places to get a degree in animation in California, if not the US.
Only a handful of the California State schools offer animation, and most of the ones that do are 3D only, and I wanted to learn 2D.
SJSU has a good 2D anim program, and they’re the only state school in the bay area that does, BUT last I checked you need something like a 3.9 GPA to get in?????? like HELLO these are animation students. who are you fooling
the other schools I considered were CSULB and CSUN.
CSULB has a strong animation program! They have the guy that literally created the worldwide 24 Hour Animation Challenge. However, they required ONE extra art history class that none of the other CSUs needed, and I didn’t have it, and I wasn’t about to prolong transferring a whole other semester just to take it. (It was prehistoric art history, I think, which I admit sounds cool as fuck)
The reason I chose CSUF, beyond liking their curriculum better than CSUN, was because I heard about the Pencil Mileage Club. It’s the largest student-run animation club in Southern California. I’d argue that networking is almost more important than your actual skill. I’ll admit, the faculty is probably not doing as much for the students as other schools, but PMC more than makes up for it. I’ve made all my friends (and girlfriend teehee) through this club. I was president of my Art Club at my community college, so it was important to me to be part of PMC’s council. I’m now an event coordinator and so I help organize and run events and studio tours and guest speakers! :)) Clubs and extracurriculars look fantastic on resumes, so wherever you go, look into what’s available.
Things I should note: when you start at CSUF, whether as a freshman or through transferring, you will not be an animation major yet. You have to do the portfolio review first, and you can’t have any of the prerequisite classes in-progress when you apply. The portfolio requirement is only a few years old, too, and therefore it’s not nearly as competitive as, say… calarts or sheridan. I often say, students make the program better, not the other way around. the higher the level of students that apply, the higher the overall education quality will need to be to match that. Though this does mean that the higher quality a program is, the more people will be excluded, unfortunately.
CSUF’s aniamtion program itself is…. a little silly. You take storyboarding and character design after doing your short film ? for some reason? The new department head started at the school the same semester I did, and she’s definitely trying to make it better. She held a screening of the production classes’ finished films, and she told me she plans to have the curriculum restructured by 2025 (after I graduate, lol).
I’ll also mention that the art buildings are in the process of getting demolished and rebuilt. The first wave of new buildings won’t be done until the end of this year, and once that’s finished, they’ll tear down the remaining two buildings and start remodeling those. For now, we do a lot of our classes in the modular buildings jdhshfjs 🫡
We also have a mated pair of gay ducks that come every spring. Their names are Pebble and Rock. They are beloved by the art students.
And really, you don’t NEED a degree in animation to get into the industry. There are SO many online resources out there, a lot that are free, that can give you just as good of an education (in fact, several of my professors’ lectures have just been playing youtube videos and pulling up articles). BUT your classmates WILL be your future coworkers. If you’re not establishing relationships with people in some way on your own, you definitely need to make that bigger priority. After all, you won’t be working by yourself when you’re in the industry.
edit: oh I forgot to say that all the california state schools are striking the first week of the semester. so uh. there’s that
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(4) TENDER LIKE A BRUISE ─── ethan landry 𖦹
ೃ⁀➷ “The heart is the toughest part of the body. Tenderness is in the hands." — ‘The Country Between Us’, Carolyn Forché
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pairing. spiderman!ethan landry x reader
warnings. swearing, mention of blood, death, alcohol, and sex
summary. after that stint with the spidersuit on halloween, quinn’s getting suspicious… (1) (2) (3) (4)
a/n. sorry for the long wait everyone! also sorry that this is such a short chapter, i sprained my ankle the other day LOL
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iiii.
The night after you save Ethan in the Spidersuit, you and your entire friend group are crowded in the apartment, ready to watch a shitty indie movie Mindy got from her uncle, who was as big a movie-geek as she was. 
First, however, Quinn had flicked on the news. She coursed through every channel, until she stopped on an opinionated broadcast by the name of the Daily Bugle, some obscure network that Ethan had worked at for, like, a year while he was still in highschool.
“He’s kind of, like, the devil,” Ethan told you one time at a diner, a place you landed in since you two couldn’t choose which place you wanted to order at. 
“J. Jonah Jameson seems like a very interesting creature. Devilish for sure, though,” You said, scrolling through the man’s miniscule Wikipedia page, alongside a handful of tweets using his biased shaming as reaction videos. 
Ethan held the plastic-lined menu in his large hands, turning it over to see the other side. “He was big on work ethic, meeting your quota, having to show him every article before it was published, stuff like that. It was really efficient, actually, but he was just… insufferable.” 
“Worst boss ever?”
“Worst boss ever,” Ethan said, shaking his head and taking a sip of his drink - a chocolate milkshake. 
So, it really was a surprise that Quinn was itching to watch his news, practically vibrating out of her skin. Even in general it was uncharacteristic of her, as she always seemed bored to death by the news Sam watched in the morning. 
“Quinn, I thought you hated the news.” Tara said, mild mannered and sitting down next to Mindy. 
“Especially this bald head-ass,” Mindy said, scooching over to make room. 
Quinn waved off everyones protests. “Someone I know is in this.” She then sat on the floor close to the television screen, “I just need to watch this one bit, ‘kay? Then we’ll get to whatever epistolary movie you want, Minds.” 
“It’s not epistolary, it’s a mockumentary about—“
“Yeah, yeah, we get it, Uncle Randy’s got you all educated.” Chad walked in with a pillow, pushing his sister over and plopping down right in between her and Tara. 
You were in the kitchen with Ethan, heating up bags of popcorn in the microwave, when Quinn cranked up the volume of the news way high. You could now hear it from there, and you both caught the segment's tagline. 
“Spiderman’s New Sidekick: Menace, or Martyr? Just last night, the attention-seeking “hero” was seen causing more mayhem in the city of New York. The troublemaker was accompanied by a similar web slinging partner - though still suspiciously hiding their identity. The following clip has been sent anonymously to us.”
The tv network then played a clip of you, fidgeting with the web slingers, clumsily making your way through New York and hitting several garbage cans over in the process. Your suit, however, was encapsulated in darkness, and all anyone could see was that white hood and those big curved eyes the mask had — tell-tale spiderman features. 
Your eyes darted to Ethan’s own, who was wide-eyed and pale. 
Ethan had long grown inured to the media’s attention on him, seeing as he had been doing this spiel for two years now - but you being in the news was a whole other story. 
The boy leaned over, presumably to whisper pretend sweet nothings in your ear (truthfully completely panicked thoughts about you in the suit) when Mindy interrupted your thoughts. 
“Oh my god, Quinn, don’t tell me you’re watching Jameson bash Spiderman because you don’t like him?” Mindy groaned, sinking into the couch. 
Quinn was quiet, which was really just an answer. 
