#they hate our neighbouring country and would love to start an actual war

[pirates-and-ninja-lover]

fuck politics btw <3

[nastylittleman]

Hey. As some of you may know - I’m from Ukraine. From Kyiv. I know I haven’t been on Tumblr for years, but I would like to share this here as well. The post will be long and it will contain about 1% of what I would like to say.

On 24.02.2022 at 4:40 AM I have woken up unexpectedly after the restless sleep. I’ve been anxious for weeks now, our whole country was, with the continuous reports about the russian imminent attack. The first thing that I did was checking my phone for news. I’ve started following russian telegram channels to track the shit that was happening there as well, to be prepared, to have some glimpse into what’s going on there as well. And here he was, hitler 2.0 himself declaring a war with Ukraine. The spineless shit didn’t even have the dignity to call it a war, it was just a special military operation, to “free us from our nazi regime and demilitarise our country”. I couldn’t breathe. After that countless messages started popping up in the other chats about explosions in Odessa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv. Basically all over our country. You cannot imagine the horror, I thought I was going to be physically sick, I felt my body going completely numb. I’ve tried to wake my boyfriend, told him the war has started, but he was half asleep telling me to go back to sleep because we need to go to work tomorrow. I’ve called my mother, my father, they couldn’t believe it as well. For 20 minutes I wasn’t sure the war has actually started and it wasn’t another russian trick to spread the panic among us. I’ve checked our official news channels on social media, turned on our TV, but there was nothing there, everyone was asleep. Just like hitler - putin has started his war early in the morning.

A few people believed this would actually happen, even though the countless facts stated otherwise. If you didn’t know we’ve been at war with russia since 2014, after they have annexed Crimea and tried to occupy Donbas region, installing their puppet regime there, supplying them with weapons all these years. Shooting and bombing their own positions and civilians to try and blame it on Ukraine. With countless russians closing their eyes, saying they are above politics and with even more russians celebrating the Crimea annexation. Only few of them had the dignity to actually call the things for what they were, the rest were acting just like their fascist leader.

I understand it’s easier for some of you to live in a simple world where putin is solely responsible for this war. It’s easier to live with the thought that one person is the embodiment of all that is evil, not millions of people. But it’s not putin who drops the bombs on Ukrainian cities, not putin shoots defenceless families trying to evacuate, not putin bombs animal shelters, not putin forms fucking Zs all over the fucking russia, often times using the children for this, even with the dying ones in their hospices. Hundreds of thousands of people were at their rally today, praising russia, their killer soldiers and putin himself. Did you than more than 70% of russians support putin’s invasion? Did you know that poor-poor russians living in the "rotten western countries", are harassing the refugees in Europe right now, specifically in Germany, Moldova and Estonia? People who had to leave their homes, their families, their loved ones? Fleeing without nothing, sometimes without even shoes?

To understand the hate first you need to understand how sick their society is. We all know how horrible stalin was, killing millions of people, sending more to the concentration camps. But did you know that there were more than 5 millions denunciations made by "regular russians" during his reign? Betraying their own neighbours, sometimes even families, sending them to their deaths? Was Stalin solely responsible for that? Fuck no.

We are dealing with incomprehensible danger here - just look at these insane pictures. Would you be telling jewish people during WW2 to stop hating on Germany? With thousands being massacred right now in my country, millions in the grave danger, it’s simply heartbreaking to see anyone trying to divert attention from that and to protect the poor russian victims. This is beyond ridiculous.

We are eternally grateful for the World’s support and I’m moved beyond my words daily! Just please don’t help spreading kremlin’s agenda trying to humanise the literal fascists destroying my country right now, trying to erase us from the face of the Earth. These people have been trying to steal Ukraine’s history, language, culture, identity and freedom for centuries! Believe me, I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. They are ruthless aggressors who have been harassing our peaceful country for as long as we can remember! If you don’t believe me ask the people of Poland, Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and many more. Ask them how they feel about russians.

Russians complaining about hurtful comments on the internet and IKEA or McDonalds closing down? In less than a month of this escalation they have killed thousands of my brothers and sisters, hundreds of kids, more than 6.5 million people had to move across Ukraine to safer places, 3.2 millions had to leave the country (including myself), millions are separated from their loved ones, thousands of residential buildings destroyed, our infrastructure, our schools, our hospitals, our churches, our heritage. And they are silent, even those who do not support this war. There are more than 140 millions of them and only thousands protested. So please don’t tell us we cannot be mad at russians for all the horrors we are going through right now. Their taxes sponsor the rockets falling down on our children this very moment.

[randomnameless]

I write and write and make comparisons between a swimsuit and themes like tolerance and freedom,

But in this fandom, some people draw more dubious comparisons, especially ones regarding a certain game - and I warned (who?) at the beginning of the FE16 trend that while it wanted to have a Jugdral flair, it obviously failed. You have a sprinkle of Jugdral in FE16, but it’s only a surface image, or even a mirage.

“CrEsT SyStEM”? Holy Blood? No, those comparisons at least were made in good faith and had some merits.

One of the worst comparisons was noted by several friends, a certain someone, wanting to push a certain ship involving a certain character, managed to write :

“Every route makes one villain from Genealogy of the Holy War the hero, Edelgard being Arvis, Dimitri being Eldigan, Claude being Travant and Rhea being Manfroy”

:(

This will not be a post about Manfroy’s hips, you are warned

Who is Eldigan (Eldie)?

A man who is the carrier of Hezul’s holy blood, Hezul being the founder of Augstria, a sovereign state. Everyone loves Eldie, he is good-looking, strong, kind, chivalrous and has the magic blood that makes him able to use his magic sword.

Is he the King of Agustria? No.

The King is a man named Chagall, who has an ugly sprite, doesn’t have Hezul’s magic blood and cannot use the magic sword. He also killed his father, and is really jealous of Eldie.

However, Eldie’s line (House Nodion) has sworn to support the royal line of Augustria (Chagall’s), so even if everyone wants Eldie to ascend to the throne, he will never accept it. Even if Chagall pisses on him, or imprisons him because he felt like it, Eldie will not rebel against his King. Eldie is seen as a Camus, because he will fight and die for Chagall, and his country, when Sigurd is... more or less attacking Chagall (because Sigurd’s forces are occupying Augstria and Sigurd’s orders are to bring peace to the land, Chagall doesn’t want peace and wants to fight to retake his throne). If everything ends well, Eldie will promise Sigurd he will try to talk one last time his king, try to convince him to accept a ceasefire and peace with Granvalle - but Chagall is an ass and beheads Eldie.

Dimitri... isn’t like Eldigan, at all. First of all, Dimitri is supposed to be the crown Prince, instead of being a mere knight sworn to serve the royal family. Secondly, Dimitri doesn’t die because his liege beheads him - Edelgard will never be his liege - he dies either by defending his borders against someone who is bringing war to his lands and wants his head, or he dies because he pursues Edelgard in a three way battle in Gronder.

We do not know what Rufus is like to his nephew, but I am pretty sure he is no Chagall.

The only common points Eldie and Dimitri have is their blond hair, and sometimes, their manner of death. there is also something about bonds with their sisters but we’re not here for that

Who is Travant?

Travant is the King of the Thracian Kingdom, a proto Nohr-like place, where farming is difficult, and the people living there are starving and often turn to banditry or become mercenaries to be able to earn some money.

Thracia’s neighbour, the Manster District (Manster) could export food to Thracia... but they do not, because, well, the people in charge of the Manster District do not like Thracians a lot (and use slurs to talk about them, but Quan is a special character). So Thracians raid the border, with hopes to reunite the peninsula, with the dream that, one day, they will seize the arable lands in the North.

Travant has an infamous line, which more or less went like “I will unite the peninsula for the sake of my people, and if that process dooms me to hell then so be it”.

And to hell he will go, because by Jugdral standards, ambushing Quan and his family in a desert (horses cannot move in sand, another example of gameplay and story integration!) with horseslayers, is despicable, especially since he leaves no one alive, even, apparently, killing Quan’s young daughter Altena.

(Travant ranks pretty high in the douchebag ladder).

With time, Altena grows, unaware that Travant, who adopted her, isn’t her real Father, Quan was. Things happen, Altena discovers the truth, and Travant finally achieves his dream by making a suicidal charge against Seliph’s forces (he doesn’t even bring his magic lance to the fight!), with him dead, finally, the peninsula can be united under one leader.

Claude? Also has a wyvern. And comes from another land than our hero (but which one?). And... that’s all.

If Almyra raids every sunday, it is not because they are starving, but because they are doing it, per Cyril, for funsies. Claude pretends to be a schemer and underhanded, but he never does something on the scale of the Yied Ambush (the moment where Travant pulled out the horseslayers against Quan). Claude never takes a child hostage, and never orders his daughter to punish civilians.

If Claude wants to unite the two countries, it is not because he wants his people to finally leave their life as mercenaries and bandits behind, but because he wants people to understand each other.

Edit because I’m sleeping : Travant will die for his dream. Claude... always survive. Always. I am not saying he doesn’t believe in it, but he is not as desperate as Travant is.

Comparing Claude to Travant is like comparing... Virion to Iago. They are both male with long hair, and pretend to scheme. Bar that? Well... they both have hands...? I guess?

Who is Manfroy?

Manfroy is... both a mastermind and a plothole.

Manfroy was the one in the shadows engineering a war in Jugdral, not because he likes wars, nope, but because he wanted political instability to recreate the Loptyr Empire.

He will help a douchebag to conquer the world, and use him to sire Julius, the only person in Jugdral who can become a host for the dark dragon Loptyr. The last time Loptyr was there... well, apparently it wasn’t roses and sunshines, slavery was rampant and citizens were pitted against each other to make sure the strongest ones would become citizens of the Empire.

Why Manfroy does this? It depends on the sources, but it is heavily implied Manfroy is part of a sect (sect as in group of people practicing a religion, here the Loptyr religion/cult) persecuted by a lot of people in Jugdral - to the point where Agustrians were having witches hunts to chase them. Manfroy and his followers escaped the the Yied desert, touted to be an inhospitable land. His people had no where and no one to turn to, so they prayed to their God Loptyr (who doesn’t give 3 figs about them).

Manfroy is thus the Archbishop of the Loptyr Church. He also killed his son in law, for some reason, and planned to turn his granddaughter in a zombie. Manfroy also supports (and conducts?) the child hunts, basically the plot in the second part of FE4 and FE5 where the Granvalle Empire and the members of the Loptyr Church round up children, take them from their families (sometimes by killing said families) to send them to Granvalle, with the highly suggested goal of sacrificing them one way or another to Loptyr.

On the not-so bright side, Manfroy doesn’t kill Julia - when Loptyr/Julius expressly asking him to do so, because Julia is the only person, story-wise, able to kill him.

What a guy! 

Now, Rhea?

There are some comparisons to be made, unlike Claude and Dimitri, but again, it reinforces how they could be seen as foils.

Rhea? Yes, also engineers the birth of a vessel.

However, unlike Manfroy who “forced” Arvis and Deirdre to marry and have a baby, Byleth’s birth, born from the union of Jeralt and Sitri, was completely unexpected. There is no trace in canon of Rhea arranging Jeralt and Sitri’s meeting, and future wedding.

Rhea? Also wants her granddaughter to “die”?

Well, not this one, since Rhea thinks Billy is actually an amnesiac Sothis. Billy would just recover their memories.

Rhea? Doesn’t start a war to build her Sothis vessel. Hell, the DLC is about her previous experiment to resurrect her mother - it was a failure, but someone supposes she fails because she did not want to bleed dry the Four Apostles. Rhea wishes to resurrect a benevolent Goddess (when Manfroy knows Loptyr is... far from benevolent) but will not kill to do so.

Sitri? Asked her to save Billy, by offering her own life.

The most interesting foil though is... how Rhea and Manfroy both belong to a community that was persecuted by others, the people they are supposed to live with.

Manfroy? Went the “if the world hates me, then I will hate it and burn it down” route.

Rhea? Doesn’t want to kill humans, hell, she and her brother disagreed because she didn’t want to kill children of the people who wronged her! She opens a monastery and offers guidance to anyone who needs it, a shelter for the needy and tries her best to protect peace and the humans living under her care.

They could have followed the same path, but didn’t. Manfroy rounds children to kill them, Rhea offers a new home to children who lost theirs.

They can also be compared with their “welp” points, Rhea gave CF!Billy the means to destroy her, just like Manfroy “forgot” to kill Julia - and yet, again, it is different. Rhea trusted Billy and never wanted to use them as a tool, in the other routes, it is because she trusted Billy with “those means” that Billy is able to save the world. Manfroy? Berserks Julia, wishes to use her as a tool and suffers when she regains some agency and beats her brother. But even without Manfroy, Julia would have recovered the Book of Naga to end Loptyr.

Rhea and Manfroy are definitely not parallels, but foils.

And the best for the end...

Who is Arvis?

Well... to summarise Arvis in a few words...

it’s impossible.

So, Arvis is the descendant of one Jugdral’s God-Crusader, Fjalar. Arvis is very proud of his heritage, but he also bears Loptyr blood, through his Mother. And yet, since the Loptry blood exists thanks to Saint Maira - the brother of the Loptry Host of that time, Emperor Galle, who rebelled and helped the Crusaders - he is also very proud of this heritage and his two brands.

Arvis’s familial history is a mess, his father was a womanizer and his mother abandoned him (which might have fueled his Freudian complex?). When his Father died, he exiled all of his bastard siblings, bar Azelle (his bastard half-brother, sired to his mother’s favorite maid). Arvis apparently wasn’t interested in women before he met Deirdre and fell in love with her...

