#they should respect our beliefs and cut that out! not include it at all!

[malikselfindulgence]

GWEN STACY LOVERS SQUAD LET'S MFING GOOOOOOOOO🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼

GWEN STACY YOURE MY FUCKIN EVERRYTTHINNGGGG !!!!!! 🤝🤝🤝🤝 any iteration of gwen stacy Ily forever and Always but astv's gwen being canon trans is very Important and dear to me

Old Ass comic sketch from Blaze's spidersona days we never finished :[

[risingshine]

"The flaw in your reasoning is that what is best and what is safe are almost never the same. And people like their restricted, safe, predictable reality. They will never consent to you upending their understanding of the world."

"See also 'we excommunicated the guys who pushed heliocentric theory and threatened to burn them at the stake.'"

"When germ theory was introduced, it was pushed back on by people dedicated to miasma theory; while people were actively dying of cholera. What is true and helpful is often drowned out by what is safe and comforting."

"Thus, we have to ask if someone wedded to outdated and incorrect ideas can even consent to begin with; if you believe the world is flat, how can you consent to sail on a ship, which immediately refutes that concept? You don't know what you don't know, and this cuts to the heart of scientific advancement."

"Or, to put it another way. If you believe blood transfusion is against your religion, and you say no before surgery, and then you need one while the surgery is happening, are they supposed to just let you die? Or do they violate your consent to save your life? You chose to risk death, but did the people doing it choose to let you die?"

"Thus, all concepts of ethics and morality are based entirely within the realm of personal belief and thus self-created. It is not a law, nor is it binding. You wear the chains you forge yourself."

"...there is a difference between consent over one's own body and refusal of progress. I am not asking permission about doing my work, I will ask for permission for including someone else in it.

If someone refuses things for personal beliefs, they have a right to - we should respect it. If they die because they refused blood transplants, then they were well aware of the risks of it: we can urge them to reconsider, but we cannot force our beliefs onto them.

I do not care if it is or is not a law, nor binding: it is about respecting another person's automany enough to not pretend that I should have more say on what happens to them than they do."

[ninevehsage]

I've wanted to write about this, in case some of you wonder what kind of witch I am/ is a Solitary Nature Witch? I found this Finnish blog text about nature witches/ witchcraft and I'll translate here the parts of it that fits into my own thoughts of what sort of witch I am. First here's a definition of a solitary practioner/ witch from Wikipedia:

"A solitary witch is one who chooses to practice their spiritual faith in the privacy of their home or other designated space, without the need to participate in a group such as that of a Wiccan coven; although it's not uncommon for solitaries to participate in some communal activities (e.g. Sabbats). Many solitary practitioners are Neo-pagans, who adhere to a diverse group of pagan religions that include various forms of Wicca, Traditional Reconstructionism and Traditional British Witchcraft, among others. About half of all pagans are self-ascribed solitary practitioners."

Now according to the blog text:

"In traditional nature witchcraft, the practitioner has a deep connection with nature and the cycle of nature is a very important part of nature witchcraft. Nature witches follow their environment very closely, observe weather phenomena, follow wild animals and get a lot of different information about the state of nature. Nature witches follow the phases of the moon, according to old folk beliefs, you should do different things in different phases of the moon."

"Nature witches spend a lot of time in nature meditating, hiking or wandering. On the other hand, if the nature witch does not get to nature often enough, she has a great longing for it inside her, which can make her feel almost sick. That's why many nature lovers have a piece of nature in their home, stones collected from travels, green plants, cut flowers... Anything that brings a piece of nature into the apartment."

Now, I don't meditate myself, but otherwise everything matches me so far. I love to walk in the forest and take photographs or just breath in the fresh forest air and admire the trees etc. but I don't get to go out in the real forest too often, so I've almost created one inside of our house. I have an actual tree inside and many many branches, dried flowers, pine cones, rocks etc. 😄 I don't have a green thumb, but I yearn to live amongst green plants so I've got some artificial houseplants around the house.

"Often the nature witch sees divinity all around her, in rocks, plants, people, animals. Divinity is divided into masculine and feminine energy, i.e. Mother Earth and Father God. Some nature witches honor multiple gods and goddesses. Nature witches also respect other life forms. Nature spirits, fairies and elves are part of our surrounding world, and do necessary work with nature."

I like to think that there's magick all around and inside of us. Everything is magick. I don't really believe in any Gods, but I like to think that there is Mother Earth who gives life to us all, the planet Earth. Then of course there are the Sun and the Moon. I want to honor them both, because they have so enormous affect on us and everything on this planet. About nature spirits, fairies and elfs... I've always said that I'd rather believe in Santa Claus, elfs and fairies than in God. I like to think that there are nature spirits etc. around us. I don't deny the existence of God(s) either. I think I believe when I see or experience them personally. Meanwhile I continue believing that there's magick everywhere. 😊

"Nature witches celebrate the cycle of nature on Sabbaths."

You may already know that I love to decorate an altar for the 8 sabbats that are: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh (Lammas), Mabon and Samhain. Although, I rarely build my altar on Ostara and Beltane. I don't know why... well, Beltane is after Walpurgis Night and my energy usually goes into that. Ostara feels a bit boring to me I guess. All I can think of is an egg. 😂 But I think that I'll decorate my altar if I feel like it. It must be fun afterall, not forced.

"When the nature witches return from work or school, take care of their housework and exchange their day's happenings between family and friends, their free time begins. So what do witches do in their free time?"

There is a list in that blog text, but instead of writing that here, I'll just tell you what I do myself. I'm often on social media watching art, photography or reels, I photograph outside/ inside the house and edit & post my photographs, I read books, create art, watch series or films, observe animals & seasonal change in our garden, write messages (letters) to my friends... just normal things that anyone can do. I am an introvert so I spend most of my time alone, yet I live with my mother so I'm hardly never alone. 😄

Now you might wonder, since I call myself a witch, do I practice magick? To that I'll just answer like the people in my region in Savo (Finland) usually do: "it might be or it might not be". It's my business. 💜

If you want to read the blog text yourself (in Finnish), here's the link to it:

Luonnonnoituus

If you have any questions about what I just write here or acording my art etc. feel free to ask. I'll try to answer, if and when the question is decent and not too personal. 😊

-N-

[yourmomxx]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐈: 𝐘𝐎𝐔’𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍, 𝐊𝐈𝐃 (𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬)

warnings: mentions of child neglect (only slight)

word count: 3.8k

Thanksgiving. The holiday of … giving thanks. The Lord said, appreciate thou ones thy art next to youth (I don’t know, I don’t speak Bible)*, and America heard: Go and grill a Turkey.

Thanksgiving is the holiday of meaningless and overbearing consumption, as well as the holiday of compassion and family.

Cooper Bradford did not remember the last time his parents had been physically present around him for Thanksgiving.

Because, to the Bradfords, Thanksgiving meant extravagant food that would be thrown away the day after, sponsoring charities because they were good people, and facetiming their only son from the hot-temperatured country they were currently in, preferably with a beach in the background.

Cooper did not mind that much, honestly.

Most kids his age would kill to have the freedom that he had. Especially if it were to include his money. He actually considered himself lucky.

So, no, Cooper didn’t especially mind that his parents were never around for a holiday that everyone celebrated specifically with their family. He just wasn’t allowed to think too much about it.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Alexander grabbed the red packet of ketchup from his struggling fingers and simply cut it open with a pair of scissors.

“There you go.” Cooper took it back.

“Thanks.”

Oliver eyed him suspiciously from the other side of the table. “You alright, man?” He asked in a low voice. The other guys were already involved in their own conversation.

Cooper noticed that Oliver never really joined them. He listened, he observed, he sometimes commented. When Alexander was metaphorically kissing his shoes, Oliver – what he thought – subtly rolled his eyes, or he hid his smirk behind a bite of food when Kilian threw a snarky comment at Jonas.

Oliver made a nice conversation partner for Cooper most of the time.

“Sure.” Cooper smiled at him to undermine his reassurance. He squeezed the ketchup over his fries to the last bit. That way, he could easily avoid eye contact. Oliver continued eating his rice, unconvinced.

Cooper Bradford was not a very good liar, against contrary belief. He never had the need to. His parents weren’t around, so there was no reason to dish them an untruthful story when he came home later than he should have, and he had too much respect for Dylan and Cameron and vice versa, to ever want to lie to them.

Despite that, he was thirteen. What sort of huge secrets did thirteen-year-olds have?

When he made his way to English, a hand grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him aside. With a small yelp, Cooper let himself get dragged next to a wall of lockers. With solid ground under his feet, he finally looked up to see Kendra staring at him.

“What’s up?”

