#any book worth banning is a book worth reading

[lesbienneanarchiste]

Going on a library ban effective immediately. Once I finish/return the books I currently have borrowed, I'm not getting anymore so help me gd. It is so stressful to me to have this many unread books in my home that I avoid looking at my shelves and therefore only read library books/audiobooks from Libby. Libby is included in ALAB (All Libraries Are Banned).

[neil-gaiman]

Hi! RE: your journal about the right for lolicon fiction to exist even if you disapprove of it, would you say it can also exist for titillation purposes, or do you stand by it for artistic reasons, or for the purpose of exploring dark themes only? I always thought you were saying the former, but I just wanted to ask. It's chill if you don't wanna answer this. Have a good day!

Here we are, 15 years on from that blog entry, and I still haven't read any lolicon, I'm afraid, so I have no idea about its themes. The context was whether you should be sent to prison for owning lolicon. What I said back then was,

In this case you obviously have read lolicon, and I haven't. I don't know whether you're writing from personal experience here, and whether you have personally been incited to rape children or give inappropriate hugs by reading it. (I assume you haven't. I assume that Chris Handley, with his huge manga collection, wasn't either. I've read books that claimed that exposure to porn causes rape, but have seen no statistical evidence that porn causes rape -- and indeed have seen claims that the declining number of US rapes may be due to the wider availability of porn. Honestly, I think it's a red herring in First Amendment matters, and I'll leave it for other people to argue about.) Still, you seem to want lolicon banned, and people prosecuted for owning it, and I don't. You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you're going to have to stand up for stuff you don't believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don't, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person's obscenity is another person's art.

Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost.

[mellowsadistic]

Changing Her Hobbies

Your girlfriend may well have some hobbies and interests that you don't approve of. Perhaps you're worried being into football is making her hang out with the wrong crowd, or maybe you think chess is just too grown-up for a silly little thing like her. Whatever the case, the solution is simple. Just tell her she doesn't like those things anymore, and give her a new list of things she likes to do in their place.

Be firm, as she's likely to get very fussy over this. She might complain that she's the only real authority on herself, or insist that it's impossible for her to start liking something just because you've ordered her to. If that happens, just spank her bare bottom over your knee and remind her that you're her Daddy and you know best. Enforce her new hobbies with a strict discipline program and she'll soon learn to engage in them with a smile.

I promise you the results are worth it. I know a man who used this strategy to radically alter his girlfriend’s personality. He loved her very much, but he was sick and tired of her bad attitude and refusal to accept her place as his inferior. He put it down to the kind of activities she liked to take part in, so with a firm hand and a bit of patience, he changed them to better reflect her immature nature. Here’s a before and after of her hobbies:

Things she used to like:

Playing guitar

Reading classic literature

Trying on stylish clothes

Going clubbing with her friends

Having debates about politics

Playing hockey

Going out for romantic dinners

Things she likes now:

Playing with dolls

Watching Disney channel

Running around naked

Doing the housework

Wetting herself for attention

Practicing ballet

Sucking cock under the table

It was a difficult transition for her. She’d always been a bit of a tomboy, so it wasn’t easy for her to adjust to playing with Barbies and prancing about in a tutu. It wasn’t easy to get used to stripping off all her fashionable clothes and going streaking around the house in the nude periodically either, like a toddler with no concept of modesty. Nor was she keen to spend her time watching TV aimed at tweens when she wasn’t scrubbing the floors, making dinner, or doing the laundry. It was especially hard for her to learn that she liked to give frequent blowjobs (she insisted she hated them for the longest time), and she was in complete denial about her desire to regularly pee her pants for attention. However, with enough corrective punishment, she eventually learned to accept her true self.

These days she pouts at the suggestion of going out partying, but bounces up and down with excitement at the thought of mopping the floor. She has no desire to play guitar, and reading anything more advanced than a picture book would bore her to tears, but she can happily spend the whole afternoon glued to her favourite cartoons or prattling away at her baby doll, rocking it in her arms and changing its nappy (and hoping Daddy doesn’t follow through on his threat to put her in nappies because of all the ‘accidents’ she’s been having). She never talks about politics anymore, partly because she has no idea what’s going on in the world since her Daddy banned her from reading the news, and getting involved in rough and tumble sports like hockey would just be silly for a sweet little pirouetting princess like her. It’s much more fun to put on ballet performances for Daddy and her dollies. Modelling the latest trends is a thing of the past for her too; in fact, it’s a struggle to keep any kind of clothes on her since she’s always wanting to be Daddy’s little nudist - why wear a cute pair of jeans when she could just go bare-bottomed instead? And why would she want to go out to a fancy restaurant for a romantic meal when she could just serve Daddy his dinner herself before crawling under the table to suck his dick while he eats?

Sometimes she slips up. She looks bored while playing with her dolls, or casts a longing look at a guitar in the window display of a music store. She might go too long without wetting herself or forget to smile while she's doing the polishing. When that happens, her boyfriend is always quick to reacquaint her bottom with his hand, or even the paddle. A 'fake it till you make it' policy is important to enforce here. Make your girlfriend pretend to enjoy her new hobbies, and eventually, over time, she'll learn to like them for real. And if not, don't worry, because you won't know the difference!

[osamusriceballs]

Kinktober Day 29 <3

Suna x public sex

Warnings: NSFW, fem reader

Words: ~ 1,8 k

Kinktober Masterlist II -> Last day

"You can't-"

Your legs press together, his cock now tightly squeezed between your thighs. You see yourself in the mirror, clad only in the lingerie that he chose for you. A black and white compilation of lace, one that reminds you of his old high school uniform that he often gives you to sleep in.

"But I'm doing it right now, aren't I, doll?" His hands wander from your hips to your sides, rubbing the exposed skin until you feel warm all over.

"We're in public-" you weakly protest, already succumbing into the way he's touching you so gently. Suna knows how to push your buttons; he knows how to get you all worked up for him.

"You just need to keep quiet. Can you do that for me? Keep those pretty little noises inside?" His lips touch the back of your neck, and you see his eyes attentively watching you in the mirror, gauging every single one of your reactions. He can read you like a book, not needing any encouragement, but knowing exactly what you want just from analyzing your body language. "Can you?" He repeats when you don't respond, and you softly nod as an answer, not trusting your voice to come out steadily. "Good. Such a good doll for me. You look so sexy in that lingerie." His hand comes to the flimsy pair of panties that barely hide your pussy, his fingers tugging playfully on the material until you feel it stretching over your clit. "Rin, no- it's gonna rip-" you lowly protest, laying your hand over his to stop him from pulling harder, even though you want nothing more but to feel more of that friction. Or at least feel something that will help to ease the ache between your legs.

"It's not worth buying then," he dryly comments, but stops tugging and you let out a low shriek when the material snaps back on your skin. His cock rubs between your legs when he lazily thrusts his hips, your thighs pressing together even harder at the sudden friction on your clit.

"Rin-" you while, your hands pressing harder against the mirror when you push your ass against him. "Shh. I though you can stay quiet for me." He raises an eyebrow in a teasing manner- and under other circumstances you would have swatted his hands away and pouted until he kisses you to make up for it.

