#and poisoning marginalized communities

[stankrhodes]

bring back public shaming !! to use generative ai to "write" fanfic is so belittling to your own capabilities. what makes the art of creating fic and sharing it so special is knowing a human put thought, effort, and time into the story. it's the same way we would respect a published author for their work.

anyway, if you or a loved one are thinking about using generative ai to "write" fanfic, maybe commission an author you like, or write something yourself! or brainstorm with friends ! but please don't undermine your own capacity for creativity just because genai is "easier". it's not easier, actually, and you should read on the environmental impacts as well as the African slave labor used to build these LLM's.

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

Pornography Addiction

Recently our post on the behavour of Capital-G Gamers, and the problems in the industry that feed into it, attracted a lot of comments advising not to use "porn addict". Some claiming the term was invented by right-wing Christian groups.

It is certainly true that there are various right-wing and/or Christian groups do claim pornography addiction as a reason to revoke basic human rights, further marginalize sex workers, and justify violence against sex workers... that doesn't mean they invented it.

Like most things the radical right relies upon, they co-opted it from a group they have contempt for. Nazis co-opted the Swastika from Buddhism, shitty men on Reddit co-opted involuntary celibacy terminology from a bisexual woman, right-wing pseudo-academics tried to co-opt diversity with their "diversity of thought" campaign... and hateful Christian groups are trying to co-opt expertise on behavioural addictions (sex, gambling, shopping, pornography, etc as opposed to substance addtions) from psychology.

It's worth examining how this is working with pornography and the ways it ties in with the various fashy parties determined to rule the world we all live in.

Actual Pornography Addiction

Actual pornography addiction has its roots in similar addictions such as gambling - it is a situation where the individual becomes obsessed with it as a source of positive feelings, to the detriment of themselves and those around them.

Symptoms of it include a full blown obsession, a loss of interest in other enjoyable activities, spending money needed for essentials on the focus of the addiction, engaging it under risk circumstances (such as while at a job that you really need to keep), suffering anxiety and frustration when unable to indulge, etc.

Importantly, with these kinds of addictions, they are often not really about what what they appear to be. People get addicted sometimes because it's a reliable source of dopamine hits, or because it provides an escape from harsh realities around them, etc. Taking the focus of the addiction away does not fix the underlying cause, and often leads to them finding a substitute addiction.

So, if you say... for the sake of argument, you have a group of people who actively identify as "gooners", remember a porn parody of Lola Bunny as the "real" design, obsess over a single game because it has some sexy skins, make 9/11 jokes and riot when a quality of life feature prevents them from looking up video game girl skirts, and all the points in the original post (including want to fap to a character who is defined by how she's been abused by men)... it's not unreasonable to point out they do seem to be advertising to the world that they are current or aspiring pornography addicts. Particularly since their outrage is rarely about what they actually claim it is about.

How much it applies to any given member of that community is impossible to say, as the whole group is irony poisoned and also obsessed with performative behaviour.

And as a side note, if someone dear to you has similar behavior, whether its in relation to porn, sex, gambling, video games, or anything else - then it is generally considered the compassionte thing to try to get them to realize it and work towards addressing both the addiction and any underlying causes in their life.

Right-wing "Pornography Addiction"

When people who have nothing but contempt for psychology and sex therapists say "porn addiction" or "sex addiction" they are villifying sex workers and objectified persons, blaming them for the violence done against them and completely unrelated ills in society.

They consider it "addiction" if you develop a crush on someone other than your spouse, have normal sexual fantasies, occasionally want to enjoy pornography, are curious about visiting a strip bar or even just masturbate... under any circumstances.

They are closer to anti-pornography than concerned for addiction, and has a long, long history. I would hope BABD followers would be aware we are definitely not anti-porn and we actively support sex workers.

Obviously, the real goal is to give them more control and more avenues to suppress people. This is clearly illustrated in the ways Project 2025 both wants to outlaw pornography and define "transgender ideology" as pornograpy. You can see between the lines, the goal isn't to make people better, the goal is to criminalize the existence of people they look down on.

Also, the solutions they propose clearly don't help anyone and they know that - South Korea has strict anti-porn laws, and the "gooner" community mistake it for a porny wonderland. Again, they don't want to help anyone, they just want to hurt people they do not like.

The harm of co-opting

At face value, it's easy to see why the proposed solution to this is just to say it's not real, it's right-wing nonsense, etc.

But that creates two problems. First it means there's people with a problem that is being denied, and secondly it kind of ignores the real overall goals by missing the forest for the trees.

People whose lives are harmed by behavioural addiction need a framework to be able to address it, and need other people to take it seriously and not just dismiss it as "made up". This applies to gambling, shopping, gaming and pornography.

Think about it, when was the last time you saw a swastika on display as a symbol of positivity? Think "incel" is ever coming back to the LGBTQ people who struggle to find people accepting of them?

Secondly, the reactionaries co-opting it are not "making up" a boogieman. They're not that imaginative and they're much, much more dishonest and malicious.

They're actively spreading misinformation in an attempt to gain for authoritarian power to use to harm people. They're actively trying to undermine the work people have done to help people, stripping the actual research away and placing themselves as the authority on a topic of public wellbeing that they see only as a cudgel.

Because they won't stop at just claiming to be the experts on pornography addiction, they'll claim to be the experts on gambling, drugs, alcohol, gaming, shopping, etc. All their advice will be what's convenient for them, and their friends.

Same way all kinds of psychological concepts get co-opted into torturing people under the claim of conversion therapy (which does not and has never worked, in any capacity), often in the name of profit as well as oppression.

So my recommendation is be less concerned about the term appearing, and more concerned about whether it is in the context of warning people their obsession is harmful - or just trying to trick people into agreeing to authoritarian control.

-wincenworks

[an-imaginary-person6]

It’s kind of the same thing with a lack of wlw on ao3. There’s something there that is rare in (specifically western and imperial core) media.

For the trans men thing, I gotta shrug because that feels less my business. But as someone who was AFAB my take is this: it’s somewhat true more AFAB folk occupy this space (specifically non-racialised folks). So it isn’t as surprising that we ain’t seeing any trans women on there.

Again, I can’t explain this phenomenon and the tag do be giving vibes. But- for me personally- I will assume this is for good more than it is about harassment (I hope because trans folks are already harassed about their existence- the fact that lgbtq sanitizers want these strangely somewhat specifically muted perspectives on queerness would harass folks over media is deeply upsetting.)