Mindy leaned over from her spot on the couch. “Give me —“ she and Quinn wrestled for the remote, “the remote, I can’t listen to this entitled senior citizen bash Spiderman any longer—“ 
“He’s informing the public about a troublemakers misdeeds—“
“He should be informing the public he’s getting admitted into a senile care home—“ 
Then the two of them landed on the floor with a thud, the microwave went off, and Chad took over Mindy’s space on the couch, artfully “yawning” and placing an arm on Taras shoulder, who gave him a look but didn’t shrug him off. 
Well. So much for a peaceful night. You can see why Sam spent so much time at Danny’s place. 
The majority of you were sporting hangovers, and had wished to experience a relaxing evening, falling asleep to the droning of a Meeks-Martin Movie Recommendation (a name Chad protested everytime you said it, saying, “it’s associating me with Mindy’s movie-geek bullshit”) whose philosophical points generally flew over your head. 
(Hangovers excluding you and Ethan, who had spent the rest of the night patching eachother up, in which you were privy to Ethan’s nursing skills - or more accurately, the lack thereof. 
You had found yourselves once more in the apartment's cramped bathroom, except this time you were getting bandaged up for the scrapes on your elbows. 
You were squirming under Ethan’s touch, his hands in a heavy grip on your forearms. At some point, Ethan had enough of your movement, used his large hands to pull you close by the waist, and continued his idle work on your arms there. 
The manhandling had you so flustered you dared not move for the rest of treatment, turning your head away from the mirror so as not to reveal the terrible blush on your face. 
On the other hand, Ethan was completely oblivious of the nature of his actions, focused on bandaging your wound correctly. 
In the end, despite all the fuss, he forgot to use rubbing alcohol, and didn't know how to tie the bandage, leaving an articulate bow to finish the wraps off instead. Still, you appreciated the effort. 
He had done it in his awkward, stilted way, which was incredibly endearing in its own right.)
Silence flooded the room, until you pulled the popcorn out of the microwave, and you and Ethan poured the bags into their respective bowls for each person. 
Mindy and Quinn then untangled themselves from each other, getting up and wiping the dust of their clothes like nothing had ever happened.
“So,” You said, trying to play it cool, “what’s the deal with Spidey, my boyfriend's boyfriend?” 
Ethan followed from the kitchen, pushing you playfully (and hoping this fake nonchalance was convincing enough). “Turn that nonsense off, Q. Don’t you remember Jameson’s outburst when I quit?”
The man had had a tantrum when Ethan quit the poor summer job he was working in their offices. 
Ethan got the job in the first place because his dad was part of the NYPD, and Jameson thought Ethan might be able to spill some incredibly confidential “juicy” details about ongoing cases. When Ethan failed to deliver, Jameson forgot about him, and he spent two months doing miniscule tasks, like sorting paperwork or going for coffee runs. 
Suffice to say, it wasn’t the office experience Ethan was hoping for, so he promptly quit. There was also the awkward matter of Jameson’s increasing hatred of Spiderman, wherein Ethan was forced to regularly voice his “irritation” toward the hero. 
(Which was kind of hard to put his heart into when, well, he was the hero.)
And although it was a proper quitting, too, with a two weeks notice and everything, Jameson didn’t care, and berated seventeen-year old Ethan in front of the twenty something workers he had under his feet. But Ethan hadn’t cared too much either, and went to the theater to watch a movie right after. 
You and Ethan waited for Quinn’s familiar jabs at Ethan’s old job (in which Quinn had laughed for a solid ten minutes when he came home from quitting, in utter shock that her little brothers first job ended with a 60-year-olds toddler tantrum), his “love” of Spiderman, or even just Ethan in general - but nothing came. She merely shifted her gaze from you to him, before shrugging, and handing the remote back to Mindy. 
So movie-night was back on, but a certain feeling was creeping up both your spines, twin looks being traded between you and Ethan. 
What exactly had prompted Quinn to watch a broadcast about Spiderman? No matter how much she ranted about the hero, she equally hated Jameson and the news. 
You wracked your brain for a single solution throughout the entire movie, and it had only clicked when Mindy began her routine film-analysis, bringing out the small, rollable white board you all had tried to hide from her, just so you wouldn’t need to listen to any more movie essays. 
You got up, and pulled Ethan along with you, Mindy shooting you two a disgusted look, and Chad throwing you a thumbs up. 
(You hadn’t noticed, but Quinn’s eyes trailed after you with a glint of suspicion.)
“She knows,” you said, hushed and ducking in the dimly lit apartment hallway near your bedroom. 
“What?” Ehan said, brows furrowed. 
“She knows. Quinn.”
“Quinn knows what?”
“Oh my god,” you refrained from hitting him, “Quinn knows you’re Spiderman.” 
“What?”
“Quinn knows y—“
“No, I mean, what as in what the fuck?! Are you sure she knows?” 
“I just - she was looking at us weirdly during the Spiderman broadcast, and through the entire movie, too—“
“That doesn’t mean she knows, right? She could be looking at us because we’re “dating”, or because — ‘cause I’m her stupid Spiderman geek brother, or—“
“Okay, but she could also be looking because she knows you’re Spiderman, knows I’m the weird sidekick on the news—“ 
“[Name]! Just,” Ethan pressed two fingers between his eyes, “can we let this go? Just for tonight?” 
You sighed, leaning your head against the wall. “Fine! Let’s just… pretend none of this ever happened. That she, like, probably doesn’t know.”
“[Name].”
“Okay! Okay, you win. But just for tonight, because I swear, if I wake up tomorrow and my mom’s blasting my phone because Quinn told someone about it—“
“She doesn’t know!” Ethan repeated, before sticking his fingers in his ears and walking away like a little kid. 
You shook your head at his immaturity, but stuck your tongue out at him when he wasn’t looking, anyway.
After that isolated incident of suspicion, you and Ethan kept a particularly close watch on his sister's actions, reactions, and movements.
How she reacted when Ethan raved about how much he “adored” Spiderman, the faces she made when Sam passed The Daily Bugle channel on TV, how guarded her body language was when you walked around Central Park and someone called out from afar that Spiderman had just swung by. 
And she was so fucking suspicious. 
Quinn’s eyes would thin, looking at Ethan and you when he talked about Spiderman, she’d watch intently when Sam passed Jamesons channel, if even for a second, and she’d look to the skies every time somebody shouted “Spiderman” in the park or the streets. 
Ethan countered your every thought, however, constantly reminding you of her previously mentioned hatred for the hero, using that as an excuse for her every move. 
You two find yourselves arguing over the matter again, this time while walking across campus to your next classes, having to hold hands as you did so just so people wouldn’t think your arguing was actually you two in the process of breaking up. 
“E, she knows. I mean, for gods sakes, what person who doesn’t know sends their brother nasty looks when someone talks about Spiderman?” 
“Well, maybe, I’m her little brother who she’s made fun of every moment for the last nineteen years?”
