#I am guessing I'm preaching to the choir

[centaurianthropology]

Hello American followers!

I know you're all likely sexy and smart enough not to have fallen for bots and trolls and bad actors calling upon you not to vote. I know you're all likely the sort who already have weighed the many issues facing our country today, and have either voted accordingly or are in the process of doing so.

Because you are cool, and smart, and sexy. And because being an informed adult and caring about your neighbors, your community, and the marginalized folks of your country is also cool, and smart, and sexy.

But I feel like spreading the message anyway, because today is not the day to fuck around with being a responsible citizen. Today is the day for laying aside apathy, well-fed cynicism egged on by assholes who directly benefit from you giving up, and the sort of thinking that allows you to let perfection be the enemy of the good.

This is the day you can genuinely let your voice be heard. It's not the only day, but it could be. Depending on the way things go, protesting and pushing for change will either remain fairly straightforward or become a much more dangerous thing. The rights of the marginalized might continue to expand (perhaps slower than you want, but still expand), or they could be crushed and revoked. The courts could slowly turn back toward supporting the people of the nation, or we could face a supreme court eager to take away rights, enshrine cruelty, and walk back half a century of progress toward a better future.

This election matters. Your vote matters. If it didn't, bots and trolls and bad actors wouldn't work so hard to make you feel like it didn't. Today is the day to put on your adult pants and do the right thing, so pull them up and go vote.

[porcupine-girl]

I realize that I am preaching to the choir here, given that I actually have NOT seen any of this going around on Tumblr. But just in case it's here and I've just missed it:

DO NOT MAKE FUCKING CAT-EATING MEMES. I KNOW YOU THINK YOU'RE MAKING FUN OF TRUMP, BUT YOU'RE NOT.

The thing is, 90% of the memes and jokes I've seen about this don't specify in any way whatsoever that they are making fun of Trump/Vance/people who believe that it's happening. They're just "haha eating cats funny" - which, guess who else would make that exact same joke? People who believe that immigrants are eating cats and are making fun of the immigrants for it!

Almost all of the memes I've seen shared by people on the left, I have to wonder if they were originally made by people on the right. I hear people talk about wearing "cat-eating shirts" to the polls since they can't wear Harris/Walz shirts, and I'm like... won't the other side do that too? Do you not see how the exact same thing is funny to them, but for completely opposite reasons? Vance even outright said he wants to see more memes, whether or not it's true.

And if you share these memes, they will assume you agree with them. Have you ever wondered how MAGAs could possibly believe that over half the country agrees with them? Well, when it looks for all the world like everyone else is also laughing at those stupid immigrants who steal people's pets, it's not hard for them to assume that those people laughing at immigrants are on their side.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. Right after Epstein's suicide, some guy was being interviewed on the news about something unrelated and right at the end threw in something like "Epstein didn't kill himself" or something, and people on the left thought it was hilarious and amazing and shared it all over the place.

Except. That guy? He thought CLINTON killed Epstein, not Trump. THAT was his point, THAT was the joke he was making. But the left caused his video to rack up the views and shares, so now he thinks everyone else also thinks Clinton did it. And the same for all the other Epstein jokes that didn't specify who you thought actually had him killed. I definitely saw ones that got used by both sides unironically.

Please think a little bit when it comes to political humor. Could someone on the opposite end of the spectrum from you look at the joke or meme you're posting and think that it's aimed at them? Like, no matter how obvious you think it is who the real target is intended to be, could someone possibly misconstrue the target to be someone on your side?

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 24 thoughts

this episode was quite spooky. because cannibalism is real. but something about scully about to get her head chopped off and boiled seemed more outlandish than all the aliens and the guy that kills people with his shadow or even lizard man eugene tooms!

which is strange. because those things are pretty outlandish! maybe its because it was so much scarier than even evil lizard men.

let’s jump in:

so this is an episode involving more meat. did we need more meat, after the earlier meat processing content in s2 episode 10? many are saying no. but not chris carter!

we begin at a dirt road at night. in the state of arkansas. we have an older man and a younger woman named paula in a car, which is not suspicious at all! /s

oh and now the old man choking? is this natural or did she induce it with some poison. i mean maybe he deserved it, if she did. he takes some pills, so I’m guessing it is due to natural causes. now she beckons him out to the woods. 

into the woods. she says he has to catch her. is she luring him into a Bigfoot trap? we have yet to really see Bigfoot, and maybe he’s hungry. although Bigfoot is more Pacific Northwest than Arkansas, i think.

author's note: we tested negative for bigfoot in this episode :(

oh! this man tripped and is now surrounded by people with flashlights and very cool masks. get axe murdered, fucker.

back in DC! aforementioned fucker has been gone for 10 weeks and scully thinks the higher ups are sending them on a wild goose chase. “i’m not questioning the legitimacy of the case, just their motives in assigning it to us” <- damn, very well spoken by a rightfully suspicious woman

oh, but at the scene, someone saw a fire. and mulder says the fire is “supposed to be the spirits of massacred Indians” OH...

(mentally i was like, please do not be another scary Indigenous story episode. and we did in fact get that. sighs deeply. we can make things scary without making Indigenous people the scary ones! or using the trauma of genocide as a setting for spooky time! well, i'm sure you, dear reader, know that, so i shall not preach to the choir, but i will point out that these thoughts were going through my mind)

“these are only legends, mulder”, says a dismissive scully. and why is her hair looking excellent today. I mean not that it isn’t usually but damn. shoutout to the hair and makeup team.

the place on the side of the road where he went missing had a big fire! could be a bonfire, both parties thought. until mulder remembered a documentary he saw in college...

(hehehehe mulder spent college watching documentaries <3)

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! wow it's been a while since i've gotten to format some text like that. he watched a documentary about an insane asylum in college and it gave him nightmares.

