#sometimes i’m slow

[kradogsrats]

me realizing that they had the guy named for the lighthouse guiding the huge-ass blind dragon around

[lostmymojo]

Please keep doing everything you love while fighting for the good fight for change, just don��t be a part of the wilfully ignorant and nuance-blind cult of personality while doing so.

one of the things that i think we should pay attention to, socially, about the disney v. desantis thing is that it is really highlighting the importance of remembering nuance.

in a purely neutral sense, if you engage in something problematic, that does not mean you are necessarily agreeing with what makes it problematic. and i am worried that we have become... so afraid of any form of nuance.

disney isn't my friend, they're a corporate monopoly that bastardized copyright laws for their own benefit, ruin the environment, and abuse their workers (... and many other things). this isn't a hypothetical for me - i grew up in florida. i also worked for the actual Walt Disney World; like, in the parks. i am keenly aware of the ways they hurt people, because they hurt me. i fully believe that part of the reason florida is so conservative is because it's been an "open secret" for years now that disney lobbies the government to keep minimum wage down, and i know they worked hard to keep the parks unmasked and open during the worst parts of Covid. they purposefully keep their employees in poverty. they are in part responsible for the way the floridian government works.

desantis is still, by a margin that is frankly daunting, way worse. the alternative here isn't just "republicans win", it's actual fascism.

in a case like this, where the alternative is to allow actual fascism into united states legislation - where, if desantis wins, there are huge and legal ramifications - it's tempting to minimize the harm disney is also doing, because... well, it's not fascism. but disney isn't the good guy, either, which means republicans are having a field day asking activists oh, so you think their treatment of their employees is okay?

we have been trained there is a right answer. you're right! you're in the good group, and you're winning at having an opinion.

except i have the Internet Prophecy that in 2-3 months, even left-wing people will be ripping apart activists for having "taken disney's side". aren't i an anti-capitalist? aren't i pro-union? aren't i one of the good ones? removed from context and nuance (that in this particular situation i am forced to side with disney, until an other option reveals itself), my act of being like "i hope they have goofy rip his throat out onstage, shaking his lifeless body like a dog toy" - how quickly does that seem like i actually do support disney?

and what about you! at home, reading this. are you experiencing the Thought Crime of... actually liking some of the things disney has made? your memories of days at the parks, or of good movies, or of your favorite show growing up. maybe you are also evil, if you ever enjoyed anything, ever, at all.

to some degree, the binary idealization/vilification of individual motive and meaning already exists in the desantis case. i have seen people saying not to go to the disney pride events because they're cash grabs (they are). i've seen people saying you have to go because they're a way to protest. there isn't a lot of internet understanding of nuance. instead it's just "good show of support" or "evil bootlicking."

this binary understanding is how you can become radicalized. when we fear nuance and disorder, we're allowing ourselves the safety of assuming that the world must exist in binary - good or bad, problematic or "not" problematic. and unfortunately, bigots want you to see the world in this binary ideal. they want you to get mad at me because "disney is taking a risk for our community but you won't sing their praises" and they want me to get mad at you for not respecting the legit personal trauma that disney forced me through.

in a grander scheme outside of disney: what happens is a horrific splintering within activist groups. we bicker with each other about minimal-harm minimal-impact ideologies, like which depiction of bisexuality is the most-true. we gratuitously analyze the personal lives of activists for any sign they might be "problematic". we get spooked because someone was in a dog collar at pride. we wring our hands about setting an empty shopping mall on fire. we tell each other what words we may identify ourselves by. we get fuckin steven universe disk horse when in reality it is a waste of our collective time.

the bigots want you to spend all your time focusing on how pristine and pretty you and your interests are. they want us at each other's throats instead of hand in hand. they want to say see? nothing is ever fucking good enough for these people.

and they want their followers to think in binary as well - a binary that's much easier to follow. see, in our spaces, we attack each other over "proper" behavior. but in bigoted groups? they attack outwards. they have someone they hate, and it is us. they hate you, specifically, and you are why they have problems - not the other people in their group. and that's a part of how they fucking keep winning.

some of the things that are beloved to you have a backbone in something terrible. the music industry is a wasteland. the publishing industry is a bastion of white supremacy. video games run off of unpaid labor and abuse.

the point of activism was always to bring to light that abuse and try to stop it from happening, not to condemn those who engage in the content that comes from those industries. "there is no ethical consumption under late capitalism" also applies to media. your childhood (and maybe current!) love of the little mermaid isn't something you should now flinch from, worried you'll be a "disney adult". wanting the music industry to change for the better does not require that you reject all popular music until that change occurs. you can acknowledge the harm something might cause - and celebrate the love that it has brought into your life.

we must detach an acknowledgment of nuance from a sense of shame and disgust. we must. punishing individual people for their harmless passions is not doing good work. encouraging more thoughtful, empathetic consumption does not mean people should feel ashamed of their basic human capacities and desires. it should never have even been about the individual when the corporation is so obviously the actual evil. this sense that we must live in shame and dread of our personal nuances - it just makes people bitter and hopeless. do you have any idea how scared i am to post this? to just acknowledge the idea of nuance? that i might like something nuanced, and engage in it joyfully? and, at the same time, that i'm brutally aware of the harm that they're doing?