"It's kind of hard to stay quiet when your cock is between my legs." His hips thrust once again, a deep, strained breath leaving his lips at your words. You know that he loves it when you're vocal like this. "Oh, doll, that's not even close to what I will do to you. You should know better." His hand comes up to your chest, his fingers tracing the lacey pattern of the bra while his gaze roams over your body, no hurry in his movements and actions. You know that he doesn't really care about the fact that there could be other people in the shop, hell, there even could be people in the dressing room next to you and he wouldn't care. An assistant could come up to you any second, banning you from ever entering the shop again, if she knew what you're both doing on there, but you know that Suna won't stop until you're both satisfied, no matter what happens.

"Pull them down for me. Slowly." He whispers in your ear, pulling his hips back until his cock no longer pushes between you legs and his chin rests on your shoulder. Your heartbeat speeds up and you hesitantly reach for the dark material, being fully convinced that there is a stain on it already. You hook your thumbs into the hem of the panties, keeping eye-contact with Suna through the mirror while you slowly pull them down your thighs and let them fall down to the ground. You know that you're wet already, eager for him to touch you more, but he keeps one hand on your side while the other plays with your tit, his gaze fixated on your exposed cunt. "Hm, look at you. Even prettier without them on." He compliments while his thumb firmly rubs your nipple, eliciting a small moan out of you.

You arch your back into him, your eyes half-closed while you watch his hand caressing your body and softly holding you. "Can you- Rin, please, fuck me," you whisper, doing your best to keep your voice down, and he smiles at your attempt to lower your voice. "Can't deny my pretty doll face anything when she begs for my cock like that." He softly kisses your cheek before his hand moves to his cock, pumping himself slowly and spreading his precum all along his length. "Can't wait to feel you around me." He groans, two of his fingers pinching your nipples at his words, and you let out a moan- so loud that you wearily glance towards the curtain on your back, but much to your relief, no one comes to kick you out.

"You want me to prep you, doll?" His cock halts at your entrance, the tip barely dipping into your wetness, and you know your knees would give up if he wasn't pressing you so hardly against the mirror. "Just put it in. Rin, please fuck me," you beg, still trying to keep your voice as low as you can, and he groans and slowly pushes his tip inside. "So wet for me. Wet from having my cock rubbing between your legs. Such a dirty slut for me." His voice right next to your ear does something for you, and you let out another low whimper, just a tad bit louder this time. He tenses at the sound, pausing his movements when his cock is only half inside. "Gimme a hand here." He suddenly grabs your hand from the mirror, and you yelp when your face is pressed against the cool glass, your breaths making it foggy and harder for you to see his pretty face. You feel his tongue around your fingers though, licking a long stripe along two of them before he presses the digits against your lips.

"I want you to suck on these fingers while I fuck you. Pretend it's my cock. Make them nice and wet for me, doll." He rasps against your ear, and you desperately pant and clench around the tip of his cock when you slowly bring the fingers inside your mouth. You taste his saliva on your tongue, making sure to make a show of how you swirl your tongue around them before you put them into your mouth and he lets out a low groan when he sees how you suck eagerly on your fingers. You feel his chest heave against your back, his hand on your hip tightening his grip for a second before he abruptly pushes further inside of you until he's fully sheathed inside. Your walls flutter around him, you feel so warm and wet and welcome around him, and he finds himself pausing for a moment, enjoying how you clench and writhe in front of him while you suck on your fingers. Such a lewd sight- only for him.

He doesn't waste any time before he pulls his hips back and quickly pushes them forward again, making sure to hold your body steady to go deeper. Your breath is erratic, just like your heartbeat, your pussy throbbing for him, aching to have him fuck you, to have him touch you more-

"Don't worry, doll, I'll fuck you how you like it. I know what my little cumbucket needs," he hisses through gritted teeth and then he finally starts fucking you. His thrusts are slower than usual, for no doubt his measly attempt to keep quiet, even though you know for sure that the sound of skin slapping against skin can be heard in the next cabins. They are more powerful and harder than usual, his grayish eyes carefully observing your reactions until he sees how your face contorts in bliss. That's when he keeps angling his hips in the same way, knowing that he found your sensitive spot, and he will make sure to reach it every single time that he thrusts inside of you. You feel the heat coiling in your stomach when he fucks you just right, just how you need it. You're being used like a sex toy- and you love every single second of it.

You stiffen in front of him, feeling the warm glass against your cheek when he hits the same spot again and again, and you know that it will not take much more to make you cum. You whine against your fingers, slightly biting down to muffle your moans, and you feel how your legs tense even more when you're close, so close to reach your high-

"C'mon, doll face. Cum for me, and then I will fill you up. You like that, don't ya? Being full of my cum, walking home with my cum dripping down your legs." There is a need in his voice that makes you go feral, and you meet his thrusts with your hips, knowing fully well that you can't hold back much longer. His hands grab your hips tighter, and you gasp for air when you feel him so deep inside you-

Your thighs clench together when you suddenly reach your high, a particularly strong thrust sending you over the edge easily. You whine around the fingers, trying to stay as quiet as you can, but you can barely focus on staying quiet when you feel him tense too, his arms grabbing you almost painfully hard at this point when he cums, the hot liquid filling you up and painting your walls white. Your eyes roll back at the feeling, of being so deliciously full of him while you both remain motionless, just your ragged breaths escaping you while he holds your limp body up.

You know that he would usually praise you and massage your stiff limbs- he doesn't seem like it, but Suna is definitely a master at aftercare- but now he simply kisses your bare shoulder, only a few quiet words reaching your ears, like "love" and "pretty". You shiver in his arms, your mind slowly getting clearer, and you notice that you have drooled quite a lot around your fingers- much to your embarrassment, but a mischievous glint in Suna's eyes tells you that he definitely enjoys seeing you like this. You hesitantly pull your fingers out of your mouth, your jaw slightly aching from being kept so widely opened for so long.

Suna slowly pulls his softened cock out, not caring much about the thick droplet of cum that drips down your thighs and onto the new panties, much to your horror. His lips curl into a smile when he sees your reaction, and he leans down to reach for them and he soon holds them up with a triumphant huff.

"C'mon, doll. Get dressed while I buy the set..."

He suddenly slaps your bare ass, and you shriek as the sound echoes through- probably through the whole shop. "Rin!"

"...and then we can go home. I want to rip it off for real this time."

[ottogatto]

I would like to submit two ideas because I think I'm poking something but not going in fully, so I would very much like your opinions and additions about it (of course, as long as they remain in good faith *side eyes possible antis viewing my post*).

Marauders and surface-level rebellion

I've finally put to words something that really bothered me with the Marauders, though I don't know the name for it.

It started when I read a reblog that said:

I remember Brennan saying “laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class” during an episode of D20 and we truly just had to stan immediately

This is something dear privileged white woman Rowling didn't realize/understand well, since she held a high socioeconomical status even during her """poverty""" stage. It's known that, despite seeming to be defending ideas of fighting against fascism and "pureblood" supremacy in favor of acceptance of the other, her books reek of colonialism/imperalism. The story of the Marauders, a gang of privileged boys like her, is an in-world replica of that problem where Rowling betrays yet again her actual mindset.

The Marauders adopt the "bad boys who break rules" to get style, while completely losing/staining the moral sense in it.