(and this may not be super relevant to his character, but to ME, it is, so i shall note it <3)

he's got the VHS from the doc all loaded up, and presses play on a guy rambling about a fire demon!! who was found in the same spot as the fire mark!!! dun dun dunnn 

(love the implication that he either purchased his own copy of the documentary that gave him nightmares in college, or had to go rent it from the video store. both are wonderful possibilities)

cut to arkansas. mulder is on the scene holding a plastic fork from the ground. wearing his silly sunglasses. lmaooo idk why they make me laugh. what a serious gentleman.

sheriff arrives at the scene. he says the witch’s peg to ward off spirits is normal there and also that the fire mark comes from illegal trash burning. and, as an American i am aware of how Americans love an illegal trash burn. but still. suspicious.

sheriff says the missing man george was chasing women out of town. lovely sounding fellow /s

wife questioning time!! he left her years ago. oh, but tea: the day before he went missing he was going to cite major health violations in the chicken plant! hmm... a cause for murder?

mulder gives the wife his phone number. also mulder is also looking very good today. but that is an evil voice in my head that ought to be silenced.

noooo, it's chicken plant time. no thank you ma’am, i would be out in the car <3

paula from the woods at work in the plant!!! taking mystery pills. seemingly in pain??

chicken cutting cam. oh, this is not for me! 

the agents chat with the manager, who says george was trying to shut them down. and while clocked in, paula is sweating. she just gasped in front of a whole bunch of chickens and some guy with very blue eyes. she sees a human head on the chicken stand and picks it up and throws it off. shoutout to this fake decapitated head and my best friends in the prop department for making such a funny creation.

(but of course, it was a hallucination, and she really just threw a poor chicken on the floor!!! his sacrifice was in vain... gone but not forgotten)

mulder is inspecting the chicken gutting operation and i've said it before and i'll say it again: he is braver than me. 

ohh, more chicken drama: george was filing a lawsuit about “line hypnosis” and it was dismissed before he vanished! he deserved to win. is there a meat processing union? there ought to be. but he was the only one citing bad health practices, the other 3 workers said it was fine... sooo what’s the truth…

“what’s that” asks mulder, who then gets shown the feed processor, and asks “chickens feed on chickens?” <- heartbreaking realization. many of us remember where we were when learning this information. i'm sure it will stick with him forever. and i'm frankly surprised he didn't know already.

NAURRR THE SLUDGE AND BLOOD nasty nasty evil

OH plot twist: paula is holding the manager with a knife to his throat… scully telling everyone to calm down. personally i would be not calm. she said “don’t get excited” but me? experiencing an active hostage situation at my place of work? i would be excited

NOOO the sheriff shot her and she fell into the feed conveyor belt processing… thing. sheriff i KNOW you are covering something up. you will not hide from me.

SHE GETS GULPED INTO THE FEED BELT THINGY GAGGG it’s giving the jungle by upton sinclair that caused many american 8th graders to confront the corruption of the meat industry

paula had gone to the doctor about headaches… like george!!! doctor had assumed the condition was stress induced. and they did have similar symptoms. 

treated them both with codine… ain’t that a bit strong?? this man doesn't seem to be a very good doctor, tbh. i mean i don't think the guy that works at the chicken plant to sew back on fingers needs to be an expert in everything but like. codine for headaches? umm girl.

mr. chaco of chaco’s chicken was paula’s grandfather… if i was a grandfather rich off of chicken money, my grandkids would not be working the processing line, let me tell u that much!

back to the agents: these two should not be looking as good as they do in a chicken processing plant. they had to really step it up today to compensate for the horrors of the set.

chicken man lives in a mansion. further evidence of corruption. paula, i would not have had you working in such conditions if i was your grandfather. there has been a deep wrong here, i can see already.

and he’s got a big hat and is feeding his chicken corn. not other chickens, like the feed he makes in his plant... seems he is aware of the ethical issues implied in his business. also, mulder with those weird ass glasses. 

cacho is going on about the subject of chickens. and how he built this town. he sure is taking an awful lot of credit for creating a town, pretty sure that's a team effort mr. chaco. he's also going on about how he thought george was trying to tear him down. 

AUTOPSY TIME!! rare degenerative disorder in da brain of paula. and scully has only seen it one other time back in med school because you can only really find it in an autopsy. nice work, doctor! <- i just typed “nice worm 🪱” so we'll let that stay for the added sense of whimsy it provides

but despite looking like a young girl fresh out of high school, paula was born in '48?! she was 47 years old. allegedly. this is not adding up. so they go on a quest to find her birth certificate and see what the truth is.

debrief in the car. so: odds are not great that she and george had the same very rare disease

during this discussion, our duo are run off the road by a chicken truck!!!! no! oh... he drove them into a river. mulder has shifted into rescue mode as the river is red with chicken gore. i feel someone might be distracting them and trying to get the body… (this was actually not the case i was just overly suspicious)

but more chicken drama: the driver had the same symptoms as george and paula! how can this be?!

“i just came up with a sick theory, mulder” (grabs her shoulder) “ooh, I’m listening” LMAOOOO this is sososo funny to me. yeah tell me ur sick theories scully you have my full attention.

GAG!! because it is both gross and shocking. her theory: what if someone put george’s body in the feed grinder, and then since it’s a prion disease, a chicken ate it, and someone ate a chicken, and it spread to the humans!!!! AHHHH! well that would be an epidemic, because they ship chickens out across the country… she glances knowingly, implying things could be very bad 

the river is filled with bird gore from the plant BLECH... who allows this??!! please say there are some modern regulations in place to prevent this being done irl.

mulder says he wants it dragged, thinking that maybe george is in there. and the sheriff is hesitant to do this. once again, i’m onto you, sheriff. i mean, a river full of chicken gore: it would be a good place to put a dead body.

and bam! a body is found. or rather. many many many bones. many bodies. and they are still going. damn.

so, we have a ton of bones. scully can put them into 9 distinct skeletons, one of which is in fact george. i love that she can do that, put the bones into distinct skeletons. she knows it's geroge from a pin in his femur!

