#i dont have anybody to hold this christmas or open presents with

[royalwhumpness]

.

[angelsswirl]

Petrichor

Seven

⚠️ This Chapter is rated mature for sexual content⚠️

Notes: Happy Holidays everyone! Here's a present from me to you! (Dont worry I'm still on break, this has always been scheduled for a Christmas present)

..

"I hate to think about you with somebody else. Our love has gone cold. You're intertwining your soul with somebody else."

"Can I help you?" Jisoo opened her front door with a bored look on her face.

"How long are you going to be mad at me? It's starting to get annoying." You crossed your arms over your chest. Your jaw clenched and eyes locked in a semi-permanent glare.

"What makes you think I'm mad at you?" Jisoo frowned stubbornly.

"Oh, I get it now. You're a dumbass. Can't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner."

"Now, hold on." Jisoo held up a hand.

You poked a finger in Jisoo's chest, "You think you're all high and mighty just because you haven't slept with anybody else. I have needs, Jisoo! You don't get to decide who I do or don't sleep with."

Jisoo backed further into the apartment to avoid the probing finger. You followed her with a determined look in your eye. The door slammed shut behind you.

"You could have came to me!" Jisoo hollered, an almost imperceptible growl bubbled beneath the words.

"Your child was sick!"

"You didn't know that!"

"What was I supposed to do? Walk over here and ask you if you were available, then when you said no, head over to where I was going in the first place?" You sighed and shook your head, "One of us is missing the point, and it is not me."

Jisoo scowled even harder somehow. Her jaw is clenched and she's looking at the framed picture just passed your head.

"Are you 'having needs' right now?"

"I'm always 'having needs' because of stupid alphas like you!"

Before you can even blink, Jisoo has you pressed against the nearest wall, with her lips on yours.

It's a lot of clashing teeth and nipped lower lips, and you whimpered desperately or maybe that was Jisoo, you had somehow become so intertwined so quickly, it never became obvious.

Jisoo nipped lightly at your neck. A smirk danced across her kiss swollen lips. You shuddered.

Your back arched away from the wall as Jisoo's hand traveled down your still clothed stomach and into your jeans.

Jisoo groaned, "You're soaked." She pulled her hand back from its destination part way before returning.

"So I've been told."

Jisoo growled lowly, "Really? You want to be petty right now? With my hand down your pants?"

"What better time than the present?"

Jisoo's fingers traced the outline of your folds lightly, occasionally, grazing over your clit. Her movement is hindered by the tightness of your jeans, but she's determined to get you off like this first.

So, she pushed her her hand back down roughly. The heel of her palm brushed harshly against your center. Her fingers circling your entrance.

"Well, if you're so keen on talking during this, now would be the perfect time for you to beg."

You choked down a whimper, "Y-You know, you're at like the perfect distance for me to knee your dick into your throat, right?"

"So is that a no?"

"It's a keep talking and see what happens-Fuck!" Jisoo mentally patted herself on the back for that one. Her index finger curled slightly inside of you.

You couldn't have even begun to choke back the resulting whimper.

"You were saying?" A raised eyebrow accompanied her smirk. You made sure to clench your eyes shut.

"Do you make it your mission to be this insufferable?" You bit your lip as Jisoo pulled her hand out once again. You absolutely refused to beg, or do anything that would suggest you wanted Jisoo to put her hand back out of pure spite.

Jisoo, for her part, wasn't even thinking about that anymore. She had foregone her original plan. You weren't cooperating and Jisoo's straining painfully against her own shorts.

She leaned in to nip at your neck again. Her nose pressed firmly to your scent gland.

Jisoo never answered the question.

Instead, she dipped her thumbs into the waistband of your jeans and underwear. She pushed them down enough so they were out of her way.

"Jisoo." You breathed out, you were suddenly facing the wall. Jisoo pressed against you lightly.

You could feel Jisoo. Her arousal. Her breathe on your shoulder. Her hands roaming underneath your shirt, you have a feeling Jisoo won't bother to take that off of you.

