#heres a bunch of children theyre all so young

[callumilott]

MEET THE GRID ➝ Formula 3 (2023)

[neeeeeoposts]

i know i keep ranting about fusionfall but DUDE ITS SUCH A COOL CONCEPT AND WHY THE FUCK WAS THE GAME CANCELLED I STILL WANNA PLAY IT😭😭😭

but if u didnt know, fusionfall is a game based around an alien invasion involving cartoon network characters of the 2000s or somewhere around that time frame (if i am correct tho, the academy storyline has characters from some 2010s shows?)

by the way, major spoilers for the game ahead

but what is interesting about that is the fact on who is participating in the game. because fusionfall is a story based around the concept of an alien planet invading earth, it causes a life threatening situation for the characters we are introduced to and basically placing them into a war

AND DO YOU KNOW WHO IS IN THAT WAR??? LITERAL CHILDREN. mostly. what i want to mean by that is when you play the game or at least watch playthroughs of it, there are not adults that you meet at first, the only few adults i can count is Prof. Utonium and Father but there's probably more. Instead when you first join, youre met with younger people (depending on whether youre playing on the future or academy version, it really doesnt matter because either way youre meeting someone younger than the age of 20 when you first boot up the game)

this is interesting to me because, once again, think about who's participating in the war against Fusion. its actual kids, like the KND is actually the main supplier or weapons and transport throughout the entire game, and there are literally so many more examples i could give but i wont

but thinking about it from their persepctive, its fucking terrifying. its a literal war theyre in right now, and half of the population of Townsville (or wherever the game takes place) is either dead or somewhere else because nobody is there but them. for all they know, kids could be thinking that their parents or friends died in the invasion, or vice versa.

also, these characters had to take on a huge role at such a younge age. another example, but in the game (for the future version) once you complete the first quarter of the game and are sent back to the past you have to choose a guide to help you advance in your story. for those who dont know, guides are characters that lead four different story lines rhat can be a potential way to help you defeat Fuse at rhe end. The four guides consist of Dexter, Ben 10, Mojo Jojo and Double D.

Out of the four, double d stands out the most since for one, ben 10 and mojo jojo are like superpowered or something cause they feel actually qualified to be leaders in a war. Dexter is like the main reason that FusionFall takes place so he also makes sense to be a guide. Double D however is most likely still 12 years old (or older), still a genius n inventor, but he's just a normal kid here. you could argue that Dexter is just a kid as well, but he has such advanced technology that basically cancels that out.

what im trying to get at here, double d is literally just an average child with nothing but extra braincells he stole from his friends and more resources than usual that made him a guide. at 12. and is participating in a war. just. idk its probably that its horrifying to be a war general at such a young age??

OH AND I DIDNT EVEN BRING THIS UP YET BUT FUSIONFALL SURE AS HELL AINT AFRAID TO LET CHARACTERS DIE

in one of the versions of fusionfall, maybe the academy version?? Buttercup is presumed dead after one of the ppg fights against mojo jojo and she is shot into the sea and disappeared for like a bunch of years. Blossom and bubbles obviously had no idea shes still alive, and spent almost everyday trying to search for her until they had to give up and accept her sisters presumed death and THEN get burdened with an alien invasion (buttercup does come back tho, sorry for spoilers)

and in the future version where your character is accidentially sent far into the future where youre able to see the devastating amount of destruction the invasion can bring, you meet a lot less characters than you do when you travel back to the past. the past part of the game probably has at least over 50 characters or less im not sure, but when youre in the future theres at least 10 characters left

now im not totally sure if every character died or not, but considering the change in environment from the future and past, its not that far off from a possibility. though, it could jist be a personal headcanon for me.

but if this were true, then the game just killed off like the majority of their cast, including the main ones like Dexter and left some behind, obviously so you know what to do in the game but like imagine it from one of the characters perspectives??

eduardo is the only imaginary friend we meet in the future, so he's all alone with none of his friends there

eddy's the only kid left from the cul-de-sac like dude what

numbuh 2 and 5 are probably the only KND members we meet

Ben is still there

basically, everyone left had to watch their family and friends die and thats a little idk dark maybe for a cartoon network game?? i mean just a little-

anywho i love fusionfall its a lovely concept and i really want to talk to people about it but NONE OF MY FROENDS KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CARTOON NETWORK AND IM GETTING SAD OF TALKING TO MYSLEF

goodbye

[mha-quotes-and-such]

That's exactly it! In the entirety of BNHA there has been what, 3 deaths? And none of them have been students? You're really telling me these full grown adult villains who have been training their quirks for YEARS can't take out 15/16 year olds that haven't even had a year of proper training? Miss me with that. There are NO stakes, so even when students get really hurt, I know they're going to be fine so I just don't care at all.

I'd have a character like Kirishima killed. I love that boy SO much but can you imagine the absolute heartbreak for every single character if Kirishima died? That's the good shit there. Or Uraraka is another good one to have die. A driving force for Midoriya. Or really any of the main students.

Or Aizawa.

I think characters like All Might and Endeavour are cop-outs for death. I want good characters that are loved to die. Like, Midnight and Nighteye(?) were sad, sure, but neither of them had enough screentime to really hurt. And while I won't say spoilers for the manga, let's just say the current arc for two characters has PISSED me off big time for cop out survival.

Honestly I think thats one of my biggest problems with media with young protagonists. Sure, if a villain was ganged up on by a bunch of kids that might be a problem, which the series does ok at points, but like. One on one combat these kids should not be winning so decisively?? Like you said, theyre 15/16 fighting people who have dedicated their entire lives to their craft, how are they handling this with little to no repercussions? Thats something I could go on about forever, but I digress

Those are all really interesting choices! Aizawa in particular is really intriguing, and I think could work well. I think killing off students, while it would absolutely be effective, could very easily become an issue of turning a beloved character into nothing more than a plot device if done poorly. Aizawa on the other hand I think is close enough to the students to work effectively, loved enough by the fandom to be a blow, but removed enough where he wont act as a super heavy crutch to aid the story if that makes any sense? My only fear with Kirishima or Uraraka is that if its not done right it could become something thats relied on too heavily while developing Bakugou/Midoriya respectively. Although @thelittlegirlinwonderland made a good point here that having a student die would emphasize that they are just children, which could definitely help with the realism of it

I definitely agree with you on All Might and Endeavor, especially the latter as I feel he would be a very fan-servicey kill (as odd as that sounds). However I do think All Might will die before the series ends. Personally it seems theyre heading in the direction of a very coming-of-age-finding-yourself plot for Midoriya that I think will require All Might dying. I guess we’ll just have to see, but it would align with their trend of less risky kills

[my-lunaberg]

Okay, Im pretty sure Ive reached the point at which I originally stopped watching so. yay

To celebrate this occasion I thought I should talk a little about some of the complaints Ive seen about the finale in my for you tab because yeah, I just cant resist looking at it so Ive been spoiled pretty severely and also been dealt a good amount of psychic damage. But hey, its about the journey, not the destination and Im already in Advanced Therapy for my mental illnesses anyway

The two most complaints Ive seen are, it wasnt cathartic and it sends a terrible message. Now, I cant comment on the catharsis bc I havent watched it yet and also Im not even sure if that would be a deal breaker for me. Like, anti-climaxes can be very powerful, Schlatts death is one of my favorite moments in the entire dsmp düfor that exact reason. But that all depends on the execution so I'll save my more detailed thoughts for after Ive actually watched it

The complaint that I wanted to talk about in more detail now is the one about it 'sending a terrible message'

I spend a lot of time watching and analyzing kids shows specifically on the basis of "is this a good show for kids?" Like, kids will watch anything you put in front of them bc they dont know any better so I think its important to put something in front of them that encourages creativity, critical thinking and sends messages of compassion good and other things I cant think of off the top of my head. When analyzing kids shows like this its very important to keep that target demographic in mind because what kids like and need is often different from what teens and adults would consider well-written and thats fine. Theres plenty of kids media that can be enjoyed by teens and adults as well, but its perfectly fine for kids media to only cater to kids and even be actively boring for older demographics.

Keeping the fact that kids media should be analyzed differently than more mature media because its written differently, I dont think it controversial of me to say that, unlike kids media, media for teens and adults doesnt need to teach anything. The way I see it, kids media has messages while adult media has themes. Obviously theres a bit more nuance to this, but Im not trying to write an essay here, Im trying to complain about fandom shit

And I know this might be a hard pill to swallow for some people bc this is the internet where 7 year olds and 17 year olds are basically the same because theyre both "minors" with absolutely no nuance, but teenagers arent children and theyre not so impressionable that seeing a character in a minecraft roleplay be sympathetic towards their abuser is gonna suddenly make them forgive their own abusers if they didnt want to do that before or make them blind or to IRL abuser or whatever man, I dont even really know what exactly the concern is. Like, idk how to tell you this but the line between fiction and reality is not that thin and if the media someone consumes affects them that much theyre either very young or there are some underlining issues that storytellers are not obligated to account for.

Not to mention that dsmp is a story told from a bunch of different perspectives by a bunch of unreliable narrators who are all varying levels of shitty. Like, in kids shows the protagonists and the non-anatgonist supporting characters are role models and vehicles to teach messages, that doesnt fucking apply here, theyve literally made jokes about everyone being an unreliable narrator i dont know why anyone would think this is the kind of series where theyre actively trying to impart some kind of lesson, its literally Fucked Up Shit Happens feat, Fucked Up People: The Minecraft Roleplay

To end this weird long rant, Id like to say that I do understand why people would be upset with the ending (from the details I was able to gleam anyway) and as much as I think complaining about the 'bad message' is invalid and frankly kindof weird, being upset is still totally fine and valid.

