#respect indigenous cultures or fuck off

[vanilla-cigarillos]

Animism - A Breakdown and Brief History

Inspired by a question from an anonymous user on Tumblr, I’d like to make a post discussing animism! I heavily identify with this manner of belief and thinking, so I’d love to share it with you all :)

What Is Animism?

When you first Google “animism”, this is the definition that you’re meant with:

1. the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.

2. the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe. "a village steeped in ancient animism and rituals"

In my own understanding, animism is a very broad term discussing the belief that inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence (soul, spirit, etc.) just as living creatures do. All things — animals, plants, rocks, the weather, etc. — has some form of life (though it may be in ways completely different to our own expression of being alive. 

Animism is largely thought to be “indigenous beliefs”, popularly displayed as so in media about indigenous people. Think the grossly inappropriate Pocahontas animated movie by Disney, where the (wrongfully aged up) Pocahontas describes the spirits of the natural world around them.

History of The Term “Animism”

“Old Animism” Definitions In order to understand where we are now with the understanding of what animism is, we first have to look at where the term originated from. 

The first idea of “animism” (in the old terminology’s sense) was developed by Sir Edward Tylor, an anthropologist who voiced this idea in his 1871 book Primitive Culture. According to Tylor, “animism” often included “an idea of pervading life and will in nature”. Essentially, he believed that animism was the earliest represented form of religion, and fundamentally was viewed as a mistake. He disregarded animism as based on early humanity’s unscientific observations about nature and the reality around them.

Anthropologists grew away from the term “animism” over time, labeling it as too close to now discounted early anthropological theory. Around this time the term began being reclaimed by indigenous people, who in some cases actively chose to identify as “animists” as they felt the word described their sense of beliefs. Thusly, scholars began to recontextualize the term in the rigid academic setting. 

Where Are We Now?

It’s very important to note that animism is NOT anthropomorphism — the two are vastly similar. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to any sort of creature or object that is not human. Think the inanimate objects in Disney movies. 

Animism is a set of genuinely felt beliefs that are tied to a variety of cultures and people. It puts nature and its many creations on the same spiritual platform as other humans, deserving of respect and worship in their own way. 

[ganonfan1995]

not to vague post, but the fact that the loz lore community is made up of mostly white american men (not on tumblr) makes me wanna scream

I swear to god they'll see some random detail about these games and then write an 80 page dissertation on race theory or some lore about savage and barbaric tribes who regressed from their advanced society of godly superiors.

please can u at least pretend to be able to think of anything creative and nice? worlds ur oyster, hyperfocus on something constructive.

[ayphyx]

White vegans stop comparison poc (specifically black people) to animals challenge difficulty IMPOSSIBLE

[friiday-thirteenth]

ngl rant in the tags surrounding football world cup stuff

[wheeloffortune-design]

re: latinoamerican/hispanic/south american discourse

out of nowhere but i see this often enough online and it bugs me

people fight because the terms latino, south-american, and hispanic, all mostly overlap but the definitions are slightly different and exclude slightly different people.

South-America: Countries from the South American continent. Does not include Mexico and Central America.

Hispanic: Countries and people that speak Spanish. Includes Spain, does not include Brazil.

Latino: This one is the trickiest because the definition is a bit vague, and that creates conflict. Mostly, latinoamerican countries mean the ones conquered by Spain and Portugal, so Mexico and everything south of it. No, I know French is a latin language but it does not include the French colonies (source: I'm from Québec. We do not consider ourselve latinos. Only pedantic people in Youtube comments use this as a gotcha.)

Mostly, it means a culture, but that's also tricky because even though there are similarities, of course Mexico and Chile won't have the same culture. And as I understand, the Carribean coutries are even more unique, but there's a history of racism in the latino community that tends to exclude them and that's not cool. And of course, Indigenous people can decide to call themselve latinos if they want to, or not, and that's alright.

So, you have this mass of countries, cultures, and people, that do have similar traits, but are also different enough to argue about everything. Just ask them what is the word for a drinking straw.

I think the problem is that the world tends to put us all in the same basket. Africa has to live with that too, but I'm starting to hear more and more "Ok but which African country, you can't just say someone is 'from Africa'". And I feel like people understand now that "the Orient" is not a thing and I do see people say that all Asian countries are not the same. Of course there's still a long way to go, but I don't even hear that when talked about Latinoamerica.

And! Mostly, what enrages me, is that we are not kind between ourselves, or with our diaspora! Every day I see comments saying you're not a real latino of you don't speak perfect Spanish, if you don't dance, if you can't recognize a bachata from a salsa, if this, if that.

Colonization, slavery, and then US imperialism fucked up most of our countries, installing dictators and fucking up the economy. Of course you will have a massive exile, and our people will be spread across the world. Of course you will have second generations immigrants that only have what their parents taught them for crumbs of the culture. Of course you will have children that will struggle to speak Spanish because they don't use it everyday, and calling abuelita once a month is not enough to keep a language.

These immigrants, these children, will be told all their lives that they don't belong to the country they now live in. Please don't tell them they don't belong in the culture they had to leave too.

What I mean with all this: The world brushes off too easily, and we deserve to be treated with more respect. But before we come to that, we need to respect each other, and celebrate our differences instead of using them to determine who is and who isn't part of the club.

There may be a lot of differences between me, a pale skinned, black haired, Chilean immigrant in Québec who speaks mostly French; and a Black Puerto Rican who lived in their country their whole life; and a white and blonde Mexican who now lives in the US but still grew up in Quintana Roo; and kids all over that don't really care for their parent's music or food because they got their own things going on; and people who struggle to learn and keep Spanish and Portugese.

But if we decide to all call ourselves latinos, then that's what we are, and that means we're family.

[zutarawasrobbed]

ALTA Live Action Season 1 Initial Thoughts (Spoilers)

I just finished the season, and holy shit!

Quick things that need to be addressed/debunked:

“Sokka is no longer sexist”

I dont know what people were talking about when they talked about Sokka’s “sexism” being removed. It’s still there! But not in the overly exaggerated comical way it was in the original.

In fact, it’s more in line with ancient practices of indigenous tribes where men are seen as protectors and providers while women are expected to nurture. It’s not the same “boys are better than girls” narrative in the original.