But he had time to sire a bastard (on his best friend and confidante).

Arvis wants to build a world free of prejudice and oppression, and wants to build it by... associating with Manfroy, who blackmails him about his Loptyr blood (if Arvis is proud of his Loptry blood, sadly the Agustrian witch hunts are still a thing, and it will not be well seen in Granvalle’s nobility); however, he made it clear, to Manfroy himself, that he will never allow another Loptry Empire to be reborn. Arvis thus uses hiw fellow Dukes Reptor and Langobalt to set up a coup against Prince Kurth (the Prince of Granvalle) to kill him. Arvis grows close to Kurth’s father, Azmur and more or lesses takes care of everything in Granvalle, since Kurth has no heir left.

And, by chance, Deirdre, Kurth’s bastard daughter, thus rightful Princess of Granvalle, appears at his door. She bears the mark of Naga (the special blood of the Crusader Heim), so they marry, and if they have a son, their son will rule over Granvalle, Arvis acts as a regent until then.

(women can’t rule shit in Jugdral)

Then what? His plan is set into motion, all Granvalle Dukes die, he and Sigurd (plus his pals) are the only ones left, Sigurd dies after being lured to a welcoming party, and Arvis becomes the last man standing able to rule Granvalle, who became, through his plans and treacheries through the 1st gen, an Empire.

(and then his son becomes a Loptyr host, vaporises his mom and makes his sister disappear, wrestles power from him and he is reduced to a sad state (oldvis). He makes a last stand against Seliph, after delivering him Sigurd’s magic sword, and dies.)

Okay.

So, now, Edel.

Arvis managed to become the ruling... person in Granvalle by eliminating all of his rivals, and securing a nice marriage. Edel becomes Emperor... because Ionius gave her his crown, as her father.

So they do not rise to power the same way.

Edel never talks about her brands, but Arvis is proud to bear them and proud of his ancestors. Judging by how Edel speaks of Wilhelm I as a traitor who sold humanity to creatures, I am not sure she is proud to bear his blood.

Also, while Edelgard is extremely prejudiced against Nabateans, Arvis wishes to create a world... free of prejudice (his actions though...). He does not mind Manfroy preaching his stuff, when Edelgard will not allow anyone to follow the Seiros faith (friends put it better, but in several routes, the people who were followers of the Church of Seiros are missing in Adrestia...).

While both Edel and Arvis think they are making “sacrifices” for the greater good, as pointed out earlier, this greater good is different. They both ally with a death cult, but Arvis is naive enough to think Manfroy will not backstab him - he even wishes for him to preach his nonsense freely. Edelgard has been hell bent since day 1 on getting rid of Thales and friends.

By the time Arvis learns of the child hunts and Julius’s nonsense... he wants to stop it. He is however powerless to do so (or so we think! Apparently he and Ishtar managed to hide every children captured in a castle!) but, at least, he tried to do something.

Crest Beasts... are still used, no matter the path, and even after Edelgard became Emperor.

Now, if Manfroy had to capture children and round them up for execution to make sure Arvis would become Emperor, would Arvis have supported him? I... don’t think so. If children were captured during Arvis’s conquest of the world and it was a “necessary evil”, would Arvis have accepted it? We don’t know. Prideful as he is, I don’t think he would have agreed.

(which is all kinds of wrong, the man can start wars and backstab friends, allies and turn his own brother to ashes, but hunting children is too much? Meh. And yet, Manfroy mentions something about his ways and his pride being an obstacle to the realisation of his dream).

Arvis is... a complicated character. A douchebag through and through, who tries to redeem himself at the end, but ultimately fails. He is rewarded for his actions in the 1st gen by the 2nd gen, where Julius becomes Loptyr and destroys his Empire. He had it coming? Yes. Is it painful to watch? Yes.

Edelgard... does not face any retribution for her actions.

Yes, she can also kill her (step) brother. But either she didn’t remember it, or only cries after it, and ultimately puts the blame on him - so it is not a sacrifice ?

People doubt her words? Well, it doesn’t matter, Linhardt, Yuri and Lysithea are still alive after their... interrogations. Reptor doubted Arvis’s words? Aida was sent as back-up (and... backstabbed him).

Ultimately, Arvis loses Deirdre (whose ghost chills with Sigurd’s), Julia and Julius, whom he loved dearly. Edel loses... Billy, and some randoms.

So, in a way, Edel feels like a discount Arvis, because she misses his ascension to power and his downfall. Arvis doesn’t mow down enemies on the front lines like she is doing, Arvis maneuvers to ensure victory.

Both fight for ideals, but Arvis seems to believe in them when I cannot believe a world for “humanity” involves continuous making of Crest Beasts.

Both betray the main character, but Edelgard is hit with the uwu hammer, thus cannot kill Billy - Thales does it in the non CF-routes.

So... short story, long story, Eldie is not Dimitri, Claude is not Travant, Rhea is a foil to Manfroy and Edelgard is a discount Arvis.

Also, I don’t know what kind of weed the person who wrote this take had, but labeling Eldie as one of FE4′s villain is as dumb as labeling FE7 Karla a villain because she appears as a red unit you have to fight.

where is edel’s bastard son

[rein-ette]

Hi!

I was inspired by your asks, so I wanted to hear from you! What do you think of Canada as a country? I had a bit of a Canadian phase long ago and I tried to consume as much literature and history as I could, but reading about a place and living in it are very different experiences, so is there anything you'd like to share about Canada, about the culture or the people? Do you like living there? What are some of your favorites things? How do you survive the winters?

And also, as a character, what do you think of Matt?

(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

Aaaaaaaaah okay okay *ahem*

If you’re not here for a Ted talk the exit is to your left, have a great day!

I do love Canada very much! I was born and pretty much grew up here, and as I’ve grown older I’ve become more and more grateful for everything that my country has provided for me! I remember my history teacher in high school said once that by being born into the middle class and as a Canadian, you’ve already won the lottery of life. That was not to disparage other countries, but to remind us of how remarkably privileged we are and how much we take for granted.

One of the first things you hear when you ask people what does it mean to Canadian is the word “multicultural.” I find this word realllyyyyyy cringeyyyy and not really reflective of reality, but I suppose it’s a good starting point for more in depth discussion. People often say Canada is a “cultural melting pot”, but the indigenous poet Marilyn Dumont pointed out in her poems that in some ways it’s more of a mosaic — there are many cultures, but they don’t always meld together. To say it’s a melting pot is ignoring the fact that racism and discrimination certainly have and do still exist here.

But I would argue that in some areas it is a “melting pot”, even if I kinda hate that word. I prefer to think of where I live as cultural delta — a place where many mighty tributaries meet as they thunder into the sea. (It is also literally a delta, funnily enough) Here, I grew up absorbing Canadian ideas, studying British history, reading American literature, learning French — but I also grew up listening to Kpop, watching Ghibli, eating rice. When I meet up with friends, we don’t grab a coffee, we grab milk tea. If you ask people here where they would like to visit or live, they will most likely say New York, London, Hong Kong, or Seoul — which tells you a bit about both how powerful and diverse the cultural influences here are.

Perhaps the thing most indicative of Canada’s “multiculturalism” and what I am most grateful for, however, is that I grew up here without fear. I didn’t even know the words “chink” or other words existed until I could access the internet. Recently, the beatings of Asian immigrants in the UK and US brought this home for me — how lucky I am to have such a privileged childhood. And I know this kind of privilege is hard won; in my research of WW2 I found that one of the amusement parks that I used to frequent as a child was built on land that once housed a Japanese internment camp. How fragile our lives are!

But enough about the serious stuff. I can’t really answer your question about how to survive winters in Canada lol, except to say that where I am in Canada it is absolutely necessary everyone own at least 3-4 umbrellas. That’s because this side of the Rockies in BC, the temperatures are pretty mild year round — the coldest it gets is usually 0, and the hottest around 25. But, by god, it rains. I did go to Ottawa in the winter though, where it was -13 one day, but honestly? Everything below 0 feels pretty much the same. Once it gets that cold, you can’t even tell anymore. I wore a skirt and tights that day, with a good, thick winter coat. And I survived :D

Besides not being heckled on the street for being Asian, my favourite things about Canada are probably the amazing diversity of good food and how tremendously beautiful the wilderness here is. And I say this as someone who loses her mind when a mosquito flies past (ie. I am not a nature person). You can kinda tell from these photos here, but the trees and water and whatnot here, are like, real. Maybe I just find that amazing because I lived in Tianjin, but it just feels like this is a city built among the trees and the sky and water that was always here, and not a city where humans have brought in nature for our amusement.

Okay, gotta move on to your other questions or I’ll go on forever. As a state I think Canada does a fairly good job of providing for its own people, but I wish we had a greater global influence. A lot of youth especially express the view that Canada is kinda...boring if your career doesn’t have to do with, like, sports, nature, or medicine, and I would tend to agree. We have great universities, but as someone who studies international relations I often wish Canada would like? Do more? On the global scale. The only thing we really have under our name is the UN peacekeeping, which PM Pearson started after the Suez Canal Crisis. I mean, I’ve heard that many people abroad identify Canada with peace and like ofc I’m not complaining about that, but I just wish our history was a little spicier, ya know? We did kick Americas ass that one time in 1812 and that was amazing. No regrets.

So that brings me to Matt. A lot of Canada’s existence has just been dominated by trying to carve a way between the US and the British while not being swallowed by either. Britain gave us the protection and strength and diversification of identity to not be annexed by the US, but at the same time it hobbled Canada’s relation with our only neighbour. One of the very first treaties Canada negotiated alone, if I’m recalling correctly, was a trade contract with the US over fishing (?) in BC and Alaska, where London was like no you can’t and Canada was like uh we gotta make money too, bro. So yes, while I do believe Mattie is just a very loyal person in general, he was also loyal to the empire because he needed to survive. A lot of Canadian identity was solidified around our prompt assistance of England and the sacrifices made in the two world wars, especially the campaigns in the Low Countries and Italy. Essentially, Canada has historically differentiated itself from the US through its loyalty.

Uuuuh just realized that has nothing to do with my opinion of Matt. Um. I like him? He’s real best friend/big brother material, and I do hc him as far more cunning and capable than canon portrays him to be. However, sometimes he’s just...too nice. He doesn’t have that edge that England has that makes me wanna slap him tf up and sob and call him my baby at the same time. Also, as oumaheroes mentioned here, that kind of selflessness can get pretty toxic. After all, by consistently not voicing or examining your own needs, you make it incredibly and unnecessarily frustrating for the people who care about you to help you, and that creates a relationship just as one sided as one where the person is extremely selfish. Actually, now that I think about it, my biggest gripe with Mattie as a character and Canada as a country is in that word: selfless. Without self. Perhaps because Canada is still so young, but it feels a little lost, a little like it doesn’t know quite know yet why it exists.

TLDR: If you’re under 18 or over 60, Canada is the place to be. If, however, you’re like me and wish you could touch a building that’s over 150 years old and maybe visit a square somebody’s been guillotined in, perhaps try someplace else. Personally Portugal’s golden visa is lookin especially tempting lately

[mr-kamiyama]

I’m seeing some real parallels between anti Asian racism pointed toward Japanese people leading up to WWII and anti-Chinese rhetoric that has been going on this entire 21st century. I’m gonna lay it out below:

1860s: Japan, who has only allowed trading and visitors to offshore ports because the Dutch and Portugese tried to race each other to conquer Japan in the 1600s, has Admiral Perry, sent by President Filmore, force Japan at threat to open the ports in order to force Japan to assimilate to American ways in order to create a dependency on American goods, such as oil. They get some Japanese people really into this, and this is the end of Edo/Meiji revolution.

1990s: Because Nixon took away the backing of the US dollar amid inflation, “solving” the problem by making the currency worth “whatever you want,” more or less (Google “fiat currency,” that’s very simplified, but it is part of continuing woes for people struggling to live here), Japan, which has been America’s source of labour for pennies because it was already illegal to pay people in the US too little (though the US does have a small collection of sweatshops that prey on undocumented Latinos), and America has power over Japan even today, Japan gets on even financial footing because the yen stays stable against the plummeting dollar, and along with good STEM education, becomes a maker of high-end tech and is able to be a developed country. The wealthiest Japanese start buying real estate in the closer parts of the US. This is spun into “Evil Japs will conquer us all” rhetoric (plenty of books and movies are soaked in this, and that’s where that Styx song came from). Amidst all this, the US pivots to China as a source of unfair labour.

Meiji period (whole period was 1868 to 1912), Taishou period (1912 to 1926): Japan builds and develops Western style. The US, France, Britain, Spain are all divvying up East, South, and Southeast Asia among themselves and and raping and pillaging their way across the land. Japan wants in on this (“we were here before they were, ergo, it’s our right!) similarly rapes and plunders through Korea, Sakhalin, part of China alongside everyone else. The US flips out and has a fit because “the US would never uwu” (the Philippines, the Kingdom of Hawaii, Mexico, and a whole bunch of Indigenous Nations are calling...)

2000s and 2010s: The US throws fits over the sweatshops it’s hiring itself to make goods cheaper as a complicated circumvention of laws against inhumane treatment of labour and minimum wage. Mind what I said about US sweatshops. “The US would never uwu” The US starts bombing half of West Asia because of a major attack by a hate group that was opposition to the government of one country there that President Regean helped rise to power purportedly to fight communism. Islamophobic hate crimes against West Asian and North Africans in and even born in America become a reality for many years. The US is still bombing West Asia as of this post, in 2021, some 19 years later. China interns its mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Ughyurs. America is suddenly a paragon of love to Muslims and “would never uwu” (Never mind Latino families being ripped apart and interned at the US border for four years, albeit that not being current policy) US goes to Japan to stoke anti-Chinese sentiment with the current ruling party that likewise is pro-war, pro-colonialism.