“Oh my god, Ethan, we can’t keep pretending she doesn’t know you’re Spiderman!” you whisper shouted in his ear, pretending to pick something out of his hair. 
“Well, I was just suspicious, but you two have gone ahead and confirmed it for me.” Quinn suddenly appeared beside you, walking in tandem with your paces. 
Then, you and Ethan both stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, shock still, jaws dropped, almost getting hit by a bike in the process. 
“What?” She said, tilting her head to the side. 
“What?” Ethan said back. 
“What -“ You began, but the irony sunk in rather quickly. “No, fuck— Quinn, how the f— how did you find out?” you whispered low, pulling her by the sweater sleeve as you began walking again. 
Quinn looked back to make sure nobody was listening secretly, like she had done just moments prior. “Again, I was just suspicious. Knowing was all you two. But… you guys are kind of, like, really obvious. Like, on movie night, you were fighting in the kitchen about the popcorn, and when I turned on the news you went quiet. When me and Mindy argue about the better heroes, you look at eachother like you’re about to burst out laughing every time I say I hate Spiderman. And your Halloween costume,” she pointed at you, “had a hood that looked a lot like the one on TV.”
You scratched your cheek sheepishly, considering the facts against you. “Okay, we are… more obvious than I thought.” 
“We?” Ethan said, incredulous. “I’ve hid this for years.” 
Quinn snorted, stifling a laugh. “Ethan, you’re fucking terrible,” she punched her brother, “at lying. I just never brought it up. Honestly, what the hell is “I’m going out for patrol — no, I meant I’m going on a date with [Name]” supposed to mean to me?” She mocked Ethan’s nervous stuttering. 
Ethan went red. “I— well, — I mean, dad doesn’t even know, and he’s like a bloodhound.”
Quinn shrugged. “Sure, he doesn’t say anything, but he also never reports any unnatural cobwebs he finds on the criminals either.”
“I’ll be damned,” Ethan said, starstruck. You patted his shoulder pitifully. 
“Does anyone else…?” You gestured lightly to the general population on campus.
Quinn shook her head. “Not that I know of. And I won't tell anyone, if that’s what you mean.” 
The three of you stopped to sit at a water fountain, the conversation becoming much more serious by the look of Quinn’s face. 
She had bit her lower lip, suddenly looking far off, a mix of melancholy and fury shining in her brown eyes. “As long as you don’t get yourself killed, Ethan, I won’t tell anyone.” 
Ethan gulped, probably remembering all the times he did exactly that. “I promise, Quinn, I—“
“Because I know you will, Ethan. And I will fucking dig our brother out of the earth if you dare to—“
All of a sudden, this didn’t feel like a confrontation between friends — it felt like a heartfelt conversation between family, and you felt very out of place. 
Just seeing how furious Quinn looked, but how her lip trembled, how fists clenched with the memories of their brother, how Ethan leaned away, trying to escape any confrontation in relation to their brother, how his expression tensed - it made you feel icky, like you were interrupting that which was none of your business.  
As you were about to leave, step away from the incredibly private situation and duck into your school building, Quinn grabbed you by the hand. “[Name], promise me, please, keep my brother safe. You’re in this way deeper than I am, so…”
She waited for confirmation. When you didn’t respond, Quinn continued. “You love him, I can tell, so please, just… keep him alive, for me, okay?.” 
Your mouth opened and closed. She still thought you two were— 
You considered telling her the truth, but - but her gaze was so desperate, tone so heartfelt, the only thing you could do was nod.
From there, you could feel the guilt eat at you, simultaneous to the burning you felt in your heart. You wanted to protect Ethan, you wanted to keep him safe - you did not want to lose him, for that would be like losing a limb. 
And then Quinn’s words echoed in your ears once more: you love him, I can tell—
You breathe, in and out, conscious coming back to the Earth, and you slip away from the pair of siblings, Quinn’s words ringing in your ears, Ethan’s gaze lingering on you as you stepped into Blackmore.
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taglist: @iloveneilperry @backtotheshitshow @hazehepburn @powowowy @ifilwtmfc @oscarisdaddy69 @al1v3cvp1d2@bloodyeverything @diamondci1ty @l5bryinth @gojosbucket @volturi-girl-imagines @sflame15-blog @thatoneembarrasingmoment @bajadotcom @cerealzzz @elynk @theapulidooo @solaceinwritings @1horrormoviewhore1 @anthemabby @mia-luvs @dont-get-upset @knxv1lie @verveta345 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @xyzstar @ihearttokissboys
strikethrough = wouldn’t allow me to tag, sorry!
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pixelpaladin · 1 year
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Deep dive to Spam bots on Tumblr (Spoiler: FSB mentioned)
(TL;DR: Russian business man is heavily investing into companies behind the bots, mentions of FSB, Shell companies in tax-evasion and weak business law countries, Huge industry and money laundering) 
I got annoyed about the bots on tumblr, so I decided to do some investigation into who is behind them and funding the operation, here is my findings:
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The graph shows how a network of “affiliate marketing” companies for “dating” services is connected and some of the key players behind said companies
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The first “company” I ran into is called “Digital international Inc” and it is shown as the “legal entity” behind of many of the websites the bots tend to link to, it also has its address listed in the Marshall Islands.
By looking at trademarks owned/filed by that company, we find 2 more companies/trademarks that are/were owned by the same legal entity.
First of these is called “Mirelia Services Co.”, currently known as “Mirelia Networks”, which lists its main business as “advertising and marketing” and is registered at the same address as “Digital International”.
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Where things get interesting is when we look at one of the trademarks that was passed between “Mirelia” and “Digital international”, a trademark for an LGBTQ+ dating app called “Hitwe”,
The trademark application for “Hitwe” is listed as “Rescinded/canceled” but from the original registration documents and later ownership transfer filings, we come across an interesting company
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“Matar Trade & Invest Ltd.” This company has other similar “dating” and “marketing” companies linked to it, and is owned by “Vladimir Mnogoletniy”, a Citizen of Russia, who has lived in Ukraine for over 10 years and his runs his businesses there, but interestingly does not seem to have officially moved there, and maintains his Russian Citizenship as his only one.
He is also the CEO or a major of many other companies, the main one being “Genesis”, the company behind a controversial fitness app “BetterMe”, which has been shown to aggressively sell user data to less-than-reputable ad companies and affiliates, as well as being used to redirect money from scam dating sites and lessen the impact of credit card chargebacks from those sites [See footnote 1]
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What makes him a particularly interesting individual is that his father, who is a Captain of the Second Rank in the Russian Navy, is doing security work for “Sevmash” - A Russian shipbuilding company, the only one that is making nuclear submarines in Russia. He also co-authored a research paper that talks about “Military Counterintelligence activities”, The other author of said paper is an FSB officer.[See footnote 2]
Sources and footnotes:
Footnote 1: “BetterMe steals traffic”  - Article by SH[IT]HAPPENS on Medium Footnote 2: “Why don’t I no longer shake hands with Vladimir Mnogoletniy.“ - Article by SH[IT]HAPPENS on Medium
Tangent: one of the other companies that I came across that seems to be working with Mirelia is “Traffichunt”, which seems to be one of the companies selling bot spam advertisements as well.
