catthattalks

[catthattalks]

you guys know you can get USB connectable CD, dvd, and blu-ray players right. and you can buy external hard drives with crazy amounts of space for an amount of money that would make the average person from 2009’s head explode bc of how cheap it is. and if you do this and get ripping software such as handbrake for CDs and DVDs and makeMKV for blurays you can both own a physical copy of whatever media you want and make it accessible to yourself no matter where you are. do you guys know this

#ref

[catthattalks]

this is the money chilchuck of good fortune, rb for wealth & union contracts to come your way

#dungeon meshi

[catthattalks]

The Change God: you are loved, mirabelle The Change God: i see you changing, even if you do not The Change God: you are always changing, always evolving The Change God: you are not stagnating in any way The Change God: and even if you were, that would be fine, because life is about changes but it's also about staying right where you are, sometimes.

Have I said how much I LOVE The Change God is written?? BECAUSE I LOVE HOW THE CHANGE GOD IS WRITTEN!!

The Change God: i am proud of you The Change God: and i love the stupid ugly face you gave me and i wont even let anyone destroy it!!!!!!! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) The Change God: remember that ok!!! （.＞人<）

I love how Change God outright says they are proud and love Mirabelle no matter what!! They love the face she gave them!!! They appeared just to tell Mira they love her!!!

Mirabelle: ...Thank you, Change God The Change God: good luck mirabelle!!! im rooting for u!!! i love u!!! bye!!!

It's really refreshing to have a God character, that outright says they love their worshipper and comfort them! I don't think there are that many video games, where Gods are given positive interaction with their worshippers.

#this was such a sweet scene #in stars and time #isat spoilers #isat mirabelle #.catthatplays

[catthattalks]

hey boss i can't come in today it's a sunny day and there's a lovely breeze coming in through my window, yeah it's rustling the branches of the tree outside that's finally bloomed so it's pretty serious

[catthattalks]

While we're at it: using language that downplays genocide is a form of genocide denial.

Joe Biden isn't doing a bad job, Joe Biden is providing material support for genocide.

Israel isn't handling the situation badly, Israel is committing genocide.

Employing euphemisms minimizes the reality of this genocide. It's disrespectful and dangerous.

If you are more uncomfortable with the word genocide than you are with the reality of genocide, then you are not prepared to be part of any serious discussion. Work on that on your own time.

[catthattalks]

Instructions for how to download a Youtube video using VLC on Reddit

Instructions for how to navigate the underworld on an Orphic gold tablet

[catthattalks]

Nothings more wild than as an asexual person finding out like 90% of horny posting is genuine like wdym it’s not all a bit

#it's even weirder when people are thirsting over anime looking guys 😭 #wdym you are thirsting over a guy who looks like a doll #also joking if someone takes this too srsly

[catthattalks]

Dragonborn Briar you are so special to me

#that head tilt on lower left corner.... #precious dragonborn Briar!! #and the flat chest is so important for me!! #oc: briar #they look SO good

[catthattalks]

hey now

#dungeon meshi #waahhh

[catthattalks]

Normally I wouldn't bother making a post like this but it came to my attention yesterday via a twitter thread that tumblr user fridaypls is using AI elements in their fanart. Now, if they were doing this because they didn't feel entirely confident in their artistic ability, and they were just doing this for fanart they posted online, then I'd shrug my shoulders and go "eh, whatever"

However, I then found out that fridaypls is selling this fanart and even making posts like "buy my Gale print and get Tim Downie to sign it" and I just can't sit idly by whilst someone makes profit off AI 'art' and there are so many other artists (myself included) trying to make a living off our own art.

The tweet thread about the use of AI by fridaypls can be viewed here and here but I'll also copy and paste some of the examples under a cut line in this post.

So far on twitter, fridaypls got wind of the thread going around about them and they deactivated their account rather than take accountability. I'm probably going to be blocked by them for making this post, but I encourage you to reblog this and spread the word and please, PLEASE don't buy artwork from someone using AI generated images. There are so many other hardworking artists out there making amazing fanart and merch that you can give your money to instead.

Examples from twitter:

[catthattalks]

people are saying do it scared, but you also gotta do it alone. you'll miss out on so much you want to do if you wait til someone will do it with you. do it scared and do it alone.