There does seem to be a degree of realisation that “Asian Americans living in California are not actually in China making policy as a CCP official” this time from the US government unlike making it illegal for Japanese people to even think of being Japanese people in 1942 or the failure to realise “Iraq is not Afghanistan” in the early 2000s, but I am seeing US capitalist greed being turned into two-faced rhetoric against an Asian country *again* (twice in the 21 years of this century alone, noting Islamophobic hate—I wasn’t alive in the first half of the 20th century, despite being part of a church community that mostly was and was here, and my own dad and grandparents were all alive for WWII) and especially amid all the rampant violence against us already, I just want people to think and notice patterns. We should absolutely not think positively of the Meiji government, the current ruling party, the LDP, of modern Japan, and the CCP 1949-present, but we should also note all this bogus rhetoric coming from the US government and all the enemy rhetoric that’s actually just about the US wanting more money (and no, the average citizen won’t see that money, either. It will not change the 1,200$/mo for a one room infested shoebox where all the neighbours spew your pick of hate group ideology) I just want people to think about this for once.

[marvelswinterfrost]

1943 (Part 3)

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF WAR AND VIOLENCE

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Masterlist

...

The day of the drafting.

“Maybe if you’d walk just a little bit faster, we might be able to get more done before I’m being shipped to Europe like a package.” Bucky teased and turned around laughing; facing the taller man. He’d obviously be faster than the sergeant, without doubt. His legs were longer, he looked a bit fitter and he looked just like that kind of person who’d always walk way to fast in order to annoy and provoke people smaller than him. But instead the gigantic man strolled behind him, his head hanging low. His hat, that Bucky had borrowed a couple of times since he’s met him covered his face. Not enough to hide the thin lips pressed together in distress. Bucky frowned.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” the soldier chuckled but came to a halt so that his partner could keep up.

“Uh, no.” Loki forced a smile. “Just thinking, actually.”

“Yeah? What’re you thinking about?” the brown-haired man grinned. But he probably already knew what was going on inside his head. Ever since the days went by and his drafting was getting nearer, Loki started to keep more to himself. He barely talked with the confidence he had when they first met a few days ago and now that the day has finally come, it took away the last bit he had still left in him as well.

“You being sent away. I can’t bear the idea of you fighting in a deadly war.” Loki sighed and put his right hand on Bucky’s arm, giving it a squeeze. But Bucky only laughed.

“It’s war! No one want’s to be a part of this, Loki. We’d all rather be here than fearing for our lives day for day, praying that we make it home alive. No one wants to take lives either.”

“Then don’t!” He pleaded. His eyes were wet with tears as he tried so desperately to keep James from going. For the first time since they’ve met, he raised his voice. Anger only slightly underlining his tone as the amount of fear was overwhelming. “This is not your war to fight! Why would you leave your safe home to fight for something other people are responsible for?”

This made Bucky let his smile drop. He knew, from all the fear and worry that must be going through Loki’s mind he started to lose his morals as well. This wasn’t Loki speaking, but his subconscious that feared his death so much. Loki had told him about his own family, how the only one whom he had ever loved and trusted was killed. He even mentioned his brother, but Bucky didn’t think Loki had realized how much he meant to him. Blinded by the hate that followed the man like a shadow, he couldn’t see how much of his love Thor had given him all these years. Just because of his father.

As Loki had told him about his life, Bucky couldn’t help but wonder where he was from. He mentioned a palace he’d lived in, guards keeping people from entering without permission and he’d even talked about animals that Bucky had never heard of before. Their names sounded incredibly odd as well. But that was soon forgotten when James watched with saddened eyes how Loki feared to lose someone dear to him- again.

“No, it’s not. You’re right. But I can’t let people slaughter their neighbours. The war may not take place where I am from, our people at home may be safe from fronts, camps and trenches, from being brutally murdered by soldiers passing by, but so many over there aren’t. And they need my- no, OUR help. And if we don’t stop them soon, they’ll do more than bomb a harbour. I need to keep my country safe, Loki.” He waited for a reaction- ANY reaction of the other man but he just kept on staring. As the seconds passed James put his hand on Loki’s cheek. It wasn’t a soft movement like he’d done dozen times before; he was rough, trying to get Loki to listen.

“Do you understand, Loki?” he asked forcefully as small tears formed in his eyes too. His voice cracked with emotion and his lip trembled ever so slightly as he forced it into a smile. But still he didn’t respond. Slowly, but with care, Bucky took hold of Loki’s head and dragged it down to his, resting their foreheads together. Their hats both falling to the ground. Bucky’s hands gripped the other man’s cheeks firmly. Their breathing was fast but in sync. They closed their eyes as the emotions were growing too strong for both of them to properly handle.

“Please, Loki.” Bucky whispered. And after minutes of trying to get him to understand, he received a nod in response. It wasn’t very convincing, but Bucky got too far to question it now.

“I don’t like this, James.” Loki answered, but kept his forehead pressed against Bucky’s. Partly because the other man still held his face in a tight grip and partly because he wanted to.

“I know.” Bucky whispered. “But-“ the soldier wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay. That he shouldn’t worry. But Loki turned his head away, obviously not listening to him anymore.

“Hey, hey.” Bucky said comforting. “Look at me.” And Loki faced him again, still not fully wanting to hear how this conversation would be going.

“I’m coming back, alright?” Pause. “To you. We’re going to win the war and I’ll be home in no time. I promise.” For the first time since they’ve started talking about his drafting, Bucky smiled again. And he meant it. He was coming back for him, and nothing, not even war could prevent that.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, James.” Loki smiled as well, his mood slowly brightening up. He moved the hands that had held onto his face like claws from his head and held them for a while in his hands. Afterall he couldn’t do anything to stop Bucky from fighting anyway.

The rest of the day went by fast. They grabbed a bite to eat at a small restaurant, got Bucky’s bag from his apartment and ended at the harbour, where the ship that brought them over the big sea was waiting for its departure. Sailors, soldiers, medics and high-ranking officers went on board, one by one saying goodbye to their families.

James put his bag on the ground between his feet and stared straight forward, taking in the gigantic ship made of metal.

“Damn, would you look at that?” he sighed, nodding his head in awe. “Stark’s trying to amaze us with his flying car when things like this are much more interesting and already exist. Maybe we’re living in the future all along?”

“I doubt that technology will end with this ship, James.” Loki laughed.

“So, I guess this is our goodbye?”

Loki dragged the soldier a little bit to the side and kissed him softly. He shoved the hat that completed the uniform a bit aside, just like he had done the first time they’ve met. When they broke apart, he whispered,

“Please, don’t make it our last goodbye.”

“I won’t. I told you before and a sergeant is always true to his words.” He answered, straightening his uniform and hat before stepping out into the crowded place once more. He grabbed the bag and turned around, now walking backwards. He grinned and gave the man in the suit a single wave.

“Go home and enjoy the peace!” Bucky yelled happily before disappearing in the masses.

But Loki stayed and waited for the ship to depart. Once it was only a tiny point on the horizon, he left as well.

[purplesurveys]

482

How many...

How many times have you skipped class? Too many. I only started doing it in college but since then I’ve done it a lot. The class I skipped the most would probably be chemistry or psychology lmao. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? I’ve been with her for technically five years so that number’s going to be huge. How many years have you known your second closest friend? I’ve been familiar with her for 17 years, but I’ve been friends with her for only seven. How many alarm clocks are in the house? Technically, four. All our phones have alarms but we don’t have actual alarm clocks. How many people have you argued with? Your questions ask stuff that are very difficult to count lmao. I can be a bit of a war freak so I’m guessing the number’s also risen to be a lot.

How many times have you watched your favortie movie? Probably in the 80s-100s range. There was a time I watched Two for the Road every day for several months, and I still watch it several times a year. How many people do you live with? I live with my family. With my dad working abroad, sometimes I’ll live with four people but most times I live with three. How many pairs of boots do you own? None. It’s too hot to wear boots. How many people have told you they're in love with you? Just one. How many times have you cried over the opposite sex? Maybe twice, and not because of romantic reasons. The first was because my grandfather died; the second time was when my dad dropped the bomb on me that he wouldn’t be able to watch my high school graduation. How many people have been in your house at one time? .......Huh? How many stuffed animals are in your room? None. I was never a fan. How many cellphones have you went through? Eight. How many pets do you have? I have a dog, but I’ve had several other pets in the past.

What would you do if...

What would you do if you could never listen to music again? I think I’ll be alright for the most part since I don’t rely on music as much as others do, but I’ll definitely grow restless at some point, especially if I have to drive in silence. What would you do if your current bf/gf cheated on you? I’d imagine wanting a few days or weeks to myself to think about what was just done to me and using that time to take care of myself and see my other friends. I don’t actually know what to do following that; I just never entertain that thought so I never think of it lmao. What would you do if you could never wear jeans again? Be so fucking stoked. I hate jeans. What would you do if your dad became president? Teach him about key political and social issues...and maybe be glad that he doesn’t have to work abroad now. What would you do if you lost your most important possesion? That would be my dog. I would be broken; I’ve never lost a dog before. What would you do if your house burned down? Grab my dog, put my phone and laptop in a bag, and jump off my room’s window. What would you do if your best friend didn't want to be friends anymore? I’d be really confused and hurt. I would probably talk to Hans to get to the bottom of it. What would you do if you had to move to a different state/province? Asked to be left behind. I’m not gonna have my relationship that I’ve worked so hard on adjust to my family’s (very) delayed migration-ish plans if this happens.   What would you do if someone shaved your head? Hope I get paid for it, lmao. What would you do if Jesus came to your front door? I work with a Jesus. I’d invite him in, get him a light snack, and ask him why he visited. I don’t recognize any other Jesuses. What would you do if your house was robbed? Scream at the top of my lungs. What would you do if your sister/brother got married? Well first I’d be envious that they went first, but I’d otherwise be excited that I get to go to a party hahaha What would you do if dogs became extinct? Hate humanity forever. What would you do if the last person you kissed proposed to you? Think she’s insane, and I’ll have to turn it down. I’m sure she doesn’t want it this early too.

Have you ever...

Have you ever broke a body part? I’ve sprained an ankle, but other than that no. Have you ever broke someone else's body part? Oh gosh that’s terrible. I don’t think so. Have you ever changed for a guy/girl? Only if I knew it was for my betterment to change. Tried to jump on a celebrity but been stopped by the security guards? Uh no, but a little close. I was exiting a mall at the same time Greyson Chance walked in, and my system just shut down and did the first thing it thought of: get my phone out and start taking photos. He was like, 2 feet away at this point so his bodyguards kinda told me to get out of the way, which I deserved. To this day I still don’t understand why I did something as stupidly fangirly as that, and I can’t even name one of his songs. Have you ever complained about the last person you spoke to? Never. Kate’s my homie. Have you ever cried on your mom's shoulder? No. We’re not close like that, and it’s more than likely that she’d just tell me to pray if I ever decide to confide in her. Have you ever dialed 911 as a prank? I haven’t. Have you ever won a talent show? No. I’ve won a quiz bee though, haha. Have you ever spilled a drink on a expensive electronic item and ruined it? No. I didn’t spill a drink, but I did let my old iPhone 5S be soaked when I was walking under the rain once without an umbrella. I just kinda thought my phone would be durable enough to resist the raindrops, but that was the start of the end for it.   Have you ever fainted when someone told you shocking news? No. I’ve only fainted from hunger + heat. Have you ever swooned over the Jonas Brothers? Yes, when I was 10. Have you ever bought a piece of makeup that cost over $100? No and I don’t think I would ever do that. Have you ever been cheated on by someone who claimed to love you? I’ve never been cheated on. Have you ever got food free because the waiter thought you were hot? No.

Do you...

Do you have someone who will always be there for you? I’d like to think so. My best friends are my ride or dies. My Daydrinkers group (that’s what we call ourselves because we used to go to this local bar in the early afternoon) are also trustworthy. Do you have a membership at a gym? Nah, I’m too lazy to go to the gym. Do you act dumb to get guys/girls to like you? No...does that still even work these days? Do you know anyone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day? No. And if I did I would stay away from them. Do you follow the rules? Most of the time. I don’t enjoy getting reprimanded :/ Do you have a friend who secretly really annoys you? No. I wouldn’t count them as a friend if they did annoy me. Do you always have Pepsi at your house? Nope. Only our parents drink softdrinks and they’re not always at home, so we seldom have soda around the house. Do you flirt with anything that moves? ??? No ??? Do you watch SpongeBob? Still do, yep. I just watched it yesterday. The comedy of the older episodes is timeless. Do you count sheep when you can't sleep? No. I tried to do that as a kid since it’s what I saw in cartoons and in a Mr. Bean episode but it never worked. Do you sweat easily? No. I sweat slower than most people. Do you like pineapple? I hate it. Do you refuse to wear something that's out of style? Typically, yes. Do you type 'u' or 'you'? Depends. I’ll type depending on who I’m talking to and my mood.

What is...

