#family uwu

[inkskinned]

it is totally okay to be hurt and tired and fed up with the american schooling system but i need you to understand that we need to be better about loudly and routinely defending public education.

yes, many teachers suck, many schools utterly suck. i also got bullied and was absolutely not given the right support for my needs. i am not defending public education because it was kind to me. i am defending it because it needs to exist.

right-wing republicans do not want an educated population. they want kids to be homeschooled or in private school. there is a huge religious undertone to this.

the most common argument is that despite high costs, the "result" is not "good" enough. they point to failing schools as proof that public education is just never going to work out. there will be arguments made here that you actually agree with: that teachers can be bullies, that we taught online for 2 years and still charged the same amount of tuition, that we have no recourse for students to actually have agency or a voice, and that schools are now unsafe for kids due to risk of illness and gun violence.

these are all placing the blame in a fraudulent way, one intended to get your parents to homeschool you. the less kids in a school, the less federally-awarded funding for that school, the less any school succeeds. they will not mention the fact it is their legislation that takes away important funding opportunities, that teachers are living at or below the poverty line, that buildings are not kept up to code, that administration is overpaid and forces specific curriculums, that corporations like (my personal enemy) Pearson Education control certain classroom goals because teachers can't afford other options. they pretend to be ignorant of the gun violence and say "oh just get a gun" - but these are the same people who will be sending their child to a private school with a bulletproof backpack. they don't care if your kid dies, though. they "don't believe" in covid, but they did get their kid vaccinated, because of course they did.

it is a closed loop. conservative parents hear the fearmongering and remove children from the system. frequently these parents are also deeply religious. the kids are raised without access to other media & learn to parrot their parents. you have now created a new generation of conservatives. additionally, one of the parents/caregivers must stay home and homeschool the children, usually for free. i will give you 1 guess which parent tends to stay home to homeschool the children. these parents are encouraged to have many, many children. those children are most likely not getting access to safe sex ed.

we might laugh at fox news suggesting teachers are forcing children to use kitty litter but: first of all, there is kitty litter in the classroom. it's part of an emergency kit in case children are locked in due to a shooter. so that's fucking dystopian, and the fact they've completely reimagined the scenario to somehow make the teachers look bad when it's instead a fucking huge symbol of our failure as a country to protect our children.... it feels a little intentional.

secondly: don't just dismiss the situation. because, yeah, obviously, no teacher is encouraging kids to be a catboy. but the actual undertone that fox news is trying to sew is an outright distrust of teachers and of public education. they rely on the dehumanization of trans people as a common touchstone to hide the fact they're pushing two agendas at once. (which is ironic. because the thing they accuse teachers of. is pushing. an agenda.)

whenever someone tells you they want you to read less, you should be suspicious of that. when someone tries to separate you and your education, you should be suspicious of that. i don't even like incel rhetoric nor would i want my kids exposed to it - but i would not take away my child's (age-appropriate) access to the internet. i would just provide more educational materials, not less. the difference here is that i believe we can resolve ignorance with knowledge; whereas conservatives believe that ignorance is bliss.

they misappropriate funding and demonize teachers. they pull the same trick each time - the same thing we are seeing with anti-trans rhetoric. they do not want you to have access to safe sex ed, so they act horrified, claim sex ed teaches you how to thrust deep, claim that we have no idea what "age-appropriate" means. since the mid-nineties, the united states has spent at least 2 billion dollars on abstinence-only education, even though to quote the above link: "a preponderance of studies has found no effect of abstinence education at reducing adolescent pregnancy". conservatives want you to think less of any person struggling with addiction so they can continue their racist "war on drugs", so they spend up to $750 million dollars a year on the DARE program which has absolutely no effect. acting like teachers "must" be "grooming" children is just the same thing - so they can demand that funding either goes to their causes or the funding doesn't "exist" ("i'm not paying for our kids to learn that thing!")

and they want you to feel uncaring about this. they are aware that you will hate some parts of your school experience. pretty much everyone does. they want to lean into the parts that you hate so that you don't put up a fight about it when they take it away for not being "good enough."

i know i maybe sound like a conspiracy theorist. but truly. truly. it is beneficial for conservatives to reduce your faith in the american public schooling system.

one of the explicitly stated campaign promises of the conservative party: to axe the Department of Education in 2024.

i know we are all tired and burnt out and there is so much else wrong with their entire platform. but maybe just - pay attention to this one.

[1alchemistart]

some doodles inspired by ch 76 JHAFSDKL

[nenoname]

stan spending their childhood trying to make ford's polydactyly something positive in ford's life and genuinely believing its super cool....

[lem0nademouth]

i need leftists to cope with their post 9/11 + Iraq/Afghan wars Islamophobia guilt in a way that doesn’t involve erasing the fact that, like it or not, Islam is a proselytizing religion that has fueled centuries of colonization, genocide, and imperialism. idealizing Islam as a purer, better alternative to Christianity is in itself Islamophobic, and it also ignores the many communities who have suffered at the hands of Islamic imperialism. it is possible to not be Islamophobic while acknowledging that.