Let's take piracy.

Some people pirate stuff because they consider that the stuff they'd like to get comes from unethical companies that abuse their employees or use modern slavery, or people who spread harm against certain minorities (like Rowling against trans people and thus the LGBT+ community), so while they may want to access the content, they don't want to give them money and might even encourage pirating their stuff to make them lose money.

Some pirate stuff because otherwise it's lost due to unfortunate "terms of use" -- see video games companies like Ubisoft (deletes gaming account after a while), Nintendo (does not bring back old games), etc.

Others pirate stuff because they just don't have the money but they still want to try the stuff that might make them happy and forget that they're poor -- reasoning that the company isn't losing any money anyway, or not much, since they wouldn't have been able to pay for it in any case.

Others pirate stuff because they consider the price ridiculously high or they consider it shouldn't be something to pay for at all. (Like education stuff -- isn't education supposed to be free for all, so that it can actually uphold everyone's fundamental and unconditional ( = not conditioned by wealth...) right to have an education? Oh and before anyone asks: I've DEFINITELY bought the ~15 expensive books that's roughly worth 500€ in total and that my uni asked I buy to study and get my degree...)

Rowling's Marauders is a group that would pirate stuff just because they'd think it would give them an edge, because they'd think it would make them cool to be seen as "talented" hackers who "defy" companies. Companies... that their own friends and families would own, and as such, would find that kind of behavior funny and entertaining (while they would trash other people around for considering it).

Another example. In society, in history, it's been proven time and again that breaking rules -- going against the law -- is an eventuality that's important for everyone to consider, if they want to defend their rights. Anti-racism, feminism, LGBT Pride, etc, advanced because people broke rules. In USA states where abortion is currently being banned, women and minors (+ their close ones) must now consider breaking the rules to get an abortion. (Privileged people don't give a fuck about those people, and if they suddenly decide that (moral) rules don't apply to them and they will get an abortion, they will just take a plane ticket to a country where abortion is legal, fiddling with legal stuff if necessary thanks to the lawyers their fortunes can afford and the lobbies that they're instituting.)

Revolutions happened because people broke rules too. I particularly like the 1793 Constitution in France Because it asserts that the people have the right to break rules and riot if the power in place threatens their fundamental rights:

Article 35. - Quand le gouvernement viole les droits du peuple, l'insurrection est, pour le peuple et pour chaque portion du peuple, le plus sacré des droits et le plus indispensable des devoirs. Article 35. - When the government violates the people's rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of rights and the most essential of duties.

(Of course the power in place would state and enforce and make use of propaganda to say that it's completely illegal and illegetimate and that those who riot for legitimate rights are terrorists!)

Breaking rules is at the core of anti-fascism, anti-dictatorship, anti-totalitarianism. Breaking rules is essential when those rules are abusive. Too often, those who put those rules in place really are only setting their rules of the game to establish their power over the others. Or as the reblog says: "laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class".

Rowling's Marauders break rules because they are the socioeconomical class in power. As such, no one can do anything about it, no one will really tell them down for it. They get excused and justified and romanticized by their peers, just like billionaires & politicians are excused by their peers and notably mainstream media (which is owned... by other billionaires). They break rules -- not because they think it's necessary and the morally right thing to do despite the dangers it puts them in -- but because it makes them feel powerful, important, invincible, which for them is very fun. As Snape says: James and his cronies broke rules because they thought themselves above them:

“Your father didn’t set much store by rules either,” Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. “Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. [...]”

They break rules because they're allowed to.

Which is why, in reality, the Marauders aren't really breaking rules or defying anything or opposing an actual big threat. They're a bunch of jocks who are having fun in the playground that's been attributed to them thanks to their status and family heritage (others wouldn't get the same indulgence because they don't get that privilege).

They break rules because they want to look cool, to be the "bad boys". The message has been compleyely botched. Especially with Lily actually finding this hot.

Because Rowling finds this hot:

[...] I shook hands with a woman who leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, 'Sirius Black is sexy, right?' And yes, of course she was right, as the Immeritus club know. The best-looking, most rebellious, most dangerous of the four marauders... and to answer one burning question on the discussion boards, his eyes are grey.

(Anyone has an eyes washing station?)

Another quote:

"Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married."

(Nevermind the eyes washing, anyone's got some bleach instead?)

Stanning James Potter for being the leader of a gang that prides itself on breaking rules and always getting away with it -- it feels like stanning Elon Musk for being "innovative" and "a daring entrepreneur" despite being a manchild who exploits workers and modern-world slavery to play with his billions while always getting away with it.

They're not being "rebels" -- they're being bullies and flexing the fact they can get away with it thanks to abundance of privilege. Those are the tastes of a posh British white woman. She wanted the facade -- not the substance (that is, if she ever understood it).

You might say that they did oppose a big threat, the Death Eaters, but again, it's botched because:

they target a lonely, unpopular boy who's best friends with a Muggleborn Gryffindor, rather than baby Death Eaters like Mulciber, Lucius, Rosier, Avery, Regulus, etc.

The leader sexually harasses the Muggleborn Gryffindor because he's sexually jealous of the unpopular boy who dared not take the insult about his chosen House and shut up. Lily is treated as an object, they don't listen to her, and they barely speak about her later. (Lots to say to show that, which I won't do here because this is not the main subject.)

When the Marauders do join the Order, they do it... because they primarily want to adopt a rock-n-roll style and play the "bad boys" again. Or at least that's the message that's given to the reader:

They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter's guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band.

(God, the Prequel is so cringy.)

They don't choose Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper, they don't tell him they changed to Pettigrew -- even though he literally was their war leader -- James uses the Cape to fuck around even though he was supposed to be hiding with Lily and then Harry (until Dumbledore takes the Cape from him)... and eventually, their group exploded, with James killed off, Sirius thrown to Azkaban, Peter (the traitor) hiding as a rat and Lupin going off to find jobs to survive.

Why did that happen? Because they thought of playing their part in the Order like going on a teenage adventure rather than engaging in a resistance organization. It was, first and foremost, about playing "the bad boys" and having fun.

(Harry half-inherits this. While he doesn't break rules just to look cool, and actually has several moments where he does break rules because it's the right thing to do -- like under Umbridge or, of course, when Voldemort takes power -- he does often get pampered when he breaks them in his earlier years. By Dumbledore, but also McGonagall, however much Rowling tries to sell her as a "strict but fair" teacher. Or by Slughorn, now that I think about it. That's something that enraged Snape, as it brought up memories of Harry's father -- Snape's own bully -- getting the same treatment.)

It's not a coincidence that Rowling not only failed to properly convey through the Marauders the true value of breaking rules, but also lusted over them for adopting that "bad boys" trope. It speaks to her own privilege -- she who never had to put herself in danger and go against the law in a risky attempt to protect herself or other less privileged people.

(Here's a useful read to expand on those worldbuilding issues.)

2. Dark Magic, obscurantism and conservatism

For context: Opinion: The Dark Magic/Light Magic Dichotomy is Nonsense (by pet_genius).

The idea of "Dark Magic" as something that's repeatedly told to be "evil" magic and where you cross the line of the forbidden, while hardly putting in question that notion that was (for some reason) enforced by wizard society, is another blatant example of Rowling betraying her mindset of privileged British white woman.

