#also old school rednecks

[leaf-surfer]

[dragon-phoenix-along]

Oh! That’s what my astetic is!

Finally a good explanation as to why I identify with the term redneck, as well as hating it.

I’m a goth redneck.

You can identify a fake redneck by their passionate support of “blue lives matter.” Real rednecks have been in at least one physical fight and/or high-speed chase with police officers and would do it again

[sunanthrope]

Asshole-proofing yourself: Dogpunk edition

Edit: hey! A lot of people like this post! So I wanted to add in where I coined the term Dogpunk

i attach my tails to stretchy/coil hair ties so if it gets pulled, it won't snap, the tie will just stretch. sometimes the tie itself will get too stretched out, but it's easy enough to replace. make sure it's stretchy enough that it won't go slack and break your tail anyway

spiked collars. so serious. if people try and grab your neck/collar they'll get poked. Breakaway collars might not be such a bad idea either, but admittedly i hate how they look so i usually just go with a buckle lol

when i was younger and just getting into the punk scene (maybe 12 or 13) i got a pair of combat boots and had my dad (also a punk) to put holes in the toe and superglue in 4 heavy duty spikes on each boot. then i painted them to look like dog toe boots, the kind that you see on pinterest. They were against my school dress code, but i wore them on walks through my redneck ass town to keep myself safe, and the spikes looked like claws. super cool imo way to go 12 year old me

if you go masking, doing quads, or even gearing in public, please for the love of fuck don't go into sketchy areas alone, and make sure at least one of your friends knows if you're going out. plus faking a phone call has saved my life before

continued >>

if you aren't safe, don't wear it/do it. i promise being safe but looking like a 'normie' is better than getting your ass kicked because you're wearing a tail

find friends! seriously, there are probably others in your area. just sitting in my summer school class, i met a cat therian who was doing over her math class who sat with me at lunch. if you're wearing stuff, people will strike up a conversation. don't be afraid to chat with people! the buddy system has also saved my life!

[alphajocklover]

Thank you for reporting on this InstaJock app. It's been helpful to get more information. I work in healthcare and a lot of people ask me about it. So much so that I downloaded it myself to explore the app's features. I wouldn't use it on myself though. I just graduated from med school and I'm not about to waste that education. But one thing I've noticed is this "location feature" where it seems the quality of the jock it might change you into has to do with your surroundings. I have to drive through some more rural parts to get back home and the number of redneck jocks here is freaky. Wondering if you've got more insight into all that.

I’m really glad that my work has been helpful, and I’m also very impressed that you know so much about the app. I’ve never met another person who was able to get the app without falling into its enchantment. You must have protections like I do, or an incredibly strong will. I’m surprised people are interested in the app for healthcare reasons, but I suppose it makes sense. InstaJock turns anyone who uses it into a jock instantly, and jocks are muscular and healthy as shit. If I had to choose between being deathly ill and a dumb jock, I might do the same thing. But we’ll explore the interesting connection between InstaJock and healthcare some other time. Today let’s look at the location feature.

You’ve basically got it all figured out. InstaJock has a feature that tracks your location and turns you into a certain type of jock based on where you are. Or, more accurately, where you spend a lot of time, since it accesses your location history too. Just like all the features it can be turned on and off when setting up an account, or in settings afterwards, but unlike other features it is usually turned on to begin with. It makes sense when you think about it. The app may turn the user into a jock, but they’re still a version of themselves. So their new self should reflect their surroundings. Since you’re in a rural area, it seems most of the InstaJock users there would become redneck jocks.

It is strange that you’re seeing so many though. InstaJock is meant to spread, but… not that quickly. A guy gets turned by the app, maybe invites a couple of his old nerdy friends, and then enjoys being a buff, dumb, sexy jock. The jocks aren’t organized or intelligent enough to turn people on mass. So… someone must be directing them, telling them what to do. They’d have to be smart, but someone the jocks would listen to. There are only a handful of people who could do that. It’s probably the same person whose been using the app to torment nerds, who tricked that nerdy frat president into turning himself, who told that bullied kid InstaJock could help him steal muscles.

I have some theories on who it is. But I shouldn’t say anything until I have more proof. Be careful though. If it’s who I think it is, then our protections… may not keep either of us safe for long.

[imstillalexcomic]

Hi sorry for asking this really heavy question but I just saw some news about new policies in the states about trans folks and I want your opinion, should I get HRT? I want to transition but I don't want to endanger myself. Is there a safe heaven anywhere? Do I need to think about moving? I... Just don't know what to do and I have no one to talk to about this... Redneck hillbilly old world thinking fam an all.

Please never apologize for asking me a question, I want everyone to know that when you’re talking to me, you’re safe.

Please also don’t worry about asking me anything heavy, I want to do my best to answer things and getting an uncomfortable question is a good thing (for me, your mileage may vary).  I’m either going to learn what my boundaries are, or I’m going to consider something that I hadn’t before and I’ll grow as a person.

I always want to be available to the best of my ability.

Regarding your question, I need to say for the record that I am not a doctor, I am not a therapist, I am not a politician, and I don’t know the particulars of any individual’s situation other than my own.

I really don’t know the answer for you. 