Your suspicions are confirmed when there's a rustling of clothing, none of which involve anything you're still technically wearing. The heat of Jisoo's body left for about all of three seconds, before she returns sans shorts.

Jisoo chuckled into your ear, "Is this how you thought your morning would go when you woke up. Me, you, and this wall?"

You pressed your overheated face onto said wall. The cold drywall cooled your face almost immediately, "Fuck you."

"What do you think im trying to do?"

Jisoo nestled nicely between your thighs. Her hips slowly pumping back and forth.

You groaned, "Chu, please. I want you inside me."

Jisoo resisted the urge to fist pump, "Since you asked so nicely. I'm never letting you live this down, by the way."

You're sure under any other circumstances, you would have kicked her feet out from under her, but Jisoo's finally inside of you and you're not even totally sure what you were even thinking about three seconds earlier.

~•~

"Don't think this means I'm not still mad at you." You huffed petulantly as you adjusted all of your clothing back onto your body, the way it had been when you came in.

"Yeah, I'm not too thrilled with you either at the moment. Truce?" Jisoo shuffled back into her shorts. She held out her hand toward you.

You just stared at it, "Fine, truce." Your brows furrowed for a second before widening comically, "Where's your kid?"

Jisoo looked back at you confused for a moment, "Kid? What ki-Oh! She's at my parents for the week. You didn't think I'd have sex with you in my living room if she was here, did you? Of course not, I'd do it in the kitchen."

"I really can't stand you." You rolled your eyes before heading for the door.

"Then why do you keep talking to me?"

"Because Irene's already mated!" You shouted over your shoulder.

"Hey! Low blow!"

You only laughed as you exited the apartment.

~•~

She hates Whole Foods. She really does, but Lia's got allergies and it's the easiest place to shop for her.

She figured now was a good time to go grocery shopping. She wouldn't have to deal with the ankle biter pointing to every single flavor of Cheerios she recognized and pouting until Jisoo put it into the basket.

Speaking of Cheerios, Jisoo found herself in the cereal aisle. She grabbed a large box of plain Cheerios for Lia, then Lucky Charms for herself.

She was about to continue down the aisle, when her cart clipped someone in the back of the ankle.

"Sorry about that."

The owner of the ankle turned around with an easy smile.

"It's all good."

Jisoo's face lit up with recognition, only for the it to practically get slapped off her face with recognition of a different variety.

Jisoo is suddenly struck with the urge to maybe punch this woman in the face, she eventually decided that probably wasn't a good look.

Jisoo assumed she can probably sense you on her too and that's not good.

She breifly wondered if they were going to have to fight in the cereal aisle of this local Whole Foods, but then the other woman just says, "Hey, Jisoo. Long time no see."

"Yeah. It's been a while, Chaeyoung."

Rosé nodded resolutely before going about her business. Trying to get away from Jisoo as quickly as possible.

Jisoo decided to too, groceries be damned.

~•~

"You know it's no fun if you don't help." You smiled, you stared at Jisoo for a minute, waiting for her to respond.

Jisoo was supposed to be helping you clean your apartment. Instead, she had just been standing near your front door for the better part of 15 minutes. When Jisoo doesn't say anything, you just go back to cleaning with a small frown.

It isn't until 15 more minutes pass, that Jisoo actually does speak. You will forever fondly remember this next part as 'My Worst Nightmare Come To Life'.

"Do I even have a chance?" Jisoo wasn't looking at you. She only stared at the ceiling. Her hands clench to fists in her jeans pockets.

"What are you talking about?" You asked softly. You slowly placed your cleaning supplies onto the sofa.

"You have Rosé Fucking Park knocking on your door, and you still give me the time of day? Why?" Jisoo's shoulders shrugged nearly to her ears. She wrestled herself off the wall, then let her eyes drift to you.

"Because I-" Your chest hurt. Your eyes stung, and your head ache. You felt like you were curling in on yourself.

This was the very thing you didn't want to happen. You were supposed to choose one of them before they found out, so you didn't lose both of them.

"I thought-I thought. I don't know what I thought, but it doesn't matter anymore." Jisoo glared, not necessarily at you. Just at life in general. She glared at the very unfortunate hand she had been dealt.