Additionally, Suki still beats the fuck out of Sokka and humbled him really quick. They’re super cute by the way. And I love Suki’s “I like my men a little stupid” vibe. She’s great.

“Aang doesn’t run away like the original!”

That is not true. He does run away, but not because he’s trying to get away from the temple but instead to get some air because he feels overwhelmed. He’s more like taking a quick break and planning to come back. It’s not exactly the same, but almost. It also is done in a way where his guilt feels more justified.

“Katara doesn’t talk about her mom anymore like the original”

This is true… BECAUSE THEY SHOW INSTEAD OF TELL. I was honestly not prepared to see the death Kya in such graphic detail and how Katara was in the room hiding when it happened. It’s honestly really sad and more heartbreaking.

Plot:

The timeline seems to be ambiguous compared to the original series where it was “end of current year.” In fact, they repeat “three years” a few times, which makes me think if the series get greenlit for more seasons, it would be over a three year period.

Jet is still villainized but given more nuance and not a simple "good v bad" way like the original.

Zuko’s story about how he got his scar has additional lore that makes him come across as even more selfless and compassionate. The additional context of the platoon he advocated for in the war meeting, becoming his current crew, really added to the story.

Eradicated the nepotism baby plot point with Pakku only training Katara when he finds out he used to date her grandma. Instead, Katara proves herself and ends up teaching the other male fighters the techniques she learned from watching other benders use their elements and mimics them.

This season doesn’t have Aang learning any waterbending, but rather facing his trauma and the consequences of his actions. He get roasted by all his past lives. Which is an interesting choice, but I think it works well in how they executed it.

This season seems to actually be Katara focused and her journey of learning waterbending which I honestly loved because it really hits home the element of “water” being the story of an untrained waterbender learning her element. But, I do think Aang could’ve learned a little bending. It felt a little off.

Katara ends up advocating for all waterbending women and ends up leading an army of both men and women during the siege. She’s really bad ass and is given the title of master without being formally trained by Pakku. She made herself a master.

I think the timeline is a little wonky because of how much they had to fit in with the limited episodes they had.

Kuruk is given respect! I loved that.

June actually seems into Iroh which I thought was a funny but cool way to flip the script from the original.

The relationship between Zuko and Iroh is really beautifully executed. I love the depth they added with flashback scenes and their bond prior to the Agni Kai. It also wasn’t as frustrating watching Iroh and Zuko’s dynamic because Iroh communicated with Zuko in a way he could understand with straight answers rather than seeming to actively sabotage him with cryptic puns and shenanigans like the original.

They changed the love triangle with Yue Hahn and Sokka to be very healthy. They gave Yue autonomy and a choice in her relationship- which- again- is much more in line with indigenous cultures. Also, Hahn and Sokka’s relationship is really supportive and full of respect and no ill will.

They way they handled grief and the realities of war with the loss of life was very well done and really drove home the point that this is a war and these are child soldiers.

There’s a lot more but these are my initial thoughts. Will probably post more later.

Shipping:

Kataang is all but removed. Literally DOA. There is no indication of a crust on either side. It’s painted like a sibling relationship, which is like the original, but this time everyone seems to be on the same page. But, I swear the writers had to have read ZK fics because damn.

They canonized a popular Zutara theory/hc about the cave of two lovers and how the crystals would light up once it went completely dark instead of a “kiss” activating the crystal glow.

Speaking of the Cave of two lovers. They keep the Oma and Shu story with red and blue coloring. Making it come across more as foreshadowing than a direct link to the present tunnel story.

Sokka is put in Aang’s place with Katara in the tunnels and turned it into a story about the love of family and sibling bonds. Aang wasn’t even present.

Zuko and Katara share a meaningful look when they first see each other and continue to have a Katara centric scene followed by a Zuko centric scene and vice versa.

The scarf scene. I will not be elaborating further. If you know, you know.

Zuko and Katara fight scene in the North is epic. He still taunts her with almost the exact same dialogue but it’s so sassy- I love the banter.

Suki and Sokka were really cute and the actors had great chemistry. I think Yue and Sokka was really rushed and didn’t really feel anything about them, honestly. But I attribute that to lack of episodes to develop all that plot.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

my hot take is that i would've been fine if natla had changed virtually everything... character names, aesthetics, plot beats, character choices, etc. IF it had been more culturally accurate and respectful.

instead natla changes virtually nothing except the removal of sokka's sexism while increasing pakku's and the general north's, while also not being willing to commit to it (see: yue breaking off her engagement pre-show with zero consequences, which also undersells their new angle of her resenting/disliking the expectations her community has for her). we get one scene of katara doing braiding/weaving with her gran gran and mother. no other elements of water tribe culture are present that weren't there in the show, and others are removed. the water tribes don't even get to explain their own culture and relationship to the spirits, the fire nation does it. iroh being called out for ba sing se by an angrily grieving earth kingdom soldier is undercut by iroh coming off looking better when he spares the man and the man still strikes him afterwards from behind. because, y'know, the show that literally has fire nation characters critique an earth kingdom soldier for being corrupted by war, calls jet an outright terrorist and remove all of his nuance, and have katara say jet is just like the fire nation to his face isn't both sides'ing an imperialist genocidal conflict at all, obviously /s.

like, what the fuck are we doing here?

if natla wanted to radically change character arcs, struggles, backstories, and plot beats (avatars having glimpses of the future and that's why we head to the north, etc) they should've just wholly committed. the httyd movies are nothing like the books, but they change enough to be their own story in their own right (literally, they only keep a father-son relationship and the setting and half the character names; everything else is different). and they told a different, but really fucking good story.

for example: why not have there be zero sexism, and katara fights pakku for the right to learn any waterbending (healing or fighting) because they see her as an outsider who can't understand their culture, the same way there are stories about indigenous people working hard to reconnect to their culture after being separated from it due to colonization? why are we doing the same things, but worse, every time?

i'm not mad at natla for not being a 1:1 adaptation. i'm mad because every single unnecessary change it makes to the characters' core backstories and personalities are less effective than the OG, are not adequately addressed in story at any point, or has things ham-fisted in for no reason (yue being able to go into the spirit world has no bearing on the actual plot, for example; it's just There, because...?).

it's not more culturally sensitive than the og; instead, in many ways, it's less, and i think that's the biggest waste of it all.