Rowling couldn't put herself in the minds of a society of "outcasts (witches & wizards) deeply enough to consider they would not see any magic as "Dark" at all (being a ""Muggle"" concept), or that Dark magic is only magic that requires something unvaluable to be traded off -- like one's soul or health or life or sanity. Instead, she has Dark Magic defined as "evil" magic, even though her own books show that you can do evil stuff with normal magic, and that you can do morally good stuff with Dark magic. This thing happened because Rowling could not think past her own little world and instead she poured a conservatist mentality (+ typical "Muggle", anti-witch prejudice) into the HP (wizard society) worldbuilding without considering that there could, in fact, be fundamental differences between the two worlds that include thinking of magic differently. (This has a lot to do with Rowling's wizard world being a pro-imperalism fest.)

"Dark Magic" feels like a lazy, badly-executed plot device to tell the reader who's a good guy and who is not. Because of course, that's how things work in real-life, huh… (Did she ever hear of "don't tell, show"?) It's used as an excuse to define who's evil (teen Severus) or not (James), who's worthy or not -- not how their magic was used. Which is a BIG problem:

“I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.” The intensity of his gaze made her blush. “They don’t use Dark Magic, though.” / “Scourgify!” Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape’s mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him —

Even worse, Rowling doesn't follow her own in-world moral framework. Dark magic is acceptable for some people (Rowling's partial self-inserts: Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione to Marietta...) but not for those that Rowling hates (Snape, who ironically represents the closest thing to rebelling by unapologetically obsessing over the Dark Arts). Again, this is at best unadressed in-world hypocrisy, at worst an expression of in-world and out-universe privilege (I get to do this and stay a good guy, but you don't).

There could have easily been rightful criticism of whatever could be defined as "Dark Magic". What if Dark magic was just something defined as "Dark" usually because the power in place doesn't want the people to touch it? Is abortion or contraception or a sex-altering or a goverment-threatening spell, Dark Magic? Is foreign or ethnicity-specific or female-centered or queer-centered magic, "Dark"? How about showing why (Muggle-raised but also neurodivergent) Severus thought Dark magic was so great, showing his point of view, while also establishing where the true limits are? If Lily can't be the one who sees past the "fear-mongering anti-intellectualism/propaganda", how about Harry being the one who does, thanks to him relating to Snape on a personal level? How about making Hermione go from someone who condems Dark Magic, to someone who entirely changes her point of view and understands that this is all bullshit -- effectively showing the dangers of only following what the books say, without putting them into question or thinking by yourself? How about a nuanced view of Dark magic as something that requires a significant sacrifice, which is conceivable for something they see as equally or even more important [Lily's life for Harry; Snape's soul integrity for Dumbledore]? How about making the Death Eaters, people who deviate that legitimate interest, rather than just evil guys who thrive in Dark magic for its supposed added evilness? How about showing that Dark magic was just a notion invented by Muggles to throw "witches" (real or not) to the burning stakes -- later taken by the witches and wizards in power to define, in the magical community, what was okay or definitely forbidden because it's the trademark of those who represent a threat to the magical community (understand: people who riot or strike or protest against the ruling socioeconomical class' politics)?

But there was none of that.

"Dark" magic in HP merely seems to be a weird concept that at best accidentally takes the form of an in-world obscurantism, at worst is just the trademark of someone who cannot imagine a "hunted, ostracized" community with a different culture and mindset than her own. Aggravating is the fact that she used "Dark magic" as a plot device to magically cast some people as good and others as never bad – again, probably reflecting her own questionable mentality.

The fact Rowlnig invented the notion of Dark Magic and had her world consider it seriously as an evil thing instead of being open-minded seems to be less telling of her wishes to show a wizard society that can be as prejudiced as the muggle one, and more of her own bizarre world where you must be evil if you are knowledgeable in or interested in certain "taboo" things (RIP neurodivergents).

Rowling glorifies the Trio and the Marauders for breaking rules. Yet when it comes to actually breaking expectations and norms, notably in the wizarding society -- like the use of another magical species as slaves, or the blatant anti-Muggle prejudice held by everyone including "good guys" (or anti-centaur while we're at it), or stupid anti-knowledge prejudice like "Dark magic is evil" -- there is none of that. At best, it's surface-level opposition that comes out as white savior syndrome. At worst, the protagonists make it their noble code to enforce those norms, and "sinful" characters (Snape, for one) are punished for not conforming. Too often, those sinful characters are punished by the "good guys" with the very thing that they apparently oppose so fervently.

Without ever adressing the fact that those characters were ("morally") allowed to do that because it was just, in the end, a matter of who gets the privilege to do that, and who does not.

There.

Do you have anything to say to develop on those ideas? I feel like I'm reaching my knowledge limit and I'd like to see if those ideas can be expanded.

[pathfinderyderss]

Heads up! The user barbex is a proshipper (supports romanticizing abuse in fiction).

Hi! So, I apologize for my delay in responding to your message - I have had a lot of thoughts and wanted to make sure l was expressing them in the best way possible.

I want to be honest, when I first read your message, I didn’t know what pro-shipping was, but I do know @barbex --I've been following her for the better part of a decade and she is an excellent author and l enjoy her views on the Dragon Age lore (and her views on Anders). I've also done more than a few of the prompt months that she's put together.

With all of that said, I wanted to better understand your viewpoint and see what it is that is defined as part of your block list. So, I hopped on your blog! I found your blocklist and the items you've listed as egregious enough to report users and as a former Literature Major, it saddened me to see such Puritanical and Orwellian views being broadcast with such vitriol.

The first thing I want to address is that in my fifteen plus years in fandom I have always subscribed to the “Don’t Like, Don’t Read" mentality. I am unafraid to block people on this website for a single take I don't agree with, and with that I am a FIRM supporter of accurate community labels as there are many things that I myself do not enjoy or want to read - so my blocked tags are plentiful and the blogs I block are many and that curated experience is why I do not get involved in any sort of fandom drama. 

I implore you to do the same. Fandom can be such a wonderful, constructive experience when you surround yourself with like-minded individuals. A dear friend of mine reminded me of the phrase, ”No Good Fandom, Only Good Friends” and nothing could be more accurate. Your tiny corner of the Fandom is an amazing way to flourish socially and mentally; however when your energy instead is spent on searching for others with ideological differences the experience instead becomes a witch hunt full of dog piling and negativity.

Now, on your blog, I noticed that you bemoan that you are unable to have a conversation about Fandom/Purity Culture/Fanfiction and I feel like this is an important topic to discuss so l am going to indulge in this against my better judgement, and at the end if you don't like what I've said, l implore you to block me as well.

My primary issue with your block list is that it derives from anti-intellectualism and a puritanical view of fandom. Which, if that is how you want to experience fandom, that's fine, but publicizing it is beyond ridiculous and leads back to my earlier point about witch hunts and dog piling.

Based on your list, your primary concerns in your block list stem from the following topics: rape, incest, pedophilia- including predatory age gaps and abuse. And I wonder; do you devalue fiction in the same way?

