#Raise Hell! Issue 1 Review

[afabstract]

Raise Hell! Issue #1 Review

Victor, Miri, and Reeves don't have a lot to do in their summer vacation, so they decide to summon a demon, just for fun! Read our quick review of "Raise Hell".

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Follow us on Twitter | Instagram It’s summer vacation and best-friends Victor, Miri, and Reeves don’t have much to do. So they pool in money to buy a kit for summoning a demon from a questionable source, and end up having their own personal demon from hell! Issue #1 of “Raise Hell!” by Jordan Alsaqa and Ray Nadine is only 25 pages long, but it’s a quick, fun read that…

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Starting from nothing

How To Start at Rock Bottom: Welfare Programs and the Social Safety Net 

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Is Gentrification Just Artisanal, Small-Batch Displacement of the Poor?

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Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make All Our Lives Better

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How To Get an Abortion 

Blood Money: Menstrual Products for Surviving Your Period While Poor

You Don’t Have to Have Kids

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The Pink Tax, Or: How I Learned to Love Smelling Like “Bearglove”

Our Single Best Piece of Advice for Women (and Men) on International Women’s Day

Bitchtastic Book Review: The Feminist Financial Handbook by Brynne Conroy

Sexual Harassment: How to Identify and Fight It in the Workplace 

Queer issues

Queer Finance 101: Ten Ways That Sexual and Gender Identity Affect Finances

Leaving Home before 18: A Practical Guide for Cast-Offs, Runaways, and Everybody in Between

Racial justice

The Financial Advantages of Being White

Woke at Work: How to Inject Your Values into Your Boring, Lame-Ass Job

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander: A Bitchtastic Book Review

Something Is Wrong in Personal Finance. Here’s How To Make It More Inclusive.

The Biggest Threat to Black Wealth Is White Terrorism

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality 

10 Rad Black Money Experts to Follow Right the Hell Now 

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Identifying and combatting abuse

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Ethical Consumption: How to Pollute the Planet and Exploit Labor Slightly Less

The Anti-Consumerist Gift Guide: I Have No Gift to Bring, Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum

Season 1, Episode 4: “Capitalism Is Working for Me. So How Could I Hate It?”

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 1: Healthcare, Housing, and Labor Rights 

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality 

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[the-gayest-show]

Sofia The First Review/Thoughts (I watched the prequel movie and 8 episodes of season 1)

Started watching Sofia the First yesterday (I don't really know what compelled me) but it's pretty good actually??? Like... I thought I would regret starting it bc I'm not 5 and I'm certainly was never a girlie girl (hence why I probably never started it when I was 5) so I thought I'd be not interested but it's nice actually??

Other than the admittedly weird/jarring animation (not saying it's bad it just confuses me because sometimes the way the characters are drawn make it seem like 3D animation trying to be 2D but it also doesn't?) the show is good!

It's also a musical which surprised me a lot tbh, and the songs are actually certified bangers who is singing these. I've watched like 8 episodes and genuinely found 99% of the songs to be catchy af?

Sofia's singing voice is a bit annoying (to me, in my personal opinion) if you hear it often (eg. binging episodes like I have) but it's alright and boy are the songs good for a show like this

Also, inevitably, let's talk about Cedric. Unsurprisingly, I assume he's probably been popular in whatever fandom this show has (confirmed by a mere glance at the StF Tumblr tag). He's built like a twink, seems to have canonical daddy issues... set up to be the fan favorite fr fr. Also he's clumsy as hell which is so relatable He just... has his parents on the wall of his lair sorcerer's room thingy. Like his parents are so fucking weird like his dad is literally the best sorcerer ever and his mom is just... supportive? of ANYTHING he does? he could be plotting to take over a castle and bro is like "you go boy!"??? There's an entire scene where the dad is the angel on his shoulders and his mother is the devil. I got a good laugh out of that for sure LMFAO

On another topic, Sofia has an interesting family. So basically her mom and her married into royalty because the mom gave the king some cool shoes or something? epic I guess? And then the king has two children and now they're her step siblings which is cool I guess. Amber's kind of a bitch though tbh but James is kinda cool? How do you raise 2 completely different children in the same home. What was their bio mom like.

On the other hand, what happened to Sofia's bio dad? mmm burning questions that will probably never be touched by canon by beloved <3

[sunnysideaeggs]

hi it’s sunny, back with episode 7 analysis 🥰✨ read if you like, long post and all that. have a great day loves!

i really like the embroidery of sunfyre and meleys side by side, who’s the man with the sword, criston?

take a shot every time rhaenyra reminds the characters that ‘she’s queen’ 🤡🤡🤡 anyone that says they’re king is no true king or whatever tywin said

orwyle and alicent gossiping, alexa play girl so confusing by charli xcx

she gave everything and it wasn’t enough, because viserys never intended for her blood to matter and not aemond doesn’t care about her words

when will otto bring his cats? :( the rats are out of control

aemond continues to undo everything aegon did, including the naming of his kingsguard. can’t be plotting against the king when his friends are around.

jasper and larys, two bad bitches plotting together. battle of brains and curls.

funny that the woman with three bastards forgot that people have bastards lol. idk if they did that to make her naive or what

somehow rhae twists her life-long privilege to have bastards and not end up dead as a affront on poor her, so disenfranchised and helpless :( lmao

it irks me that daemon is called ‘king consort’ instead of ‘prince consort’. how am i supposed to trust this show as politically accurate if they don’t even use the proper title

where is oscar’s regent? do they think that kids and teens were really commanding armies? robb is an exception not the rule

finally some politicking in the black side. that kid is so cat and i love him already lol.

the king is in pain :( orwyle ily but chiropractic treatment needs to wait for a bit.

larys just barging in, i have two thoughts: 1) nobody respects the king’s orders and does whatever they want, 2) larys thought aegon was being killed and interrupted it.

also who tf is that kingsguard that just stands by instead of helping the king? smh must be an aemond plant

didn’t the grand maester had nurses or something that could be helping? also the kingsguard could but aemond just replaced egg’s friends with his own loyalists

there is no way in hell that they’re letting alicent just go on a camping trip in the woods alone, just after the riot of the sept. wtf?

not jace being butchered so his mother can look good 💀 he was the one with the idea, now he’s classist? be fr

he raises good points though

ooooh finally some exploration on jace! rhaenyra didn’t think shit about politics when she got involved with harwin, they both thought with the pants not about what issues would it cause to jace

bruh hugh son of saera? are we supposed to believe that she ended up in a flea bottom brothel instead of a luxurious pleasure house in lys?

lmao the dragon keepers unionizing against andals. no songs for vermithor? do the dragons just accept commands from any targaryen or is rhae rhae special?

rhaenyra in front of the mouth of a bronze dragon is peak foreshadowing lol (if they butcher it i will riot)

that poor first guy, he had obvious burn scars and was scared yet tried to claim a dragon and got killed. he might’ve done better with another dragon but he didn’t get to pick hmm?

leaving smallfolk to die, so fun!

i like to think that this scene is what makes hugh betray the blacks later. he learned that the queen he supported didn’t care about his kind so why should he care about hers

aemond is hot. i hate him but he’s hot.

bruh the three dragons together look kinda silly but go off ig

i don’t think they will be able to convey the dance with only one season more

they’re probably doing it because after the reviews of s2 hbo doesn’t want more money wasted in a fanfic

HELAENA RIDING INTO BATTLE LETS GOOO!

i am so impressionable lol

[cookingwithroxy]

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Longest Tag: 123 characters

#and really our issues in the other thread is over us not being able to get eachother to understand why our views don't mesh

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I think part of the problem when discussing Cyberpunk in general and cybernetics in specific is that there are some very very deep questions that the idea raises. What makes a person a person, how much will changes to your body affect you psychologically? Is there a legitimate question of psychological disorders that might arise from the intentional removal of healthy tissue for non-organic replacements? At what point do you stop being a person and start being just a very structurally unsound CPU for a robot?

And then you ask those questions there's some jackass who feels obligated to jump in and say 'How dare you, that's my fetish there can be NOTHING wrong with the idea and you're a bigot for even asking if there could be!'

And I'm just left here going 'I legitimately don't care if you want to be Adrián Barbeaubot, I just want to ask these questions of the little mouse who's taken over the hollowed out spaces where your brain used to be and is now piloting your body like a meat mecha.'

256 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

#4

As I fucking thought, Uvalde police waited while people bled out, and the Border Patrol had to step in just to go after the shooter...

And what's more, the Uvalde Police DID NOT EVEN EVACUATE OTHER STUDENTS. Jesus fucking christ.

262 notes - Posted June 23, 2022

#3

'Is the reason why people do not see government run industry as a monopoly because they are presented as services instead' is a very interesting question and a valid one to be asked. Because jesus now that I think of it, that literally IS my perspective on things, that I do not object to the State doing certain things because they are 'services', that these are the tasks I hire the government to do, and ONLY want the government doing.

But honest to fuck that I had to do this journey of self-discovery all on my own because ancaps can't be fucking bothered to think past their own biases is a fucking trip.

306 notes - Posted September 22, 2022

#2

You know, simple thought that struck me yesterday but I didn't really have the specifics of what I wanted to say until this morning?

the whole KPP thing proves without a shadow of a doubt that so many people on this website would have gleefully become nazi's. Not because they're somehow racist, that's not the thing.

But because when they were given a meme and a target, they gleefully jumped into making a person's life hell, just for the fun of it, lifted up by the bullshit excuse that they were attacking a 'worthy' target.

They didn't have any knowledge of the situation, they didn't have context, they had an 'acceptable' target and a 'fun!' way of attacking them. And so they did it, without any prompting.

Without any profit, any threats against them, without anything to force their hands. They just attacked, for the pure joy of attacking, and considered themselves heroic in doing so.