What is your best friend's name?Gabie. Or Angela. I have two best friends.What is your first girlfriend/boyfriend's name?Gabie.What is your neighbour's name?I never talk to the neighbors and have no idea who any of them are.What is your least favorite swear word?Cunt.What is the best and most romantic way to propose to someone?I don’t think there’s a singular best way to propose. That differs for everyone.What is something that always makes you laugh?FRIENDSWhat is the name of your hometown?Sampaloc, Manila.What is the most gentle way to turn someone down?I guess just be straightforward about it? I wouldn’t like to be put under mind games or mixed signals if I was the one being turned down.What is the ugliest girl name?I don’t think there’s an ugly girl name, just ones I’m not fond of. I don’t really like old-fashioned ones like Barbara, Linda, and Gertrude.What is the most boring thing to do?Waiting.What is the funnest kind of question to answer?If you’re talking about surveys, questions about my day or my experiences are always nice to answer.What is the most useless thing you know?I wouldn’t call it useless but I can recognize flags and the capital cities of a number of countries. I collected Kids’ Almanacs every year growing up and they always had a section on geography so that’s why I got to memorize those trivia.What is your favorite pair of pants?My white Mango ones, because they’re super stylish and can be casual or smart casual depending on what I pair it with.What is the best flavour of ice cream?Cookies and cream is my favorite flavor.

[squadron-leader-farrier]

Let's spice things up a bit; ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS

oh baby, you answered m prayers lol this is gonna be long so buckle up ?

1. favourite place in your country? my hill station, because of the weather, and because i haven’t been to many places, and the ones that i have been to were extremely hot and i never want to go there again,

2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad? depends on the holidays tbh. what the festivals the holidays fall near and that. i’d stay here for some, but for the ones that we don’t celebrate in my country like Halloween, i’d like to go abroad.

3. does your country have access to sea? peninsula, babey!

4. favourite dish specific for your country? chicken biryani. boy, oh boy, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. it’s that good. gosh, the flavour, the spice. the way they cook it,,,, the colours ahhhh

5. favourite song in your native language? ones made before the 60s. and the patriotic songs. there are too many to name, but two (non patriotic) ones are this and this (because they’re sad love songs and give me flyboys feels ya kno?)

6. most hated song in your native language? like, as a nation? idk. but personally, i hate, absolutely loathe any songs made after the 60s. they lack originality and creativity. all they did was rip off popular english songs, and changed the lyrics. that’s literally all they did. and they are super proud of it. i hate it. the music industry had gone to complete shit. even today they don’t know what good music is and ow to make it. they’re remixing all the old ones because they lack creativity. i hate it. 

7. three words from your native language that you like the most? i don’t like any three words, because they’re not that appealing on their own (not the ones i can think of right at this moment) but rather, phrases. when you string those words and make poetry or prose. it’s really beautiful, and really poetic. perhaps the best ones are in those two songs, and others like them.

8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom? i haven’t been in a situation like that so i can’t say.

9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best? probably Russia because the ones right next to me are exactly the same in topographical, cultural and architectural respects. there’s literally nothing new to see there, so i’d like to go to Russia.

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language? so it’s basically three: bhenchod/madarchod/chutiya. all of them mean motherfucker in their basic essence, but are used to describe people, cuss out people, call your pal, so basically, the hindi equivalent of fuck. can be used as adjectives, prepositions, verbs, nouns, whatnot. can be used individually or all together. perhaps splash one of them in a conversation to make the group giggle a bit more while telling a funny story. 

11. favourite native writer/poet? the ones who wrote nationalistic literature during the freedom struggle. so, to say, i like Sarojni Naidu, and Tagore. they’re perhaps the most famous ones of the time, and i like their work. 

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem? i don’t have any, because they’re already written in english by the authors. i read a poem or two lying around somewhere, but the thing about hindi is that the translations don’t bear the same feelings as the originals. 

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?  oh there are too many. too many by far. most of them are the usual black cat and others, oh, one i heard when i was in like 4th grade was that you shouldn’t go out with open wet hair at night because a spirit can get caught in em and come home with you. so that was strange. my family doesn’t have any, we’re rather realistic.

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV? no not in the least. you know why? because of this. i swear to fuck, the person who uploaded this compilation didn’t edit a single thing in. how do i know? because i’ve watched these on actual television. when i was young. in my neighbour’s tv. 

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get? remember when some of you motherfuckers got offended by bitch lasagna because you lack basic understanding what a fucking joke is? you don’t know what satire is? you are the reason why people think indians have no sense of humour because you DON’T it was a fucking JOKE holy shit i’m so triggered by this

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with? haven’t heard of many stereotypes about us, but the laziest one i can think of is that we can do math and are good at science. we’re not. i’m shit at all of that. so are my 34 other classmates. 

17. are you interested in your country’s history?  not really, tbh. maybe the period just before independence, and some post-independence stuff, because i got dirt on those politicians and i want more of that so that i have a reasonable justification for hating politicians.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language? i don’t know, maybe i’m so used to it i don’t even realise lol. but i guess so.

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem? YES. YES. YES. i love them. i absolutely adore them. the flag is so symbolic and so beautiful i love her (orange on top for sacrifice, white in the middle for purity, green at the bottom for prosperity, the blue circle in the middle for resolution and justice, just ahhhh). the national anthem always gives me the chills. everytime i hear it playing somewhere, or when we sing it sometimes after assembly, or during days like today (independence day) or republic day, when we finish singing the last line it just always makes me a bit emotional and proud? yeah. today i almost started crying because i love it so much.

20. which sport is The Sport in your country? Cricket. even though the national sport is hockey. no one cares about hockey :(

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?  the memers who think they’re very funny, (which they are not in the least), and the anti nationalists and separatists. i do not want them here. get lost. fuck off. shooo.

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed? what makes me proud, is the freedom struggle of the revolutionaries, and the progress we’re making in every field, the hospitality of the people, and the unity in diversity. what makes me ashamed is that there’s still so much corruption in the government, can’t help it, the law’s delay, gosh the people who think they’’re better than everybody else, the entertainment industry, the music industry, some of the people, most of the politicians, etc.

23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country? bold of you to assume we have a single favourite beverage for the entire country. i think it varies from state to state. for mine i think it may be something apple related, because we have lots of apples here. the season is also coming lol and also, it’s very confusing because some states have completely banned alcohol and in some the legal drinking age is 18. 

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country? canada and ‘murica mostly because so many people immigrate there 

25. would you like to come from another place, be born in another country? i’d like to be British, because  i like the aesthetic and weather. 

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal? i don’t watch many movies, but i think it’s not much/a small amount and neither do i mind nor do i care. 

27. favourite national celebrity? no one. i hate all of them.

28. does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? do you have favourites? yep!! she’s not called a subcontinent for nothing, babey! i live near the Himalayas, so i like that.

29. does your region/city have a beef with another place in your country? oooooh yes. ooooooooooh  boy. with Pakistan lol. mainly because of the union territory of jammu and kashmir. because pakistan wants it, we want it, and it legally also belongs to us. there’s separatists there, anti nationalists, and there’s poverty there, so it’s easy to instigate the people against the government. there were wars fought for it, most of them ended in our favour, but the other side is still making so many ceasefire violations, it is insane. it has been years, and every other day there’s a new violation. there’s lots of unrest in the valley, which is a shame, because it is a truly beautiful place. 

30. do you have people of different nationalities in your family? my uncle is British, my cousin’s husband is also a Brit. a great-grand relative of mine was also British. there are none on my mother’s side.

[pinkchaosart]

In response to Mr. Prager

If you haven’t seen it, this is the video that this essay is in response to

So, obviously I disagree with this video. Let’s go through it: welcome to my ted talk.

1. Universities - First of all, let’s get this out of the way: just because one professor has an opinion about his school becoming a “laughing stock,” doesn’t mean that all education is going down the tubes. In reality, more people of colour and women are being educated than ever before. Kids are graduating high school more than ever, and education is more accessible than ever, at least according to the National Centre for Education Statistics. I don’t know if Mr. Prager has ever been to a modern, public university, but the only people that shut down vs debate are people who are not open to new ideas, who feel overwhelmed and persecuted because their opinion isn’t the only one in the school. Also, Christopher Columbus (pictured in the video as a pillar of education) was a genocidal lunatic. He murdered the Tainos people, didn’t discover America, and didn’t prove the earth was round. Go read about that.

2. The Arts - “The primary purpose of art was to elevate people.” I don’t know if there is a single time in human history when this stands true. This is a topic I’ve personally studied and so I’m going to tell you that, for most of human history, the primary purpose of art was for the rich to show off their money. Portraits were paid for by wealthy people to immortalize themselves. Selfie culture who? I also want to point out that, in the animation in the video, an example of “classic art” given is a painting by Monet, a modern artist who’s work was seen as shocking at the time due to it’s non-photorealism. The only reason we see it as beautiful now is because of time and the art prestige classifying it as such. I would also like to point out that the urinal in the next bit of the video was actually “made” around the same point in time. By no means is it something anyone would consider a current piece of art. I would also like to point out that Mr. Prager is being a hypocrite here, employing the imagery of “urine and feces” for shock value, the very thing he had just criticized. Pablo Picasso said, “What do you think an artist is? ...he is a political being, constantly aware of the heart breaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.” Art isn’t for beauty, it’s all politics, war, sex and money.

3. Literature - “The English department of the university of Pennsylvania replaced the portrait of the greatest English writer who ever lived, William Shakespeare, with a picture of a black lesbian poet.” Yes they did, and that poet’s name is Audre Lorde. First, William Shakespeare’s work is not prestigious. His work was not considered refined when it was produced. It’s full of lewd and ridiculous jokes. “Much ado about nothing” roughly translates to “everyone wants the pussy”. “Nothing” was slang back then for vagina. But let’s go back to Lorde. Mr. Prager said that they replaced Shakespeare with her because they value diversity over excellence. What he’s implying is that Lorde is not worth revering, despite being a very important writer of her time, five thousand times more serious than Shakespeare ever was, and her writings are much deeper than Prager gives her credit for. In fact, he gave her no credit, didn’t even say her name.

4. Late-night television - “In America, late-night shows were completely apolitical” This is completely wrong. Late night TV started in the 1940-50’s, and often they were based on politically charged comedy, just like they are now.

5. Religion - “In many churches and synagogues, one is more likely to hear the clergy talk about political issues than about any other subject, including the Bible.” First of all, I would like to point out that political issues were what Jesus mostly talked about. “Love your neighbour” was a direct comment at the racism Jews experienced and held towards others. “Turn the other cheek” was about how to make your aggressor look like a total jerk. What is the point of church if not to give people usable tools in our modern world? That’s what Jesus did. I would also like to point out that, again, this is Prager’s opinion, and it’s clear what kind of content he thinks should be taught.

6. Freedom of Speech: “Yet the whole point of free speech is that it allows people to express any political or social position, including what any one of us considers hate speech.” Except that it doesn’t. Freedom of speech is described: “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” by the International Human Rights Law, but it also states that the rights carry “special duties and responsibilities” and are “therefore ....subject to certain restrictions ... for respect of the rights or reputation of others ....or the protection of national security of public order or of public health or morals.” Freedom of speech is not absolute, and common boundaries are hate speech, food labeling, pornography, obscenity, slander, copyrights, etc. I would also like to point out that him arguing to be allowed to use hateful words is pointing out the obvious: that he hates us, ie: people that he describes in or agrees with this video.

7. Race - “America has become the least racist multiracial society in world history” ding dong, this is so unbelievably wrong. Let’s talk about “systemic racism” for a minute. This isn’t some “angry diatribe,” but a legitimate and historically accurate concern. It is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions, reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among others. It is a reality that millions of North Americans (yes, Canada’s not clean on this issue) experience daily. For example, Caucasian people and black people consume the same amount of pot on a national scale. Black people are way more likely to be arrested and receive convictions for it. In America, once you receive a criminal conviction, you are no longer able to vote. So even though equal amounts of white and black people use marijuana, black people are arrested and convicted (and therefore cannot vote) because of a system designed to take away their voice. Let’s also touch on the “red lining” from a half-century ago which allowed banks to not lend money to people of colour which created ghettos, which is now home to an overwhelmingly poor and coloured population. That’s systemic oppression and it has been going on for decades. Mr. Prager is the epitome of White Privilege. I’m as white as he is and even I can see that this man hasn’t had to question his good fortune a day in his life and instead chooses to blame others for not “working hard enough” even though they’ve worked harder than he ever has.

8. The Boy Scouts - “They’re not even the Boy Scouts anymore, they’re just the Scouts. The left forced them to admit girls” - So? “The Boy Scouts have helped shape tens of millions of boys into independent and strong good men.” Okay, so wouldn’t you want your girls to grow up strong and independent? How is adding MORE PARTICIPANTS destroying the Scouts exactly?

9. Male-Female - “In New York City, parents do not have to select male or female on a newborn’s birth certificate.” Again, so what? How is that going to affect anyone other than that family. Also, designations of gender at birth on a certificate aren’t set in stone, they can be changed later. It’s not a big deal. Allowing a child to grow up unrestricted in gender norms, won’t create confused people. Letting your boys play with dolls isn’t going to make them want to be a girl, and letting your daughter roll around in the dirt won’t make her a lesbian. Mass confusion doesn’t just happen because of an “x” on a birth certificate.

“America is only bad compared to Utopia.” No, America is bad in comparison to most other first-world countries. The only thing that America excels in is making war. It spends billions of dollars occupying other countries while its people can’t afford health care, food, education, and other basic human rights.

What i find really interesting about this video is that it is completely his opinion. There’s no facts or sources given, he’s chosen his quotes very carefully (even taken them out of context), and I have to conclude that a video like this is only meant to drive the “us vs them” mentality. At it’s best this philosophy is unhealthy, at it’s worst it can kill millions of people and has started countless wars. Mr. Prager isn’t well-educated on most of what he’s talked about. He has an undergraduate in Middle Eastern Studies. Everything else he’s studied appears to be related to orthodox religions. He hasn’t done his research, got some of the most basic ideas completely wrong, and nobody should be listening to a word he has to say on any of the topics he’s talked about in this video.