The first thing on your list that caught my attention was your adamant disapproval of the Thanatos/Zagreus ship in Hades. Is this just a general distaste for all Greek/Roman mythology as all of it could meet your block list above? Does Disney's Hercules get a pass due to the inaccuracies in the retelling — does the Hera/Zeus relationship get a pass because it isn't explicitly mentioned? And does it matter that it is a more inaccurate retelling of the myth?

In that same vein; are stories like Jane Eyre (which contains both a predatory age gap and a horrific example of a mentally ill character) or Wuthering Heights (which contains incest and abuse) not worth telling to a modern audience because they show these things? Are we forgoing media literacy and critical thinking now because these things glorify the worst parts of humanity?

And regardless of if it is a piece of classic literature or a piece of modern fanfiction making the decision for others that they cannot read these things due to them being "bad” or "wrong" or "shameful" is no different than banning books. And you devalue the readership of these pieces of literature by saying that they are unable to critically think for themselves and find the value of an individual piece of fiction.

I emphasize again, YOU as an individual do not have to view or interact with this material if it makes you uncomfortable, but I beg you not to police others in an Orwellian fashion over the media they choose to produce or view. Use the block button and blacklist tags you don't like or make you uncomfortable - that is what they are there for. Instead, talk to people who share your views but do not turn this into a witch hunt or an NC-17 purge that we've seen so damaging to our communities in the past.

All of this is to say; find joy Fandom — whatever that may mean for you and let others do the same. 

I hope this was informative.

- Ryder

[thoughtportal]

Banned Books Week ACTION Checklist

Board Watcher Bingo

Have you heard of Court Watchers? The central idea of that project is that "bad things happen in empty courtrooms," (which, let's be real, bad things happen in all courtrooms).

Because bad things also happen at unattended public library Board of Trustee meetings, we’re encouraging you to become Board Watchers for your local public library system. For The People would especially like to encourage those of you who have indicated that you're interested in being seated on your local public library boards to take up this activity. Our spin on the Court Watchers idea also includes bingo, because we want you to have fun! The Board Watcher Bingo squares feature common public library board of trustee responsibilities, activities, or topics.

Here's how to become a Board Watcher:

Find out when your local public library's next board meeting is (in person or remote).

Put it on your calendar (pro board watcher move: put a recurring item on your calendar based on when these meetings usually occur!).

Identify and review any public agendas or perhaps take a look at the "minutes" from previous meetings.

Attend the board meeting and play Board Watcher Bingo while you attend (download as image or download as pdf).

Take notes while you play (Did you cross off the POLICIES square? What types of policies were discussed? Cross off the ACCESS square? What type of access was covered? Was it access to technology, to facilities, to collections, or something else?)

Extra credit task #1 (worth one square of your choice): Read the public library trustee handbook for your state, or read a general public library trustee handbook if there isn't a dedicated one for your state. Huge thanks to FTP volunteer Lauren for the research help pulling these together: Library Trustee Handbook Collection.

Extra credit task #2 (worth TWO squares of your choice, wow!): Sign up to make a public comment and speak at a public library board meeting. Here's a great set of talking points that you can check out for inspiration. If you don’t have a current issue or problem that you want to address, and you’re not sure what to talk about, find something you think your library is doing well or recount a recent positive experience you had as a library user! Most libraries only hear from patrons with problems (which is entirely legitimate), so adding something positive to the mix can go a long way and shows that there is community support for what you love about your local public library.

It may take multiple board meetings or a meeting plus an extra credit item or two before you’re able to complete a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line through your bingo card and that’s okay!

The first 25 people to complete their bingo card can fill out this form to receive a small gift from us (Library Defenders Stickers, For The People buttons, and/or postcards).

[benkyoutobentou]

What I've Been Enjoying Lately - Japanese Media

This is way overdue! I've been consuming so much great media in Japanese, it's time to share the love and recommend some things for all of you lovely language learners

📚 Books:

旅猫リポート - 有川浩: This is a super adorable novel about a stray cat who is taken in by a young man. Five years later, the owner is suddenly unable to take care of this cat and the two embark on a road trip across Japan to find the perfect new owner. This one is definitely a tear jerker to any animal lover and will absolutely make you want to cuddle your own fluffy friends into oblivion.

キノの旅 - 時雨沢恵一: This is a light novel series that's extremely close to my heart! The 2003 anime adaption of this series also isn't just my favorite anime, but my favorite TV show ever. Because of the relatively simple vocabulary, I often see it recommended as a first read for Japanese learners just dipping their toes into novel reading, and I find myself agreeing. This series follows a teenager named Kino who travel from country to country with a motorrad named Hermes. There's not much of a continuous plot and very few recurring characters, making it even easier to follow if something confuses you. Despite the fluffy sounding description, this series has a good amount of content warnings accompanying it and can get pretty gory at times as well.

僕らの地球の歩き方 - ソライモネ: An adorable manga series in which two men travel the world together under the agreement that, upon returning to Japan, they'll get married. I feel like if someone looked into my brain to find what I like in a series in order to create a manga series perfectly suited to my tastes, it would be 僕らの地球の歩き方. It's gay, it's adorable, it's about traveling the world, it's about loving the people around you and human culture and delicious food, I'm already crying. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

薔薇王の葬列 - 菅野文: I went back and forth about putting this on my list, but it's not titled "What I've Been Enjoying Lately" for nothing and boy oh boy have I been enjoying this lately. Perhaps I've been enjoying it a bit too much. A while back, I actually banned myself from reading this series because I didn't have the full set and would instantly be put in an awful mood if I caught up with the volumes I had. This manga series follows Richard Plantagenet III, yes, that one, and his ascendance to the British throne. This series is chock full of treachery, murder, violence, and everything else nice. Due to the... everything about this series.... there's a lot of unusual vocabulary, but it has furigana on everything, which helps a lot for speedy look ups.

気になってる人が男じゃなかった - 新井すみこ: Bonus manga! Because this one is worth it, and also because everyone needs a little more GL on their shelves. This manga is so good that I've even been seeing people who don't speak Japanese buy this to have on their shelves. It follows a slightly awkward girl and a gyaru from her class as the two bond of their shared love of western rock music. Yeah, this is the manga that's doing a collab with Nirvana.

📺 Shows and Movies:

Old Fashion Cupcake - This is a BL office romance drama about a middle aged man and his subordinate who begin acting like teenage girls in an attempt to regain some of their youth. Through eating sweets together, taking selfies and food pictures, and talking "girls' talk," the two deepen their bond. I don't think I can say this enough, I love food romances. If their is food involved in a romance, I'm there, no need to tell me twice. This series is super sweet and a really enjoyable watch.

カルテット - Four musicians meet by chance and decide to form a quartet together. However, each one has secrets that they're hiding. Bonus points to Netflix for actually having a J-drama I like for once. This series has a warm and cozy found family vibe, while still managing to have some of the most wildest shenanigans imaginable. I also really appreciated that this series seems to take some stances that I've never seen before, especially regarding family and what you owe to your parents.

映像研には手を出すな！ - This anime follows three girls and their attempts to make anime. As an anime that is about the creation of anime, it's really no surprise that the art and animation is stand out in this series. I loved the ways that we as the viewer were able to see the imaginations of the characters. I also really enjoyed the characters, and the voice acting was phenomenal as well. This show is also home to one of the best intros ever.