“Do you have plans on Thanksgiving?” Cooper opened his mouth to respond, but she forestalled him. “Rhetorical question, I know you don’t. Well, until now, because you’re spending Thanksgiving with us this year.”

Cooper opened his mouth to say something, still a bit shaken from her sudden attack, didn’t know what to, closed his mouth again, and opened it again.

“Why?” Was all he managed to get out. Kendra shrugged.

“You’re over at our place all the time anyways, first of all,” She replied. “And second of all, Thanksgiving is a family holiday. And Cooper, whether you like it or not, you’re family.”

She smiled softly at him and then wrapped him in a tight hug. Cooper felt frozen in place for a second, but then his body started gaining movement again, and he put his arms around her shoulders.

He closed his eyes. Spending Thanksgiving with his family. That had a nice ring to it. He squeezed Kendra in the hug.

**

Alright, additional bullet point: Thanksgiving, the holiday of family, compassion, gluttony, and … stress.

Like so, so much stress.

One would think a personal chef preparing dinner was what kept you from that, but apparently, it wasn’t. When Cooper entered the Nolan Residence, Dylan and Cameron were rushing around, cleaning surfaces, arranging shoes, and organizing different stacks of newspapers.

Without a word, Kendra grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him towards her room. She closed the door behind them. Jake was already in there, crashing different dinosaur playfigures into each other.

“This,” she gestured around, “Is about the only place in this house they aren’t going to be excessively cleaning.” She flopped onto her bed and stretched all her limbs away.

“Geez, that feels good.” Cooper let himself fall into the beanbag.

“Is every year like this?” He asked. Kendra nodded. “Every holiday, really.” She counted on her fingers. “It goes: food plans, staff, clean, eat, clean again.”

Cooper raised his eyebrow. “I will never understand why you don’t just have your housekeepers do all of that.”

“Makes two of us.”

“So,” Kendra said, and a meaningful grin stretched across her face. “Anything new?”

Cooper sighed and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” Kendra pushed. “Any … girly news I should know about?”

Cooper scoffed and squinted one eye open. “If there were, you’d be the first to know.”

“Liar.” A decorum pillow was chucked at his chest. “Oliver would be.”

He chucked the pillow back, didn’t react to the accusation.

“Alright, play like that.”

Cooper didn’t say anything. He wrangled himself out of the beanbag and walked over to Kendra’s younger brother Jake sitting on the floor. “Hey, buddy,” he cooed, “What are you playing?”

Jake held up two of his dinosaur figures proudly. A muffled noise past his pacifier was the only answer Cooper got.

Cooper crossed his legs on the floor. “Can I play with you?” Jake granted him a red dinosaur with spikes on its back and sharp teeth sticking out of its open mouth, and Cooper accepted it happily. Then, with a piercing battlecry, Jake attacked Cooper’s hand.

Until Dylan called them down the stairs, Cooper kept playing dinosaurs with Jake, and Kendra watched them from her bed, absolutely losing her shit of laughter when the toddler unexpectedly body-slammed Cooper, who was only able to make a throttled noise before landing backwards on the floor.

The scenery downstairs was enchanting. Cooper gaped at the lights that threw a warm hue everywhere, and closed his eyes to relish in the smell of freshly-cooked meat.

The table was set, red napkins suiting the color scheme, candles placed in the middle, and autumn decoration sprawled all over the table surface.

Dylan and Cameron, both wearing elegant sweaters that made them blend perfectly into the warm colors of the arising season, smiled at them as they approached the table, Jake waddling between Kendra and Cooper.

If Cooper hadn’t seen it upon his arrival, he now wouldn’t have sensed the slightest note of the prior stress that him and Kendra had done their best to avoid.

Cameron picked up his youngest son with a huge smile on his face.

“Please, guys, sit down,” Dylan said. “Dinner will be served in a minute.”

They didn’t need to be asked twice. Cooper took his usual chair on Kendra’s left side, opposite Jake’s baby chair. They had fallen into a familiar pattern, unavoidable, considering how often Cooper found himself at their dinner table to eat.

As promised, only a few minutes later, multiple plates, bowls and pots were delivered from the kitchen, and placed neatly in the empty spaces between the decorations.

Cooper gaped at the different variations of pumpkin dishes, stuffing, and soups. It was probably enough to feed them for a couple days. Dylan had the same thought, because Cooper picked up how he leaned closer to Cameron and muttered, “Guess I won’t have to cook anything for the rest of the week,” to which in response, Cameron let out a soft laugh.

Cooper happily accepted the white bowl of salad from Kendra’s hands. He had realized, soon, that eating at the Nolan’s estate was, visually, the same as it was at the Bradford’s, but emotionally, so totally different.

For example, was he actually allowed to touch those ceramic bowls and get his food himself. No one distrusted him with their dishes here.

He didn’t feel the watchful gaze of others, sharply criticizing and observing his every move without ever uttering so much as a word, the soft gasps and subtle, but edged coughs that reminded him to: “Sit straight”, “Put his arms right”, “Take a smaller bite”.

He liked eating like this.

The entirety of dinner was accompanied by lively chatter – with each other, which was a crucial detail – and not merely the sound of clattering cutlery or violins playing the same Beethoven symphony over and over again.

“So, Cooper,” Cameron carefully laid his knife and fork aside as he spoke up. “I don’t know if Kendra already told you, but we have maintained a tradition at Thanksgiving for the past few years.”

He looks around the table with a sincere glint in his eyes. “One after the other, we go around the table, and each pay our thanks to the things that we are thankful for. So we never miss sight of what’s truly important.”

Cooper muttered his understanding around a bite of turkey stuffing.

Cameron dipped his head and raised his glass. “Let me start. I am thankful for my husband, who supports me through all of my days. And for the remaining bunch on this table; Kendra, Cooper, Jake. For making sure no day is ever boring.”

Kendra and Cooper threw each other a grin.

Dylan was the next to raise his flute of champagne. “I am thankful for my husband, who is a big help for me in everyday life.” His eyes drifted over to his side where his husband was seated next to him. Dylan smiled a smile that reached his eyes, so subtle and warm, and loving. He placed his hand over Cameron’s on the table. They shared two small, private breaths. Cooper felt as if he was interrupting something sacred between them.

Then, Dylan turned to them. “And I am thankful for all three of you, sitting on this table. You’re really good kids.”

It was Kendra’s turn. She lifted her glass of strawberry juice solemnly. “I’m grateful for – my family, obviously. And my friends. And Sushi,” She added. “I love Sushi.”

The rest of the table chuckled. All eyes were now on Cooper, who held up his apple juice as well.

“I’m grateful for this invitation, and for my family,” he vowed.

When he said that last part, he let his eyes linger on Dylan and Cameron for a little longer. They both threw him soft, loving smiles. Cooper’s insides felt nice.

“Dada!”

Kendra was the first one to burst out in laughter, when Jake suddenly yelled out, and it seemed to infect the entire table like a wildfire. Cameron reached over and lifted his son out of his chair, blowing raspberries in his belly and making him giggle uncontrollably.

Cooper watched them with a huge smile on his face, one so big that his cheeks hurt. But he just couldn’t bring himself to stop.

A family like this, and their relationship, this was what he craved.

He didn’t mind his parents not being there because it didn’t make any difference for him anyways.

Were the Nolans so warm and bright, open and cheerful, his house was cold, and it was lonely, and sharp around the edges. And it didn’t matter if Doyle and Laura Bradford were present, physically. They weren’t there.

“Ah, that reminds me, Cooper,” Dylan suddenly said and dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “Your parents called me this morning.”

And just like that, the mood around the table suddenly shifted.

It wasn’t much, it was merely a slight tilt, like the petal of a flower on a ripple in peaceful water, but Cooper noticed it. He had started getting good at noticing these things.

Dylan continued. If he was aware of the shifting feeling, Cooper wouldn’t know, and Dylan didn’t point it out. “They said to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and that they’re really sad they can’t join us today.”

“So why don’t they just call him themselves?” Kendra muttered, her face turned downwards ahs she poked around in her food, as if that would prevent anyone from knowing she said it.

Cameron threw his daughter a sharp look.

“Because, as well all know, since I have explained it before, where they are right now, they can only take one phone call a day. And since they also want to talk to your father and me about what’s going on with you and the world, they would rather call us than you.”

He turned to Cooper and his eyes softened. “But they do miss you very much, Cooper.”

He did his best to conjure up a smile.

Jake gurgled when Cameron placed him back in his highchair.

Cooper had a math test a few days later, one he didn’t study for. Math was too hard for him, and useless in the future anyways. And he knew exactly how to make better of the situation.

No biggie.

It wasn’t until he was sitting in Principal Ablin’s office and the old man called Dylan in for a conversation, that Cooper thought, that maybe it might have been a biggie.

