#a professional donation

[inkskinned]

no, but really, we need to talk about the casual objectification that has become the fallback discourse of the internet: if you're pretty and dressed nicely, you're a slut. and if you're even vaguely outside of their body standard, you're fucking disgusting.

too-frequently, people position sex workers as being "the problem". they sneer you're addicted to pornography, you don't know what a real woman looks like. but real women are in pornography. the real bodies on display are not the issue here: the issue is that other people feel extremely confident when commenting on someone's physique.

2000's super-thin is slowly worming its way back into the public ideal. recently i saw someone get told to "go for a run", despite the fact she was on the thinner side of average. not that it would ever be appropriate to say that: but it's kind of like sticker shock when you see it. people think that is fat? holy shit. do they just have no idea about things?

but what are you going to do about it? that's the problem, right. because chances are - you're a normal person. we can say normalize carrying fat on your body, but we are not the billion-dollar diet industry. we are not the billion-dollar fashion industry. we are just, like. people. who are trying to make content on the internet, without being treated shittily.

as someone who has been on both sides of things: you are treated better when you are thin and pretty. this is statistically correct. i am not saying that you cannot be bullied for being thin; i'm saying there are objective institutional biases against certain bodytypes. there are videos of men and women who lost weight all saying: i now know for a fact exactly how much worse you're treated. in the comments, some asshole inevitably says something akin to you deserved to be dehumanized when you were fat.

which means that ... the easiest thing to do is be pretty and thin. it is the path of least resistance, because of course it is, because any time you post a picture of yourself without a thigh gap, someone immediately comments something like you need to try a diet.

the other half is also dehumanizing though, huh, just in a different way. when i put on makeup and nice clothes, i am told i slept my way to the top as a professional. do you know how many women in STEM have told me they purposefully dress to "unimpress" because they already struggle to be taken seriously and if they're ever considered pretty - it for some reason takes away from their authority.

so they make it seem like it's your fault. you, existing in a body - it's your fault! if you didn't want shitty comments, don't have a body. they position us against each other like chess pieces; vying for male attention we don't even need.

and i can be an authority on this unless you think i'm fat and unattractive. when i am pretty and thin, i'm an activist. when i am just a normal person who makes a good point: i am immediately dismissed. nobody fucking believes you if you're not seen as attractive. you literally lose value. you cease to exist.

but the whole time, it feels like - is anyone actually grounded the fuck in reality? the line of "pretty and thin" keeps shifting. nobody seems to understand what "a normal weight" even looks like, because it's not something that exists - you cannot tell a person's health by looking at their body. even if you think you could tell that, even if you're sure a person is dangerously overweight - people are not your dolls. they do not need to be dressed up or displayed properly to soothe your aesthetics. you aren't concerned for them, you're stealing their agency. you don't get to say if they're "allowed" to take pictures and post them on the internet - you don't get to tell them how to exist.

people hide behind "the obesity epidemic" without any actual qualifications. they crow things about "normalizing unhealthiness".

but it's bullshit. i have visible abs. there is a pair of parallel lines on my body, even when i'm relaxed; where my obliques meet my abdominal wall. i am proud of this because it means i'm strong, because i overcame an eating disorder only to be ripped as fuck. it is genetic and physical luck that i even get any definition, i'm pleased as punch.

but it does mean that my abdominal wall sticks out a little bit. the other day i posted a video of myself dancing, and, for a moment, my shirt slipped. you could see a little bit of my stomach. i was cartwheeling to the floor. moments before this, i'd had my foot over my head.

a guy slid into my DMs. a row of vomiting emojis prefaced: you should really lose some weight before you think about dancing.

i stared at it for a long time. there was a time when i would have been triggered by this, where it would have encouraged me to starve myself. i would have ignored the fact i'm flexible, agile, good at jumping: i would have lost the weight for a stranger's passing comment. i would have found myself and my body fucking disgusting.

and for what? to please what? because why? so that he can exist in this world without an unchallenged eyeball? what would my self-hatred even accomplish? usually i write paragraphs. obviously. on this particular occasion, in this body i've been at war with for ages: i just felt exhausted.

it shouldn't be even worth saying. it shouldn't be hard to explain. all of this emotional turmoil when he cannot even comprehend the most basic truth: i am not an object on display for him.

[hostilecityshowdown]

https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-psychosis-nicho

"Hello. I'm Ruben Zamora from Masked Republic and I'm fundraising for my friend the original Pyschosis, also known as Nicho.