赤髪の白雪姫 - This fantasy anime follows the titular character Shirayuki as she escapes from her home kingdom after being chosen as a royal concubine due to her unusual red hair. On her travels, she meets a prince from a neighboring kingdom and becomes a palace herbalist. It's not often that I watch or care about straight romances in media, but this romance is so adorable, and even beyond it, I truly love all the characters and their relationships in this series. Also, I think this is the only show I've watched where I found the soundtrack to actually be distracting- and not because I didn't like it, but because it was just that good.

🎤 Music:

オーガストの風 - THE BLACKBAND

夢伝説 - Stardust Revue

lemonade - Chili Beans.

Show - Ado

[bubonickitten]

Another thing I think is worth discussing:

Transphobic and other anti-LGBTQ+ violence perpetuated by, against, and among youth isn't just a matter of punishing the aggressors for their actions.

Adults throughout the U.S. -- school administrators, school boards, lawmakers, etc. -- have actively and willfully created an environment where LGBTQ+ (particularly trans and nonbinary) youth are dehumanized by not only institutions and the adults that run them, but by their peers.

They effectively deny kids the right to do something as basic as use the bathroom. They ban teachers from using the names and pronouns of trans/nb youth. They create policies requiring schools to notify parents when kids express LGBTQ+ identity (which puts those kids at risk of isolation, abuse, and "conversion" attempts if their families are transphobic or homophobic). They challenge and ban books by and/or about LGBTQ+ people (again: especially trans/nonbinary people), invoking "parents' rights." This not only infringes on (most importantly imo) kids' basic right to read, but also infringes on other parents' rights, dictating how they raise their children by removing anything they deem "inappropriate" from school libraries and curricula.

They have sent a message to LGBTQ+ youth themselves through these actions -- "you are unwanted; you are unwelcome; we do not see you as children worthy of an education and basic human decency, but as boogeymen and the embodiment of the types of people we hate." This erodes the mental health of and contributes to the already disproportionately high rates of self-harm and suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.

But these adults have also sent a corresponding message to straight, cisgender youth that their LGBTQ+ peers are to be silenced, denied humanity, and eliminated from any space they occupy at any cost (whether that means bullying them into the closet and locking the door, or using violence or ostracism to silence the ones who cannot or do not hide their identities).

There's also a broader discussion to be had about how the criminal justice system deals with violence perpetrated by minors: punitive vs. rehabilitative approaches; accounting for the developmental stage of the minor(s) in question while still centering and ensuring justice for the victim(s); discriminatory practices in conviction and sentencing (as well as whether someone is tried as a juvenile or an adult), particularly with regards to race and class.

But, point is, I don't think we can stop anti-LGBTQ+ and other hate-based violence and bullying by focusing on the individual perpetrators involved in each instance, or addressing it on a case-by-case basis. The adults in charge are (whether implicitly or explicitly) sending the message that all LGBTQ+ people, including LGBTQ+ kids, are -- in the words of Oklahoma State Senator Tom Woods referring to Nex Benedict -- "filth". At the end of the day, these are grown adults bullying and abusing literal children. They can't absolve themselves of responsibility when those kids' peers mirror that hate.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Clarence Thomas and the generosity of a far-right dark-money billionaire

Clarence Thomas has set some important precedents in his career as a Supreme Court justice — for example, the elevation of the unrepentant rapist Brett Kavanaugh to the bench could never have occurred but for the trail blazed by Thomas as a sexually harassing, pubic-hair distributing creep boss:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/01/30-years-after-her-testimony-anita-hill-still-wants-something-from-joe-biden-514884

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

Today, Thomas continues to steer the court into new territory — for example, he’s interested in banning same-sex marriage again:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256

And of course, he’s set precedent by hearing cases related to the attempted overthrow of the US government, despite the role his wife played in the affair:

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/30/1089595933/legal-ethics-experts-agree-justice-thomas-must-recuse-in-insurrection-cases

Thomas is not alone in furthering the right’s mission to destroy the morale of constitutional law scholars by systematically delegitimizing the court and showing it to be a vehicle for partisan politics and dark money policy laundering, but he is certainly at the vanguard:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/25/consequentialism/#dotards-in-robes

Today, Propublica published an expose on the vast fortune in secret gifts bestowed upon Thomas by the billionare GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, who is also one the most significant funders of political campaigns that put business before Thomas and the Supreme Court:

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow

The story, reported by Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski is a masterwork of shoe-leather investigative journalism, drawing on aviation records, social media posts and other “open source” intelligence to expose the illegal, off-the-books “gifts” from a billionaire to an unaccountable Supreme Court justice with a lifetime appointment.

Here are a two of those gifts: a private jet/superyacht jaunt around Indonesia valued at $500,000; and a $500,000 gift to Ginni Thomas’s Tea Party group (which pays Ginni Thomas $120,000/year).

On top of that are gifts that are literally priceless: decades’ worth of summer vacations at Camp Topridge, Crow’s private estate, with its waterfall, great hall, private chefs, 25 fireplaces, thee boathouses, clay tennis court, batting range, 1950s-style soda fountain and full-scale reproduction of Hagrid’s hut.

Summer retreats to Topridge allow business leaders like Leonard Leo — the Federalist Society bankroller and mastermind who set Trump up to pack the Supreme Court — to coordinate in private with Thomas:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/29/betcha-cant-eat-just-one/#pwnage

They also allow top execs from PWC, Verizon and other corporations who may have business before the court to establish a warm, collegial relationship with a judge whose decisions can make billions for their employers. In its reporting, Propublica points out that Thomas got to hang out on Crow’s superyacht with Mark Paoletta, who was then general counsel for Trump’s OMB, and who has opposed any tightening of ethics rules for Supreme Court judges: “there is nothing wrong with ethics or recusals at the Supreme Court.”

Crow and Thomas also hobnob together at Crow’s Texas ranch, and at the Bohemian Grove, the Bay Area’s ultra-luxe retreat for rich creeps. Crow bought Thomas a private superyacht cruise through New Zealand, another through the Greek islands, and a river trip around Savannah, GA. He also traveled around the country on Crow’s private jet — even a short private jet trip is valued around $70,000.

Crow also makes many donations on Thomas’s behalf, from a $105,000 donation to Yale Law School for the “Justice Thomas Portrait Fund” to paying for a 7 foot tall, 1,800 lb bronze statue of the nun who taught Thomas in the eighth grade, which now stands in a New York Catholic cemetery.

This is without precedent. No Supreme Court justice in US history received comparable gifts during their tenure on the bench. Federal judges quoted in the story call it “incomprehensible,” noting that US judges bend over backwards not to owe anyone any favors, going so far as to book restaurant reservations without using their titles.

Virginia Canter, a former US government ethics lawyer of bipartisan experience said Thomas “seems to have completely disregarded his higher ethical obligations,” adding “it makes my heart sink.”

The Supreme Court’s own code of ethics prohibits justices from engaging in conduct that gives rise to the “appearance of impropriety,” but the code is “consultative,” and there are no penalties for violating it. But US judicial officers — including Thomas — are legally required to disclose things like private jet trips. Thomas did not. In general, justices must report any gift valued at more than $415, where a gift is “anything of value.” This includes instances in which a gift is given by a corporation whose owner is the true giver.