"so what do i do?" ... well, often there isn't a right answer. i mean in this case, i hope mickey chops off ron's head and then does a little giggle. but truth be told, often our opinions on nuanced subjects will differ. you might be able to engage in things that i can't because the nuance doesn't sit right with me. i might think taylor swift is a great performer and a lot of fun, and you might be like "raquel, the jet fuel emissions". we are both correct; neither of us have any actual sway in this. and i think it's important to remember that - the actual scope of individual responsibility. like, i also love going to the parks. Thunder Mountain is so fun. you (just a person) are not responsible for the harm that Disney (the billion dollar corporation) caused me. i don't know. i think it's possible to both enjoy your memories and interrogate the current state of their employment policies.

there is no right way to interrogate or engage with nuance - i just hope you embrace it readily.

[chloesimaginationthings]

Since you drew Sun and Moon, have you thought about drawing Eclipse? Or any of the other ruin character (btw I love your art!)

I actually drew eclipse first! Tbh I need to draw more ruin content

[kuroananosanji]

I know everyone’s gonna have their own interpretation of a ship so I don’t really care about “OOC-ness” since these characters aren’t real anyway but one thing about zosan I must insist on is that they’re a SLOW BURN. This is purely a personal preference but I just don’t fw love at first sight or instalove zosan like the 2-3 years of relationship friction and buildup between these two are what make the ship!! If they get the feels for each other before thriller bark it just don’t hit as hard!! This is why I love post canon zosan so much because them chilling for a few years and slowly figuring things out after their hectic pirate journey makes so much more sense

[truths33k3r4]

SURPRISE!!!~

HahahahaHA PSYCH! Thanks to my wonderful family leaving the house so I could record the day before I left for vacation, I was able to record, find music and sound effects, and edit the whole of Part 23 before I left! 😁

This story has nearly come to its end- And my dudes- It has been one HECK OF A RIDE. 😊 This comic has really been pushing my limits in so many ways- both with recording difficult to say lines, acting out more gross situations, and pushing my vocal limits with the pain and emotion filling each incredible page. And it’s almost over- BUT ITS NOT DONE YET!!!!

All credit for the art and comic itself goes to @indieyuugure, while I lent my voice to do the dialogue and theme song in A Cappella. I also edited. Epidemic Sound covered the music. :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

So… I just realized I never explained the title? It’s from Eddie’s favorite song, “I Will Always Love You”. If y’all got that, kudos! If not, congrats, you’re just like me! 😂

Part 1 | . . . | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23

They leave the bathroom together, Eddie bowing dramatically as he lets Steve exit first, pulling a chuckle from Steve.

His eyes find Robin as soon as they walk into the living room. He asks a silent question with his eyes—Does she know?—and gets a silent answer: No. He sighs and turns to his sister, who is already looking at him. “Can we talk?” He asks, but she’s already standing and walking towards him.

She ruffles his hair with a familiar hand, poking his arm with her other hand as she grins at him. “Sure thing, bud. Lead the way.”

Steve pauses to sigh at Robin. “Can you brainstorm? Try to figure out how?”

Robin nods seriously. “I’ll fill them in.”

Steve nods and lets himself be led away.

As soon as they’re away from the rest, tucked away in a little side room, Alli hits him with a serious look. “What’s going on, bud? I know what you look like when you cry.” She tugs a piece of his hair and gives him a sad sort of smile.

He tries to smile, but it crumples immediately. “Sorry,” he whispers, trying not to cry.

He fails at that, too, when Alli tuts and pulls him into a hug. “It’s alright, bubba,” she murmurs. She’s taller than him, and it brings him right back to being five years old, scraping his knee outside and running to her because he knew she’d console him.

A sob tears out of his throat, and he hides his face in her neck, waiting for the tears to abate again.

Eventually they do, and he pulls back to wipe at his face, smiling at Alli when she hands him a tissue. “Sorry,” he murmurs again.

She just rolls her eyes and pokes his arm again. “Quit apologizing,” she says. “Now, what’s going on? How do I help?”

He stares at her for a moment. “I love you.”

She softens. “I love you too, bubba, but I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Yeah.” He takes a breath, rakes a hand through his hair. “So this is gonna sound really crazy, but I’m from four years in the future. Or I think I am. Now I’m not sure, because you’re here.”