[rs-hawk]

So just saw your post about not voting for trump. Good post. He's not a white nationalist though. Real white nationalists respect indigenous people. Place for every race and all that. He's just the run of the mill politician who says what he thinks will give him the most voters. Anyway, you'd probably be better treated by a white nationalist government lol.

This has been sitting in my ask box for like a month but just... Damn. This is wild.

You're telling me that I, a queer mixed Indigenous AFAB person who technically can be considered disabled, am respected by... White Supremacists? White Supremacists want me dead. I live in Texas. I come in contact with White Supremacists literally on a near daily basis.

They are the first ones to throw slurs at me. They are the first to say I should go back to my own country (and then say Reservation when I say that this is my country). They are the first ones to literally throw things at me at my day job. I have had people who I know for a fact are literally, LITERALLY, in the KKK, come into my job and ask why someone like me is working up front in a public establishment.

Again, I am mixed race. White Supremacists often either hate me off the bat because they know I'm mixed or see me as a minority and me simply existing in the same space as them is an affront. However, when they think I'm full White (as I am Italian and have been told I pass as Italian), and then find out I'm mixed it's so much worse. They take it as I lied to them. I had one customer at work a few years ago that we kind of flirted, and he was talking about taking me out when my job slowed down. I mentioned something off handedly about turquoise jewelry a few visits later, and he asked if I was "Indian". When I said yes, a total 180. He started accusing me of lying to him, saying I wanted to taint his blood line, blah blah blah.

Here's what you need to understand, sticking up for White Supremacists is just as fucked as being one. White Supremacists don't respect Indigenous Peoples. They want us gone. They want us somewhere they never have to see us. Reservations are not something we got out of respect. We have Reservations because we were forced to and it was all we were allowed. This is my ancestral land, and they still think I should be forced to live in another state because the government decided over a century ago (as the Nation I'm registered with was one of the last to be forced onto a Reservation) because they want to live here, in America, on traditional land, without wanting to see us.

White Supremacists don't respect us or any minorities. They want us out of their face. "A place for all races" just means out of their face or in what they consider in our place. A White Supremacist government is what created Reservations in the first place. A White Supremacist government is what forced my great grandmother's grandfather to be born on the side of the road during the march to the Reservation.

I am a firm believer that America is a Melting Pot. I am mixed race. I am proud of every aspect of who I am. I can list every ethnicity/race I am as I and my family are firm believers in knowing where you come from. As a child, my mom would quiz me on what I was and what side of my family it came from. It is important to know who and what you are. I have no issue with people being proud of who they are. There is no issue with wanting to only date/marry inside your culture imo. I don't have a problem with that. What is a problem is that White Supremacists (which is what I was calling Trump in my previous post) don't do that. They think they are better than other races. They don't want to even interact with other races. They. Are. Racist. And so is Trump. He called on the Proud Boys, a known White Supremacist group. Be serious.

[imanifestedho]

okay. about race changing.

it shouldn't even be called that. some ppl like me are mixed, i have a tribal card but i feel weird with it but am proud of my heritage so im adding like literally 20% to my original percentage but still being white and acknowledging it, so I can feel comfortable like I don't have to seek validation to prove my indigenousness. CALL IT AS IT IS, who you're really talking about. RACE FETISHISATION, those weirdos. not the same as some people who race change. LETS BE AGAINST THOSE 🗣️🗣️🗣️ and not others wanting to feel valid in their own skin who feel like they have to prove their identity. (This is coming from someone with a Cher pfp who acknowledges that her Cherokee thing is weird. I have the card but she apologised, i think im being pretty damn respectful i just appreciate her aesthetic ☝🏻 )

it is not the same as an adult shifter shifting for a minor and staying as an adult (fucking gross btw- don't do that, that is a crime)

like its not even changing either. it already exists. if ur doing it for validity reasons you are very valid. IF YOU ARE BEING A WEIRDO WITH IT. Stop it and don't be weird. Doing it to feel valid is good and actually caring abt the culture and not being a freak- It's the same as changing your age to be older or something. Or to be skinnier or whatever. Or your hair color, hair type. Let's not judge others right off the bat. But the weirdos who sexualise race and do it for that? YEAH WE JUDGE. leave normal ones alone, we're not being weird and are just existing to feel natural 👍🏻 the reality already exists you didn't create it, just is 👍🏻 don't be racist with it though and treat everyone there with respect, don't do crime shit.

end the tiktok bs 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

[sickness-stricken]

I was originally just gonna reply to someone else’s post with this but it got kinda long and I feel like it’s worth being its own thing, so:

(CW for potentially triggering talk of MMIW [missing/murdered indigenous women] under the cut)

The fact that Lily claims to be indigenous while writing off “paying attention to me” as “stalking me” is honestly such a slap in the face to MMIW. My indigenous friends have had their family members stalked. People I’ve known on the rez near my hometown were stalked. My friend’s grandmother was left notes by her stalker professing his love of her beautiful long hair and tan skin and was only stopped because her nephew was a cop that told him to fuck off. When it comes to indigenous women there’s an additional layer of fetishism that walks in tandem with it, so to have Lily constantly make jokes about how her “””stalkers””” want to “fuck her so bad it makes them look stupid” is fucking disgusting and she should know better if she’s claiming Cherokee heritage.

I think that’s the secondary reason people take issue with her claims to heritage. Any time she brings up being Native outside of using it to avoid criticism, it’s almost always in a sexual or romanticized connotation: she’s flashing her tits with a fake “Indian” necklace. When she got Mikaila to start drawing her with skin tight clothes and mommy milkers was when she decided to add the feather earrings to the design. She clings onto the shitty dollar store dream catcher the mom she supposedly hates gave her and apparently never once thought “hmm, maybe I should buy one from a powwow booth or buy one from a museum where the funds go to nearby reservations.” Even her new puppet, which is styled after Yahtzee13 who uses arguably the least sexed up design philosophy in history, STILL manages to have an hourglass figure and the earrings. When she reviewed Pocahontas she made absolutely NO reference to the fact that the character herself is an aged up and sexualized version of the real life Matoaka who was abducted, raped and enslaved as a child and instead opted for “okay the movie is bad but it’s funny!!! Colonizers bad!!!” and just left it at that.