Crow is a Red Scare-haunted plutocrat who says his greatest fear is “Marxism.” He was a key donor to the anti-tax extremists at the Club For Growth, and has served on the board of the American Enterprise Institute — climate deniers who also claimed that smoking didn’t cause cancer — for 25 years.

Crow is a proud dark-money source, too, whose $10m in acknowledged donations to Republican causes and candidates are only the tip of the iceberg, next to the dark money he has provided to groups he declines to name, telling the New York Times, “I don’t disclose what I’m not required to disclose.”

Crow claims that the vast sums he’s lavished on Thomas — who, again, presides over the test cases that Crow is helping to put before him — are just “hospitality.” Crow called the private retreats with business leaders and top government officials “gatherings of friends,” and added that he was “unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas” while at his private estates or on his superyacht or private plane.

For his part, Thomas publicly maintains that he hates luxury. In a Crow-financed documentary about Thomas’s life, Thomas tells the camera, “I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal to me about it. I come from regular stock, and I prefer that — I prefer being around that.”

Judges often have to make determinations about conflicts of interest, and lawyers have an entire practice devoted to preventing conflicts from arising. I doubt whether Thomas himself would consent to have a dispute of his own tried in front of a judge who had received millions in gifts from his opponent.

The Supreme Court’s power comes from its legitimacy. The project of delegitimizing the court started with the right, and Democrats have been loathe to participate in any activity that would worsen the court’s reputation. As a result, the business lobby and authoritarian politicians have had free rein to turn the court into a weapon for attacking American workers, American women, and LGBTQ people.

It doesn’t have to be this way. When the Supreme Court blocked all of FDR’s New Deal policies — which were wildly popular — FDR responded by proposing age limits for Supreme Court judges. When the Supremes refused to contemplate this, FDR asked Congress for a law allowing him to appoint one new Supreme Court judge for every judge who should retire but wouldn’t.

As the vote on this bill grew nearer, the Supremes reversed themselves, voting to uphold the policies they’d struck down in their previous session. They knew that their legitimacy was all they had, and when a brave president stood up to their bullying, they caved.

https://theconversation.com/packing-the-court-amid-national-crises-lincoln-and-his-republicans-remade-the-supreme-court-to-fit-their-agenda-147139

The Supreme Court has moved America further away from the ideals of pluralistic democracy than we can even fathom, and they’re just getting started. They are taking a wrecking ball to the lives of anyone who isn’t a wealthy conservative, and they’re doing it while accepting a fortune in bribes from American oligarchs.

Have you ever wanted to say thank you for these posts? Here’s how you can: I’m kickstarting the audiobook for my next novel, a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller about Silicon Valley scams called Red Team Blues. Amazon’s Audible refuses to carry my audiobooks because they’re DRM free, but crowdfunding makes them possible.

Image: Mr. Kjetil Ree (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Supreme_Court.JPG

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[Image ID: An altered image of Clarence Thomas, standing in gilded judicial robes on the steps of the Supreme Court. Looming over the court is a line-drawing of a business-man with a dollar-sign-emblazoned money-bag for a head.]

[katy-l-wood]

Finally sat down to fill out my ballot for the current Colorado Springs election and good god this is a shit show. Highlights include the candidate whose stance on homelessness is "we need a mayor with the courage and compassion to clear our streets and trails," the guy who...seems to be running based off the fact he has a mullet?, and another who has named his campaign the "Patriot Cowboy Revolution."

Also. If you're going to run for an office, why wouldn't you make a website? There's multiple candidates that don't have a website. How the hell should I know if I should vote for you or not if you have zero information out there aside from some scattered newspaper interviews that only ask you one or two questions?

And shoutout to the guy who only had videos on his website, rather than anything you could read. Just tell me your damn stances, I'm not watching all your little videos.

Then there's the AMOUNT of them who just wax poetical about their lives here and their families. Sir. I do not care about your grandma. I do not care how long you have been married to your wife. I do not care how many kids you have. Tell me what you're gonna do about the fact that a nightclub full of my community got shot up. Tell me your stance on the book bans. Tell me your stance on gun control. ANYTHING useful.

Seriously. Not one mayoral candidate had anything on their website about any actual CURRENT issues. Just the standard "protect our trails!!!1!" and "I believe in infrastructure!!1!" and "I support small businesses!!1!"

Colorado Springs is the bad place and we can't even really vote ourselves out of BEING the bad place because there is no one worth voting for.

[tepkunset]

Maybe a weird ask: I saw a Youtube comment accusing Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes of writing Lucy Gray and the Covey as Romani stereotypes; a quick search didn't show anyone else saying that but as someone who has read the book/seen the movie, do you think there's any weight to this or that the Covey culture is distinctly its own thing? Sorry if this is the wrong person to ask, I don't really interact with the wider fandom.

Obvious disclaimer: I'm not Romani, so it's very possible there are things that I just plain did not recognize, and I'd be happy to redact all this if anyone who is Romani would like to correct me!

I first very easily projected Indigeneity onto the Covey. Which I think I was onto something, because I think f you're looking for a closer comparison, the Melungeons of Appalachia could be it?

"Melungeon is a term that first appeared in print in the 19th century, used in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to describe people of mixed ancestry. Melungeons were considered by outsiders to have a mixture of European, Native American, and African ancestry." (Source)

Snow notes that "the Covey varied in complexion, hair, and features," (though the majority of them with dark curly hair,) which denotes mixed ancestry, yet they are a distinct group of a shared culture and history.

Rachel Zegler said in an interview that Suzanne Collins wanted the Covey to sound distinctly Appalachian in their music. (Source) Worth noting, while on the topic, that while many people attribute this kind of music to settlers, it would not exist as we know it without the African American influence of the blues and the banjo.

The Covey are very much treated like outsiders, while at the same time, the Captiol tries to categorize them and separate them; something that ye old census workers attempted and failed to do with the Melungeons.

Lucy Gray talks about how her people used to be nomadic, before being forced into becoming sedentary by the Capitol, and more than that, how the Captiol bans them from performing certain songs and dance, and can only do so at all with special permission. She says that ruined their way of life. This is super duper in line with what the US and Canada did to us Natives as a means of assimilation. This is indeed one thing I can see people perhaps attributing to Romani coding, since it's also something they have been subjected to.

The Covey are described as decorating themselves with colours and feathers - again, this is vaguely Native coding to me.

But in addition to all this, I think Collins tried to come up with some things that just made the Covey feel unique, like for example, their naming conventions. I don't know of any culture that has anything similar to that.

