#or the absence of them

[anonymousdandelion]

A general tip for students who are sending those dreaded Religious Absence Emails to your professors: Rather than asking permission to take the day(s) off, politely let them know that you will be taking the day(s) off.

In other words, consider not saying this:

"May I miss class on [date] so I can observe [holiday]?"

It's not that there's anything wrong with the above, per se. But because it's phrased as a request, it risks coming across as optional — a favor you hope to be granted. Problem is, favors are not owed, and so unfortunately asking permission opens the door for the professor to respond "Thanks for asking. No, you may not. :)"

Instead, try something along the lines of:

"I will need to miss class on [date] because I will be observing [holiday]. I wanted to let you know of this conflict now, and to ask your assistance in making arrangements for making up whatever material I may miss as a result of this absence."

This is pretty formal language (naturally, you can and should tweak it to sound more like your voice). But the important piece is that, while still being respectful, it shifts the focus of the discussion so that the question becomes not "Is it okay for me to observe my religion?", but rather, "How can we best accommodate my observance?"

Because the first question should not be up for debate: freedom of religion is a right, not a favor. And the second question is the subject you need to discuss.

(Ideally, do this after you've looked up your school's policy on religious absences, so you know what you're working within and that religious discrimination is illegal. Just in case your professor forgot.)

[samfreakingwinchester]

Yup! SPN is the story of Sam! It’s why Jared’s first on the call sheet. Dean girls cope by maintaining that it’s in alphabetical order.

To the last point, they admit this in the SPN book that was published after the show ended!!! How I wish we could have an alternate good SPN, that gave us Sam Winchester, who learnt witchcraft from Rowena and tapped into his abilities to use them for good because he never needed the demon blood, he just needed to believe in himself. Without Dean or John making him feel unclean!

the bucklemming era is crazy because sam will have like maybe 3 lines in an episode and jared is still there putting his whole pussy into every one. the soft voice and the flinches and overprotectiveness of the side characters he sees as previous versions of himself. how does sam have such a rich inner life because the showrunners definitely didn't do that. jared padalecki was able to build this in a cave with a box of scraps

[anistarrose]

to be honest when i see people say that "moral center" characters are boring, i'm like. well, to each their own i guess, you can have your taste and i can have mine. but also: 99% sure that's a straight-up skill issue on behalf of whoever's writing the characters you're thinking of. because when they're written well, characters at the moral heart of their story can also be interesting, complicated, evolving and contradictory, messy, flawed, in possession of Complexes, and most importantly, perpetrators of mistakes so tragic and devastating that they shape the entire narrative. and i know for a fact that all of that is true because of my best friend Lup Adventurezone

[kitkatpancakestack]

[northstarscowboyhat]

Peepaw Starlo struggles. Autism 2 autism communication struggles.

[moonfruito]

uncurling like flowers // if you could just forgive yourself

[wraithdolll]

one of my fave wof lesbian couples

[crabsnpersimmons]

How would Sun from your have you eaten au feel about hugs? He seems like he's so reserved and you mentioned that because he knows he's a robot he isn't very indulgent

But would he like hugs? Or could he warm up to them eventually?

(was chatting with @inkydoughnut the other day and i realized i never posted this comic woops 😂)

well well! Sun is no stranger to hugs! he doesn't usually initiate hugs, but he's used to receiving them from when he was a daycare attendant. he's never really learned when is a good time to pull back tho, so he often stays put until you pull back first:

Eclipse: Sun, we have dishes to wash.

Sun: You have 4 hands. And Moon.

[2xlee]

Why did I never post my winx stuff here???

[patch-of-roses]

Loop uses they/them the same way you say, "Someone left their wallet behind." There's a constant disconnect and unfamiliarity with them, even when they're referring to themself.

[anneapocalypse]

One thing that really gets me about Urianger comforting Minfilia in Amh Araeng is that when she says Thancred hates her, Urianger never actually says, no, he doesn't. He says instead, none of this is your fault, and the original Minfilia wouldn't hold anything against you, and in typical Urianger form he says some things about fate and faith, and his words are kind and beautiful--but he also completely sidesteps the question of how Thancred feels about her.

And I think this moment is very reflective of Urianger's relationship to Thancred and child!Minfilia as a whole. It reflects what we see when we first see all of them together in Il Mheg.

Urianger knows that the way Thancred behaves toward the girl is hurting her. He's spent enough time around the two of them to see that plainly. Theoretically, he could say something to Thancred about it; they're obviously close friends, and if Thancred was going to value anyone's opinion, it would be his. But he doesn't say anything, because he still feels guilty and responsible for all of it: about their Minfilia going to the First and what happened to her there, and thus for what both Thancred and child!Minfilia are going through now. Even though Thancred has never outright blamed him for it (however he may feel privately, which I think is hard to say), it seems like Urianger still feels like he has no right to say anything.

So he tries to compensate instead. He's kind to Minfilia, connects with her in his own way and gives her books, and by the time we see them together he's obviously become something of a familial figure to her. I would say that he and Thancred aren't so much raising her together as they're doing it... around one another. Thancred is gruff and cold and holds Minfilia at arm's length emotionally so that his protectiveness comes off harshly even when it's well-meant, and Urianger dotes on her and tries to make up for it all while avoiding the actual problem.

So that conversation in Amh Araeng is both touching and maddening to me, and it really drives home what's maddening about it when, upon overhearing it, the Warrior of Light turns to Thancred to ask him if he has anything to say to Minfilia--who has just said, out loud, that she thinks Thancred wishes she was dead--and Thancred just says, "Not today."

And so they both go on avoiding the actual problem, for just a little longer.

[foolsocracy]

[hinata-boke]

tiny birthday boy doodle!!

[monkies-rising]

you are my sunshine <3

[kj-beastboy]

very original Christmas gift! I'm sure he totally didn't expect that, Flug!

[blighted-lights]

staring dead-eyed into the distance as if witnessing some unseen tragedy. au where ravage was in the mines pre-war and met megatron before meeting soundwave. what if. what if ravage was with megatron from the start. what if.

this is the only thing i'm gonna be thinking about for the next few days sorry (more thoughts in tags)