#like blue and green. are SO important

[upsidedowngrass]

every day that i havent made an essay analyzing color motifs and shape motifs in one i cry a little

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

somewhat satisfied with this... pretty butterfly man...

[kooki914]

What are asgore and spades favorite colors

[ratatatastic]

absolutely hilarious that 3 cats (well now 2 but back to 3 because of mikksy) go to the same tailor and now mikksy has joined in his 2nd year with the cats so congrats to him

IG | 9.21.24 (x)

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

Irl conversation I had with a friend two days ago

[brick-van-dyke]

I'm still pretty sick with the flu and I'm still figuring out how to move past being frozen with hyperempathy so I'll try to be brief with this. But I want to touch on a thing I've been thinking about pretty much this entire past year.

In the last decade, or my whole upbringing and childhood as well to be honest, I saw a horrific amount of dehumanisation of Arab culture, language and idenity. All of it was associated with the Taliban, ISIS, war and terrorism to the point most young people would assume that and be suspicious when they'd see a mosque, hijab, brown skin, arabic written somewhere or any display of Arab culture. Like, no, the west has always been violently racist and you all aren't immune to that upbringing of assuming anything written in arabic to be ISIS propaganda, anything to do with Muslim holidays being seen as oppressive and bad or homophobic; a reason for suspicion. We've all been brought up with that shit.

I now want us to think about that upbringing with Jews today and how the antisemetism ingrained in the west actually defines Israel in ways much like how Islamophobia defines the Taliban or ISIS. We KNOW they aren't the same as being Muslim or being Jewish, but that doesn't stop us making associations and assumptions. It doesn't suddenly make demonizing Jews in the same way Arabs have been dehumanised okay. Both are people that deserve love, respect and protection from hate. Political Zionism, Mossad and Modern Israel are western inventions that aren't Jewish at all, just as much as ISIS and the Taliban are western inventions that aren't Arab or Muslim. They were created by western powers for western interests (and hell, even if they weren't that wouldn't justify shit) and should never be used as a reason to automatically suspect our Muslim, Jewish and Arab siblings. These are groups that's exist irrespective of this and require our respect all the same.

I'm staunchly antifascist, pro/ part of the Intifada and for a one state solution with a free Palestine that includes all and respects all equally. Doing that means, fundamentally, that we can't use the weapons and tactics of the western colonial entities; of hate, of demonising an entire culture, language and people. We have to be better.

Just as we have to be against the Bush administration's dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims, and their targetting of the entire race, various cultures, religion and language, we have to actually put in work to not let ourselves be taken in by western antisemetism that is deeply ingrained within our society as well. There are many stigmas in western society around Jews, and we cannot let it be suddenly exempt from scrutiny because we decide one is okay while the other is not. Both are equally bad, if not good indicators that these same people likely have anti Arab and anti Muslim beliefs internalised as well. They often go hand on hand from what I've seen of liberal racists who have said "I'm not racist" then proceeded to say they think Muslims are all homophobic and that all religions are bad because "Muslims created ISIS" without realising the horrific racism in that. It's these same people who often say "all Jews are responsible and must stand up against Israel or they're actually Zionists". It's the same logic and it always comes back to a general internalisation of racism. That is something we, as leftists, must fight against.

Like, the same people who now say "I have to check and make sure the Jews I know aren't Zionists" are also the same people who have said "I think Arab Americans deserve to see Gaza get flattened because they didn't vote blue". Like it's the same old racist shit and the same post Bush suspicion based on "all Muslims and Arabs are ISIS right?" It's the same shit, like modern Israel, ISIS, (and I'd also include Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, etc.) and the Taliban are all entities created/ taken control of by the west and then used by the west to expand their own access to resources. It's the US just expanded so if anything y'all should be way more inherently suspicious of white Americans being the CIA in disguise than Jews all being Mossad and Muslims all being ISIS members. Like they are different things, Zionists aren't Jews and vice versa. Basically, just don't assume shit and listen to antizionist Jews when they call you out on antisemetism. The west has deeply ingrained anrisemetic roots and you all still have to unlearn that shit if you really want a free Palestine and a successful Intifada (both in Palestine and, I hope, for successful land back movements in other western colonised nations).