“all of them share one, strange detail though” “well, they seem to have lost their heads” “… well, besides that” <- LMAOOOO idk why this was so funny to me... he really thought he picked up on something but he did Not.

here's the linking detail: all the bones are smooth and buffed like they have been polished. ??? who is polishing bones? it sure isn't me, i'll tell you that much. 

george’s wife is at the scene, learning her husband's body has been found, and she is sobbing. and the sheriff says “we’ll take care of you” now what does THAT mean? because it's not really sounding like the welcoming words of a man who is going to guide his neighbor through tragedy, and instead like there is something bigger at play here...

back at the plant, the doctor is mentioning another guy coming down “with the symptoms”…. omg. so this IS a known thing from the inside. mr. chaco knows but he isn’t doing anything about it!!!!! chicken dramaaaa goes crazy 

scully at the scene of all the bones, carrying a bucket of chicken. lmao. she is braver than me, for i would have gone vegan the first moment i set foot in chicken processing land.

mulder does some digging: 87 people have disappeared in the area in 50 years! that seems... a lot? and he thinks the same person or persons were responsible. he thinks they were EATEN!! boiled in a pot.

“they used similar evidence to prove cannibalism among on the Anasazi tribe of New Mexico” okay: 1. why do you know that 2. need to look into these allegations for myself and 3. Anasazi… that is the title of the next episode!!! what could this mean!! another cannibalism episode?!

scully is very sad to say that paula could have gotten sick from eating george :( girl I’m not convinced the chicken is clean put it down NOW 

cannibalism = eternal life? follow for more crazy mulder theories!

she puts aside the chicken……. good!

mr. chaco says “he’ll handle it” and george's wife doris arrives, saying she “can’t keep lying”… she says “she did it” (!!)

OH????? she... killed her husband? that is a bold thing to admit to.

“we’re gonna take good care of you”, says mr. chaco, which raises the question: are they a cannibal cult???? is that what he means when he mentions that he “built this town”???

now what the hell is going on. <- an interjection i stand by

mulder and scully are going to the courthouse to look at the papers and all the birth records are burnt!! doris calls mulder and says he’s afraid mr. chaco will kill her… they split up…. nooooo i hate splitting up!!! i watched so much scooby doo as a kid!

GASP! a guy in a mask like we saw at the very beginning of the episode is in doris' home!!! drumbeat playing while she screams…. overall, this is very not good, i wrote, referring to the use of Indigenous imagery for this murder, and also doris being murdered in the first place

scully at the scene of the murder ft. big ass flashlight. she gets in through the side door. gun: out. trench coat: open. looks: served. diagnosis: baby girl that could kill me, and i am respectful of the fact that she has this power yet refrains from using it on me.

mulder at mr. chaco’s house. mr. chaco has some… stuff in his home. including photos with Indigenous people and also bones. having human bones in your house, and especially on display, is not a good sign of ethics in play. and a skull. Oh! it says the skull is from a tribe in New Guinea... why tf does he have that. put it back???

at the back of chaco's parlor, we see a mysterious door. mulder is busting it open.

LORD ALMIGHTY, I DID NOT THINK THERE WOULD BE HEADS INSIDE??? HELLO???

so that must be where all of the heads that mulder noticed were missing have gone. they're sewn up sort of like shrunken heads. very spooky. once again, pour one out for the props department for such a creation.

noooo chaco is in the house with scully, who was investigating the call of doris. NOOOO HE KNOCKED HER OUT!!! this seriously needs to stop happening like i'm worried about the brain damage she is experiencing.

back to mulder cam. goodness. all of these heads. 

in a field now. doctor is serving some soup. to a bunch of people. who are eating around a big bonfire. do NOT tell me scully is in that meal....

she is not. YET! but he is bringing her over to be roasted. and they ate doris! chaco is yelling about turning on each other and how they were only supposed to eat outsiders. girl you shouldn't be eating anybody last time i checked. 

man in the mask shows up with an axe. and chaco is decapitated in front of scully. who is put into the decapitation thingy next. GIRL THIS IS FUCKED UP!!!

mulder on the scene, just in time. he shoots the dude in the mask.

“you alright?” he asks, brushing her hair back after lifting her out of the decapitation machine. my good friend, i would venture to guess that she is not quite alright at the moment!!! this will take an awful lot of unpacking!!!

sigh. but the tenderness of the near death experience. coming back to life in someone's arms. yeah i'll romanticize that.

TEA!!! the sheriff was the one under the mask!!!!!! i knew he was up to no good.

wrap up: chicken place shut down. unclear how many citizens of the town ate people. 27 have become ill with prion disease. chaco’s plane was shot down in 1947, and he spent 7 months with a cannibalistic tribe, and also he was born in 1902, so he was 93 at his death- so the cannibalism really WAS extending life. and we see some more feed being scooped to the chickens as scully says his remains have yet to be found. end scene.

HUH???? what in da hell. so what are we thinking kids…?

well, i'll tell you something: turns out i am afraid of cannibal cults, no matter how outlandish they seem! i guess when you get a villain or evil situation of the week show like this, you WILL learn exactly what kind of fear pushes your buttons. i can imagine almost nothing scarier than being led to the slaughter like scully was. seems a purposeful commentary on the meat industry, especially when taken in with the other meat episode this season.

so, if i were scully, i do think i would need to take a week or so off. but she is just built different than i am.

some things bugged me here. first of all, like i mentioned, you don't need to throw in Indigenous people to make a scary story. like is the thought of a bunch of arkansas cannibals not horrific enough? the scary was there!

second, i have not been doing a kidnapping count, but i feel that scully is getting the rough of the deal here. i believe in gender equality when it comes to characters being kidnapped. like, an even 1:1 ratio. why are we denying mulder his damsel in distress arc? does anyone think about how he would feel? how nice it would be to see scully burst in with a gun and shoot the fellow that was about to cannibalize him?

still, it is rare an episode actually spooks me, so i must give credit where it is due. even if it felt a little outlandish, your girl was frightened! scully needs a vacation now. i also thoroughly laughed at the sick theories line and his funny sunglasses.

it's funny to note, but i like the episodes that are either very silly and light hearted, or incredibly angsty the best. and that may seem contradictory, but you cannot tell me that one breath and humbug may be on opposite ends of the tone spectrum, but they are both objectively Perfect. i'll have to think more on why they are the best in my opinion, but i think honestly i would watch these two read the dictionary.

[taradiddled]

Angel: So...what's God like? And not the shit that gets pushed down our throats in church. But, like...the truth.