"Wait. How did-Do you know Rosé?"

Jisoo shrugged again, "We went to college together, sung in the choir. But that's irrelevant. You could have told me. I wouldn't have gotten mad or anything. Or stopped letting you see Lia. Dammit, always second place."

"Chi-Jisoo, you're not second place." You choked on a sob. You can feel it. Jisoo's pulling away from you. And you sort of feel like you're been torn in two.

"So, I'm first?" Jisoo looked back up at you slowly. A subtle hopeful look bled into your eyes.

"Jisoo, I-" You swallowed harshly.

"Yeah. It sounds like you have a choice to make." Jisoo rubbed the back of neck, then headed for the door.

"Jisoo please." You went to reach for Jisoo's hand but stopped yourself.

"I'm just going to head out." Jisoo placed her hand on the door knob. She only hesitated a few beats before shaking her head and opening it.

"Soo..." The tears are leaking from your eyes in full force now. Jisoo continued to walk out the door.

It doesn't slam shut behind her, which you appreciated.

You wondered if you should call Chaeyoung, but you don't think you could handle her not picking up. You're not even sure if you could handle Chaeyoung actually picking up either, for that matter.

What would you even say?

That you were sorry? That you didn't mean to hurt anyone?

It all seemed a little too late for that.

[lesbianrobin]

Im dying to know, do you have any holiday-themed Steve, Robin, Party, etc. headcanons?

god you KNOW i do!!! first of all i celebrate christmas and i dont rly know anything about other holidays this time of year so im just gonna... work on the assumption that they all celebrate christmas, but if anyone who doesnt celebrate or celebrates something else wants to reblog and add their own hcs i encourage it!!! okay this is gonna be so scattered but:

steve never really liked christmas very much. it was always just stressful and he hated having to spend time with his family and he always got like the most generic expensive boring gifts from his parents and it just wasn't really fun... the first christmas he really got into it was the christmas he spent with nancy and after they broke up, he was like oh christmas just fucking sucks!! but then...

that next christmas dustin invites him over for christmas eve and he brings a pie that he bought from the grocery store and claudia thanks him a million times and he wishes that he'd baked it himself so he didn't feel so guilty

dustin gives him a little baseball bat ornament and claudia is like "oh i thought you played basketball!" and steve is like "oh uh i do but i like baseball too :)" and he and dustin kinda smile at each other and steve ruffles his hair and they watch rudolph on tv and steve is like oh christmas.... is good......

speaking of dustin he always starts thinking about christmas gifts in like october but somehow ends up with absolutely nothing on december 20th and he has to run around in a panic finding gifts for the party

he drinks hot chocolate like a maniac... he doesnt drink water the entire month of december it's hot chocolate or it's nothing

hes one of those people who will say "come on it's christmas!!!" on like the tenth

lucas is one of those people who will say "no asshole it's december tenth"

lucas loves christmas!! he just thinks that it's a day and not a whole fucking month!!! he thinks anything before like december 15th is too much

the only thing he hates about christmas is that his parents always make him and erica pick out gifts for each other with no help from them... and since erica is an evil genius she always gets lucas the perfect gift just so she can hold it over his head for the entire year when he accidentally gets her a toy she already owns

she literally watches him open his present like >:) and lucas is pissed when it's this extremely specific action figure that he's wanted for a long time but he swears he never even mentioned it to anybody

and then he just sits there feeling like a stupid asshole as she unwraps a random doll that lucas figured she might like since its hair looks kind of sort of vaguely like erica's and she's like "thanks lucas :) i think i have this one already but it's sweet" and his parents are like "hey it's the thought that counts! erica see your brother knows what you like :)" and she's like "yeah :)" and then as soon as their parents aren't looking she sticks her tongue out at lucas and he sticks his out back at her

the sinclairs have such a disgustingly perfect christmas like they bake cookies together and shit it's adorable

speaking of adorable families the byers house is so full of love on christmas

almost all of the ornaments on their tree are handmade little crafts from when will and jonathan were younger and they buy tinsel at the dollar store and just go fucking ham with it their tree always looks like a hobby lobby threw up

growing up joyce would usually try to get them some things they need on christmas and then like one or two special things for each of them and she could never buy the fancy new toys that were in all the ads on tv and in magazines but she knows her boys.... jonathan got his first camera on christmas and it was from a secondhand store and kind of dinged up and definitely old as shit but he loved it..... will always got some new construction paper and crayons or markers so by the end of christmas day joyce would have new drawings to put up on the fridge or a new little ornament that he made for her.....