[catthattalks]

I have accepted that I'm never going to render this thing

#in stars and time #lovely art

[catthattalks]

Remember that the laws establishing and protecting the rights of unions were a shaky truce made by governments afraid of being overthrown. They’re a way to pacify unions, give them what they want so they don’t get angry enough to start burning shit again

Those laws aren’t what makes unions possible, viable, or effective. Those laws exist because unions were so effective even without them

People act like they can’t unionize just because they live in America, or their state is Right to Work, or the company they work for is notoriously anti-union. But labor movements survived periods of being literally mowed down with machine guns by the US Army - so we don’t need to be scared off by a few posters

The fundamental power of a union comes from the fact that we outnumber them, and that the workplace doesn’t move without our labor. That power doesn’t need to be permitted and can’t be legislated away. So join a damn union!

#ref

[catthattalks]

"Let's Have a Talk, First"- Stereotypes, pt 1

Come sit down. You and I, before we get into any of the things I'm sure you're impatient to know: we need to have a come to Jesus talk, first.

There are some things that I've been asked and seen that strengthens my belief that we need to have a reframing of the conversation on stereotypes in media away from something as simple as "how do I find the checklist of stereotypes to avoid". Because race- and therefore racial stereotypes- is a complex construct! Stands to reason then, that seeing, understanding, and avoiding it won't be that simple! I'm going to give you a couple pointers to (hopefully) help you rethink your approach to this topic, and therefore how to apply it when you're writing Black characters- and even when thinking about Black people!

Point #1: DEVELOP THE CHARACTER!! WRITE!!

Excuse my crude language, but let me be blunt: Black people- and therefore Black characters- will get angry at things, and occasionally make bad choices in the heat of the moment. Some of us like to fuck real nasty, some might be dominant in the bedroom, they may even be incredibly experienced! Others of us succumb to circumstance and make poor decisions that lead to crime.

None of those things inherently makes any of us angry Black women and threatening Black men, Jezebels and BBC Mandingos, and gangsters and thugs!

Black people are PEOPLE! Write us as such!

If all Black characters ever did was go outside, say "hi neighbor!" and walk back in the house, we'd be as boring as racist fans often accuse.

I say this because I feel I've seen advice that I feel makes people think writing a Black character that… Emotes negatively, or gets hurt by life and circumstance, or really enjoys hard sex, or really any scenario where they might "look bad" is the issue. I can tell many people think "well if I write that, then it's a stereotype" and to avoid the difficulty, they'll probably end up writing a flat Black character or not writing them at all. Or- and I've seen this too- they'll overcompensate in the other direction, which reveals that they 'wrote a different sort of Black person!' and it comes off just as awkwardly because it means you think that the Black people that do these things are 'bad'. And I hate that, because we're capable of depth, nuance, good, evil, adventure, world domination, all of it!

My point is, if you write your character like the human being they are, while taking care to recognize that you as the writer are not buying into stereotypes with your OWN messaging, you're fine. We have emotions, we have motivations and goals, we make decisions, and we make mistakes, just like anybody else. Write that! Develop your character!

POINT #2: YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE READERS!!

Okay. You can write the GREATEST Black character ever, full of depth, love, nuance, emotional range, all those things…. And people are still going to be racist about them. Sorry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to control a reader coming from that place of bias you sought to avoid. If it's not there, TRUST AND BELIEVE, it'll be projected onto them.

That passionate young Black woman who told the MC to get her head out of her ass? Yeah she's an angry Black bitch now, and bully to the sweet white MC. Maybe a lesbian mommy figure if they like her enough to "redeem" her. That Black gay male lead that treats his partner like he worships the ground he walks on? Yeah he's an abusive thug that needs to die now because he disagreed One Time with his white partner. That Black trans woman who happened to be competing against the white MC, in a story where the white MC makes comparable choices? Ohhhh they're gonna be VILE about that poor woman.

It really hurts- most especially as a Black fan and writer- knowing that you have something amazing to offer (as a person and creative) and people are gonna spit on that and call it "preference". That they can project themselves onto white characters no matter what, but if you project your experiences onto black characters, it's "pandering", "self insert", "woke", "annoying", "boring", and other foul things we've all gotten comments of.

But expect that it's gonna happen when you write a Black character, again, especially if you're a Black writer. If you're not Black, it won't hurt as personally, but it will probably come as a shock when you put so much effort in to create a lovely character and people are just ass about them. Unfortunately, that is the climate of fandom we currently exist in.

My favorite example is of Louis De Pointe Du Lac from AMC's Interview With The Vampire. Louis is actually one of the best depictions of the existential horror that is being Black in a racist White world I have ever seen written by mostly nonblack people. It was timeless; I related to every single source of racist pain he experienced.