Ada: The truth? A lot of what gets preached actually IS the truth. I think you want to know about the nitty and the gritty of WHO God is, huh? As a being? His hopes. His fears. Because, trust me, He has them.

Angel: Can ya tell me about that?

Ada: Uhhhhh. I'd probably get imprisoned on grounds of Sacrilege in Heaven for running my mouth, but they don't get to say shit about what I do or don't anymore. Sooooooooo. Sure. I'll tell you.

Ada: First, He does Love. Capital 'l' on that. But his Love is in constant conflict with His anxiety. His worry that he made a mess of everything. That's what I remember when I'd spend time with Him in Heaven. Michael never liked when I'd spend too much time with God, but, when God calls, you go. But He's not...He's not PERFECT. Fuck. HEAVEN isn't perfect. But He WANTS it to be perfect. He wants Humanity to be everything He wanted it to be originally. But...we know how THAT turned out.

Angel: Sure fuckin' do. So, guess He's just a perfectionist creep?

Ada: Well, technically. I guess He is. But He's still more than that. My memory is shit in certain places, but I remember that, after a while, He started to worry that He couldn't do things right. Couldn't do them PERFECTLY. As He wanted. He turned so much of His power over to the Higher Choirs and his Archangels, like Gabriel and Michael and Sera, because He felt they were always cleaning up messes, anyways, so, why not?

Angel: God sounds like He's no different from any of us losers down here.

Ada: I don't...I mean, I guess He's more...Human than you'd expect Him to be. I was created out of His image, and look what a fucking disaster I turned out to be.

Angel: Yeah...but...ya seem to get better. Supposedly. I'm not hangin' up banners and throwin' ya parties just yet.

Ada: Don't expect you to, and I'd probably lose that little bit of respect I have for you if you did this soon into the game.

Angel: Awwwww. Does this mean the widdle prosti gets a gold star from the Big Bad Angel?

Ada: Heh. Not an Angel anymore, am I?

Angel: Nahhhh. You're just as stuck up Shit Creek as the rest of us.

Ada: Good thing I'm a pro with a paddle.

[spurgie-cousin]

I'm preaching to the choir here, I know, but I don't think I'm ever going to stop being baffled by tradwives/tradwife adjacent women who run for political office. Girl, you are basically gunning for a world where women aren't allowed to vote? Why are you stupid enough to think that somehow excludes you??

Oh there's a name for that phenomenon that is escaping me rn...... it's the same reason ultra conservative male politicians will be outspokenly anti-choice but think it's ok to get their daughters, wives, and mistresses abortions if needed. It's this "I Am The Exception" kind of thinking.

I guess they are motivated by pure narcissism, money, or some combination of the two and not real "moral" stances.

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: In Praise of Folly - 2

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring, two years ago

Characters: Hiyori, Ibara, Nagisa

Translation: Peace & hyenahunt

Proofreading: Remi + 310mc (JP) & Skyress (ENG)

Nagisa: ... He became a great beast that no individual could oppose alone — or perhaps something godlike.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Hiyori: Yes. It is for that reason as well that I'd like all the more to be better informed. It's essential to get a good feel for the situation upon one's debut to a new social scene.

At the same time, one ought to learn right away just who calls the shots in such a place.

And from where I stand, it appears to me that it would be you, Ibara Saegusa-kun. CosPro manages Reimei Academy and the like, and its true leader in all but name is you, is it not?

That's what I've gathered after doing all the research that I did, and that's why I judged your offer to be worth taking.

Indeed we wished for a new land for ourselves, but we did not simply latch onto just any old hand extended to us.

But of course, to an outsider, that's exactly what it must look like we're doing.

Ibara: Forgive me for taking advantage of your weakened hearts. However, allow me to rescind my words and agree that your decision was right beyond a doubt.

I truly believe we’ll be able to build a good rapport among each other, Tomoe and Ran.

Hiyori: You may have no choice but to say those words, but I'll have you know I'm still only half-convinced.

I want to play no part in cleaning up after others again, so the very instant things seem like they're heading south, we shall take our leave.

Ibara: If that is what you'd like to do, I certainly wouldn't stop you. After all, we haven’t signed any written contract, as the two of you were uncomfortable by the offer for some reason…

The two of you are in no way obligated to follow me.

And that is why, so that I may gain your trust, I’ve been explaining everything without sparing a single detail.

How could I ever ask you to bare your hearts to me if I won't show my own first?

And, at the very least, one must lay down understandable guidelines if they'd like those around them to act in the way they ask.

Hiyori: It's easy to understand where you're coming from. You're a businessman through and through, and you aim to increase both the amount of successful companies you have under your belt, and of course, their profits.

Or rather, you're simply full of ambition, aren't you? You're very keen to push this straightforward image of yourself, donning your business suits as you hand out your business cards.

You conduct yourself so thoroughly as to ensure your behavior will never compromise this image you've built up. This role of a young prodigal businessman is one you certainly play well.

Being a manager would obviously mean that you have a hand in management. You strive to ensure that your companies are successful. In other words, it's easy for anyone to guess that your goal is for profit — financial or otherwise.

Ibara: That's right. While our generation of adolescents are those who'd like to be seen for who they really are, and have others understand them...

It's far more important to have a character that's easy for others to grasp.

Everyone wants money. I am the personification of that desire, one which everyone can sympathize with.

And so, I won't deviate from that "easily understood" category.

The moment I step over that line is when I become no different than those "incomprehensible monsters" of Yumenosaki Academy — the Five Eccentrics.

Nagisa: ......

Ibara: I've implied this more than once, however... That is where Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya misstepped.

As I explained along the way, he established a somewhat... unique "idol association" within Reimei Academy.

By managing and utilizing the assets he gained from it, he was able to continuously accomplish feats that someone on their own couldn't.

Though I'm certainly preaching to the choir when I tell the two of you this, it's certainly symbolic of the current flow of the world, isn’t it?

No matter how prodigious someone may be, so long as they remain alone, they have no hope of winning against the ordinary who collude with one another.

Nagisa: ... I see. Whether it be deliberate or not, Tatsumi Kazehaya has created a sizable "unit" of which he is the beacon.