sometime in november jonathan would always be like "okay will i have a secret mission for you, you need to find out something mom needs that we could give her for christmas!" and will would be like "you have to say your mission should you choose to accept it" and jonathan would say "well i know you're gonna accept the mission" and will's like "jonathannnnn" and jonathan would be like "okay fine your mission should you choose to accept it" and will would be like >:) im a spy >:)

so little baby will would action roll around the house humming the mission impossible theme and peeking around walls at joyce and then after like a week he'd say "i think mom needs a stool she keeps jumping to try and reach stuff high up in the cabinets" and jonathan's like awesome thanks and he finds a cheap folding stool and some chocolates that he can afford with whatever money he has saved up and he has will wrap it because he figures it's like ten times cuter that way and joyce cries when she sees the little christmas card will put with the stool for her

i'm going way more in depth than i need to thvjdjcd but basically the byers house is all love man... so much love ..... they don't use colored lights anymore they only use the solid strands but they still have fun decorating together and will makes paper chains and stuff to hang up and i'm about to make myself cry

so!! this is getting super long fjvndmcmd

nancy is absolute dogshit at buying presents for people she's just terrible at it. she always just asks mike and holly and her parents what they want and buys exactly what they tell her and if they don't tell her anything then she has like a mental breakdown about it and panics and buys like. a flannel pajama gift set from the department store.

when she's dating steve he tells her not to worry about getting him anything which she takes at face value until her mom asks what she's giving steve like three days before christmas and then she starts panicking and she goes to a sporting goods store and just asks the first employee she sees what a teenage boy who plays basketball might like

steve can't tell if he should be like happy or vaguely offended that his girlfriend gave him like shoe deodorizers and a water bottle and socks for a sports team that he doesn't root for... she tried though and thats all he cares about

she and jonathan agree they'll exchange gifts but nothing over like MAX fifteen bucks which is easy she just finds a tape or a record she thinks he'll like and she's set (she spends a full hour in the music store and almost just gets a gift certificate for him but eventually she just says fuck it and picks some random shit she's never heard of and hopes he likes whatever it is)

mike on the other hand is actually like... insanely good at gift giving because he pays close attention to the people he cares about and he just like Knows if lucas or dustin or will is gonna like something

he just doesnt really buy into christmas all that much?? it's cool to get free stuff and eat cookies and all but he thinks people make it into a bigger deal than it should be

holly still believes in santa though so he likes seeing how excited she gets on christmas... it warms his cold tween boy heart.....

the first christmas he gets to spend with el he turns into a fucking christmas enthusiast and he makes her hot chocolate and gives her a tape full of christmas songs and he asks his mom for a bigger gift allowance because he has a GIRLFRIEND now and she's never- uh, THEY'VE never celebrated christmas TOGETHER so it has to be SPECIAL MOM!!!!

karen is like buddy calm down but it's so nice to see him excited about something again that she caves and gives him like forty bucks and tells him not to tell nancy or his dad

el and hopper christmas... i cannot go into detail or i WILL cry but hopper takes her with him to pick out their tree and she's so meticulous about it like examining all of them and he's just standing there in the cold freezing his ass off letting her do her thing because she's so excited that he doesn't have the heart to tell her they're basically all the same and to just hurry up and pick one

he gives her a lot of books... there are so many books under their ugly fucking tree because el picks one thats extremely crooked because she says it seems nice and hopper cant find any of his old decorations so they have to start from scratch...

el enlists the whole party for help finding hopper a present because it has to be the best present of all time!!!! they're like well what does he like and she's like uh tv.... coffee.... gun...... and they're like uh we can get him a coffee mug?