Anywho read the tags if you want, most of my perspective is in the text. You can make a dialouge if you want about the use of trans identifiers in ao3.

(In my opinion they aren’t necessary because it’s quite silly. With how much queer shit is on ao3 this specification feels and likely is completely unnecessary.)

Idk why there’s an author is trans tag on ao3 but whatever.

It just bothers me that people feel the need to know our gender so that we may write about a trans character. Or to decide if our problematic content is worth a pass or not.

I’m sure I’m reading too much into it but I genuinely do not trust folks anymore. And I see it more with fics featuring trans men than trans women.

Yes that’s the vibes the tag gives.

[sophieinwonderland]

No. Not human beings. MAGAts.

See, a human being has morals and compassion and values and critical thinking. Or at least one of those things.

Perhaps the MAGAt had humanity once upon a time but that has been lost much like the humanity of a zombie once bitten. 🤷‍♀️

There is no humanity left to a creature so doped up on fascist propaganda that every single policy decision they support is filtered through a lens of figuring out what group it can hurt.

So yes! Treating them the way I do is a point of pride! Because it's the exact way that they treat others. And they are allowed to get away with it because we are too soft in our responses.

Trump calls immigrants animals on live television, and his people proudly support it. They have raised nearly a million dollars for a woman who called and autistic child the n-word. They love making marginalized communities feel less than human. They love hurting other people. Traumatizing other people! So why shouldn't we return the favor? Why shouldn't we make sure that they hurt the way they enjoy hurting others?

Maybe they will learn a valuable life lesson. Probably not. But I frankly don't care.

We keep trying to play nice. We keep trying to be the better people. We've been trying since the Civil War Reconstruction where all of the traitors were set free with barely any consequences for treason and slaughtering American citizens where other people would have been executed.

Here we are and the cancer has returned full force because we didn't actually remove it.

We keep repeating the same patterns over and over again! We keep trying to take the high road! We keep trying to compromise with evil! And it doesn't work! It never works!

Lincoln wasn't even going to abolish slavery! He just wanted to slowly poison it so that hopefully somewhere down the line it might be able to end someday.

And do you know why? Because the North still sympathized with the slave owners! They were still concerned about their "wealth" being taken away. It felt unfair to simply rob these business owners. They cared more about the humanity of the slave owners than the slaves.

This force of evil in America... This cancer... It tries to play on your sympathies. It tries to get you to feel compassion towards it. Because even though they feel no compassion for marginalized communities or all the people they hurt... They know that you do. You have compassion and morals. And this evil will try to exploit that if allowed.

You know... As a system, there have been plenty of times when we have questioned our sanity. Because sometimes it feels... Out there... Sharing a brain and body with others... It feels like maybe it's just delusion... And we find ourselves questioning everything... Luckily we are good at answering questions so we get through it...

But when it comes to this, I think we're the most sane people in the world. Because this spineless insistence that we should continue to treat our enemies with compassion and show them sympathy and treat them like humans when they have proven that they will never show us the same courtesy and will only exploit it as a weakness... That is actual insanity.

And I am not saying that compassion and sympathy are weaknesses themselves. Of course they aren't. Caring is what makes us human. But we need to be selective.

Wasting sympathy and compassion on creatures who will only take advantage of it is going to be the end of us. Taking them in good faith, humanizing them... That's how the enemy will win.

[widefuturesss]

it’s crazy, confusing and humbling reaching this stage in my becoming where I’m no longer the youngest in the midst of my fellow co-creators

and by young, I even mean young in the practice of becoming a creator of worlds; I had wide eyes and was happy to connect with anyone willing to share knowledge, resources, space and simply: validation,,, yet my willingness to share my potential (because I didn’t exactly know how to or what direction to cultivate it in) led to a lot of uneven relationships with power hierarchies and various forms of abuse & exploitation. It was like I was yearning for community in an industry of cliques, which reminds me of how as a kid I always caught the eye of popular kids but could never fully fit into their spaces because through and true I’ve always been an outcast, a nigga attracted to soul beyond an exterior, I feel truly seen in the margins; and I can truly see the non-visible, it is where I find most realness, I mean real roots is indeed in the underground

But yea, all this to say that I’m at a place where I can rlly see how we’re inspiring and influencing another age of young people, most especially femme spirits. It’s been an honor to be able to validate and advice and also give platform to y’all because it really feels like I’m giving it to 15 year old me that rlly just wanted to grow. Yet it is also an eye opener as I come to forgive the older sistahs that made me feel small, because I understand how industry makes us competitive and feel as though there’s a scarcity that we must need to fiercely protect in order to maintain our relevance

I also just understand the insecurities of this existence, and how capitalism tells you there can only be One best according to a fixed and rigged standard of value based production… i understand the tensions of jealousy and rivalry, it’s crazy cuz it doesn’t just come from u but the people around you, back in Nigeria, niggas was telling me “this person is copying you”, this person is soo you coded blah blah blah but damn! This shit is poisonous to the mind — I want to become so my sistahs may become, so we may all become and raise the frequency of our collective space and materiality,,,

yet it’s easy to be power hungry in this world, especially when people actually wanna be fans/followers as supposed to co-creators… it’s hard not having an ego when some ppl straight up wanna worship u

I’m tryin my best and learning fr on this journey of figuring it out, most especially also learning my boundaries! Because it’s one thing being inspired and honoring the legacy and heritage of where our languages and methods are being sourced from, versus straight up just imitating and duplicating an aesthetic that limítates the ecosystem we’ve been building

much more to say but I feel grateful to be sharing these thoughts because wow, what a journey it has been already

[todostiddies]