Also, if you'd like to discuss this with me I'd appreciate it if you didnt spoil me any further. Like yeah, I already know the broad strokes but I'd still like to have a semi-'organic' experience watching this yknow

Anyway, have a nice day

[drabbles-of-writing]

Meanwhile on luz’s and king’s end theyre playing “owl house”

And given how we’ve seen the collector is something tells me that’s going to be like a very messed up game of house with actual living people as the dolls

GENIUNELY wouldn't it be so messed up for the gang to return to the Isles and practically everyone is playing a game of house. like. y'all know those specific types of episodes where everything feels a bit too perfect and sitcom-y? usually after a character wished for everything to be normal/go right for once? thats what its like. its horrible.

anyone who ISN'T playing house is in 'hiding.' Basically meaning that King and Luz either convinced the Collector they weren't important to the story or someone that the Collector doesn't need right now so he lets them run around until he yoinks them for a few days of playing. while the Collector is certainly god-like, they aren't omnipotent, as we can clearly see. meaning it WOULD leave room for other people to be running around in hiding or try and come up with a plan.

Eda, being the master trickster she is and also Mom Of The Year, manages to evade most playtime. The kids were SUPER on top of insisting she wasn't important to the game despite how much they wanted her to be there. also, Eda lost a whole ARM. even if the way it was removed basically cut off any option of bleeding out, it's still a LOST APPENDAGE. she's off in hiding for most of the time. and with Raine. who is...not doing too hot. they and most of the other coven heads are extremely weak or in a coma-like state for the time being until their bodies heal up. Luz somehow spun it that they're fun characters who get 'unlocked' later on in the game.

currently, most of the Owl House residents are running around pretending to be all sitcom like and play happy family when out in public, but lose their shit behind closed doors. Hooty has been assigned as Main Plaything for the Collector since he can handle it and is also crazy enough to actually have fun sometimes, much to Lilith's distress, who is notably more involved with playtime than Eda is, since Hooty slipped up one time and mentioned she was his best friend. the most frequent people in the games are the ones who get caught, meaning a decent amount of them are kiddos. King and Luz try their best to help them out, but Boy is it a lot of pressure.

anyway. point is that Eda has a whole secret underground base for the fellow rebels and also people to hide out in and escape playtime for a bit, but it took a bit of herding and yelling at people that if they All hide, then they'll All be caught, so Go The Fuck Back Out There. the main base area is where everyone is stashing the coven heads (even if a lot of them were assholes) and very young and old people stay there most of the time, since playtime with the Collector can get very hectic and easily violent. Eda is, obviously, trying her best to snatch her kids back, and is one second away from going feral and mauling the Collector. literally everyone is trying to hold her back, but the resolve slackens by the day. will she win? no, but they dont have a better plan! also they wanna see if she'll manage to get in a good hit. not to condone violence against children, but-

Really, the important part here is that in the middle of the base there's this giant whiteboard that takes up like an entire wall and a bunch of sharpies, with giant bold letters in the middle saying HOW TO KILL GOD??? and not one suggestion has lasted more than a day. help them

[shineigami]

Your prompts are so good help?'?'?" Can i request Zhongli with prompt 9 or 10 (if you prefer 10, i was hoping for some hurt-comfort there AAAA) i cant choose tbh HAJDHHD THEYRE ALL RLLY GOOD

I love you anon????? Take all my love like hellO? You have fed my ego too much T_T but sure thing!

I hope you're fine with prompt #9 I can't handle too much angst at the moment aha.

what is.. Love?

Warnings: none except it's kind of angsty? I don't think it's the best thing but the ending looks rushed.

Pronouns: gender neutral

Synopsis: the person whom you promised to marry when you were a child shows up back in your life with a proposal for marriage?

it had been a while since he showed up in your life, you thought you moved on and truly had you never once pondered where the young man whom you had promised marriage to went. It was like a gust of wind, you met and you left.

It wasn't until later of October you were getting some baked goods from the bakery and from the corner of your eye you saw a man in a suit, not thinking much of it you thought it's some rich person making a appearance in the country. Yes, you were awfully wrong but now's not the time to think about past mistakes.

You thanked the cashier and grabbed the bag in which you brought stuff when you get a text from your mother who looked rather excited? She had texted you something along the lines of ‘ come home soon, I have an amazing surprise for you! ’ now surprise and your mom weren't a good look together but all you could do is sigh and pray to God that it's not about her telling you you're going somewhere else.

You arrived at home only to hear chatting and laughter coming from the room beside “I'm home?” you let out a confused yet Loud voice hoping people in the house would explain something to you. Alas you were ignored and had no choice but to walk up and open the door with an annoyed expression only to be met with the face of the person who you left in your memories.

‘oh lord’ you mumbled inside your head, you felt like fainting on the spot! How could he just show up? “zhongli...” that name you spoke felt so foreign to you, it felt like speaking to a stranger.

“you're back home! Great I don't have to tell you later then, remember zhongli? He's a business man now! He's grown up so fast hasn't he? .... ... ........ ... ..” and so on your mother kept talking as everything she said went in one ear and out the other.

“aha, it's nothing ma'am I was fulfilling my promise of asking their hand in marriage” your childhood friend replied to your mothers words while his gaze was fixed on you. Why was he here? Did he not leave without any notice? You knew it's rude yet you can't help but ask “why?... Why now?” and all his stupid face did was smile.

You despised that smile now, you wanted to erase it from your mind and yes, you held a grudge and it maybe childish but he cannot just come back one day to ask your hand in marriage to fulfill a stupid promise made by a bunch of six year old's??

He tried approaching you but you weren't in the mood to deal with him just when you got him out of your mind. He came back, why did he come back it kept repeating in your head. You pushed him away when he gripped your wrist “listen, I don't want to start a drama so please just get out” you said straightforwardly “are you still mad at me about the sudden disappearance?” he asked you oh so calmly, how can he even be calm..

“it's not just that! Why the hell would you come back to fulfill a stupid promise we made as children!” he looked down, was he embarrassed?? You didn't get this man at all..

“I love you, that's why I came back.. ” that reply shocked you, he had feelings.. For you? What even.. What even is love? You remember recklessly saying I love you to just about anyone when you were growing up, never did you have any interest in dating either.

“marriage.. Marriage is too sudden for me, I need time! I don't even know why the hell you still 'love me' or why you left...” you felt weird almost anxious your voice felt panicked like you just wanted to run away from everything and hope this was a nightmare.

Zhongli ran a hand on your head to help you calm down “right, my apologies for being so sudden.. How about I start from courting you like I used to?” his voice was calm and gentle as he slowly pulled you into a hug. You were sure your mother was listening in on all of this but you didn't really care you just wanted to hug him and let out all the pent up stuff in your mind.

“alright.. Thank you zhongli, I.. I'm kind of glad you're back but you still need to explain why you were gone without any notice before hand” you smiled at him as he pulled you in for a small hug. It went like it used to before when you both were little.

[dirk-has-rabies]

Gender variance and it's link with neurodivergency

Okay so this is it going to be another long one

All quotes will be sourced with a link to the scientific journal I took it from

Okay Tumblr, let's talk gender (I know, your favorite topic) my preface on why this topic matters to me is: I'm autistic ( diagnosed moderate to severe autism) I'm nonbinary trans ( in a way that most non-autistic people don't understand and actually look down on)  and I went to college for gender study ( Mostly for intersex studies but a lot of my research was around non-binary and trans identities) I will be using the term autism as pants when I have experience with however when ADHD is part of the study I will use ND which stands for neurodivergent and yes this is going to be about xenogenders and neopronouns.

autism can affect gender the same way autism can affect literally every part of an identity. a big thing about having autism is the fact that it completely can change how you view personhood and time and object permanence and gender and literally all types of socially constructed ideas. let me also say hear that just because Society creates and enforces an idea does it mean that it doesn't exist to all people it just me that there is no nature law saying that it's real and the “rules” for these ideas can change and delete and create as time and Society evolves and changes.  gender is one of those constructs.

Now I'll take it by you reading this you know what transgender people are  (if you don't understand what a trans person is send me an ask and I'll type you up a pretty little essay lmao,  or Google it but that's a scary thought sense literally any Source or website can come up on Google including biased websites so be careful I guess LOL) anyway to be super basic trans people are anyone who doesn't identify as the gender they were assigned at Birth (yes that includes non-binary people I could do a whole nother essay about that shit how y'all keep spreading trying to separate non-binary people from the trans umbrella)  some people don't like to use the label and that is totally fine by the way.

now autistic people to view the world in a way differently than allistic (neurotypical) ppl do.  we don't take everything people teach us at 100% fact and we tend to question everything and demand proof and evidence for things before we can set it as a fact in our brains. This leads to why a lot of autistic people are atheist (although a lot of religions and this is not bashing on religious people at all I am actually a Jewish convert)  this questioning leads to a lot of social constructs being ignored or not understood At All by a lot of autistic people and personally I think that's a good thing.  allistics take everything their parents and teachers and schools teach them as fact until someone else says something and then they pick which ones to believe. autistic people study and research and learn about a topic before forming an opinion and while this may lead to them studying and believing very biased material and spitting it out as fact it can also lead them to try and Discover it is real by themselves.

because of this autistic people are more question their gender or not fall in a binary way at all as the concept of gender makes no sense to a lot of us. “ if gender is a construct then autistic people who are less aware of social norms are less likely to develop a typical gender identity”

no really look: “ children and teens with autism spectrum disorder ASD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder ADHD  are much more likely to express a wish to be the opposite sex compared with their typical developing peers” That was posted in 2014. we have been saying this stuff forever but no one wants to listen. the thing is gender variance (being not cisgender or at least questioning it)  has always been closely hand-in-hand with autistic and ADHD people I'm even the doctor who did that study understood right away that it all made sense the whole time: “ Dr. Strang said they were initially surprised to find an overrepresentation of gender variance among children with ADHD. However, they later realized that prior studies have shown increased levels of disruptive behavior and other behavioral problems among young people with gender variance”  SEE YOURE NOT WEIRD YOURE JUST YOU AND YOURE NOT ALONE IN THIS!!