People were HORRIFIC about Louis.

It didn't matter that he was well written and what he symbolized; many white viewers did NOT LIKE this man. There's a level of empathy and understanding that Black characters in particular don't receive in comparison to white counterparts, and that's due to many of those stereotypes and systemic biases I'm going to talk about.

My point is, recognize that while yes, you as the author have a duty to write a character thoughtfully as you can, it's not going to stop the response of the ignorant. Writing seeking to get everyone to understand what you were trying to do… Sisyphean effort. It's better to focus on knowing that YOU wrote something good, that YOU did not write the stereotype that those people are determined to see.

POINT #3: WHY is something a stereotype?

While there are lists of stereotypes against Black people in media and life that can be found, I would appreciate if people stopped approaching it as just a list of things you can check off to avoid. You can know what the stereotypes are, sure, but if you don't understand WHY they're a problem and how they play into perception of us, you'll either end up writing a flat character trying to avoid that list, or you're going to write other things related to that stereotype because "oh its not item #1"... and it'll still be racist.

For example: if you wrote a "sassy Black woman" that does a z formation neck rotation just because a store manager asked her something… that's probably stereotype. If you thought of a character that needed to be "loudmouthed", "sassy", and "strong" and a dark-skinned black woman was automatically what fit the profile in your mind, ding ding ding! THAT'S where you need to catch your racist biases.

But a dark-skinned Black woman character cursing out a store manager because she's had a really bad, stressful day and their attitude towards her pushed her over the edge may be in the wrong, but she's not an "angry Black woman". She's a Black woman that's angry! And if you wrote the day she had to be as bad as would drive anyone to overstimulation and anxiety, the blow up will make sense! The development and writing behind her led to this logical point (which connects to point #1!)

I'm not going to provide a truly exhaustive list of Black stereotypes in media because that would ACTUALLY be worth a college credited class and I do this for free lmao. But I am going to provide some classic examples that can get y'all started on your own research.

POINT #4: WATCH BLACK NARRATIVES!

As always, I'm gonna push supporting Black creators, because that's the best way to see the range of what you'd like. You want to see Black villains? We got those! Black heroes? Black antiheroes? Assholes, lovers, comedians, depressed, criminals, kings, and more? They exist! You can get inspired by watching those movies and reading those books, see how WE depict us!

I've seen mixed reviews on it, BUT- I personally really enjoyed Swarm, because it was one of the first times I'd ever seen that "unhinged obsessed murderous Black fan girl" concept. Tumblr usually loves that shit lmao. Even the "bites you bites you bites you [thing I love]" thing was there. And she liked girls, too. Just saying. I thought it was a fun idea that I'd love to see more of. Y'all gotta give us a chance to be in these roles, to tell these tales. We can do it too, and you'd enjoy it if you tried to understand it!

POINT#5: You are NOT Black!

This is obvious lmao, but if you're not Black, there's no need to pretend. There's no need to think "oh well I have to get a 100% perfect depiction of the Black person's mind". That's… That's gonna look cringe, at its best. You don't have to do that in order to avoid stereotypes. You're not going to be able to catch every nuance because it's not your lived experience, nor is it the societally enforced culture. Just… Do what you can, and if you feel like it's coming off hokey… Maybe consider if you want to continue this way lol. If you know of any Black beta readers or sensitivity reviewers, that'd be a good time to check in!

For example, if your Black character is talking about "what's good my homie" and there's absolutely no reason for him to be speaking that way other than to indicate that he's Black… 😬 I can't stop you but… Are you sure?

An egregious example of a TERRIBLE way to write a Black character is the "What If: Miles Morales/Thor" comic. I want to emphasize the lack of good Black character design involved in some of these PROFESSIONAL art spaces, because that MARVEL comic PASSED QA!! That comic went past NUMEROUS sets of eyes and was APPROVED!! IT GOT RELEASED!! NO ONE STOPPED IT!!

I'm sorry, it was just so racist-ly bad that it was hilarious. Like you couldn't make that shit up.

Anyway, unfortunately that's how some of y'all sound trying to write AAVE. I promise that we speak the Queen's English too lmao. If you're worried you won't get it right, just use the standard form of English. It's fine! Personally, I'd much rather you do that than try to 'decode AAVE' if you don't know how to use it.