Eren Boyfriend Headcanons pt 3

Modern Eren headcanons for GNreader, a continuation of pt 1, pt 2

*** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ***

watched youtube and tik tok tutorials on how to take better pictures because he wants to impress you

but also thinks you're worthy of only an actual photographer you're so beautiful to him and so he want to fill his camera roll (and his insta!) with you and make it look worthy

this also shows because he lowkey becomes like the photographer in the group that sometimes when he's feeling sentimental and/or drunk he'll heckle the group on nights out for pictures and pull the whole "we're gonna grow old one day and need these to look back on" line

he also begins to take really artful photos sometimes?? and people get a little shook cause he'll have a great perspective and shot and then other times he holds his finger up to the camera to make it look like a butt in front of every other picture lmao

if he gives you a bite of something hot he'll blow on it for you first <33 and then he'll bring it to your mouth and feed you and sometimes make you blush just from his insane unblinking stare as he gauges your reaction lol

but if people are eating with you guys and conversation is flowing don't be surprised if Eren eats the bite he just prepared for you because he got too distracted

then he'll look to you all shocked like it wasn't his own hand lmao and he'll give you a cheeky smile or a pout before making another bite for you or he'll pull the iconic cheesy line "just checking for poison babe" with an embarrassed blush

judges horror movies like it's his full-time job

literally will ruin some movies or moments for you by commenting or joking about the characters and set up too much (he does it because he's secretly afraid and has to diffuse his own tension and keep a brave face for you)

has a drawer of letter's he's written to you as a suggestion from his therapist, so sometimes after fights or feelings of pent up love or other feelings he doesn't know how to verbalize he'll write them all down and it's helped with your guys' communication a lot since it gives him time to process and figure out how to say things

he plans on giving you the letters on a big anniversary or the night before your wedding

if he's in a good mood he will dramatically swing your arm while holding hands

sometimes he wordlessly plops his headphones on your head at random times and plays a song for you to hear then looks at you for your reactions and finally for your spoken opinion when he takes them off your head with a raised brow

he hates doing his homework but likes to help you with yours, and if you're burnt out or fall asleep working he'll often times do some of the work for you or help speed the assignment along (with your consent and he's learned all your writing and work styles so he can mimic you pretty well but I don't condone academic dishonesty obvi but lets be real we've all been there)

whiner

whines when he wants your attention

and whines when he gets it (if you know what I mean wink wink)

back to the photos, he has SO many photos of you and of you guys together. But he doesn't just take them and keep them, he'll shove the photo in your face and make you give yourself at least four compliments and then at least one about his photography skills lol

will randomly make eye-contact with you and plaster on the biggest smirk before lifting up his shirt to flash you his abs and v-line when he's in a good mood (and horny)

sometimes when you guys study together and he gets bored he'll take one of your open notebooks or planner and scribble in the margins and fill it with little compliments and song recs for you to find later

if he is shit talking someone this man simply does not care who hears it

he'll be so loud and bold about it too

"Eren, they're right behind you?"

"So?"

whenever you put on chapstick or anything on your lips he says "gimme a taste" and then kisses you

he'll always give a review too. like about the flavor to texture and mostly it's raving but there has been some snubs

a fry stealer to the very worst degree

always wants a sip of whatever you're drinking and if he likes it then that's your and his drink now

big fan of Zelda and always tells you that he'd be your Link if any dark calamity took you

also gets super giddy when you play Zelda in Mario Kart or Super Smash cause then he gets to pick Link even if Link isn't always the best to play with (which is an actual Nintendo crime but maybe I just suck at playing Link lol)

gets so fucking mean when playing Mario Kart as in he will throw every obstacle your way and does NOT let you win and is not above resorting to straight up distracting you or messing you up while playing

will sometimes steal Zeke's bike and take you on rides on it

he'll go fast with just himself but always keeps it under 60mph with you if even that

hums to himself while cooking <33

he can cook but he can't bake because he likes to play around with recipes a lot (by play around I mean he won't have ingredients and is too lazy to go to the store to get them so he wings it)

likes you to taste test his food

and there's always one candle half melted in his kitchen from yalls dinner dates <33

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

[adeptus-nonsense]

humans are poets as well as warmongers

Humans nowadays are well known far and wide in this galaxy. Mostly because they are some of the most chaotic, Stupid or bold "daredevils" around (think i used that word correctly).

While i do recall my first meeting with the humans very V E R Y badly since i served in the contact wars when the Graktuka a well known theocratic empire and very influential and politically strong contender in the galaxy stumbled across human colonies. They saw this as an hostile action since the planet they were settling were a holy world, That however is a story for another time.

Just know that the Graktuka empire shrunk by a significant margin to the point where they asked for militairy support. The humans had apparently developed a kind of magnetic accelerated firing plattform piercing through multiple layers of hull completely ignoring shields. Given that Graktuka empire relied on shields since most of the galactic arsenal is plasma based but their hull wasn't weak at all. Unconventional weapons had to be used to even dent their armour. Realising that the humans ships were massive but rather primitive and slow a ground based invasion was seen to be the optimal way off going.

If you were there you would know why humanity is as feared as they are. Masters of the what did they call it? Art of war? Yeah something like that. Fields of bombs buried into the ground detonating with a light step. Weapons dedicated to injure soldiers just enough to save them but not kill them in order to make the invader spend more resources on saving said soldier.

Even our bases of operations with shields were not safe, let me tell you if you think regular humans can cause damage to stuff by touching things dont even get near trained saboteurs with your stuff. They break things in a ways that seems like a simple malfunction and will work after a simple repair. When the shield generator first broke down i thought i could fix it in a matter of minutes, I still havent fixed it to this day and i have taken that thing apart thousands of times without finding the fault.

safe to say we lost that war and this is just one one planet. This was the short part. Just be glad that they pack bond with just about anything. Saw a human carry a cleaning unit and named it "Ronald the Roomba" And that is apparently our ships mascot. But this is things we all are aware of. Let me tell you of their poetic side

This is not something most of us see as common knowledge about humans, but their cultural aspect besides war is for a lack of better words beautiful. This thing they call music.

for all their wars they know how brutal they are and write songs about everything they did wrong and how they wished how they could change it. But that is not all, according to human Jakob music portrays emotions and ones feelings in a way that regular communication doesn't and you dont even need to understand the words to understand the emotion said piece is carrying. Which i know to be true, it's almost therapeutic

I think My log of it will be a better way to describe since it is honestly hard to describe [alltough be careful their music is quite loud for most prey species]

Year 4574 human sector 456854 log 1 of service leave. I am currently here on a passion project of mine. While the war has ended 6 years ago off now the tensions do still exist. Me and some comrades in service are taking some time off and going to what humans call a bar and apparently there is a human performing. I have no idea of how this is gonna go. All i know is humans are incredibly chaotic especially when intoxicated. Still i should probably record this for the culture scientists at social scientific hub.

