SpaceWhereDreamsLie

I say this with so, so much care: Real queer shit written by real queers can and will sometimes make you uncomfortable. That's one of the defining features of weird, independent queer media. And weird independent media more broadly. Art that comes from true individual passion and authenticity has edges and bite to it that mass market corporate products intentionally do not. Has a rawness that can offend.

The first two footed backflip was done in competition by American skater Terry Kubicka in 1976. After he did this the backflip was made illegal because it was both not landed on one foot / incompatible with figure skating AND seen as too dangerous to allow in wider competition.

Backflips then became something just for ice shows, outside competition, and was something French skater Surya Bonaly frequently did. She's also credited as the youngest figure skater to do a backflip and the first woman.

Surya Bonaly then did the first single footed backflip in competition in 1998. When Surya Bonaly did the backflip she knew it was an illegal element and knew she would (almost definitely) get a deduction for it despite landing it on one leg. At the time she was injured, knew she wouldn't get on the podium, and she knew she couldn't complete her required elements, so she did it to show the judges/ISU exactly what she was capable of. She still received the mandatory deduction because it was an illegal element. However this is often conflated with the CHRONIC RACIST UNDERSCORING she was subjected to more widely across her career.

In the intervening years the backflip became pretty common outside of competition with at least one person doing it at most galas.

A few years back another French skater, Adam Siao Him Fa, added the two footed backflip to his skate in competition, fully knowing he'd get the two point deduction every time for the illegal element. At the 2024 world championships Adam was in 19th after the short program, had an incredible skate in the free and, even with the 2 point deduction for the backflip, got the bronze medal.

Shortly after this (largely seemingly because of Adam going viral and the ISU wanting to capitalise on that because the sport is dying) the backflip was legalised.

Now the backflip is a legal element, however, it's listed as a choreographic element so there's no actual points in it which is why many people still don't do it. It is also STILL AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ELEMENT (and honestly it was incredibly irresponsible of the ISU to legalise it).

Since legalisation American skater Ilia Malinin has been using the backflip in competition and has now landed it on one leg. This is the first LEGAL one footed backflip in competition, which is of course a historic moment in and of itself.

When I sit down midway through a big cleaning day and start to ignore the task at hand. I'll eventually tell myself "Do I really want to be that piece of shit sims character who's ignoring my orders right now? That little fuck who throws a tantrum while I'm desperately trying to get him to clean up a mess so it doesn't spread and get worse?"

Jennifer English wins Best Performance for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Until someone else comes up with a transcript: Blanketed is struggling specifically with the ability to do tasks that they do not want to do. Friend introduces the Hot Stove Conundrum: that Blanketed's brain will treat doing these kinds of tasks as if being demanded to hold their hand on a red hot stove. Three (ish) solutions are:

A. Mindfully avoiding unnecessary hot stoves. Think through the consequences of not doing the task, and removed it from your to-do if they can be avoided without actually deleterious consequences.

B. Decrease the [subconsciously] perceived threat level of what remains. The specifics vary by person, and Friend notes that for some people, "therapy and medication go a long way" and many ADHD tips, like adding nice sensory experiences (listen to something you like, wear a shirt you like) to counterbalance the "hot stoves" or body doubling, fall into this category.

B (part 2) Blanket remarks that they'd rather continue avoiding the tasks, and Friend compares it to being forced to touch a hot stove at gunpoint: "You'll get it done, but at what cost?" (Blanketed: "Is that why I work so well under pressure?")

We must teach them the Lore of things,

When i hear complaints about gen x i say " did not gen x bear the brunt of AIDS and the creation of the 'inner city'? wasn't it gen-x marching for queer rights and women's body autonomy and a change in corrupt banking policies in some of the largest protests in the country's history?"

when i hear complaints about millennials, i say "have not millennials fought against and lived through so many 'once in a generation' disasters they should by all rights have given up by now? Are not millennials those who rally against the status quo? the industry killers, the cop protesters, they who live through unending hardship as the economic noose tightens, leading the charge for sustainability and socio-economic reform?"

when i hear complaints about gen-z i say "hasn't gen-z gotten involved younger, and been involved stronger, in the continuance of these noble traditions? Are they not living without even the broken pieces of the promise given to the generations that came before? haven't they had their childhoods derailed by the imminence of consequences for actions they were never even present for?"

when i hear complaints about generation alpha i say "HOW DARE YOU. How dare you malign these souls who will have to fix so much that they did not have a hand in ruining... or else die of these mistakes made before they were born. How dare you do the work of our shared oppressors and alienate our fresh blood. You are not to mistreat and mock the youngest soldiers in this fight, no! you point out to them the best targets, you share your rations, you show them how to stay alive, because anyone in the trenches with us is our brethren, our sistren. Our safety and our strength."

@hedgewitchnecromancer yes exactly. “You can alter any material on the fly and you’re using it for superpowered vandalism?! You could destroy the environment by changing the colour of chlorophyll!”

Happy Magic the Gathering x Final Fantasy day

It's truly an amazing job referencing many things

This is an interesting thing. Looks like testimonies of people who left the MAGA movement- how they got into it and why.

Yes, actually.

Look, I know people want to react to the 'leopards eating faces party' with a big fat 'told you so,' but these are ex-cultists who are reaching out to people who may need an exit with a soft landing.

People who are deeply in a cult are afraid to leave it and MAGA is no exception! There's a fear that once you leave, you won't be accepted by anyone, so they stay even if they no longer believe in their rhetoric.

A very intelligent person can fall for a cult if they feel that it can offer them something they're missing. The outside world is perilous and you can be safe here. Your friends will reject you now that you've joined us, but we will accept you. Decisions are hard, we can make them for you. The secular world has broken you, we can give you new life through christ.

If you read some of the testimonies (and so many of them are young people) you'll see how much of it is 'I didn't see it, it took someone I love to show it to me, I can't unsee it now.' We've all done things we regret. Some regrets are bigger than others. I would rather forgive them and allow them to do good work than berate them for a decision they made when compromised by anxiety.

If you want to punish them, that's up to you.