As someone who used to go to a radical church and was part of the “us vs them” mentality for a number of years, I know that my words aren’t going to change many people’s minds. But what I will say is that we have more in common than we have differences. He said he wants us to debate, so here’s a rebuttal. You can have your opinion but only if you can defend it (not using religious texts). Videos like this are just dividing our culture even more than it already is. My uncle referred to “leftists” as vultures. How awful is that? To dehumanize people so extremely is a great first step to calling for their destruction.

Just ask your German Jewish friends, Mr. Prager.

[luffyasksandanswers]

// “hi, I’m not from the US” ask set ALL OF THEM YOU COWARD. ALL OF THEM. YOU REBLOGGED THAT MEME NOW COMMIT. GIVE ME MY STALKER KNOWLEDGE. GIMME. OR MEET ME IN THE PIT.

“hi, i’m not from the us” meme - @fearllacy //Bruh, you curious George xD! But dare is a dare and me not want to the coconut pit D: so here we go!

1. favourite place in your country?

Summer cottage, a place to escape the hectic city life *thumbs up*

2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad?

Toss me with a shoe because of my unecological thinking but I do like to see new places and cultures  so whenever there is a chance, I try to travel abroad. 

3. does your country have access to sea?

We are the land of thousand lakes buuut we also have sea around us, a lot in the south! so we can escape to Estonia xD 

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

Praised Karelian Pasty and Kalakukko here! otherwise our food is pretty much either stolen from Sweden or colorless/tasteless xD 

5. favourite song in your native language?

Me revealed some of them hier :>

6. most hated song in your native language?

Spent the yesterday browsing around Youtube xD and results are täällä

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

Wow, this is a thing I’ve never thought about it so this should be something to be asked from my mates because they know better which words I repeat nonstop *laughs*  Hey, how about teaching you fellow buddies a few Finnish words?

- Juoksentelisinkohan?  (=I wonder if I should run around aimlessly?)Never heard anyone say this but I think it’s very amusing word in general xD 

- Lohikäärme = dragon Simply put so but if you write “lohi” and “käärme” separated, you get salmon and snake. In other words the translation could also be salmonsnake,kinda makes sense, kinda doesn’t *laughs*

- Pöpelikkö

= ThicketRarely used word for a forest/growth that is hard to walk through, maybe in spoken language means more like “in middle of nowhere” or at least that’s how I use that word ::D  

Bonus: lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilasThe longest officially approved finnish word monster. In english it would beAeroplaneshowerturbinemotorhelpmechanicnoncommissionedofficerstudent. 

8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom?

I probably told this before but I’m not a bloodline finn, my biological roots are in China (but I’ve spent practically my whole life here so my soul is very suomi perkele saunaan ja torille xD). As imaginable, this causes awkward situations because people get misunderstood or assume things right away but well whoopsies happpen as long as no one makes a number about it, it’s all ok ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best?

Revealed #lifegoals här!

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

Maybe the most heard sweard word is the finnish version of F-word  [x]Frankly spoken I don’t like or use it because it’s like the C-word and dunno, sounds weird when people love to repeat loudly a word that literally means woman’s genitals :D Nah my favorite swearword is “Perkele” because when you are angry you can feel the power in the R-letter.  But I actually use “Helvetti” (=hell) the most, no idea how it happened but anyway, if it’s not “PERRRKELE” then it’s “EI HELVETTI” *laughs* last time I swear like mad was when I had to assemble a furniture at work xD

11. favourite native writer/poet?

Tove Jansson adoration here :>

12. what do you think about English translations 

I have to admit I’m not familiar with translated literacy D: wait no I lied! I’ve read 2 Moomin books in english but don’t remember paying attention to the translation, only thing that was confusing first was the names in english because there wasn’t any expalanations to the names of the (random) side characters xD

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

We finns love icy waters but we have another tradition that is a dank meme. I mean TORILLE!! which basically means finns rush to the local market places if we win hockey championships or are good in any other sports. I think it’s a global jokebut yeah finns are trash for getting national recognision. Just mention us anywhere outside the borders and transmit that info to Finland and you can hear and see people hyping it like mad and I am not sure if other countries do this too in such extreme ways xD  

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV?

One thing that makes watching the finnish tv boring is that they literallt recycle the celebrities which means same faces in almost every fame teledrama or shows and practically everywhere you go or channel surf, you’ll see them and then even tabloids need to write nonstop about their slighest moves.  It is good to be ecological but if there is an actor that needs to shove their face everywhere no matter what and they try to keep their fame in every way, it just doesn’t work plus this might be stereotyping but in those “finnish versions” of big shows, finns are somewhat stiff and don’t go like “yeehaw WOHOO \o/” the same way like in the original shows  so it sometimes looks like they try too hard to be like the original or they are just “forced” to be superhyper. 

Another reason I don’t watch much finnish series is that the articulating is bad or then there is something wrong with the audio or it’s just my bad hearing but the actors tend to speak very very quietly so you have to put volume on if you want to hear anything on the telly and then your ears get rekt and wasted because when the commercials (which are louder than the normal speech) comes, the sound is even louder [x] just like when you open your computer and forgot the volume is at maximum and whe Windows start music suddenly appears. 

I bet there are good finnish movies too that are high quality and I personally enjoy the game shows (quiz like thingies) but in general, nah :p 15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get?

Another thing outsiders maybe don’t understand but finns love to queue and freebies and an ultimate example is that usually if a new shop opens up, people can start to queue a long before the grand opening. Funniest thing is that free buckets are the most queued thing and why not because they are useful xD

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with?

Maybe my favorite finnish stereotype is that finns love personal space [x] It is a national joke that if there is a bus stop, finns don’t stand next to each other (well in the capital and big cities maybe) but they have at least 2 meters distance xD 

17. are you interested in your country’s history?

Frankly spoken nah, I mean I liked to hear my grandparents’ stories about the life when they were younger and how my both grandfathers had to see the wars but in general nah, because well we’ve been owned by Swedes and Russians and had a civil war.  

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

I’m originally from the Eastern Finland that has its dialect  and people distinguish it easily. Especially now that I’ve lived outside my hometown during studies and work, people tell that they hear strong dialect although I only use it in the person pronouns *eyes emoji*

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

Blue is a nice color so thumbs up for that! Well can’t say I’m a fanatic finn but of course it sounds nice to hear the anthem on telly [x]

20. which sport is The Sport in your country?

Hockey is probably where Finland is the most successful but we also like football (duh, everyone likes) but we suck at that so bye FIFA dreams xD you know about that Phil because I ranted about it last summer XD

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?

SALMIAKKI and that free bucket *laughs* 

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

There are many things very well in Finland, like everyone gets a free basic education and natural disasters such as earthquakes are very rare so it’s quite safe. 

What am I ashamed of? Well frankly spoken we are way too soft on criminals in my opinion so our country should fix the law system so that the criminals would get rougher and longer punishments for rough crimes. 

23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country?

I think beers, wines and long drinks are in now? 

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

Sweden! It’s a common joke that we are so jealous of Swedes being better people and succeeding in everything and of course in our jokes swedes are the dummies. I think Scandinavian countries do that about each other like Finland vs Sweden, Iceland vs Denmark and Sweden vs Norway *laughs*

25. would you like to come from another place, be born in another country?

But I am born in another country xD Nah no, I wouldn’t change a thingblue eyes would be cool but finns tend to burn in the sun and I enjoy the summer I’m happy like this :p 26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal?

The latest news about Finland in American media must’ve been that when Trump misunderstood the forest defense thing and said something like Finns are so diligent they rake their forest floors [x] but the truth is that we don’t because our climate is different. Of course we have forest fires too but they are much much smaller than in California. 

27. favourite national celebrity?

I fangirled Antti holma here, he handsome, he funny, he has a podcast  :> 

28. does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? do you have favourites?I think a couple of mountains exsist [x] but more rivers and thousands of lakes! I like the lakes, since I’ve spent most of my summers at our summer cottage near the lake. Actually never been in the north but I’d love to go on a roadtrip someday to see them!

29. does your region/city have a beef with another place in your country?

We beat Sweden and Russia so no one shall mess with our smol country! :p

Fun fact: There is a guy named Simo Häyhä, a sniper who is said to be killed more than 505 men during the 1939–40 Winter War [x]

30. do you have people of different nationalities in your family?

We have a multicultural family tree, relatives from France, Germany, Sweden, Japan and so on :)! 

[solarbird]

I am staggered by how completely so much of the left has blown this moment, both in lining up with the overtly imperialist authoritarian whose self-proclaimed fascists architected this war, and in missing the raw political opportunity offered them on a goddamn. silver. platter. I mean... all they had to do was look at the reactionary authoritarian whose regime extinguished democratic elections, routinely jails or assassinates political opponents, legalised domestic abuse (YES REALLY), REALLY hates the queers, and who launched an explicit war of conquest and genocide against a small neighbour whose territorial integrity they guaranteed in exchange for surrendering their nukes, and NOT go, "oh man, he's definitely our guy!" IT'S NOT A HARD CALL. But they blew it! There are leftists who didn't blow it. I'm QTing one who absolutely didn't! I hope they're the future of the US left, because WE NEED ONE FOR REALS KIDS. But NOT the tankie clowncar making most of the noise. At least they're cleanly sorting themselves apart. Seriously this is a great guide for the future. "Were they FOR or AGAINST the extermination of Ukrainians?" Very simple test! Very straightforward answers! Really, really rare in politics, too. Convenient. And staggeringly appalling. Alexander references '56; I can definitely see that. But to me, this is worse. This is '39-40, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the would-be partition of P/o/l/a/n/d/ Ukraine. Putin has rehabilitated Stalin and wants to restore his empire. You're either for that or you're not. And before you accuse me of trying to turn this into a low-resolution rerun of World War II, I strongly advise you go look at what Putin has been saying, in his own goddamn words. Because that's what he wants it to be, domestically, and is not afraid to say so. Only he's the one quoting Hitler without irony, and it's his architect of policy who went around saying the only thing wrong with Nazi Fascism is that it was Germans doing it, and not Russians. And they picked this guy as their hero. Christ. Just imagine if they hadn't been this fucking stupid. This fucking dumb. Oh my god the opportunity here. Being actually anti-imperialist, loud and in front, actually opposing an actual forthright war of conquest by a country which explicitly wants to restore an empire they lost and exterminate a culture... with EVERYONE EXCEPT OUR HOMEGROWN FASCISTS AGREEING WITH YOU. For the first time in their political lives, everyone except our own fascists actually might want to hear what else they had to say. The opportunities lost. My gods. The opportunities lost. But now, no, they're the tankie magat wanna-bes in bed with Putin and spouting nonsense to support imperial religious wars against queers, women, and self-determination, and for bonus points, you can be damn sure nobody's gonna give up their nukes ever again after this. I've said more times than I can count that the American left is in love with failure. Not all of it, but a lot of it. Success is anathema to so many of them. This also shows up in condemning imperfect successes and flat-out blunt refusal to celebrate ANY wins of ANY kind. This opportunity is SO clear and SO obvious I have a hard time seeing missing it as anything less than a combination of puritanical dogmatism ("the US / west is ALWAYS the worst actor") and out-and-out self-sabotage. These last couple of years have kinda driven it home to me. "In love with failure" started as a quip, turned into a hypothesis, and as far as I'm concerned, it's now a pretty robust theory. They're in love with failure, because successes are always imperfect and incomplete and therefore not successes and celebrating them is selling out. But failure - oh, sweet failure - shows purity was retained. And so, they cannot let it go. And that... that is one hell of a political pathology.

[tinchentitri]

“hi, I’m not from the US” ask set

Thank you for the tag @bemynightmanager ! I've already made a - dare I say - beautiful post yesterday but since Tumblr's being a little shit not cooperating, it didn't post. I had pictures! So, we try it without those now.

Given how Americanized this site is, it’s important to celebrate all our countries and nationalities - with all their quirks and vices and ridiculousness, and all that might seem strange to outsiders.

1. favourite place in your country?

Anywhere by the North Sea or the Baltic Sea really. Currently living in Kiel, so that's a huge plus. But there are many many beautiful places in Germany. With lots of history. The real Disney Castle anyone?

2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad?

I like it here, but it's very nice to be somewhere with really good weather in the summer. I've done both.

3. does your country have access to sea?

Yep, see number 1.

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

I love Rouladen with Rotkohl and potatoes. The potatoes are simply cooked in salt water and then you top it off with gravy from the Rouladen. And I also love Currywurst.

5. favourite song in your native language?

So many. But I have to say... the most beautiful German song probably is the Ode to Joy. Ode an die Freude in German.

6. most hated song in your native language?

Anything Volksmusik really.

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

Vorfreude meaning anticipation but in a purely happy way.

Fremdschämen meaning that you feel ashamed of something someone else is doing. If they don't feel ashamed by it, you do.

Fernweh as the opposite of home sickness.

8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom?

I feel like Americans usually confuse almost every European country. But with Austria mostly I guess.

9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best?

I've visited Denmark and the Netherlands (Amsterdam is beautiful!) but I've never been to Vienna, Prague or Warsaw.

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

The good old Scheiße. (Shit)

11. favourite native writer/poet?

Where to start? Goethe, Schiller, Thomas Mann...

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem?

There are many German words without translations... So it's a little tricky I'd guess.

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

I never know which of these are used in other countries as well. But you don't start a new year with wet laundry. You don't wish someone a happy birthday before the actual date.

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV?

Yes, very much!

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get?

Picture from Buzzfeed.

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with?

We're not all still Nazis and we do know how to laugh (even about ourselves).

But we (try to be) are punctual.

17. are you interested in your country’s history?