Log 2

*murmur and loud talking in the background at the bar*

"for clarifications sake, my name is Groakslo, i am here with my two comrades Kyukla and Telosa. We are currently at the bar only to see that humans are actively drinking poison, i was quite shocked to hear this and asked if it isn't dangerous and the bartender said and i quote "nah we gucci" note to self find out what gucci is."

Log 3

"the humans were beginning to get rowdy and even slight outbursts of violence did occur but nothing the surprisingly loud bartender couldn't handle by a very concerning threat, followed by him saying that the band is preparing so settle down. Telosa and i looked at each other very confused but still awaited this "band"

Log 4

"the band arrived and started to set up weird things, long instruments with metal strings, of varying thickness, i asked the a human who were close by what they were and he said instruments. I asked what they were used for and he said to play music. I was getting nowhere and decided to see for myself what they were gonna do."

Log 5 (i decided to be quiet for this one)

"welcome folks and aliens of all sorts shapes and kinds! Thank you for coming to this bar for our first debut our name is The Lines In between, and for those who dont know human music, we'll slowly lean you into it with this first on and it is namned Memories beneath the stars" [3 hours of music recorded]

Final log (yes i know i could voice record but i want to write while the memory is fresh i'm bad with words)

I never knew that humans could make such songs. Telosa and Kyukla was particurlarly affected. The song was as the name suggest the memories we made sneaking out to watch the stars as younglings, reminiscing about the times when the stars were the most unknown, adventure filled and beautiful place to be in. But also about the connections they've lost over the years, the good times wiped away like a water slowly polishing a stone into sand. It was odd, beautiful calm, sad all at once.

The voices i heard when i fought humans in war can not even be compared to that of the singer in that band, what is most perplexing is that the once borderline rioting bar was completely quiet when the band was performing, almost as if in a trance completely captured by the singers voice, smooth, rough, raspy but controlled in a way i thought impossible. A song about 4 human minutes somehow managed to capture the full emotional spektrum of not only humans but multiple species in that bar.

Humans truly are an astounding species. Truly a species that are on all of the extremes, stupidity, ingenuity, violence, poetry and many many more. For now i'll sign off and hope you at the social cultural exchange fellas have a field day with the music file attached to this.

Grokslo, highly decorated former geothermical shield generator militairy specialist.

[neigepomme]

elaborating on my vampire reader & human caleb au with some world building..

cw // monster talk, body horror (just a bit), blood, vampire stuff LOL

⋆ getting turned into a vampire isn't as easy as bite and go. there needs to be an exchange of blood: the vampire needs to feed on a human and feed it its blood. the conversion into a vampire is a bit of a gamble, given that many will simply die upon consuming vampire blood. after surving the vampire blood consumption, a new vampire is born and will no longer age physically beyond the age they've been turned.

⋆ depending on how old a vampire is, the way they manage in the daylight, and whatnot is different. vampires that have been turned for less than a decade can still manage within a human society with only some telling signs that they're vampires (such as a tendency to get headaches and benign rashes after exposure to the sun), whereas older vampires are unable to withstand the sun as a whole. after twenty years or so of being a vampire, you're completely unable to tolerate the sun, and it doesn't exactly kill you, but rather makes your skin blister and regeneration comes much, much slower. prolonged exposition (6h and over) to concentrated sunlight with no protection will deplete a vampire of their energy entirely and decompose the body.

⋆ vampires don't die unless exposed to sunlight continuously or when they're killed by means of anti-vampiric weapons (poisons, silver bullets, classic stake through the heart, etc). garlic and running water have no impact on vampires.

⋆ defining characteristics of vampires include pointier ears, colder body temperatures, and, obviously, defined fangs. there is no real change to the vampire's skin tone after being turned, except for a bit of a colder complexion — rarely observed, but sometimes seen in vampires who already had paler skin as humans.

⋆ vampires can eat human food! provides no nourishment, but it's often done in order to appear normal to society & provides a sense of normalcy after getting turned.

⋆ vampires can consume blood from any living organism — however, human blood provides significantly more nutrients compared to other animals' blood. a lot of vampires prefer feeding on human blood (a cup of blood from a human > a gallon of animal blood), and there are underground vampire organizations in charge of sourcing blood from blood banks and hospitals. they're not too well-known, but they're most common in the N109 zone.

⋆ being bitten by a vampire feels euphoric, seeing as their saliva contains a poison designed to dull the prey's senses a bit. it feels like an aphrodisiac to some, while it just dulls other's senses and brings on a bit of a numbing sensation. in all cases, it's recommended to monitor one's anemia after feeding a vampire.

⋆ vampires aren't widespread by any means and are still seen as scary creatures — however, you will find groups and communities that "idolize" them. they're quite marginalized, and the vampires they believe in are similar to those in classic literature and movies. in that same vein, there are people who have tried to call out the existence of vampires, only to get shut down by the government. vampires aren't a big enough threat for the government to speak about them (yet)..

[tomorrowusa]

Microblogging platform Mastodon is taking steps to make sure it never falls into the hands of some MAGA billionaire like Zuck or Musk.

Founder Eugen Rochko is transferring ownership to a nonprofit entity based in Europe. It is already located in the EU where it is free of any political or legal pressure from a Trump administration. Becoming nonprofit is a poison pill to deter any broligarchs who bend the knee to MAGA.

Mastodon announced Monday that it's shifting its structure over the next six months to become wholly owned by a European nonprofit organization—"affirming the intent that Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual." This takes control of the social network away from its previous "ultimate decision-maker," Eugen Rochko. As founder, Rochko initially took the reins to ensure the decentralized platform would never be for sale and "would be free of the control of a single wealthy individual." His grand vision remains to leave Mastodon users in control of the social network, making their own decisions about what content is allowed or what appears in their timelines. The news comes after leaders of other social networks, like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, have sparked backlash over sudden changes to popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). For years, Musk has drawn criticism for changing Twitter's hate speech policies through his X rebranding. And more recently, Zuckerberg this month defended Meta's decision to relax hate speech policies (permitting women to be called "property" and gay people to be called "mentally ill") by calling bans on such speech "out of touch with mainstream discourse." Mastodon is hoping to provide an alternative social network for users who are potentially frustrated with their lack of control over their timelines and content on other networks.

Mastadon is part of the Fediverse – which takes a little getting used to. And while not small, it doesn't yet have the enormous volume of broligarch-owned social media; though Elon Musk's transformation of Twitter/X into a playground for Nazis and Trumpsters has sparked growth at Mastodon.