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Another interesting thing is that the lawyer who filed for most of the trademarks, has quite a repertoire of similar trademarks under his belt:
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Most of these seem to have been rejected because the address he listed in the applications does not exist
If you read all the way to here, thank you and I hope that bot’s never bother you again.
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Info and Resources for Questioning Systems
Our old post with resources is out of date and doesn’t have that much information, so we’ve decided to put this together! Please let us know if we should make any corrections or if you have resource ideas you’d like us to add to this post.
NOTE: Before we get started, it’s so important to mention that every system should rule out trauma first before considering other origins. This is because complex dissociative disorders can present in covert ways, and function by hiding trauma from some alters. Even if you’re certain you’re not traumatized, please research and understand complex dissociative disorders before learning about other origin types. It’s possible to not remember or misunderstand trauma. Ruling it out first will save you a lot of difficulty and heartache in the future!
NOTE 2: As a system, we believe the terms “tulpa” and “tulpamancy” may be offensive, and believe that as a community a different term for these systems should be selected. However, until that happens, we will continue to link handy resources for these sorts of systems.
Now, onto the resources!
This is not a complete list! If there’s any resource you’ve found useful and would like us to add, please get in touch!
Websites:
CDD (DID and OSDD-1) Specific:
Beauty after Bruises, and especially their article on myths and misconceptions about DID
Multiplied by One, a DID nonprofit that has a wealth of resources on dissociative disorders and CPTSD (and offering support for those in need!)
First Person Plural, another great nonprofit
ISSTD’s public resources
The Cleveland Clinic’s page on DID
Survivors’ Network (not to be confused with the Survivors’ Network Discord) page on DID
The National Alliance on Mental Illness’ info on dissociative disorders
DIS-SOS, a blog with tons of info on trauma, dissociation, and living with both
osdd.one, a site with information on complex dissociative disorders with a focus on OSDD-1
NAMI Michigan’s DID fact sheet
The Healthy Place’s blog on Dissociative Living
Non-CDD Specific:
What is Plurality/Multiplicity? by YoppVoice
More than One
Tulpa.io, Tulpanomicon, and Tulpa.info, all sites where tulpas, thoughtforms, willomates, and their creators can share their experiences
The Daemon Page
Daemonism 101
Manchester Metropolitan University’s Understanding Multiplicity
Plurality-Resources (traumagenic, not CDD, specific)
The Plurality Playbook, a resource for plurality in the workplace (for employees and managers)
Endogenic Hub
The Dissociative Initiative includes resources for both CDD systems and others who experience multiplicity
Podcasts:
The System Speak Podcast
The Bag System Podcast
Tumblr Blogs:
@pluraldeepdive
@system-society
@dear-systems
@plural-culture-is
@subsystems
@plurals-helping-plurals
YouTubers:
Pink Sugar Fairies
The Alexandrite System
FragmentDID
The Rings System
The CTAD Clinic
(psst! if you’re an endogenic/not-trauma formed system YouTuber, please let us know! we’d love to check out your videos and add your channel to this list!)
Other:
This Google Drive folder has 13 books on mental health, with a focus on dissociative disorders and trauma.
This Google Drive folder also has a bunch of great resources (keep in mind there are some repeats in both drives)
UTEP’s Mental Health Awareness Training infographic on dissociative disorders
Our own posts on Understanding DID, Establishing Contact with Headmates, Dissociative Amnesia, and Depersonalization vs. Derealization
Seeking help through therapy:
(specifically specialists in dissociative disorders)
Psychology Today’s search page for finding therapists who specialize in dissociative disorders
Carolyn Spring’s article, How to find a therapist for a dissociative disorder
The ISSTD’s Find a Therapist page
Websites we do NOT recommend can be found here! Note: some of the resources we’ve linked here have their own links to websites we don’t recommend. Please use your best judgement when visiting sites, and understand that we as a system DO NOT endorse the sites listed in the link above, even if we’ve included resources that link to those sites.
We hope y’all are able to find some of this useful! Again, please let us know if you have any resources you’d like us to add to this list. Thanks so much, everyone!
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yurimother · 1 year
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Yuri of Absence and The Chair of Yuri: Combining Lesbian Manga and Science Fiction - The Secret Garden
This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.
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In the “olden days” of Yuri, which is really to say anything in the ‘00s or earlier, there was not much variety in the mainstream Yuri market. If you wanted to read a manga about the romance between two women or watch an anime with clear lesbian elements, choices were between a sweet school story or a classic tragic school Yuri story. As I have mentioned many times recently, one of the most significant advancements in the recent Yuri genre is the advent of sub-genres. Once considered an element or subgenre itself, Yuri hosts various works from isekai to feminist literature. However, one of the most curious and certainly most well-known subgenres is science fiction.
Yuri science fiction is in the spotlight right now, with everything from visual novels like Synergia to webcomics like Ratana Satis’s Soul Drifters. However, one of the most prolific and rightly celebrated titles is Iori Miyazawa’s Otherside Picnic. The series began publishing under Hayakawa’s Bunko JA imprint in 2017, and over the past few years, it exploded onto the scene.  It has an upcoming sixth book, a manga adaptation serialized in Monthly Shounen Gangan, healthy overseas publishing, and of course, an anime adaptation helmed by Kase-san and Stiens;Gate director Takuya Sato. It has garnered praise from critics CBR, Anime News Network, and Erica Friedman of Okazu. I wrote glowing reviews for the first few books, complimenting its worldbuilding, pacing, and characters. However, Otherside Picnic did not spring out of anywhere. Indeed, it is the product of gradual shifts in Yuri and sci-fi storytelling and Miyazawa’s genius theories and knowledge of the genres.
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The mixture of Yuri and science fiction is not anything new; it predates most other forms of Yuri save Class S school romances. You may not picture many of these when you think of modern Yuri sci-fi, but as early as 1975, we had Yuri stories like Boku no Shotaiken that included small sci-fi elements, in this case, transferring the mind to another body. Over the next two decades or so, a time during which so few Yuri titles surfaced, it is occasionally referred to as Yuri’s “era of Darkness,” multiple titles sci-fi titles including Dirty Pair, Project A-Ko, Bubblegum Crisis, and Iczer featured science fiction settings and Yuri elements. At this time, Yuri was not much of a genre as we think of it today, but more of a factor inserted into a larger narrative. Think of Yayoi and Shion from Psycho-Pass for a more contemporary example. In fact, except for Iczer, none of these titles feature any outright lesbian characters, just female casts with “Yuri-ish” moments of women standing close together and being companions.