And so many of them, I'm sure, will take this statement as harassment of THEM, for pointing out that they did no good thing in this.

It's just how Tumblr is.

401 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You know, with all the people going 'why are you bitching about LGBT characters being put into media' I'm starting to wonder if ANY of you have heard about the Iceman debacle.

446 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

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[sarcasticfina]

I posted 2,616 times in 2022

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#tho i find indigenous to be a very large umbrella depending on what country of origin we're talking about

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I wanted to congratulate you on quitting! I know it’s a scary thing to go through but you will be so much happier in the long run! And I really hope your next job is one you love 💛

ref post

thank you! <3

this is 5 months late, but i just wanted to let everyone know that quitting really was the best thing i've ever done. the sheer amount of relief i had at leaving an incredibly toxic working environment that was just filled with a lot of lateral violence and an abusive manager. i sometimes miss my coworkers and the clients, but how i felt 5 months ago, not just about my job but about life in general, is vastly different to how i feel today.

i found a wonderful job that i love, that i'm good at, and that has just embraced me whole-heartedly. it's supportive, the work is fulfilling, and my team of coworkers and management are all fantastic. it helps too that i got a $5 raise, which means that i can comfortably pay my bills, create a safety cushion, and send money to my sister who has been dealing with a lot of medical issues.

my head is clearer and i'm feeling so, so good about the transition. it was scary as hell to walk away from a job i'd been doing for 4.5 years but it was so worth it and i'm so grateful that i did.

20 notes - Posted July 21, 2022

#4

fic: i'm not yours (but i can be for a night) category: harry potter ship: hermione granger/james potter rating: explicit/nc-17 prompt: pictured above tags: marauders!era; friends with benefits; first time word count:  9,806

preview:

Hermione reached an elbow over and bumped his. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Uh…" A flush filled James' face. "It's kinda personal. I probably shouldn't."

Hermione's eyes narrowed curiously. "How personal?"

"Just… I guess I was wondering if I was the only one in our year that hasn't… That's still…" He glanced at her and then away. "Everyone I know has already had, uh…"

"Sex?" Hermione couldn't help a beat of surprise. "You haven't then?"

"Have you?" he blurted nervously.

Hermione watched the pink fusing his cheeks turn even darker. "No."

read more: ao3 ↳ please try to leave a comment / kudos!

23 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

#3

i've been on tumblr for like a decade or so now, and for the most part that's been a good experience. i stick to my fandoms and my mutuals and i write my fic. every once in a while, discourse wanders my way and i get to decide to engage or not. i have no interest in engaging currently. the very idea of arguing with people over something we either love or hate in opposing fashion sounds and is exhausting. so, i fully invite anyone who just doesn't like or agree with me to block me. it doesn't have to be deep. we like/think/want/feel different things and there's this nifty option to never see/hear from each other again that can only improve both of our lives. so like... do that. ✌️

36 notes - Posted August 27, 2022

#2

finally quit a job that was sucking the life out of me

62 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

this whole time i thought blorbo was another fandom ya’ll were in and not a term of endearment for characters you like. that word scrapes the soft tissue of my brain. it makes me think of minions and my feral little mind wants to ritualistically sacrifice it to a pagan god.

180 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

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[cat-arsenal]

I posted 2,593 times in 2022

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Only 26% of my posts had no tags

#art - 465 posts

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Longest Tag: 140 characters

#'i suck at tech' because i do and i was editing my tumblr and getting frustrated so i deleted half the stuff and changed the title to that l

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Not to request something from my own list but if you’re interested: maybe the dialogue prompt “You don’t need to fit into anyone else’s ideas or expectations. You’re you and that’s perfect.” With Huxley :)

Transmasc Huxley x Transmasc Reader CW: Discussions of gender dysphoria, body image issues and anxiety, mentions of gender-affirming procedures

You open the door for Huxley, who greets you with a grin.

“Hey, buddy.”

“Hi, Hux,” you say with a matching smile.  “Can we hug?”

“Hell yeah!  Bring it in.”  He hugs you, warm and tight and perfect.  “I love your hugs,” he sighs.  “You ready to head out?”

“Almost.  I just need to check my outfit one more time?”  He sobers a little.

“Of course, man.  Do what you need to do.”

“Thanks.”  He follows at a distance as you shuffle into your room, adjusting your clothes and hair in the mirror.  You’d felt good about everything earlier, but now it’s time to leave, you’re uncertain.  You pull your shirt down, fidget with the waist line, try to look like you’re just checking your outfit and not your entire body.  Do you need a haircut?  Do your shoulders look wide enough?  Hips too wide?  You smooth your hand over your chest fretfully, thoughts becoming dark and frayed--

“Hey.”  Huxley’s gentle voice cuts through the static, and you feel like you can breathe again.  “I can see you freaking out.  Do you wanna talk about it?”

You shrug helplessly.  “It’s the same old stuff.  Worried I look too femme.  Worried someone’s gonna know and maybe try to start something over it.”

Huxley approaches slowly, raises a hand carefully so you see him coming.  “Can I touch you?”  You nod, and he presses one of his big hands to your cheek, effectively holding your whole jaw.  “Listen to me, okay?  You don’t need to fit into anyone’s ideas or expectations.  You’re you and that’s perfect.”  He kisses your nose, smiling when you laugh.  “You look amazing.  And nobody’s gonna start anything while I’m with you.”

You press close to him, feeling his strong body, thinking of the times he’s been shirtless with you and let you touch him; let you feel his muscles, trace his scars, including the neat ones from top surgery; remember how he told you that his body and strength are for you.

Your ears are hot, tears pricking at your eyes when you kiss him.

“I love you,” you say against his lips.

“I love you, too, babe.  We don’t have to go out, you know?  We can just hang here if you want.”

You smile, already feeling much better.  “No, I wanna go out.  I don’t always get the chance to show off a cute outfit and a cute boyfriend.”  He ducks his head, bashful but pleased.  “But maybe we can make it a short outing.  Come home early and cuddle, maybe?”

“Fuck yeah.”

52 notes - Posted June 3, 2022

#4

See the full post

55 notes - Posted April 21, 2022

#3

I’m fine. I’m fine and normal and definitely not playing Damien’s “yes! yes, yesyesyes” in my head on repeat I’m FINE

56 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

#2

Imperium!Lasko: (Huxley) is very good at what he does. In every regard...

Us: ...Y'all fuckin'?

58 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The way Lasko says “ohh” when Gavin calls him “good boy” like if you agree

163 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

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[undisclosedmemoirs]

I posted 254 times in 2022

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Blogs I reblogged the most:

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I tagged 200 of my posts in 2022

Only 21% of my posts had no tags

#tvn little women - 86 posts

#vincenzo - 37 posts

#choi do il - 32 posts

#song joong ki - 32 posts

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#oh in joo - 25 posts

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Longest Tag: 123 characters

#hell give him a raise too for doing whatever it is he is doing to keep me giggling like an idiot when he shows up on screen

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Reborn Rich ep. 1

Me: Jinyoung 🥲🥰😍❤️😁

Also me: JINYOUNG 🤡😭🤬💀🔪

30 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#4

I don't care what anyone says: I HAVE TRUST ISSUES WITH THIS SHOW.

I. TRUST. NO. ONE.

I did, however, suspect that Sang A was the psycho killer all along tho. My guess is that Park Jae Sang also knows that and locks her up whenever she throws a fit and tries to kill someone again. He has an election to win and can't really alow wifey to be out ending people for fun, so he basically asked Do Il to do it and ensure In Joo would be killed and Sand A under control. Once In Joo died, he could alow her to go out since she would have what she wanted and had no reason to resort to murder again. What I don't get is the fact that she has things planned out to the point nothing goes wrong and she will not be caught, but Park Jae Sang still wants to lock her up.... Are they a psycho couple? What the heck is going on???

31 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

#3

Also, In Joo, sweetie... I know maybe your mom and dad did not have the best parenting skills but one does not just arrive at an empty house and drink from a full glass of liquid that is just there conveniently waiting to be drank. ESPECIALLY IF THE LIQUID IS THE SAME COLOUR OF THE CURSED FLOWER YOU HAVE BEEN SEEING ON ALL MURDER SCENES YOU HAVE WITNESSED

53 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

#2

The romance drought in non-romance shows is real. Please do not cast actors with so much chemistry if you are just gonna feed us crumbs or not at all.... My sanity is at stake here. I know what we suffered with Vincenzo. When they actually kissed we almost broke the tag on this hell site 😩

85 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Guys DO NOT go to the trending Itaewon tag on Twitter. A Halloween party went terribly wrong, there are several casualties and by the looks of it it's getting worse. There a lot of graphic videos circulating online so please be careful. Mute the tag if you have to. MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING

Also something really went wrong in society if people are still partying while watching all the ambulances take the injured to the nearest hospital. What the actual fuck people.

96 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

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[callmeblake]

Part 1 from a leathermouth interview on Jerseybeat.com february 11th 2009

link

part 2, part 3, part 4

Almost five years in the making, LeATHERMØUTH is a straight-up hardcore band born and raised somewhere in New Jersey (or possibly Europe.) The group’s hard-hitting first album XØ (released through Epitaph Records) has received respectable reviews (and a couple of bitter comparisons to Motorhead.) [Read Rich Quinlan’s review here.] This is a project that no one seems to know quite what to make of, which naturally intrigues us. Besides the name recognition of frontman Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance, it also features one of my favorite new guitar players, Rob Hughes, and a touring lineup to die for. So we asked Frank to spare a moment or two from an L.A. recording session for the next MCR album, which he was nice enough to do (eventually.)

Q: Hey Frank, it’s Deb from Jersey Beat, how are you? F: Hey Deb, I gotta tell you: I really want to thank you; I know it’s been hell getting in touch with me for this interview.