Mastodon appears to be betting that even more users will seek alternative social networks in the future as popular apps enact unpopular policies. The blog discussed progress on a "privacy-respecting search tool" that could be used to explore the entire Fediverse, a collection of independent social media networks that Mastodon connects to. That could make it possible to discover more content without depending on a "For You" algorithm mining user data. And perhaps in a nod to Meta's recent changes, Mastodon also vowed to "invest deeply in trust and safety" and ensure "everyone, especially marginalized communities," feels "safe" on the platform.

Dominic Preston at The Verge writes...

“When founder Eugen Rochko started working on Mastodon, his focus was on creating the code and conditions for the kind of social media he envisioned,” Mastodon says. “The legal setup was a means to an end, a quick fix to allow him to continue operations. From the start, he declared that Mastodon would not be for sale and would be free of the control of a single wealthy individual, and he could ensure that because he was the person in control, the only ultimate decision-maker.” In the short term, nothing should change for users. Mastodon will continue to host the mastodon.social and mastodon.online servers and support its federated network. Routine code development and bug fixes are ongoing, though the announcement adds that “changes are definitely in the pipeline.” “Our core mission remains the same: to create the tools and digital spaces where people can build authentic, constructive online communities free from ads, data exploitation, manipulative algorithms or corporate monopolies,” Mastodon says.

What's not to like about a platform for Twitter refugees which doesn't Zuck?

[torque-witch]

Post-election comfort reading

It's only Wednesday, huh?

Well, let's take a breather and pull some cards. What should we be remembering and paying attention to today?

Page of Cups

Communication through art and creativity is the backbone of humanity. It is always needed, and right now we should all be using our energy to channel inspiration and creativity, even if it is dark. Art has always been subversive to an extent, but it is important because it lays out our emotions and thoughts in a way that transcends speaking. Whether it is music, podcasts, paintings, digital art, drawing - focus on something creative to get through the days ahead. Art is always needed.

The Star

This one got me, y'all. "Hope and inspiration after turbulence" feels a bit like a slap in the face, but it does have merit. In order to draw from that well though, we need to put energy back into it too. Align yourselves with your higher self, your spirit, your calling and keep going. What you value does have energy in this world, and the power to lead to healing. Just because the world seeks to poison that well does not mean we have to let it. Share what makes you, you. Be loud and vocal about what and who you love. There is always hope when there is at least one person in your court, even if it is you. Don't give up.

Queen of Pentacles, Reversed

Anxiety is winning today, but that's okay. Just don't let yourself suffer for too long. Achieving victory today was not going to mean that the work was over. Always be looking for opportunity to change your outlook and take those risks. For now though, find your center. Find your support. Build a peaceful environment for you and your comrades by continuing to be the person you want to be. 

Seek Inspiration in Unusual Places

Apparently the key word for today is "inspiration" and it may feel like a challenge today to even think about. But as we move forward, keep continuing to support and commune with the weird, the marginalized, and those in opposition to the mainstream. You can find a home there in times of need. You can find strength in numbers. You can find the inspiration to overcome all that seeks to tear us down. We aren't going anywhere. 

I love you and please stay hydrated, try to eat something and take your meds if you need them. And rest!! We can do the work another day. 

Decks used are Lubanko Tarot and Inquire Within Oracle. 

[blah993]

Hey I don't have a story quite ready just yet but I figured I'd share some of my head cannons for my version of Karmor.

Pic: Pinterest (edited by me)

* He came from a small town before being transferred to L.A.I.

*He has massive amounts of scar tissue from internal damage.

*His ability also has a bit of a cool down period. The bigger the change the longer it takes to fully recover. Altering reality back to back often has ill effects.(Fatigue and headaches).

*His hands do shake after static episodes and after a large use of his abilities.

*He has slight marks to his skin from his ability that are geometric (think of palladium poisoning from Iron Man 2 ) and often light up bright blue when using it. It crawls up his arms and more shows up the more he uses his powers depending on how large the change is.

*The journal he was given by Doc is leather bound with lined paper. He has orderly notes of accounts with possible theories/ explanations in the margins.

*Has to remember to not write down his nicknames for each of them.

*He's also known to do pen flips when he's in deep thought.

* He has a bit of a knack for discovering or rediscovering skills he has. One of these would be he's rather well proficient at tech. Interacting with and or repairing it. (Can hack but doesn't get much of a chance to do so.)

* Surprisingly good at bartering and is often brought along for in person restocks when skill is discovered by the others.

*Another skill would be sketching things. Not likely to win any art shows in his eyes but he is rather decent at obtaining likeness of different subjects. It's quite useful for additional communication.(Will do little sketches of the crew especially Hipswtich. He will get picked on by mainly Albus when caught.)

* He can fall asleep just about anywhere and be somewhat comfortable. The gang has tried looking for him only to find him in a rafter or another odd spot.

* He has a habit of cleaning as a way to help process information. The gang finds it odd (mainly Albus lol) but doesn't stop him.

I'll probably add more to this but that's all I got for now.

[serenitys-alcove]

Concede

Tang Jan x Reader

Warning: sexual allusions. 18+ only.

He was staring again. Fuck.

Jan averted his gaze, trying to forcefully cleanse his brain of the strong, pretty Mount Hua disciple that was currently walking towards him—wait, what? His eyes snapped up at the sound of your footsteps, a bead of sweat rolling slowly down his spine. He straightened to his full height, hoping that he looked at least marginally more composed than he felt.

"Young Master Tang," you tilted your head, exposing the glistening skin of your neck. Your hair was messy and sweaty from training and he was definitely taking longer than socially acceptable to respond.

He nodded, greeting you in turn. Good, that was good. Looks like he still had some mental faculties in order.

"What brings you out here tonight?" 

You. “I live here,” he blurted out. Then winced. Internally.

Your lips twitched. “Yes, it seems so.”

Jan wanted to ingest his strongest poison. All hopes of making a positive impression on you withered and died, along with his dignity.

“Did you also come out to train?” You asked, then your brows furrowed. “Oh, did I take your usual spot? I apologize—”

“No!” He coughed, gesturing wildly. “No, you’re fine. I was just…passing by.”

You’ve got to be kidding me, he blinked. It was like his ability to communicate like a normal person had suddenly…disappeared. Why?

“Oh, okay.”

Silence.