It’s obviously not a crime to be comfortable and sexy in your own skin while being indigenous (I might be a sex repulsed asexual and part Chawathil and even I know that) but to have THIS much of a sexed up view of yourself while having no respect for the history of fetishization in the culture you claim to have is just… fuckin yikes tbh

[aeonianlunartine]

No joke when I first saw this design in a video with Natlan lore, I legitimately thought the video creator was using some random game to represent Natlan.

To say I’m surprised would be a lie considering how I saw this coming even before Sumeru came out; the moment I read in the wiki that Natlan was inspired from precolonial Latin American and some tribes in Africa, I stopped playing Genshin for around a year.

Often, the moment authors start meshing together countries and regions together, it starts to become… murky and harder to execute with proper acknowledgment to the sources of inspiration. Especially since the thing is… these are two continents oceans apart which did not have significant/apparent enough interaction between each other prior to colonialism.

As a mestizo (mixed) Latino, I cannot speak entirely for the various indigenous populations/groups represented within this one region, but the lack of care for skin tone and respect for the cultures it is based off—it’s sad. It’s depressing for me.

This company and many others are using less represented cultures as exotic and fun cosplay.

A fantasy costume party for their pale-skinned, idealized white characters—parading around names which erases real life deities from people’s immediate knowledge and now are replaced with some gacha-ass looking dude with barely a drop of melanin. Now when I search up Ororon, all I get is that dude, which is not fucking good since the name is of a Yoruba deity.

I want people to actually commit to not playing Genshin and other Hoyo games if they really care to boycott. I’ve been discovering the extent of how the other games are just as disgusting as Genshin; it’s not enough to just boycott one game, if you want to get your message across to a company, do it to all their products.

I’ve seen people say to do it, yet go on and still play.

Do it.

Fucking do it if you actually are enraged by the blatant racism in this game and in this fandom.

Those who are bystanders are just as culpable as the ones who perpetuate it.

I will now be changing all my socials if they involve Hoyoverse content; I will no longer interact with Hoyoverse content, whether that be fan-made or official, unless it is discussing this matter or redesigning characters whether that be from Natlan or Sumeru.

I know likely many others won’t do the same; it’s an interest, it’s many people’s favorite game, a comfort. And many people are comfortable—fine—with racism in their interests, as long as it can be sugarcoated and excused, y’know… “it’s not bad because there’s some white people there too in real life!” Yes! But it’s majority brown.

Especially before colonization happened.

[vanilla-cigarillos]

what is animism? i've seen it alot in witchcraft posts but i do not know what it means. i dont meant to ask any questions that are annoying or stupid! you seem very open to answering questions and i wanted to ask you.

Hi there babes!

I was inspired by your ask to make a breakdown and history post about animism :) you can find it here if you're curious: Animism - A Breakdown and Brief History

[starlitvases]

I can't tell if it's just me, but it very much feels like the @snowchester-system is pushing harmful stereotypes against Mexicans, those with Mexican heritage, and native Spanish-speakers.

Their story is that WitSec (Witness Protection) moved them to Mexico in order to escape their programmers. They claim to have a DSPM script. I find these claims very hard to believe, but that isn't the point.

They publicly state that since they're located in Mexico, they are attempting to learn Spanish. My issue is not it feels very apparent that they aren't making a genuine effort to learn.

1. They have a Quackity introject. Quackity is a real-life YouTuber that lives in Mexico and speaks Spanish fluently. When scrolling through every single one of their posts (yes, I scrolled to the very beginning), there are only four instances in which Spanish is spoken on their page, which is by their Quackity. In these posts, Quackity is aggressive and frequently curses out who they are speaking to. This pushes the stereotype that only Mexicans speak Spanish as well as the stereotype that Mexicans and Latinos overall are loud, aggressive, and dangerous.

2. When Spanish is spoken, it's very broken, with the exception of one post, which I will get to in #3. In these posts, it's an entirely English sentence with one or two words replaced with Spanish. I feel this is making a mockery of Spanglish, which has a deep cultural influence on Spanish-speaking Latinos. It's often used when certain phrases in a language make more sense to say, when one forgets the respective translation, and can be used to signal to others their heritage and bilingual skills. Some use Spanglish because they may feel vulnerable, which I know is the case for me. Simply replacing a couple words in an entirely English sentence is not how one learns Spanish.

3. In the third instance of the Quackity introject speaking Spanish, it is again used to cuss someone out, reflecting a harmful Latino stereotype mentioned in point #1. This post is entirely in Spanish, but it's clear to me it was written in English, then translated to Spanish using Google Translate.

English Translation using Google Translate: "Fuck off. How did you know that? That is one of the triggers of our program and the protectors have been very busy in the inner world. We don't have anyone capable of coping that won't be activated except me. I'm the only headmate able to speak up front at the moment and there are no alters around to translate for me. It's good that he lives in Mexico. - quackity"

Plugging the English translation back into Google Translate gets virtually the same thing. Nevermind the fact that if someone did indeed post a program trigger for them, they should not have replied to the person and posted it. Now, a program trigger is publicly available, and anyone can use it against them. My point here is that they say, "No one is available to translate for me." English is their first language. They are learning Spanish. They have every ability to respond in English, even though they should not have responded at all. I highly suspect Google Translate was used due to the discrepancies in their statements. Again, this is not how one learns Spanish. You should learn from native Spanish-speakers. There are many free resources online made by native Spanish-speakers that one can use. Google Translate is not the answer.

As someone with Mexican and indigenous heritage to Mexico, someone whose family immigrated from Mexico for better opportunities, and as someone that is actively learning Spanish to connect more with my culture, I find this system's behavior abysmal and abhorrent. I have asked other Latinos, and they agree with my stance on this system's behavior. I want to know what other Mexicans, Latinos, and native Spanish-speakers feel about this system and their pushing of negative Mexican stereotypes.

Snowchester, if you are reading this, I need you to take an internal look into your behavior. Even though you think your page is anonymous, the page is still very much public and is open to public-forum. People can, and likely will, notice this behavior of yours and have their own thoughts about it. They may post about your behavior on other platforms, in which someone may recognise your page (previous friends, teachers, etc.) and call you out, publicly. They may know your name and state that publicly. There is already a post of yours in which someone knew a direct cue for your system. Bad people are out there and you've already seen evidence of that. Even if those people aren't directly connected to your case, they can still find and harm you. Right now, the issue is contained to Tumblr, but that likely won't be for long if you continue the reckless and discriminatory behavior. Please talk to your therapist.