If you see a Jew celebrating their holidays without mentioning Palestine or condemning Israel? Shut up and let them celebrate. If you see a Muslim celebrating their holidays without condemning ISIS or Afghanistan and Iran's treatment of women? Shut up and let them celebrate. Entire groups of people shouldn't be expected to be held to account and put in all the work of unraveling western colonialism, all because you're already suspicious of anyone who isn't white, atheist or just live differently to you. Respect people and their culture, unlearn western racist imperialist propaganda.

Unlearn that shit and learn to unite under one banner of antifascist resistance that sees all as equal.

[stinkrascal]

you know what though i am gonna change elisen’s vallaslin color

[little-red-fool]

Seen a lot of stuff lately of people just berating others for having takes on characters that they don’t agree with or that don’t align with their take, like girl it’s a fictional character they’re not real, and especially if it’s a fictional character who’s backstory/lore is quite vague, let people believe what they want it’s not that serious, I’ve got certain views on characters that don’t line up with how other people see them and vice versa, that doesn’t mean anybody’s right or wrong, even if it’s less canon-compliant, literally who cares. It’s a silly little made up person with a silly little made up backstory and we’re just making silly little headcanons, like bro it’s not that deep, and I’m tired of people getting so pissy with others about “issues” like this.

[aelincreativ]

Paladins get Powers

So with the resurgence of Voltron on tiktok recently, it brought up an old idea I never did anything with back when the show was airing.

The concept of the paladins getting powers related to their lions. The mashing of science and magic and resonance that already happens in the show, is a perfect gateway for some elemental power fuckery.

Especially if you throw in when they change lions. Of Keith's fire powers fading while he's with the Blade and him thinking this means that he is being rejected by the lions. Only to develop the flight/teleportation that Shiro had. Struggling to accept his place in the air when before he always, always was stuck watching from the ground. Learning to embrace the freedom Shiro so desperately wanted him to understand and embrace and as such learns what it means to live for himself. And then learns how to get the aerial perspective of those around him and how the wind buffets and blows but also fills all their lungs to keep them moving.

Lance struggling with the difference between water and fire and bonding with Keith's as he learns to handle the fire in his chest that Keith misses desperately. Learning to appreciate the warmth and passion that still burns in Keoth and reaching out to stoke Keith's embers back into a blaze with his belief. Learning to strike fast and hot but also be the warmth of of a hearth for his team to rest against.

Allura not thinking she'll get any powers since she's already been linked with the castle and the mice and why would she also get the paladin powers? But she does and there's a moment of Lance trying to teach Allura but she adapts to the water so differently than he did. Lance was the steady flow and beat of the unchanging tide that beat against his opponent with his every pulse. Allura is the driving current that sweeps her enemies away in a sudden swirl. Lance and Allura realizing that they represented the two halves of water. Push and pull.

And while all the drama of swapping powers is happening, Pidge and Hunk have been trying to master their powers they still don't fully know how to use.

Plants and Earth seem to fit together somehow but it's hard to use them in space. Their battles rarely take place close enough to the ground that they get a chance to properly test and experiment. So instead they have an entire room of the castle that has a real garden in it. Hunk learns the density of the soil and the way it holds firm against force but can be gently slip apart by a growing root. Learning to find strength in standing firm but how to let's the roots grow past him so he doesn't crumble either. Learning to stand up and weather the things that made him fear because he will be the mountain his team shelters on.

Pidge struggles. The energy of nature and life teasing at the edge of her mind but still so far out of their reach. They can't figure out the code behind it. The reason why they can feel the spark of life in a leaf just like she feels it in her robot creations. It takes a frustrated sleep deprived night where she screams in frustration and slams into the garden room where they flop against a small tree. Trying to create a program that can live and think on its own to help them. She slides down to her back and reaches a hand up to the small branches above and imagines. Thinks of using the headpieces to control the nature tech and trying to replicate that feeling only to be rebuffed with a phantom giggle. "Silly paladin, simply live."