“You know, if could take your trust fund away, then I would. And I would grill it in front of your eyes like barbecue.”

Dylan had arrived a while after Ablin had contacted him about Cooper’s situation. He opened the button on his suit jacket and took the seat next to Cooper’s in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs in Principal Ablin’s office.

Dylan’s voiced was a low hiss as he leaned over to his Godson.

Cooper made it his mission to avert his eyes from either of them. Ablin wore an apologetic look on his face.

“We would have called his parents, but, well. The Bradfords are not easily accessible these days. Probably out donating some money, am I right?” Principal Ablin was the only one to laugh over his joke.

Dylan regarded him with a critical gaze.

Ablin cleared his throat. “Well.”

Dylan sighed and adjusted himself in his seat.

“Spill it, Ablin,” he said, “How much detention does he have to expect?”

“Detention?” Ablin let out another barking laugh. “Oh, no, no detention for him. He’s getting suspended.”

“Excuse me?” “What?”

Ablin looked between the two of them sitting in front of him.

“Mr Nolan, your son-“

“Godson.”

“-paid other students to purposely fail their own math exams so he didn’t have to study for them. Despite the fact that this is a plan I have never seen a seventh grader think of, not to mention fulfill, it is a severe violation of our codes, and held back countable students from proving their full potential and earning the grades that they deserved.”

“You can’t just suspend him, though. Right? I mean, there has to be something he can do?”

Ablin shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Mr Nolan.”

Dylan sighed. Leaning his elbow on the armrest, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Alright,” he muttered. “And how long will this suspension last?”

Ablin folded his hands. “Until further notice. We will be in contact with you.”

Dylan nodded. “Alright.” He slowly rose from his seat and buttoned his suit jacket closed. Ablin stood as well, and shook Dylan’s hand goodbye in a firm grip. “Thank you for contacting me, Principal Ablin,” Dylan said. And with a glance to Cooper, he added, “I assure you that there will be consequences for his actions from our side as well.”

Ablin nodded. “Thank you for coming. Have a nice day, Mr Nolan.”

Dylan raised his hand in Goodbye, and left the office after Cooper, who squeezed himself past the door, eyes firmly cast to the floor.

With a click, the door fell closed behind them. And everything was silent.

Cooper still didn’t look Dylan in the eye. His heart was racing in his chest and, for the first time he realized that the tiles on the floor were unevenly patterned.

He heard Dylan breathe out a heavy sigh and his expensive dress shoes move over the floor. The slightest sound seemed to be echoing from the walls like gunfire.

“Sit down, Cooper.”

Cooper looked up and saw Dylan sitting on a bench next to a wall. It was the one he had waited on, prior to being called into Principal Ablin’s office and getting the verbal beating of his life. Slowly, Cooper made his way over and took his place down next to him.

For a bit, neither of them said a word.

After a while, it was Dylan who spoke up first. “What were you thinking?” He asked Cooper into the silence.

Cooper was not able to make out the tone of his voice, it was exhausted and at the same time pressed as if it took him much power to get his words out. Yet, they were calm, in a strained way.

Cooper managed to look up. “You’re not gonna yell at me?” He asked.

Dylan shook his head, not looking at him. “I once swore to myself that I would never, ever yell at my kids. No matter how bad it got.”

“So you’re not mad?”

He scoffed. “Hell yeah, I’m mad! I’ll gladly repeat my question from before: What the hell were you thinking, Cooper? Paying other students to flunk their tests?”

Cooper shrugged. His cuticles seemed suddenly very interesting. “I just didn’t want to study. Math is hard.”

“And have you ever thought of the consequences that might have for those people you used?” Dylan asked him.

“I mean, they were the ones who accepted the money!”

“Yes, because they’re thirteen! You wave a stack of cash and they’re gonna go after it like hungry piranhas. But, Cooper, these guys might’ve ruined their final grades. Because you wanted yours to be easier.”

“Please, some got kicked out of the Mathlaton, that isn’t too bad.”

Dylan took a deep breath. “Maybe not for you, but it could mean something to them.” He turned to properly look at Cooper.

“These are real people, kid. With plans, and feelings, and ambitions. It starts with a little bribing at school, and later, you use money to achieve anything you can buy with it. But, Cooper,” He put a hand on his knee, “That’s not what I want for you. I don’t want you to be a person that just does, and lets the flood wash away everything behind them. I know you and I know you’re not that person.”

Dylan stopped and looked back out into the hallway, as if it were a landscape that he was certain to study, rather than the red-brown multitude of piles and stone.

Cooper didn’t say a word. Silence stretched between them like heavy smoke.

He took in his Godfather’s appearance. Black suit jacket, white shirt, ironed pants, and dress shoes. A loosened tie, that had probably been fixed properly in place before he had walked into the principal’s office to hear about his only godson’s suspension.

“Did I pull you out of a meeting?” Cooper’s voice cracked around the edges when he spoke for the first time in a while.

Dylan blinked hard, as if Cooper had just snapped him out of a deep trail of thoughts and looked him heavily in the eye.

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” was the only thing he said, and then stood up. Cooper followed.

“Let’s get you home. We’ll decide on a suitable punishment when Cam is back from work.”

The car ride back to the Nolan Estate was silent, merely the upbeat rhythm of Led Zeppelin tuned a beat through the car. Cooper wasn’t in the mood for ‘Immigrant Song’ now, but it seemed to calm Dylan down.

**

Cameron was mad when he got home that night. It visibly took everything for him to not slam his – very expensive – bag with his – very expensive – laptop inside on the countertop as he marched into the living room, where Cooper was already waiting on his verdict.

Funny, considering Cam was a lawyer.

“What. Were. You. Thinking?” The man gritted out through his teeth, pacing over the rug while Cooper was slumped on the couch.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but Cameron forestalled him.

“Actually, don’t answer that,” He said, “I probably don’t even want to know.” He screeched to a halt, and fixated Cooper with his eyes, which was somehow way more intimidating than the amount of pacing from before.

“You know, back in my day, when you wanted to cheat, you just wrote the most important shit on your forearm and hoped the teacher wouldn’t notice. But actually paying people to-“

He cut himself off in his frustration. “I really hope you know that this behavior will have consequences, young man.”

That’s when Dylan stepped next to him from where he’d been standing a few feet away. He laid a hand on Cameron’s shoulder as if to ground him into a calmer state. “Actually, we’ve talked about that already,” He explained to his husband, also looking at Cooper now.

“And after a while of contemplating, we figured that it would probably best to keep him here for a while, just so we see what exactly he’s doing. He’ll be grounded, obviously, and I figured we take his allowance away for-“

“No, no, wait,” Cameron interrupted his husband by placing a gentle hand on his arm. “I have a better idea.”

Cooper started shuffling nervously under his piercing gaze. “Am I going to prison?” He asked.

“Oh no, honey.” Cameron’s tone was uneasily calm. “You are going somewhere way, way worse.”

“Cooper Bradford, you are grounded. Also, help Oliver wash my car!”

Katie Otto was many things. A housewife, a mother, an occasional judge of other people. But she was no slave to the Westport norms. Not even when it came to her Spring Gala.

So, yes, when the Nolans called her to have an eye on Cooper as punishment for his little stunt at school, who was she to say no to that?

After all, in her opinion, nothing really compared to sitting by your window on a breezy afternoon, drinking coffee, and watching two bratty teenagers rake dead leaves.

Also, it wasn’t even considered child labor as long as they didn’t work more than eight hours a day! God bless America!

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this I hosted parties and starved my body Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss

The jokes weren't funny, I took the money My friends from home don't know what to say I looked around in a blood-soaked gown And I saw something they can't take away

-You’re on Your Own Kid, Taylor Swift

another chapter this week because it's my sister's birthday! enjoy!

tagged: @ficsnships @amorhedera7

* just as a Disclaimer: I do not intend to offend anyone with this sentence. I, myself, am Christian, and English is simply not my first language so I really have no idea how it is or is not written in the "holy book". Then again, if you are offended by this, maybe you should circle back and think about the fact that you're reading gay fanfiction right now.

[demondeaths]

so let me go towards the morning star ... with hope it won't disappear.

#𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐒.  a private, independent and heavily selective roleplay blog for an original portrayal of lilith from hazbin hotel. a mix of canon divergence and compliance, somewhat headcanon based. written by juniper: she or they, 23. mature and potentially triggering themes will be present but appropriately tagged, please read rules before interacting.

mains ... @archorcist !

rules found below the cut!

DISCLAIMER & CREDITS. this blog is unaffiliated from the main series or any writers / creators but the writing and graphics are my own with the psd by fossaed ! i request very kindly that you do not steal anything i have created, including headcanons and graphics. mun will never equal muse.