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These titles feature two key elements that many current series have shifted further away from, soft sci-fi and Weak Yuri. Soft, as opposed to hard science fiction, is the more established of these two scales. Science fiction can be separated between outlandish and impossible ideas, sometimes known as science fantasy, and those based in reality, research, and the hard sciences such as physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Sorting works between these two labels is, ironically, not an exact science, and fans and critics alike argue about their precise definitions. However, let us consider soft and hard science as a spectrum, with outlandish premises like Dragonball on the soft end and the reality-based concepts of Space Brothers at the other. One can sort most titles along this continuum. M Alan Kazlev does an excellent job dissecting this scale in further detail. Many of the titles we enjoy today, including Otherside Picnic, inhabit this transitory space, as it is not fantasy. Still, its reliance on anthropology and psychology’s soft sciences may put it a small step below more grounded hard sci-fi. Still, it is far above the aliens and superpowered robots in ‘80s anime, so we shall consider it hard sci-fi for the sake of this argument.
*Note: Many science fiction circles use the abbreviation sci-fi for soft science fiction and SF for hard science fiction. For ease of readability and common vernacular, this article uses “sci-fi” for both instances.*
Sci-fi Yuri did not break out of soft science fiction territory until very recently. In the 1990s, Yuri underwent dramatic changes thanks to Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, which helped reform it as a genre rather than a feature. Maria Watches Over Us revived S Yuri traditions, and new titles were set in schools and focused on modern girls’ lives. In the 2000s, Yuri magazines began serialization and featured stories such as Kisses, Sighs, and Cheery Blossom Pink and Strawberry Shake Sweet (both serialized under different names). Despite being primarily aimed at adult women, the magazine found success with male audiences, prompting new stories appealing to men and boys. These works reintroduced action and science fiction into the genre with pieces like Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden, Blue Drop, and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl (Yuriboke does a better job breaking all these down). However, all these were still vehemently in soft sci-fi territory, with Kashimashi’s only surreal element being an alien because the author was, to simplify grossly, unable to fathom the existence of transgender people (coming full circle from Boku no Shotaiken). Possibly the only contemporary mainstream hard sci-fi title to include Yuri and enjoy a modicum of success was Qualia The Purple. However, this series did not have the genre-defining power that later works would.
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However, what changes between these series and those mentioned earlier is the Yuri itself. The relationships become much more explicit and central to the plot. You can deliberate whether or not Bubblegum Crisis is sapphic, but just try sitting someone down and arguing that Kannazuki no Miko is not built around the crux of two women holding romantic interest in each other. Yuri science fiction author Gengen Kusano proposes a dichotomy similar to soft and hard sci-fi to analyze these titles, Weak and Strong Yuri. He explains it in his own brilliantly convoluted and philosophical way, but in short, Weak Yuri relies on using logic and the mind to make the real imaginary, while strong Yuri is about emotionalism and realism, making fiction into reality.
Strong Yuri is Yuri that focuses on realism through feelings and emotions. Kusano describes it as fiction characters having real emotions. They have strong connections and affection for each other that are real and powerful. The audience experiences the feelings between the characters as they are felt and portrayed. Think of how emotional the exclamations and love, sorrow, confusion, and affection are in titles like Bloom Into You and Citrus. In a sense, they can be so strong that they transcend their fictional confines and become real, as they are experienced by considers, a stage called “radically Strong Yuri.” Most explicit Yuri, which is not subtext or suggestive content but in-your-face lesbianism, is Strong Yuri, although not all Strong Yuri is outright depictions of lesbianism; it is a square rectangle situation, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles.
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Weak Yuri is cemented in the areas of thought, logic, and epistemology. It deals with the theory of mind, the ability to attribute mental states to others or ourselves. For example, when we see someone smiling or laughing, we may not feel their emotion ourselves, as we do not have direct access to their mind, but we recognize that they are happy. In Weak Yuri, one uses their theory of mind to observe facts and deduce the existence of a Yuri relationship, even if one is not present. So-called “Yuri-ish” titles like Yuru Camp or K-ON! do not outright state or depict romantic or sexual attractions, but is attributed by the viewers onto characters.  Said observer witnesses the interactions between girls and, using that factual and observable data, puzzles out a lesbian attraction they prescribe to the subjects, whether real. Shipping culture relies on Weak Yuri’s logic Kusano’s most extreme, “Radical Weak Yuri,” the relationships of real people, like idols, become imaginary through these projections.
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Blue Drop and Kashimashi may have been soft Sci-fi, but unlike the soft sci-fi, Weak Yuri series of the twentieth century, they featured Strong Yuri and placed it more as a central aspect of the work with other elements built around, rather than as a side element. The next revolution in sci-fi Yuri came when hard sci-fi titles began production. A few of the principal players here are Kusano himself, Otherside Picnic Creator Iori Miyazawa, and editor Rikimura Mizoguichi, all of whom feature in the viral Yuri Made Me Human interview of Miyazawa. Most of the theories and ideas discussed in this article, including Kusano’s Weak and Strong Yuri arguments, came from these seminars.
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It all started with Kusano’s existential widescreen Yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi Love Live AU fanfic of the popular ship NicoMaki, consisting of Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino. The revised edition of this story, Last and First Idol, was published in 2016 and became the first debut title to win the prestigious Seiun Award in 42 years. Satoshi Maejima’s post-script essay at the end of the Last and First Idol collection gives far more detail into these works’ history. However, Idol was the first prominent story to feature Yuri in a hard sci-fi narrative. It was not perfect. In fact, in its push to feature gruesome content and insane hard sci-fi that Yuri is pushed to the wayside during most of the story.
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*Author’s note: The first time I read Last and First Idol, I was completely unaware of its contents, which was a shocking experience; the story comes with a severe content warning).
Last and First Idol did not create a woven hard sci-fi, Strong Yuri narrative. However, it was a definite proof of the concept, a testament that the sprawling details and imagery of hard Sci-Fi could work with Yuri relationships. Kusano’s next short story, Evolution Girls, which would appear alongside Last and First Idol in the collection of the same name, saw the author focus more on emotionalism and create a Strong Yuri work. Nevertheless, Last and First Idol was a massive success. Future hard proof that Yuri hard sci-fi was coming in force came in December 2018, when Hayakawa Shobo ran a special edition of its long-running S-F Magazine featuring Yuri stories. The issue, planned by Rikimura Mizoguchi, proved so popular for the second time in its then 59-year history, the magazine had to reprint before release.
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While Kusano was developing theories on Yuri and Hayakawa Shobo worked to push the public eye onto Yuri sci-fi, author Iori Miyazawa was refining his own Yuri premises, ones that, though he did not know it at the time, would not only see Strong Yuri and Hard sci-fi standing side by side in the same story but would synthesis the two into a unique product that could attract new fans and expand the borders of science fiction and Yuri. The work in question, of course, is Otherside Picnic. This light novel series about girls journeying to another world to hunt creatures from occult internet lore is to date Yuri science fiction’s best execution.