[thessiastars]

Bring me back to the days they'd dance in the kitchen together

[enigmasandepiphanies]

one of the best realizations I have had as I have grown up is how amazing it is to show up for the people you love, unashamedly and unapologetically. show up to their classical music productions when you don't know anything about that kind of music, their chemistry club meetings when you are a literature student and don't know anything about chemistry but your bestie is doing cool experiments with copper sulphate, the very alluring blue portion you were tempted to drink in school cause it looked so magical. show up when they wake up from a long nap and have missed dinner and are feeling shitty, make them maggi and get them their fave chocolate. show up when they rant about animal documentaries excitedly and listen when they tell you the plot of jujustu kaisan at 4 am during exam week. take a walk with them at 11 pm in night because they told you you have no classes tomorrow so come down (it's their emotionally suppressed way of saying I miss you). cuddle with them to sleep because they are scared of thunderstorms. make them an art piece and write them a love letter for their birthday to show them you love them so much and you will never stop probably and that scares you sometimes but their presence will reassure you always. I know you know that they know that you love them but when you gift them your "an incomplete list of things you love about them" in your shitty handwriting they will smile and cry and choke you in a hug for 5 mins, it will be a smile spilling out of the sun and it'll be so worth it always. reply to their messages of hey "your name" except your name gets weirder and weirder cause they are bored and miss you and wanna talk and even if you are busy and tired , do return some of their affection with a small message that yes, you missed them too even though you are too tired to express. give them your fave drawing and you'll see how they have hung it up on their cork board in their dorm room. tell them to spam their earring collections and marvel over their strawberry earrings. send them a video message when they send you their jiggly caramel pudding video because omg they can cook now and you are so happy for them that you want to portal through the phone and hug them (you're gonna give them a recipe notebook for their birthday). let them rant on the phone while you fold your laundry, it's manageable mostly.

there are days when you can't show up and it's okay and they'll understand, most people who love you do, they should. but gosh, putting in effort in any relationship isn't that the best thing? because they are not just worth your love, the point of worth never even comes cause they are the very meaning of love. because God remember what Miyazaki said when you love someone you inspire each other to live and grow even when you recognize how hard living is. growing is difficult but you love growing with them.

I used to think I love people too much but you know what they love me too much too. so when someone asked richard siken what do you do when you love someone too much he said congratulate yourself. and today I am congratulating myself cause I know the loves of my life are doing that too.

[wlwanakin]

one rather insane thing about the clone wars is how obi-wan is actually the one who requested ahsoka as a padawan. like he really spent a whole decade being rather unsubtle about how much he Did Not Want To Be Anakin’s Guardian but then like 5 seconds after anakin is knighted he requested a new padawan. and then the council was like no let’s give her to anakin instead? like imagine having a dad who doesn’t want u and then the minute u leave for college he has another baby. but then it becomes your baby for like, reasons. what do u even do then. if i were anakin i would’ve punched the guy and then killed myself. what the fuck

[l-ii-zz]

The very first “Twin” Anomaly.

[apiratefellinlovewithastar]

rogerouge adopting ASL is funny in any universe because you know how kids always have a favorite relative? ASL be like “Uncle Eddie!” “Uncle Dragon!” “Uncle Ray!” meanwhile Roger is over there in a corner being all gloomy and saying his kids don’t love him anymore while Rouge pats his back consolingly and says “Don’t be ridiculous. They will always love you more.” as if she didn’t know she’s the favorite parent even. She would be right though, as always.

[genderjester]

been reading achilles come down & the other fics in that series by @biscaanii / @biscaani & i am honestly obsessed. so of course i doodled some things inspired by it uwu

[melonlthawne]

Cathartic baby bart before I bomb my exam. The flash thing is supposed to be like a squishmallow looking plush but idk if I managed to make it look similar. If not maybe a sock monkey type thing. Still featuring those adorable rabbit/bunny paw pads on the feet of the onesie

[midcenturypartum]

Evinrude (he/him,38) is a small town shoemaker and single dad with six kids

[rexscanonwife]

I may have...mentioned a fankid a little while back (ｕ_ｕ*) here's the little squirt themselves, our very own Newt Utonium! The name is short for Newton, as in Isaac, who is often considered the grandfather of science (the professor's idea ofc) but they prefer to go by just Newt!

Just like their mother they came from an egg, which Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were very excited and curious about! Especially since they were born 5 years old and at the same time, they were looking forward to interacting with a new sibling. And a baby at that! They spent a lot of time with the egg fawning over it, discussing what gender they hoped it would be and what they'd be like once hatched!