I don’t know what’s going to happen, or when.  I don’t know how the folks you live/work/go to school with are going to react. 

I’m an incredibly lucky person.  I live in an area of the USA that is left leaning, I have people in my life who have no issue with whether or not someone is trans, but perhaps most importantly, I have some amount of stability.

As far as the tumblr demographic goes, I’m pretty old at 36.  There’s a life that my wife and I have built together and we’re doing ok.  Part of the reason I was finally ready to take this leap of transitioning and coming out was because I had my ducks in a row in other aspects of my life.

Some folks can only handle so much at a time, I am one of them.  Actively dealing with my gender dysphoria was something that I didn’t have the bandwidth for until recently. 

Granted, that stability we’ve cultivated is now being threatened, so I suddenly might be overwhelmed with new issues.  But right now, at this exact moment, I’m safe.

I hope that remains the case, but I’m fearful that it won’t.

Regarding whether or not you should transition right now, the only answer that I can provide is that we all need to prioritize our safety.

Be safe, and I hope we’re all here to keep fighting tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.

Existence is resistance.

I hope this answer is ok, I really wish I could provide a better one.

[dallasgallant]

ive gotta read the outsiders for a thing in a course, and i seriously cant read books when someone asks me too, can you just rant about how good it is so ill feel motivated to read it and pass : )

I think im a good authority for this in that I’ve never had to read it in school, which is saving everyone because if I read this at 14 like the rest of America I’d be more annoying than I already am lmao.

As someone who finally got around to reading/watching later in life people aren’t exaggerating when they talk about how good it is. It’s so - so in the mind of a 14 year old boy and the narration is a little screwed to match that (he’s a little hater and I love him with all my heart) it’s a coming of age and a absolute gut punch and surprisingly decent class commentary while also doing something sort of unique

In that it encourages and actively humanizes the opposing side. It’s not “everyone has it equally bad” it’s “everyone’s a human. Has human emotions and deals with things in similar ways with different causes” people try to turn it into a “who has it worse” thing (as if that’s a contest like Greasers are inherently a working class subculture and the boys are sort of explicitly redneck hello-) but it’s not really

I realize I sort of gave the “English teacher talking about the curtains” speech but analysis and stufff like that is fun to me!

It’s — they’re boys! They eat. They roughhouse and have a hard time navigating emotions but it’s so so clear how much they love and fight to stay together/sane it’s

Read the book.

Watch the movie.

Cmonnnnnn

[intheholler]

i think one thing that does set appalachia apart from other old mountain regions are the origins of the people who settled there: the scots-irish, many of whom were once indentured servants or the children of indentured servants; the "melungeons", a unique mixture of people that became its own identity, and also had a history of indentured servitude.

it makes me sad to see how racist puritanism began ruining later generations of mountain folk, because what separates the "hillbillies" from the classically (and hypocritically) puritan "rednecks" was not only their environment but the origin of their people.

for anyone, but especially for someone of scots-irish stock or melungeon stock, the idea of prejudice should be sickening to them, not accepted.

how quickly society forgets city stores with signs reading "no dogs, no blacks, no irish", or politicians remarking on the "horrible" and "race-mixing" nature of melungeons, or scholarly depictions of celtic folk as cro-magnons and impure.

all of the old people from this area i knew as a kid were so kind. "do what you want as long as you ain't hurtin' nobody else" was the rule of law, no matter how much they loved jesus. maybe, at times, especially because of how they loved jesus.

but thanks to the modern trend of "hillbilly" culture being seen as low class, depicted only when moonshine and fake joke teeth are involved, the entire appalachian culture has been diminished in favor of the nashville-esque, "son of a plantation owner" redneck-ism. and now even people raised in the area think that's all we are and ever have been. we used to be the opposite of that.

we were self-sufficient, private. we tended to each other and those on the hills near us. self-sufficient folk had little use for plantations, no money to hire servants, and a pretty good ancestral reason not to. our legacy is not that of racist rednecks, no matter how much erasure there is. people talk about dolly parton like she's one of the "good rednecks" - nope. she's just old school appalachian. a hillbilly girl.

last bit of ramble: when my grandmother was alive, she told me a story from when she was a little girl in the 1920's. she rode into town with her father to get a block of ice at the general store. there was a black man there shopping as well. life was so secluded that she had never seen a person with dark skin before, and she was a little frightened. her father patted her on the back and assured her that he was a good man, and that people sometimes had dark skin, and that it didn't mean anything bad about them. she wasn't afraid anymore. that's appalachia to me.

presented with no comment because: fucking amen. i literally could not have articulated any of this better if i tried. thanks for sharing this important bit of history. and i especially love this passage:

but thanks to the modern trend of "hillbilly" culture being seen as low class, depicted only when moonshine and fake joke teeth are involved, the entire appalachian culture has been diminished in favor of the nashville-esque, "son of a plantation owner" redneck-ism. and now even people raised in the area think that's all we are and ever have been. we used to be the opposite of that. we were self-sufficient, private. we tended to each other and those on the hills near us. self-sufficient folk had little use for plantations, no money to hire servants, and a pretty good ancestral reason not to. our legacy is not that of racist rednecks, no matter how much erasure there is. people talk about dolly parton like she's one of the "good rednecks" - nope. she's just old school appalachian. a hillbilly girl.