FOLLOWING. private, selective and mutuals only. i practice both mains and exclusives, however prefer to stick to mains unless we have known each other for a long time or our portrayals have become extremely intertwined (angel is my only exception as she is my world and can have everything of mine!) i will softblock you if i intend to unfollow you, though you are welcome to message if you are uncertain if such is the case. i don't mind duplicates following me but interactions would require some plotting due to the fact i'm not entirely sure how this sort of interaction would work out!

PORTRAYAL. this blog will remain a mix of both canon compliant and also divergent and information found on it is heavily subject to change as to what appears in the series. liliths character has mainly been discussed in past tense and mainly created via assumption or beliefs from each person, the way i interpret her current situation may be very different from others! i am open to fighting and/or battle threads, but any grievous harm should be consented to before placed in writing. things will possibly change as the show progresses, so please don't be surprised if my headcanons at some point contradict! shipping is a possibility but i will be heavily selective romantic wise, though anything else is pretty much fair game.

THEMES & TRIGGERS. all triggers will be tagged appropriately under trigger /. i will try my best to tag them but i may ultimately forget! this blog will overall dabble in the discussion of biblical imagery and religious themes. i refuse to even write topics relating to homophobia, transphobia and the like - please respect this or you will be hardblocked. i take no offence if you choose not to follow this blog but do my others!

mun. juniper, 23. i use a mix of she and they pronouns. if i am not here, you can find me around!

[wheatstar]

Hi im putting warrior cats into my oc world!! Some notes: any animal can have some random other features but i mostly default to wings or horns because i like the way they look. They can be genetic but sometimes it just happens too. There is never two elementals of the same element at once, so when Brokensun died another elemental of war was born somewhere else, and later died at the same time as Lionblaze's birth. Vampirism on SOL rarely leaves the Wasteland (which is across the continent) but sometimes it pops up in the Green where the clans live, mostly in places the canopy is especially thick. Vampirism is both something that spreads and a mutation that just happens. Prophets come in three types: past, present, and future and they have visions of their respective directions. I wanted Dovewing to also be an elemental but present prophet just fit too well. All prophets cry blood, thats not just a Dovewing thing. the reason the leaders are called sun instead of star is below cut along with some other explanations

Problems that I needed to solve:

1. No humans:

SOL's humans went extinct a looong time ago, so Firesun's (Firestar) origins need to be changed dramatically. The elements that need to be kept include a coddled life, looked down upon by the clans, but something he can leave at the drop of a hat. My main idea is that "kittypets" are from civilizations that have buildings and economies and such, which makes the clan cats think their lives are soft unfulfilling. I'm just going to say there's another group of cats that's more like an actual town instead of a clan that Firesun's from. The clans go out of their way to not interact with this town and the town does the same.

2. No nighttime/moon/stars

Yeah this one's big. Here are my general changes:

StarClan -> SunClan

Star suffix -> sun suffix

Names with night or moon must be changed

SunClan cats become clouds instead of stars

Gatherings take place every thirty days. Days on SOL are split in two just like ours, but they're both different daytimes for the two different suns.

Sunstone/Sunpool (Moonstone/Moonpool) meetings are determined in the same way.

3. The Afterlife Problem

Lastly, the existence of afterlives was something I struggled with fitting into the world, but ultimately it can fit, it just needs to be tweaked a little. SOL generally doesn't have provable afterlives, but because StarClan is so important to warrior cats, I decided I can work something out. Ghosts on SOL only stick around when they wholeheartedly believe they have to for some reason (unfinished business and all that), so the SunClan cats believe they should be in SunClan after death so hard that it just happens. The Dark Forest works in a similar way. I'm letting the leaders have their nine lives because magic. It's still mostly about belief though. Cats that don't believe in SunClan don't go there.

[ghostofhallownest]

listen idk if it’s worth the discourse but like…y’all remember in 2014-2016ish when queer infighting on this site was at a new height? how “activism” was bullying asexuals and aromantics and “weird” genders and neopronouns (well, except the “acceptable” ones)? how respectability politics turned into a reason to tell kids to kill themselves, or that being raped would fix them, or that they were straight/“basically” straight and therefore unwelcome, how “the A stands for Ally” was a preferred position to including aroaces in the LGBT umbrella…i could continue, but the trauma our own community inflicted on its own members isnt the point.

i think we act as though that era of purging our community of unwanted members under the guise of “activism” tapered off and was relegated to extreme corners of the internet. however…tumblr’s leftist politics don’t seem that different to me? the posts i see are reactionary, with little willingness to accept that even overtly bad things are complicated. they’re excuses to be angry and to have that anger fueled and validated because so many of us are angry and feel powerless, and posting feels like doing something; it’s “activism” as “spreading awareness” but…i don’t think it’s productive?

so many of the posts i see spouting leftist theory buzzwords are just…repackaged purity culture and respectability politics and are so far removed from the way the real world operates as to be useless except as ragebait.

it’s not only morally wrong to encourage imperfect allyship, it’s a symptom of gaslighting from said potential ally. anyone with a lukewarm opinion on queers is just as bad as the fascist who wants us dead. children refusing to cut their parents off because of their queerphobia and conservative beliefs are blinded by attachment to an abuser. “he’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit” is dying out; if your dad is conservative but working on your pronouns and slowly working on your friends’ pronouns but he still thinks Reaganomics will save us all, he wants you dead actually and you should cut 👏🏼 him 👏🏼 out👏🏼 !!

everything that happens online is obviously 100% reflected in real life, so you can’t write or draw or even think that; did you know op of this fandom gifset is a terf, aren’t you going to delete it, aren’t you scrupulously checking yourself, it’s your job to manage who sees every single user’s content btw, and if you dont ur probably a terf or at least as bad as them.

idk guys. is this not what conservative echochambers also sound like? their radicalism is morally reprehensible, ours is pure and good and necessary, right? right? because Evil and Good are the only two categories and everything fits neatly into each, right? “the reading comprehension on this site is piss poor” as a badge of honor is funny haha but when conservatives get facebook brainrot that’s a symptom of conservatism and not something we could ever fall victim to ourselves…right?

god, im so tired.

[ahiddenpath]

Do you think it's fair to ask others, even strangers, to treat you with kindness and respect, or is that a bit presumptuous because other people don't owe you anything?

Oh, is this one of the qs off that list? Nice, those are some bangers! Thanks for the ask <3

I'm going to answer at length beneath the cut, but here's the short version:

Of course humans owe each other kindness and respect. Of course we owe each other humanity. In fact, humanity can't support itself without cooperation.

However, the difficulty is knowing:

-What is humanity (basic kindness and respect) vs taking on too much?

-What are healthy boundaries?

This trend of, "I don't owe anyone anything!" is really worrisome, man. I guarantee you that literally no one is an island- and I also guarantee that a large percentage of people who espouse this belief feel that others owe them basic kindness and respect, and likely more. But let me try to break all of this down; it's kind of a lot?

Note: I am a scientist, specifically a molecular biologist. I am not an expert in evolution/history/culture. I Googled a lot of stuff, but don't consider me an authority, lol! Also, I can only comment on American culture.

-Why humans owe one another humanity

I'm going way back on this one, fam. Humans have been evolving for... Apparently, at least 160,000 years (that's just modern homo sapiens, this number is far larger if you go back to hominids). Back then, we couldn't buy pre-made goods and services at the store; groups of humans survived by splitting tasks. Some hunted, some foraged, some made clothing, some cooked, some cared for the young and elderly and sick, etc. If humans didn't closely cooperate for the shared goal of group survival, they... well, they died. And the more individuals died, the less likely the group was to survive. This group survival arrangement went on for at least 160,000 years, remember.

The idea of suburbanization seems to have started in the 1940s-50s, at least in the states, along with the rise in the cultural importance of the nuclear family. The problems with spreading out and dividing large human groups (towns) into small ones (households) include:

-Isolation and loss of community

-Ingroup vs outgroup thinking (ie, fear of people beyond the town, or even the household)

-Physically removing people from resources and help, which is especially devastating for vulnerable populations (children, elders, disabled people, anyone who is othered in any way)

And probably a bunch of other things!

Obviously, this is a gross oversimplification, but suffice to say that the shift from community focus to household focus, at least in America, is a very recent and brief part of human evolutionary history. Thinking of our units as the household, rather than the town, seems to have led, in part, to antisocial behaviors that, unsurprisingly, make life more difficult for everyone.

