#my american girl

[kanani-akina]

meet my newest, raleigh!! i wasn’t in the market for any new dolls but i fell in love with this girlie on ebay. she has a few marks that i need to bleach out and permapanties, but other than that she’s perfect. i’ve never wanted number 23 but i couldn’t resist. she’ll be chilling in my dorm to get me through the rest of the semester :)

[dollcommercials]

My American Girl Commercial (2010)

[americangirldollies]

my American Girl Innerstar U charm holder (early 2010s)

[foreverrryourssss]

✊🏾Black American Culture

[staticsnowfall]

michaela mabinty deprince (1995-2024)

🩰˚✧₊⁎

today, september 13th, 2024, the ballet world lost an extraordinary dancer and woman.

michaela mabinty deprince was born on january 6th, 1995, as mabinty bangura, in sierra-leone. she was orphaned, her parents passing to due to both direct and indirect causes of the civil war in her home country. she was demonized by her caretakers for her vitiligo, being called a “devil’s child”, and suffering from other forms of neglect and abuse. in 1999, deprince was adopted by an american couple along with another girl, and they were taken to new jersey, united states of america.

her hopes of becoming a ballerina had been planted when she found a ballerina on a magazine cover in her home country. she didn’t know of ballet at the time, but treasured the picture and dreamed of dancing. this dream blossomed into truth when she moved to the states, being put into ballet lessons soon after her arrival. deprince was a four-time participant in youth america grand prix, one of the largest ballet competitions in the united states. she was awarded a scholarship to study at the jaqueline kennedy onassis school of ballet, the associate school of american ballet theatre.

despite facing racial discrimination and other hardships in and out of the industry, deprince persisted in her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer. in 2012, at the age of 16, she became the youngest member of dance theatre of harlem, and the next year, she joined the junior company of the dutch national ballet. she soon rose through the ranks, joining the main company and attaining the rank of soloist. she was the first dancer of african origin to ever join the company, and a shining advocate and role model for black women in ballet.

her other accomplishments include being an ambassador for war child holland, a dutch organization working to improve the wellbeing and resilience of children directly affected by war. she visited uganda and lebanon through the organization. she also appeared in beyoncé’s 2016 music video for ‘freedom’.

she will dance among all the stars in the sky. rest in peace beautiful michaela mabinty, you are already so missed. ♡

[shellshooked]

10,000 years is a long time

[inkskinned]

one of the things that's the most fucking frustrating for me about arguing with climate change deniers is the sheer fucking scope of how much it matters. sweating in my father's car, thinking about how it's the "hottest summer so far," every summer. and there's this deep, roiling rage that comes over me, every time.

the stakes are wrong, is the thing. that's part of what makes it not an actual debate: the other side isn't coming to the table with anything to fucking lose.

like okay. i am obviously pro gun control. but there is a basic human part of me that can understand and empathize with someone who says, "i'm worried that would lead to the law-abiding citizens being punished while criminals now essentially have a superpower." i don't agree, but i can tell the stakes for them are also very high.

but let's say the science is wrong and i'm wrong and the visible reality is wrong and every climate disaster refugee is wrong. let's say you're right, humans aren't causing it or it's not happening or whatever else. let's just say that, for fun.

so we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making the earth cleaner, and then it turns out we didn't need to do that. oops! we cleaned the earth. our children grow up with skies full of more butterflies and bees. lawns are taken over with rich local biodiversity. we don't cry over our electric bills anymore. and, if you're staunchly capitalist and i need to speak ROI with you - we've created so many jobs in developing sectors and we have exciting new investment opportunities.

i am reminded of kodak, and how they did not make "the switch" to digital photography; how within 20 years kodak was no longer a household brand. do we, as a nation, feel comfortable watching as the world makes "the switch" while we ride the laurels of oil? this boggles me. i have heard so much propaganda about how america cannot "fall behind" other countries, but in this crucial sector - the one that could actually influence our own monopolies - suddenly we turn the other cheek. but maybe you're right! maybe it will collapse like just another silicone valley dream. but isn't that the crux of capitalism? that some economies will peter out eventually?

but let's say you're right, and i'm wrong, and we stopped fracking for no good reason. that they re-seed quarries. that we tear down unused corporate-owned buildings or at least repurpose them for communities. that we make an effort, and that effort doesn't really help. what happens then? what are the stakes. what have we lost, and what have we gained?

sometimes we take our cars through a car wash and then later, it rains. "oh," we laugh to ourselves. we gripe about it over coffee with our coworkers. what a shame! but we are also aware: the car is cleaner. is that what you are worried about? that you'll make the effort but things will resolve naturally? that it will just be "a waste"?

and what i'm right. what if we're already seeing people lose their houses and their lives. what if it is happening everywhere, not just in coastal towns or equatorial countries you don't care about. what if i'm right and you're wrong but you're yelling and rich and powerful. so we ignore all of the bellwethers and all of the indicators and all of the sirens. what if we say - well, if it happens, it's fate.

nevermind. you wouldn't even wear a mask, anyway. i know what happens when you see disaster. you think the disaster will flinch if you just shout louder. that you can toss enough lives into the storm for the storm to recognize your sacrifice and balk. you argue because it feels good to stand up against "the liberals" even when the situation should not be political. you are busy crying for jesus with a bullhorn while i am trying to usher people into a shelter. you've already locked the doors, even on the church.

the stakes are skewed. you think this is some intellectual "debate" to win, some funny banter. you fuel up your huge unmuddied truck and say suck it to every citizen of that shitbird state california. serves them right for voting blue!

and the rest of us are terrified of the entire fucking environment collapsing.

[art-of-pluton]

Reachin' out for something to hold!

Looking for a love when the climate is cold!

[zoe-oneesama]

Some "Special" Girls! And the late girls.

Ko-fi | Patreon

[slightly-gay-pogohammer]

dark fantasy retelling of fairytales that talk about childhood and trauma and being your true self and not following the rules in order to grow and (blows up)

[ashleyloob]

I randomly got dragged to Mormon church and met the illustrator for A Series of Unfortunate Events who is apparently a bishop at the church, and now we are Instagram mutuals. today was so bizarre

[bl00dfroma-fairy]

[duckgens]

I have finished charlotte sweetly doll she turned out so pretty🥺🥺🥺

[lovezhype]

lolita (1997) film stills ୨୧

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Marvel Meow (2021), Nao Fuji | Professor X and Magneto

Bonus:

[blueskittlesart]

in the nicest and most non-confrontational way possible. i feel like some of you think that anything that isn't directly openly spelled out for you within a story is "missed potential" or "unexplored." like. sometimes there are implied narratives. sometimes the point is that you as the reader are supposed to think and draw your own conclusions and participate in the story. the writers not directly spelling every little detail out for you doesn't mean that the story is poorly written or missed its own plot details somehow. PLEASE.