[gurneyhallecks]

Whenever I see people write tyler as being from Texas I think "This is incorrect, ask Taylor 😤"

I know glen is from Texas but not my boy tyler nuh uh 😤, though it feels like most writers just make every southern character from Texas like—as a southerner myself (georgia/florida) I'm like 🙄

This is not meant to disparage anyone, write what you want. Just a jest and a mini vent ❤

omg anon ily im giving you a big cheek smooch LGKJSLG IM DYING AT THIS ASSOCIATION !!!!!!!!!!! im so honored you associate him w/ me lsjkglskgj

but no like. ive said before but seeing twisters IN arkansas was truly an experience!! ive seen it 3x in AR and another time w/ my bff in idaho and like,,,, seeing it in arkansas was so funny alkgjksgl and not at all the same as it was in idaho LOL

seeing it here at home - eveRY TIME that javi says the wranglers were from arkansas - you could hear like whispers and then some WHOOP WHOOP kinda things in the crowd skskks EVERY TIME

and hearing tyler blast the song "arkansas" by chris stapleton? part of me came ALIVE. some of the lyrics in that song you'd only get if you were local and i get all the refs and it makes me SO HAPPY. i could go on and on about that song alone.

youre getting so much more than you asked for on this anon cuz im all excited now LOL like the town 'russellville' is on their van - and i know right where that is. ive been there. it's like an hour from me!!

tyler specifically just FELT arkansan. everyone i know who is from here that saw it agrees and it's so hard to explain. and while yes glen IS a texan - ur exactly right - not every southern character is texan!! there are distinctions!! i'd LOVE to talk to glen about this. about playing an arkansas boy <3 and tell him how much it meant to me

also im sure ive said this before but there was a guy i had a huge crush on in school and tyler sounds just like him. when tyler was like "hi kate :)" i was like algkjlKGJSHKJSGHKJ cuz it reminded me so much of that guy.

i know im holding onto tyler being an arkansas boy SO TIGHT because arkansas NEVER gets any rep. esp not good rep. we are SO MUCH MORE than racist redneck stereotypes!!!!!!!!! that gets so old. and the wrangler crew being all different types of people was good to see too! there are in fact different types of people here!!!

it makes me stupid emotional how much it means to me to have a character that everyone LOVES and he's from MY STATE!!!! MY HOME!!!!

on the way home from the movie the first time i saw it, my cousin and i blasted country music and we were so amped up i felt like i do on the fourth of july LOL it's a tangible thing for us arkansans and also just a thing for the south too!!

and also - maybe it's just me but i like to be picky about details of where characters are from!!! they did NOT hide that he was from arkansas. i guess it might be a detail to miss but? they mention arkansas a few times and kate mentions "u of a" aka the university of arkansas, and tyler has arkansas plates on that truck!!

at the end of the day if you write him from texas then it's a harmless mistake but it takes me out of the fic right away algkkslg

this is so cute anon thank you for letting me go on this lil tangent sklgjslg

[smthleon]

your kuros are literally so smart by the way.

Im gonna assume youre talking about how I see Hilbert and Cheren HAHAH but yeah no, I like the idea of Hilbert remaining short and stubby while Cherens this oversized bean pole.. Hilberts gonna grab that poor man like a beanpole... His man wife guys...

Anyways, A more updated idea of how I see them(older. Btw,) I imagine Cheren stays suuuper skinny and tall. I am on team Cherens wasian(american and Korean):3c. I imagine that due to his job as a college professor and an elite four member, he doesn't really get much him time. By all means that boy is more stressed out than his students are about tests. I also have to give the biggest shout out to the Cheren community for the idea of him having long hair. Long haired Cheren 2 me is like an angel w wings... He is very beautiful to me. But anyways. In terms of dressing, I like to imagine that bw&bw2 took place mid 80s. so he dresses suuuper old school. He's wearing vests n shit. Maybe suspenders. Who knows. But I like to imagine that due 2 all his stress he doesn't each much :—(, hes got too much going on in that big foreheaded head of his guys... But he's okay^_^!! Hes been getting better! But he still remains the most unhygenic and messy neat freak ever. he drives himself crazy. He hates messes but his desk is a mess... But in the short run, in my eyes. older Cheren is nottt laid back. His ass worries about everything.

Now for Hilbert, I will forever see him as this short tempered guy who's like 5'6. He stopped growing at 12 so now he's forever tiny. Biancas a few inches taller than him but aside from that. He did NOT get the height from his parents. And this guy is definitely a redneck. I imagine his parents are divorced, but his dads clay, if that holds any logic. Idk, they seem related 2 me... Anyways, in terms of body types, I feel like hes a little pudgy and fatty, definitely a foodie. I don't think he really shaves much, I imagine his side burns are a lot more trimmed than Cherens how ever. But despite his temper. He's very laid back to Cheren. I also imagine he's a sorta druggie. Idk, I think he's a mellow pot head. Cheren probably hates the smell. But onto how I see Hilberts work! I imagine after he found N, he went to sinnoh for a bit for a degree in Pokemon research, so now he'll travel around and take pictures/get information on different Pokemon, meaning sometimes he's not really home. Which is good for Cheren! Because he only has to make dinner for one(and speaking of cooking. Hilbert cannot cook.) And in sense of fashion? I'd say Hilberts definitely Western grunge. He probably patches up his own clothes n stuff. Despite Cheren being an e4 member, they kinda have money problems. Idk. Im being realistic... OH and Hilbert has scars EVERYWHERE. Homeboy is NOT safe. His ass even popped a top surgery stitch! Cheren beats him w the broom tho. Its okay^_^