On Thursday, February 15th, 2024 Nicho suffered a fall while working. At the moment, nobody knew how bad the injury was. After a few days, fellow luchador Damian convinced him to go to the hospital. Nicho took the advice, which he would later learn might have saved his life. At the moment, nobody knew how bad the injury was.

Upon arriving at the hospital, x-rays and an MRI were taken and showed that his right hip was broken. Not bruised, not fractured, but broken. Medical doctors advised Nicho that he would not be able to go home and instead must stay for observation and an eventual emergency surgery.

A few days later the surgery was performed successfully. Several days later, Nicho was allowed to go home. I have been in contact with Nicho and he tells me that he is not able to sit up, move, much less walk. He is to stay in bed for several weeks before he can attempt to sit up. Nicho tells me that the pain is severe, keeping him from sleeping at night.

Why am I doing this, you may ask? Nicho has been not only a very good friend to me, but he has been a loyal supporter in what we do at Masked Republic since day 1. When ever I called for a booking date, he always said yes, asked when and where, and say he'd be there. (Note, he never started the conversation asking about pay.) When I needed a radio interview, or a tv appearance, Nicho was always the first to step up and help out... never asking about pay. When I would go out at midnight to plaster my event posters around San Diego, Nicho would cross the border and come along to help put up posters. He never asked for anything in return. When the attendance was bad and I was short on cash, Nicho would tell me, "pay everyone else first. Take care of all the kids (luchadors from the undercard) and your expenses first and whenever you have money, don't forget about me".

For those reasons, and many more, I want to help my friend Nicho, the real and true original Psychosis.

His generosity and support has allowed me and Masked Republic to thrive in the lucha libre space, and thus allowing us to help others and provide them with an opportunity to pursue their dreams as well.

All donations will go directly to Nicho in order for him to pay his medical bills, pay for his upcoming physical therapy, and help pay for any future medical expenses as he will not be able to work for the foreseeable future.

I ask that you please help if you can. Every donation will help. Please tell a friend.

Thank You!

-R"

[kideternity]

Hiiii it’s your friendly neighbourhood Ant 🐜! As mentioned in the tags of my most recent rb bump of my comms post, I was denied social service/disability allowance from the government, so I’ve decided to open a kofi account to hopefully help with my financial situation. The about of my new kofi has some more details on why I chose to open it- you’re free to commission artwork from me there or leave a one off donation. Thank you for reading!

Kofi: ko-fi.com/kingofants

[pansyfemme]

kinda hyped going to a musical theatre confrence tommorow and i fucking love those even tho 9/10 readings ive seen at these things suck ass

[allgremlinart]

if I had a scanner for my traditional art it'd be So Over (for CSP)

[chlorinewriter]

Tagged by @erinyra for the fanfiction writer bingo! I haven't done anything like this in ages, but thanks for tagging me! It's fun to think about (and to read through your tags). Tagging @ditttiii and @giurochedadomani in case either of you'd like to participate ^^ Clean template can be found here.

[signalhill-if]

Considering Donation Platforms

So with the demo out and the next lead well on its way, I've been thinking a lot about the future of this project and about how to dedicate more of my time to it. The honest truth is, I am a full time student and part time worker and it's difficult maintaining all three at the same time. I want to be as consistent with this game as possible, but I also don't want to sacrifice my marks, and I frankly can't afford to take fewer shifts at work right now.

The solution to this is pretty obvious- starting a Patreon or Ko-fi would allow me to make a bit of extra cash while working on the game, if I'm able to build it up enough. Obviously this is not right around the corner, as I'd like to have a bit of extra content built up by the time I launch either of those, and my primary focus right now is the main game. But I want to talk about those, which platform people generally prefer, and what kind of extra content people are interested in seeing.

Patreon has higher fees and is geared towards long term memberships. I'd be able to offer patrons early access to new updates (which will hopefully be relatively frequent, as progress during development has been pretty fast) and access to a back catalogue of art and side stories. It would also mean I could share NSFW content, like explicit stories or nude pinups, which is a bonus cause I know y'all nasty. But the biggest thing I'm excited for would be offering polls to decide what is worked on next. Because the game will be updated lead-by-lead, that means patrons would be able to directly decide what they see in early access that month.

Ko-fi has lower fees and more breadth of services, so I could use the same platform to offer commissions, sell side stories, and offer memberships for early access. However, Ko-fi doesn't allow explicit sexual content, so no sexy pinups and no sexy stories. Sorry nasty people. And since traditional romance won't exactly be the focus of the game, commissioned writing probably wouldn't be as interesting of an offer for you folks anyway. No polls, either. But the big benefit is that people may be more willing to pay a one time fee to purchase something rather than becoming a patron for a longer period of time.