[yarboyandy]

do you have any more streamer!jenny +giles for us?

kinda surprised the love this au got 😱😱Yeah I'll draw some stuff I just got off work so I'll begin doing some stuff.

in terms of headcannons I have a few ^_^

Jenny isn't mega popular or anything, I think she'd be a smaller streamer with like 1-2k viewers at a time. She does gaming and random demon shit, tarot card readings or whatever. People really like her purple aesthetic she has going on and her mascot is a black cat. She just gets into drama cuz she just says whatever she wants and ALWAYS responds cuz she's got stuff to say!! Her merch is low key awful LOL she sells t-shirts and a few mugs via tspring or something but gets Oz to draw her up something worth while at some point. She streams at night with no set schedule cuz thats when she has time after work. Willow is one of her mods (Willow thinks its bc she's Jennys favorite student but it's mostly because she doesn't have to pay Willow LOL)

Giles doesn't start showing up until a bit later and not super consistently (he like never even knows whats going on, let alone that more than 5 people are watching. usually busy w/ Buffy anyways) I think Giles would be oddly good at among us. I just think he would be able to win more often than not. Jenny tries to get him to play new games but he sucks so bad it's not even real. He tries to do a run of Skyrim one night and manages to get past the tutorial but gets so engrossed reading the in-game books that the entire chat gets so pissed off most people leave. They get him to play around of fortnite and it causes the same reaction that the G-fuel gave him. He isn't scared by FNAF because "it happened to me once" (He doesn't elaborate.) He gets confused by the chat begging him to put on a maid dress because he's picturing like the really long old fashion kind and is like "? you people are very strange"

Ethan makes periodic appearances to superchat and will either send a dollar and be like "KILL YOURSELF!!!!!!!!" Or "please tell him to text me back." and he doesn't get banned because it's funny that some 29 year old has major beef with some 45 year old gay guy.

[2bpoliticallycurious]

An interesting proposal:

"Those objecting to any book should be required to read it and write a book report. If it’s significant enough to prevent a student in a county or school district from reading it then it’s worth investing some time."

--JT of Clifton, comment on an article on Florida book banning in The Washington Post

According to ThinkImpact U.S. Literacy Statistics, "54% of adults have a literacy below 6th grade level." Given that, my guess is it would be difficult for many of the right-wing activists who wish to ban books at libraries to read a book in its entirety that they wish to ban and to summarize it coherently in a book report.

This kind of rule might save many school districts and communities a lot of grief (and might perhaps actually help these far right activists to learn more about ideas with which they might not otherwise come in contact).😱😉

[edited]

[badoccultadvice]

So like, I have been having this weird experience analyzing the Harry Potter books lately, and please indulge me while I talk about J.K. Rowling's weird writing.

My goal was simple: read the Harry Potter books to find which parts were influenced/inspired by actual magic that people do in real life. My theory was that there was a lot more magic in the earlier drafts of the books, and that she took a lot out due to fear of backlash from America's ongoing reenactment of the Satanic Panic. For instance it's quite obvious some of their magic lessons got dumbed down so that very little of what's in the books could actually be tried in real life, and I think she took out a lot of astrology.

I also wanted to do a couple errands along the way, one of which was to check and see if it's explicitly written in the books that Harry is a cis man. I'm a trans man, SO I'D KNOW. (I'm a slow reader so all I can say for now is: the FIRST book does not explicitly state Harry is cis, but if he's trans, there's some implied worldbuilding with items like the Sorting Hat that comes into play. Also I'm fairly sure the Dursleys would have gone along with him being trans because that meant Petunia could reuse Dudley's old clothes instead of having to get girl stuff. I'mma save any other explanations on the topic for a video on it.) The reason I'm doing this read-through is because I think J.K. doesn't know anything about trans people and didn't think to make sure her wizard world was trans exclusionary. AND IT TURNS OUT THAT WE TRANS MAGIC USERS HAVE A WAY OF WIGGLING INTO MOST PLACES UNDETECTED BY NORMAL MEANS.

While I was doing the re-read I encountered two sort of broad revelations:

There's a lot of old stuff in there like Latin and Greek and tradcraft stuff, but also modern magic of the more recent era... but the incorporation of modern magic cuts off somewhere before the 80s. These books read like they were written by a early 70s magician. Like they honestly read like J.K. is a magical practicioner who just didn't read any magic books written after 1972 and never discovered what Chaos Magic is, (and also, never heard of most of what happened in the Cold War). I have never found a writer, in fiction or non-fiction, more dedicated to referencing magical stuff that most magicians alive today just don't care about anymore.

J.K. Rowling's knowledge of child abuse laws and general social mores regarding treatment of children also ceased to update itself by about the 80s. I keep getting distracted by this and having to make more side-notes about corporal punishment and researching stuff like when caning was banned in England. (HInt: it was banned before Harry went to school, so in Book 1 it's fuckin weird that he assumes that Wood is the name of a cane he's about to be whipped with.) Like, this woman raised children in the modern era, she should know when canes stopped being used.

So like, when I mention that I'm doing some research in this area, this is the sort of stuff I'm reading for and the sort of stuff I'm encountering. I haven't been talking much about this journey because it seems like any time anyone brings up anything Harry Potter up whatsoever, we've got to talk about how J.K. is a terf in every other sentence. But like, y'all: I hope you slow down and re-read the books, because J.K. Rowling is a terf who is also a child abuse apologist and normalizer. She is a terf who is also a horrible fat-shamer. She is a terf who is also an ableist with a huge problem writing about mental illness. And she's a terf who's also a sexist who undermines feminism with her actual writing of female characters.

And I honestly think she double and triples down on the terf stuff so that people will only talk about that. I think it's worth talking about the fact that not only is she an awful person in the terf way, but like, every other way imaginable too. I think it's worth talking about the fact that with all the obvious biases she has, the group she CHOOSES to publicly marginaiize is trans women, and I think she makes that choice because she thinks that she'll get more allies that way. That if she wore all of her issues on her sleeve like she wears the terfness, that she'd lose a lot of allies, that a lot of prestigious charities would stop having anything to do with her. That she uses the identity of "terf" as a shield because she knows that certain people will protect a terf, and she does this specifically so people won't notice how much of a sexist, abuse apologist, ableist, fatphobe etc she ALSO is. Opinions that could lose her a lot of money and clout if people remember them enough.

She's trying to pick on who she thinks is the most unpopular kid in the class out of the hopes that the bullies in class will be her friends instead of pile up on her, but if the bullies knew what she really thought of them, THEY wouldn't even be her friends.

Also like... I just want someone else to read the actual words in these books and see what fucked-up choices she made as a writer. I think a LOT of people remembering these books are actually remembering the movies, which are way more different from the books than you might expect.

[eerna]

I'm on a book-buying ban because I literally have no space on my shelves anymore. But... I'm sort of thinking that I want to read Gideon the Ninth.................. is this book/series worth having to play extra hard-level Tetris with my shelves? (I know there's ebooks, but I don't have any device for that, and I don't want to read it on my computer. So I'd rather just have it as a physical copy. Another option could be the library - but my library doesn't have a wide selection of books, so also not an option :( ).

At this point, I'm pretty picky with my books, and try to buy only those I am pretty sure I'll enjoy and will want to reread in the future. Do you think this series is one that you can enjoy reading multiple times?

The thing is that the series is really complicated, so you will HAVE to reread the entire thing if you want to understand what is happening. There's a joke that the reading order is "book 1 - book 2 - reread book 2 - reread book 1 + 2 - book 3 - reread book 1+2+3". So idk man maybe you won't enjoy them, but yeah they are extremely rereadable. I'd suggest maybe donating or selling the books you've bought that you DON'T enjoy, so you can have more shelf space? Or looking into Scribd or other subscription services that provide audiobooks for free - those are a lifesaver for me. In any case, hope you have fun!