If we don't treat others with kindness, then we can't be surprised when we are not given kindness. If we don't help others, then we can't be surprised when we find ourselves alone in our time of need. Have you ever seen those social media posts that say, "Modern adults have to do all the tasks alone that were once split among families and even towns?" Well, I'm not a sociologist, but yeah, it sure seems that way. We all somehow have to get to work, get our kids to daycare, take care of everyone's medical needs (with what money???), feed everyone, clean, do errands, and more, alone. It didn't used to be that way! There are reasons why we're all so damned tired and burnt out. Chief among them is that help is not at hand without a hefty price tag, because our trusted unit starts and ends at our own front door. And this isn't anyone's fault; American culture is set up this way.

Now, I also believe that we should help each other out of compassion, but even on a basic survival level... Yeah, we owe each other humanity. We suffer at the group and individual level when we don't offer others basic kindness and respect.

However, despite my strong stance on this, um... In practice, it's difficult.

-What is humanity (basic kindness and respect) vs taking on too much?

Oof, now we're at the hard part. I personally have struggled my whole life with being kind vs hurting myself to please others. At the risk of getting too real/personal, I am a cis woman, and I was explicitly raised to have no opinions/desires, to bow to the group, and to take care of everyone. In my mid twenties, I realized that I tensed whenever someone approached me, because I knew they likely wanted something from me. And why wouldn't they? I had unconsciously trained them that I would "happily" help with whatever they wanted. They didn't know about my resentment and perpetual exhaustion.

And the worst thing was probably being a source of emotional labor. Kindly listening can quickly escalate to being everyone's unpaid therapist, and that takes a serious toll.

I'm in my mid thirties now, and I was in therapy for years. I still don't know exactly when to prioritize others vs myself, and what is basic kindness vs extraordinary effort. Everyone probably has their own thresholds for this one, but "treat others how you want to be treated" sounds like a decent starting point?

But no one can help others with an empty cup, so learning to take care of ourselves is a must.

-What are healthy boundaries?

I am not a therapist, and I'm still learning this myself, so this is 100% opinion, but...

I think we owe everyone basic kindness, but those big favors... Well, you can't keep giving forever to someone who doesn't give back. That's not a village, right? That's a pit. If someone approaches you for help and you feel scared or tense instantly, that's a sign that something is wrong.

When I started learning and employing boundaries, I quickly became less popular, lmao! Some people get angry and upset when you start saying no, and may "drop you" as a friend or acquaintance. This is actually far better for your mental health in the long run. As a general rule, if you find yourself anxious about interacting with someone in particular, and especially about telling them no or something they won't want to hear... You likely need boundaries with that person.

A boundary is basically like... Teaching people how you want to be treated. I often see people mistake boundaries as telling other people what to do, but in reality, you can never control other people.

Let's say you have a friend who is chronically late.

Not a boundary: "You can't keep being late!"

Boundary: "If you are more than 15 minutes late, I will leave/start the activity without you."

Boundaries center on your behavior, which you control. Generally, a boundary is established after a problem is proven to be persistent, and you've already tried gently asking for respect.

I admit that, in my own journey, I've pivoted too hard away from being helpful and open. I'm searching for that happy medium of supporting others while prioritizing taking care of myself. But everyone deserves basic kindness and respect, and humans don't thrive while isolated and distrustful. All of this is complex, but please, don't forget to be kind to yourself and others.

We're hurtling through endless space on a blue marble together. Let's keep it real, babes.

Thanks for trusting me with such an important q <3

[afallenangelwhoheals]

i have always been someone who loves to research topics as much as i can, and when growing up as a jw, that was hard for me. i wanted to research things related to religion but was constantly told to "be careful" or to "only look at things on the website (jw dot org)". this led to me having a very isolated, and ignorant view of many religions, including ones that no longer exist or are at least rarely heard of.

as i was starting to question things, in my PIMQ(physically in, mentally questioning) phase, i learned about the book of enoch. i have not read any apocrypha all the way through, however i love to look at summaries and things and learn generally the belief systems there. i was surprised by the deep dive i could do, but due to still struggling with my guilt, i used research purely based on jw dot org. gnosticism, of course, is viewed as apostate literature and it is greatly mocked by jws on the website. i also began to mock it, but was also greatly intrigued by it anyways. fast forward to me now being a PIMO(mentally out), who has, for the last damn close to two years (if not that already) been trying to undo my toxic jw thinking and allowing myself to research whatever i wish, wherever i wish (with reputable sources) i feel as though i have come to a certain peace that i did not have before.

gnosticism is a very interesting thing, and the common beliefs among gnostics were cool and i respect them greatly, but i feel sad for those who were imprisoned or murdered because the majority of christians viewed it as evil.

that aside, i have also researched paganism, a little of buddhism, hinduism, and many more.

that peace that i mentioned, it's this feeling that i dont have to stick to a single religion. because ultimately, so many are the same just Different Fonts, and i feel like when humans believe but do not enforce, that is when we are happier. i want everyone to believe as they please, and for us all to exist together and share our knowledge and beliefs with each other. maybe we will learn things we didnt before, lessons we'd never known, and we exchange this information lovingly. i have hope that one day this will be far more possible, and i think looking to the future with optimism will encourage this to be more possible.

as for my own beliefs, (more under the cut, if you are interested)

i dont exactly believe in any one religion or set of specific beliefs. however here is a list of what i believe.

i think reincarnation is possible, that when we die that is not the end and perhaps we can create an afterlife that brings us the most peace. i think gods are possible but also not set in stone and if they do exist they're nothing we can comprehend until we are not restricted in a human body. they're definitely not dictators. i think magic is real but not like what we see on tv. i think kindness should be the priority in life. i dont think astrology brings demons into the house. i dont believe anyone is superior over another, but that we are all the same. i think politics can be used for good and we should fight for what's right, but be careful of being blindsided and try not to fall into a pit of hatred and spite. i think everyone should have the right and freedom over their own body and what they can do with it (abortion, gender affirming care, etc). Sexuality should be celebrated, not demonized.

and that's the basics! it's very very different from my old beliefs that i was raised to have. but im happy with them. and i am happy for anyone who agrees or even disagrees with them! i wish for anyone who has religious trauma/grew up in a strict religious environment but has now left, to explore what other belief systems are out there. not to convert, but to learn and to figure out what makes us happy and find peace <3 whether it's we pick things to believe from other religions and mix them together, or simply choose none of it all, which is a wonderful choice too. i dunno. ramble over haha

[thirstingforslashers]

!!Introduction time!!

Hello guys, gals, and mystery flavor pals!

For starters, let's talk about names, more specifically, what I'm cool with being called.

We've got the obvious; thirstingforslashers

Then there's; TFS for short

Or if you'd like; Hazel works too

I've technically got other names as well for other sites, but for simplicities sake, let's not use those here.

(But here's the other names just for knowledges sake)

LoneliestTeaparty (ao3)

MandelaCountyIsScrewed (tiktok)

This is, in some way, shape, or form, a multi fandom blog as I no longer use it solely for slasher content but just for any and all horror related content that I make.

Fandoms that I may post include

Halloween (both OG and RZ Michael Myers)

Black Christmas (1974)

Friday the 13th

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (both Bubba and Thomas)

House of Wax

The Rise of Leslie Vernon

The Boy

My Bloody Valentine

American Psycho

Candy Man

The Ring

Carrie

The Mandela Catalogue

Scream (first movie mainly)

Scary Movie

Santa's Slay (unknown as shit, I know)

Tucker & Dale VS Evil (this one kinda is too...)

Poppee the Preformer (and this one's not even actually categorized as horror, but, close enough XD)

Fandoms I might not however...

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Chucky

Annabelle

It

Terrifier

Alien

Black Christmas (any involvement past 1974)

The Boy 2

Blog rules under the cut

But now that that's out of the way...

Let's lay out the ground rules

At times, some of my posts may seem a little suggestive, and for this reason, we have-

Rule Number One

Minors DNI

While I don't actually have genuine nudity or explicity in my posts, I simply do not feel comfortable with the idea of minors interacting with an occasionally suggestive account, so please respect my wishes.

Rule Number Two

Do NOT sexualize my persona

I'm just saying it now for future reference, my persona (the lady in my pfp) is supposed to be a representation of an actual real-life human being with thoughts and emotions, have the decency to know where the line is drawn and don't cross it.

Rule Number Three

Religion

Please keep any and all religious discussions within reasonable levels. Some people have religious trauma, and I'm unfortunately involved in that list. I don't aim to hurt or cause negative discourse ever, and I get that plenty of people love the religion I am no longer comfortable with. If you're part of it, I'm glad that it works for you, but let's try to keep our beliefs to ourselves and respect each other's boundaries like civilized people.

Rule Number Four

No art theft

This, of course, doesn't mean my drawings can never be used/borrowed, but I would always like to be informed if it is and also be credited for my work. What it does mean is to not claim to have drawn my work.

And that should be all! :)

Rules can always get added, change, or even be removed at some point in the future, but for the time being, this is what I've got set in place.