Q: No, it’s all right, I appreciate that you’re in the studio and I guess there was a communication issue, so it’s fine. I appreciate your time, too – you’re taking time out of what you’re doing. F: No absolutely. That’s the thing; we just got here a couple of days ago, and we’re just getting a feel yet of what the record is going to be like, and stuff like that, so it’s really just fleshing out like a couple of songs here and there. I’m really getting into the stride now, so… Q: I checked; it’s exactly the same temperature this week in Los Angeles as it is in New York City – good plan, there! F: Yeah, every time we’re in Los Angeles, the weather is always horrible, so it’s not weird for us when we get here. It actually just today lightened up – it’s very nice today. Q: Oh, that’s a good thing! It’s not nice here. F: Yeah the thing is we really spend our days just locked in the studio, so I haven’t really been outside that much. Q: Oh, some palm trees, whatever…! F: Yeah, I haven’t even been out of the room. Q: Yeah, well that’s a good thing, actually, being locked up and recording is certainly better than being outside and standing in the windy weather. Okay, so this LeATHERMØUTH project took five years to come to fruition - how different is the finished product from what you started out with? F: Insanely different! When we first started, the only recordings we really had were just from a practice studio in Jersey and then…well I guess maybe it’s not that different because now it’s just a live version of us playing in my basement (we both laugh.) We actually had time to craft the songs - a lot of that was done when I would come off the road for a week or two here and there. We’d be like “Oh, let’s try this one a little bit different.” I had the recordings for a while without lyrics and vocals – I would just sit on it while touring, and when I would finally come home, that’s when I’d record in my basement. Q: You had two songs at the time, correct? F: Yeah, we started with the two that were live recordings from the rehearsal studio, and we called it “Live In Spain.” It was “Murder Was the Case They Gave Me” and - at that time it was called “What’s a Pulse Got Ta Do With it?” - which ended up being “Bodysnatchers 4Ever.” Q: Right, I remember when it was called that, actually. That’s not at all confusing, right? “Oh, it’s a completely different song!” F: (laughing) I didn’t want to steal too many titles! I didn’t want to keep that going. Q: Right! (laughing) Well, I know that you've stated that this is the first project where you've actually been responsible for all of the lyrics, but you've done a few here and there for other projects, right? F: Yeah, you know, mostly ideas and stuff like that – I mean never like full verses or whole songs by any means. It was maybe a line here or there or just an idea. Q: Mm hm. Does this sole responsibility change what you feel you are able to say?

F: Well…I don’t know if it would if I knew that the record was going to come out. See, originally, I thought I was just going to do it anonymously, so when writing for that, I didn’t care too much. I think for the next record, when everyone will know already, it may. I don’t really know, but that’s yet to be seen - I hope not, though. I’d like LeATHERMØUTH to just be what it is, and just promote people – and I think to promote people, you need to just be uncensored.

Q: Oh, I agree – I don’t think there would be much logic to a hardcore band that’s censored.

F: No, I mean like censoring your thoughts or the different things that you would talk about.

Q: Mm hm – I don’t think any artist should have to do that, actually. That’s kinda not the point of living in this country – I’m so against censorship. This is the first project where you've not contributed instrumentally, right? Is that a weird shift to make for you as a guitar player?

F: Yeah, but I think it helped me vocally, because I definitely did things I wouldn’t normally have thought of, you know? Taking such a step back from that, it kept me in an open mind.

Q: Fair enough. Everyone gets asked about the song or band that made them want to play - do you have one that made you completely reconsider the business?

F: No…even the rough spots, when you see things that make you want to give everything up, you kinda take a step back and realize that’s not why you’re doing it. You’d like to think that you would be in a band even if there were no other bands out there, or any kind of music - like you would be creating even if you were just drumming on a rock. That’s the thing; I think it’s just a necessity that I have. I have to play music, I have to create or write just to stay sane – so other people’s actions really can’t dictate how I feel towards that.

Q: That’s a great answer, actually.

part 2

[thephoenixandthecrocodile]

#TransRightsReadathon Wrap Up

Last week was Trans Rights Readathon and I managed to read 6 and ¼ books! Thanks to you all, I was also able to fundraise a total of $250 for Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ center in southside Chicago. 

While my personal fundraiser is over, there are still plenty of ways to support the trans community such as donating to Mercury Stardust’s fundraiser. Mercury is trying to raise 1 million dollars for Point of Pride, an organization that provides gender-affirming medical care to trans folks across the country and around the world. I’m planning to do another week of reading trans books to raise money for Mercury’s fundraiser and invite you to either donate and/or help spread the word!

Originally I had planned to record short reviews for each book as I finished them, but because of life, I didn’t have the time. So I’ll just have to review each book here. Beware, there will be spoilers!

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

4 stars

This was a surprisingly quiet and introspective book considering how violent it is. The entire premise is that Vern is a young pregnant person who escapes a creepy cult and discovers that the cult may have infected her with a fungi type thing. It’s not a hundred percent clear. Vern tries to raise her children in the wild but realizes that she needs help when the cult nearly kills her children. She takes shelter with Gogo and their aunt. Then the cult catches up with them and Vern has to return to settle matters once and for all.

There are parts of this book that I loved, but other parts that weren’t as developed. I love Vern’s difficulty with her children and with the idea of being a parent. She is fifteen when the story starts and Solomon writes about her trauma, her sexual assault, and the struggle of being a child bride and parent with so much tenderness and compassion. It’s also nice to see stories that acknowledge that children aren’t the best thing to happen to parents and oftentimes parenthood sucks - especially when severe, unaddressed trauma controls our impulses and thoughts.

I also love Vern’s relationship with Gogo, although I feel that Gogo and her aunt could have used more development. But I loved the thorniness in their relationship and the acknowledgement that love can’t cure trauma, but even the traumatized can find love.

I adored the horror moments in this book and hope that someday Solomon writes a straight out horror book. Similar to The Hell Followed Us by A. J. White, this book deals with religious cults and painful metamorphosis because of experimentation. Vern’s transformation into mushroom person was really interesting although I would have liked a better sense of what exactly she looked like and why anyone wanted mushroom people. 

Honestly, the book is at its strongest when it is dealing with trauma and the aftermath and after effect of being traumatized. It is an introspective book with the trappings of a horror cult story and I think that’s the biggest issue I had with the book.

It was structurally uneven and I don’t think it knew what it wanted the antagonist to be. A good ⅔ of the book is about Vern surviving on her own, being reintroduced to society, and then addressing her trauma and I think if it stuck with Vern’s relationships and internal feelings and sort of left this cult as this phantom thing in the background that left Vern scarred, but denying us a resolution on that front, this book would have been 5 stars. 

Instead, Solomon reintroduces a character randomly at the last third of the book and suddenly we’re racing through an explanation about why the cult was created, why Vern was turning into a mushroom person, and then we resolved the cult problem in a chapter or two (and there are some resurrection I have a lot of worldbuilding questions about). 

The book also suffered from a lack of a fleshed out villain (there are at least three personifications of the main culprit but none of these personifications feel like real characters). Two of the antagonists are written to have a bond with Vern, but the relationship is so shoestring thin, I wasn’t sure if we, as readers, were actually supposed to feel betrayed or sad when those storylines wrap up. 

Overall, there were some structural issues, but the first ⅔ thirds of this book are heartbreaking and are when Solomon is at their strongest as a writer. While I didn’t enjoy this as much as An Unkindness of Ghosts or the Deep, I still enjoyed this book and look forward to what Solomon writes next. 

The Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

4 stars

This is a cute, sweet book. The basic premise is that Yadriel is a trans boy desperately trying to be accepted by his family of brujx and their goddess: Lady Death. Some brujx, seemingly mostly men, lead the souls to the afterlife and manage misbehaving souls while some brujx, seemingly mostly women, can heal. Yadriel wakes up a ghost, with the intention of laying their spirit to rest and, thus, proving he is a bruja (and a man), but the ghost won’t go away and it turns out the ghost is connected to a large string of murders. 

This is a strongly written book with a strong voice and fun characters. I loved the dive into the worldbuilding and the intertwining of Aidan’s magic system with Latinx holidays and tradition. I also enjoyed the exploration of Julian’s family life and contrasting with Yadriel’s family life and the discussion about blood family versus chosen family. The pace is fast-paced and overall the story is very entertaining. I really loved Julian as a character (I have a soft spot for the “troublemaker” with a heart of gold) and was sometimes more interested in his story and the story of his friends than Yadriel’s story. There was a questionable last minute resurrection at the end that I saw coming a mile away, but also was a little anti-climatic (but as you can tell from my absolutely favorite books I read this week, I like a lot of death and angst in my stories)

I had a question about the worldbuilding, though, that affects how I feel about the ending. It’s unclear if the magic system itself follows the gender binary or if Yadriel’s family instituted rules to force it to follow the gender binary. Like, Yadriel is able to manage spirits because he is a man and it’s very clear he can’t heal, but that makes it sound like gender is coded on a biological (or magical) level which feels…weird. 

Like would Yadriel be any less of a man if he could heal instead of manage spirits? What happens to a non-binary or agender person? Do they not get magical abilities at all? The book makes one reference to non-binary brujx, but never returns to it and Yadriel’s identity is tied to being a man and it’s mentioned many times that Yadriel won’t feel like a man unless he proves he’s a bruja, which makes sense. Gender is a social construct and you want to engage in activities that support or affirm your gender. I just think it’s a dangerous argument to make that Yadriel is a man because he wields magic like a man because then it could also be argued that if Yadriel didn’t wield masculine coded magic, he’s a woman. And I just wish it was clearer if that kind of think is built into the magic system (because then fuck the Lady of Death) or if it’s just the family’s way of thinking and the Lady of Death is far more fluid with how she divvies out magical abilities. 