so on christmas morning el presents him with a "BEST DAD" mug full of candy and he hugs her so she won't see that he's fucking crying

she also gives max a drawing she did of max as wonder woman and it isn't very good but max says it's her favorite present she's ever gotten and she keeps it folded up in her nightstand

max has mixed feelings about christmas

i should not have saved her for last this is depressing

fuck her family fuck all of that okay max spends christmas eve with the sinclairs and christmas day with el because her mom and neil don't really feel like celebrating this year and so for the first time in a long time her christmas is full of love and joy and hopper makes them cinnamon rolls for breakfast which el has never had before and it's great

the party usually does a big gift swap and they don't get each other anything too fancy or expensive but it's sweet... they all gather in mike's basement like the day after christmas and eat the leftovers from the wheelers' christmas dinner and give each other comics and action figures and dice

once robin enters the picture she and steve lowkey get smashed on christmas eve together off peppermint schnapps and they play rockin around the christmas tree like ten times and jump around until they get dizzy...

they give each other little things like every other day leading up to christmas so by the end of december they've exchanged gifts like ten times but it isn't their FAULT okay!!! steve just saw these earrings and thought of her so he got them... and robin couldn't just leave that wham! crop top sitting in the store...... and steve couldn't resist the cheap bff necklaces he found while looking for a gift for erica....... and what is robin meant to do, ignore the stuffed kermit doll she saw in a store window?

it's just unrealistic

i like to think that everybody gathers at the byers house for lunch or dinner on christmas eve... they just hang out and exchange presents and make cookies and watch christmas movies and argue over which ones suck and which ones are actually good...... they just spend time together without any fear or danger and it's good

[witchofleviathan-blog]

Cultural Appropriation, Two Sides of The Coin

First of all, we need to define what it means. By Wiki: Cultural appropriation, at times also phrased cultural misappropriation,[2][3][4] is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures.

A very famous example of this was the Washington Redskins NFL team, who had this logo:

And the name RedSkins. There are debates about its origin but everyone agrees that it is offensive.  One explanation dates back to a time in history when colonial and state governments paid white people to kill Native Americans and were encouraged to cut off their scalps and even genitalia, to prove their “kill count”. 

Urban Dictionary however defines it as “The ridiculous notion that being of a different culture or race (especially white) means that you are not allowed to adopt things from other cultures.  This does nothing but support segregation and hinder progress in the world.  All it serves to do is to promote segregation and racism.”

For some people, white Americans walking around in traditional east African garb, for example, is considered cultural appropriation.  Others would argue it is a form of self-expression and shows appreciation and respect of another culture.  Alternatively, a white American wearing a sari to a traditional Indian wedding ceremony is considered by many not to be cultural appropriation, but instead is showing respect of the culture and tradition.

But there’s a big problem with critiques of cultural appropriation.  They reaffirm the very thing they intend to oppose: white Western domination over and exploitation of culture at the expense of everyone else.

This is the problem with cultural-appropriation critiques. They depend on reductive binaries—“high culture” and “low culture,” and oftentimes, “first world” and “third world”—that preserve the hierarchical relations between the fashion industry and the cultures being appropriated. This is related to the problem with cultural-appreciation defenses. Producers and consumers of culturally appropriated objects often present them as examples of healthy cosmopolitanism, of an openness to diverse global sources of inspiration. But the Indonesian plaid example shows that such production and consumption of “diversity” can often—intentionally or accidentally—obscure the actual diversity and complexity of the cultural object being copied.