5% autistic people who did the study were trans or questioning. it was also equal between the Sexes fun fact. that may not seem like a lot till you realize that the national average is only .7% that's literally over 700% higher than the national average. That's so many! and that's just in America.

 in Holland there was a study in 2010 “ nearly 8% of the more than 200 Children and adolescents referred to a clinic for gender dysphoria also came up positive on a assessment for ASD” they weren't even testing for ADHD so the numbers could be even higher!

now I want to talk about a  certain section of the trans umbrella that a lot of autistic people fall under called the non-binary umbrella. non-binary means anything that isn't just male or just female. it is not one third gender and non-binary doesn't mean that you don't have a gender. just clearing that up since cis people keep spreading that. non-binary is an umbrella term for any of the infinite genders you could use or create. now this is where I'm going to lose a bunch of you and that's okay because you don't have to understand our brains or emotions To respect us as real people. not many allistics can understand how we see and think and relate to things and that's okay you don't have to understand everything but just reading about this could be so much closer to respecting us for Who We Are from you've ever been and that's better than being against us just for existing.

now you might have heard of my Mutual Lars who was harassed  by transmeds for using the term Autigender (I was going to link them but if it gets traction I don't want them to get any hate)  since a lot of people roll their eyes at that  and treated them disgustingly for using a term that 100% applied correctly. ��Autigender  is described as " a neurogender which can only be understood in the context of being autistic or when one's autism greatly affects one's gender or how one experiences gender. Autigender is not autism as a gender, but rather is a gender that is so heavily influenced by autism that one's autism and one's experience of gender cannot be unlinked.” Now tell me that doesn't sound a lot like this entire essay I've been working on with full sources…..

xenogenders and neopronouns are a big argument point on whether or not people “believe” in non binary genders but a big part of those genders is that they originated from ND communities and are ways that we can try to describe what gender means us in a way that cis or even allistic trans people just can't comprehend or ever understand. Same with MOGAI genders or sexualities. A lot of these are created as a way to somehow describe an indescribable relationship with gender that is so personal you really cant explain it to anyone who isnt literally the same as you.

Even in studies done with trans autistic people a large amount of them dont even fall on a yes or no of having a gender at all and fall in some weird inbetween where you KINDA have a gender but its not a gender in the sense that others say it is but its also too much of a gender so say youre agender. And this is the kind of stuff that confuses allistic trans people and makes them think nonbinary genders are making stuff up for attention, which isnt true at all we just cant explain what it feels like to BE a trans autistic person to anyone who doesnt ALREADY know how it feels.

In this study out of the ppl questioned almost HALF of the autistic trans individuals had a “Sense of identity revolving around interests” meaning their gender and identity was more based off what they liked rather than boy or girl. That makes ppl with stuff like vampgender or pupgender make a lot more sense now doesnt it? We see that even in the study: “My sense of identity is fluid, just as my sense of gender is fluid […] The only constant identity that runs through my life as a thread is ‘dancer.’ This is more important to me than gender, name or any other identifying features… even more important than mother. I wouldn't admit that in the NT world as when I have, I have been corrected (after all Mother is supposed to be my primary identification, right?!) but I feel that I can admit that here. (Taylor)” and an agreement from another saying “Mine is Artist. Thank you, Taylor. (Jessie)” now dont you think if they grew up with terms like artistgender or dancergender they would just YOINK those up right away????

In fact “An absence of a sense of gender or being unsure of how their gender should “feel” was another common report” because as ive said before in this post AUTISTIC PEOPLE DONT SEE GENDER THE WAY ALLISTIC PEOPLE SEE IT. therefore we wont use the same terms or have the same identities nor could we explain it to anyone who doesnt already understand or question the same way! Participants even offered up quotes such as “As a child and even now, I don't ‘feel’ like a gender, I feel like myself and for the most part I am constantly trying to figure out what that means for me (Betty)” and also “I don't feel like a particular gender I'm not even sure what a gender should feel like (Helen)”

Now i know this isnt going to change everyones minds on this stuff but i can only hope that it at least helped people feel like theyre not broken and not alone in their feelings about this. You dont have to follow allistic rules. You dont have to stop searching inside for who you really wanna be. And you dont have to pick or choose terms forever because just as you grow and evolve so may your terms. Its okay to not know what or who you are and its okay to identify as nonhuman things or as your interests because what you love and what you do is a big part of who you are and shapes you everyday. Its not a bad thing! Just please everyone, treat ppl with respect and if you dont understand something that doesnt make it bad or wrong it just means its not for you. And thats okay.

[thepringlesofblood]

i just gotta

so

im watching fantasy high s2 on dropout right? binging it over a month so i only have to pay 5$?

the beginning of episode 6 (pirate brawl) is without a doubt the most secondhand embarrassment i have felt in my entire life OW that shit dealt me 8d10 psychic damage holy shit

other highlights (*spoilers obvs*)

every single pirate name including but not limited to

old young benjamin

chungle-down bim (short for bimothy)

creaky mcbarrel

*a bunch of pirates chanting around fabian* RELIVE YOUR TRAUMA! RELIVE YOUR TRAUMA!

fabian for once in his life being completely honest with the warlocks and it not being enough OWWWWW

“this is worse than the ribbon dance”

lou, desperately holding back laughter: “Alright, follow me! We’re gonna jump on ‘em, and we’re gonna murder ‘em!”

“Are you laughing about how you’re about to die?”

the hangvan: “old skull and bones just skoodalooded outta here pretty toasty”

gorgug:

“can I slap him to see if anything magical jostles inside him?” WHY

*mumbles in new englander* itsnotaropeitsalinewhenitsonaship

brennan, zac, emily, I need you to know that that is NOT how ropes work in ANY circumstance

22 rounds of combat.........god.

I WILL PAY FOR ALL YOUR SPELLS!!! I HAVE UNLIMITED MONEY!!!!

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY FRIENDS????

I had the thought at some point during the fight on the crow’s nest*: “oh, this fight is Fabian’s Battle of Fort Necessity” (Washington’s first battle as commander, when he was a complete novice, resulting in the slaughter of his troops and a disastrous surrender that helped spark a whole ass war)

the revenge of chungle-down bim!!!

brian taking his glasses off over and over as more terrible things happen - I’ve legit never seen him w/out glasses before it is frightening

the energy around the table as everyone’s extremely cool and helpful abilities are just rendered null and void to help them save fabian was. horrifying. the tension was unbearable it felt like the same energy as when aguefort shoots mr gibbons then himself but in a less good way omg i seriously had the thought of ‘brennan can you just call this off????? make it better pls?????’ (and obvs that’s not fair, brennan as a DM is amazing and I trust him with this kinda shit, but damn)

fabian’s fucking soft, broken voice when everyone finally gets to him...god.

I genuinely think lou wilson almost had a fuckin mental breakdown in this episode. and for good reason! jesus christ. fabian going 85 mph (mistakes per hour)

the hangman acting like a dog comforting fabian was fucking heartwrenchingly cute and it makes what happens to the hangman later in the night so much worse

legit when they were gettin wasted, my first thought was shouldn’t tracker stay sober enough to cast the moon haven and i forget if it was that or if it was that they all immediately took off to save fabian that made it malfunction but holy shit this is the last thing they needed after all that i’m so so so fucking glad that siobhan rolled 2 nat 20s for her portent rolls bc seeing any of that happen to fig or gorgug would have killed me

Garthy O’Brien has now become officially my favorite npc, I fucking love them. if anything happens to them i will kill everyone in this room and then myself

fabian’s worse nightmare being growing up to be like gilear is a lot more terrifying than it sounds like! in concept it sounds really funny! in execution I was so fucking scared!

me watching fantasy high up until this episode: oh i wonder why everyone wants fabriz to happen i mean theyre friends and all but i just don’t see it

me after this episode: oh...

before this i kept seeing all these fuckin music videos getting recommended to me on youtube titled shit like ‘fabian’s breakdown’ and i was like damn what happened? TO LIVE IN THAT BLISSFUL IGNORANCE ONCE MORE

this has to be the WORST night of fig’s fabian’s riz’s ragh’s any of their lives, including prompocalypse, holy shit it never ends

kalina: isn’t it fucked up that aguefort keeps sending children to do horrifying dangerous things for a grade?

me: YEAH IT IS

props to brennan for making the adults that came on this journey as flawed and fallible as the kids

cathilda didn’t say anything to fabian upon finding him, just got him to safety. i honestly think she’s gonna fuckin snap at some point and she deserves to.

the image of adaine somberly pedaling on her Razor scooter across the fuckin crooked busted wooden planks of leviathan like ratatatatata is such a perfect perfect image to end on

*(due to my tragic backstory as someone who once had the entire hamilton soundtrack memorized)

[myidlethinkings]

So my girlfriend has been trying to have me read the Wheel of Time series since when she was just my best friend. I picked back up the second book recently but it's been a while since I read the first and she went on this massive "YOU WON'T REMEMBER EVERYTHING FROM THE FIRST BOOK, LET ME TELL YOU"

This led to her Wheel of Time in 5 Minutes ™ lecture/rant and... I had to share this with the world. Enjoy.

Obviously every spoiler for the first book. You've been warned.

