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it's all sludge between the ears

@brainrotdotorg

orangegaytor on ao3, icon by maykitz
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new pinned post ok!!!!!!

hello !! i'm alex, she/he, girlboy, 21

disco elysium, portal, tf2, slay the princess, D20, furry shit, other things

i draw! i write (my ao3)! i make dumb posts and i love to talk so feel free to chatter with me any time!! for the most part this is a bona fide sillyzone so don't expect anything of substance from me lmao

my ko-fi if you like my posts you should give me money.

here there be 18+ content too so no minors please and thank you.

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foreverial

”IRL”? this is real life. you’re just talking to me from computer. i’m on the same planet as you. perhaps one day i will pull you from a burning building

the brain disagrees, it doesn't regard the screen as being equivalent to a person, while being perfectly fooled by an illusion of being heard or acknowledged

not trying to be a dick but the web is destroying humankind pretty fast

oh my god - fuck! you’re right! The brain disagrees. my well thought out thesis is ruined. what’s more? western civilization is in shambles. because of web. fuuuuck! *runs outside with my balls hanging out the fly of my pants* PUSSY! I NEED PUSSY! OFFLINE PUSSY! *gets hit by a bus and goes flying 20 feet in the air*

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Rapper Macklemore is releasing a track called “Hind’s Hall”, speaking out on the genocide of Palestinians, and the United States complacency in this ongoing violence. Macklemore has stated that once the track drops on streaming, all proceeds from streams will be going directly to UNRWAthe United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.

The new tracks namesake Hind’s Hall echoes the honours that Columbia University encampment protestors bestowed the Morningside Heights campus’ Hamilton Hall— in memory of Hind Rajab, the 6 year old Palestinian girl in Gaza who was shot by Israeli soldiers after being trapped inside a vehicle, with her dead family. She had begged to be rescued as tanks closed in on her.

Macklemore using his platform to vehemently speak out against genocide, the Israeli occupation and United States-led violence is what every single artist should be doing right now. The power of art should not be underestimated. Macklemore started out in the Hip-Hop scene within communist circles, namely working alongside Blue Scholars, and has never neglected his Leftism through out his career: the artist has spoken on issues regarding mental health, addiction, racial profiling and police violence, Capitalism, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and toxicity of American culture.

“The Nakba never ended, the colonizer lied” Hind’s Hall, Macklemore, 2024

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bloodraven55

that some people respond to any well-foreshadowed reveal with “ugh that plot twist was so predictable” proves bad faith criticism has rotted their brains to the point they think it’s bad writing if they can correctly identify information the writers were intentionally giving them

like you do realise that the entire point of set up and pay off is that you’re supposed to pick up on the clues the writers give you right? you do understand that plot twists only work when they retroactively make sense bc there were hints building up to the reveal right??

Some people engage with stories as if it's a competition where their job is to demonstrate that they're the smartest person in the room. These people aren't worth listening to about media.

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theothin

the thing to ask isn't "was this outcome surprising?", but rather "did this outcome make for a good story?"

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kaijutegu

Beating The Heat While Fat: Torso Skin Folds

Being fat in summer is hard for a lot of reasons, and one of them is skin folds. This is because skin folds love to trap moisture, and moisture+heat=bad. And moisture+heat+friction=worse.

When you have skin folds, summer can really suck. I'm not going to touch on any of the mental and emotional issues that come from the way fat bodies are treated- I'm talking about the physical issues that come from heat. Fat people sweat more! Our body fat acts as an insulator, meaning that we have to put out more sweat for evaporative cooling to be effective- and trust me, it's not always that effective.

There are lots of places skin folds develop, but the two I'm going to focus on today are abdominal and chest skin folds, and give you some specific information and recommendations for what you can do about them.

The abdominal skin fold, also known as apron belly, is tissue that hangs down over your abdomen and upper pubic area. The more technical term for this is a pannus. This tends to be a skin fold with a lot of surface area, since it usually goes from hip to hip, the whole length of your front. Pannus can also develop after a pregnancy, or after weight loss (and weight loss surgery). The principle is the same- the area under it needs to be cared for no matter how it develops!

Chest skin folds are probably the most common type of skin fold because most people with breasts has them. But you don't need mammary tissue to develop this skin fold! Anybody, regardless of sex, can develop overlapping skin on their chest. There's many more protective products available for people with breasts, due to the cultural expectation of bra wearing. But for folks with gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia, there's less information and resources out there.

By the way: gynecomastia is excess breast gland tissue that develops in men/AMAB people. Pseudogynecomastia is when the glands don't develop but the fat deposits do. Externally and visually, they're very similar, but there are some physiological differences that... don't matter for this piece honestly. Whether it's glands or fat, the tissue is still there, and still needs to be taken care of!

Skin Fold Skin Care

Nobody teaches you this stuff, so don't feel bad if you don't know it. When you're fat, nobody ever tells you how to take care of your skin, unless they're shaming you for it. Usually the only people who care about fat people's comfort are other fat people. So let's talk about how to take care of your skin folds in the summer.

The key elements to skin fold care and comfort are keeping the skin dry, but also keeping it hydrated. Sounds a little paradoxical, I know, but when I say "dry" I'm referring to the surface of the skin. You have sweat glands all over your body, and when you sweat on the surface of your skin, it evaporates or it's wicked away by your clothes. But when air can't get to it because it's under a skin fold, the moisture just stays there. And that's not good!

Moisture trapped between skin folds can lead to a few things that aren't a lot of fun. It can promote skin yeast infections and bacterial infections. It can lead to intertrigo, a red bumpy friction rash. Heat rash is more likely in the summer... because, well, it's hot.