In terms of relationships. I'd say Cherens more affectionate in body language and doing small favors while Hilberts definitely affectionate in words/touch and gift giving. This man would definitely bring Cheren home a legendary. If he asked. Hes very hard headed. But I feel like they're very affectionate w each other, they definitely butt heads. 100%. I do not believe they are always agreeing. Cheren would definitely go "man I hate that stupid brute. Im gonna kiss him on the lips." Which is exactly what happened. And in terms of marriage, Hilbert proposed, they had a nice little wedding, the cake was dropped but they improvised w something else. Idk.

Anyways yeah no, this is definitely the longest post ever on kuroshipping. Im normal about them. Anyways, here r my hcs & thoughts!!!

[s1nfoul]

𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 . 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 . 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 . 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐘 . 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 . 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 .

meet  𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛,  a  𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗  year  old,  who  has  been  in  cloyne  for  𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎.  they  are  a  𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝  at  𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚔,  known  for  being  𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝  and  𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚌.  they  are  often  heard  humming  along  to  𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙  by  𝚝𝚑𝚎 ��𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚜.  residents  would  describe  them  as  𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗.

⸻   BASICS

FULL NAME.    misty irene slater

NICKNAMES.    mis, missy

BIRTHDATE.    april 19th '97

AGE. 27

ZODIAC. aries

IDENTITY.    cis woman , she / her

SEXUALITY.    born again lesbian , demiromantic

OCCUPATION. tattoo artist at blackest ink & lowkey game streamer

HOMETOWN. cloyne, ontario

INSPIRATION. chloe price ( life is strange ) , jesse pinkman ( breaking bad ) , kaitlyn ka ( the quarry ) , kirby reed ( scream 4 ) .

FAMILY. leslie slater ( father ) , debbie slater ( mother ) , joey slater ( older brother ) , huey slater ( older brother ) , archie slater ( uncle ) , too many names ( several cousins ) , luna ( her roommate cat ) .

⸻   TIDBITS

the slater lineage has resided in cloyne since the dawn of time, or so it seems, and their name has a reputation attached. her entire family is made up of drug chefs 🤌 their specialty? crystal meth. they had a whole lab built into the basement of their old farm home. out of her parents, siblings, and extended family, she was the only one who did not partake in these criminal activities ( or so the record shows ... the rumor mill still be buzzin' ) .

each member of her family has some sort of petty criminal record, mainly regarding the redneck-esque drug empire. she, however, has managed to keep a clean slate due to being perceived as an innocent when the whole operation went up in flames a decade prior. despite the tarnished name, she adores her family and frequently writes to each and every one of them ( most of whom are still serving their sentence ) .

since the farmhouse was obviously seized, she resides in a trailer which appears pretty ... wrecked on the outside, but the inside is like every goth girly's dream; decked out in everything she loves, which mainly includes spooky and black decor.

as a child, and all through her teen years, she loved to draw. every paper assignment she handed in at school had some extravagant collection of doodles, which only improved over the years. her creative talent molded with her love of artistic expression. first, she started doodling around town, which was frowned upon ( she sometimes still does out of spite ). but then she dabbled in her own risky stick and poke tattoos, before flourishing into more elaborate designs.

she's very much in love with her job. equally loves the creative minds who wander in with their own visions, and also those who give her complete freedom to design her own personal piece(s) for them.

while her expertise lies in art, she also games in her free time, survival horror being her genre of choice, despite being utterly terrified through the entire title. by no means is she a pro, but she has her own set up and will stream single and multiplayer alike.

when she's not being a homebody, she's being forcible social. like is riddled with anxiety leading up to said social event, to the point where she needs to either take a couple shots or hits ( or both ) before leaving. you wouldn't know it, though, based on her boisterous attitude and social butterfly-esque demeanor because by the time she rolls up to wherever she was initially fretting, she's perfectly fine.

[twothpaste]

I saw this post you made https://www.tumblr.com/twothpaste/748684553658515456?source=share and it reminded me of your Intermission AU fic, Hatchback, where the Chosen 4 are basically on a road trip! IIRC there's a flash forward to the future where Paula is a teacher, and she's called "Mrs. Jones" that would imply she's married. Who's she married to? And what happened with her family after she pursued education, especially considering how her mother was heavily against it? And how are the rest of the Intermission AU cast doing in the future?

Aw jeez, that's a lot of big questions! How 'bout I be a little silly and answer them in reverse order 🤸‍♂️

Future Lucas & Claus do wildlife rehab work together. If I think too hard about them tending gently to sick baby deer & mending birds with busted wings, I get teary-eyed sappy and have to sit down. Kuma refuses to settle into any particular career, genuinely happier hopping between employment and doing odd jobs she calls "freelance work". She marries a lady named Ash - based on a kinda communal headcanon about Kuma dating one of the Tittiboo waitresses - I swear I'll draw her someday. Duster becomes increasingly eccentric over time, a gracelessly aging Z-list rockstar.