“I was going to—”

“Would you like to—”

You both paused, looking at each other with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” you smiled sheepishly. “You go first.”

“No, no,” he gestured for you to speak. “I insist.”

You looked down, rubbing the back of your neck. It was the first time he’d seen you with such an unguarded expression, and it was…causing a strange warmth to bloom in his chest?

“I was going to ask if you wanted to train with me?”

What? Train? You and him? Together?

He took a moment to compose himself. Close his mouth and all. It wasn’t very Tang-like to gape like a fish.

“Sure,” he smiled, a mask of polite deference. “I suppose we could train together.”

But as your eyes crinkled, it was like you could see right through him. “Alright,” you grinned back. “Show me what you’ve got, then.”

He did not shiver. He didn’t.

A few strands of hair were escaping from the careful style you'd secured it in, and already, he was having a hard time not getting distracted.

Focus, he breathed, sliding out his daggers. You’re the son of the clan head, act like it.

The first round ended with the tip of your sword under his chin. “Hey, what happened to all that passion you showed Jo Geol, huh?” You teased, lowering your blade.

Jan felt excitement climb in his gut. A small smile pulled at his lips. “You just got lucky, watch.”

True to his word, the next round ended with your sword arm pinned down by three of his daggers.

“How’s that for passion?” He smirked slyly.

“Touché,” you laughed, making his smile grow.

The night wore on, taut with tension as the momentum shifted back and forth. Push and pull. Almost magnetic.

You swung at his torso. He ducked, rolling beneath your arm.

There! His gaze sharpened. An opening.

He leapt at you, catching you off guard as you both tumbled to the ground. You blinked at the feeling of cold steel against your neck.

“Concede,” he grinned wildly, panting.

Your eyes widened as you stared up at him, saying nothing.

Slowly, his grin faded from his face as he realized he was practically straddling you.

Oh. Hell.

The sight beneath him almost felt sinful. There was a flustered expression on your face, one that he was pretty sure matched his own. Sweat ran from your temples and pooled deliciously in your exposed collarbone. And your mouth—your mouth was parted in a cute little oh—

“Young Master Tang?” You said softly. He didn’t respond, blood rushing furiously in his ears. “…Jan?”

He almost groaned at his name on your lips, spoken softly and reverently like a prayer. He was pretty sure his face was on fire now. The warmth spread down his chest, traveling lower to his—oh no.

Reality dunked over his head like cold water, sending him scrambling to his feet.

“A-Apologies,” he rushed out, unable to look at your face as he bowed his head. “I’ve selfishly taken too much of your time. Goodnight.”

And then he fled exercised a strategic retreat. As he ran and leapt over rooftops, even the cold wind wasn’t enough to calm the inferno on his face.

Yah, what did get myself into?

Back at the training grounds, you were still on the floor, staring breathlessly up at the sky.

Shit, you thought, closing your eyes. He’s…kinda cute.

[eugenedebs1920]

Just a little fun wordplay 😊

We no longer stand in solidarity. There were periods when we did. These periods saw the biggest gains and the greatest successes of the masses and the middle class.

In the mid to late seventeen hundreds a collective of average people, some educated, some not, some of moderate wealth, others without. With the cumulative efforts, and rebellious spirit, these men, and a ragtag group of immigrants, fought off the mightiest global military forces, while at the same time, composing a series of ideas that would guide a free and prosperous society for centuries.

Theres always bad concepts, arbitrated by bad actors. Characters whose personal agendas of greed and self indulgence overpowers all aspects of decency and humanity. This was the case of the slave owning south.

As this young nation had shown before, there was no tyranny that couldn’t be bested. Again, an aggregation of peoples joined forces for the plight of humanity. For the freedom of the most vulnerable among them, a long, bloody, brutal war was carried out. Again, those who stood for the good of the common man toppled a hierarchy of wealthy, racist, tyrannicals.

Less than a century later a buzzing came from across the Atlantic. A charismatic overlord saw a susceptibility in his people. He would prey upon this by demonizing and lambasting those who weren’t arian, attesting the root of Germany’s woes lay in these immigrants poisoning the blood of their nation.

The largest conflict the world had ever seen commenced. Our cousins in England had bombs dropping on their doorsteps. The manufacturing of equipment and ammunition would prove to not suitable to subdue the forces against them. Again, a coalition of immigrants and native born American slaves would rise together in the fight against totalitarianism. Again their resolve would be victorious.

At home the powers of industry and capital would subjugate the workers of America. Making vast sums of wealth off exploitation. The accumulation of workers, all immigrants, men and women, brown and white, would capitalize on their numbers against the capitalists numbers of capital, showing that without a workforce the power of industry lies not in the wealth one holds but in the richness of solidarity. Again, this patchwork of peoples would, for now, would conquer despotic forces.

Society would see a period of great prosperity after the labor movements and the devastating war. That is with the exception of those stolen from the continent of Africa and forced to be here against their will.

The tether of reconstruction was long snapped and the menace of oppression in the south had ensnared in its provocations an atmosphere of violence and a thraldom of segregation, disenfranchising an already marginalized people.

Again, a plurality of common poor peoples amassed for the battle against those who contended their superiority over them. An exercise of non violent direct action through the plethora of peaceful persons would placate to the general population the putridness of the prejudices cast upon them by immoral ignorant racist, bringing to light their struggles. Again, the community of conciliating colored Americans coincided to overcome their oppressors.

At the same moment the military industrial complex Eisenhower had warned of, continued to manufacture conflict. This time in south east Asia.

This was a war where the richest county in the world, with the most advanced weaponry, combated communism on some of the poorest people on the planet. The atrocities, like never before, came through the screens, and into the living rooms of every American home. An anti-war, pro love revolution would sweep the nation. Again, the whole of these heartfelt hippies helped in the masses hearing that the horrific hurt perpetrated to these peasants across the globe was harmful to humanity and entirely wrong.

Where we stand now the masters of men have maniacally manufactured a mistrust amongst us.

They have seeded the sourness of the soul throughout our society. This syndicated system of separation from our various sects has shattered our symbolic social structure so severely, simple salutations have strained our sense of sensibility. Systematically dividing the civil citizens in seismic shakes of uncertainty.

A proud and progressive people, pushed apart purposely so politicians and powerful players of commerce can profit by polluting our planet and our perception. Pontificating on a provocation promoted to produce pre manufactured prejudices poised to poison person against person as the prerequisite for prestige.