_______

k, eye of the world in 5 mins.

begins in the two rivers, emonds field, is gonna be bel tine and everyones all excited. rand lives further afield with his father and theyre bringing in brandy for the inn. rands all omg someones watching me as theyre getting in, tams all i cant see anything, rands all mustv imagined it. they get there. they hear theres going to be a gleeman. meets up with his bestie perrin and LOVER mat I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP who are both like yeah we totes saw the figure too. they go we'll tell the mayor tomorrow.

they see the gleeman thom and theyre all omg a gleeman, omg. then the two strangers, moiraine, who is the best character ever to character in any universe fucking fight me on that and lan, who are asking questions about the area and people and moiraines like oh hi child to nynaeve the wisdom whose like im the fucking wisdom bitch who the fuck are you. she then says to the boys hey here have this coin which is totally a normal coin cuz i might have errands and shit and theyre like holy shit anything you want.

then he sees egwene and hes all like omg the love of my life will you dance with me tomorrow at bel tine and shes all yeah sure in the afternoon cuz i got shit to do in the morning and hes all like wut? and shes all GETTIN MAH HAIR BRAIDED YO and hes all like holy shit that means shes marriagable, holy shit man.

then the peddler paidan fain rocks up and gets everyone in a frenzy over war wherever and false dragons and logain or whoever else.

rand and tam go back to the farm overnight before the festivities begin. shit goes down. trollocs smash in, rands all OMG TROLLOCS ARENT REAL THO LIKE WUT and tams all, fly you fool and rand runs into the woods. but then hes all, i cant fucken leave my father so he creeps back and in the shadows he sees tam creeping around with a sword and rands like DAFUQ why does he have a sword, fighting ensues, tam gets hurt, is dying, rand manages to get him back to emonds field with a figure trailing them.

tams delirious, starts talking about rands dead mother and then starts talking about a battle and how they all poured over the dragonwall and that it was snowing but it was so hot, battle is always hot and she was a warrior even though she was pregnant and she gave birth and died and how he took the baby and rand was all WUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. im gonna ignore that shit.

gets to emonds field. everything is in ruins. trollocs wrecked the shit there too. nynaeve is all like sorry dude, your dads gonna die. hes all fuck that, gets back to the inn where the gleemans like hey that ladys an aes sedai, she could heal him but i totally wouldnt because you never know what they ask for in price and rands all i dont care because HE IS MY FATHER. MY FATHER. HEEEEE. ISSSS. MYYYY. FATHERRRRR. thoms all, holy shit dude calm down hes your father. moiraine, the best character in the universe, heals tam, then shes all like look, you three boys need to come with me and rands all, well shit she makes sense and they go but then egwenes hiding too and shes all bitch im adventuring too and rands all AHHHH and moiraines all huh the wheel weaves what the wheel wills, whatevs, and they go on, with thom whose also like this place is boring asf, im coming on.

they head out, dragkhar fly overhead, moiraine like a mofo destroys them, they get to tarren ferry, cross on the ferry, then coincidentally theres a whirlpool and the ferrys destroyed when theyre on the other side and egwenes like HOLY SHIT YOU DID THAT and moiraines all cuz im fucking awesome and nobody can follow us now so stfu and they head on.

rand interrupts a lesson with moiraine teaching egwene the true source cuz egwenes got it. rands all FUCKING WTF and thoms all dude, leave it, you cant do a thing about it. Shes gone now. Why don’t you bang mat instead. I mean the mat comment never happened but I will ship them till my dying breath. moiraines all to egwene youll die if i dont teach you, there was another back in emonds who also had it but she managed to survive/channel in her own way.

egwene starts to unbraid her hair. rand has a crying fit. egwenes all fuck off man, i do what i want. mydraal and shit attack them, they get to baerlon safely. where the gatekeepers like the children of the light are around but they cant cause much trouble cuz the city watch hate them and the whitecloaks are little bitches. they get to baerlon. mat and rand walk around. they see a few of the whitecloaks, dane bornhold a young man leading the small group. mats like lol, watch this, enters a shop, climbs up the top and hurls a rock at them, loosening barels. rand has started to feel feverish and when the barrels nearly knock them over, rand stands there and doesnt hide and rands like lol and danes like dafuq are you looking at and rands like im looking at you what are YOU looking at and hes feeling really odd and reckless and danes like are you a darkfriend and steps forward but then the city guards turn up who hates the whitecloaks and they face each other off and mat hauls rand off all are you fucking insane, you faced him off and rands recklessness leaves him and he freaks out and they flee.

throughout this time and through the book all three have dreams but i cant be bothered to get into those, theyre basically all the dark one figuring out who is who, and they wake up after rats backs were broken in the dream to be all oh hey it was just dreams though, to find rats dead all over the place and other stuff. Moiraine told them early on to go to her if they have dreams and the boys talk about it and theyre like we should probably tell her but nah, she saes sedai and like, its just dreams yo, yeah a few rats end up dead but cool, its fine, we’re fine.

oh baerlons also where he meets min who can see things around them, like with him a sword that is not a sword and three women on his funeral pyre weeping and with perrin she sees wolves and mat dice and with lan seven broken towers and a baby in a cradle with a sword and blah blah. And she says she can see he loves egwene and egwene loves him too but theyre not for each other, at least not in the way they want to be.

then he returns and nynaeve is there and she is PISSED and is all like we're going home now and moiraine manages to convince her they are in trouble and nynaeves like ..... i dont trust you, but fine. and lans all how did you find us and shes all i tracked you bitches and hes all like, huh.

rand says to her later about MY FATHER HE IS MY FATHERRRR and nynaeves all awkwardly like er yeah totally, i totally dont remember when your father returned after adventuring with an outlander wife, that totally explains your red hair, er yea sure. but that above all they loved him as much as they wouldv loved any baby.

oh a bunch of times during the book people startle at him and him being so tall with red hair and grey eyes and say he resembles an aiel. oh, theyre also ta'veren, so extra special they draw people into doing stuff with their lives, they effect the pattern. moiraine also says the two rivers used to be manetheran, a fabled kingdom. that night shit happens and they run off. they run, fight, attack, fight, as they battle mat starts yelling out things in an old language he doesnt know, that moiraine says was a manetheran war cry and the old blood still sings.

theyre going to get outrun in battle and against moiraines judgement lan takes them to an old crumbling city shadar logoth which fell to the darkness and even trollocs and mydraal dont like entering it.

oh also tam gave rand the sword which is a heron marked blade and lans all like er only blademasters have these why did your father have one and rands all HES MAHHH FATHERRRRRR and lans all yeah but how and rands all he bought it from a merchant years before and lans all yeah that sounds totally legit.

they go into shadar logoth, the boys sneak off, meet mordeth whose all like lol here take the treasure and mats like cool but rands like holy shit he doesnt have a shadow and then mordeth goes all rahhhh and the three manage to escape and they return and ramble about what happened and moiraines like DID HE GIVE YOU ANYTHING and theyre all like no and mats like er totally didnt and moiraines like we have to move and they leave but then this shadow thing that can kill them separates them and theyre all separated and perrin and egwene fall into a river together, and nynaeve finds moiraine and lan and is all like I will cut you aes sedai for what you’ve done to all of us and moiraine is all lol, and rand and mat with thom end up on a ship, the spray, with bayle domon and theyre worried he’ll throw them overboard cuz of the trollocs that chased them but domon seems to think theyre after him.

moiraines like with the coins i can track them, but two of them have lost their coins (paying for passage on domons ship). perrin and egwene roam around a lot, finally meet up with a man elyas who can communicate with wolves. aes sedai once tried to gentle him because of it but it has nothing to do with the one power so it didnt do anything. theres hints he used to be a warder, but now he hangs out in the wilderness. he says perrin has the same thing, perrin freaks out. elyas is like ill take you to the next city cuz you guys are lost. they then meet up with the tuatha'an, the tinkers, who roam around and dont harm anyone even if theyre to be harmed. perrin cant reconcile that, hes all how can you defeat evil by that, but in turn they pity him as hes such a young, sad, violent man with his axe. his eyes start turning gold like elyas' and he starts to communicate with wolves like hopper and a bunch of them though he tries to deny it.

egwene dances with aram, one of the tinkers and perrins all wow what about rand and they eventually leave, though aram is restless for a tinker.

the leader asks elyas if hes found the song which is their formalities, elyas is all no we havent. the leader then tells him of a story he heard, of an aiel who crossed the waste and died, to tell them that leafblighter means to blind the eye of the world. then she died. they leave and then they then meet afoul of the whitecloaks who are fighting whatever and bornhold - danes father – and byar catches them. through the ordeal perrin kills two of the whitecloaks while hes being all half wolf in the battle and they take them in to be questioned.

nynaeve and moiraine/lan end up finding them, releasing them, the wolves assist, nynaeve gets left behind, lans all about to get her, moiraine reminds him of his oaths, nynaeve turns back up.

meanwhile rand/mat are at whitebridge and mats starting to get sick and suspicious. he had a dagger from shadar logoth. a mydraal finds them, thom hurtles his flute and harp at them, says to go, to leave. hes saving them because he once had a nephew who could channel and the red ajah gentled him, while thom was having an affair with the queen morgase of andor when he was a court bard and by the time he got to owen it was too late and hed not survived, which he always regretted and then because he left morgase the way he did she was pissed at him too. rand and mat run for it, rand sobbing that thom is dead.

they go from village to village to village, mat getting sicker and sicker, a young woman who ends up being a darkfriend tries to kill them, they escape. rand keeps thinking he sees padan fain the peddlar from home, whose actually a darkfriend.

moiraine tells nynaeve she has the power too, nynaeve has a mini breakdown. moiraine said it would have begun with a doing something she desperately needed then a few days later collapsing really ill and the illness disappearing quickly. nynaeve once said egwene had gotten sick as a child and shed healed her not knowing how, then gotten sick. moiraine says thats also how she found them to begin with, in the city, she could sense egwene.