Very. You have to be as a German I think. But there aren't just downs, there are many great things coming from us.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

Nope. But moving North I've realised that I use a lot of words that aren't common in the other parts of Germany.

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

Each colour of the flag has a history and I love our national anthem. Especially since it was changed after World War II. We only sing the last verse now.

20. which sport is The Sport in your country?

Football (Soccer for the Americans). Then some football and more football after that.

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?

Books and plays by Schiller and Goethe and music by Beethoven.

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

Our history and that we've learned from it.

And that we don't have to be afraid to go out on the street if we don't like the politics we're making. We also don't have to be afraid of the police.

23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country?

Beer. Though, some people prefer wine.

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

The Netherlands and the Americans. But given our history with other countries...

25. would you like to come from another place, be born in another country?

I'd love to watch movies in English easier and be able to see plays with actual famous actors. So London would be cool. But I also love it here.

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal?

Well, yeah. We're the bad guys and the Nazis.

27. favourite national celebrity?

Helmut Schmidt and Loriot probably.

28. does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? do you have favourites?

We have the alpes, the Rhein and lots of lakes, yes.

29. does your region/city have a beef with another place in your country?

Everyone seems to have beef with everyone concerning football. But apart from that not really.

30. do you have people of different nationalities in your family?

I don't know if it counts because it's not by blood but my sister in law is Thai.

[tracyfance]

New Post has been published on Tracy Fance

New Post has been published on https://tracyfance.com/gratitude-coronavirus/

Gratitude & Coronavirus

Gratitude & Coronavirus

  The UK is about 5 weeks into the pandemic, 2020 is not going as I thought it would, I’m sure you feel the same way too? For many people life as they know it is on hold, however for some not a lot has changed. I fall into the 2nd category, although work is very different, I can work via phone, Skype, email etc, my events and training however are a different issue.

So how are you spending your time during this hiatus? Many people are using the time wisely; cleaning their houses and cars, ploughing through that list of jobs that you promised you would do one day but have just been to busy to do for years and the like. Some have become experts on games and are furiously posting on social media every minute of their lives to kill the boredom. I have to be honest and say life is not really drastically different for us, here’s why:

We both work from home anyway so we are both at home most of the time, the only difference is that my partner is not popping in and out on errands and seeing clients and I don’t have a stream of clients coming to see me nor are we out at the events we usually do, this is not the end of the world for me as I have felt changes coming for some time now, this may be the transition.

When it comes to food, the panic buying did not really touch us, my partner is one of those who will use every bit of a chicken, including boiling the carcass to make soup, stock or both. He’d be great on Ready, Steady, Cook as he can make a meal out of most random items and it will be tasty and nutritious.

I spent the first week of lockdown on the phone to various government offices and financial establishments DWP/HMRC/my bank/mortgage company etc to find out what assistance was there for us then I spent another week on technical issues so that left the 3rd week where I feel like I am finally getting to work on the projects that I have had on my to-do list for years!

I’m glad we were allowed to exercise so I have left the house but in my normal working week that is quite often the only time I leave the house so that has not really changed either!

I love what I do and I love seeing my clients, however not having the manic diary that I usually have has given me space, that space has allowed me to think about where I want my business to go, how I want to grow. I’ve enjoyed being quieter, I’ve enjoyed doing stuff for me instead of always being there for others, I sort of miss it all too though, but having a break does make us appreciate things we take for granted, even the annoying person in the office might start to be a welcome return to normality!!

We are being more creative financially because times are challenging, but we seem to be living like kings, one of our local fishing businesses is supplying the public as a result of their catering trade having gone due to this lockdown, it is fresh, local and very reasonably priced so we are supporting them, we love fish but we rarely have skate, salmon, lobster, crab etc as much as we are doing right now.

We are shopping differently, we’ve never done a big shop, instead we tend to go when we fancy something for dinner so we go most days, my partner is not keen to go that frequently right now so we are going once a week.

We are buying our meat from the local butcher and veg from the local fruitier which we do sporadically usually, many of our friends are doing the same, let’s hope this is the future for local businesses and that they don’t go back to using the supermarkets quite as much.

I really love the creativity that I am seeing in people right now, they are coming up with old ways of doing things as well as new to get them exercise and to stop them getting bored.

I love the fact people like Joe Wicks who nobody took notice of is now a viral sensation and millions of people are watching his workouts, oddly TV companies around the globe want him now! Glad that some people are benefiting from this but in a good way. Sadly, the criminals and unsavoury people are equally creative in finding new ways to rip people off or to profiteer from the situation.

It is sad to see how many people have become hard, selfish and antisocial during this Coronavirus pandemic, panic buying with no thought to others, ignoring social distancing, judging people with no knowledge of the true situation, however this has been outweighed by those who’ve discovered their ‘war spirit’ and have gone above and beyond to help those worse off, manning food banks, cooking for the vulnerable, working even though this puts them at risk, caring for those who are ill with a range of illnesses as well as Coronavirus.

Most of us are guilty for taking things for granted, I know I take my partner for granted, he always does the cooking, I rarely get in the kitchen but I know he enjoys it and I do offer to cook. We take it for granted that we have freedom to move around, many countries had a full lockdown, with no room to escape the house AT ALL, with the police given powers to arrest people not adhering to the laws.

We take our health for granted until someone we love gets ill or worse we get ill, it is true when they say ‘youth is wasted on the young’ it is, it is only when you are older or have poor health that you wish you’d taken better care of yourself when you were younger. Even fit people can be struck down suddenly.

I’m sure there are many people and businesses that took their trade for granted, who expected pubs and restaurants to be closed? Even the takeaway that we take for granted is not so readily available.

Many people do not like their jobs but at least they have a job and the income from it, many people now are realising that they moaned about their job but would give almost anything to have it back now!

Look around your friends and family, see how much you miss being with them, for many people this social isolation is their normal day, imagine 5/10/20 years of this as a disabled person or as an elderly person, single or not. I hope that this situation will allow for more compassion and understanding of those who live in isolation on a daily basis.

I love the way neighbours have created groups on Facebook and WhatsApp and other similar apps so they can all talk and see who needs what, if anything. For many this is the only contact they have had with neighbours since moving into that property, that may be due to shyness, working shifts, long hours, just different working patterns etc, we need community and this has proved how much better we are as a community.

Finally, we are valuing our key works like nurses, doctors, pharmacies, firemen and police, it’s great we come out and clap for them to show our support but I’m sure being better paid would be more appropriate when this is all over.

It is great to see people have ideas on how to help the community, on how to fulfil a need or to create a new service or product etc to help at this time. So instead of being busy doing nothing, use the time wisely to allow inspiration and new ways of being come to you.

Now is the time to get used to living in the moment, rather than being flat out 24/7 and unable to enjoy who we have in our life, the things we have in our life, it is the right time to think about the kind of life we want when this is over, I don’t doubt that for many people going back to how it was is not an option.

So in amongst all my usual day to day tasks, I am also building in more me time, I’m not sure if my run is ‘me time’ or not, I do it because I need to get some exercise instead of being chained to my desk, I also need to lose weight. I’ve picked up my flute for the first time in months and I am ploughing through learning a new language, by the time this is over I should be able to speak 4 languages including English!

I’ve given myself time to sit in the garden and sunbathe, I’ve allowed myself to change my sleeping pattern as well as changing my diet a bit. I don’t have lunch most days right now because I am not getting enough exercise so a few less calories is no bad thing, it also means less shopping trips!

We are missing friends and family but so far, we have been lucky and they are all well, that has been our main goal, we’d hate to be responsible for someone we love getting sick or dying.

I love the way so many people are living the #bekind ethos, we have no idea what a person is going through in their life or what their status is so be kind to all, they may be a key worker or they may have mental health issues and need that kindness. Smile at people, do something nice for someone and ask them to pay it forwards.

This pandemic is the perfect mechanism for many to accomplish their soul contracts and soul purposes, out of adversity comes something positive, it gives humanity a chance to be humane and compassionate, so although this is a terrible situation there are many positives to be found in it. It is only all negative if we allow ourselves to see it from that position.

Weird as it may sound, I am actually grateful for this pandemic, the planet needs it as does humanity, this might just save the lives of the planet and everyone on it!

So make a list of all you are grateful for right now, however temporary, focus on what you have and not what you do not have. Stay safe!

#gratitude #bekind #coronavirus #payitforward #inspiration #attitudeofgratitude #positivementalattitude #soulcontracts #soulpurpose #humanity #compassion

[fullfillmyfantasy-blog]

Respect the Slav

 I am Polish with a bit of Tatar blood. I strongly identify as Slavic and have genuine affection for any Slavic nation, but mostly I am Polish and so proud to be. I find it kind of hurtful how we are perceived in the Western nations and how we are depicted in mainstream media in America. I feel rejected both by the white community and the opressed community of People of color. Of course by no means Slavs are POC and by no means we have it as bad, but actually anyone who isn’t of Western European descend has it hard. Nevertheless we are painted with the same brush as those Western Europeans simply due to our race, but we’re not the same.

Have you ever notices the way Slavs are depicted in mainstream media in USA? Let’s start with the fact that you don’t really see other Slavic nations than Russians. I know that Russia is the big bad of the US generally, but not ever Russian is a villain or a villain-turned-hero. There are tons of amazing people. NOT EVERY RUSSIAN IS EVIL. Their authorities are evil, but the Russians are not. For example, look at the Russians in the MCU. First of all, we’ve got Natasha. As much as I love Scarlett Joahnsson and I am aware that she is of Polish descend, there are so many talented Russian actresses who could have got the role, yet as far as I’m concerned no actual Russian was even considered. Second thing is while Natasha is a Russian protagonist she despises Russia. Her homecountry is everything evil when it comes to the character. She doesn’t show young Slavs that being Slavic is cool. The rest of the Russians in the Universe are villains. Let’s start with Ivan Vanko. Again, Rourke is not Russian nd he doesn’t have ANY Russian or Slavic blood. The accent was terrible, the character was absolutely despising. While his motivation was weak it kind of made sense until the reveal that Anton Vanko was practically a leech. So yeah, evil runs in the Russian blood I guess. Russians in Captain America? Okay, I don’t have a fucking idea what went on there. The Russians captured Bucky and experimented on him, yet he’s a Hydra asset? Hydra was a Nazi organization and it makes no sense since the Soviets actually had a lot to do with defeating Nazis. Both were evil, but they’re not the fucking same. Actually Nazis hated Slavs almost as much as Jewish people and by the time “The First Avenger” takes place historically the Germans had already blocked Leningrad, so the Soviets would never work with them. Let’s take a look at “Arrow” now. We’ve got plenty of Russians here. Except they all are shady gangsters with good intentions only for themselves. Yeah, the brotherhood and severe loyalty in Bratva is depicted, but it’s still a criminal organization. Got to mention that they actually cast David Nykl who is Czech Canadian (so he’s Slavic) in the role of Anatoli, yet Kovar is played by a Swede. I’m in the supehero fandoms, so most of my examples come from there, but I guess you get the idea. I can’t recall many other Slavs with prominent roles in American mainstream media apart from Sophie and Oleg from Two Broke Girls and don’t even get me started on those. The Hollywood also didn’t care enough to cast somebody of the right ethnic background for the role of Nikola Tesla who was Serbian (so a Slav) with David Bowie playing him in “The Prestige” and Nicholas Hoult in the upcoming “The Current War”. Have you heard of the movie “The Zookeeper’s Wife”? It’s about the Żabiński family who hid Jews in the Warsaw Zoo during WWII. Yet the main roles of Polish people again went to actors with nothing Slavic about them.

I could rant more on this, but I actually want to mention one more thing. Dear People of Color, as I said we are not opressed like you, but please do not paint us with the same brush as those actually responsible for all the awful things that happened in America to your ancestors. And I am talking as A POLISH PERSON here. Specifically Polish person. We are not your enemy. We never colonised Americas. We never had slaves there. While your ancestors were slaves (actually the term “slave” derives from the word “Slav”, because Slavic people were often kept as slaves in Arab Spain in ninth century), mine were living in a non-existent country since it was literally stolen away from us by Prussia, Russia and Austria. For 123 years there was no independent Poland, Polish culture was opressed and depolonization was crazy. Yet we managed to survive. We fought for our freedom. One of our national heroes is actually also a national hero in US. His name is Tadeusz Kościuszko. If you haven’t heard of him, you’re missing out. He was a prominent figure in American Revolution. There’s actually a story that while he was in Philadephia, the leader of Little Turtle came to him and Tadeusz gave him guns with guide to use them against anyone who would want to conquer Little Turtle. Then he came back to Poland to fight for his own country which was being torn apart by their neighbours.

There’s also the story about Poles in Haiti. Let me start things of with saying that many Poles viewed Napoleon as a way to regain freedom. It kind of worked since the Kingdom of Poland came to existance, but don’t think it was any kind of independent coutry. It still belonged to Russia. Napoleon exploited the Poles in his army, seriously. He didn’t actually give a damn about us. So he sent them to help subdue the Haitian Revolution. As you may or may not know, the revolution was successful. Want to hear the story of the Poles’ role? Well, it’s simple. When they arrived there and saw that the Haitians fight for their freedom just like the Polish, they decided to actually help them. Not immediately, but it didn’t take them much time. They saw the Revolution as paralell to the Polish situation back then. Jean-Jacques Dessalines called the Poles (AND I’M LITERALLY QUOTING HIM THERE): “the White Neg***s of Europe” with was actually regarded a great honour. The Poles who fought there aquired Haitian citizenship and you can still find their descendants on Haiti. 