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As Miyazawa admits, he strives to create Strong Yuri by focusing on emotionalism and realistic characters. However, such character-driven narratives are often at odds with hard science fiction, which requires dense walls of text to explain the complicated science behind its concepts and world. Miyazawa avoids this trap by utilizing Yuri tropes, specifically scenic Yuri and “Yuri of absence,” and integrating Yuri relationship into these explanatory literary lectures. Examining the latter first, rather than using narrative or exposition dialogue to unravel the intelligence behind the world or elements of science fiction, Miyazawa uses the relationship between Sorawo and Toriko.
In Otherside Picnic, explanations of the mysterious Otherside come primarily from two sources, dialogue and Sorawo’s inner monologue. When Sorawo and Torikko discuss a nuance of the paranormal creatures they investigate, it no longer becomes a large infodump but a Yuri scene about their relationship through their interactions and responses. According to both the strong Yuri theory and Yuri’s traditional definition, these emotions and discussions are the crux of the genre – stories about females’ relationships. Similar emotionalism fills Sorawo’s inner monologues, specifically in the frequent romantic admirations of Toriko. Thus, an explanation existing in that same space becomes Yuri, as it mirrors the same emotions and attraction. Merely by placing the usual exposition into interactions and relationships, Miyazawa was able to open hard science fiction to new readers, who may have been apprehensive before because of these text walls.
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Miyazawa’s other secret weapon is, as he describes it, “Yuri of absence.” Relying on the principles of Strong Yuri, that Yuri is fiction made real through emotions, Yuri of absence extends these parameters outside of characters. As Strong Yuri relies on feeling, not observable data like characters, anything that invokes two women’s feelings together is Yuri. It could be a song, or an empty bench, as one can imagine two women on it and feel emotions tied to that. Of course, taken to its extreme, nearly anything can then be Yuri, as I have joked before, gesturing to an empty chair proclaiming, “Behold, a Yuri!” However, Miyazawa uses this Yuri of absence sparingly, rendering it closer to scenic Yuri’s intimacy.
Scenic Yuri, a particular type of Yuri of absence, focuses exclusively on setting and imagery, a feature that works particularly well in science fiction as according to Masahiro Noda’s “sci-fi is all about images.” Traditional Yuri uses character interaction and supplements it with images and sights that help communicate characters’ emotions and intimacy, like fleeting shots or descriptions of the sky. Take the shot from Kase-san and Morning Girls where Yamada stands by the bus stop. The distance between the girls, the tree in the foreground on Yamada’s side, and the pole on the right all invoke emotion and help tell the girls’ story, distanced by their differences and upcoming life paths. Now remove the girls, the scene remains, as does its meaning and emotions, whether the characters are present or not.
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Scenic Yuri is employed vigorously in more male-targeted S Yuri (a minority of the Class S genre). Here, the imagery provides intimacy so that the voyeuristic viewer could look into the characters’ private and forbidden lives, specifically the girls in all-girls schools. Take the shot from Strawberry “Mo Man May Enter Here” Panic. The sweeping view of the Strawberry Dorms atop Astraea Hill, a place where men are forbidden, gives the consumer an exclusive inside look at the private home of its subjects. Otherside Picnic uses these same scenic Yuri principles in its descriptions. In this case, the intimacy does not come from a place where men are prohibited or a shot describing women’s relationships. Instead, the reports of abandoned ruins and deserted open fields where only Toriko and Sorawo exist provide extreme intimacy. It is an emotional view of two of the few women in this world with nothing but each other; thus, Yuri.
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Yuri science fiction is easily the most exciting place in the genre right now. Its creators are experimenting with new theories and storytelling methods to expand the boundaries of what science fiction or Yuri alone could never do. The subgenre has undoubtedly come a long way from its Weak Yuri roots and continues to grow. Industry leaders like Miyazawa and Mizoguichi will continue to push into this excited and uncharted territory, using tactics new and old to bring together Yuri’s emotional and romantic core with science fiction’s epic and provoking imagery. I have few doubts that we have seen all these pioneers have to offer and that Last and First Idol and Otherside Picnic are just the beginning.
Sources
Friedman, Erica, and Kishiji Bando. “Shoujo Yuri Manga Guide.” Yuricon, 29 Mar. 2011, https://www.yuricon.com/oldessays/shoujo-yuri-manga-guide/.
Hanson, Katherine. Yuri No Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜: Sci-Fi Yuri Anime and Manga. 17 Feb. 2012, http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/02/sci-fi-yuri-anime-and-manga.html.
Kit, et al. Tomo Choco Podcast Episode 58: A Trip to the Otherside. https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/tomochoco5287491142565609/id/14974343. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Komatsu, Mikikazu. “S-F Magazine’s Yuri-Themed Issue Gets Reprints Before Release.” Crunchyroll, https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/12/18/s-f-magazines-yuri-themed-issue-gets-reprints-before-release. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Kusano, Gengen. “[R-18] #SF #矢澤にこ 【SF合同サンプル】最後にして最初の矢澤 - 節足原々(セッソクハラハラ)の小説.” Pixiv, https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=4992326. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
M Alan Kazlev. “The Scale of Hardness in Science Fiction.” Futurism, https://vocal.media/futurism/the-scale-of-hardness-in-science-fiction. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Masayuki Sakoi. Strawberry Panic S01:E21 - Like a Flower. Madhouse, 2006. tubitv.com, https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/558933/s01-e21-like-a-flower.
Maser, Verena. Beautiful and Innocent: Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genre. ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de, https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Miyazawa, Iori, et al. Yuri Made Me Human, Part 2. Translated by Kati_lilian, 24 Aug. 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/S1yjBCJgH.
Miyazawa, Iori, and Rikimaru Mizoguchi. Yuri Made Me Human — Interview with Iori Miyazawa. Translated by kati_lilian, May 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/SJA8KwjjN.
Moore, Caitlin, et al. “The Winter 2021 Preview Guide - Otherside Picnic.” Anime News Network, https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2021/winter/otherside-picnic/.167892. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Nicki “YuriMother” Bauman. The History and Future of Transgender Representation in Yuri - The Secret Garden, January 2021 | YuriMother on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/posts/45495024. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
---. “Yuri Is for Everyone: An Analysis of Yuri Demographics and Readership.” Anime Feminist, 12 Feb. 2020, https://www.animefeminist.com/yuri-is-for-everyone-an-analysis-of-yuri-demographics-and-readership/.
Pinansky, Sam. Interview with J-Novel Club’s Sam Pinansky. Interview by Erica Friedman, 1 Oct. 2019, https://okazu.yuricon.com/2019/10/01/interview-with-j-novel-clubs-sam-pinansky/.