60% of people on Debate.org say “No, they do not believe it is an issue.” 40% of people on Debate.org say “Yes, they do think it’s an issue.” Some of the top responses include: “Both sides have blown cultural appropriation way out of proportion. Anti-political correctness people state that it is a form of censorship and totalitarianism, But no one is banned from culturally appropriating. You can't expect for there to not be a backlash when you take the culture of a minority that your people group have oppressed and trivialized it. The arguments that everything is culturally appropriated, That plaid is Scottish and other things like that, Don't work because cultural appropriation is about stigmatized groups. Indigenous people, For example, Have been killed, Forcibly assimilated, And given little to nothing to make up for it (it can't even be made up for). Their culture is a core aspect of who they are, And after being aggressively challenged and slaughtered by Western society they are trying to preserve the last pieces of their rich culture. Western people don't understand why cultural appropriation is a problem because they've never had to deal with being stigmatized. When white people, For example, Dress up as Native Americans, It is trivializing a very sacred tradition, And being completely disrespectful to a group that is still hurt by white people to this day. But there is a line. There needs to be freedom of speech and expression, And the simple wearing of patterns and styles from a different culture isn't necessarily wrong. It's important to pay respect to its source, Though, And to understand its significance. I see no valid reason why people would be so upset about not being able to wear something that doesn't have anything to do with them. It's not about oppression, It's about acknowledging a culture and paying it the minimum amount of respect it deserves. No one is controlling what you wear, But the least you can do is pay respect to something very important to another culture, And make sure that where you are getting it from comes from actual members of that culture.“ “I don't think there's anything wrong with people 'stealing' aspects from other cultures. I don't see the issue in a white girl wearing dreadlocks, if that's what she wants then she must feel free to do so. Dreadlocks is not a priviliged hairstyle only black people can have (this is only an example). I know there are people who don't feel this way and are really offended when parts of their culture get 'stolen' by other people, but I believe there are worse issues like racism and homophobia that need solving first.“ “The way I see it anybody can use anything from any culture if it suits what they need it for. No invention is the sole property of any culture because no invention was created by a culture anyway, they were created by individuals. But, in some cases, certain aspects of culture are very important to the people who live in those cultures which can cause an issue. For example, a lot of Christians value the God they worship and take offense to people insulting him. Some Americans put a lot of value in the flag and hate to see others not respect it as much. And we can all agree on the song Feliz Navidad which is an appropriation of Christmas music is cancer. There are many other examples like the British Queen and guards, the Catholic Pope, that some people take serious offense to. So, why is it we sometimes can't see how other cultures might hold aspects of their culture with a certain dignity that they feel we don't respect. Like the Native American headdresses. We may see them as colorful garments that look interesting but too many of them it's a religious item. I remember many people took offense to urinated on the image of Jesus Christ so how do we tell them that we don't care if they feel its disrespectful. It doesn't only go one-way folks, so before we use concepts from other cultures we should make sure there isn't significant importance assigned to it.“ “I believe that if we give credit and respect the source of the culture that we adopt then we can have no systemic power dynamic between two cultures and abolishing any thoughts of racism consciously or subconsciously. We should respectfully adopt all cultures and shouldn't prevent or stop any other ethnic group from adopting your own culture.“ “There is an issue look i typed a whole nuch of stuff and it deleted and i dont feel like explaining all over again so im just going to start typing a whole bunch of blah but stealing someones culture is not right you ignorant bastards stick to your own culture.“ “Where are the arguments concerning Plaid? How many times has this pattern been used in cultures other than Scottish? Here the debate ends, because it will prove that if you are not white, you have a right. I am all about honoring all cultures. I support all things related to improving cultural and racial equities...But the debate about what is cultural appropriation is utter nonsense. Shall we all go back to animal skins and furs?” “All these things that people wear like bindis and headresses (sorry i dont know the name) without knowing the meaninh and how to wear thwm is simply wrong. Just because something looks nice and cool or 'urban' doesnt mean you should wear them. People get offended because their culturistic objects are simply used because thwy look 'nice' before wearing anything like these you have to take in the consideration that they are symbolic and you should only wear them if you are using them the way they are meant to be used.” “If people think cornrows look disgusting on black people but edgy on white people then the problem is with the society of people that think that not with the white people with cornrows. If there even is a problem at all. And why is everyone so concerned with what white people think anyway. Disallowing people to borrow ideas from other cultures obstructs the progress of the arts and of the world. Pretty much all american food is appropriated from other cultures. Actually most foods associated with particular cultures are appropriated from other cultures. Thats what happens. Everyone gets ideas off each other and we all progress and learn things from each other.