She frowns. “Do I move, or something?”

“No. Alli…” he sighs again, scrubs a hand down his face. “You-” he swallows down tears. “You died when I was six, on a girls’ trip to Indy.”

She frowns. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

“I know.” Another sigh. He’s been doing that a lot lately, he absently thinks. “That’s why I asked Robin to figure it out.”

Alli nodded. “Your girlfriend, right? Or- no, that’s Nancy—oh, the future—”

“No,” he interrupts. Can’t help the smile. “Nancy and I… something happens, in the future, in the past, and, uh. I broke up with her?”

Alli blinks. Her expression is begging for clarification, so he sighs. “In a week she calls me—and my love for her—bullshit at a party. I don’t know how much longer it is after that, but she and Jonathan Byers hook up while we’re still technically dating.”

Alli’s eyes narrow, turn calculating. “And to think I-”

“Alli,” he pleads. “It’s okay. She didn’t do anything yet, it’s all in the future, remember? But I had four years to think on it and I realized we were never really it for each other, it was just comfortable, you know?”

Alli nods. “So… is Robin it for you?”

Steve chuckles. “In a different way, yeah. She’s my best friend in the entire world. Knows more about me than anyone else. And I’d do anything for her, and I know she’d do anything for me, but… we’re not together. And we’re never gonna get together, either. Neither of us want that.”

She nods. “But you’ve found the person who’s it for you?”

Steve bites his lip. “Maybe.”

A familiar gleam appears in her eye: the one she used to get when she’d sneak him a cookie too close to dinner time. “Oh?”

Steve worries at his lip. “Promise not to hate me?”

“I could never,” she says immediately.

“Alli,” he murmurs. Hates how his voice is shaking. “I need you to promise me, please.”

She stoops to look him in the eye. “I promise,” she says seriously. “I could never hate you, Steve.”

He takes a breath, nods. “Out there right now. Um.” Another breath. “His name is Eddie.”

She grins at him. “I met him. Damn, bubba, you have a type, huh?”

Steve blushes scarlet. “Shut up,” he mumbles, but leans toward her when she tugs him into a hug, hums when her lips press to the top of his head.

“Hey.”

He lifts his head. “Yeah?”

“You know my friend Cassidy?”

Steve narrows his eyes in thought, then nods. “Yeah, you’ve known her forever.”

“Yeah.” She bites her lip on her smile, nods.

“Oh,” he whispers, then begins to laugh. “What are the odds?”

“What are the odds indeed,” she laughs.

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[angelmush]

it looked sooo pretty outside today :)

[galacticnova3]

@onenicebugperday Bit of an unfortunate update, but not without hope.

A week ago as of posting this, Green Bean Casserole had a pretty severe mismolt. I think they fell and got stuck behind their favorite stick in an awkward position after leaving the exuviae. I only found and assisted them the next morning, but by then their exoskeleton had already hardened up. Thankfully all of their limbs are intact and functional, but, well... The situation is far from ideal, as you’ll see.

At first I was pretty worried they wouldn’t make it; they seemed to be struggling to move around due to the deformity, falling when climbing and generally looking wobbly. I moved them to a different terrarium set up for my flat headed snake Absinthe, both because of the softer substrate and the lack of skinks that might be bold and attempt to take advantage of a weakened mantis. I wasn’t even sure if food would be able to pass through their system, and they had no interest in prey at all, which wasn’t a good sign. However, with some adjustments to the layout of the temporary terrarium I moved them to, they did climb and manage to hang from the lid with some effort. GBC seemed like they were a fighter, and the day after the bad molt they accepted and ate a grasshopper, so I decided to see if I could get them to their next molt and hopefully allow them to recover.

They’ve since adapted to their new shape, and I’ve moved them back to their usual terrarium for easier monitoring and better sun access. They’re climbing and hanging without falling, eating well, and drinking water droplets from the screen lid when I water the terrarium. I’d say they’re about as close to thriving as they could be in this situation! Here’s how they’re looking today. Ignore the escapee grasshopper in the background, its jailbreak was short lived…

I do feel a bit mean for making this comparison, but…

There’s a bit of a resemblance, isn’t there?

[theswedishpajas]

Magma art dump of random gay Stanley things (Featuring me! Go figure!)