Now then, enough of all this nonsense, enjoy!

[scoobydoodean]

I've mentioned before that the way season 1 Sam talks about and uses Dean's money bothers me, but I think I've built up my tag #dean and the family finances enough now to lay all of this out more formally:

In season 1, it's made quite clear that Dean is the sole breadwinner. Insights into the methods Dean uses to provide are given to us in 1.01, 1.05, 1.08, and 1.16. These methods include credit card scams, poker games, and pool games. With these income streams, Dean pays for the motels they stay in (1.18), pays for food and gas (1.01), and finances bribes and special costumes (1.04, 1.05, 1.16). Despite all of this being, at the end of the day, Dean's money, Dean cuts Sam a share of the cash he earns from poker, and he refers to the money he provides as "ours" (1.16) as does Sam (1.09).

In each of these episodes, we also see Sam distance himself from Dean's activities. Sam does not help Dean earn money because he considers Dean's methods to be dishonest—or maybe exploitative in the case of gambling and pool. Clearly, Dean respects Sam's boundary here, because he never suggests Sam help him—not even as a rebuttal when Sam is in the middle of criticizing the methods Dean uses to provide.

The one thing that seems to genuinely upset Dean a little, is that Sam treats Dean's earnings like Monopoly money (1.05, 1.09, 1.16). Because he doesn't respect how Dean earns money, Sam has decided what Dean does is "easy", so his poker and pool winnings can be spent flagrantly, and he can just get another credit card. Sam persists with this belief even though the fact that Dean's earnings are not actually Monopoly money and Dean struggles with two mouths to feed is clearly illustrated to him in 1.08. Sam specifically is shown to see right through Dean's easy smiles and excitement about the steam shower, and his suggestion to check out the open house as a potential lead.

I think it’s absolutely fine that Sam doesn’t want to do things he personally considers to be dishonest. There's nothing wrong with that on its face. However, while vaguely referring to more honest work they should do instead, Sam is never shown actually taking the initiative to seek out "honest" ways he can cover the additional expenses he imposes on Dean. He watches Dean struggle to make ends meet with an additional mouth to feed (his own) and just... sits there telling Dean with that mouth that the way Dean earns money is dishonest or "easy", and scowling about having to squat in a house. In other words, while not wanting to play pool or poker for money (we know Sam is quite good at both) presumably because he thinks gambling is exploitative... he exploits Dean's willingness to provide for him without expectations that he contribute and does nothing to provide for himself. From a moral perspective, his judgements and actions equate him with a man who knowingly buys stolen goods off a thief only to look down his nose at the thief for being one.

I think the commentary on social class is readily apparent here. However, I also think a lot of this is “little brother Sam” who’s brother also raised him and took care of him most of the time, treating Dean like many kids treat their parents—not really considering what it takes to provide for them and being ungrateful about it. And in Dean's case, he provides despite the fact that Sam is critical and ungrateful. However, all of this is also about John, and how Sam associates these acts with John and wants to distance himself from John. Dean is the stand-in for a man who isn't there in Sam's war with that man. Sam snipes at Dean in hurtful ways as a way of striking out at John, but Dean is the only one getting hurt. Sam can't see that yet. All he sees is a stand-in for their father.

Okay actually going a little crazy over the heavy implications in 1.08 “Bugs” that Dean is having trouble making ends meet for him and Sam. The episode opens with Dean coming out of a pool hall with some cash and saying “Hunting’s our day job, and the pay sucks”. Dean wants to squat in an empty house instead of getting a motel room, and he directs them to an open house with free food.

Sam is clearly very aware Dean is struggling to keep them afloat in 1.08 and that credit card scams aren’t cutting it. But I guess it just hit me that despite seeing that Dean is having a hard time providing for them, Sam immediately jumps to insist they Dean will pay for a whole new fridge full of groceries destroyed by a poltergeist in the very next episode (1.09 "Home").

[logicalbookthief]

Christmas Movies Ranked by How Anti-Capitalist They Are

It’s a Wonderful Life

Movies that make you want to pick a fight with the 1% and also weep with joy. Absolutely a classic and anti-capitalist at its very core. Will convince you we need to start oppressing landlords again.

“Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle.”

SAY THAT!!! George Bailey said fuck landlords, all my homies hate landlords, they have NO rights. Local man believes poor people are human, dedicates his life to helping them, and in his time of the need literally the whole town comes together to support him and his family. Class solidarity ftw!

“Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” Bitch I CRY EVERY GODDAMN TIME. 

10/10

Home Alone

Soundtrack goes hard, the wacky hijinks even harder. 

Loses points because the bandits had a prime opportunity to seize and redistribute some of the wealth from this ritzy Chicago neighborhood and instead they focus their energy on trying to kill an 8-year-old who outsmarts them at every turn.

2/10

Elf

A family favorite in our house. Touches on the overworking and mistreatment of employees through Greenway Press – Walter forced to choose between being with his family on Christmas Eve or losing his job, it’s implied Deb has a pet grooming business on the side to makes ends meet despite being a receptionist at a NY publishing company, etc.

Honestly most of the points come from Jonie’s underrated yet highly relatable storyline. She works in retail, exhausted and cynical towards the high-paced Christmas season which gives her little to no relief or reward, since she’s surviving on ramen noodles and using the employee showers because her water was cut off. Not expanded on enough to be considered a true Marxist piece but the effort is appreciated.

5/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Although the meme is correct in that Rudolph’s red nose becomes desirable only once it proves to be useful, it does get points for exposing the harmful nature of forced conformity and those alienated by these capitalist ideals -- Rudolph, Hermie, the island of misfit toys -- are given a place to belong despite the perceived “flaws” that before made them undesirable.

Also the elves definitely have a free dental-plan now thanks to Hermie and are hopefully on their way to unionizing. Fucking superb you funky little misfit.

6/10

Klaus (2019)

Turns a member of the bourgeoisie into a man I’d trust to carry my mail. Respect for postal workers this movie contains was ahead of its time.

 No direct takedown of the establishment but a heartwarming message -- “A true selfless act always sparks another” bITCH I may be crying -- that emphasizes the importance of giving to others even when there is no selfish motivation to do so, which is inherently anti-capitalist.  

8/10

The Santa Clause

Scott Calvin starts as a toy executive who takes part in the commercialization of Christmas. He was probably a business major so automatically loses points.

The Santa dynasty itself seems to operate under the cutthroat rules of the business world where you must overthrow (or in this case, throw him off the roof) the former CEO in order to seize power. 

Elves have not unionized or seized the means of production by the end.

0/10

A Christmas Carol 

THE ORIGINAL. Charles Dickens was not even in the neighborhood of fucking around with this one. CREATED the anti-capitalist Christmas genre!!

Rich man treats his employees like shit and gets terrorized by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Force him to redistribute his wealth by dragging him through a montage of his most epic fails -- oh, hey, remember when your fiancé left you? -- and make him listen as all his employees and relatives complain about his stingy ass. 

They end this slideshow by throwing this dude into his own grave. DIRECT ACTION. 

Like damn, the ghosts really said, “If you hoard your resources and ignore those in need when you could directly improve/save lives with no cost to yourself, you will die ALONE and you WILL pay for your crimes in hell.” Literally watching this movie is a catharsis for anyone who is or has been poor and working class. 

I’m including all versions of this movie but a special shout out to the Muppet version because it fucks the hardest. 

100/10

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Listen I’m not even in realms of joking with this one. This movie is THE anti-capitalist film of the holiday season. 

WhoVille commercializing Christmas and a fixation on consumer culture to the point where anything and anyONE who cannot be commodified -- aka the GRINCH -- is alienated? The Whos rediscovering that people should be cherished over material items once it all is stolen and they must confront how empty the holiday has become??

Cindy Lou becoming disillusioned in Christmas -- at an age that coincides when many children (those who celebrate Christmas at least) lost belief in Santa and had to wrestle with what the holiday means with the magic gone and they’re more aware of the rampant consumerism that taints the season?? Her resolve to find a meaning that goes beyond material consumption because if a holiday founded on goodwill doesn’t extend that goodwill to everyone, even those society deems undesirable, then what’s the point???

The Grinch despising Christmas because he is unable to participate and isolated from the Whos and also the better qualities within himself? His alienation serving to demonize him further as it allows the public to narrow his valid criticisms of the holiday down to him being different and thus inherently predisposed to evil?? And hmm isn’t it interesting that a LOT of this demonization comes via Mayor Augustus “generously paid for by the tax-payers of Whoville” Maywho, Mr. 1% himself.