“ “While white people are praised for altering their bodies, plumping their lips and tanning their skin, black women are shamed although the same features exist on them naturally. What looks ghastly, horrible and repulsive on the actual culture, looks ‘cool’ and ‘exotic’ on the oppressors. How can this be? A culture is supposed to be something that is vibrant, unique and homley to the person that belongs to that culture. A culture is what gives you history and what makes you interesting- It gives you a sense of belonging to a certain group. It isn’t there to be stolen or made fun of. A culture is sacred and it’s what makes you, you. It influences the way you dress, dance, how you act, what food you eat, and the list goes on. Therefore culture is a substantial part of somebody’s life. Hence you can’t just take it like it’s yours and change the entire concept of it; changing the meaning and turning into something it’s not. It’s just not right. In a song Selena Gomez, a pop artist, dresses up in traditional south asian clothes. Now I'm not saying that's wrong. People can wear whaevr they want. However what has Bindis and Saris got to do with her song? Absolutely nothing. Then why does she wear it? She is stealing an entire culture and ethnic identity and turning it into just a mere costume. She is changing the meaning of the once- important Bindi and turning it into just an ordinary fashion accessory.” “"Cultural appropriation" is a morally confused and historically nonsensical idea. All culture, across history, has been appropriated from other cultures. There is no such thing as pure culture. All culture is in flux and is in a state of appropriation and change, at all times. The Italians got pasta from the Chinese -- should they give it back? The Japanese took much of their culture from the Chinese, and Buddhism from the Indians. There is no such thing as "black" culture -- what we call "black" covers an extraordinarily diverse set of peoples, all of which have for centuries been pillaging and appropriating one another's cultures in Africa and elsewhere. Some culture, somewhere, started wearing corn rows. Should only the black people who trace their lineage to that particular people be allowed to wear corn rows? Should we stop eating Tex Mex food? Is it wrong for a white person to wear a ninja costume to a party? Should Native Americans be asked to shut down casinos because they came from white people? Should white jewelry makers in New Mexico stop making jewelry with Native American designs and symbols? Should black people be banned from wearing bowler hats? If you are half white and half black, do you get to wear corn rows on only one side of your head? Absurd. Totally, completely absurd. Food, dress, hairstyles -- none of it is pure, none of it "belongs" to anyone of any particular race, and talking about it being "stolen" is talking pure nonsense.” For me personally-I am on the 60% that say it is not an issue. I do think there is a line you cannot cross, but to get offended for wearing “om” yoga pants, using chakras, chopsticks, practicing Voodoo, cornrows, the list goes on and on. People, witches, wizards, or not, have the freedom to look into the history of the cultural, say per example chopsticks. Is the Witch Nancy going to cultural appropriate by using them? In no way. Doing a quick Google, Nancy can look up “where did chopsticks come from” and find: “Created roughly 4,000-5,000 years ago in China, the earliest versions of something like chopsticks were used for cooking (they're perfect for reaching into pots full of hot water or oil) and were most likely made from twigs.” Now she as both knowledge on wear chopsticks came from, how they made, and possibly who made them.  The same goes for Witchcraft and it’s paths. Yes, steer clear (unless you want to) of initiation only practices. Do your research. If a  spiritual path, or religion, or group, doesn’t fit in with your ideals, then you’re free to move on to the next idea. However if something really interests you? Say mojo bags, smudging, dolls, etc? My advise would be: -Buy from local sellers. (If you cannot buy from local sellers because of the price, cheaper ones do fine too! Respect =/=  going broke!) -Ask the people from where the cultural came from.  -Ask people/the group on how to properly do whatever Witchy thing you want to do. 

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid of dabbling in a few things until you figure your own path out. Ask, ask, and ask some more questions.  Sources: https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-cultural-appropriation-an-important-social-issue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/2017/session/whose-culture-is-it-anyway-the-cultural-appropriation-debate/ https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/teenager-prom-dress-cultural-appropriation-chinese-culture-criticism-debate-appreciation-a8330006.html