Anything that isn’t in some kind of blue or yellow is by one of my friends

[kradogsrats]

jfc I JUST realized Rayla finding the peanut butter in Viren’s secret lair in s5 is a callback to Claudia’s peanut butter aspiro breath in s1

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Lockjaw

YA horror

set in a small town, where a boy died tragically in an old abandoned mill

a group of 11yos on bikes are determined to find the monster and hunt it down - while facing the monsters and prejudices haunting their small town

and some teens, including one of the kids’ sister, a genderqueer guy who tried to get out of town but was drawn back, a homeless trans guy and his dog, and the police captain’s son who get drawn into the web of it all against their will

shifting timelines and perspectives from various kids and residents of the town (plus the dog)

[fizzzyz]

Pretty princess thatcher ?? :3

Pretty princess thatcher indeed

[nezu-spiketown]

🎸 from Here

@toxic-spike-plumeria

The battle went smoothly and Marnie gave an approving nod to Plumeria and Alohi. They had done really well for a first battle, and Morpeko had done well to Lee her promise not to be too intense.

That said…

Morpeko was getting hungry.

“She did so well for a first battle! Good job, Alohi! And t’ think, your first fight was against —“

‘MORPEEE!!’

Morpeko interrupted the conversation with an angry call, stomping her little feet. Her coat had turned dark by now, and she was sparking angrily.

Marnie looked at her and sighed.

“Even such a light battle?

I apologize, she’s like this after a battle sometimes. Actually it happens during if it’s intense too. Mind if we have those malasadas? She’ll be back t’ her chipper self once she’s full.”

[freensrcha]

'But a guy like you, it's no fun when you don't give in.'

[daffi-990]

WIP Wednesday 📝

Tagged by the amazing @wikiangela & @lover-of-mine. Thank you for the tags mwah mwah 😘

I’ve almost finished this chapter … it’s been fighting me for weeks but now I’m finally getting somewhere and hopefully will finish it this week and can finally move forward onto chapter five and all the random stuff I have written for that chapter 😅

From stuck now so long, we just got the start wrong aka rival firefighters 🚒 . Pre snippet here.

Diaz moves first, storming past Buck and the remaining onlookers who didn’t scatter after Captain Cooper dealt out their punishment. Buck feels like a child being sent to his room for a time out. A part of him wants to fight Cooper’s orders, to argue and gnash his teeth that Diaz was the one to cause a scene, but he knows it’s not worth it. Captain Cooper could’ve written both him and Diaz up but instead chose to be lenient, so Buck needs to bite his tongue and just bare it, or he’s going to do more damage. Pick your battles and whatnot.

Buck walks over to the 118 engine and climbs in, taking some satisfaction in slamming the door before he remembers Bobby’s stance on treating the engine, truck and ambulance with respect like they’re one of the team, because they are. He winces and mumbles out an apology to the engine, moving around until he’s in a comfortable position where he still has a good view of what’s happening outside. His eyes find the 136 engine and the angry glare of Diaz. The dude has sunglasses on now, but Buck knows those brown eyes are ablaze with rage and that Diaz is probably imagining lighting Buck on fire with his mind, which is absolutely ridiculous because Diaz was the one who escalated things. All Buck was trying to do was check in with the guy because he didn’t seem okay. And by the way he broke his professionalism and snapped at Buck, something is definitely not okay. Maybe Diaz got some bad personal news or had a tough shift, maybe even lost someone on a call.

No pressure tagging: @athenagranted @monsterrae1 @callmenewbie @clusterbuck @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @hoodie-buck @watchyourbuck @thewolvesof1998 @fortheloveofbuddie @honestlydarkprincess @steadfastsaturnsrings @spagheddiediaz @malewifediaz @wildlife4life @rainbow-nerdss @exhuastedpigeon @eddiebabygirldiaz @evcndiaz @try-set-me-on-fire @devirnis @giddyupbuck @theotherbuckley @disasterbuckdiaz @jamespearce9-1-1 @jesuisici33 @jeeyuns @ladydorian05 @loserdiaz and as always, anyone who wasn’t tagged but wants to share something - consider yourself tagged now 🥰

[chamerionwrites]

People can unquestionably be deeply weird about food (see: recipe bloggers who are more about conspicuous consumption than actually good recipes; people who leave comments on recipe blogs about how fruit or god forbid carrots are unhealthy because - checks notes - they contain too much sugar; tr*dwives trying to politicize photos of bread; Silicon Valley guys selling fad diets). I find this as annoying as anyone (v possibly I find it more annoying, as a person who likes to cook!). However I also find it annoying when people act as if the act of cooking elaborate (or even not-so-elaborate) meals is in and of itself something weird and snobbish. Cooking is like the single most accessible hobby bro. The end product is food and you kinda need that to live, and also it’s often cheaper to make things yourself assuming you can afford the time cost. “God save us from people who make pasta sauce from scratch, why would anyone do this” well you see, sometimes people have hobbies. Sometimes people enjoy the process of creation as much as the thing itself, even. Sue me for finding joy in the stuff I’m compelled to put in my face to stay alive I guess