... It is similar to how we, fine, had formed. It was for the sake of the ordinary majority — so that we could defeat each one of the Five Eccentrics.

... As others flocked to Tatsumi Kazehaya as their leader, he surpassed that which is human.

... He became a great beast that no individual could oppose alone — or perhaps something godlike.

Ibara: Indeed. However, while the man in question simply likened what he headed as a “company”...

From my own point of view, as someone who is a real manager, what Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya is leading is nothing more than a shady secret society.

No, it's better described as a cultish society.

One could even say that he's established his very own dubious, if powerful, religion.

His ideals do have plenty of good intentions behind them, that much is for certain, and he ought to be praised for them...

A world in which no one is unhappy. A kind world where no one is hurt. An idealistic world where all are equal, and are treated fairly without exception.

However, therein lies the grandest of contradictions to the same ideals Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya held so highly from the very beginning.

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[evelhak]

Well, you asked for it ;)

2, 16, 22, 33, 39, 63, 71

I guess I did. I wish I could return some questions, though. ;)

2. How old are you?

I am sweet 30. And since that's a disappointingly short answer, let me reflect a bit. It's so weird, because before I really became active on tumblr again last year, it never would have even occurred to me that someone would question my presence in a fandom because I'm too old?? (Especially because 30 is still quite young as a human being, and culturally even younger than it was some time ago...) Maybe I just wasn't in the right places, but I honestly never saw it happen before, and all of a sudden I was witnessing and getting really unfair hate because... my brain is fully developed, and I've been around the sun more times than a teenager? Well, the way I see it, and this might not be what some KnB fandom teens want to hear, the characters are now the same age as me, or a year older, depending on how you look at it. Yes, they aged with me in my brain, and that's just as valid a take as pretending fictional characters are forever the age they are in canon. And by the way, you don't lose the right to reflect on your past as you get older, or to vibe with characters who are the age you were in that past and going through similar struggles. This should not be a threat to anyone, this should be a comforting thought. I know I'm preaching to the choir, writing this here, but it's almost every day that I see something that makes it relevant to keep saying these things.

16. Favourite movie?

This is always such a hard question. I have several, but since I have to pick one, let's go with The Railway Man this time. It's different to my other favourites because I've only seen it once, and I can't bring myself to watch it again, because the torture scenes are too much for me to handle. But I think about it constantly. It's based on the true story of a man who initially plans to hunt down his torturer from WWII, but is able to forgive him instead, and hear and understand his side of the war experiences, and his guilt. Not only do they accept each other's apologies, the two become life-long friends. This is by far the most cathartic movie I have ever seen in my life. I cried in my room for an hour after watching it. It simultaneously contains the worst and the best humanity is capable of, and that's what makes it so special, and I'm tearing up now just writing this. Especially because it's based on a true story, this movie is such a lighthouse to me, because it's proof that love and forgiveness and healing beyond comprehension do exist, and I'm not a fool to believe in it, no matter the circumstances.

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

No, I don't think so, by any stretch of imagination. The closest would be me keeping my drunk friends from getting in trouble, by preventing them from picking a fight with a security guard.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

A smoothie, an avocado toast, and (decaf) coffee (because caffeine gives me panic attacks). Yes, I am such a basic millennial.

39. Do you have any scars?

Yes, many, but most of them are very small. I don't have any interesting stories about them. Ran into something, got hit by something, surgery. Normal things.

63. Biggest Fear?

Losing everyone I love, or a slow and painful death. I don't want to engage my imagination there, but if you imagine the most painful thing that could happen to a human in general, emotionally and physically, for the love of god, don't tell me what it is, but that's probably my worst fear.

71. What makes you nervous?

Being observed closely while I'm doing something for the purpose of evaluation. Having to get something right on the first try. Performing anything physical for the first time. Those job interviews where you have to pretend your interviewers are your students, audience, or clients. Having to advocate for my personal needs, when they are in conflict with the interest of the other person and especially a group. Anything where I have to make sure I'm seen and heard.

Thanks, this was both fun and emotional to reflect on. ♥︎

[c0rpseductor]

i realize im preaching to the choir here but it is extremely bold of the autogynephilia guy to insist that the VAST MAJORITY of adult trans women are, like, outright lying about their own experiences based on his having sorted them into arbitrary, unscientific categories AS A STRANGER. extremely fucking deranged

also obviously speaking on a more personal level the proposed "autohomoerotic" type of trans guy is so fucking infuriating to me. it's like, obviously that's going to be the explanation for gay trans men this idiot comes up with because of the view that being gay is "feminine male" behavior, so how do you victor victoria around that if your understanding of how gender and sexuality interact is from the stone age? Well Clearly It's A Total Separate Other Thing.

it's obviously a talking point every gay trans man on earth has heard at least once, like "you're trans because you're interested in pretending to be a gay man" rather than like. the actual situation. you know. i'm very tired i feel like garbage bc it's a bad migraine brain day but like it just frustrates me bc like...i mean clearly it's cruel and uncharitable and transphobic.

my own experience is that i grew up experiencing a lot of "typical" markers of dysphoria and preferring to be seen as a boy or at least "not a girl" and wanting to hang out with other boys and puberty sucking etc etc you have certainly heard the narrative people trot out and i did fit a number of those points. but it was difficult for me to pin down how i felt and who i actually felt i was without also wrangling the fact that i was struggling with a lot of internalized homophobia. growing up even before consciously understanding myself as male i felt a lot of guilt about being interested in guys and felt it was "wrong." for a good number of years i attempted to transform "i guess girls are pretty" into "i'm DEFINITELY attracted to women, a very socially acceptable thing for a man!" while also trying to deny being trans, which resulted in this really absurd attempt to convince myself i was An Lesbian despite having genuinely no fucking interest in women whatsoever beyond liking their clothes. ("slay bitch!" is not actually attraction to women, but try telling 19 year old lestat that, he will not agree.) and, of course, i absorbed a lot of surface level feminist talking points about how Bad And Yucky men are that made me feel that it would be, like...misogynist to not be a woman.