Future Ness is a civil engineer, doing his small part to try and make suburbia a less hellish place to live, for his boring little family & everyone else besides. Paula starts her teaching career as a college adjunct, intending to work her way toward tenure, but derails into teaching high school for a while due to some circumstance or other. Though teaching niche college courses was always her dream, she unexpectedly realizes there's a lot of good she can do for high school kids, so she sticks with it much longer than she'd planned. By the time she does eventually get back around to becoming a college professor, she's probably in her 40's or 50's. Jeff designs rockets & satellites for the European Space Agency, while Tony jogs their jack russell terrier 5 miles a day and engages in cartoonishly daring news reporting work. Poo goes on wild anthropological surveys all around the world, and never gets into politics (much to his family's immense displeasure, but they can deal).

Future Porky probably never gets better ❤️. Picky comes out as a trans woman in her mid 20s. Tracy supports her all the way. Flint and Lighter are off having an Old Men With Pickup Trucks Slow Burn Friends To Lovers Redneck Romance in their 60s, but I'll never write it, so you'll have to fill in the blanks yourself.

I have not resolved the Paula's Mom Plotline in my head yet. As much as I'd like for her mom to chill the fuck out and let Paula be Paula, I think the hard lesson of coming to terms with a parent's faults is probably more the direction it's headed in. There's also the mess of like? Her dad supports his daughter despite everything, but he's too spineless to challenge his wife over it, and he's also dealing with some kinda debilitating illness?? The conflict might come to a head during her senior year. I've got a Paula fic idea floating around on my backburner, so I'll probably sort it out sooner than later. Regardless, our gal's gonna set firm boundaries and live her life.

As for "who is Paula married to," there is actually a possible or probable answer. The catch is: absolutely none of y'all are gonna like it ☺️. As some of you may have gathered, my funny Mother College AU is very and truly crossed over with [ my Dana's ] funny Yugioh College AU. The amount of interconnected nonsense going on offscreen would make your head spin, and this happens to be one of our silliest interconnected nonsenses.

There's this kid from Zexal named Dumon, he's canonically a tragic historical figure and a horse enthusiast and also an alien for a while, don't worry about it. Dana's college Dumon is a nerdy little butch lesbian (I mean, [ look at him ]), who - like Paula - also spends about 90% of his time at the campus library. It started as a joke <- fatal last words. They share a love of pretentious literary analysis and medieval history and quiet noontime study sessions spent over expensive lattes. Dumon's still a bit shy of her noisy bunch o' D&D friends, but maybe they'll break the ice one of these days. Paula's mom keeps forgetting his name. Paula keeps having to firmly remind her he's from Utah, not Arkansas. And that yes lesbians can use he/him pronouns, they've been doing it for decades, gosh Mom can you get with the program already.

Anyways, if things keep going the direction they're headed, my Paula might very well be marrying a Yugioh character. Thanks for asking, anon! ^_^

[anarcho-masochist]

Taking a firearms and toolmark class right now, and it is annoying me because when doing research you have to wade through hundreds of NRA gun-loving redneck blogs before you find a reputable source.

Now, I'm from rural Northern WI. We're talking, deep in the forest, anyone who wasn't living on a foreclosed farm was probably a logger, townsfolk once tried to stone my mom out of the town for being a witch kind of rural. Inbred enough community that one family had three sets of twins that each died before the next set was born and they were fraternal twins but each set looked identical to the previous set. Stuff like that. The true northwoods experience.

And once, a kid who went to my mom's school died, and his dad brought his gun to the school and threatened to shoot. This was in maybe the late 70s or early 80s, and around there, the school's rule was that you had to have your ammo on a different shelf than your gun. Most people hunted at least a portion of their food because groceries were too expensive. The man was dead in seconds and had over 20 gunshot wounds. Some would say this is an argument for everyone having guns. The first time I heard that story, I thought that was the point my mom was going for. I mean, our family had over 40, and I'd been taught to shoot from a young age. My mom said it was a failing. The guy was bereaved and in a mental health crisis, but he wasn't likely to actually open fire. She thought it was a situation that could've been de-escalated if anyone had taken even a moment to think before reaching for their gun. Of course, mass shootings are awful and we can't truly know how it would have gone.

But every time I have to read one of those sources where the author is like, "In those self-defense situations when you need your gun, you'll want to be able to fire multiple rounds quickly/have the best stopping power/whatever"

99.99% of people will never need their gun except on a planned hunting trip or perhaps fucking their partner with it.

Learn to use your goddamn brain and maybe preventable firearm deaths in the US will go down. If someone tried to mug you and you shoot them, you're the bad guy there. The mugger is desperate and broke and probably doesn't want to kill you. The few examples I hear are always stuff like this. Someone shoots a mass shooter? It has happened. But there have also been times when someone successfully de-escalated a situation where someone was threatening to shoot up or bomb a place. I won't judge anyone for carrying a gun for self-defense, especially after I got old enough to learn why my grandpa did (that's a story for another time), but I sure as fuck will judge anyone who talks like you might find yourself in an action movie at any moment and a gun is the best solution.