And then this connects to the resolution of poor Tío Castriz’s storyline and Yadriel’s family in general. First off, I gave Lady Death a hard side-eye when she was like ‘oh Poor Castriz, bullied his entire life because he doesn’t have an ability I gifted to the family, but it was his greed and pain that led him down this dark path”. Like, no, Castriz did what he did because the family’s understanding of their own magic and tradition is fucked up and I wish there had been more discussion within the family about his fate and their role in that darkness. It also connects to my issue that using bruja magic makes Yadriel a man because it almost supports Castriz’s argument that if Yadriel didn’t have magic or used feminine coded magic, then the family would still struggle to accept him. I just feel that not enough work was done on the family side to actually acknowledge the harm they caused Castriz and Yadriel, and their acceptance of Yadriel hinged so much on this magical (or magical biological) signifier of “masculinity”. There are a few lines of the family needing to rethink things and Yadriel’s journey not being over, but I just wish there was more discussion about the hurt Castriz and Yadriel felt and a stronger acknowledgement and even a promise of work from the family to address those harms. 

Overall, though, this is a fun book that explores love, loss, and coming of age as a trans boy. 

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

4 stars

So I absolutely ADORED this book and immediately checked out the next two books in the series the minute I finished reading it. It’s by no means perfect, but it was a lot of fun and I love the fucked up relationship between Jedao and Cheris and the cutthroat nature of the world. The basic premise is that Cheris has been handed an impossible mission after disgracing herself during combat and must rely on the advice of an undead general to help defeat a rebellion in an important quadrant in the empire. The undead general is grafted into her mind and she must figure out if he is truly as mad as everyone says he is or if there’s a deeper conspiracy going on. 

The reason I love this book so much is because of the relationship between Jedao and Cheris. It’s not necessarily a game of cat and mouse because Cheris is so unprepared for Jedao’s presence in her mind. It’s more like a game of truth or dare mixed with two truths and a lie. I don’t think Jedao ever outright lies to Cheris, but he never tells the full truth and he is constantly manipulating her in ways that she sometimes doesn’t even notice until it’s far too late, culminating in a fantastic ending and great sacrifice on Cheris’ part. Cheris is an interesting character because she’s been prepared to be subservient, especially to authority figures, but also has enough initiative to make decisions on her own, but her deference to authority not only makes it almost impossible to resist Jedao, but can make her disappear beneath his personality and his games. I still really like her, but her personality does get lost sometimes. The other characters around Cheris aren’t really developed either, so only Jedao and the subservients (robot servants) really stand out. 

The subservients stand out because they’re not supposed to and in a world like this, the hidden are the people you want to pay attention to (also they just have really cute, sweet personalities that make you fall in love with them, haha). Cheris also makes an effort to treat them nicely when she can and you can tell that side of her is what makes her so unique (besides her skills with math which is important per the world building). 

Jedao is just…Jedao, haha. He is this larger than life figure that has a terrible reputation (that is definitely deserved to be honest) with a questionable scheme. I may have to reread the ending again, but I have a lot of questions about his plan and why he committed the massacres he did. I think it was to trigger his imprisonment, but also not a hundred percent sure. His true story is told through flashbacks but they're not in chronological order, so some things don’t quite make sense but also he may just be crazy. Who knows? Haha

The biggest flaw of this book is the worldbuilding. I almost put the book down because the first three chapters will make no sense beyond the fact that two leaders are playing games with each other, Cheris is in over her head, and Jedao is crazy. By chapter ten you realize that this world’s reality is controlled by a complex math system (known as a calendar) and reality can be rewritten by different calendars. Anything else beyond that is indecipherable and you sort of just have to accept it for what it is. But once you accept that you’ll never understand the physics of this world, you can focus on the relationship between Jedao and Cheris and start to piece together the long con that Jedao (and others) are planning. 

The other flaw is that the multiple cons and betrayals don’t quite add up, but again that may be on purpose because everyone who tries to manage this system goes mad. Or the multiple schemes are going to be further explored and defined in later books. There are also some POVs that are meant to introduce us to the horror of war and weigh heavily on Cheris but since we don’t know any of those characters before their POV is introduced and they only exist for a chapter, I don’t think those chapters have the full intended impact.  

Overall, this was a fun book about the horror of letting madmen run an authoritarian system and the price you’ll have to pay to literally burn the system to the ground. 

Depart, Depart by Sim Kern

3 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but I think it is a good example of why novellas aren’t really for me. The premise of Depart, Depart is that a trans Jewish boy gets caught in a massive flood and has to relocate to a shelter. Because of the flood and being poor, he’s stuck in the shelter while being haunted by one of his relatives who escaped Nazi Germany as a child while the rest of his family died in the Holocaust. 

Overall, the premise is fascinating and I really loved the world and the characters, but my problem is that the number of ideas Kern was trying to juggle required a full length book. The short format of Depart, Depart didn’t give Kern enough time to explore any ideas of intergenerational trauma, climate change, survival, bigotry and oppression, toxic masculinity in the United States, struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community faces in the United States, and being disconnected and then rediscovering Jewish identity Kern wanted to explore. 

Like I was enthralled by Noah’s struggles with being visited by his great-grandfather and his discussions with David about being a Jewish queer and how the echoes of the Holocaust, plus every other pogrom and massacre, follow Noah wherever he goes. I mean that alone could be a 1000 page book and you’d still only scratch the surface. I also enjoyed Kern writing about the LGBTQ+ experience during a massive disaster. I don’t think that is discussed enough at all in literature - fiction or nonfiction. And I always enjoy discussing the random fascist problem the United States has. But these ideas would be introduced and then we’d switch to a new topic and then we’d jump to another topic, so by the time we get to the ending the resolution is rushed and nothing is really resolved (like you know Noah letting his friends drown because he didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire that he was a worrywart), even though the characters act like everything’s been resolved. I finished the book and literally said, “if anything I have more questions.”

But I think that is a really personal critique from someone who finds short stories and novellas frustrating because they’re so short and compact, so take my comments about structure and pacing with a grain of salt. 

The other thing I’ve also been struggling with is how this book portrays its Vietnamese-American non-binary character. When Malone is introduced they’re introduced as non-binary and use they/them pronouns but when they talk about using the bathrooms (which involves taking a shower) Malone’s like “oh, sorry, Noah, I just use the women’s bathroom instinctively. Didn’t even stop to think it’d be a problem for trans people” and like…that’s not how it works? At least, in my experience as a non-binary person. Before I knew I was non-binary, I’d use the women’s bathroom because why wouldn’t I? But once I realized who I was, the bathroom problem became a painful conundrum that I am very aware of as being a problem for myself and for trans people. And like non-binary people also bind and some also go on T or E. The bathroom can also be a minefield for non-binary people and even if Malone is comfortable with using the women’s bathroom, they should still know it can be dangerous for people who don’t fit the gender binary. I can only imagine it’d be doubly dangerous in Texas. 

I also think the narrative played too hard into the “Malone may be non-binary but they’re passing as femme so they have no problems'' which feels too much like the argument of “well if you’re ace, you pass as straight so you have no real problems and don’t belong in the LGBTQ+ community”. Like when Malone is introduced, we know their gender is they/them but within a few pages they were coded femme so strongly I actually forgot they were nonbinary (or Vietnamese but that’s a different problem) until another weird argument, which I’ll get into in a minute. It just felt like Malone had originally been written as just a cisgender (maybe white) lesbian and then changed to nonbinary at the last minute. :/

The other weird thing about Malone is that they spark the “oppressive olympics” conversation in the middle of the book. Malone hangs pride flags and Elena, a Mexican trans woman, tells them to take it down, but Malone is like no we should be proud and Elena says she is proud but Malone has no idea what she’s faced as a trans woman and Malone’s like of course I do. I’m a Vietnamese nonbinary person and then Elena’s like oh all you did was change your pronouns and you think that means you’ve struggled? And then the situation is defused by Agatha, who I think is a Black trans woman, who is like are we really doing the oppression olympics right now and then the conversation dies and Malone takes the flags down. 

But like that whole conversation is so weird. Like of course Malone, a nonbinary person, is going to know not to draw attention to them. Like their identity and presentation of identity is so policed and I feel that adding her Vietnamese to the mix makes their actions even weirder. White people have such fucked up ideas of how Vietnamese people should present, especially if you could be coded as femme. To have the spark of the oppression olympics be between a Mexican woman and a Vietnamese nonbinary person seems strangely tone deaf. And it’s not to say that those arguments don’t happen, but the way the situation is presented in the book feels more like Kern had a checkbox of things they wanted to include in the story, but didn’t stop to really think out who did what in this scene or had the space to have a proper discussion about oppression olympics. It’s even weirder, because there were other white queers in the story who could have put the flags up and then you’d still have the same conversation, but then it’s a white queer not thinking, which feels more like a conversation white writers should have and let the Vietnamese and Mexican writers discuss their own community’s issues with oppression olympics and racial biases. 

Overall, though I think this is an interesting book that many will enjoy, I just wish it was longer so these important topics could be fully developed. 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

4 stars

I just said I’m not a big fan of novellas, and yet I loved the Deep by Rivers Solomon. I think it’s a beautiful, almost fairytale-like look at intergenerational trauma and the weight a burden history/the past can be at times. The basic premise of the book is that Yetu is an under the water descendent of the pregnant slaves thrown overboard and she is also the historian for her people. That means she has to hold the trauma within her while everyone else gets to forget and go about their lives, until the Remembering ceremony, where Yetu gets to give those memories to her people for three days before having to take them back. During the Remembering, Yetu flees and meets a human whose people were murdered by colonizers and is desperate to preserve their memory. Yetu has to decide if she should return to her people who are trapped in the horrors of the past or remain free but rudderless and without an identity. 