Sarantos, Constance. “How Otherside Picnic Breaks the Yuri Genre Mold.” CBR, 10 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/.
“「SF冬の時代」は雪解けを迎えた 早川書房・溝口力丸 Vol.1.” KAI-YOU Premium, https://premium.kai-you.net/article/201. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Snapshot. https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.
Takuya Satou. Watch Kase-San and Morning Glories. Sentai Filmworks, 2018. vrv.co, https://vrv.co/series/GYQWD1X1Y/Kase-san-and-Morning-Glories.
Walter, Damien. “Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: What Is the True Definition?” Damien Walter, 7 Aug. 2018, https://damiengwalter.com/2018/08/07/science-fiction-vs-scifi-vs-sf-what-is-the-true-definition/.
YuriMother. “LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Otherside Picnic Vol. 1.” The Holy Mother of Yuri, 12 Dec. 2019, https://yurimother.com/post/189635367305.
This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.
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skaldish · 6 months
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sorry for the incovinience, but I read this, and as neurodivergent medical student I'm very curious. Do you have any resources or recommend (websites,books,etc) about neurodiversity from a neurology,psychiatry pov? (especially from a neurodivergent health professional or science expert) Because it so hard to found those (mainly bc the missinformation and ableism), most books in my college's library are not updated :(.
not to mention some doctors have said some wild ableist shit (and even some medical students) :(
I don't have much, but I have directions I can point you towards. (I need to update it, but any sources I do find generally go on my brain blog @prefrontal-bastard.)
First, I highly reccomend the Neuroclastic website for autistic perspectives. This website is by and for autistic folks and features a multitude of people with different expertise and backgrounds, including scientists. I imagine any pertinent developments in our understanding of neurodiversity would probably appear on that website.
I also know the AIR Network Model's website has scientific articles on trauma and dissociation, so I recommend looking into them too.
I'd also look into the MNRI PTSD Recovery Protocol by Svetlana Masgutova, Ph.D. I'm not sure if she's neurodivergent herself, but I would hardly be surprised if she is.
I recommend this because the studies behind her protocol reveal some extremely telling things about neurodiversity and its relationship with trauma. I have one of her books and it goes into the entire neuroscience and testing behind it, but unfortunately copyright laws means I can't, like...share the charts. This approach seems to be the direction the science is taking us on regarding neurodiversity though, so it might be the "in" you're looking for in terms of a non-ableist medical framework.
(The breakdown though, because this shit's fascinating:
Traumatic stressors can cause our nervous systems to blow like overloaded circuits. This causes our primitive reflexes [patterns of movements that reflect the core operating system of mindbody interface] to re-emerge, or to fail to integrate if the trauma was during babyhood.
Evidently, retaining 35% or more of the known reflex patterns produces the symptoms associated with things like sensory processing disorder, autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation. It even contributes to depression and dyslexia.
Dysregulated reflexes can impact damn near anything: cognition, attention, coordination, disposition, emotional reactions, visual /auditory / spacial perception, pain perception and threshold, body growth, mood, and even the function of our digestive and immune systems.
From what I understand, certain primitive reflexes correlate with certain disorders. Apparently the Startle Reflex / Fear Paralysis Reflex and Moro Reflex are highly correlated with Autism diagnosis. Other reflexes potentially contribute to it since this is not a "rigid categories" thing, but those are the two her book is citing in particular here.
You can actually re-integrate these reflexes with exercises, which initially thought was fucking bogus until I tried it and suddenly could perceive and conceptualize things I didn't realize I couldn't before, as well as perceive parts of my body I didn't realize I couldn't perceive before [like my spine].
You can actually find integration exercises on youtube. It's an Occupational Therapy thing, but since it's new and emerging it's not something the average OT knows how to do yet, I'm afraid.
Also, important note: Some reflexes take longer to integrate, others don't. They might have to be integrated in a certain sequence depending on which ones are retained, but I'm not sure what all the sequences are.
Rule of thumb for anyone reading this: If the internal experience of "being you" sucks ass in any way, check your primitive reflexes. It ain't a curse and it ain't the devil, you might just need recalibrating.)
Hope this helps!
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naturalrights-retard · 2 months
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Myself and a handful of others have predicted that one way the deep-state criminals who run the U.S. government could foment violent civil unrest, up to and including Civil War, would be to allow Trump to get “elected” but then use the U.S. military to prevent him from taking office.
I’ve spoken about this possible scenario in podcast interviews and written about it on my other site, LeoHohmann.com, and mentioned it as one of my 10 predictions for 2024. I have not said it’s definitely going to happen but that it’s something to keep in mind and prepare for.
Low and behold, the deep state is now announcing to the world that it is working on a plan that sounds eerily similar to what “conspiracy theorists” like myself have been warning about.
The hat tip for this article goes to Modernity News, which posted an article on its site Monday, January 15, 2024. Here’s an excerpt from Modernity’s article:
A former State Department official has warned that deep state insiders and elements of the military are planning to derail Trump’s presidency should he win the election.
On Sunday, NBC News reported that “a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers” are planning to use lawfare and other tactics to block Trump from exercising power on day one of his return to the Oval Office.
According to the article, these insiders will go all out “to foil any efforts to expand presidential power,” even if Trump has been given a mandate to do so by the American people.
And they are increasingly open about their plans.
The NBC News article states:
“Those taking part in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms.”
Critics say the plan is part of an effort to have the military override Trump’s constitutional authority as president.
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kermiethefroog · 4 months
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I understand that a lot of people are focusing in on who Hbomberguy was talking about in his new video, which I understand. I watched a couple of those channels and some of this news was in fact news to me as well! Especially with James Somerton, who I put on occasionally in the background and generally found interesting. It can be shocking to learn these things (as mentioned in the video).
BUT
I think that we have a tendency to run away with ideas of scandal and center the outrage and frustration over the other messages at play. I am definitely not the first person to bring this up or mention it, but I wanted to list some of my favorite takeaways from the video.
Plagiarism is ever present and downright COMMON on the internet, especially on a social platform like youtube, but this goes for any form of social media INCLUDING sites like tumblr (I don't think he mentions tumblr specifically, but I think it is fair to loop in most social networks in this case). Harris is highlighting that these things are hard to check and people are (sometimes) good at hiding their wrongdoings.
We can do our part by supporting creatives and people who properly research or speak deeply from their own experiences. Going back to talking about James, that section of the video hit very close to home. Queer solidarity and supporting queer creators is something that is very important to me. I really appreciate Harris highlighting exactly who was wronged, list new people to watch and engage with, and specifying who he will be compensating for creating his video. I really do encourage people to check out the other creatives mentioned AND looking for smaller creators to become connected to. Hell, I recommend reading articles and books by queer authors if you have the time and the means to do so.