rand and mat go to a poor inn, they try to rob them by locking them in the back. mats getting sick and even more paranoid. rand is terrified when he realises theyre going to sell them to a darkfriend and he prowls and prowls till the room theyre in explodes, the wall crumbling. rand doesnt know how but he thinks he did it himself. mat becomes blinded from it and starts sobbing.

they escape. on the run again. as mat is blind, rand takes care of him and mat in his illness is worried that rand will abandon him which rand would never do because mat is the LOVE OF HIS LIFE, rand ends up really sick, paralleling what moiraine said what happened to nynaeve.

they end up hitching a ride to caemlyn where they expect moiraine to find them, if shes still alive. the buggy driver talks about the queen. how elayne is the daughter heir and her brother is the first prince of the sword. its been tradition forever that the daughter heirs go to tar valon to train and the princes go be taught by warders. he mentioned tigraine who was the queen before morgaise, who disappeared mysteriously nearly twenty years ago, who left behind a son galad. morgaise married the husband and became queen and while she had elayne and gawyn, galad lives with them too, now the husband is dead. oh, also logain the false dragon is being presented to the queen as prisoner before the aes sedai take him to tar valon to gentle him.

they get to caemlyn, mats REALLY sick. rand leaves him at an inn, tries to go see the false dragon being brought in. he meets loial an ogier whose nice, whose like 90 but really young for an ogier to have left his stedding without permission. rand ends up thinking he sees paidan, but doesnt have a good feeling, tries to run off, falls into a castle garden. meets elayne the daughter heir who might actually be the most annoying character to exist, her brother gawyn. theyre like omg you look like an aiel. elayne then talks about gareth bryne the guard captain dude she ships hard with her mother. galad MY MOST PURE CHARACTER WHO I LOVE FUCK ELAYNE (not a spoiler, his name is of the most pure camelot round table knight) rocks up, is all, holy you broke into the palace. elayne whose a bitch is like how DARE YOU YOURE NOT MY BROTHERRRR and galads all we are siblings and my duty is to protect you and shes all you wont do anything with this rand ill invoke protection, then galad goes and tells the guards because theres literally a false dragon being brought in and tension is on the rise in caemlyn and hes taken to see morgase.

the red ajah elaida is freaked out by him, knows hes taveren, has a bit of a prophecy but it doesnt really mean much and morgaise is all look, we cant just arrest everyone, let him go.

he then races back to the inn, moiraine and everyones there, they all hug, then hes all like oh yeah mats sick btw. moiraine goes up and mats not just sick hes now tainted. she does the best she can but is all like he needs to get to tar valon to have the bond between him and the dagger properly severed. then moiraine meets loial who randomly talks about an event concerning the eye of the world. perrins all oh yeah thats like the dead aiel girl the tinkers spoke about. that changes the plans once moiraine realises the dark ones trying to get to the eye and shes like we cant get to tar valon yet we gotta leave now. they use the ways which loail knows how to use cuz ogier and male aes sedai made them together centuries before but now the ways are tainted.

theyre like the worlds between the worlds, can get to places quicker but it has the black wind thatll kill you. blah blah blah they use the ways, nearly die, but get to fal dara/shienar, which is sort of where lan is from. nynaeve confesses her love, lans all no i cannot, i cannot offer anything. it ends up that his parents had the throne but his ... there was scheming. His uncles wife wrecked everything, she escaped with her baby into the blight, lans cousin, nobodys seen or heard of them, moiraine suspects isam might be alive but GASP keeps it from lan. the seven towers crumbled, lan has a death wish, he believes hes the only one left so must die.

lord agelmar wishes lan would rise up the banner of the golden crane because everything about the blight is crumbling, lans like no, i have a new oath now with moiraine. lord ingtar is a fight me soldier who fanboys after lan. theres a battle going on in tarwins gap they desperately need help for, but lan says he cant. lord agelmar orders ingtar to accompany them to the blight and leave them cuz moiraines like we cant have anyone else come with us.

Paidan fain by this point has rocked up to shienar and tried to wheedle his way into the good graces of lord agelmar but hes all wtf you look like a creeper and throws him in a cell. Moiraines like I need to question him at some point.

moiraine then takes them into the blight to find the green man who can take them to the eye of the world. the green man rocks up, hes made of vines and flowers, takes them to the eye. two forsaken rock up. moiraine tries to fight, is knocked out, nynaeve and lan get knocked out, the boys run. the green man is destroyed by the forsaken. rand ends up destroying the forsaken, goes into the eye, channels the male source in there, realises he can channel, has a fight with the dark one - whose still bound under the seals, but rand believes he ended the dark one and its done. comes out, the others are recovering. brings out an old banner from the eye thats the dragons banner, broken seals from the dark ones prison, and the horn of valere. moiraine is all, we need to take these to tar valon. rands all, you do that, but im done with aes sedai, im not going to tar valon. im done. the dark ones dead and im going to do my own thing. he turns to egwene who backs away from him when he said he channeled, then she bursts into tears and hugs him and says shes sorry.

they return to shienar, fal dara, where there was a miracle in tarwins gap where they believed they saw the creator and that the light took on flesh - they saw an apparition of a man they didnt know as rand fighting the battle he fought. ingtars flipping his shit because he missed the battle while accompanying them, and then not even being able to accompany them the entire way. After all of his talking about going after a week rand is still there, finishing his sword practice with Lan in Agelmar's private garden and meets up with Egwene. He tells her that he will go away. Egwene asks him to come to Tar Valon with her and Nynaeve, itll totes be fun, I mean theres the red ajah and shit wholl attack him if they know but hey itll be fun, but Rand refuses. He says he'll never channel again. When she asks him if he'll be going home, he tells her that he'll never go home.

Moiraine is underneath Agelmar's private garden. She uses her blue teardrop thing she wears on her forehead to focus her eavesdropping on Rand and Egwene. Using it to eavesdrop was the first use of the One Power she had learned as a young girl in the royal palaces of Cairhieren.

Smiling, she says, "The Prophecies will be fulfilled. The Dragon is Reborn."

the end.

[ladyjenise]

This has been big news in Canada, but folks in other countries might be aware of this “charity” too since they operate globally. I’m talking about Canadaland’s White Saviours series on WE (also known as Free the Children.

Last year, during the pandemic WE charity took a bunch of money to run a program to help students find volunteer work. It was a LOT of money. Like almost a billion dollars. And it wasn’t opened to other non profits to apply to. Here’s a BBC article that gives an early rundown of what happened.

Up to this point, WE had a reputation as a “good” charity… to everyone except those who worked in the international development sector and a bit beyond into non profit in general.

Like most sectors, international development is a fairly well-connected sector of workers and a handful of large and medium charities who generally work with GAC (Global Affairs Canada) to develop and deliver international development programming. This is programming developed in partnership with organizations like the UN but even with local grassroots community partners. Goals are set, long term plans are funded, communities are strengthened. Its a far from perfect sector, but it tries.

WE pretended to belong to something like this sector, but it really did not. It wasn’t a member of international development groups like Cooperation Canada (you don’t HAVE to be a member - some small groups aren’t but WE was totally NOT a small group). They always had the capacity to reach out and partner with other like minded orgs. They never did.

Why? Because they were frauds. People in the sector talk, and it was known through the whisper networks that anyone who wanted to do actual international dev work should steer clear of WE. Their work was shabby voluntourism, they treated their staff and volunteers like cattle, and they regularly broke employment rules in the province where they operated.

Because of this, they routinely hired young, fresh, ignorant employees to work for them, and recruited volunteers out of schools after guilt tripping them (also a strategy the sector is trying to move away from - you know, the “starving child in Africa” trope).

When the pandemic started, my then-fairly new employer got concerned that the WE charity receiving so much government grants for programming would put our org in a lurch. I said to worry. Knowing what I knew about their sheer lack of competent staff and the rate of burnout, I said they wouldnt produce anything of quality and the government would be displeased. Little did i know that I wasn’t the only one side-eyeing the payout.

You have to understand that WE was a player in a sector with much more well-established players (maybe a good warning story about NOT letting a fucking 12 year old start a charity). These older players are decently connected with each other. Theyre not “competitors” per se. That’s considered gauche. But they are experienced and not afraid to speak up when they see some cray shit go down. And a few of them are part of collectives, as mentioned before (like Cooperation Canada).

Now, I can’t say for sure, but all those other charities saw the federal government drop money into WE ‘s grotesque lap and realized there had been no wider call for proposal. Sure, the pandemic meant things needed to move faster, but if you think only WE has the capacity to submit a proposal AND deliver in a quick time frame, you don’t know the charitable sector. What probably happened was the whisper networks kicked into overdrive and all these charities realized they were being fucked by WE and put a call out to the media.

The unwritten rule in the charity sector is you don’t generally shittalk other charities unless you can prove something. We knew FOR YEARS that WE was a rotten, useless, money hoarding and shallow organization. But could we prove it? No. That was the media’s job. But every time a media outlet went to publish a story, WE intervened with lawyers and high placed “friends” in media and government. Corruption. Instead, us workers sat back, realizing we’d have to wait for WE to fall into the noose themselves. And so they did. And the lure was a billion dollar closed federal grant.

If you were a kid in school that fell for WE’s pitches, don’t feel bad. It was designed to prey on you. I’ve seen them likened to a cult but the vibe was almost like multi level marketing. The fact this “charity” was never vetted before being allowed into schools to pitch their terrible voluntourism ideas was a huge societal failure. Not yours.