[wakandamama]

You ain't raise the Federal minimum wage.

You ain't erase student debt

You didn't place rent or interest caps

You didn't protect affirmative action and positions of Diversity and Inclusion at a federal level

You didn't protect our rights as citizens to our personal bodily autonomy

You didn't protect People of Color

You didn't respect and act accordingly to tribal treaties with MULTIPLE Native American tribes.

You allowed the 90% complete erasure of the separation of Church and State violating MILLIONS of citizens religious and cultural freedom rights

You allowed, as defined by both domestic and global law, cruel acts of inhumanity against immigrants, refugees, and minority citizens of this country. At federal, state, and local levels

You allowed those immigrants interment camps to remain

You allowed further millions of Americans to die from a public health crisis

You allowed further degradation of our already fragile and corrupt systems of regulations for the things we need to have in order to survive and provide for our familes

You allowed the continued progress of militarized police brutality and the devaluing of justice

You allowed the economy to turn to absolute shit for anyone not a fucking millionare

You are ACTIVELY FUNDING AND BACK MULTIPLE GENOCIDE THAT AMERICAN PEOPLE DO NOT FUCKING WANT TO DO!!!

You are ACTIVELY ALLOWING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMESTIC MILITARIZED FASCISM AGAINST AMERICAN CITIZENS

You are ACTIVELY ALLOWING THE POWER OF VOTING TO BE RENDERED NEAR NULL AND VOID BY IGNORING AND NOT FEDERAL BANNING ACTS OF GERRYMANDERING

You are ACTIVELY AVOIDING THE REASONABLE MEASURES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN AT A NATIONAL LEVEL TO PREVENT OUR PLANT FROM BEING UNHABITABLE IN 40 YEARS

Every campaign promise you declared, has failed. Spectacularly and Exponentially, fallen on your face, failed to accomplish. To the point you have grossly lied and coved up most of atrocities and violations of citizens rights, then have the nerve to gaslight the nation as evidence is live streamed to us.

This statement covers more than either of those two old white privilege fucks about to thumb wrestle over whose turn is it to helm the final stage of America's fascism. This about all the politicians in Congress, in State Houses, in Mayors Office, who fill their pockets, lie, and sell out the citizens that trusted them to do the right thing. To actually want to improve our nation and communities for the longevity of our nation.

And for any blue or red coated muthafucka wearing the white glazed goggles of white supremacy wants to argue me bout "lesser of two evil" as the Black ass and Indigenous ass daughter of a man who march in the Million Man March and has been protesting since shes was 11 please fuck all the way off.

[brothermoth]

Outing myself as a fucked up little guy but I am deeply fascinated in both a sexual and conceptual way by cannibalism.

It occupies such a weird place in the world because we're obsessed with the concept as a species but only a handful of cultures actually adapted it into their life. It's both beautiful and taboo. Dirty and pure. Like some acts of cannibalism are deemed okay because it's for a reason, but it's all the same thing in the end.

Consuming the dead is not a new thing. It's not morally good or bad, it's just a thing that happens sometimes. It's one of the oldest practices of humanity and it occupies so many spaces. If you are hungry it could just be food. Nothing more, nothing less. You rightfully defeated someone and now it is only natural to make sure you and your family are fed.

It's the most respectful act in the world. Like for the indigenous people of West Papua. A funerary rite, a way to mourn by holding them just one last time, theoretically forever. Someone you loved who can give you one last act of giving.

The most common cultural cannibalism (not counting Eucharist, of course. I'm not letting y'all off the hook. Catholicism is kinky as hell and a lot of it was very much on purpose) was in wartime. Consuming your enemy both to show you have defeated them and reap the rewards, but also to show them the respect of deserving being eaten. [Also worth pointing out that the Aztecs were a deeply communal society and sacrifice was literally the highest honor you could achieve. Many sacrifices were willing because their culture felt very differently about death and sacrifice and it's disgusting how much fucking racism targets a society that was genuinely incredible].

It's a fetish and a crime and a thing you must do to survive, sometimes. I'm certain that most sexual people have fantasized about biting their partner(s). Showing devotion by literally devouring someone??? Taking their body into your own and absorbing everything that made them what they were? It's natural. It's not an evil urge. Hell, it's a pretty tame kink most of the time. Vampires? You don't think the average middle aged white woman in a bland marriage doesn't want some hot guy to bite her neck? There's a whole genre of books for it.

I think it fits in a similar category as monsterfucking. The idea of doing something so horrible it's hardly human, but also so deeply human that its marks are found on bones from the first homosapiens. The idea of being so coveted that you're akin to a fancy dish in a restaurant. A 6 oz sirloin served up with those Texas Roadhouse rolls that make everyone tingly.

anyway kink and sex is deeply important in human behavior and it always has been. The practice of BDSM is older than the Bible and "kinky" sexual acts are found in every society in the world.

Be freaky guys. Be safe and consensual, but be freaky. You're making the bone fragments of your ancestors proud.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Alright everybody here's part 2 of the Cabin Custody Au!

So first off I want to clarify that Quaritch did not know Mercer was going to do that to Spider! Corporal punishment isn’t even aloud in the military and hasn’t been allowed in schools since Quaritch was a kid so he had no reason to even think that would happen to Spider. He figured Mercer would have Spider running laps in his regular clothes until he was sick, forcing him to change into his uniform to have a clean outfit, or scrubbing dirty bathroom floors until he was too tired to fight back, things that Quaritch himself would do to unruly cadets back in the day. Just punishments that generally really suck. He warned Spider to spare him from that. He never thought Mercer would harm Spider otherwise he never would have let Spider go to that school.

Spider is too hurt and humiliated to tell Quaritch what really happened, though Quaritch can obviously tell it was bad. During Spider’s lunch break Quaritch storms into Mercer’s office in a rage, “what in the fuck did you do to my kid.” Mercer shrugs, “just normal intimidation tactics. Your son is just more - sensitive then you think.” “Bull shit! My boy is stubborn and strong as hell!… “and disrespectful and wild. Isn’t that why you wanted him here in the first place?” “He can be taught respect and discipline through training! Not with whatever you did…” “nothing he didn’t deserve.” Quaritch advances on Mercer ready to beat the shit out of him. Mercer tsks at him, “watch it Quaritch. Don’t forget you still have a record. Wouldn’t want to go back to prison for assault now would you?” He backs down unwilling to risk his family again.