The last big takeaway I have is the discussion of the creative process and the struggle of making original material. Creating anything with a semblance of analysis or personal thought in a thorough way is really challenging. Many creators regardless of medium or space have a sort of imposter syndrome about their work. Imposter syndrome is a double edged sword, and in many cases has led people to do the things discussed in the video either out of desperation, but also as a shortcut to success that they desire. Harris breaks down this feeling of being an imposter and highlights is universality. Despite this sense of imposter syndrome, creative and artistic people continue to try and make something novel or something new out of synthesizing the ideas of others. Creative work should ideally be transformative in some way and is why this kind of work can be so compelling AND inspire other people.
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femsolid · 7 months
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the more I learn about feminism, the way society favors men, male violence, porn and so on, the more hopeless I feel. I read one news article talking about how the UK police uncovered several forums distributing AI generated illegal content involving children and it was my breaking point. it was too much for me to handle.
so here’s my question, how do you keep yourself from falling into despair when you learn about horrible things (towards women and children) happening? I’m considering taking a break from the internet at this point.
Consciousness raising is about learning how men function as a class but it's also about learning that you're part of a class too. You realize that you are part of something bigger than you, a very old battle for freedom. This should make you feel strong, not weak. Upon realizing what men have done, what they still do, the magnitude of systemic misogyny, you should feel angry and embolden, not hopeless. And most importantly you should feel a deep sense of solidarity with other women and relief because you're taking control of your life, you are starting to live for yourself and not for men. You should feel vindicated and free, like you're leaving a cult, the patriarchal brainwashing, behind.
So why is hopelessness taking over? Well you mentionned taking a break from the internet and not from feminism which is more telling than you think. Is feminist consciousness the problem or is it the fact that you're being bombarded with negativity, male violence and misogyny on the internet? Once you are aware of what men do, do you need to be reminded of it everyday? Do you need to know in gruesome details what men do to us and what the latest act of male violence and perversion is? If it makes you feel hopeless then the answer is no. Because of course it's going to affect you. "True crimes" doesn't need to be your hobby, you can unfollow those who only post upsetting and traumatizing content and step away from any platform that dwells on negativity. Yes it's fine to take a break, regroup, recharge your battery. And it's fine to leave an Internet community altogether. Do what you need to do.
The despair you feel also typically comes with passivity or the feeling that whatever you're doing is not working. You can't expect to feel energetic and joyful if you sit passively observing what men do to us or if you try to reform the patriarchy. Either way the patriarchy remains in place, so of course it's gonna feel hopeless. The minute you start to take steps towards radically changing your own life or helping women and girls (or both) you'll start to feel better. You need to use what you've learned. The despair comes from not feeling useful.
Also look at what women and girls are doing. The separatist communities, lifestyles and events, the successful boycotting, mocking and ruining of misogynists, the support networks, the increased awareness of women and their subsequent lowered tolerance for abuse and day to day misogyny, the way women speak up everyday in ways they never did nor could before. We are in the middle of an anti-feminist backlash, that's why men are pushing for porn, bdsm, extreme objectification, karen, bitch, terf, femoid. For them to be so vehement about feminists, on every side of the political spectrum no less, they have to feel threatened. That's because women have progressed a lot. It's women's independence, women's sense of unity, women's sexual autonomy, women's speaking up and women's confidence that they feel the need to attack. So that gives you an idea of what we're doing right and what we should focus on. It's far from hopeless.
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thesaturn1nez · 6 months
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Can I get some Junebug HC?
yaay the lil cutie :] was waiting for someone to request her!
Junebug 🪲
• she was made much later in The Neighborhood. the city network urged them to make a character that could appeal to little girls who were more fond of girly things, so Al came up with the idea of a preteen girl who could teach kids about being responsible and independence while still having time for fun.
• oh my god, the feedback. so many adults HATED her. there were tons of complaints after Junebug’s debut, mainly about her personality and voice, to the point news articles were calling her the very thing that would lead to MFN’s downfall (Al instructed staff to not keep those papers around because she might find them). the thing that saved her from being removed was the fact that 97% of the children watching loved her and actually started doing tasks their own parents couldn’t get them to do just because she did them.
• staff actually liked her a lot as well. her silliness and genuine innocence tended to overpower most feelings of distain.
• bad habit of going places she wasn’t supposed to be. there’s a bunch of bloopers in the archives where she ruined the mood by running in front of the camera, yelling out something random, or doing something in the back when she wasn’t even supposed to be there. one of the funniest examples was Junebug in the background of a shot, awkwardly trying to climb down a tree, only to give up and crash to the ground with Richie trying his hardest to stay in character.
• to everyone’s confusion, she’d sometimes ended up in the offices: the main theory being she wiggled her way through a vent. the writers would let her explore before taking her back to the set before anyone figured out she was missing. this was so common, she got into the habit of bringing stuff as ‘gifts’ with every visit. the explanation for the prop food in the cabinets.
• oh, her handler was STRESSED. she was an older woman, well into her 40s, who never married (fiance died in the war) or had children. she’d lightly joke about how Junebug gave her the full experience for free.
• was pretty short for the first few months of her being around, around four feet tall. this was a mistake, as she was meant to be around the other puppets height, yet didn’t even go past Norman’s chest. she was eventually fixed, to everyone’s dissapointment.
• although she brings up her parents and mentions living with her mom, they were never played by anybody. her mother was just a puppet hand that was being controlled by a puppeteer offscreen and her dad never made a physical appearance whatsoever. it took her a long time to understand she wasn’t supposed to point out that this yellow felt hand wasn’t even attached to anything but a stick and to just play along for the skit.
• George filled in the role of an uncle for her. they became really close buddies despite it all being scripted, with Junebug seeing him as this cool adult she wanted to be like and George just wanting to help her out in any way he could.
• can’t stay still, insists she’ll die if she tries. Gordon would prove her otherwise by yelling, ‘the floor is lava.’
• Junebug was intentionally written to be neurodivergent. Al never told anyone this, mainly because the network did not approve of other suggestions he tried to include in the show and doubted they’d be open to the idea.
• became a bit more sassy after the shutdown. likes talking back to Ricky just because she knows he can’t do much about it.
• Gordon constantly has to pry her mouth open because she’s always eating something she isn’t supposed to. he’s not sure whether she learned this from Goblette, the pups, or even some sort of commercial from the television, just that he’s tired of her spitting it all back up an hour later. if you shook her, it would sound like a bag of marbles.
• all the Junebug duplicates made a little club for themselves. unfortunately for everyone involved its just like rule of rose.
• her mask being the ‘agony’ one is exactly what was going on in her head after watching tv. she did not take what she saw well at all, even if there had been an adult figure to help her through it, she would have the most trouble trying to accept it all.
• in the show, she was the ‘oldest’ out of all the other younger puppets, acting like the responsible older sister for them. she’s the only one left, as most of those kids ended up in the unfriendly neighborhood. this is the main reason she has duplicates.
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