so i did have to reconcile all those things at once, but ESPECIALLY the fact that i was attracted to men to finally, like, be ready to just call myself a trans man. it was finally realizing that despite my shame about it growing up and the feeling that it was "bad" or "wrong" or "not feminist" (????) (my internalized homophobia was weird sometimes) i did like men, but only if they'd also treat me like a man, because i didn't really want to be having relationships with men as a woman. i was like "huh...this kind of sounds like i don't want to have relationships with ANYONE as a woman." and then i kind of realized after a short stint of identifying as bi that i was also like. just not interested in women at all. i had been making that shit up for notes.

so like, i think in that regard it's like...it's hard to separate my understanding of myself as a man who likes men from my understanding of myself as a man more generally, which is why it's especially frustrating to me to hear that twisted into "it's because you have a fetish for gay men" when i had to like. fight myself tooth and nail for Literally 22 years to accept that i am a man AND that i am attracted to men. i was so uncomfortable with who i was and tried so hard to be cis (or at least Not a man) and straight (or at least Not into men) at the same time that i tried to force myself to be a lesbian. despite having no interest in women. to me that was better than being the person i actually was, which was somebody i felt a lot of shame and discomfort about. accepting that i was binary trans and gay was not like "being gay seems cool can i play" so much as having to tell myself "maybe liking men and being male does not make you some kind of disgusting aberrant monster, dude." but god forbid anybody have any compassion about that when it's way easier to get mad at a straw fujo

[deanncastiel]

how does one explain the jivorce and jackles finale denialist to a casual viewer? I am convincing a family friend to watch the winchesters after we both watched the finale without context (in that I hadn't actually watched the show for five years and he not since s8 or 9 idk - yes i know I'm one of those November 5th people lol). I mean the good thing is that he never liked Jared anyway but I find it so hard to explain the whole thing because there's so much you know?

oh my god nonny you are preaching to the choir. i have been rewatching spn with my friend who has never seen it. we have been on this journey since sept 2021. we have been on episode 15x13 for FOUR MONTHS NOW. (she has a completionist aversion, she's been on the last three episodes of Bones for months now too and refuses to finish).

ANYWAY - i am the opposite so i have REFUSED to tell her ANYTHING about the jivorce and jackles' finale denialism and the oct 2021 jpeg homophobic rant and she hasn't watched the winchesters or even the trailer bc i was like "it will be more meaningful after you have seen the whole show" but at this point i'm just like "are we ever going to finish the show" and i want to share with her the drama so bad but how do you provide the right context!!!!!!

all this to say your guess is as good as mine nonny and if you ever find and answer let me know please. i swear the next time there's another drama dump (which with the winchesters could be any fucking minute lbr) i'm just gonna combust and spill all and it will literally be the real life version of that fucking wendy's meme

[lindendragon]

I'm really sorry. Please be aware that I'm confused and a little bit not in a good headspace while writing this. I didn't think it was something that could offend anyone. Now that you phrase it that way I am aware. I'm sorry.

But I don't get what you mean by "doubling down". I only explained what my intentions saying this were, I really don't know what doubling down here would entail. I should have added an apology but I thought it would stir up some shit. I'm sorry, I really didn't expect this response. I'm used to having these types of conversations and I'm prone to overanalyzing and finding explanations for every possible scenario and then saying it out loud, so I didn't think anything of it. Again I didn't even expect op to see this post, I don't even know why I write these reblogs sometimes. I swear I wasnt preaching to the choir, I looked up what it means since I didnt know that phrase usage, i was more speaking to myself. I come from spaces where this stuff about transness and intersexness isn't widely known so I guess I kinda forgot i wasnt there anymore. These reblogs are more a reminder to me and anyone like me rather than op or you. It really wasn't my intention to make it look like I'm trying to find excuses to misgender op, it was more like trying to rationalize it. I don't know. This was weeks ago so i cant tell you what was going on in my head. I'm sorry, I really didn't want to double down on this I just wanted to explain myself so youre not mad anymore. I dont know what I should say now.

pretty cool trick: i dont pass yet but my wife does and i love her so much

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Lol! Hole-y! XD

Puns are always fun!

While I can understand that... I dunno, I guess that there's just... something... about a small congregation all singing together from the hymnal, where it's mostly just our voices with maybe one or two instruments that just feels... right...

With the big churches & the projectors & stuff, I've noticed that it feels more like a performance. And while, yes, the congregation gets to sing there, too. It feels like the band is the focus.

But when it's a little church with a wooden podium. When the ladies there feel free to smile at you & joke with you & give you gifts for your graduation because they're proud of you. When you feel safe asking questions of the pastor because yeah, he's a bit hard of hearing, but he's welcoming & loves God so much & legitimately wants to help.

When the pastor doesn't only preach the fire & brimstone, but also the overwhelming love that God has for us.

In this way, it's more evenly balanced & more honest, which in my experience, is more honest than if it's nothing but fire & brimstone or nothing but all the love.

When it's small & cozy. I guess that it all just feels more personal.

Now, I'm not saying that I dislike the music in those mega churches, but I guess that I just feel like... something gets inadvertently lost.

But then, maybe that's just my personal preference? When I'd gone to a couple of the bigger churches, I guess that it all just came across as too theatrical. It felt like it lost a bit of its soul.

So because of personal experiences with the Christian religion and churches, I get very bad anxiety attacks being inside of church. The only thing that calms me while inside of one, is music.

I adore hymns and songs sang from choirs or the people of the church, and I adore music sang from instruments and bands. I will agree that small churches provide less anxiety to me, less people, feels like less judgement, its more cozy.

IN MY OPINION (This isn't a universal experience I know) There are not enough small churches in my opinion, and that the large churches do not provide the actual *something* of a religious experience. While I have felt a sensation of something in a small church I once went to with a friend, I have never felt it in a more commercial church. I fully agree that the community of a smaller church makes it a home and brings people together.

(Of course, not all small churches are like this. I know some are corrupt like the big ones, judgement because its a small town or the pastor believes more brimstone than forgiveness. To those who deal with those sorts of churches, I am so sorry you have to do so. I hope those who do follow the Christian faith find a church perfect for you and your style of worship!)