We have shackled ourselves to the self indulgence of a capitalist culture only curating the catastrophic collapse of the middle class, whilst the cumulative cancer of cash corrodes the contemporary consciousness, cultivating corruption and canceling our once mighty congregation of caring and compassionate countrymen.

Before brethren born by the same bloodshed, serendipitously say our goodbyes, may we not bask in the blessings befallen between us, embracing the brotherly bonds, and the battle brought on by breaking that brokerage long ago, so difficult to ascertain again. Our best bet is to let bygones be bygones and believe that better beginnings rise in the dawn. Because brother, you are my family beyond blood our betterment is best bestowed building upon bridges not barriers, bound by bravery in the land of the free.

[writing-in-verse]

So I finally read The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare

Lies, Damned Lies And Taxation.

Spoilers ahead for The Ragpicker King:

I try to not have any expectation in my various relationships no matter what kind of connection that is. People come in all kinds and creeds and I want people to be themselves and not feel forced to become somenoe they're not. I do have one rule, or more accurately request, of anyone I know: communicate with me.

It might seem like an obvious one and kind of simple in it's request and that's kind of the point. I value talking through problems and disagreements in order to understand where everyone is coming from and how best to work to a solution that suits all parties involved. This can be difficult but relationships can be difficult at times but I find all of my connections to be vastly easier when we know we can trust each other implicitly.

However, reality can meeting idealism and not always find common ground leading to the need to keep secrets, to lie to someone for their benefit or for the benefit of someone else involved. This is the central tension running through Cassandra Clare's sequel to Sword Catcher, The Ragpicker King.

Kel is stuck between doing the right thing and being honest with Conor; his King, best friend and the one he's been raised to protect with his life. This protection sometimes goes behind standing infront of a sword or taking a poison in place of the intended target - sometimes, it means working outside of Conor's knowledge and blessing with people who are seen as avdersaries of the King's rule.

The monicor The Kind on the Hill and the King in The City is mentioned occasionally and serves as a fitting surmation not only of the political power in Castellane but of Kel's predicament. Sometimes, serving his Prince and King on high also meaning working with the King down below to ensure the structures are not burned down by malevolent elements working to destroy what peace there is.

I think Conor and Lin's relationship is wonderfully written - there are several layers of tension that are dificult for the both of them to navigate and it is clear neither can have what they truly want because of their place in the world, in the hierarchy imposed upon Castellane. They are both products of this power structure and even if Conor exists at the top of this structure, he is equally unable to do what he wants for the benefit of society has been raised to rule over. Lin, by comparison, is restricted by her own class position as an Ashkar - a society of people who do and do not live in Castellane, a people's not just in the margins but completely separate from them. In order to have even a fraction of what she wants with Conor she must give up her live and her people and accept a life not wholely hers.

It would have been easy for Clare to use this as a place of tension and strife, using their class divide not only as motivation and pain for both characters, but also as a way to put them at odds with each other. However, I like how Cassandra Clare allows the character's to talk about their situation and the impossibility of them to overcome these walls that separate them. They do not blame each other for situations of their birth, they come to understand why they cannot simply have what they want no matter how much they want it. It is a deeper conversation than one would expect, defying genre norms not by upending them but by going a layer deeper than usual.

Meanwhile, Conor and Kel's relationship seems to have been broken by the end of the novel by Kel's need to keep the secrets he did. However, the people who understand the wider picture of the oncoming threat to Castellane work to ensure Conor sees what is right in front of him. This leads him to save Kel's life and allow him to work outside of the Hill while making people believe he is dead while thinking Conor has been left entirely alone.

The narrative is one that pushes forward genre expectations while being a compelling story distinguishing itself from the crowd.

Bring on Castellane Three.

[ninepiecesofcrait]

Hi I have a question. How do you square writing/enjoying HP fanfic with the Problematic Author and how she uses her influence? This is not snarky at all, I am genuinely curious because I’ve been able to comfortably do so for a long time as Author doesn’t make anything off of fanfic and I can make the characters as queer as I want or give actual depth, redemption, and pathos to Draco. And now I’m lost. Thank you if you answer. I love your writing so much!

i think a lot of people are wrestling with this question right now, nonny, so you are in good company, if that can be a kind of cold comfort. if, however, you were hoping i had some secret silver bullet to alleviate bad feelings, i’m afraid i don’t—only a collection of thoughts, which may or may not help you sift through yours.

it feels prudent to begin with the obvious here: the author has not recently become terrible. even in the hp books themselves, bigotry of all sorts is on the page, right there in black and white—and it’s not solely from the antagonists of the series. this wasn’t a scooby doo-style villain reveal: it was the logical culmination of a decade of transphobic hate rhetoric.

the uk supreme court decision is devastating, not only because it is shunting the nation backwards with respect to trans rights, but also because that decision will trickle down through other countries as anti-trans rhetoric rises. historically, that sort of development has a domino effect—legislation to restrict queer rights, legislation that will harm both cis women and gnc people, legislation that will further entrench wealth gaps largely to the detriment of people of color.

caring for our trans community members is the perfect example of how the phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats” can be true. trans people often exist at the interstices of multiple marginalized identities, and by making the world equitable, accessible, and safe for trans folks, we attend to the needs of the citizenry as a whole.

for us, the easiest way to hurt the intended transphobic crusade is to stop putting money towards the hp series. personally, i have not bought anything hp related in about a decade and i plan to keep that streak going. at the individual level, it may not feel like much, but enough of us have done so that the brand has lost power. we know this bc they don’t trot the author out when they release their video games or announce developments for the tv series that she’s going to be executive producer on. wb studios fully abandoned the back half of the fantastic beasts films because they were bad, yes, and also because jkr had become pr poison.

in regards to fandom, over the past few days i have seen a wide range of responses, all the way from “i can no longer write anything related to hp” to “i am here to write things that would piss her off”—and i think those feelings, and the spectrum of sentiments between them, are all reasonable. the only sentiment i do not think is acceptable is one of indifference hiding behind a “separate the art from the artist” line of logic. as someone much smarter than me put it, “separate the art from the artist” is often used as a bromide to protect ourselves from having tough conversations about whether that nastiness was in the art all along. in this case, it was.