Are you scared? Are you ready to feel badass and so prepared? Click this affiliate link for a discount on .38 Special.

God, I can't stand it.

[exitrowiron]

This is a stock photo, but I'm absolutely going to buy some Bud Light the next time I'm in the grocery store. Bonus... I went to college in the late '80's so I actually prefer Bud Light (and have absolutely no interest in people telling me about their favorite obscure IPA - excluding @trivialbob of course because he's not a douchebag about it.)

The redneck reaction to the Bud Light label is fascinating to me. Just as cell phone video, police body cameras and the Tennessee state legislature have brought absolute transparency to racism, the Bud Light controversy has elevated homophobia and transphobia to the forefront in new ways. (The GOP and Ron DeSantis are also doing their part.)

I think these phobias can be boiled down to two erroneous foundational beliefs:

Error # 1: Homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. are bad/evil/dangerous. The nature of the danger is never made clear, though pedophilia is implied. This is ironic in the face of the actual pedophilia by members of the clergy, especially the Catholic priesthood. The evil aspect is supposedly supported somehow by a phrase or two in the old testament...that collection of mythology written in the bronze age. Laughable.

Error #2: Homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. are somehow transmissible. I.e. If my kid is exposed to a gay person or a drag queen he might grow up to be gay or a drag queen. Or if my kid hears a story about a family with two dads he might not learn to hate/fear homosexuals as I do. Now that I think about it, these concerns are probably valid in a narrow sense. The children of lesbian parents are less likely to identify as heterosexual as adults and more likely to report same-sex attraction, according to a long-term study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law but I don't think that simply exposing a child to unbiased knowledge about homosexuality increases the odds that the child will be gay. (This line of thought continues the fallacy that being gay is a decision, like "I think I want to be baseball player when I grow up." And even if this fallacy were true, I still fail to see the evil of the consequences). Most importantly, however, this exposure probably does increase the odds that the child will live an authentic life (i.e. come out), rather than live a repressed, closeted life with an increased chance of suicide. For the parents in question and especially the guys running over their Bud Light cans in their lifted pick-up trucks, the repressed, closeted lifestyle for their child is preferable to coming out.

It's no wonder these are the same people yelling about the 2nd Amendment, open-carry, concealed carry and the right to own automatic weapons. If I was afraid of a rainbow beer can I'd probably need to own a gun too.

[hcfiles]

Blake Lively X Justin Baldoni - Was this what happened to Henry Cavill? Was he somehow, harassed and, before he had time to expose it, whoever was harassing him created this circus? That interview he gave talking about sex scenes rang a bell. Was he asked by production of TW to do some exposing sex scenes and he denied? During the last season of TW there was also an article saying that he and Anya had an agreement to avoid kissing scenes. That also rang the bell. But, why pay an article to come up with this kind of comment?

No! That was NOT what happened to Henry. But, he tried to play the victim though, as his team launched a campaign on the internet with the "Natalie is a bitch" narrative. Yes! Every step of this PR narrative had his agreement, elaboration and participation. It was all a diversion, a manipulative strategy being elaborated to answer who he considers and diminishes as "middle-aged women and haters' fans with no enlightenment", because he's looking at his fandom from above, putting himself as some special God for being a celeb.

Well, not even the most famous gentlemanly persona with prince manners is exempt from mistakes and deplorable attitudes. He didn't ignore criticism, despite apparently, in silence. He chose to hide behind a team of immoral strategies and a promiscuous woman who he literally exposed to public execration with this PR, as a coward, to protect himself, responding to this same criticism he pretends to ignore. In each interview he gave, he didn't miss a single opportunity to do it, always finding a way to throw her under the bus as he put more fuel to fire, as a compensation for the defensive attitude he probably didn't have in school, when young. That's what his image is about: A compensation for what he missed and didn't have in school, a personification of who he wanted to be.

The entire circus gave a clear impression this guy is extremely fragile and psychologically weak, needing a team to attack his fandom hardy and compensating his lack of strength. You are all being blind by appearances. This guy is a cristal and breaks easily, the self confidence image is an illusion. But, that's not all. He actually, has no respect for women, despite his behavior towards them. Remember: There's a difference between Behavior (A persona acting as expected by the world she/he interacts with) and Character (Intentions). Even a psychopath can be a charming gentleman.

Henry Cavill's mistake? He exposed his weakness, narcissistic Ego and allowed arrogance to drive his emotions. He should have never responded to criticism by putting fuel to fire (Resentment and frustration), showing the world low emotional intelligence and how immature he is. But, maybe, that was the only defense his team found for his lack of self confidence and fragility. He exposed who he really is with this PR: an opposite man to the image he always sold, a disappointment.

Don't get me wrong. I don't sympathize with Natalie Viscuso. She's an old parasite, an unsympathetic redneck who put herself in this dejected and pitiful situation for attention, desperation and as a last chance to gain a fake VIP profile, to save his ass and also, because she has nothing to lose in life and no self respect. A serious woman with a solid career as they wanted us to think she had, would never put herself in this degrading situation. Not even for ambition nor love. Well, maybe for greed and desperation.