One of the best things you can do is introduce a barrier between the sides of the skin fold. This can be barrier cream (my least favorite, it's messy), body powder, friction gel (like the kind of thing you use for chub rub on your thighs- think Gold Bond or Bodyglide sticks, or Monistat anti-chafing gel), or a physical barrier made from soft cloth.

For a pannus, you can get these things called tummy liners that are a crescent-shaped band of cloth. You lift up the pannus, lay the band against your upper pubic area, and let the skin fold hold it in place. Some people will tuck the front of their underwear under the skin fold, but for others this is less comfortable. And this whole thing is about keeping you comfortable, so do what feels right.

If you have breasts, a bra with cups is a great way to help keep them dry. A bra without cups will often squish them together, and while it can still keep the area under your breasts dry, it can promote moisture between the breasts. For some people, this isn't a problem- it all depends on the size and shape of your body. The cups don't have to be wired- they just need to keep your breasts separated so that they're not rubbing against each other.

If you don't want to wear a bra with cups, or if you don't like the feeling of wearing a bra at all, or if you want extra sweat protection, you can get cotton bra liners, just like the tummy liners. They work the same way- lift your breasts or chest tissue and put the liner in the fold beneath. If you have a small skin fold that doesn't come down very far, this might not work so well, but if you have a larger skin fold that's got more than half an inch or so of overlap, this should stay in place just fine.

You can also of course wear bra liners with with bras. The band will hold it the liner in place, adding an extra layer of padding and sweat protection. But if you don't wear a bra, if your breasts or chest tissue is substantial enough, it will stay in place.

Bra liners are flat. If you wear one, unless you're shirtless, nobody will know. They can help keep you dry, even if you don't have developed breast tissue- like think about the skin folds that fat people without breasts get.

Even if you're not getting a shower before bed, it's a good idea to take a gentle wipe and swipe in between the skin folds. It'll help soothe the skin and prevent bacteria or yeast from colonizing the surface. Be sure to wash the folds with a gentle, ph balanced soap or cleanser. And when you get out of the water, whether that's a shower, bath, pool, lake, whatever, take some time to dry your skin folds. Don't rub- pat them dry. Rubbing can irritate them. It's easy to forget, but you'll be glad you did. This kind of hygiene practice makes the skin feel nicer, calmer, and less irritated, and you deserve to be comfortable!

Hydrate or Die-Drate

When you're fat, you need to drink more water than smaller-bodied people. We sweat more and we have more surface area to our skin, which means more sweat glands, which means we lose more water. The best way to do this is simply to drink more. Drinking will help keep you cool and replenish the water lost to sweat anyways, so it's really important to keep that up in the summer, when it's hot!

If you don't like plain water, no worries! All liquid counts! I drink a lot of iced tea- even though it has caffeine and caffeine is a diuretic, the net effect is not dehydrating. And everything with water content counts, including the food you eat. Watermelon is 92% water. Cucumbers are 90% water. Popsicles are almost entirely water with some sugar in there. Get them at the store, or make some ice pops in the freezer with your favorite fruits. Freeze grapes, they're super delicious when frozen, and grapes are like 82% water. Try to think about your daily snacks and meals in terms of water, and see where you can add a little more hydration!

Now, you may want to know, how much is enough? The old 8 glasses a day adage isn't really accurate. The current science suggests 3,000 ml for men and 2,200 ml for women, but where do these numbers come from? The fact that there's a sex difference suggests that this is based on average body size- and it turns out these numbers come from European population studies that did not include a lot of fat people. So I did some more hunting and some reliable, but not peer-reviewed sources, suggest that you should drink about half an ounce of water per your weight in pounds. That's an easy enough metric to understand! And you can always drink a little more. While you may have heard of people becoming sick from water intoxication, that's extremely rare.

So in conclusion: drink lots of water and keep the area underneath your skin folds dry. Allow yourself to prioritize your comfort and don't feel bad about the skin you're in. Eat a popsicle.

Feel free to add on with any additions and other helpful tips, but remember: fatphobic commentary is not welcome here, and mean comments will be removed. Advice to lose weight is not helpful- even if someone is losing weight, they still have to live in the body they have now. And that body deserves to be cared for.

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don't let anyone tell you the tiktok ban is not directly related to Palestine because they're literally admitting it:

Blinken blames TikTok and social media for disrupting Israel’s narrative of war in Gaza

Social media sites like TikTok are partly to blame for widespread criticism of Israel’s war effort against Hamas in Gaza, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The comments came as part of a conversation at the McCain Institute’s 2024 Sedona Forum in Sedona, Arizona, between Secretary Blinken and US senator Mitt Romney. The Utah Republican asked the top diplomat why “the PR has been so awful” against Israel since the beginning of the 7 October conflict. “Why has Hamas disappeared in terms of public perception?” he continued. “An offer is on the table for a ceasefire and yet the world is screaming about Israel.” Mr Blinken said that part of the reason for that dynamic was a changing media environment, where people no longer all read from the same authoritative news sources and instead learn about current events on chaotic social media feeds.

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The comments echoed a wider narrative that’s been put forth about critics of Israel in the US, particularly on college campuses: that their criticisms don’t stem from the facts of the conflict, and instead are the product of alarming outside influence. New York mayor Eric Adams recently accused students at universities of falling under the sway of “outside agitators,” though the NYPD has offered little compelling evidence to support that charge. Protesting students interviewed by The Independent said they had been moved to act by seeing images of destruction and suffering caused by Israel in Gaza, with the full backing of the US.

In short its harder to brainwash people when they have easy access to alternative points of view and on the ground facts which contradict your narratives and undermine their unrivaled hegemony.