And the WWII. Oh, the WWII. It all started in Poland which was still weak. We actually existed as an independent country for only 20 years when Hitler attacked us. It’s no mystery that our allies (Great Britain and France) didn’t give a damn about us and didn’t help Poland at all. I could talk and talk about the Poles in the WWII, because our role was HUGE. Let me just say that Poland was the only country were hiding Jews was punished by death, yet so many Polish people (count in my greatgrandparents) still did it. Of course not every Pole was a saint back then and some actually did horrible things, but majority of Poles really helped the Jews. Just check which country has the most citizens who got the honorific of Righteous Among the Nations. (Spoiler Alert: it’s Poland) Poland is actually the only country and Germany conquered back then where they couldn’t form a SS force, because most of us would rather die than fight for the Nazis. A Pole, Jan Karski, risked his life when he was smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto to gather information. Actually when he reported those to Western leaders, they pretty much didn’t give a shit. Polish officer Witold Pilecki voluteered to go to Auschwitz to gain information on the camp. And please, NEVER say “Polish death camps”. The death camps were never Polish. They were on our territory which was taken from us by force.  Poles also fought in Britain (Polish pilots in Battle of England anyone?) and in other parts of the world. After the war ended no one gave a shit. Roosevelt and Churchill easily sold us to Soviets, so we actually became dependent on Russia yet again. We regained our independance in 1989 and were actually the first nation to break the communist regime. 

We’re no saints and the country is a mess right now. There are tons of rasist, homophobic and sexist people among us, but a lot of Poles actually fought for basic human rights for everyone, for freedom, for justice. We may be a mess, but if the times are hard, we’ll come together and fight for ourselves and for each of you, because in the end we’re all people, we all deserve the same treatment and opportunities. 

So what I wanted to say by this rant? I wanted to kindly ask POC not to paint every white person with the same brush and to not think that we’re the same as your opressors. We are not your enemy, we never were. I wanted to kindly ask opressed POC not to erase the beautiful Slavic cultures by saying that “white people have no culture”. I get you’re angry with your opressors, I can fully understand it, but it is hurtful for me as a person who doesn’t really identify with the Western culture.  I wanted to demand Western white people for more respect towards other cultures, also those of other ethnic groups of your own race. Slavs are the biggest white ethnic group in Europe, yet they are neglected and stereotyped. 

[babylon-bitch]

Just Friends ~ Making Something Great Out Of A Shitty Situation (part 39)

Harper White is best friends with Luke Hemmings, they always have been. Not only is she friends with the rockstar, but with the rest of 5 Seconds Of Summer, as well as a really nice girl named Erika.

Harper has a few secrets, she can play all the instruments the boys play and many more. It’s a talent she has kept hidden, only very few people know.

What will happen to the six teens, wondering around the world together?

***

We’ve been here in the Maldives for a few days now, we leave in two days. I’ve made some great memories with some of my favourite people. It’s been so nice to just let everything go for a week, I’m nearly stress free. Key work nearly, I’m sorta freaking out as we near the end of this trip, because I’m just gonna dive straight into the deep end and lose contact with the people I love. I can bet you 20,000 dollars, that I’ll lose contact with all the guys and girls, not completely, just not daily. That fact scares the shit outta me, of course I’m gonna try and keep contact, but it’s just sad, from going to seeing each other every day and constantly texting to just a weekly, sometimes not even that. The boy’s will be on tour, I’ll be busy with lectures and revision stuff, Erika and Maddie will still be in Sydney, completely different timezones.

I think timezones are gonna be one of the main problems. Erika and I are yet to discuss our plans for our YouTube channel. So much to sort out in such little time.

I’m really gonna miss everyone, if I think about it too much I get so emotional.  I’m not just gonna my friends and boyfriend, but my parents, school friends, neighbours, the whole community. Just my home town and Australia in general.

I’m looking forward to making new friends and living in a different part of the UK. I’ve never really been up north, only for weekend holidays and such, I’ve never spent more than a week up there, so to think I’ll be living there for three or more years is quite exciting.

It’ll be good to see family and live in my own flat on my own. The flat I’ve gonna (possibly) move into is really nice. I haven’t actually seen it in real life myself, but I’ve seen pictures and scheduled a viewing. Hopefully I get it because if I don’t I’ll be pretty screwed and heartbroken. I’ve been in contact with the landlord and he said that no one has put an offer in, yet. It’s not quite in the whole student premise, it’s quite close to the university, but it wouldn’t be classed as student accommodation.

It’s in a really nice area and I love the whole layout of it all, it also has a shared kitchen which isn’t the worst but it isn’t the best, at least I’ll have some flat mates.

I’ve had the same friends for years now, don’t get me wrong, I love them to death, by I haven really made any new friends recently, besides Maddie of course. I’m not exactly the sociable type, but I love meeting new people. I’ve never really made new friends, I’ve always been with Luke and the other boys, never had any other close friends. Luke and I made friends with a girl in primary school called Carol, but that only lasted a few weeks, I think our weirdness scared her away, no she moved away, but again, we didn’t get close. I’ve always gotten along with boys better than girls, that’s not to say I don’t get along less with Erika and Maddie, I’ve just been able to click with boys better. In primary school I got teased a little because I spent all my time with Luke, so they called me a tomboy and I got so angry with them. Luke defended me though, he was my knight in shining armour. I’ve never seen a problem with being friends with boys.

When Luke introduced me to the boys for the first time we didn’t exactly click instantly. Luke started being friends with them a few months before we all met, I thought I was gonna hate them because they took Luke away from me. Of course I’d seen them in the school halls or when I had to drop something off to Luke in the music room, and they were all in there. I would just place it on a spare chair, whisper something in Luke’s ear, then kiss his cheek before leaving, not even sparing the others a glance. I was fucking ready to throw death glares and start world war three, but we got along really well.

“Are you ready?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I sigh.

“Listen, they’ll love you, what’s not to love?” He winks causing me to blush.

“Luke, I don’t wanna do it.” I whine and bury my face into his chest.

“Why?” He sighs wrapping his arms around me.

“Because, I don’t like people.” I pout.

“You like me.” He states.

“Yeah, you’re you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He laughs.

“Shut up, I just wanna hang out at my house.”

“Harper, there’s people that wanna meet you in my living room. Could you just be nice to them for me? You don’t even have to spend that much time with them, just half an hour. If you don’t like them, that’s fine, if you do like them, that’s great. You don’t have to like them, but could you just be friendly and polite to them for half an hour? For me please.” He asks as he holds my jaw with his hands.

“Ugh fine but you owe me.” I tell him.

“We’ll have a movie night and you can pick what we watch.” He offers.

“Deal.” I sigh.

“Thank you.” He grins and kisses my cheek multiple times.

“Lets just get this over with.” I mutter.

“Be nice.” He warns and intertwines our hands.

Luke opens the front door and we walk in, hand in hand.

“Guys this is Harper, Harper, this is Michael, Calum and Ashton.” He introduces.

“Hi.” I sigh.

Luke sits down then holds my hips, bringing me to sit on his lap and wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Are you guys dating?” Calum asks the infamous questions.

“Eww, we’re just bestfriends. I’d never date Luke if you paid me to.” I exclaim.

“If I got a dollar for every time people asked us that, I’d be a millionaire by now.” Luke says.

“How long have you guys been friends for?” Ashton asks.

“Well Luke is 14 so 14 years.” I answer.

“Harper is older than me, our parents are friends so we’ve been friends all our life,” Luke explains.

“Unfortunately.” I mutter causing them to laugh.

“Shut the fuck up, White.” He warns.

“Love you really.” I grin.

“Wait, where are you from?” Michael asks.

“I’m from England, Brighton to be specific.”

“Oh, I thought you guys were bestfriends for 14 years?” Ashton questions.

“I moved back when I was younger then came back when I was thirteen. We still kept in contact though.” I explain.

“How did Lukey cope?” Michael teases.

“He didn’t because he loves me.” I laugh and squeeze his cheeks with my hand whilst he stares at me.

“Stop it.” He giggles and bats my hand away.

I unzip my hoodie and throw it over the arm of the armchair. Going into my backpack which I placed on the ground next to the chair. Taking my phone out and responding to a text my class mate sent.

After five minutes of texting her I run my hand through my hair, before feeling some people stare at me.

I look up from my phone noticing them all stare at me, yet Ashton and Luke are having a conversation.

Leaning back on Luke and in instinct he wraps his arms around me, not even looking down at me.

“Why are they staring at me?” I laugh in a whisper.

“What?” He asks looking down at me and Calum and Ashton drift off into a conversation, taking glances at me every now and then.

“They are staring at me.” I point out.

“You’re a girl and they are teenage boys, is all I’ll say.” He tells me.

“I guess this is my life now.”

We all clicked that evening and I wouldn’t change it for the world, I love my boys and they are my best friends.

“But like, British people have no culture.” Michael claims.

“Mate, who do you think came up with oiii fuck off when an absolute banger comes on.” I exclaim.

“Oh my God that was one of the most British things I’ve ever heard.” Maddie laughs.

We are all swimming in the sea, I say swimming, I mean standing and moving around every now and then. Luke has his arms around me, whilst I’m leaning into his chest. This whole trip has been quite romantic to be honest.

“Shut up.” I chuckle.

“How do you deal with her all the time?” Erika asks Luke.

“It’s hard but it’s kinda compulsory.” Luke says.

“Hey.” I pout and look up at him.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Luke apologises and turns me around, before connecting our lips together. I wrap my arm around his neck and placing the other on his chest, his hands are holding my waist.

Our lips move in sync and as the kiss gets more intense, I wrap my legs around his waist, we’re under water so it’s easy.

“Alright that’s enough.” We hear them say but don’t really pay attention because I’m too focused on Luke.

We pull back and flip them off. “We’re not gonna be able to kiss or do anything for a long time, so shut the fuck up.” Luke tells them.

“My hand will do a pretty good job.” Calum sighs.

We both grimace and go back to each other. I’m so gonna miss this boy, but I guess it’s a new chapter in our lives that we’ll have to deal with.

It’s going to be scary and new but in the end, it will probably be worth it. Being in a long distance relationship is going to be new, if we can make it through this, we will be so strong. The time when we do see each other again will be so special. With Luke’s lifestyle, every moment with him isn’t to be taken for granted.

***

It’s the day where everything comes tumbling down. The boys will be off, living their dream, something they’ve worked so hard to get to and they bloody deserve it. It’s a bitter sweet moment, I’m so happy for them yet I’m so fucking sad that they are going. I know that I’ll be in a different country but I’m just gonna miss them so much. I wish we could have an eternity long movie night, all cuddling together, watching a shitty movie and totally judging people, popcorn fights, and security.

I’ve gone through my teenage years with these people and I want to approach and go through my adult life with these people. These people are dorks, complete idiots, but they’re my stupid dorks, and that pulls me apart. Luckily I’m not leaving the girls just yet.

Soon enough it’s all going to be ripped away.

I’m currently driving to the airport with Luke in my car, it’s quite early, 7:15. Their’s some deafening silence going on and it’s almost unbearable. I kinda just wanna jump out of this car and jump in front of another car.

“Harper,” Luke starts, “we’re gonna be fine, we’ve gotton through this before.”

“When, Luke?” I ask.

“When we were younger and you went back to England.”

“That’s different, we barely knew what was happening. The other time you went on tour that clearly ended in shit.” I sigh.

“Harper, please, I don’t want to leave you felling sad. I love you so much, the times we do see each other will be even more special. I promise to text you at all the times I have a chance to, at least every day. How long is your Christmas break?”

“Four weeks on the 20th of December then I go back on the 19th of January. You do get to go home for Christmas right?” I ask.

“Of course, we have two weeks or something. We only have to wait four months until we see each other again. I know it’s probably the longest we’ve been away from each other for a long time but it’s gonna be worth it. It’s not just me going this time, you need to go too.” Luke says.

I nod my head and rest my head on my hand, trying not to cry just yet. I purse my lips and concentrate on the road.

“LUKE!”

“HARPER!”

We screech at the same time as a car comes straights towards us on the wrong side of the road, going really fast.

Luke quickly puts his arm over my chest and waist as a protective barrier. I swerve to the left, dodging the car completely, then stopping by the side of the road.

I let out a breath I was holding in and Luke takes his arm away. “Holy shit what is happe-”

I get cut off my some police cars with flashing lights and sirens going off racing down the motorway lane.

“Um, someone’s in bug trouble.” Luke speaks up after a few seconds of silence.

“Uh, yeah, let’s just keep going.” I let out a sigh and look in my mirrors before driving again.

“Yeah.” He says confused.

I just parked my car in the car park, Luke and I are walking hand in hand towards the airport. “Are you going to be okay?” Luke ask, looking down at me.

“I will be I think. It’s just hard, you know? From going to seeing each other every day to not seeing each other at all for a long period of time. I think once I start uni and the whole student scene, it will take my mind off things. I will get used to it all, especially if this is going to be your life now, I’m gonna need to get used to it all, or I will never get to focus on my own life.” I confess.

“I’m going to worry about my baby.” He pouts.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me, you need to get on with your life. I may be your girlfriend but you don’t need to wrap me in bubble wrap all the time.” I point out.

“That’s my job as a boyfriend and best friend to protect my girlfriend and best friend. You mean way too much to me, for me to lose you. I just love you a lot okay and I can’t stand anything bad happening to you. I’m gonna miss you a lot. It’s all gonna be hard, but we can and will get through this together. You and me make a great team and we should make something great out of a shitty situation. Even if we’re apart I’ll still be with you.”

“Ugh, why can’t we just have an ordinary office job together?” I whine.

“That would make things a lot more simple,” Luke agrees. “Is that really your dream though?” He questions as we approach some fans and paparazzi.