And finally Shiro. Who was so scared the first time his feet left the ground and he didn't know how to get down. At the start thinking he had to be the wings to carry them forward. That he needed stay above them to keep watch over them. Learning how to close the distance again when they needed him. And then a desperate moment where it's all going wrong and Shiro simply wishes that he could fly again. That he'd get one more chance to feel the air. And then he finally seems to understand the freedom he's been craving and desperately grabs for it and yearns and then he's gone. And when he wakes there's a hollow weight in his chest. Pinning his feet to the ground no matter how desperately he tries. Of wishing and wishing until finally he feels the resonance of freedom again and it's just enough. He reaches for freedom but knows that he had to also say goodbye when the freedom reaches back. And then he's no longer in the stolen fighter, instead he's collapsed in his little brothers arms and can feel that the call of freedom has found a new roost.

Just. Paladins with powers.

[euclydya]

ok i am NOT making fiddleford a bracelet fuck that guy (joke. joke. ford im joking)

[pallases]

idk what to do here folks im out of colors

[wereh0gz]

I still haven't decided on a color for my binder lmao

[sidereous]

Decided I'd do some quick doodles of OCs I haven't given much attention or just haven't done anything with

[embryhallowed]

Oh gender stuff

I visited back home for the first time in a while and my parents let me invite some friends for a bonfire in the back yard.

One of my friends is trans and they're probably the first trans person my family have knowingly been around. I told my family beforehand to be nice and respectful or else 🔪 and lo, they were!

Which was a pleasant surprise, because who can guess how an extremely conservative family will behave, but it was interesting to see my mom's reaction to my friend.

She pulled me aside privately at one point and was like, "when you said they were trans I thought maybe they were born male? But s-they don't seem to be? I'm coming from a place of ignorance, can you help me understand?"

Sure, she stumbled over her words a bit, but she seemed genuine about wanting to learn and be respectful, so that was nice, but it was also here that I realized my mom's only perception of trans people was either as trans men or trans women. It was definitely one of those "oh right, I forgot not everyone knows about this" moments for me.

I briefly explained that trans is an umbrella term for many identities, cited a couple of my friends as examples of the spectrum, and assured her that I'd be happy to talk about it with her in depth some other time. She seemed receptive to this, which was really really nice?

And the idea of being able to explain these things to her sounded really good at the time, and honestly still does, but later I had the realization that if I have this talk with her, it will probably give her the power to clock me???

Which. Oh no.

My mom and I have been able to maintain a decent relationship on the basis of denial for at least the last decade or so. If I explain the spectrum of gender beyond the binary, that will probably endanger the denial. And can she handle me without that? IDK.

I don't know if she knows what a binder is, but she saw me wearing one, she knows my hair is super short, and she sees what I post on social media. She even told me that, with my haircut, I look like my most masculine sibling. I can just imagine her connecting the dots as I explain what non-binary is.

I've told myself that if anyone directly asked, I wouldn't deny it, but this also isn't a part of myself I planned on making vulnerable to her/the family at large?

But maybe that conversation would be a good thing? I would get the chance to explain things to her from a perspective that isn't steeped in bigotry, which would be great. But, then she might really see me... But that might not be a bad thing either? I mean, hell, my family was all "people shouldn't marry outside of their race!" for ages, and their opinion didn't change until my mixed cousin was born. Maybe they really do need it to impact them personally before they can care. IDK.

Anyone else had to navigate this sort of thing yet?

[otterknowbynow]

all the subjects polls are a mess but math is blue science is green english/lit is yellow history is red and foreign language is whatever is leftover, usually & ideally purple.

[jamboreeartsupplies]

plz help i can't decide. i rlly like the orange theme i have with the kiwi gizmo profile pic but...