[personshapedsplder]

sometimes when i was teaching the children, id be overwhelmed bc of thinking of how hard it is to be a kid, you know?!? like not only are these kids being forced to come to EXTRA cram school after normal school and lots of them dont even enjoy it, so they have to work so hard,but theyre also just LITTLE CHILDREN!!!!!!! and they have no idea whatsgoing on around them and they have no control over their surroundings and their little brains arent done cooking so they barely even have the ability to respond positively in negative situations or to not panic when theyre upset. they dont even have any experience to tell them things might be ok so they dont have to cry. they cant buy what they want or eat what they want when they want and kids are always so MEAN so you KNOW theyre getting bullied by SOMEONE and no ones parents are perfect, so you know theyre going to internalize a bunch of shit and its going to take a long time to unlearn it and learn to be kind to yourself and id just like PANIC and be like YOU POOR LITTLE CHILDREN YOUR LIVES ARE SO HARD, NO HOMEWORK TODAY, EVERYONE GO WATCH TV AND PLAY WITH YOUR TOYS :’( like im havin a tough go of it now no doubt abt it LOL but i KNOW my life as an adult is LEAGUES better than how it was as a kid and it just makes me feel so bad for them. but then one of my coworkers would be like what do you mean kids have it hard they dont have to do nothing they dont work they just play around all day but its NOT LIKE THAT FOR CHILDREN!!!!!!!!! theyre young and theyre confused abt everything and theyre probably scared and they dont even know how to process their own emotions healthily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dude!!!!!! they didnt even CHOOSE to come here they were FORCED!!!!!!! and theyre not even allowed to COMPLAIN abt being forced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[zigg-u-rat]

Okay SO

heres the thing. 

I understand that its important to learn history, especially stuff as recent as 9/11 but this is NOT the way to do it. the way they’re teaching about 9/11 in schools nowadays is racist, insensitive, and i would even go so far as to say ableist.

forcing CHILDREN literal K I D S to relive the trauma of an event that they werent even alive for through media like videos and pictures is horrifyingly insensitive. If you want to teach young people about a tragedy as terrible as 9/11, then TEACH THEM. dont force them to watch traumatizing videos of people killing themselves, I figured this would be a given? no?

If you want to teach kids about 9/11, teach them why it happened, teach them how it changed the world. the extend of my knowledge of what happened on 9/11 19 years ago is limited to how many people died, and how terrible it is. I dont know anything about the al qaeda except that theyre a terrorist group, hell I know even know the definition of what makes a group a terrorist group. I dont know anything about the political tension, if there even was any before the 9/11 attacks because I wasnt alive when they happened. Yes. I am almost done with high school and I wasnt alive when the 9/11 attacks happen.I dont know why the al qaeda attacked the US, but I know exactly how many people died, I know what it sounded like when the first plane hit the north tower. 

I was forced to watch people jumping to their deaths in a school classroom. I was forced to listen to the horror in a news reporters voice as she announced the collapse of the north tower. The whole idea of “we were traumatized by this so now you have to watch this video of it so you can understand” is HORRIBLE. why do we think this is okay? 

Now as for it being racist I think thats pretty obvious. Hate crimes agaist muslims increased like crazy after 9/11, because of the incredibly racist idea that all muslims are terrorist. 

Now youre probably thinking something along the lines of “okay I get how its racist, but how is it ableist?”

extreme empathy is common in children with Autism, ADHD, and anxiety, and well as a bunch of other mental disorders. Forcing children to watch graphic videos of the 9/11 attacks can be extremely traumatizing. I cant think of a single year that ive made it past 9/11 without having at least one panic attack. Forcing kids to endure trauma for a grade is so inhumane and downright abusive. 

basically, the way schools teach about 9/11 is shit and needs to change. we’re traumatizing children for no fucking reason under the excuse of “teaching” and its terrible. 

[ur-jinji]

Could you maybe share your angsty playlist 🥺

okay okay i’m not gonna make my playlist public but i will tell you a bunch of my favorite songs off of my “feel something” angst playlist & explain the way they make me feel. i know you did not ask for that but i need to vocalize it. maybe in the future i can make spotify playlists if anyone’s interested? mine are unorganized so eh don’t wanna share lmao but anyway, here you go 😘 sorry this post is long i just love music

asleep // the smiths

literally if you hear me listening to this, i’m having a depressive episode. it’s about wanting to pass away and telling people not to feel bad lmao beautiful song tho

the background // third eye blind

amazing. heart wrenching. about being alone after someone leaves you. VERY good song. tears.

bloodstream // stateless

amazing music. love the chorus. i interpret it as being so in love with someone that theyre a part of you

brain damage // pink floyd

amazing. about going crazy. love dark side of the moon. best song on that album is “any colour you like” it’s entirely instrumental and gives me chills. it’s a feel something song for me but maybe not for others

breaking down // florence + the machine

please listen to the mtv unplugged version. ABOUT BREAKING DOWN. amazing.

bubble gum // clairo

i think it’s about regretting not reciprocating feelings for someone. chills. love. puts me in a mood instantly.

chamber of my reflection // mac demarco

BEAUTIFUL. dislike him but his music is really good. about being alone

come back to earth // mac miller

“i just need a way out of my head” god gives me chills. i love mac miller. i miss him everyday.

demolition lovers // my chemical romance

beautiful music. amazing. about two lovers who would die for each other. huge, super emotional build up, then the most beautiful music ever.

a different age // current joys

just good. good angst.

early sunsets over monroeville // mcr

AMAZING. HUGE EMOTIONAL BUILD UP AT THE END. END SO HAUNTINGLY

edition // rex orange county

BEAUTIFUL. about a couple going through some shit

free as a bird // the beatles

AMAZING. one of the best songs on this planet. it’s about a couple and the guy doesn’t really know where it all went wrong

friends // vacations

about drifting away from someone. so beautiful. CHILLS.

goodbye // the vines

fuckinv beautiful. about longing for someone and saying goodbye to them. first song i learned by myself to play on guitar

good news // mac miller

about being hella depressed and how people only want to hear the good stuff. they ain’t like ya when you’re down. gr8

halah // mazzy star

it’s about missin someone. chills. love it.

i cant handle change // roar

about not being good enough. beautiful fucking song like holy shit. but if you hear me listening to this god ask if i’m okay bc i’m not. best build up for any song in the world

i love you so // the walters

god amazing. about loving someone but you’re not good for each other

jesus christ // brand new

it’s haunting. amazing. i think it’s about dying.

life // the walters

it’s about life movin real slow. it’s a really beautiful song. love it.

married with children // oasis

god i love this song. it’s about being annoyed with your partner but at the end of the day, you love them so much you always come back. makes me cry bc relatable

moonlight on the river // mac demarco

love. it’s about dying i think lmao or maybe a relationship dying?

necromancer // joy again

literally such a pretty, chill song. feels really raw. it’s about loving someone so much but i don’t know if she feels the same way

numb // men i trust

fucking beautiful shit. so chill. about being numb lol

show me how // men i trust

gr8. it’s about wanting to be shown that the person you like cares about you but it ain’t workin

sullen girl // fiona apple

beautiful. raw. about being a sad bitch

under control // the strokes

fav strokes song. amazing. i think it’s about wanting to change someone but knowing you shouldn’t

waiting room // red orange county

fucking beautiful. it’s about someone you love dying :( it’s really sad honestly

where is my mind // the pixies

GREAT. about doing drugs & your mental state aint good

wish you were here // pink floyd

it about wishin someone was there duh it’s a really good song tho

worldstar money // joji

feels really raw. it’s about battling with your issues and wanting someone to be there for you still

now

for the final song. the one that is so fucking emotional for me.

young // vacations

i don’t know what it is about this song but it sucks any remaining serotonin out of my body instantly. the music is so beautiful. it’s about struggling with mental health i think. just wonderful.

that’s just some of my angst music 🙂 i have a lot more. these were the ones i felt like were worth noting lmao

[bookishable]

deathly hallows book moments

warning: this one’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions, read at your own risk.

‘the idea of a teenage dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid hermione or a friendly blast-ended skrewt.’

“i don’t think you’re a waste of space.”

‘he felt like asking them to show a little more respect for his privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly much more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.’

ron: why do i have to clean my room? mrs weasley: !!! WEDDING !!! ron: theyre not getting married in my damn bedroom

“we’re coming with you. that was decided months ago—years, really.”

“if i picked up a sword right now, ron, and ran you through with it, i wouldn’t damage your soul at all.” “which would be a real comfort to me, i’m sure”

harry waking up on his birthday forgetting he was 17

“accio glasses!” although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom towards him, at least until they poked him in the eye.

ron giving harry a book called twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches for his birthday

“i’ve learned a lot. you’d be surprised, it’s not all about wandwork, either.”

‘the rest of her speech was lost; harry had got up and hugged her. he tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them’

“are you planning to follow a career in magical law, miss granger?” “no i’m not, i’m hoping to do some good in the world!”

“it’s time you learned some respect!” “it’s time you earned it”

hermione: when we were little we heard stories like snow white and cinderella ron: what’s that, an illness? harry: rip me i never got read any stories

“a brutal triple murder by the bridegroom’s mother might put a bit of a damper on the wedding.”

“merlin’s beard, what is xenophilius lovegood wearing? he looks like an omelette.” excuse me why wasn’t auntie muriel like this in the film

“he used to down an entire bottle of firewhisky, then run on to the dance floor, hoist up his robes and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his—” “yes, he sounds a real charmer”

harry suggesting that xenophilius lovegood’s deathly hallows necklace is the cross-section of the head of a crumple-horned snorkack

“vot is the point of being an international quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?”

‘harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where ron could stick his wand instead.’

harry reading lily’s letter and noticing that they wrote their g’s the same way as each other, i’m sobbing

‘the letter was an incredible treasure, proof that lily potter had lived, really lived’

KREACHER’S GODDAMN TALE

kreacher hitting mundungus over the head with a saucepan “perhaps just one more, master harry, for luck?”