And ofc Utonium is just as wonderful a father with Newt as he was when the girls came into his life! 💖💖💖

Taglist♡: @me-myself-and-my-fos @tiny-cloud-of-flowers @sunstar-of-the-north @dearly-beeloved @adoredbyalatus @changeling-selfship @crushes-georg @miutonium @cherry-bomb-ships @rosieaurora @rejaytionships @sunlight1999 @in-true-blue-love @tropicalgothships (as always let me know if you want to be added OR taken off!)

[azurem]

the children

[crismakesstuff]

would y’all jump me if I said I genuinely see nolan as autistic??

bc he checks a lot of the boxes for a diagnosis also mark is so nd coded to me too

Also ok list of reasons why nolan is autistic TO ME this is just a HEADCANON

i dont hc as him as autistic just because he struggles to display emotions also in the comic the other viltrumites adapt to earth ALOT better than nolan did bc nolan is always struggling with his emotions and displaying them even in the endgame of the comic

-He’s incredibly socially inept and does not understand social cues, yes this is an alien thing but Idc it’s an autistic thing too people have always used fantasy and scifi species in place of real life groups of people for either sexuality or mental illness reasons

-struggles to keep / maintain friendships

- always tends to prefer wearing very tight fitting clothes over loose ones

-He struggles immensely with change, he literally would rather die

-He feels things very deeply but struggles to verbalize those emotions

-is capable of talking at length for long periods of time about things he is knowledgeable about (infodumping)

-Struggles with displaying empathy, it was always there he didn’t just learn it on thraxa that’s just the first time he found himself able to begin expressing it more at the lowest point of his life (shoutout to my friend fio for pointing this out so eloquently u get me fr)

-I can’t say ab his canon eating habits bc we don’t get much of a look at them sadly :b

[howdygravytrain]

*jingles pathetically across the courtyard*

holy shit y'all, this was the most extensive set of gposes i've done yet. this took almost an entire week from me getting a room at my fc's crib and transferring all my shit from my apartment to there so i could make the bedroom, gathering/crafting everything for said bedroom, the poses themselves, desperately trying to find a crime for aymeric's earring before i said fuck it and photoshopped it on LMAO, the editing, putting the screenshots into panels since tumblr only allows 30 images per upload and finally typing up the transcript, I AM FINISHED.

all because a friend wrote a snippet about "what if aymeric fantasia'd into a lalafell?" i have not known peace since then 😩 /pos

btw i plan to make an introductory post for gravy sometime, but noT FUCKING TONIGHT PLS IF I HAVE TO OPEN PHOTOSHOP ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA HURL MYSELF INTO THE AETHERIAL SEA

got a doozy of a transcript, find it below the break!

TRANSCRIPT

Panel 1: [ONE PECULIAR DAY WHEN GRAVY ARRIVED BACK HOME IN ISHGARD…]

Panel 4: Gravy Train: Huh, that’s weird…Aymeric always greets me when I come back home. Maybe he got holed up at work again?

Panel 7: <He hasn’t been to work in two days…The hell is goin’ on?>

Panel 10: Gravy Train: Howdy, Eddie. Aymeric home?

Panel 11: Edrant: Ah, welcome home, Lady Gravy. M’lord is currently upstairs in his bedchambers. He specified to let none interrupt him since yestermorn.

Panel 12: Gravy Train: He ain’t want no one to bother him? Is he alright, is he sick??

Panel 13: Gravy Train: Ayms, ya doin’ alright, sugar bear?

Panel 14: <Hmm, no answer. Maybe he’s in the bathroom?>

Panel 16: Gravy Train: The hell, he ain’t in there either??

Panel 17: Gravy Train: Now just where could he’ve gone off to? Surely if it was an emergency he’d’ve let me know somethin’...

Panel 18: Gravy Train: Maybe Estinien’s gotten into some shit that Vrtra couldn’t get him out of and Aymeric went to help? Or Lucia needed him in Garlemald? Naw, Lucia’s got her shit together, Estinien’d be the one who’d fuck around.

Panel 19: Gravy Train: Aight, that bastard better have his linkpearl in or I swear to goD–

Panel 20: ???: Darling, is that you?

Panel 21: Gravy Train: Huh–who in the–?!

Panel 22: Gravy Train: Hollup–Ayms, is that you?

Panel 23: Aymeric: Aye, and I assume by your expression the potion worked?

Panel 25: Gravy Train: Oh my god, yer my size! Holy shit this is so cool!!

Panel 26: Gravy Train: Oh wait, ya got any clothing that’ll fit?

Aymeric: That I do. I may have taken the opportunity to, ahem, borrow some of your clothing and have outfits of similar proportions made for myself.

Gravy Train: Ohhh, I wanna see those fits!

Aymeric: Of course, if you could excuse me for just a moment…

Panel 28: Gravy Train: Ahhhhhh ya look amazin’, honey!

Panel 31: Aymeric: Um, darling, is something amiss–

Panel 33: Gravy Train: I can do this t’ya now, sugar.