Like all of Solomon’s books, this story aches with pain and loss but in a compassionate and soft manner. I loved Yetu as a character and completely understood her pain as she had to struggle with maintaining her people’s history all by herself and fully sympathized with her desire to run away. I also loved the difficult in Yetu’s relationship with her Amaba who just wanted her child to be “normal” but how could anyone be normal with that much trauma and pain in their heads. I was really annoyed actually that this community made one person carry all that horror and was relieved that the end found a way to honor Yetu and the fact that everyone needs help with severe and complex trauma. It’s a burden that one can deal with on their own. 

I also love Oori, the human Yetu meets. She is the last of Oshuben and feels responsible for protecting what remains of her people and their history. She is a great counter to Yetu’s desire for freedom from everything and I loved their various conversations about the past, our own identities, and how we find partners/friends. 

I think the ending wrapped up a little too neatly, especially given all the worse case scenarios that ran through Yetu’s head when she abandoned her people to handle their trauma on their own, and, similar to Cemetery Boys, I wish there had been more time for the family/community to not only acknowledge the great pain they were putting their historians through, but also how they deal with the trauma and their decision to share the responsibility of preserving their own history. Also, I may have read the ending wrong, but I think Oori’s people were the ancestors of Yetu’s people, so I think Oori’s people actually exist underwater now and if I read that correctly, that would have also been cool to explore further. 

Some sections of the writing were repetitive as well and the prose in general could have been tighter without sacrificing the dreamy, fairytale-like feeling. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the world Solomon created. 

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

3 stars

This is a fun, Western adventure with a strong LGBTQ+ cast. The basic premise is that Esther runs away from home after watching her girlfriend hand for banned materials. She hitches a ride with the Librarians, a group of non-binary and lesbians who are secretly working for the resistance. The Librarians are charged with smuggling three women into resistance country and it turns out one of the people they’re smuggling is an assassin. They get into a few gunfights and Esther needs to either learn how to be a rebel fast or die trying. 

I’m normally not a big Western fan and this book relies a lot of Western tropes, so it did lose my attention in a few places, but not because it’s bad or poorly written. It’s just not the type of story I usually like to read. That being said, I think if you love Westerns you’ll love this book. It’s has a standard Western plot but this time with lesbians and it’s in a post-apocalyptic United States. The characters are fun, if not fully developed, and there are plenty of shoot outs. There’s a romantic subplot that is….there haha and the plot is pretty simplistic, but works for this genre. Overall it was a very fun book. 

All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes

4 stars

I technically finished this book a day after the Trans Rights Readathon, but I’m reviewing it in this post anyway, haha. So I LOVE this book so much! It has everything one could possible want: polar adventures, LGBTQ+ characters, WWI trauma, a great unknown that is angry and/or hungry and/or just hates humanity (and can you blame them?) and lots of terrible, horrible decisions that make everything oh so much worse. 

The basic premise of that book is that Jonathan, a trans man, lost his brothers during WWI and decides to join their hero’s last polar expedition to make them proud and prove he is a man. To help him, he enlists the aid of a childhood friend, Harry (which turns out to be a terrible idea). He is quickly accepted by the crew and gets so much joy of being in this rough and very (toxic) masculine world. However, something has found them on their ship and it’s not happy with them. One thing goes wrong after another and they find themselves stranded in Antarctica in the middle of winter with no way of calling for help and being hunted by a thing. 

I’ll admit that the first half of this book is very slow and probably could have been tightened in edits, but once you get to the halfway mark, the pace picks up and it roars towards a very satisfying ending (with plenty of bloodshed in between). The prose is beautiful and recaptures the harsh nothingness of Antarctica, the paranoia of being hunted in extreme conditions, and the horror of WWI. Even though Harry is responsible for so many terrible things, I couldn’t even be angry at him because he was so broken and lost and I was actually annoyed that Jonathan didn’t see how fucking lost and broken Harry was. How he never should have brought Harry with him to the end of the world. How caught up he was in his brother’s bullshit that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. 

There are about 24 men in the exhibition but the characters with the most development besides Jonathan and Harry are Clarke and Tarlington (who also happen to be my favorite). The rest of the characters get lost in the background and so their deaths don’t really leave an impact on the reader. Even Randall, the leader of the expedition is two-dimensional and it’s not completely clear what he’s trying to do or even thinking at times. But the Harry-Jonathan relationship and Tarlington’s struggle and strength are the core of the story. The rest of the characters are sort of there for window dressing. 

Overall this is a fantastic book and scratched my “The Thing” itch I’ve been having lately.

[afabstract]

Raise Hell! Issue #2 Review

Summer is over. Best-friends Victor, Miri, and Reeves must get back to school, but they also need to deal with Alistair - the demon they summoned over the break! Read this quick review of Raise Hell! Issue #2.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) Now that Comixology has picked up Jordan Alsaqa’s fantasy comic-book series “Raise Hell!”, issue #2 of the series has finally materialized! I’m glad I read issue #1 of “Raise Hell!” in May 2024, because Alsaqa first self-published the comic way back in November 2020, and the second installment came out in June 2024. That’s a pretty…

[bitchesgetriches]

On poverty:

Starting from nothing

How To Start at Rock Bottom: Welfare Programs and the Social Safety Net

How to Save for Retirement When You Make Less Than $30,000 a Year

Ask the Bitches: “Is It Too Late to Get My Financial Shit Together?“

Understanding why people are poor

It’s More Expensive to Be Poor Than to Be Rich

Why Are Poor People Poor and Rich People Rich?

On Financial Discipline, Generational Poverty, and Marshmallows

Bitchtastic Book Review: Hand to Mouth by Linda Tirado

Is Gentrification Just Artisanal, Small-Batch Displacement of the Poor?

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 1: Healthcare, Housing, and Labor Rights

Developing compassion for poor people

The Latte Factor, Poor Shaming, and Economic Compassion

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Stop Myself from Judging Homeless People?“

The Subjectivity of Wealth, Or: Don’t Tell Me What’s Expensive

A Little Princess: Intersectional Feminist Masterpiece?

If You Can’t Afford to Tip 20%, You Can’t Afford to Dine Out

Correcting income inequality

1 Easy Way All Allies Can Help Close the Gender and Racial Pay Gap

One Reason Women Make Less Money? They’re Afraid of Being Raped and Killed.

Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make All Our Lives Better

Are Unions Good or Bad?

On intersectional social issues:

Reproductive rights

On Pulling Weeds and Fighting Back: How (and Why) to Protect Abortion Rights

How To Get an Abortion

Blood Money: Menstrual Products for Surviving Your Period While Poor

You Don’t Have to Have Kids

Gender equality

1 Easy Way All Allies Can Help Close the Gender and Racial Pay Gap

The Pink Tax, Or: How I Learned to Love Smelling Like “Bearglove”

Our Single Best Piece of Advice for Women (and Men) on International Women’s Day

Bitchtastic Book Review: The Feminist Financial Handbook by Brynne Conroy

Sexual Harassment: How to Identify and Fight It in the Workplace

Queer issues

Queer Finance 101: Ten Ways That Sexual and Gender Identity Affect Finances

Leaving Home before 18: A Practical Guide for Cast-Offs, Runaways, and Everybody in Between

Racial justice

The Financial Advantages of Being White

Woke at Work: How to Inject Your Values into Your Boring, Lame-Ass Job

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander: A Bitchtastic Book Review

Something Is Wrong in Personal Finance. Here’s How To Make It More Inclusive.

The Biggest Threat to Black Wealth Is White Terrorism

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality

10 Rad Black Money Experts to Follow Right the Hell Now

Youth issues

What We Talk About When We Talk About Student Loans

The Ugly Truth About Unpaid Internships

Ask the Bitches: “I Just Turned 18 and My Parents Are Kicking Me Out. How Do I Brace Myself?”

Identifying and combatting abuse

When Money is the Weapon: Understanding Intimate Partner Financial Abuse

Are You Working on the Next Fyre Festival?: Identifying a Toxic Workplace

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Say ‘No’ When a Loved One Asks for Money… Again?”

Ask the Bitches: I Was Guilted Into Caring for a Sick, Abusive Parent. Now What?

On mental health:

Understanding mental health issues

How Mental Health Affects Your Finances

Stop Recommending Therapy Like It’s a Magic Bean That’ll Grow Me a Beanstalk to Neurotypicaltown

Bitchtastic Book Review: Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos and Your Big Brain

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Protect My Own Mental Health While Still Helping Others?”

Coping with mental health issues

{ MASTERPOST } Everything You Need to Know about Self-Care

My 25 Secrets to Successfully Working from Home with ADHD

Our Master List of 100% Free Mental Health Self-Care Tactics

On saving the planet:

Changing the system

Don’t Boo, Vote: If You Don’t Vote, No One Can Hear You Scream

Ethical Consumption: How to Pollute the Planet and Exploit Labor Slightly Less

The Anti-Consumerist Gift Guide: I Have No Gift to Bring, Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum

Season 1, Episode 4: “Capitalism Is Working for Me. So How Could I Hate It?”

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 1: Healthcare, Housing, and Labor Rights

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality

Shopping smarter

You Deserve Cheap Toilet Paper, You Beautiful Fucking Moon Goddess

You Are above Bottled Water, You Elegant Land Mermaid

Fast Fashion: Why It’s Fucking up the World and How To Avoid It

You Deserve Cheap, Fake Jewelry… Just Like Coco Chanel

6 Proven Tactics for Avoiding Emotional Impulse Spending

[panandinpain0]

PART 2 Stubborn Little Shit

Welcome back!

Eddie Munson x Male!Reader

(LINK TO PART 1)

Warnings: Swearing

This one has a bit of the actual series in it, just the scene in episode 2 where Robin is ranting cuz I love that scene.

Let's pick up where we left off...

--

Ever since you started working at the at-home video store Eddie had come in almost everyday, simply to tell you how he enjoyed the movies you recommended. You would put on a fake glare, but it didn't deter him, not in the slightest. It issued a challenge for himself, more than anything.