“if anyone shouldn’t go, it’s harry, he’s got a ten thousand galleon price on his head—” “fine, i’ll stay here, let me know if you ever defeat voldemort, won’t you?”

‘with a twinge of regret that had nothing to do with food, harry imagined the house-elf busying himself over the steak and kidney pie that harry, ron and hermione would never eat.’

‘not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.’

the sign outside the wreckage of the potters’ house, covered with messages left for harry

the child who had the nerve to say “nice costume, mister!” to mr tom riddle the dark lord voldemort, what an icon

“after you left, she cried for a week. probably longer, only she didn’t want me to see. there were loads of nights when we never even spoke to each other. with you gone… she’s like my sister, i love her like a sister and i reckon she feels the same way about me. it’s always been like that. i thought you knew.”

“you’ve sort of made up for it tonight, getting the sword. finishing off the horcrux. saving my life.” “that makes me sound a lot cooler than i was” “stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was, i’ve been trying to tell you that for years.”

ron single-handedly fighting off five snatchers by telling them he was stan shunpike

“he must’ve known i’d run out on you.” “no, he must’ve known you’d always want to come back.”

“i just think it’s a bit spookier if it’s midnight!” “yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives”

“death’s got an invisibility cloak?” “so he can sneak up on people, sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking…”

luna decorating her bedroom ceiling with paintings of her friends (i’m not crying, you are)

POTTERWATCH

“we’re all human, aren’t we? every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”

“i’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit, and i’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.”

hagrid throwing a ‘support harry potter’ party

“the fact remains he can move faster than severus snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to”

“no! you can have me, keep me!” this book went from making me smile to shattering my heart in around three pages

‘hermione was screaming again: the sound went through harry like physical pain.’

ron’s ‘passable imitation of wormtail’s wheezy voice’

“so young, to be fighting so many.”

‘ron said, “blimey, a baby!” as if he had never heard of such a thing before.’

‘he seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to teddy lupin as sirius black had been to him.’

“he was never free, never, the night that your brother died he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. he started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn’t there… it was torture to him, if you’d seen him then, you wouldn’t say he was free.”

“i’m going to keep going until i succeed—or i die. don’t think i don’t know how this might end. i’ve known it for years.”

“i got this one for asking her how much muggle blood she and her brother have got.” “blimey, neville, there’s a time and a place for getting a smart mouth.”

“yeah, well, food’s one of the five exceptions to gamp’s law of elemental transfiguration,” said ron, to general astonishment.

“why would harry potter try to get inside ravenclaw tower? potter belongs in my house!”

‘harry heard a little strain of pride in her voice, and affection for minerva mcgonagall gushed up inside him.’

harry using the cruciatus curse on amycus in front of mcgonagall because “he spat at you”

mcgonagall dueling snape and sending a swarm of daggers at him

“where’s professor snape?” “he has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk” minerva i love you

neville throwing mandrakes over the walls

“is this the moment? OI! there’s a war going on here!” “i know, mate, so it’s now or never, isn’t it?”

‘and percy was shaking his brother, and ron was kneeling beside them, and fred’s eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.’

‘a herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting professor mcgonagall.’

harry stunned the death eater as they passed: malfoy looked around, beaming, for his saviour, and ron punched him from under the cloak. “and that’s the second time we’ve saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!”

trelawney using crystal balls to knock out death eaters ‘with a movement like a tennis serve’

“are you a wizard, or what?”

“you must kill me.” “would you like me to do it now? or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?”

‘this cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery.’

‘he was tiny in death.’

‘he felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have had the strength to stop looking?’

“we’re all going to keep fighting, harry. you know that?”

“i am sorry too, sorry i will never know him… but he will know why i died and i hope he will understand. i was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.”

“until the very end”

“this is, as they say, your party.” harry had no idea what this meant; dumbledore was being infuriating.

“it is a curious thing, harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.”

“do not pity the dead, harry. pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

“of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

‘the scream was the more terrible because he had never expected or dreamed that professor mcgonagall could make such a sound.’

ron breaking voldemort’s silencing charm “he beat you!”

“i’ll join you when hell freezes over, dumbledore’s army!”

harry calling voldemort tom riddle like “yes, i dare”

‘tom riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken’ where please, movies?

‘mcgonagall had replaced the house tables, but nobody was sitting according to house anymore’

peeves’ song voldy’s gone mouldy

‘tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled harry with the same balm as phoenix song.’

harry FIXING HIS DAMN WAND

“i’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.”

“if you’re not in gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you, but no pressure.”

albus complaining that everyone is staring and ron being like “it’s me. i’m extremely famous.”

‘the scar had not pained harry for nineteen years. all was well.’

[cromslowglogbob]

Thank you for the lovely chat, @kind-of-obsesive

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say STAND WITH HONG KONG AGAINST THE CCP!

You both like harry potter.

You: hey

Stranger: hello

Stranger: whats up?

You: im listening to 80s metal

You: chattin with someone on omegle

You: oh wait

You: you>

You: you?

You: what up wit u

Stranger: laying in bed pertending to be alseep,

You: ah hidin from the parentals?

Stranger: talking to strangers

You: whoa same

Stranger: why of course what else would i be dping

You: nice

You: you like homestuck?

Stranger: i dont know anything about it sorry

You: oh ok

Stranger: you like harry potter?

You: yes thats why it says "You both like harry potter." at the top of the page

You: so yes

You: what house?

Stranger: hufflepuff, you?

You: slytherin

You: hold up i have, on my phone a gc of just slyths and puffs and claws

You: this is interesting

You: and i am chatting w them rn

You: many puffs surround me

Stranger: sounds like an awesome group chat

You: it is

Stranger: and yes we are many

You: its me and a bunch of pan and bi girls

You: one of them is married to all the others

You: question

Stranger: yes

You: do you know what this quote is from:

You: "HUFFLEUFFS ARE PARTICULARLY GOOD FINDERS"

Stranger: harry potter? idk

You: It is from a hp parody musical called A Very Potter Musical

You: its hilarious and you can watch it for free on yt

You: its 1 hour

Stranger: ohhhhh ive been meaning to watch that, its by starkid or something

You: YES! do you know what homestuck is

Stranger: nope am very uncultured

You: do you like reading?

Stranger: yup!

Stranger: do you?

You: yes

You: are you up for reading a 8129 page webcomic with 815,000 words

You: if so i would suggest homestuck

Stranger: i mean comics arent tipically what i read but ill give it a shot

You: nice

You: it has images and like. long blocks of text sometimes

You: most of the words are in the form of chatlogs

You: like this one

Stranger: thats good i typically only read chunks of text, and chat logs are always fun to read

You: ni8ce

You: nice

You: what time is it for you rn

Stranger: 23:31

You: same

You: what country do you live in

Stranger: canada, you?

You: america

You: yall have provinces right?

Stranger: and territories

You: ah yes

Stranger: and you guys have states

You: indeed we do

You: and some territories i believe

You: theyre like probation states p much

Stranger: nice, our territories will always be territories cause its to much work to change them

You: haha

Stranger: :P

You: are you a minor

You: i am

Stranger: as am i, young one

You: hell ye

You: im 13, you?

Stranger: 17 you little baby, imma adopt you

You: i,,,dont think thats legal

You: anyway if ur nice sure ill take it

Stranger: probably not but the rest of my children enjoy it

You: ah

Stranger: and i think im pretty nice

You: well come on down to Massachusetts and adopt me then

Stranger: come on up to ontario and join the cult

You: whee the name of my state was taken from the name of a tribe that white pilgrims pushed off their land where did the name Ontario come from

You: oh whats ur gender

Stranger: idk, its not really discused where the provonce names come from, and female

You: ok liy

You: lit

Stranger: god you type fast, im impressed

You: thank you very much

You: i learned from type to learn 4 when I was in 4th grade

You: but i didn't learn very well so there are a lot of typos sometimes

Stranger: oh i taught myself to type so theres lots normally

You: oh lit

You: do you like percy jackson?

Stranger: ive senn the movies and i liked those

You: oh shit

You: oh no

You: crap

Stranger: what?

You: i have to try v hard to not click the "stop" button

You: bc the movies

You: were not good, from the frame of reference from the books

You: but

You: opinions valid

Stranger: the movies are never as good i just cant get my hands on the books

You: oh thats sad

Stranger: legally at least

You: ah

You: have you read Ready Player One?

Stranger: noppe havent even seen the movie and for that i am sad

You: ah

You: well

You: if ur gonna watch the movie and want to like it, don't read the book

You: they are very different

Stranger: i live a sad life and will probably end up only seeing the movie

You: oh well

Stranger: blep

You: blep

You: do you have tumblr

Stranger: yes i do

You: niiccce

You: do you follow biggest-gaudiest-patronuses

Stranger: hell yah i do

Stranger: do you?

You: oh fuck yes

You: so im guessing you're not on the hipster side of tumblr\

Stranger: im rarely on tumblr, mostly on the fandom shit

You: if you wanna follow me, my account is frogtryinghisbest

You: i shall follow you back

Stranger: mine is kind-of-obsessive

You: nic

You: nice

You: boom

You: followed

Stranger: same here, also onl y two posts down and i already love your account

You: thank you

Stranger: i just forgot how to form a sentence

You: oof

Stranger has disconnected.

[strawberryspeachy]

So when i watched death note in high school it made me curious about real japanese police work. I read about it alot and came to the conclusion that their justice system isnt too great.

Im currently upset that a coworker who i took as a friend - not only disliked me all along - but went as far as to lie about me to get me in trouble. That no one cared to hear my side. That i was fired on the spot. That people turned their back on me immediately. That no one cares.