But, that doesn't exempt Henry Cavill's responsibility on how people reacted to this woman and how she's now, seen: as a parasite, dejected and pitiful human being who doesn't deserve a second thought. He literally deteriorated her rep even more doing the same with his, by extension. He's gorgeous as a God, sweet as honey, hot as hell, a gent and really pretty face to see on screen, but he's a dude, a disappointment as a man, for the way he really stands before important and significant issues. Well, what to expect? He's not a person of attitude. He's a person to "follow the lead".

[goodbuttaken]

my take on the "10 best [affordable] language learning apps" (after trying dozens of them). maybe you can find some inspiration

1) Memrise. The basic idea is neat and well-executed. If you want to speak like a local (with the risk of sounding like a redneck from time to time), go for it. The addition of videos and AI chat is solid, even though the app does not always provide as smooth experience as it could (forcing you to "relearn" the words you've mistaken by accident, not covering the full vocabulary used in the videos, sometimes weirdly perfectionist when it comes to writing, etc.).

2) Speakly. My personal favorite. This not overly popular app provides super complex language-learning experience with sentences (not Duolingo-like crazy, not overly colloquial like with Memrise) putting words into context, constant "word count" so you can really see your progress, easily accessible translations and grammar clues, and strong combination of faster, passive learning and active improvement, speaking included.

3) Polygloss. "Language exchange" reworked into a fun game that is extremely time-flexible and pushes you to use language actively and creatively. Highly enjoyable for free, and really cheap even in the premium version.

4) Clozemaster. Another "gamified, though efficient", vintage learning app, which provides listening, speaking, writing and multiple-choice exercises, and also multiple sets of words (for the more popular languages; on the other hand the overall range is a big pro too). Personally, I love to give my brain a "massage" in the speaking mode, which is crazily difficult, but makes you use the language as actively as it gets.

5) Bluebird. If you want to learn some really, really random language, you can just download this app and go for it, instead of endless search for native speakers or official classes. However, when it comes to more common languages, the app layout is way too old-school and the price tag of the premium version (inevitable given the crazy range of the languages) gets way too high.

6) Mondly. Another app with MANY languages, even though not so many. But the life-time membership is really cheap too (look for "discounts") and the ability to learn the same vocabulary in tens of languages through daily lessons is impressive.

7) Speak.social. Perfect idea and a huge community of learners and "buddies", which allows you to learn with a local and develop teaching skills as well, if you want to. Unfortunately, the app is yet to introduce an effective mechanism that would push participants to actually participate, thus the attendance in the classes is usually low.

8) Anki. If you are a psychopath (or ready to patiently look for the right deck), Anki is your choice. Cold, efficient, free flashcard learning was brought to perfection by this app.

9) Language Transfer. AMAZING content for free (/ donations). You get to "attend" so many great classes, divided into short, "digestible" segments! The only problem is it's all just one guy and his specific teaching style (and accent). And if you find him annoying (like I do), you'll inevitably end your suffering and delete the app sooner or later.

10) Glossika. Top choice if you're into intuitive learning by listening to a native speaker. It's free for some rare/endangered languages. This option is fantastic and from my point of view, the professionalism of Glossika clearly beats Bluebird there. However, I don't see the necessary value in the premium version.

Honorable mention: Speechling. Totally old-school non-profit app with the additional option of unlimited tutoring (feedback from native speakers) for $20/month.

[gh0stchoir]

(Hope Tao isn't OoC)

„Here you go, little hunter“ Hobie's voice was quiet as he handed Tao a cup of tea. Tao accepted with a quiet hum of gratitude, shifting a bit more to side to make room for his friend. Hobie sat, taking a sip of his own tea. „So, what did you want to talk about?“ At this, Tao tilted his head to side, frowning a bit, „What do you mean?“ „Tao“, Hobie hummed, „You don't call me over for nothing. You don't even call Gwendy over for just hanging out. Something's up. You don't have to tell me now, but I'd like to know at one point. Can't help you if I don't know what's wrong.“ Tao hummed, turning the cup in his hands, keeping his hands busy. „It's not like there's much here where we could hang out...“, Tao said quietly. His house was run-down and small, in the outskirts of a large, american city. But not the suburbs where children ran through the streets and played, or rode their bikes. There was little green around, and the people were most often not seen until after nightfall. It had never been a safe place, but it had been all he had. Tao missed Japan. Missed his father, who took care of him so lovingly. His old friends, his old school, the cherry blossoms every spring. But those things were long gone. He remembered the day a police officer came to the school, and told him about his father having been shot. It was the beginning of the end. His mother had made it clear, she did not want to raise Tao. She signed away her rights and left when he was three, he could barely remember her. No memories, no traces. The only thing she left was the hollow feeling of being abandoned. Her family refused to take him in, it almost ended with Tao in an oprhanage. But then, Uncle Ben showed up. Uncle Ben, papa's brother who still lived in America. A new school, a new home, an entirely new continent. It sounded scary, but also exciting. Like a big, fun adventure. It was anything but fun.