If you don't mind me asking, Relig Anon, how many churches did you go through until you found the one that spoke to you? Were you raised in the church or did you have to hunt to peck?

To clarify to any reading: I am an Omnist. Omnism is the belief in all religions. I also claim to be an Agnostic Omnist, because I have no truths nor facts of which are real/fake/lied about/stretched/etc so I give my belief and respect to all of them. I was raised Nondenominational Christian, then went through the stages of Atheist, Agnostic, Wiccan, Pagan, Agnostic, Omnist, to my now claimed stage of Agnostic Omnist. I love to learn about all religions and experiences, and though I do not go to a Church or Temple myself, I do love to hear about them.

[karanseraph]

You.

I'm weary of the genre of Tumblr (and other platform) posts where the poster uses a bunch of explicit or understood "you" statements.

Example: "You all need to stop [undesirable behavior]" OR "Stop [doing this underside behavior]."

I'm sympathetic to the intent of wanting to stop undesired behavior.

But I'm tired of just coming across these on various timelines and dashboards where maybe I'm not even in the percentage of people who did the undesired behavior in the first place.

I'm tired of coming across these, because, even *if* there's a case that I am in the group doing whatever the undesired behavior is...

I *also* happen to be in the percent of the population that is sensitive to "you" statements.

So the post would just make me defensive and offended like "how dare other person assign a behavior to me and/or command me what to do!"

Most of the time (probably?) these posts are getting reblogged by the choir (that OP is preaching to) and a bunch of people are coming across this and liking RBing the post when they aren't the ones doing whatever the undesired behavior was, so then I wonder what the goal or intent even was.

I guess it's to vent??

But there's a way vent with grammar that isn't using second person or commands, right?

I guess sometimes people feel better if they get to type at a targeted general "you".

But, like, why? (rhetorical.)

[braisedhoney]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(i am the box ghost) BEWARE THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW THE READ MORE. NOT A JOKE. SO MANY SPOILERS. THE ENTIRE STORY SPOILERS.

LETS TALK ABOUT A GLITCH IN TIME. (there is going to be a lot of yelling in this shsjfnkaambd ;; ) also, as a disclaimer, this is all my opinion. i'm sure there will be people who don't enjoy it as much as others do—and that's fine. i'm just one of those who absolutely fucking loved it—even if some of my projects will probably be detached from the canon of the story. (but hey, canon divergence is kind of the whole fandom's bread and butter isn't it?)

okay. okay okay okay.

so, tl;dr? it's good. it's really, really good. you can tell (obviously) that the person who made this really loved the source material as much as the fandom does because it does SO MUCH that pretty much everyone has been clamoring about for actual years. i kept flipping back and forth through pages just to like. comprehend how well it aligned with everything.

first things first: blorbo talk.

DAN. DAN. P H A N T O M. oh my fucking god, okay? not only is his design sick (he was THREE GUYS for a minute, ba-dum-tss) when he merges with clockwork, but every scene he was in was SO badass. the art in this thing is PHENOMENAL and will probably change how i draw the characters actually??? my favorite thing about danny phantom has been the Shapes and the comic has so much of that. they read like they MOVE damn it and i loved it to death.

also, WE GOT FEELINGS CONFIRMATION??? dan isn't an unfeeling monster of a ghost, he's literally ONE HUNDRED PERCENT EMOTION. HE'S GRIEVING HE'S SAD HE'S ANGRY HE'S SCARED??? BROOOOO. you have no idea how afraid i was that they would butcher him somehow, but i honestly feel like they didn't. it's so good. this gn is so good.

and jazz? hello? jazz best sister in the entire world?? "if you think i regret it you're a fool." "then i guess i'm a fool." ?????? TEARS IN MY EYES. WE BEEN KNEW BUT IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE RIGHT.

i actually am working on another (i know i know) animatic for those two and i legit feel like i can still finish it after reading the novel. sounds of sobbing.

and of course there's vlad. god.

as a certified vlad enjoyer i'm sure i'm preaching to the choir for a lot of people when i say we fucking riot with joy. he's been in denial for literally years and the way the realization of the source of his problems (his own greed, his own refusal to accept the truth, his own blindness to what he was really running away from in his chase for power) dawns on him during the fight... dude. and that's not even mentioning how goddamn COOL that fight looked—they did the thing!! the energy beam fight thing!!! and danny and vlad got a teamup and a semi-reconcilliation! MENTOR VLAD NATION RISE WE LIVE ANOTHER DAY!!!!

okay. blorbo screaming put to the side for a minute, because i want to talk about this.

let's talk about ghosts. let's talk about their emotions. the fact that we now know, canonically, that they are a manifestation of whatever emotions they held as a human—at least some of them are anyway—and that with time they actually DO lose their sense of human identity because the human psyche can't last for an eternity. that confirms so many incredible fan interpretations, we can run with this until the sun explodes. this is why some of them behave like caricatures of themselves, why so many of them are obsessed with/draw power from one specific thing. (hello??? semi-confirmed ghost obsessions?)

ghosts drawing their power from a sense of purpose, from their goals and their choices. feeling purposeless translating directly to fading abilities. my hands are gonna strangle me if i don't draw some of this eventually.

i'll probably have more to say about this once i calm down. i'm definitely drawing art for it. but we all knew that right?

the one and only thing i can say did make me laugh (unintentionally, i found the comedy pretty funny!) was... when danny's head was on dan's body when he was splitting apart. that threw me off a little lmao. but anyway, incredible. immaculate. i'm gonna go reread it now. <3 o7

oh. and they semi-retconned phantom planet.

life is good.

WAAAAAAAAAA THE TIME HAS COME THE TIME HAS COME!!!

all my inevitable posts about this will be tagged with the following: #agit, #a glitch in time, #agit spoilers, and #a glitch in time spoilers!