Back in the cafeteria five pairs of eyes are giving Spider a very strange look. He deflates a little, “aren’t you Na’vi?” A girl nods looking embarrassed, “we are but….we don’t really remember the language.” Spider sits giving them all hard looks. While these kids look Na’vi all cultural markers like braids and jewelry have been striped away. There’s something behind their eyes that Spider can’t really place. A boy of about fourteen, the youngest of the group, timidly adds, “plus Headmaster Mercer gets mad when we speak in that savage language.” Spider pales.

“I’m Spider. What are your names?” The kids all look at each other. The girl that first spoke says, “we’re not allowed to say our Na’vi names…” “I don’t even remember my original name,” says a kid that looks like they could be a boy or a girl. Spider feels sick. He already knows what’s happening here. His social worker Norm works to rescue stolen Na’vi children from the American soldiers who kidnapped them from their families. Spider knows that’s what’s happening here. He’s disgusted. Mercer went so far as to change their names and punish them for worshiping Eywa, making them too terrified to ever try and reclaim their culture.

So the Sarentu kids forced American names are:

Teylan- Tyler

Ri’nela- Regina

Aha’ri - Alice

Nor- Nolan

And our non-binaire teen that can’t remember their original name - Sam.

I won’t use these names at all but I’m basing what Mercer did to the Sarentu kids on the very real very atrocious schools set up to “re educate” indigenous children in the United States and Canada.

Spider is so horrified for these kids that everything he went through that morning goes out the window. Because if that’s what Mercer could do to him in a morning then he shuddered to think what these kids had been through over YEARS. He vows to save them and bring Mercer to justice.

The Mercer Military Academy is only a semi boarding school so at the end of the day Spider meets his dad outside to go home. It’s a twenty minute car ride and Spider waist no time in asking, “what did you think Mercer was going to do to me?” Quaritch sighs, “I thought he’d yell at y’a lot. Make y’a run laps or do push up till your arms gave out. I figured he might try to embarrass you by takin’ y’a out in front of everybody during lunch to criticize your appearance. Probably even get the other kids to make fun of y’a until you were beggin’ to change into your uniform and to take a trip down to the campus barber.” Spider nods, “that’s still pretty fucked up that you would just let that happen to me.” Quaritch looks guilty but also a little shocked. He was so used to that behavior in the military that it didn’t even cross his mind that it was wrong, until his son blatantly pointed it out. “Do you want to talk about what Mercer did?” Quaritch asks. “No.” Spider says simply. It’ll be awhile until he’s ready to unpack that plus the small amount of trust he was starting to have in his dad is now completely out the window. Quaritch nods, “I’m handing in my resignation tomorrow and I’m unenrolling you from that school. We can move back to our old place once we find a home for the live stock and sell the house. Until then I’ll homeschool y’a..”

“No. I want to keep going to the military academy.” Spider can’t leave the Sarentu kids behind. He’ll put up with all of Mercer’s psycho shit to save them. “Alright” Quaritch says, “I’m just gonna drive y’a to the hospital cause Mercer must’ve hit y’a in the head…” “he didn’t hit me in the head! I’m fine! I just…” he doesn’t want to tell his dad about the na’vi kids. He doesn’t trust him to understand. Instead he says, “…I don’t want Mercer to win. I don’t want to runaway.” Quaritch actually looks proud of him. “That’s my boy.” Spider blushes under the look.

“I do have one ask though.” “Shoot tiger.” “Get me a new phone already! And a lap top! Stop keeping me from talking to my friends you jealous piece of shit!” Quaritch laughs, “whatever you want son. We’ll go into town tomorrow night and I’ll get y’a anythin’ your little heart desires.”

When they get home Quaritch gets right to work making dinner (Spider’s favorite) while Spider goes upstairs to change out of his suffocating uniform. It’s there that he sees himself for the first time and it makes him cringe. His hair is super uneven but worse his back is so covered in dark bruises that it just looks like one mass of pitch black. The area is swollen and has ached terribly all day and he knows it’ll continue to ache for the foreseeable future. Maybe his dad had the right idea about taking him to a hospital. But he also can’t tell him. Quaritch would raise hell over it and probably take him out of school against his wishes. So Spider puts on his comfiest pair of sweatpants and tucks his shirt into his waistband so it won’t slip up and reveal his back. When he gets downstairs and sees his father he says, “hey old man. Do you think you can fix this,” he points at his hair, “I look like weird Barbie.” Quaritch looks at him like he has two heads, “you look like what?” Spider laughs, “it’s from a movie. I’ll have to show it to you sometime.” Quaritch smiles at the idea of movie night with his son. Spider is trying to keep it together knowing that his big gruff dad will probably hate the Barbie movie but will sit through it for Spider.

The next day Spider shows up looking the model student. Mercer catches him walking in with his dad and stops Spider, making him stand at attention so Mercer can inspect his uniform. Quaritch is right on top of him the entire time ready at any second to go full papa dragon on his ass. Spider smiles in a fake, I’ll murder you one day, kind of a way. “I see you took our little talk from yesterday to heart. Nicely done Socorro. It seems you’re not as stubborn as your father made you out to be.” Father and son have matching glints of fury in their eyes but they both keep calm until Mercer walks away.

So Spider has a two point plan at this point, befriend the Sarentu kids and call Norm. He’s getting a new phone after school so today his focus is befriending the Sarentu kids. Which is actually pretty easy for him- mostly. Taylan is obviously the teachers pet out of the bunch. The others while terrified of Mercer’s wrath want to hear everything Spider knows about the Na’vi but Taylan is the one always saying, “Headmaster Mercer doesn’t want us talking about this.” “He said Eywa was dangerous.” “Spider your going to get us in trouble.” Nor will aggressively tell him to shut up. Aha’ri, Ri’nela, and the Sarentu are much nicer to him trying their best to calm Taylan’s fears. Spider tries to make them all feel safe by assuring them that if Mercer ever finds out that he’ll take full blame. They never wanted to hear any of it but Spider forced them to listen. Spider hates having to say goodbye to them at the end of the day. He feels terrible that they have to stay in this awful place 24/7 while Spider gets to go to a nice comfortable home.