Uncle Ben didn't like Tao. He never hid that, either. Uncle Ben was what people called a Redneck, and he hated his brother had taken off with a... Tao didn't like thinking about the word Uncle Ben used to describe his mother. Uncle Ben paid for school, but only so the police wouldn't show up. The fridge was rarely full, and if, then it was food Tao wasn't allowed to touch, because it was for Uncle Ben and his friends, when they watched football. Not that that mattered much. It was always meat, and Tao didn't like meat much. The school didn't like that much, but at least they never shouted at him for not eating it. The other children teased him for it, or for his looks. He stood out, in the school that was almost all white kids. He didn't really made friends. So, living with Uncle Ben was a drastic change from the loving home he had in Japan.

And then one day, Uncle Ben just left. He had been sleeping when Tao went to school, but wasn't home when Tao returned. That wasn't unusual, sometimes Uncle Ben worked longer, or went away with his friends. But Uncle Ben didn't come home that night, or the next day. And days became weeks, then months. Electricity and water were never shut off, and no one came to check on them. So, Uncle Ben was propably still alive. He just didn't want to live in this tiny house in a horrible area anymore, with the foreigner he never liked. It should have been sad, how little Uncle Ben's absence changed in the house. But the only thing that really changed was the fact that now, the fridge didn't fill up on its own anymore. It had been hard, trying to get by, without anyone noticing Uncle Ben was gone. But, it had become easier with time. Yet... „It's been sixteen months now“, Tao said, breaking the silence. Hobie raised a brow, patiently waiting for Tao to continue talking. „My sister, I mean. When... when Kingpin's machine ripped us into that other dimension. We should have been brought back here. Miles said everything would be okay, but it wasn't. We saved the multiverse, and were sent home... and then I was alone.“ Tao ducked his head between his shoulders, gripping the cup tighter. „I've never been alone before, Hobie. We were always together.“ And that was the thruth. If they were walking somewhere, Filo would hold Tao's hand and swing their arms. If the school gave him food he didn't like, she'd give him of her vegetables, and take the meat from his plate. It was not the same anymore, waking up and looking up from his bottom bunk, up to the top where Filo would normally be sleeping. It was the only piece of furniture the twins had bought themselves, when they had saved up enough money, and the old one didn't fit their teenaged bodies anymore. „When we got bitten, we were so terrified. We had no money to pay for antidotes, or even antibiotics. You know, in case the spider wasn't venomous, we'd still be at risk for bacteria getting in and getting blood poisoning or stuff. You should have seen the faces we had when we learnt what truly happened.“ Being able to crawl on walls and the ceiling had been something. It reminded them of an Anime scene they saw once, when they were really young. Then, the idea of being superheroes like the Avengers came up. It was a terrifying, yet also exciting possibility. They had designed their suits for ages, trying to come up with good personas. In the end, Tao had taken on Uncle Ben's old crossbows, using them to shoot his webs further, under the persona of Huntsman. Filo had become Jumping, only able to live up to that title once they had gotten their hands on some machines from Doc Oc, allowing her to craft boots that would shoot her higher whenever she jumped. Tao still had trouble believing it had only been three years.

„It was so surreal. One day we're teenagers trying to get by, trying not to be found out so we won't end up in the system... the next, we fight mutants and crazy scientists and other criminals. We go to school and try to keep good grades and then have to hope our friends are safe when Vulture or Doc Oc or whoever comes up is attacking. And then we're suddenly in another dimension, with people who have the same powers as us, and the same names as our classmates... but it's not them. There's a whole multiverse that we have to help save. We do it, and everything's fine, but then it's not anymore. I'm home, but Filo isn't with me. I don't see her face first thing in the morning anymore, looking down from the top bunk to wake me up. She's not next to me in classes anymore. We aren't fighting crime as a team anymore. Everything is out of sync, and everyone is sure she's gone forever. They're sure she got killed and I'm in denial, but I'm not. I know she's still alive, and trying to come home.“ Hobie hummed, listening to his friend's ranting and venting. He knew how to be a comfort, what others needed once they were leaning on him. But, the name had made him perk up. „What did you say your sister's name is?“ Tao looked at Hobie, confused. „Filo. Why do you ask?“ Hobie didn't answer, just grabbed his phone, punching in a number, ignoring Tao's increasingly confused „Hobie?!“ „Gwendy, is the little cloudjumper with you?“ Tao furrowed his brows, unable to hear Gwen's answer. What he did hear though, was Hobie's reaction. „Yeah, get her on the phone“, Hobie looked at Tao, „I've got her twin with me“ He pulled the phone away from his ear, holding out to a stunned Tao. Time had stopped, because surely Hobie couldn't mean what he thought. Yet a moment later, a scream rang through the phone speaker. A voice Tao hadn't heard in a year and a half, calling out his name. Tao took the phone with shaking hands, holding it to his ear. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, „Filo?“. A sob rang through the speaker, followed by a mix of japenese and english. The last time she had mixed their languages like this, they had been children. Or when Filo was especially agitated. Not that he was any less agitated. He had been right, she was alive! They all had called it denial, but he had known. He had known! His twin wasn't gone, she had only been ripped to another dimension and didn't knew how to get back. But now, Hobie was here, and Hobie had a watch. And by the smile the punk gave Tao, he intended to reunite them.

gods, this is both written so well and made me tear up a little thinking about how they both must have felt away from each other for that long