Well. 17 year old me would have said. But of course. In Japan your guilty until proven innocent. That japanese put on a show but dont truely like most people. That they band together and will go out of their way to avoid any kind of conflict. That they care more about a pretty appearance than solving anything. 17 year old me that only heard and read about Japan knew these things. 17 year old me imagined this cool different country that works because theyre proud of this... performance way that they live. And i was amused by it. All i knew was america and european history. I was so hungry for something different. I was so interested in different people.

Then I went to Japan. I got here and it was too similar to manga. How silly, i thought, those a comics - i didnt actually expect the country to be like those comics. And ive never really been able to place what that made me feel but id grown past this bemusement of different “alien like” people. Theyre just people who live in another country i thought. I dont like america and our norms. I know nothing but america but i dont agree with any of our steriotypes. You cant describe me the way most would try to describe a typical american. So why would people from any other country be different. Im sure theres people like the sterotype - but certainly more not at all like that.

And i got here and i watched the smiles on service workers slowly fade when they thought no one was watching. I watched children put trash where it didnt belong thinking no one was watching. I was girls laugh loudly and run around and yell at their boyfriends. I watched drunk college kids hollar and reak havoc in the city. Not robot people, not obedient children, not, quiet and demure girls listening to the men, not studious students worried about their reputation. Just people. The same people i saw back home.

And so i thought. Its the same. Different history. Varrying values. Same old people - judgmental and watching everyone ready to scold them if they deem it necessary.

But that guilty until prooven innocent thing. The fact that the old way of caring about your reputation is still a solid work practice.

These things. Make me feel like... i guess.... to my dissapointment. Maybe america really is more free...

I dont want that to be true. The us is so full of itself. Just like healthcare. I want universal health care to be a good thing and at very least in japan its not really. Its better. Its more affordable. Maybe their problem is just how much they hate drugs and thats what stops real care.

But. Ive always been a cautious person - i just dont want to get in trouble. But ive never thought id be in a situation i couldnt talk my way out of - because i dont do anything super bad. Maybe sometimes ive pressed the limits - but never outside of... like i drank underage. I tried to get into bars i wasnt old enough for. Ive dodged paying for the train fare. Dumb things. Things that the worse that would happen is i gotta pay it somehow or id get scolded. Drinking under age is against us law but its almost never taken too seriously.

But its occurred to me. Yeah. In japan it is guilty until prooven innocent. I really could have gotten in legal trouble for baseless allegations.

And japan is as racist and people say. Theyre friendly and try to talk to you in english and say nice things. And it doesnt seem like racism to a person from the states. Out racist look at you with digust. They wont touch you. They wont talk to you. They dont want to know about you

But here... it takes the form of a racist parent who grew up in the 50s and knows that theyre not supposed to be racist but still is.

Theyre welcoming and friendly to your face but talk shit behind your back. They ask a bunch of questions like (in america “where are you really from”) they refuse to accept you might actually belong. They constantly want to assert how different you are so instesd of telling you that your different - they ask questions or explain what theyre doing. And if you say ‘yes we also do this’ they react with disbeleif - what? No! You couldnt possibly get this - this is our thing and you are not us! And they constantly ask if you miss your home. Assume that you’re uncomfortable because they are. Also also. Instred of not wanting to touch you here - theyre much more willing to push you out of the way

Theres many mixed race kids here now though. I assume theyll have to do the same thing that happened in America. I havent met any mixed race adults but ive met plenty of white dads.... all trying super hard to assimilate to the point that they walk around talking like robots. Swearing that everything japan is great and they dont miss their home cointries at all. Pretty similar to the immigrants of america from when my mom was a kid.

So i still think at least for japan. Theyre way more similar to the west than they think they are. But these restricting regulations that they live by... really does make the country seem not as free as id ignorantly beleived it was.

It surprised me because their rules are so much like the way my great grandmother talked about stuff. And while were supposed to care... we just dont in the states. Respect your employer? Sure we say we do to their face but talk shit with coworkers. Worry about your reputation? Eh think im a bitch i dont give a fuck whatcha gonna do about it? Nothing thats right. Dont like another person? No one cares. Like that person or dont - it doesnt change anyone elses relationship with them. Make a mistake? Well if your boss fires you - everyone already probably thinks their an asshole cause generally mistakes are just met with some form of dickwaving belittlement. Pretty sure most of us get mad everytime we hear a story about someone getting fired because they posted a picture of them in a bikiki or having fun - most of this generation agrees thats dumb and has to change.

I feel more like an american now than ever. Americans are reluctant to change im told. Yes. I suppose we are. We might not know the rest of the worlds history but we kinda know our own. And as much as ive alwags agreed with the sentiment that cultures are different and thats just the way they want to be.... we used to be these ways but decided it was restrictive and controlling and mentally abusive and fought it...

Ive been reading more about the work culture in japan to figure out how he fuck this went so wrong. Apparently when young japanese people enter the work force, they cant even have friends as distractions outside of work because their boss will move them away from home.

Ive already read that japanese think suffering is good and seniority and witness first hand their preoccupation of appearing busy over actually being productive. Its just this constant performance.

Perhaps i did stress him out to the point of physical pain. I remember having a massive meltdown where i shook and it felt like my brain was melting after i tried so hard to be a good nice person. I did whag people apparently like. I changed myself to just agree with people and be positive and assume the best in everyone. Then my “friend” told me that i was a bad friend because i asked them if they would people drive their friends home so i could to sleep at 4am. And the two things just didnt click. I didnt go to sleep that night. I sat at my desk shaking for the next 5 hours and having flashbacks.

Im talkative. I talk as much as i do here in real life. And i have alot of questions. I talked to him a lot. Made him look not busy. I know he liked talking to me. I know he did. Thats why i got confortable talking more. He was always surprised when i asked him questions about himself but once he started answering he kept talking. Yeah. Its nice to have someone ask you what your thoughts are on topics. What your experiences have been. Did you like those things or not. I know japan it a group think culture - i guess they get there by really draining out ANY idea of individualality. He told me hed never been asked what he likes about himself. In the us were asked that constantly from elementary school “what do you like about yourself. What do you like about your friend. What makes you different?”

It kinda baffles me... questions and thoughts like these are so common in anime.... and obviously anime is popular in japan. Obviously obviously. Im confused how theyre watching these programs often with such deep meanings.... and not taking anything away from them. In the states our tv programs are always being restricted and stuff because they might give us “bad ideas” but they aren’t restricted here and yet... it seems no one takes anything from them

When i visited japan in 2013 i saw a teenage girl in huge heels lose her balance and stomp on a middle aged womans foot. That woman had already been standing like her feet were in pain and she made a face of being in so much pain. The girl rudely didn’t apologize and the older woman said nothing. She smiled through her pain...

And i also complained to my coworker. Not full on complaining. The small ones you make at work when youre not sure of the extent you can go to. At first he held off like the other teachers. But. Then. He started complaining back. It got to me not needing to be the one say an annoyance first. Like i asked how his meeting was. Other people i worked with might leave it ah it was a bit slow but necessary. And he started that way. But instead he started responding to me a succession of statements the slowly crept more toward his real feelings. ‘It was good... we didnt do much... or anything, i just sat and listened and took notes. we dont learn anything, it takes up a lot of time but we have to go. I dont like those meetings. I dont know their pupose... but were told to go so we must’

Whatever. Im just gonna keep rambling and complaining about this cause it sucks and is awful. Contracted woth my company i wasnt allowed to publically critisize japan. I imagine thats why you dont often find many things on the internet complaining. You will literally be unemployable if your name is attached to critisisms of this country.

Where as everyone can come to the states and tell us to our faces how much we suck and how much cooler their countries are. And generally the younger general is just kinda like - ‘you right’ people write articles all the time shit talking the states and we just go ‘ya we deserve that’ we do. Im not saying dont do that... but like... maybe just maybe. Were doing the good thing where were like

Haha call us fat! We are fat. We love us some mcdonalds. Hm.... why though. Actually we need to fix that. Why are people eating so unhealthy? What is the underlying cause of this problem? Lets try to work on that - and then we fight amoungst ourselves.

I like that... i like thay thing we do

In the states you might not want to become a ‘whistleblower’ and in some industrys you might get black listed for something dumb. But at least we talk about it and agree its a problem. In japan no one wants to even admit they have problems.

Know what else i told him. I talked about how were overworked in the states. That our work culture has gotten too similar to japans and we hate it. No one working 80 hour weeks thinks that they should have to do that. Of course i didnt go about it that way. I told him that my friends back home work 80 hour weeks and its unhealthy. That i cant work that much and refuse to. He i imagine counted how many hours he works and laughed and i said - oh haha yea i guess you also work that much. And he looked so much like he wanted to cry about it in the same way my friends back home. But said its natural in japan and that hes gotten used to it. But he definitely didnt mean it as he said it. I told him my friends say that as well. That i think theyre workaholics and i personally cant do it. That when work calls them they always pick up the phone even when they dont want to. But i dont do that. When my job called me as a server id ignore it and call them back later when it was too late for me to be asked to come in and ask them what they wanted.

Maybe to him my stories felt like when i read about students in europe being allowed to not go to school without reprucussions. It made HAVING to go to school evem more annoying. Why cant we choose to take breaks? I heard that place doesnt have homework - meanwhile im given at least 6 hours work a night! Not everyone has to do this? Other places learn things for fun?? They dont have to keep up with standardized exams that dont account for different teachers and school districts?? A 50% in that country isnt a failing grade???

Those were already shitty things but to read about them not bein universal did make having to endure it more upsetting.

Doesnt change that im stoll upset with him for not saying anything to me. Doesnt change that im mad that he made stuff up.

Really me rambling on about this doesnt change my presepective on any of it. Im just bitching