My point is, if you're actively "forcing" yourself to "think Black"… maybe you need to stand down and reconsider your approach lmao. This is why understanding the stereotypes and social environment behind them will help you write better, because you can incorporate that Blackness- without having to verbally "emphasize how Black this is"- into their character, motivations, and actions.

Conclusion

We need to reconsider how we approach the concepts of stereotypes when writing our Black characters. The goal is not to cross off a checklist of things to avoid per se, but to understand WHY we have to develop our Black characters well enough to avoid incorporating them into our writing. Give your Black characters substance- we're human beings! We have motivations and fears and desires! We're not perfect, but we're not inherently flawed because of our race. That's what makes the difference!

And as always, and really in particular for this topic, it's the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

#writing #art advice #ref

[catthattalks]

"The fissures that appear in any church - whether they result from the emergence of new factions within a church, the partial splitting off of sects or affiliated orders from a church, or the recognition through excommunication of heresies outside a church - serve as a forum for a divine being to explore new philosophies and thus shape the evolution of the faith. However, just as mortals are slaves to the divine, bound to obey the teachings of the god if they wish to remain within the faith, gods are slaves to their followers, bound to represent the consensus that emerges among the followers of a faith. For example, if a sect emerges within the church of Laplander preaching that the Morninglord is Amaunator reborn, then Lathander has one of three options; He can embrace this new belief, thus making it true; he can effectively ignore the new belief, thus allowing diversity to persist within the faith and weaken the absoluteness of his authority; or he can reject the new belief as heresy, thus splitting the ranks of his followers and reducing his divine strength. "Religious leaders, involved in an ongoing dialogue both with the deity and the body of the church, are either a never-ending source of such tensions as they introduce new concepts into such conversations, or defenders of the status quo as they argue against new interpretations - or occasionally both, depending on the circumstances. In a sense, how well a religious leader builds a following for new ideas of his own or others or suppresses support for the new ideas of others is a measure of his influence within a church. A powerful spiritual leader can shape both the body of the faithful and the nature of the divine during his tenure in the role." - Power of Faerûn

Interesting to read in light of what seemed to be the growing schism between Orin and Durge's clashing interpretations of Bhaalist doctrine, and how their beliefs and the way they affect the rest of the clergy might actually affect Bhaal back.

...I want to invent so many heresies.

#forgotten realms

[catthattalks]

The Big Damn List Of Stuff They Said You Didn't Know

Thousands and thousands of years back in three minutes:

But closer to the issue...

Five free eBooks on the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine

Pluto Books Free Palestine Reading List 30-50% off

LGBT Activist Scott Long's Google Drive of Palestine Freedom Struggle Resources

(includes some of the reading material recced below)

The Cambridge UCU and Pal Society Resources List

List of Academic and Literary Books Compiled by Dr. Kiran Grewal

Academic Books (many available in Goldsmiths library)

Rosemary Sayigh (2007) The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries, Bloomsbury

Ilan Pappé (2002)(ed) The Israel/Palestine Question, Routledge

(2006) The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, OneWorld Publications

(2011) The Forgotten Palestinians: A History of the Palestinians in Israel, Yale University Press

(2015) The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge, Verso Books

(2017) The Biggest Prison on earth: A history of the Occupied territories, OneWorld Publications

(2022) A History of Modern Palestine, Cambridge University Press

Rashid Khalidi (2020) The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017, MacMillan

Andrew Ross (2019) Stone Men: the Palestinians who Built Israel, Verso Books

Ariella Azoulay and Adi Ophir (2012) The One-State Condition: Occupation and Democracy in Israel/Palestine, Stanford University Press.

Ariella Azoulay (2011) From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947-1950, Pluto Press

Jeff Halper (2010) An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel, Pluto Press

(2015) War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification

(2021) Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State, Pluto Press

Anthony Loewenstein (2023) The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel exports the Technology of Occupation around the World (CURRENTLY FREE TO DOWNLOAD ON VERSO)

Noura Erakat (2019) Justice for some: law and the question of Palestine, Stanford University Press

Neve Gordon (2008) Israel’s Occupation, University of California Press

Joseph Massad (2006) The persistence of the Palestinian question: essays on Zionism and the Palestinians, Routledge Edward Said (1979) The Question of Palestine, Random House

Memoirs, Novels & Poetry:

Voices from Gaza - Insaniyyat (The Society of Palestinian Anthropologists)

Letters From Gaza • Protean Magazine

Raja Shehadeh (2008) Palestinian Walks: forays into a Vanishing Landscape, Profile Books

Ghada Karmi (2009) In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story, Verso Books