The upper vs working class divide evident in the light show competition between Martha May and Betty Lou Who?? The opening scene of the shopping frenzy that mirrors our own consumerist culture and overworking of retail/poster workers??? This entire monologue:

“That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about. Gifts, gifts... gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts! You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice... the avarice never ends! ‘I want golf clubs. I want diamonds. I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make glue.’" 

MARXIST KING. MENTION IT ALL.

1000/10

[laur-rants]

As we get closer and closer to the release of In Space with Markiplier, which will invariably be very successful, will be a huge, exciting thing that everyone will get some form of enjoyment out of, and is highly creative and innovative...

I’m seeing this weird, and slightly uncomfortable trend in Mark’s youtube comments that Mark should, for one reason or another, get a Netflix deal, and how cool would that be, etc etc.

And while however nice that thought may be... it is not a good thought to have. It feels as if people who continue to assert that Mark’s work would somehow be, I don’t know. Better? More accessible? If it was a Netflix original.And if people really think this... They’re missing the point of what Mark DOES, as a creator, on the platform he has chosen to create on.

Mark does not want you to have to pay for his content. Period. He wants, with all his heart, for his content to remain FREE AND ACCESSIBLE. Mark, as a creator, is someone I highly respect because he has a vision, and he has passion projects that yes, he pays people to help him create, but not only that, but he offers this content to the world, the universe, to anyone with access to youtube, FOR FREE.

No paywall. No membership. You get this because its FREE.

Netflix is not free. Netflix is exploitative to creators, it is horrible to its animators who never get paid enough, it is big budget, it does not properly promote its indie work that finds its way onto the streaming service, and when something does ‘poorly’ in their eyes (doesn’t get enough ratings) it is cancelled. It is not a website (though it can be watched on browser). It is a BUSINESS and it is a SERVICE.

Mark’s work, whether it be let’s plays or skits or drinking maple syrup by the jug, has been free content. He strongly insists that his work REMAIN that way. He wants his passion projects to be somewhere where NOBODY will pull the plug on him, where NOBODY will ‘cancel’ his next season (no i’m not talking about unus annus, im talking about his main channel, plus he CHOSE to delete that channel after a year, that was the point of that creative project in the first place but you never had to pay to see it), where HIS creative endeavors can flourish and inspire. He doesn’t need more money and he knows this. That’s why he doesn’t ASK for our money just to view his works.

To assert that his work would somehow be BETTER if it was streamed on Netflix is, quite literally, missing the entire point of Mark’s channel. This is his living, yes, he encourages people becoming members of the channel -- of course, as any patron-esque system would. But Mark never wants someone to actually have to PAY to see his work. He even puts out FREE COMMENTARY on anything he creatively makes, showing people how he edited Wilford Warfstache and Damien, and hyping up the actors and creators he collabs with. FOR FREE!!! I cannot stress this enough. People buy Blu-Rays with extended cuts and director’s commentary for $60-120 dollars a disk and here is Mark, giving more than that, for nothing more than a simple search and click on his youtube.

THIS MAN WANTS HIS WORK TO BE FREE. HE WANTS IT TO BE SEEN BY WHOEVER WISHES TO SEE IT.

So please, for the love of God, if you like Mark, stop asserting in his comments that he should go to Netflix. Netflix would give him nothing more than money (which he already has) and ultimately alienate his core audience (either because its on a different platform now, and thus removed from the competing platform, or because lo and behold NOT EVERYONE PAYS FOR NETFLIX) and would also cut into his core belief and his core purpose: To offer what he makes, for free.

I respect Mark a lot because he sticks by all of this so strongly. So strongly, even, that he is visibly distressed that In Space is seen by some as a paid service. It’s FREE! Mark’s work will always be free. And if we want it to stay free and accessible, the last thing any of us, Mark included, wants, is a Netflix deal. Trust Me.

[thatpunnyperson]

This one's gonna be kind of long so im putting it all under a cut, but the tl:dr is "I was a gifted kid and we had it so good without realizing it."

I was one of the gifted kids in primary school and was able to scrape by in the honors and advanced placement classes until well into high school, and I 100% DID have exactly that chip on my shoulder. I thought advanced kids were treated badly when they failed expectations and needed help, because there were enough kids with the work ethic to allow them fabulous success. The comparison between me and them showed I wasn't even in their league when it came to academics, but I felt like they were somehow getting more resources from the teachers than I was, or were getting graded differently or less harshly than I was (at no point did I think they were getting graded "easier," which tells you how big that chip on my shoulder was about "gifted kids" versus "normal kids").

Until I had to take the normal-level government class to round out my graduation requirements. (And the messed up thing is that the "normal" level was still called "college prep" and there was even a "standard prep" level below that. I was so up on my high horse from taking years and years of advanced placement classes that I hadn't even KNOWN there was a standard level.)

Anyway, this government class was supposed to teach us about how to be an informed citizen and how to participate in civic things on all levels, from local school district and city hall stuff to the state and federal levels. It was taught by one of the 40 football coaches at our school (student body was ~2000 kids) and he was a frothing-at-the-mouth conservative republican, and that seriously tainted how he taught us things.

Highlights of his behavior include:

Making us debate current political issues, but not by simply dividing the class in half. No, we had to form our own sides based on our own political beliefs, which led to several of us realizing some of our classmates didn't think we deserved certain rights

Interrupting the more liberal students when they were giving answers to subjective questions, and then soap-boxing about whatever we were talking about

Interrupting the female students a lot while they were giving answers to BOTH subjecting and objective questions. Anything from "what is the first amendment" to "where is city hall located" to "who should be allowed to own nukes"

NOT interrupting the male students AT ALL EVER, which was wild but not surprising since all the guys seemed to be conservative and republican-leaning.

The two things that made me realize the true difference between the gifted kids classes and the normal kids classes were the amount of attention the teacher gave the students and the first time the drug dog came in.

Teacher Attention

In all of my advanced classes, if I started struggling with something or if I got a few bad grades in a row, my teacher would ask to see me after class or over lunch to chat about why I was struggling and with what specifically I needed help. These chats would include anything from why i didn't like reading certain assigned books to why a math concept didn't make sense to me, and even included recommendations of tutors to see.

In my government class, when I started getting bad grades (because it's kind of hard to engage with a subject when the person teaching it doesn't respect you at all), my teacher didn't come to me and ask to talk to me about why I'm struggling. He simply reported it to the administration folks and they called my parents. Who then yelled at my about how I was failing, because "who fails government" and "who fails a non-advanced class" because my parents had never had to deal with a kid failing classes yet. They didn't know how to help because I had never needed to ask for help, both because I hadn't NEEDED it at first and then because my teachers volunteered their help without me asking.

The Drug Dog

I was literally in my final year of primary education, literally less than a few months from finishing everything and graduating, when my government class was interrupted one day and we were all told to stand outside the building while some cops and a dog went through our stuff. "Leave your backpacks unzipped and open, leave your jackets and sweatshirts at your desks, go stand outside," they told us. I turned to my friend, Val, and was like, "what is happening???" and she gave me a confused look and said, "its just the drug dog??" and I was like, "the WHAT????"

Val had been in several non-advanced classes at this point and realized that I had NEVER had this happen before. I had NEVER had class stopped so the cops could come in with a sniffer dog and search everyone's things. I had never even been searched for drugs ever at all in school. But this was commonplace for non-advanced classes, so everyone opened their backpacks and took off their sweatshirts and left their stuff behind as they went to stand outside.

I was wearing a pullover sweatshirt with no hood, but as a shirt so I was only wearing a bra underneath, so obviously I couldn't take it off. My teacher and the cops and the administrator didn't like that. They were like, "you HAVE TO take the sweatshirt off" and "you can't leave the classroom unless you leave the sweatshirt" and I pleaded with them that I was wearing it as a SHIRT and that I didn't have anything on underneath. It took the female administrator taking me into another room, closing the door, and having me literallt take my sweatshirt off to PROVE I was wearing it as a shirt, for me to be allowed to leave the building and stand with the other kids.

And when I got out there, several of my classmates were like, "what happened" and "what did they do to you" and "are you okay" and "you should have just taken the sweatshirt off" and stuff like that, with genuine concern and sympathy and understanding. When we were all let back into the classroom, there was dog saliva all over everyone's stuff, bags had clearly been rifled through, and everyone's sweatshirts had been turned inside out.

And then we went back to the lesson! As though nothing had happened! 15 minutes of our 50 minute class period had just been wasted for what felt like an illegal search of our stuff and so the cops and admin could intimidate students! I had to take my shirt off! I couldn't focus the entire rest of the day because I was legit shaken by the entire experience, but all of my classmates were so beaten down by this regular violation of their rights that they just kind of accepted the treatment and went on with their day.