Yes, I can set up both- but if I'm making content for Patreon, Ko-fi would just be a tip jar for people who don't want to use itch.io! I'm specifically thinking about which platform I want to offer content through.

I originall had a little google form here, but y'know what? I'm probably better off just doing a quick poll.

[inosukh]

hi!  I am desperately in need for help. I need my insulin to bring my blood sugar back down. It’s $300 That’s all I need. I’m not asking for a windfall, just a little help, please.

Be blessed 💓🙏🙏💓

            DONATE AND SHARE.

hello! ❤️ im really sorry for what you have to go through and im not able to donate any money. :(

i really hope you meet your goal of $300 (and maybe even more!), you are so deserving and i hope only the best things come your way!

[alessandriana]

The fact the AO3 archive software makes it technically and factually impossible for OTW the organization to comply with their legally mandated reporting and preservation obligations under 18 USC 2258(A) is an existential threat to the organization.

Yikes, yikes, yikes. Whole bunch of shit going on here about massive failures in the way the OTW (/AO3) deals with CSEM, including the attacks last year, and the ways it opens AO3 up to significant legal liability.

@transformativeworks These issues need to be fixed immediately, and the Legal team needs to resign; they are failing the organization, and putting the archive at risk.

ETA: There's been some updated info that shows they do keep backups that would probably qualify as records keeping under the law, but it's still not great.

[yeastinfectionvale]

I love old car/racing magazines especially the adverts. Might scan a few from my GP magazine copy (there is an advert for the 2007 USGP and it looks so cool)

[hostilecityshowdown]

"Im sure you’ve heard about the hottest wrestling promotion in Uganda today, SoftGround Wrestling. These young men have so much potential in the world of professional wrestling, but it can all be withered away very soon. Hello, I am Jake, the US Ambassador for SGW. I, just like many others, found these amazing athletes through viral posts on twitter, and I wanted to learn more. So, I got in contact with the owner of the Organization and Channel, Bumbash Daniel, but what I heard made me very sad.

The land that they currently use to film most of their content, like the video you just saw, is being rented right now by Daniel, but they don’t have a lot of funds. And if this continues, the promotion may not have a home very soon.

I believe that these athletes deserve a chance to showcase their talents to the world, but I need your help. What this GoFundMe is for is so SGW can continue renting out their land for the foreseeable future, put money towards adding to their production, and eventually saving up to buy a wrestling ring to permanently use.

When I asked Daniel about what SoftGround exactly is, he told me that SoftGround is much more than a wrestling promotion, it’s a Community of people in Uganda that use pro wrestling to come together. It’s an activity that all of them find great joy in.

So that is why I believe you should help them out today in any way you can. Whether it be donating directly or sharing the link online to spread awareness. We will provide updates as the GoFundMe progresses. Thank you for your time."

A video from the wrestlers of SoftGround Wrestling, thanking doners:

Please donate to their GFM, follow the campaign's updates, and subscribe to their YouTube channel! You can also connect them via WhatsApp to offer your encouragement and ask how else you can support them at +(256)705059051.

I decided to reach out to them, myself, and was met with nothing but kindness, wishes for my safety, and gratitude. I mentioned that I was a big fan of their wrestler Hope, and was asked to record a short video saying hello to her, and promised that she'll record a video saying hello back to me tomorrow. I'm extremely touched, and I strongly encourage everyone to let SGW know we're cheering for them. You can watch a match of Hope's below and see for yourself what an incredible talent she and all the wrestlers at SGW are:

[miks-fantrolls]

well. had some unexpected/financially devastating news happen. so.

ill try and make an official post for it, but im openin music commissions for $15 (1 minute)

[fingertipsmp3]

Anyone else having an absolutely unhinged week or is that just me

[thelastevilregal]

Not Jane calling Maura a whiny baby.

That's a little on the nose don't ya think?

[ronanlynchbf]

diversity loss! those ppl correctly gendering u assumed you're straight..

[chadlesbianjasontodd]

ive had people object really strongly when i criticize ao3 or the otw but like. my real actual main criticism is just that........organizations that expect the lower-down people who do the hard scut work to be in it For The Love Of The Game do not behave professionally, because they think they don't need to behave professionally. and i don't care how cool and new and different your particular startup is! having beanbag chairs or charity work or a volunteer-only structure is not a substitute for best practices!!