"Munson, back so soon?" you had asked the first time he'd come back.

"I watched this one last night." He held up the horror movie you'd helped him rent just the day before. "It was scary as hell, man."

"I told 'ya." You smirked at him and leant over the counter, much like Steve had. You quickly snapped to your senses and picked up some stray movies, walking around the store to return them.

"My favorite part was the pool scene."

"The pool scene?!" You whipped around to stare at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Yeah! What's so wrong with the pool scene?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just not the one I thought you'd pick, is all." You shrugged as you kept working, Eddie following behind you.

"Which one did you think I'd pick?" he snickered, quickly circling you so that he could see your face.

"The car scene."

"The car scene?! You mean the one where the teacher and the-"

You nodded, a large smile on your face as you looked him dead in the eye.

"Oh that is just disgusting, (L/N). The pool scene is clearly the best. I mean, not only is it the first death of the movie, but also the way that she dies? Amazing. A cinematic masterpiece."

You shook your head in amusement as you tried to remember your goal; don't fall for Eddie or his flirting.

"Was that all?" your tone quickly shifted and you raised an uninterested eyebrow at Eddie.

"For now. I'll see you tomorrow with my review on that comedy." He winked at you and lifted your hand, pressing a kiss to the back of your knuckles. You merely scoffed and rolled your eyes, pulling your hand back and walking away. "See 'ya, movie boy."

"Don't call me that," you shouted back with a monotone voice.

"I'm not leaving until you say goodbye," he sang from the doorway.

"Goodbye, Munson."

He smiled at his small victory and walked out of the shop, hands now empty after returning the horror he had just watched.

You stared down at the movie he had given you to return, and shook your head. You've always been so good at holding a grudge or sticking to what your mind put you to. So why had Eddie wiggled you out of your stubborn hold so easily?

...

After this going on for a while it had become a routine. Eddie eventually finished the large task of movies you'd given him so he'd come in to get more specific ones every weekend. At this point he'd come in just to see you and leave with nothing, which Steve and Robin didn't leave out of their teasing agendas.

"Goodbye Lover Boy!" Robin shouted to Eddie before he left, waggling her fingers in a jeering wave.

"Shut it, Robin."

"You can't deny it, the signs are all there!" Steve said as he joined you two behind the counter, watching as you jumped up to sit on the counter.

"Okay fine- maybe we're a little past acquaintances now, but that doesn't mean we're friends or anything more," you insisted, fidgeting with the bracelets that dangled from your wrists.

"You are too stubborn for your own good, (L/N)."

"And you're too cowardice for your own good, Buckley."

Robin scoffed at you. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Vicki?" you raised an eyebrow at her, teasing smile playing on your lips meant to bother her.

Robin sighed, joining you on the counter as Steve looked at the both of you, hands on his hips.

"How on earth did I get stuck with the most stubborn and most hopeless gay friends in Indiana?" Steve asked you both, well- more to himself than you two.

"Hey!" Robin objected, glaring as Steve.

"You know what, I'm not even complaining at this point. I am one stubborn little shit. At least that's what my dad said," you joked, getting a chuckle out of both of your friends.

The bell above the door rung and you jumped off the counter, running to the cart filled with movies that needed to be organized as Robin pushed Steve to the counter, manning the computer instead.

"What the hell?" Steve hissed at both of you.

"Karma~" you whispered back with a shit eating grin on your face.

He flipped you the bird before turning to a bunch of middle schoolers who had just entered.

"What do you kids want?"

"Movies, duh," one of the fuckers shot back.

You snorted and then quickly hid behind some shelves, not wanting to be caught up in that soon to be mess.

...

You bit your lip, nervously twisting the band around your wrist. You didn't want to say it, you couldn't admit it. You couldn't tell your friends, who'd been telling you since day one you were meant for each other, that you were worried about Eddie. See, if you admitted that, then you'd lose your streak of not falling for Eddie, even though you knew you had lost it the second he stepped foot in here during your hours.

"Spit it out, it's kind of sad watching you wither over there alone," Steve told you, shocking you out of your daze.

"Admit what?" You played dumb.

"Just tell us, (Y/N)," Robin joined, swiveling around in the chair to look at you with crossed arms.

"But then I'll lose!" you whined, slouching like a child.

"(Y/N)!" they both shouted at you.

"Fine! I'm worried about Munson! He didn't come in last night or today and he's come in almost every day since I've started working here! Is that what you wanted to hear?" you exclaimed, throwing your hands up and pushing off of the counter.

"Yes. Good job, (Y/N)," Robin mockingly praised, standing up from her chair.

"Don't get your boxers in a twist, it's still early, he could still come," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, just- distract me. How was that basketball game?" you asked, looking at the two. You weren't able to attend seeing as you had to babysit the annoying neighbor kids for extra cash and you hadn't been able to pick up another shift at the family video.

Robin jumped into an explanation and here you were, twenty minutes later, the three of you all moving around the shelves to put away more movies. It confuses you, the cart never empties, no matter how many times you swear it's almost done.

"...Then Vicki laughed. And it wasn't like a cheap, fake laugh either." Robin put down the movie on the shelf and used her hands to gesture as she walked down the isle to where you and Steve were organizing the horror movies. "It was like... It was a real, genuine laugh."

"Of course she'd laugh. It's my Muppet joke. It's hilarious," Steve mumbled back, not even looking at Robin as he moved on, you pushing the cart behind him.

"Dude I wish I was there to hear Tammy sing, my eardrums would burst but it'd be hilarious. And the point isn't that it's your joke, Steve, it's the fact that Robin delivered it and Vicki laughed at it," you scolded lightly.

"Exactly!" Robin exclaimed, following the both of you. "My point is that Vicki laughed and everything was just like... It was perfect."

You stopped the cart and started putting away movies in the documentary section, Steve filtering through the cart.

"But?" you asked, quickly glancing at Robin before returning to the shelf in front of you.

"But I'm having this problem where it's like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I've needed to say."

Steve mumbled "mhm"'s as Robin rambled, taking the movies in her hands and putting them on the shelf next to you.

"But then I guess I get nervous and the word's they just- they keep spilling out, and it's like my... my brain is moving faster than my mouth." Robin was clearly distressed.

Steve finally looked at her as he walked backwards, making sure you didn't push the cart into anything as you pushed it with him. He shot a "yup" at Robin as you listened intently.

"Or... or, rather, my... my mouth is moving faster than my brain. And it's like I'm digging this hole for myself-" Steve walked around her to get to the next shelf and you handed him movies as he put them away- "and I want to stop digging, and I'm trying to stop but I can't. And I'm doing it right now, aren't I?"

She turned to looked at the two of you, Steve leaning against the shelf by his forearm with a hand on his hip while you held movies in your hands next to him.

"Yeah, you are," Steve confirmed.

"Sounds excruciating," you cringed, walking around the shelf to put the movies in their right places.

"Don't even get me started," Robin sighed out.

"I'm afraid we already did- 'we' meaning him." Steve squinted his eyes at you and you shoved his shoulder.

Robin walked backwards with a defeated sigh until her back hit the glowing advertisement hanging from the wall.

"Oh, I'm hopeless."

"You're quoting Steve there, Robin. Be careful- he can't know that he's right sometimes." You laughed and continued to busy yourself with the cart.

"Eh," Steve scoffed as he copied Robin's actions. "We both are."

"There he is again, being right for once," you teased as you finally stopped to look at them both with crossed arms.

"You're not hopeless, (Y/N), you're stupid," Robin tilted her head at you, a light glare set over her brows.

"Hey!" you objected with a yelp, kicking her leg.

"You're stupid because you have an opportunity right in front of you but you refuse to take it! Just because, what, you're stubborn?"

"That sounds pretty hopeless to me," Steve added, the two of them heavily judging you.

"If only we could just like, combine," Robin said, bringing you all back to the topic at hand.

"Combine?" Steve asked as if she was crazy, looking at her as such.

"No, think about it. I know exactly what I want, and I've found the girl of my dreams, but I just can't get the courage to ask her out."

"Mhm..." Steve hummed in an "I'm listening" way.

"Meanwhile, you go on, like, a million dates. And you have no idea what you want."

"Mhm," Steve nodded. Even he couldn't deny that was the truth.

"Did Hades not work out?" you asked, arms crossed and head titled at Steve.

He deadpanned, "Heidi."

"Yeah, whatever."

Robin snorted.

"I'll tell you about it later." Steve waved his hand in dismissal.

"So if we just combined, all our problems would be solved."

"Ohh..."

"'Cus I mean, alone, let's face it..."

"We totally suck."

"We're not too bad at matchmaking though," Robin added, both of them looking at (Y/N).

"Ugh! Would you two just let it go?" You stormed off to the counter.

"Ooh, I think I have our morning movie," Robin said loud enough for both of you to hear.

"Hit us with it," you challenged from behind the counter.

Robin ran to the shelf in the center walkway.

"Doctor Zhivago." She held it between her two hands like she was displaying it.

"Ugh, you know I don't do double VHS," Steve declined, shaking his head with a look of slight disgust on his face.

"But it's about doomed love!" you cut in, smirking at the two "hopeless" losers.

"Oh, well, that's relatable," Steve agreed as he pushed the cart.

"Precisely."

"Oh, can I still watch, or since I'm in denial I'm not allowed?" You laughed.

"Shut up and admit your feelings already," Steve offhandedly responded.

"Also, Julie Christie is b-b-bonkers hot in this," Robin geeked out, watching you shake your head with an amused smile. "Like, seriously, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life."

They joined you behind the counter as you turned on the TV behind it.

"We're in Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don't have a lot of details right now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the name victims name..." the news woman spoke into the microphone at the site.

"Holy shit," Steve breathed out.

"...Although we are told they're currently in the process of notifying the family."

"...That's Eddie's trailer," you whispered, still in shock.