^^^ BLOCK THESE TAGS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE SPOILERS! i’m planning on putting any of my text posts under a ‘read more’, but art will only be tagged!! ^^^

[maybruhhhsays]

Dear 11u Blue 22-23

You're a special one. My confidence as a coach has been ignited by the fires in all of you. I don't believe in coddling and I don't believe in taking it personally. That's who I am as a person. Coddling prevents negative feelings from being felt. This is teaching our next generations to be "soft" people. Feelings like disappointment, sadness, anger, loneliness, emptiness, etc. Why do we protect our children's feelings from the truth? It's making them unstable later on in adult life because they didn't attain enough experience to be able to cope with criticism in their older years. We have to expose our children to the truth that Life. Is. Hard. and that being a working parent is hard. We spend a lot of time trying to cover up our fatigue in front of our children because we're afraid of disappointing them and obviously because we love them. And that's hard work. Hiding fatigue. They need to know how hard you work to provide for them, to be able to get enough sleep in order to function, to still have energy after a long day of work to cook dinner for them, etc. For those who say it's easy, you just do it better than most of us, okay?

Anyways. If you haven't figured it out by now, when I coach, it comes from a place of passion. I don't look like your regular coach. The one that just sits there and crosses their arms and barely says a thing. I get HYPE. Why? Because it's fun! And at the end of the day, all girls really wanna do is have fun, amiright?!

I have the most fun when I'm being competitive. I feel like the most myself when I'm on the volleyball court. I'm competitive in every thing I do in life. It doesn't matter what it is. My GPS says I'll be there at 7:00AM on the dot and I tell myself I can shave off probably 4 minutes. When I was your age, I'd be competitive about being the best student in class. I wanted to be part of the smarter kids in the grade. I wanted to be really good at art too. I wanted to be the best singer in choir. I wanted to get one of the more prominent roles in school plays. I was never the best at anything, and quite frankly I feel like I'm still not, because I know there are people who are better than me at all of my passions, but they exist in my life as an example of the level of which to attain. Now, I told you I'm competitive. I want to exceed that level that they attained. That's the kind of self-talk we need to preach to young athletes. There's always something better than the best. Choose better. Two powerful words. Choose better. We are obligated to become a better version of ourselves. And we have a duty as a human being that exists on this planet, to better each other. The world the way it is now, trash. And people keep saying the next generation will take care of it but guess what I say? Let's do it now!!! Who would you rather be, the same level as your idol, or better? I would choose better. You should choose better." "I can be a better volleyball player than that." In times of self-doubt, in times of negative feelings, we have to tell ourselves, "I can do better than this" -- which brings me to the topic of time. Time is the one thing we can never get back, ever. It's a one-way street. So we have to be very picky about which feelings to feel during our span of time. Believe me, you can control your emotions. Right parents? *wink*

We have to identify the situations we're in. In order to have validated feelings, the situations actually have to call for them. Making up feelings for no reason makes you a fake person. And nobody needs a fake person in their life. Volleyball helps your truth-telling muscle *tongue emoji*.

God gave you 2 eyes, use them. We were made to have hands and arms, Some an

Back to time. As an athlete, you are being asked to control your negative emotions. Successful athletes have the best self-talk during intense moments. In fact, some perform even better when placed under intense pressure. Being able to deliver while under stress is such an essential survival skill. Our attitude is the most important factor when undergoing growing moments. How you feel while going through these changes is so important. You can either have a bad attitude or a good attitude. You can't have no attitude otherwise you're a stagnant vine with no new leaves growing. Changes are part of experience. Standing still should make you feel uncomfortable. Growth requires movement. Love moves. Love > Movement > Growth > Experience > Better. Love makes you better. Love from our parents, love from our friends, love from our teammates, love from our coaches. You can only become a better volleyball player if you know how to love others and yourself. Take me to church. I'm not not saying that playing volleyball will make you a better person faster than the church can. But I guess they go for quality.

Speaking of quality, time can be measured quantitatively or qualitatively. I asked God how he measures time, and I think he said qualitative. And I have to agree. Many times I've seen this constant theme of people who fill their lives quantitatively because it lacks quality, and they are miserable people. I've met the happiest people who have quality lives despite their struggles quantitatively. And there's obviously those who have it all and those who don't.

We have to make an active choice to feel better when we are on the court. We only have such a limited time together. Wouldn't you want to make the most of it? Why wouldn't you rather spend your time laughing, smiling, pursuing a passion, etc? I love volleyball. I love it so much that I started coaching. And remember, I'm competitive! I want to be the best coach I can possibly be. I love volleyball so much that I coached 3 teams for 6 weeks last year to get the experience I needed to be a better coach. That's what love does. Love works hard.

That's what it takes. Love. The foundation of character building. The foundation of any decision should be based on love. Love makes you better and love works hard. My best life lesson to give would be just that. "Why do you work so hard?" Because I love what I do. Not all of us can say that with that much confidence. And maybe that's what's wrong with the world. Do what you love and love what you do. Love is the key to unlocking the best possible version of yourself in anything you do.

I may not be the best at anything but I know I have the best attitude on the court. It's because I'm having fun being in a competitive setting playing a game that I love. That's when I feel the most myself. Your love should be so infectious and contagious. Part of my job as your coach is to teach you how to love viciously, deeply, and honestly. Girls look up to people that they believe are more capable. When you succeed, it's a testament of the work I do. And I can see why God loves it up there so much. He's up there watching, asking, who's going to do my work? And only those who are really paying attention will hear Him. Only those who are really paying attention will see Him. Only those who are really paying attention will speak to Him. And it's still up to you at the end of the day to listen or not. More doing and more talking. Talk is cheap. Do something about it.

Forever on your side,

Coach Maybelle

[slashermary]

Mitski, I Don’t Smoke // Supernatural,10x22 The Prisoner and 10x23 Brother’s Keeper

[anneapocalypse]

Explicit art is such a tiny percentage of the total content created for this fandom, and those who do draw it mostly tag it nsfw so it’s easy to filter if you don’t want to see it. Spend some time in a fandom for a triple-A video game and try browsing the tags for your favorite female characters and then get back to me.

RvB also has a considerably higher-than-average percentage of gen fic on AO3, last I crunched the numbers, and a smaller percentage of E-rated fics. 

I am firmly in the camp that there’s nothing wrong with creating and sharing explicit works about a show for adults as long as stuff is labeled appropriately, but the RvB fandom is actually pretty light on explicit works, relatively speaking.