To Conclude

Everything is relative and when you are deprived of context, you start festering in this microcosm of your own experiences, trying to define some kind of continuum of good vs bad, respect vs disrespect, support vs lack thereof. For gifted kids, all we knew was that we took "harder" classes and were graded "harshly" because we were expected to perform like college kids. And without the knowledge of what classes were like outside of the gifted kid world, we started defining bad grades as the result of a lack of support from our teachers or as the teacher playing favorites. We were never really held to account for our behavior because we were legit treated so well and gently without us even realizing it. We became so entitled to a high level of support and respect and legit babying at some points, that we started to consider the non-advanced classes and the students in them as dumber than us. To us, they were simply not smart enough to handle the rigor and difficulty of advanced classes; the reality was the opposite.

It's been more than a decade since I took that class and I've since gone to college and somehow managed to get an entire bachelors degree (which is mindboggling for other reasons), but I remember each day of that class as though it happened yesterday because the way my classmates and I were treated is burned into my mind. The day we had the drug dog show up was the day was stsrted telling everyone I knew about how shittily the student in non-advanced classes are treated, about how there is a completely different framework at play for gifted kids that assumes trust based on intelligence. In every advanced class I took, I started telling all of my friends about the bad treatement, I told all of my teachers, I told random classmates I'd never spoken to until then. I was like, "guys, we have it so good, we are so lucky, and it's so messed up."

Gifted kids have some of the biggest chips on their shoulders because when life is good, you try to find the catch and you start picking at the seams holding things together. And sometimes you make up things to be mad at just so you can be mad about something. From one gifted kid to all the gifted kids out there: school was hard not because the teachers were playing favorites or actually grading us harsher, but because we all had imposter syndrome and invented social hierarchies to make us feel like we fit in and weren't imposters. This is a classic demonstration of privilege: we weren't smarter than the normal kids, we just had the privilege of more support from out teachers and the privilege of not getting interrupted mid-lesson so the cops could search through our bags and let their dog slobber on our stuff. We had the double trouble of both the absence of a punishment and the presence of a reward, and it fucked up literally everyone in the school.

Like theres this idea among so many "former gifted kids" that they were Above Tha Rest and treated with a much harsher hand for it and well that simply isnt true

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #84

Yuri!!! on Life

Sayo Yamamoto x Mitsurou Kubo conversation

Part 6.

K: But actually even when we talk about manga, it's not that I draw it because there is like a particular meaning there to why I draw it. It's all about using your libido/life energy, making it explode, and channeling it into your works… If you don't do this, there's only death. That's the essence of being a creator. You've said Daisuke Takahashi stirs up your imagination, but I don't think that the message you wanted to convey is necessarily that you want to make everyone watch all Takahashi's performances or to compare them [either she means "to other skaters' programs" or "one of his programs to another of his programs", it's not clear], right?

Y: These two are completely separate matters. The thing that made me the happiest, is that anime fans who weren't at all interested in figure skating, started to watch figure skating together with us. I absolutely didn't think that I want our viewers to do it, or should I say, I believe that wanting your viewers to behave in a specific way is such an impertinent thing to do, that I don't ever think that at all, but after the anime has ended a lot of people did start to have an interest in real-life figure skating and that's what made me the happiest.

K: Yes, yes! It's not that it was the only purpose in making Yuri!!! on ice, but I'm very happy that after watching Yuri!!! more people go on "pilgrimages" to see "sacred places" connected to the anime or watch real-life figure skating.

Y: Schedule-wise, we were creating the anime at the very last minute. That's why there are also scenes, which were created because we had to make the production easier. For example, because we have those Instagram pages and images from Sleeping Beauty during Popovich's monologue an we were using this specific editing technique called "cutting", I was told that it's impossible to include any more skating scenes, so I just said "okay, then wait a moment. I'll draw [the new version of storyboards] now" and I drew the storyboards on the spot, so then I could have [more skating scenes] included in the editing process. This is how we were creating the anime - writing it was like a "rush construction work" kind of thing. That's why there isn't anything so wild like a "agenda/a specific aim [we wanted to achieve]" by making this anime.

K: An agenda/aim… You can think that because of "reasons", we had to make certain decisions, but sometimes it's like "no, not because of those reasons".

Y: We were in a place where we didn't have much choice. I was working with this belief that if we didn't include as much skating scenes as we are able to animate then making this anime would actually be pointless. That's why, while causing the staff members a lot of troubles, I was working as hard as I could at that time, sincerely giving my best.

K: That's what I'm saying… There isn't a single creator out there who includes as much scheming in their works as the audience believes they do.

Y: No, no, no, there isn't. Absolutely, there isn't. But, it's still true that I have an enormous respect for figure skating, so while working I was thinking that as long as I stay true to that, then it's all fine.

[Notes: I'm not a big figure skating fan or anything, but afaik, at least in Jp, Takahashi's fans and fans of that other Japanese figure skater, who became ultra popular after Takahashi, didn't like each other very much. While fans who don't read interviews and so on may think that Yuri!!! was inspired by that other skater, as you can see in this conversation (especially part 4.), the creators (especially Sayo) while being explicit about supporting all skaters, seems to be a big Takahashi fan... So this and some other things led some people to believe that the creators are actually anti-that other skater and instead push their faves agenda in the show. I believe this may be why Mitsurou's mentioned Takahashi in this context, that "oh maybe the anime was made to influence people in specific way", to which they answer "lol, conspiracy theories".]

[hislittleflower-throughconcrete]

So i have kind of a weird question that probably doesn't have a clear-cut answer, but i wanted to ask anyway since it's been weighing on my heart for a while

I have some friends who are Catholic, but their actions towards others sort of contradict that. I'm not saying they're bad Catholics or anything because we aren't the ones to judge, i'm only looking at their actions and giving objective views on them.

They tend to be... idk how to say it, but immature? spiteful? towards others who have wronged them or don't share the same opinions as them. They tend to use one's sexual preference, political background, or past actions against them and say "this is why i hate them" or "this is why they're so bad." And it breaks my heart, because those are just these people's actions. It's not their inherent worth as a human being.

And it makes me even more sad because usually these ideals are just what these people think will help others. For example, one of these people who my friend disagreed with was pro-choice while my friend was pro-life. They rolled their eyes and said (paraphrase) "well of COURSE they're pro-choice, they're so stupid" without understanding WHY they were pro-choice. Look, I'm pro-life too, but I can put myself into the other person's shoes and see WHY they think that. They want to help women in hard situations, and they believe that is the best means to do so. I can appreciate that viewpoint, even if I don't agree with the means, and this can allow for a deeper, more respectful conversation to take place. My friends just don't see that.

I used to turn a blind eye to it but now it's starting to affect our every day conversations. One of these friends keeps grudges from years ago, and another is getting borderline mysoginistic and demonizes those with dofferent ideals to the point where they're singling out Catholics in their own friend group. I just don't know how to deal with it anymore.

I don't know if I should "call them out" on their behavior because it's become so imprinted into their personality that I'd basically be asking them to change an entire portion of themselves (and this makes me sad, too). I'm considering just distancing myself from them. Any tips, comments, or shared experiences are appreciated

This has been languishing in my inbox for a while, so I'll start by giving a big apology. The more involved an ask is, the more I usually want to give a detailed and nuanced answer, and it's easy to say "I'll have more time to dedicate to it later" and never do. My bad.

You are describing something that I really identify with and have gone through myself. I think, especially when brought up in a Catholic bubble or immersed in a very devout circle with little interaction with non-Catholics besides social media, it can be so tempting to discuss "the other" in uncharitable ways, particularly if you don't have a framework to empathize with them. Empathy requires being able to picture and understand someone else's background, beliefs, upbringing, and experiences of others, and the more you are separated from people with different lives than yours, or selectively engage with "the other" on social media platforms that lend themselves to hatefulness, the more empathy falls by the wayside.

When you believe Satan's lie that you discovered the truth on your own, believe it on your own, and adhere to Church teachings on your own, it can be tempting to be judgmental of others who do not. But the reality is that God has GIFTED us everything - including our encounter with the Truth, our ability to understand it, and our openness to it. The reality that it could have been me on a street corner yelling "my body, my choice" - if I had been given different parents, upbringing, education, or trauma, it would have been. People lose sight of that.

I would disagree and say that your friends are bad Catholics, in the sense that we all are bad Catholics in some way, and that is the particular way your friends are failing to live out Christ's love and Church teaching. I would definitely begin to distance yourself from them, and if you feel called to, have a discussion with them about empathy being the way to change minds and hearts. But it is possible, especially if they are quite far down the rabbit hole, they would disregard the importance of empathy altogether. In that case, praise God that you were able to recognize that your friends are headed down an un-Christlike path and forge ahead to find friends who have a healthy view of what it means to live out the gospel.