--

I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea how many parts there are going to be, but there'll most likely be more than 4. That's on me, but I'm having fun so I'm not complaining.

If you stuck around for part 2, thank you!

Have a great day/night/whatever time it is that you're reading this.

-Author Max <3

[thechekhov]

So glad you decided to play Undertale! I think it would really suit you so I’m so happy you got into it! Could I have your thoughts about the game? I would LOVE to hear them. I’m ALL for long essays and rants, that’s my jam, but even just a small review from you would make me ecstatic!

Alright alright alright alright. 

I am ecstatic that someone asked because I have a lot to say AS ALWAYS. 

I’m gonna try to keep this readable, I swear. Will add pictures in between to keep things interesting. 

However, due to the length this will SURELY achieve, AND due to spoilers (and yes, laugh at me all you want, the game has been out for 5 years) I’ll put this under a cut. Read at your own (f)risk.

Metagaming - the game plays YOU

When I first started Undertale, I ‘knew’ these things:

there’s a stabby one with a knife, their name is chara

there’s a flower everyone hates

something something sans something something

and the last, and perhaps most important thing

you can spare your enemies to avoid killing them

The thing is. The THING IS. 

I did not realize how pervasive this strategy was. My thought at first was ‘okay, so I don’t have to kill EVERYONE.’

I had no idea that the reality was that I didn’t have to kill anyone.

I’m sure many others have already said this, but Undertale kind of changes the way you think about other games. It forces to you examine simply fighting your way through the RPG by introducing completely non-murder-y ways to resolve issues. This conversation-based combat style is not the first of its kind, I’m sure, but it’s also incredibly well done. It ties into the story, it ties into your decisions.

It ties into your decisions SO MUCH that it changes everything else in the outcome.

Undertale is a game well known for breaking the 4th wall. However, it does so in a strangely eerie, heart-wrenchingly real way. It teaches us that there are other solutions to conflicts - and it really... it really TEACHES us, you know?

Which is funny because to be honest, it took me a while to get the lesson.

(You may already be fully aware of this but yes, my first True Neutral Route was extremely organic. I legitimately had no idea that there was even more than one ending. I was just stumbling about er... killing. Out of habit.)

The beauty of this is that the game drives home that point even more effectively because I was fully unaware of my own bias. I had assumed that some enemies would require killing - DESPITE TORIEL SPECIFICALLY TELLING ME TO TALK TO THEM, and the entire Ruins tutorial being about Mercy. I killed the Dummy on accident (granted, it was due to me pressing the key too fast a few times) and didn’t think much of Toriel’s disapproval. I killed a few monsters because I saw my level was low and decided to automatically grind a little bit. 

By the time I got to Toriel, I was still not comfortable with the mechanic. I knew I could Spare her somehow - after all, she was a kind monster, and clearly an important character - but the Spare option didn’t yield promising results the first few times I chose it. I ran out of patience and decided that maybe... maybe it was like pokemon! 

Maybe I had to get her health down to a certain level before she would allow me to pass through.

Funny thing though.... you know what happens if you attack Toriel one too many times? Even if she has most of her health left? 

Yeah uh... it activates that one-hit-KO thing from No Mercy Route.

So of course, what happened? I hit her one too many times... and killed her! And of course, immediately panicked and reset. 

I got back to my previous save, Spared Toriel PROPERLY this time, and walked out of the ruins only to be confronted with my own reliance on the magical ‘redo’ button which was... apparently... not that magical.

Because it WASN’T a clean redo. Flowey apparently remembered. 

The idea that the game would KNOW about my previous attempts beyond the save file snapped me out of my casual Undertale playthrough. I realized that something was up - this game was not going to be like the others.

I think it was from this point on that I tried to be more careful, but again - I still hadn’t quite gotten the memo about not killing. I took down a few monsters around Snowdin. And when I got to Papyrus, I grew frustrated about not being able to beat him (I ended up losing several times and coming back to try again) and went off to grind SOME MORE because I figured that could raise my HP and increase my chances of holding off long enough to Spare him. 

(The incredible thing about this game is that actually, raising your level gives you only a slight advantage. You can be level 1 and carrying no items, and as long as you’re relatively proficient at dodging the bullet hell style projectiles you will have no issues.) 

Anyway, the point is that I realized I could spare the big monsters and did so readily - but I didn’t bother to spare many of the smaller ones. 

I figured it didn’t matter. 

And then I successfully evaded Undyne, gave her a cup of water, etc... and then went to her house to meet Papyrus, fully expecting her to befriend me anyway. 

And you know what happened?

“She said she won’t hang out with a murderer.“

I think that probably hit me the hardest at that point in the game. 

I had a bit ‘....oh’ moment at that point because I realized that the game would punish me for killing even the ‘not-important’ civilians of the Underground. It wasn’t about just sparing the ‘boss monsters’. My actions had consequences beyond just the ‘elite’ characters that we all tend to focus on.

Because yes, it made sense. It wasn’t about just Undyne - why WOULD she randomly be my friend after I killed tons of living beings?

From there on, I spared everyone, but didn’t reset. I decided to see how it would unravel.

The thing I want to talk about, which is a little difficult, is that...

It took me that long to learn that kindness was the answer. And that, in itself, ends up being a metaphor. 

It’s difficult to be kind if you have not been show how to be.

It’s difficult to change the way you behave (in a game or out of it) if all you know is using other methods.

It was hard enough to spare Toriel before I realized I had to just be very patient and trust that her attacks wouldn’t hit - though at first I thought she would just kill me! 

It was hard to avoid Papyrus’ attacks and I had to die several times before I successfully got through it. 

It was near impossible to fight Undyne because I legitimately had no idea Fleeing was an option. I struggled for ages at her stage, and I had to ask for help to understand what I could do.

And that’s actually honestly very true to life as well.

Being kind takes risk. Being kind takes effort. And sometimes, being kind means asking others HOW to be kind. 

When you choose to be kind, you risk being hurt, and you risk being trapped (Toriel). When you choose to be kind, you need to expand a lot more energy to succeed (Papyrus). When you choose to be kind, you need to sometimes reach out to others to show you how to properly do it (Undyne).

The rest of the playthrough probably went about as you expect. I completed the game, didn’t kill any Boss Monsters, fought to the end and... got that really unsatisfying Neutral Ending which felt strangely bittersweet. 

And of course, after I was done, I was prompted to go back and do a proper Pacifist Run. Which I did. I learned about the background of Determination, about Chara and Asriel... and about how everything came to be the way it was.

The thing that gets me the most about this game is how it serves as a direct parallel to how we use videogames. In fact, Undertale is a videogame... about videogames. 

Chara appears to be a direct metaphor for the people that use videogames to escape - to cope with whatever happened to them in The Overworld. Bad family life, or bad relationships or whatever we suffer - escapism through games is not, in itself, a new theme. 

Chara arrived in Undertale by dropping themself down a hole in the mountain, perhaps even seeking to end their life. They dropped into a world which offered them comfort and companionship, a new family and a new life - but in the end, their nature was destructive because their means to finding a solution inadvertently used other people as fodder. Asgore, Asriel - they used everyone else to complete their plans. It wasn’t about forming connections - it was about Completing the Quest. 

I wonder - did Chara even HAVE access to a MERCY option? 

Was their world one without the option of sparing someone? Did they only have the choice of acting - and was Mercy in the hands of whoever attacked them? I wonder how difficult it might have been for them. I wonder how that, in itself, shaped their perception of the world. 

I wonder if that’s why, during the No Mercy run, people recognize you as Chara? If they come back and attach themselves to your resonating DETERMINATION?

If this is true, was MERCY perhaps created later, brought into existence once Asriel himself made the choice to NOT fight, to turn back and flee, even after being attacked by humans in the Overworld? 

(It would be a nice parallel to Asgore DESTROYING the Mercy option when you enter the fight with him...)

...

In the end, I think Undertale is about many things, including video games. 

But it’s also hurting - and being hurt. 

It’s about how trauma can shape us, how we deal with feeling grief, and loss, and depression - and not being able to feel anything.

It’s about how we focus on goals and use DETERMINATION to keep going - even when whatever it is that’s driving us no longer has any SOUL. 

It’s about how our action have consequences, but they also carry the weight of a choice, and how powerful those choices are, and how powerless we feel when we aren’t given a choice - not to fight back, nor show mercy. 

I think that’s probably the reason this game resonated with so many people. It really brings something we love about videogames to the forefront - that ability to fight back, to have full and total control of our own lives...

And it also shows us how having that endless loop of repetitive grinding and fighting with zero consequences can lead to an incredible hollowness and make us numb to how we interact with real-life people. 

Anyway. 

Good game. 

[antiloreolympus]

6 Anti LO Asks

1. i would actually get the idea people look down on the underworld gods bc like yeah theyre scary and unwelcomed, but like its undercut by rachel making them the most desirable and most powerful for?? reasons?? like she wants them to be underdogs while at the same time being the best at everything, which is her issue with persephone too, she also has to be powerless and humble but also the most unique and powerful. she wants us to root for them when they have no actual struggles.

2. i dont take reviews for anything, tbh. the "professional" reviews LO got were all by people who are also at the same printing house, so theyre literally paid to say something nice for marketing even if they dont like it (i work in publishing, we do this all the time), and amazon reviews arent regulated, so of course LO stans will flood it to fluff it up. thats what let's play fans have been doing too for years now too, despite it being wattpad markipiler fanfic.

3. I know comparing characters isn’t right but honestly LO has enough wrong going on I won’t feel bad. Persphone isn’t interesting on her own in LO. A lot of her character is having things happen to her except for flirting with Hades and killing mortals (and maybe running away as a reaction to Zeus). Persphone we are told she is smart, naive, powerful but powerless. Her character literally is whatever RS thinks fits the chapter the best. Persphone has no clear goals other than wanting Hades, what’s her major? What was the next step after college? Do the other gods go to college? Why doesn’t she know what sleeping to the top means but knows so much about flirting with a man who has a gf? What was she suppose to be doing if she never met hades?