Fatma Kassem (2011) Palestinian Women: Narratives, histories and gendered memory, Bloombsbury

Mourid Barghouti (2005) I saw Ramallah, Bloomsbury

Izzeldin Abuelaish (2011) I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, Bloomsbury

Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke (eds)(2015) Palestine Speaks: Narrative of Life under Occupation, Verso Books

The Works of Mahmoud Darwish

Human Rights Reports & Documents

Information on current International Court of Justice case on ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’

UN Commission of Inquiry Report 2022

UN Special Rapporteur Report on Apartheid 2022

Amnesty International Report on Apartheid 2022

Human Rights Watch Report on Apartheid 2021

Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ 2009 (‘The Goldstone Report’)

Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004

Films

Lemon Tree (2008)

Where Should The Birds Fly (2013)

Naila and the Uprising (2017)

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Omar (2013)

Paradise Now (2005)

5 Broken Cameras (2011)

The Gatekeepers (2012)

Foxtrot (2017)

Gaza Mon Amour (2020)

The Viewing Booth (2020)

Innocence (2022) - Innocence (2022) | IDFA Archive

The Village Under the Forest (2013)

Palestine Film Institute's films on Gaza

Abby Martin - Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin

Dan Cohen - Gaza Fights Back | MintPress News Original Documentary

‘The Promise’, directed by Peter Kosminsky (2010) (4 part miniseries on the creation of Israel)

Sources:

https://www.972mag.com/

https://jewishcurrents.org/

Jadaliyya ‘Gaza in Context’ Series

Jadaliyya “War on Palestine” podcast - The War on Palestine Podcast: Episode 1

Border Chronicle, Interview with Israeli anthropologist Jeff Halper

NGOs

B’Tselem

Breaking the Silence

Al Haq

Palestinian Feminist Collective

Yesh Din

DAWN

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Gisha

Forensic Architecture

Instagram Accounts

gazangirl

mohammedelkurd

khaledbeydoun

motaz_azaiza

wizard_bisan1

etafrum

sara_mardini963

Twitter(X) Accounts

@PalStudies - Institute for Palestine Studies

@medicalaidpal

@middleeastmatters

@KenRoth - former executive director of Human Rights Watch

@YairWallach - Reader in Israel Studies at SOAS

@ PhilipProudfoot - researcher on development, humanitarianism and Arab states

@btselem - Israeli human rights documentation centre

@MairavZ - Senior Israel-Palestine Analyst at Crisis Group

@rohantalbot - Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at MedicalAidPal

@sarahleah1 - Executive Director of DAWN (democracy and human rights in MENA)

@alhaq_org - Palestinian human rights organisation

@FranceskAlbs - UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories

@Yesh_Din - Israeli human rights organisation

@sfardm - Michael Sfard, Israeli Human Rights Lawyer

@EphstainItay - Israeli international humanitarian lawyer

@saribashi - Program director for Human Rights Watch (Israeli living in Palestine)

@Gisha_Access - Israeli NGO

@_ZachFoster - Historian

Share widely!

(if any links are broken let me know. Or pull up the current post to check whether it's fixed.)

From River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

#palestine #ref #how to help

[catthattalks]

Past Life Dark Urge Asks - 8th Edition:

The Patriars, what does Durge think of them? Do they share the same mindset as Gortash or do they maybe like some of the messed up stuff the patriars did?

Durge was around when Elturel was dragged into Avernus, what did Durge think of these events? Were they maybe even personally affected by the aftermath?

Did Durge ever believe in a deity that wasn't Bhaal? Which one?

Gortash wanted to ascend as God himself, and he wanted Durge to join him. But what did Durge think of that plan? We're they on board or did they consider it heresy?

What does Durge think of Bards? Do they like them, despise them, did anything ever happen?

The vampire coven in Baldurs Gate is responsible for a lot of people disappearing. Did Durge take advantage of it and blame some of their murders on them? Did they dislike them?

Children; a great source of joy, perhaps annoyance, and certainly nutrition. But what exactly was your Durge's opinion on them besides being a great snack?

Spelljammers are a beloved mode of transportation on Toril, both for military and cargo means. Did Durge ever board one of these vessels, and what did they think? Or did the sole idea of getting close to something like that terrify them?

Generally speaking, if Durge needed to travel, how would they go about it? By foot or horse, or did they have a familiar to use?

Describe them with 1 quote, it can be anything you like but give me their whole being in a nutshell.

#oc: armas