After school Quaritch makes good on his promise to get Spider a new phone and laptop. He drops him off at an electronics store with his credit card saying that he has another errand to run but that Spider can get whatever he wants. Spider doesn’t need to be told twice and runs inside to spend his dad’s money. Quaritch meanwhile goes to the library. He’s riddled with guilt over everything he’s put his son through and is starting to question whether the military actually fucked him up. Because everything he put his son through and was willing to put his son through seemed so normal to him. Because he went through it. And he put plenty of others through the same thing because it was standard practice. He asks the nice librarian to help him find books on parenting but also “military related topics” he’s embarrassed to say he wants to learn more about p.t.s.d and trama but the librarian seems to understand and leads him to a row of books on psychology and mental health then leaves him to it. Quaritch walks out with a huge stack of books that he dumps in the backseat of his car and hides with a blanket he keeps in there for their dog.

When he picks up Spider the kid not only has a new phone and laptop but a new tv and gaming system . Quaritch sighs at the sight but Spider just smirks, “you said yesterday I could have anything my little heart desires.” Quaritch just grunts in response and loads it all into the car. They get dinner at a local diner then go home. It’s late by the time they get home and it’s even later on the east coast but still Spider sneaks off behind their barn to call Norm. His old social workers number is the only one he has memorized. Unfortunately he doesn’t know any of the Sully’s numbers but Norm will give them his new number.

Norm picks up after a few rings, sounding incredibly tired. Spider definitely woke him up. “Norm, it’s Spider.” “Spider! Oh my god are you okay! What has Quaritch done to you! Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.” “Norm I’m okay. The old man moved us to the middle of nowhere Wyoming without telling me and put me in military school but I’m still alive.” “Tell me where you are, I’ll find a way to get you away from him.” “Dad isn’t the one I’m worried about. I’m at the Mercer Military Academy. It’s run by a complete psycho who has five stolen Na’vi kids. Norm they’re not even allowed to use their real names! They’re afraid of Eywa! I’m really scared for them. I need to do something to help them.” “Okay bud, I hear you. I’m going to start an investigation on my end. I know you want to help but you need to be careful. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.” Spider agrees but he’s already decided- if there going to be an investigation then Norm will need evidence. Spider is determined to find it. He starts by taking pictures of his back. He can’t bring himself to send them to Norm but he has them now if they’re needed.

When Spider wakes up the next morning his phone has blown up with texts and calls from the Sully family. He takes a selfie with the caption I Live! and puts it in the family group chat. (It would have been I lived bitch but Tuk is in the group chat) Jake and Neytiri are relieved to see him in seemingly good health. Kiri immediately wants to FaceTime even though because of the time difference she’s already in her first class of the day. Lo’ak messages: holy shit you got scalped! Only for the whole fam to scold him

So to speed run the rest of this concept, Spider is becoming good friends with the Sarentu kids. He helps them relearn the Na’vi language, he tells them myths and history and all about Eywa. He sings songs with them in far away places of the school. Most of them love it. Teylan goes along with them but is clearly nervous all the time. Spider is also doing his Nancy Drew thing, picking up on little clues that hint to the abuse the Sarentu kids have been through and making excuses to hang out with his dad so he can search Mercer’s office. He finds horrifying files on the Sarentu kids and every student that’s dubbed a problem, including him, detailing the best ways to break them down, with detailed descriptions of what was done. The Sarentu kids folders are in a sub folder labeled “pet project”. Spider feels sick when he reads that and wants to punch a wall. He takes pictures of it all before scurrying away.

Meanwhile while Spider is doing all this Quaritch is trying to learn how to be a better parent. The first big thing his books tell him is that children are their own individuals and not extensions of their parents . Seems straight forward but for Quaritch it’s a grand epiphany. He was definitely viewing his son as a mini him. Spider’s ties to Na’vi culture needed to be severed because Quaritch didn’t have those connections so his son shouldn’t. Spider would have been a military brat if Quaritch had always raised him so he was just helping his son be the person he should be. And that was another thing he had all these concepts of who his son should be that he wasn’t allowing himself to accept his son for who he is. And when it comes to reading up on mental health struggles in veterans the man is absolutely shook. He feels like both everything makes sense and yet his world is turning upside down.

One night at dinner he says, “hey tiger, how would you feel about us going to therapy? I think I could use it and I think it’d be good for you too. We could have our own individual sessions and then family therapy once a week.” Spider looks at him like he’s insane, “who are you and what have you done to my father?” “Is that a no,” Quaritch is so out of his comfort zone that he feels embarrassed for even suggesting it. Spider shrugs, “I guess we can go. It probably would be good for us.” Quaritch is relieved. This is so out of left field for Spider that he tells everybody about it and the Sully’s and Norm are equally surprised. Norm though thinks it’s a great idea and since he has Quaritch’s contact info from Spider’s file he sends Quaritch resources and recommendations for a family therapist for the both of them and a therapist that specializes in veteran mental health. Their located back on the east coast but the therapists are willing to do zoom meetings.

They start ASAP and it does wonders for Quaritch’s mindset and his and Spider’s father son relationship. Spider isn’t as willing to open up to his therapist because he doesn’t want her to know about what’s happening at school (since this would be dangerous for Spider she’d be legally obligated to tell someone about it) but he will talk about his childhood, parsing out his deep feelings of abandonment, how happy he’d been to find a stable home with the Sully’s and how incredibly hurt he was to be ripped away from that.

Family therapy is really awkward at first because neither of them like to talk about their emotions but their therapist is good about coaxing discussions out of them. Spider goes off on Quaritch early on, “your so fucking selfish! Nobody asked me if I wanted to live with you! You never bothered to ask if I wanted to live with you! You stole me away from everything I’ve ever know and for what, because it sure is shit wasn’t me!” Quaritch just takes it, until their therapist prompts him to speak, “your right. It was selfish and cruel of me to move us away without telling you. I take full responsibility for that. But don’t you dare call me selfish for wanting to be a family again! You have no idea what it was like to have you taken away from me! From the moment I held y’a in my arms I loved y’a. I knew there was nothin’ in this world I wouldn’t do for y’a. And your mama too. And then she died. I thought I’d lost everythin’. But I was wrong. Attackin’ her killer out of grief, lost me everythin’ ‘cause I lost you. ” it triggers Spider a lot because he spent most of childhood feeling unwanted so to hear how much he is wanted by his dad makes him so emotional he just leaves the room for awhile.