Although the other female cast may not be likeable, they do actually do stuff that drives their own character

Minthe may have fallen into a shitty relationship with Hades, but she feels sick about the ring and treats Hades because he doesn’t listen to her. She leads Persphone to the wrong location cause she doesn’t like her. She fights hades (not a good thing but does something to the plot)

Daphne has Persphones background, grew up in the mortal realm. However she’s a lot more interesting. Demeter probably isn’t strict with Daphne, but Daphne is now and influencer with business deals and when forced to Dave Apollo bits and threatens him. And even before with Apollo wanted to find out her own opinions on the guy.

Hecate isn’t a main character but enjoys to be in the plot and leaves the plot as she pleases, she’s support but also seems like there more to her than shown. She likes chaos, gardening, and expanding her knowledge.

Aphrodite, drove the plot with the drugs and car thing, NOT A GOOD THING but actually did something. Was looking for her husband, testing her son may not be the best character but actually leaves marks on the story telling despite not showing up a lot.

Artemis, invites Persphone into her home, has always been this sliver footed hunter, was doing fine before persphone, but also has her own family issues

Demeter fought in a war, has her own morals and ethics when raising a daughter, may have messed up but again actually contributes to the plot

Hera pushes HXP together and apart, has her own interesting drama, seduced Kronos and paid for it gravely, DID have an affair with hades. Not good things but contributions.

Thetis manipulates people

Persphone just doesn’t do much herself in the comic. She didn’t want to go to the party, she didn’t want the job, a lot of the plot is having her having something happen to her. The drugging, the Apollo the offers, Meg offering her clothes even. She doesn’t drive the plot other than flirting with Hades even knowing about Minthe, killing those mortals, and turning Minthe into a plant, but none of those things are even framed as wrong. It’s like even when she does make a “mistake” it doesn’t “count”

4. DID HADES ACTUALLY REALLY HONESTLY SAY ZEUS' RAGE IS MISMANAGED!?!

5. Since we’re talking about self-inserts, hell, I have like 3 characters in my book that can be argued to be my self inserts. But the difference is that while I project onto them plenty, I still remember they are my CHARACTERS, not me. I give them flaws, I write them how I would any other, and I make them suffer consequences when needed. There’s a difference between that and whatever the hell RS is doing with Persephone

-----FP Spoilers-----

6. Not to beat a dead horse but even with Hades saying he misspoke in calling Persephone his wife - considering they arent dating and have only known each other for a short time period, it still sounds weird, right? Like in the newer chapters (I think) Hades and Persephone discuss going on a "first date" after the trial is over which would be fine - except A). It sounds as though even if Persephone gets a punishment (like lets say its a Prometheus treatment kinda thing) that they'll just go behind Zeus' back + authority to go on dates anyway, regardless of punishment or not, and B). Hades calling Persephone his wife indicates that despite not even being on a proper date or even knowing her all that well that he already thinks of her as such, which seems a bit presumptuous considering everything thats been happening.

Also ive seen claims far and between that months have passed if not a year since Persephone went on the run / the beginning of the comic - does anyone have a source for that? (The timeline makes everything confusing).

Also, I was told that the trial doesnt take place in the underworld - that it actually takes place in Olympus?? Anyone got a source? Pls and thanks. 

From OP, not Anon: From the episodes currently on FP, the trial does take place on Olympus. The underworld is in a constant state of darkness and the place where the trial is being held shows it's visibly daytime. Also, it hasn't been months or a time skip. Some people were confused by Hades's wording because he said 'months'. Saying weeks would've been way better and less confusing.

[jordanas-diary]

Seaspiracy

This documentary seems to be the talk of the time at the moment and I have to say that initially, I was super excited to see issues that I have been studying for the last four years, being brought to the forefront of people’s minds after having banged on about them for who knows how long. But boy oh boy was I disappointed in how the issues were being portrayed. Where to begin?

The first thing that frustrates me with this is the science/data/information these people are using. Or the lack of it. Sure it has sources for some of the data being used, but not once do I see the utilisation of a credible science journal with peer-reviewed articles. Nor do I see a lot of scientists providing input on the questions they are posing to ocean conservation organisations. With some googling, you will find a lot of the data isn’t backed up by scientists working in these areas of study in reports or in articles - so what’s the truth? The graphics in this documentary too ... a great white shark on coral reefs? Un-fucking-likely. Two heccing ridiculous claims were made in this documentary: 1. Dolphins are only killed bc they're pests; and 2. Ebola was caused by decreased fish stocks????? I will elaborate on these later. But anyways ...

This brings me to my next issue - the demonisation of ocean conservation organisations. Somehow BP oil came out looking like a good guy in comparison to these organisations. How in the world did that happen? These organisations provide funding for ocean conservation, research, clean up and education - if we stop funding these organisations, how can we continue to learn about the ocean and educate our younger generations?

What's more is the interview tactics used were shady as hell, and just aiming to paint the narrative they wanted. Now I was ok with this in the beginning, but the less they tried to paint a more balanced picture of the industry, the more frustrated I became. The narrative they were aiming for will have some detrimental impacts on these organisations as mentioned above.

Furthermore, this documentary is incredibly white-centric. Sure there are problematic practices across the world, but painting Asia as the worst? Have you ever wondered why? One of the key drivers for unsustainable fishing practices is the demand - but this demand is not only domestic, but international as well. Now, where internationally is the demand coming from? The West. It is our demand for more and more seafood, drives for the supply to become higher and higher CAUSING these businesses and countries to find more seafood in order to turn a profit.

I also had an issue with the spread and demographic of people contributing throughout the documentary. All of these people were white/white-passing, mostly male, majority activists/journalists, all bringing exceptionally similar perspectives and ideas as to what they see as the ideal future. But without diversity of thought - how can we create a truly encompassing and servicing society for all?

Back I will return to the "dolphins are pests" claim. This i n f u r i a t e d me to the absolute max. Why? Because not once did these people even THINK to acknowledge or even explore indigenous practices in the marine environment, or the significance these animals hold to these people culturally. Which then brings me to the intent of the documentary. 

This documentary was not created to explore sustainable modes of fishing - or even the idea of it for that matter - but to stop the consumption of fish. There are so many issues in this. I mean to unpack this from a science perspective - the lack of scientific backing of the majority of the claims this documentary made is laughable - but to go and completely disregard years of research and experiments and exploration is just plain ignorant. Why only tell one side of this complex issue? Where is the balance between science, governments and protection organisations? Heavily weighting this documentary to the side creates the misinformation that has scientists pressed from the get go fam. Science and technology have evolved [and will continue to evolve] to help us better understand fish stocks and populations, as well and feeding and breeding patterns. Genetics can be used to understand where fish are coming from and whether or not their capture was legal or not, making it harder for fishing vessels to lie about where and how stocks were caught. New Zealand is a good place to look at when exploring sustainable fisheries if you are interested in what this might look like. 

AND THEN from a cultural and social perspective - well if all fishing is banned then how do we put millions, if not billions of people into jobs to feed, clothe and house their families? What assistance will be given to these people from governments or international institutions? My guess? Very little. Most fisherman probably get paid dirt nothing and have skills for a specialised field - how can we ask them to go out and retrain? They most likely will not have the finds to do so. Many of these people will live in vulnerable communities, lacking infrastructure and opportunity to provide them with jobs if the fishing industry was to just ... stop. The expectation that Asian nations that make up a lot of international seafood trade will immediately have the capacity to if not give jobs, but provide assistance to millions of people without jobs and their families is so unrealistic that even on an international level this would be a huge ask. 

THEN we come to the question of what happens to indigenous people, coastal communities and island nations that literally r e l y on the ocean for everything? If we ask these people to stop relying on the ocean, not only will they lose their source of income and sustenance, but also lose their cultural practices and knowledge of the ocean that they can no longer pass on through action. Indigenous peoples and coastal communities have such a different relationship with the environment and the ocean, it is hard to comprehend let alone explain if you do not possess this. There is an inherent as well as learned intuition that is passed down between generations where you learn the right times of the year to harvest through the. understanding of the lifecycle and breeding patters, without specific scientific knowledge have the ability to know the difference between mature and juvenile species, and so much more. The knowledge that these people hold is integral to the survival of our oceans, yet not once was this mentioned throughout the documentary. 

Urging people to stop eating fish is incredibly ignorant. Some people many not be in a position to - whether that be culturally, socially, for health reasons - whatever. Sure reduce consumption, find an alternative if you have the ability and means to do so. Don’t do it just because a documentary told you to. The reason why a lot of organisations made no comment on this is because people deserve the right to choice of what they seat - and in some cases, seafood might be their main source of protein and energy. 

What this documentary did do right though, is raise all of these issues by bringing them to the front of public mind. Ghost fishing, overfishing, shark finning - all of these practices take an absolute toll on our oceans - without halting these specific practices, I cannot see how our oceans can survive, let alone sustain the human race.  

For me, Seaspiracy comes from a place of privilege and stubbornness. There is very little attempt to better educate themselves on these issues, lack of will/want to learn about cultural aspects in fisheries, and the spread of misinformation through data and “facts”. If this documentary has made some how emotionally charged you to do something to protect our oceans - WOOO!!! This issue has been so underrated for far too long. However, do not take this documentary as gospel - go and do some of your own research! Explore the topics raised! Educate yourself! Critically analyse every piece of information you come across, check if it can be backed/verified by other articles/reports released on the same/similar topics! 

Happy to answer any questions people might have on this. Hopefully this sheds more light on our ocean issues and that people think more critically about this documentary before, during and after watching it. 

Tagging: @lightacademiasworld