We keep our heads down and keep a firm grip on each other’s hands. “I’m not really sure what my dream is. I love doing YouTube and I get a lot of enjoyment out of that.” I admit.

“What are you and Erika doing about that?” He questions.

“We talked when we were on holiday about how one person will film a video one week, then the next week someone else will film a video. That’s the main structure, but we can upload any other time we want. We have a book coming out, we decided to put that on hold for now, we’ll still write a bit of it, but it won’t be our main focus.” I explain.

“Who’s uploading first?”

“Erika I can think, but it could change. It’s kinda like the week Erika uploads is her week, she can upload how ever many times she wants and can film whatever she wants, visa versa.” I answer.

“Sounds good.” He nods.

“Feels good. Sounds Good Feels Good, that could be an album name.” I muse.

“And then the tour could be called Sounds Live Feels Live. Next album name is sorted.” Luke says and we high five each other.

“Well, there everyone is.” I sigh.

“Come on.” Luke gives my forehead a kiss and wraps his arm around my waist, guiding us towards everyone.

“About fucking time.” Calum exclaims as we walk up to them.

“Shut the fuck up, Cal, I’m not in the mood for your sassyness.” I threat.

“Oh, you got a bitch on your hand this morning.” Calum teases as he talks to Luke.

“You are really mean you know that?” I pout.

“You love it.” He winks and I fake gag.

“Did you guys see the car that was going down the wrong side of the road?” Ashton questions.

“Yeah, we almost hit it.” I tell them.

“Wonder what they did?” Luke muses.

“Robbed a bank, I don’t care.” Maddie shrugs.

“When do you have to go?” Erika asks.

“10, 15 minutes.” Ashton answers.

“I’m just gonna say it, I’m gonna miss you girls so much.” Michael says.

“Aww, Michael.” We all coo.

Erika, Maddie, and I go and give Michael hug.

“I think this is blatant favouritism.” Ashton rolls eyes.

“Agreed.” Luke nods his head.

“Michael is a real ladies man.” Calum adds.

“Well I’m not gonna lie to you,” Micheal grins.

“Okay, okay.” Ashton groans and we all pull away.

“Remember when we first met?” I ask.

“Yeah, you hated us.” Michael laughs.

“I thought I would, because you were taking Luke away from me.” I say. “Still to this day, I don’t know what you were staring at. I asked Luke, like why are they staring at me, all you said was you’re a girl, they’re teenage boys, is all I’m gonna say.”

“We were totally staring at your boobs.” Calum admits.

“Why? I was only 14, you guys were older than me, Ashton was 16.” I exclaim.

“I guess we were hormonal teenage boys.” Michael shrugs.

“How did you control yourself Luke?” Michael questions.

“Because it’s weird looking at my bestfriends boobs or getting turned on by her. Plus, I’d seen her naked many times before that.” Luke answers whilst putting his arm around me.

“When?” I question.

“When we about 6 or 7 we’d have naked water fights, we’ve had baths together, things like that.” He shrugs. “I’ve seen you naked many times, especially nowadays.”

“Take that smirk off your face, Hemmings.” I raise an eyebrow threatening.

“Just stating the truth, babe.” He pecks my lips.

“Shut up.” I push his face away.

“Guys, we should really start staying goodbye now.” Erika warns.

“We have 10 minutes left.” Michael point out.

We all agreed for them to say goodbye to their family at home instead of at the airport. I slept round Luke’s house (damn right we did) last night, just so I could spend more time with him. It was actually really fun, we all played some games, watched shitty tv, had really good dinner, got close with Luke’s brother again. It was kinda like before Luke and I weren’t even near the stage of dating yet, when we would have sleep overs.

I’ve been dreading this moment ever since I found out they were working on an album.

“I guess this is it for three months.” I sigh.

“When do you get Christmas break?” Ashton asks.

“20th of December until the 19th of January, so four weeks. I’ll probably get back to Australia on the 22nd or 23rd.” I answer. “When do you get your break?”

“Um 17th or something around that.” Calum says.

“Okay, I’ll look forward to seeing you guys then.” I smile.

We all hug and say what we need to say, until I get to Luke.

“You be safe out there, okay? It’s It’s real cruel place out there.” Luke starts off.

“I will be, you promise to text or call me as much as you possibly can?” I question.

“Of course I will babe. You mean so much to me and I don’t want this relationship to go down the drain because of loss contact.” He firmly says.

“You’ll stay faithful right?” I ask nervously.

“Yes! I’m not the type to just throw this all away because I have needs, I’ve got a hand for that.” He winks.

“That’s disgusting, Luke. You promise?”

“Do you not trust me?” He asks offended.

“Of course I do, it’s just typical for people to cheat whilst on tour.” I sigh and Luke cups my face.

“We’ve been together for quite a long time now, best friends for years, you don’t deserve that, you’re worth so much more than that. You have to trust me on this.” He begs.

“Yeah, I do.” I smile and kiss him.

“Good, but we are gonna have to help each other out on the sexual aspect of this.” He smirks.

“I will definitely take you up on that.” I wink. “Just don’t leak anything, I know how clumsey you can be.”

“Shut up.” He laughs and captures my lips with his.

He pulls me closer so that we are literally pressed up against each other.

“I’m really gonna miss you. I love you so much.”

[starlightbisexual]

Hullo!!! Shy anon here, you're one of my favorite blogs so i was wondering if you happen to have any marvel fic recs? I'm running low and it's summer, so any fic would be appreciated (as long as it's not explicit). Any suggestions? ^^

hi love, you're so sweet thank you!! 

i have about a million fics to rec so this might be a bit long and im gonna put it under the cut. personal faves are marked with an !!!

(when you say “not explicit” i took that to mean they’re not tagged as explicit on ao3. i cant promise that none of these fics contain sex/other mature themes. it’s probably best to always read the tags on each fic just to make sure!)

ofc this list isn’t exhaustive, just the first ones that popped into my head! if you or anyone else wants some more please come ask, i love discussing fics!

those on mobile: note the read more

slide to answer (mature, 6k)

“What do I do?” Steve appealed into the phone. “I’m freaking out.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. It lasted so long that Steve pulled the receiver away from his ear and frowned at it. Pay phones were old. Maybe this one wasn’t working despite the obvious dial tone when he picked up.

“Ok,” a stranger’s voice said over the phone. “First acknowledge the fact that you dialed the wrong number, but be quick about it because my cab is a few blocks away from my own plans and I’m about to drop some truth bombs on you.”

lonely houses off the road (teen, 17k)

Barnes is now glaring at him for some reason. It’s somewhat terrifying but also, oddly, a little reassuring— because that’s emotion right there, which means there’s still somebody behind those eyes. Somebody who seems to think Sam is being a bit slow on the uptake. “Time parameters exceeded. Mission failed.”

“Wait.” Sam narrows his eyes. “Is this some kind of… report? Debriefing?”

“Mission report,” confirms Barnes, looking pleased. Well, looking slightly less murderous than before.

In which various people deal with things they never signed up for, but at the end of the day no one’s particularly surprised.

i love you like rlb (teen, 3k)

I love you like rlb has become a well-known, accepted and valuable component of American vernacular. The meaning of the letters ‘rlb’ is unknown, but is uniformly considered to be a statement of a great romantic love, commitment and sacrifice.

It was Dernier as first said it. Steve never imagined that something like that could have survived the war and all the years in between.

In which Tony goes insane trying to figure out why that phrase affects the Cap so much, Bucky teases the press, and Steve and Bucky love each other like rlb.

i was found and now i don’t roam these streets (mature, 15k)

They’ve decided to start producing Bucky Bears again, now that he’s all shiny and redeemed and fighting for good on this big Avengers misfits team. “He has a little shiny gray arm,” Bucky says, wiggling the stuffed arm in question, one of the tweaks made in the new model. It takes Steve a second to realize that Bucky’s got a small smile on his face, actually looks a little bit proud around the eyes.

Or, Bucky relearns himself and how to be on a team, the rest of the Avengers try to get answers, and everyone watches too much Criminal Minds.

roll on (mature, 89k)

In 1938, there’s a bar in Brooklyn called Sully’s where people are safe to be themselves. Behind the bar, a girl pours drinks. She’s always got a big smile for Steve and she says queer like it’s a good thing. On a regular basis, she takes his shoulders in her hands and tries to shake sense into him, saying, “When will you do something about that best friend of yours?”

In 2012, Bucky’s gone, but Steve’s not, and the girl’s hands are too old to shake him. She does her best to make him see sense anyway.

Steve had people who loved him before the war, and it turns out a few of them are still around when he finally comes home.

one cloud feels lonely (mature, 72k, !!!)

“I’m going to take a break for a while,” Steve said quietly, not looking at T’Challa, not knowing that this was what he was gonna do until the words were out of his mouth. “I can’t be on a team right now.”

T’Challa nodded as if he understood. “Alright.”

AKAIn which Steve and Bucky both figure out how to be a person again, and it still takes them over 130 years.

barnes & rogers and the goddamn truth (not rated, 18k, !!!)

There are three well-known facts at Shield High:

1. The history teacher Mr. Barnes is a stone-cold terror, and it’s not even because he only has one arm.2. The other history teacher, Mr. Rogers, is a mysterious enigma, and it’s something to do with the body of a Greek God and contradicting stories of his past. (They’re all rumours, anyway.)3. Mr Barnes and Mr Rogers hate each other.

Bucky wouldn’t have it any other way.

asked and answered (teen, 5k)

“You should marry me, Bucky.”

“What?”

“You should marry me.” Steve said again. “Sister Eustace said that marriage is the purest form of love, and I love you more than anybody. So we should get married.”

Steve and Bucky. Five marriage proposals (and one time they didn’t have to ask).

1917 (mature, 15k, !!!)

Born on March 10th, 1985 at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was named after Sergeant Barnes, Captain America’s childhood best friend, who died when he fell off a train in the Swiss Alps.

In 2008, Peggy Carter donates to the Smithsonian letters Captain Rogers wrote to Sergeant Barnes in 1944—

After he fell.

Some lives are eternally entwined.

to be vunerable is needed most of all (mature, 118k)

Steve is a shy comic book artist and meets his new neighbour, Bucky Barnes.

In which there are awkward longings, meddling best friends, comic conventions, heartache, lemons, video games, dorkiness, dancing and two cute boys.

there should be stars (teen, 45k)

“All memories to tell you the truth aren’t good.But sometimes there were good times.Love was good. I loved your crooked sleepbeside me and never dreamed afraid.

There should be stars for great warslike ours. There ought to be awardsand plenty of champagne for the survivors.”- Sandra Cisneros

Or, it takes them decades.

fever dream (mature, 9k)

“Buck.” Steve says, soft as he can, so he won’t start to cough again. The light from the stove hits his face just right, makes his eyes light up bright, spring sky blue. Bucky’s head aches just looking at him.

1942, in fits and starts.

they say love is a virtue (mature, 22k)

“I have a bet,” Tony announces to the room. He stands up, repeating himself a few times so that everyone is forced to stop the game and look up at him. He looks straight into Bucky’s eyes when he goes, “I bet you fifty dollars that you and Steve can’t spend a whole week pretend married without realizing that you’re both in love with each other.”

the smithsonian guard (gen, 8k)

Bucky makes a friend.

cross this river to the other side (teen, 14k)

Here is the truth about Captain America and the Howling Commandos that every World War II historian must come to accept at one point or another: we will never know everything. We won’t even come close.

So much was lost with the untimely death of Captain America. While the man beneath the uniform sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic, the myth lived on, only to grow bigger and more unwieldy as the years went by. Now, it is near impossible to tell fact from fiction, to separate out truth from propaganda.

In 1943, the Howling Commandos wrote goodbye letters to be given to their loved ones in the event of their deaths.

In 2014, Sharon Carter finds those letters in a tin can in an abandoned HYDRA base.

captain fantastic and the pineapple king (teen, 30k, !!!)

Shit.She hadn’t noticed him yet. Maybe he could turn and leave without them noticing – Sam would understand. Sam was the most empathetic person he knew. He wouldn’t scold Steve for coming home spice-less to avoid an awkward encounter with an ex. Surely.They drew closer.Fuck.Please don’t notice me, please don’t notice me, please don’t notice me…"Steve?”Fuck.In which Steve is saved from his ex in a grocery store, Bucky Barnes is Way Too Chill about absolutely everything, and Sam has had enough of all of these goddamn pineapples in his fucking house.Or: The five times Steve received a pineapple (and one Piña Colada) and the one time he didn’t

haha, jk (teen, 13k)

(A tale of Not Unrequited Love)

Steve: I love you.Bucky: oh no.(and other fallacies)

Bucky learns to never say never when it comes to the effect his best friend can have.

apes debemus imitari (we should imitate the bees) (gen, 15k)

Steve operates a fruit & veg stand at a farmer’s market. Bucky keeps bees and has started up a honey shop just opposite. They’re failing to get along. Steve gets along a lot better with the anonymous friend he’s been writing letters to. In fact, he’s rapidly falling for him.

it’s no coincidence (teen, 109k)

The kids immediately scream, “Trick-or-Treat” before they see who opens the door.

The strange resident looks between the two kids, then at the adults, and his eyes widen in horror.

“It’s October already?”

Okay, Bucky thinks. This guy is probably high.

don’t ask (mature, 21k, !!!)

Captain America and Bucky Barnes were like brothers. Everyone knew that.

most ardently (teen, 9k)

Baron Grant, nothing more than a small, sickly country gentleman with no fortune and very little to recommend him, has just poured a glass of claret over Duke Barnes, a wealthy lord with the world at his feet.