After a month or so of sessions the dust starts to settle and they’re able to reconcile on a few things (though not everything they have a LOT to work through) and have deeper conversations about their shared pain from being separated. They learn how to have calm open discussions with each other that makes Spider feel like maybe he can trust his dad. Maybe but he’s not there yet.

To wrap things up Mercer knew what Spider was up to the entire time. He never believed that Spider had actually fallen in line and Teylan was also telling Mercer everything (no hate to Teylan though. He’s actually my favorite from frontiers of pandora. I want to give that poor boy so much therapy). So Spider gets called out of class to Mercer’s office where all the Sarentu kids are gathered. Spider knows it’s bad the moment he walks in the door.

So Mercer would have originally taken the Sarentu kids to indoctrinate them in the American way then send them back to the clans to advocate for the Americans and get the Na’vi to move far away from all unobtainum supplies so the R.D.A (under government contract) could mine the shit out of the land. That plan ended after the war but Mercer decided to keep the kids because he enjoys breaking them down and controlling them.

Mercer takes the kids down to the schools basement. Spider is a little scared but the Sarentu kids are terrified. Spider is secretly recording the whole thing on his phone, so he asks a lot of questions like “what are you going to do to us” (the answer, though Mercer doesn’t tell him this, is a mix of beatings and shock treatments) “why are you doing this” “to civilize you. Teach you respect.” “What do you mean by civilize?” Mercer laughs, “please. Do you think living in the mud and worshiping trees is what civilized people do?” Spider shrugs, “it’s better then beating kids.” “Not when the kids need it to be put on the right path.”

Meanwhile Quaritch feels a disturbance in the force and just has to know that his son is okay. This isn’t abnormal for him. He gets sudden panics over his son all the time and has to check on him. His therapist says it’s anxiety from the trauma of having Spider taken from him but Quaritch hates calling it that. It makes him feel weak (another thing he’s working on) He walks by Spider’s class only to not see him there. He checks all the closest bathroom and still doesn’t find him. Then he opens up the find my phone app and starts to hunt him down. Hopefully Spider’s just smoking pot on the roof, or snuck off campus some how. His son has never done anything like that before but simple teenage rebellion is a nicer thought then something being wrong. When he reaches the door to the basement he didn’t know about he’s booking it down the stairs and threw the hall as fast as his legs will take him.

Mercer takes the kids into a room that looks like a straight up torture chamber. The Sarentu kids are all crying though Nor is doing his best to put on a brave face. Teylan throws up he’s so scared, not as much for himself (Mercer promised he wouldn’t be punished) but for his friends (Mercer also told him he’d go easy on all of them if he turned them in) Spider volunteers to be the first one to get his beating. He’s planning on holding out as long as possible so hopefully Mercer tires and goes easier on the Sarentu kids. Mercer instructs him to take his shirt off and put his hands on the wall. He’s got a switch in hand and is winding up to deliver the first blow when Quaritch burst through the door, takes half a second to assess the situation then starts beating the shit out of Mercer. Mercer tries to fight back but really isn’t a match for Quaritch. Once Mercer is unconscious and beaten within an inch of his life Quaritch finally stops and yells, “start explainin’ right now!”

Spider is shocked after seeing his dad nearly kill a man and tbh a little scared of him but also really relieved to see him. He spills everything, even tells his dad about the beating he received from Mercer on his first day. Quaritch has to be stopped from straight up murdering Mercer. Spider grabs him by the arm and shouts, “dad don’t! You might go to prison and I don’t want to lose you again!” That stops Quaritch right in his tracks. He looks at his son. His safe, healthy, incredibly brave and kind boy and his anger completely fades. Quaritch pulls Spider into a tight hug that Spider returns with equal strength. Then after their nice family moment they call the cops.

Mercer is arrested. Norm flies to Wyoming to both help prosecutors build their case against Mercer (Norm has decades of evidence of Mercer’s wrongdoings. With Spider’s evidence on top of it Mercer gets multiple life sentences. He’ll never see the light of day again) and to collect the Sarentu kids. Norm takes them to the group home he runs for displaced Na’vi orphans back on the east coast where they get so much therapy, and get to learn all about the culture they where stolen from. The school is completely shut down.

Quaritch and Spider start making their plans to move. Spider has gotten really attached to all his farm animals and wants to bring them with. He makes the case that their home out east is on a huge property with nothing surrounding it and that they could easily have some stables built. Quaritch dismisses this as too much work. Spider fires back with, “but you said being a stay at home dad was boring. Now you can be a farmer all day! It’ll be great!” Spider is so persistent that Quaritch caves and calls Lyle to have him get some stables built around their old house for when they get back.

They move a few weeks after everything. Spider’s teachers at his old school sent him plenty of homework so he’ll be caught up when he re starts school in the middle of the semester. It keeps him busy during the very long trip back, though this time the trip is a lot more fun since him and his dad actually talk. Plus since they’re in a camper van he can play with Cupcake and their cat (who’s an orange striped tabby cat names Tigger that used to have a 24/7 job as a mouser in their barn until Spider decreed “workers right” and got Tigger’s hours reduced to a reasonable 9-5. Spider did this purely to have time to play and cuddle with the cat. Both Tigger and Cupcake sleep with him at night and both pets cuddle him during therapy sessions) When they get back Spider is eager to see the Sully’s but he tries to be patient. Spider and Quaritch have had a lot of talks in therapy over there similar feelings of abandonment and so he doesn’t want to make his dad feel like he’s running to be with the Sully’s the second they get back. They take time to get the animals settled and bring all there boxes inside. Then Quaritch says, “Spider, I know you’re ready to go see your friends. I’ll drop y’a off.” The Sully’s have a massive welcome home part waiting for him. Spider ends up spending the night at their house. Quaritch is completely content with that.

And they all live happily ever after (and yes Spider does watch the Barbie movie with Quaritch. Quaritch will never admit that he kinda enjoyed it) This was really fun for me so I hope you all enjoyed! I'd love to hear what you all think 💞