that being said, i do think there is room for nuance here in that fanfic is free and generates no income for the author. that’s not to handwave this problem, however: i also think that fandom is political, and how we engage in it shows what we believe. as senlinyu once put it, fanfic can be your 95 theses nailed to the wittenberg door. it can be your phd dissertation on all the ways the original ip falls short. it can be your Bad Feelings Box—the place where you are sorting through your own emotions and what you’re learning and processing as you grow. it can be playing with barbies in a way that celebrates the beauty of the queer community, that demonstrates the richness of disability culture, that upholds the dignity of trans people, that puts characters of color front and center.

when i write fanfic, i do so in the fullness of my queer identity. with rare exceptions of the narratively-necessary variety, everyone is welcoming and affirming. and, besides my advent piece which was a game of word count chess, i very intentionally include trans characters in all of my hp fics who range from background characters, to characters who show up for one or two scenes, to characters who are integral parts of the story. regardless of which category they fall into, my trans characters are (if i’ve done my job right) imbued with the dignity, hotness, interiority, and power they deserve. that is my fanfic level of rebellion.

i also pair that with my real life activism, which is in the classroom. my time and efforts are spent trying to cultivate the skills of critical thinking, metacognition, and empathy in my students. i’m not 100% effective at it—would that i could be!!—but training the next generation to think beyond their own experiences and to understand how they have power that can make the world a better place is my activist project. for better or for worse, my work is there, and my Work is there, as well.

for me, knowing that i’m doing all that i personally can to combat transphobia and make the world a better, fairer, kinder place is enough.

it may be that it is not enough for some people, and i think that’s understandable, too. if this is your line in the sand moment, it is a 100% reasonable one. the uk supreme court decision was bought and paid for with nefarious intent and celebrated with malicious glee. it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless in a moment like this, and taking a stand by saying “i won’t engage with this any longer” is one way combat that.

at times when i feel powerless, i volunteer. i put my money, time, and talents where my yapping mouth is. i go back to the words of my queer ancestors, whose bravery and defiance allow me to sit here, making my little stories, living my gay life. without indomitable trans women like marsha p johnson and sylvia rivera, i would never have been able to marry my spouse, to know that we will have access to gender-affirming care, or to know that when one of us passes, the other will be legally recognized as next of kin. but honoring the queer liberation movement and their tenacity with where i spend my time, my income, is only part of the equation: educating myself, getting involved in my community, and contributing to the cause of revolution are the other, more long term, less glamorous, and equally crucial parts.

there is no liberation without trans and queer liberation. no freedom without a free palestine. no equality without equity. all these struggles are connected.

all that to say: i think that feeling like you can no longer tolerate any participation in hp fandom is a reasonable and valid response, just as i think that spite-writing gayer, more trans-celebratory fic is a reasonable and valid response, too. only you can decide what will allow you to look in the mirror and still be at peace with yourself and your actions.

us trans advocacy orgs: comprehensive article with orgs in all 50 states, including mutual aid funds: https://www.them.us/story/orgs-fighting-back-anti-trans-legislation the org i donate to monthly is the trevor project:https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ trans lifeline also enormously important now that the us is cutting funding for the 988 hotline’s lgbtqia+ program: https://translifeline.org/volunteer/

uk trans advocacy orgs: https://www.transunite.co.uk/ uk mermaids: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi there, I hope your day is going well! I have a question regarding the race of a character I'm hoping to use in a story I'm making, and would love to get your insights.

The story is a post-nuclear-fallout setting following two characters who are researching a cure for aggressive radiation poisoning and fighting the will of a malevolent and sentient slime-mold.  The characters dont have official names yet so I'll nickname them as Vessel and Scientist, and I'd like to focus on Vessel for this question specifically. 

Vessel is a Black woman who was originally working as a scientist on a team tasked with experimentation on slime mold growing in radiated zones, which became sentient during her time working on it. She was ordered to kill it and was unsuccessful, and as a result died on-site. Her death was downplayed to keep the lab running, and she wakes up post-mortem very much not in the same zip code or in the same time. (The reason her nickname is Vessel is because the slime mold she attempted to kill resurrects her and is using her to try and return to the lab it's from to rejoin the mother culture (the slime mold is like a combo of the aliens from the movies Life(2017) and Venom(2018))).

The story itself is dealing with some themes like the exploitation of marginalized groups by wealthy militaristic powers, the idolization of western sciences and the consequences of doing so, destruction of the land for profit, the struggle of individual vs collective (man vs man), and the challenge of building community. Based on these themes and the setting, I'm drawn more-so to portraying BIPOC as my protagonists, as opposed to white characters, because BIPOC have largely been the driving force of any dramatic and radical change in our present society, and I'd like to spotlight them in my work as protagonists and not just Important Side Characters. 

THE REASON I'm hesitant to commit to Vessel being Black has three branches,

1) the plot line i've designed would deal very heavily with depersonalization, the state-sanctioned poisoning and death of a Black woman, being used by a force beyond the characters will, and the internal/external struggle of essentially fighting yourself to maintain control of your Self/Body; 

2) I'm not a Black person, and the plot for this character would deal with a lot of very heavy stuff that Black people experience every day, 

3) and it feels very thematically/contextually similar to Haitian Zombi's, which I've been researching since seeing your responses discussing them compared to western zombies, which makes me hesitant to explore if it's getting into territory I shouldn't be interacting with, y'know? (The concept for this story was initially 'radiation zombies', so that's the background I'm pulling from as I'm making the story.)

I think she's a compelling character, intelligent, brave, resilient beyond belief (with a love interest in the Scientist as the story progresses), but if my concepts for her are crossing boundaries and perpetuating stereotypes (like stoic Black woman, not allowed to be soft, etc) I'd rather have a second pair of knowledgable eyes look it over before I commit with my whole chest. 

I deeply appreciate any insights you may have, thank you for your time!

Hello! This does seem like a very intriguing story, and at least you caught where the problem points could be. So that's good!

I definitely say that if you want to get into symbolism similar to, but not OF, Haitian Zombis, you absolutely ABSOLUTELY need to do your research. Specifically on what things might be tied into closed practices, just so you know to avoid them. Research in general involving medical racism too, if you want to know how deep the rabbit hole gets with Black bodies and western experimentation, because there's plenty there too.

I would say since you sound aware of your intention and some of the concerns, go ahead, and I would highly, HIGHLY suggest a Black sensitivity reader. Someone needs to tell you if you've (literally) lost the plot, preferably before you release anything.