#this is not in any way meant to be a complete compilation of everyone I want to say nice things to

[mello-when-hi]

Tag at least six people (can be more than six if you want), and say at least one nice thing about or to each of them. Can be mutuals, can be people you follow, can be people you don’t know but just happen to exist in the same circle(s) with. All you gotta do is tag them and say something nice about/to them :)

I was tagged by these lovely people (and decided to pull an uno reverse card on ALL OF THEM >:) : @bottleofchaos , @rebelwithoutabroom , @findinghomes , and @wolfboypunzo

@findinghomes- Finn, you make every space you enter just a bit more brighter, always a kind word to say to someone’s latest creation. Your writing never fails to take my breath away. You manage to capture such raw emotion, you put so much of yourself into your writing and it shows!!

@blocksforbrains - hiya Blocks!! I feel like it’s been a while since our paths have crossed, but we’ve been mutuals since before this blog was created, thanks for sticking around for the ride :)

@latenightsinmay - May!! Gosh, it feels like we’ve been mutual for forever. You’re someone I’ve come to depend on, still hanging on during the rainy days. Thanks you for quality tags and some amazing pjo posts

@wolfboypunzo - Asher!!! You lovely sweet human!! A frequent goer of my inbox!! I’m happy we found each other, you’re a little ray of sunshine, always with something kind to say. You’ve stuck with me through it all, and I’m happy you’re here.

@mahikamihan - Yumi!! Your art never fails to warm my heart!! I love how you always encourage those around you, it’s always a good day when I see you on the dash. Thank you for always bringing the community together by proposing fun little events, our fandom is brighter with you in it

@demonstars - nunki!!! I can always count on you to understand the cdnf demons. Your skillfully crafted posts never fail to shatter my heart in two, thank you for keeping the demons and insanities of Dnf alive and well

@hearvex - fun story H. I randomly saw one of your edits on YT before you joined the fandom and was immediately shocked. It was utterly stunning, unlike anything I had ever seen. Imagine my surprise when I saw you on tumblr, it was like seeing god at Walmart. Being mutuals with you has always been an utter delight, this fandom is better with you in it :)

@rebelwithoutabroom - Taizi!!! An awesome writer and an even better tumblr mutual. Thanks for being my hype person whenever I’m pitching fic plots, and thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you. I can’t wait to see what you create next, I’m lucky to have you as a mutual

@bottleofchaos - Ocean! Thank you for always being there to back up my Greek mythology/ Dnf parallels, you are an absolute gem! There’s always so much humanity in your fics, a fitting reflection of the person writing them

@jupitersthirdstar - Jay!! Thank you for the top tier fic recs and being someone I know I can turn to when things get a little crazy here. I love your loveposting, keep doing your thing!!

@froggyrights - hi Charlie! I know we haven’t been mutuals for too long, but I’ve always thought you were hella cool. I started playing undertale on your recommendation, and I feel like that set the tone for the sort of mutual you are (someone with absolutely based takes)

@rosy-skies - Rosie, oh my dear Rosie. If there was anyone that had to be part of all this I’m glad it was you. Thanks for being *here* with me, seeing the side of me that’s here online. It’s been an utter delight having you here, love ya

@suenitos - Nov, one day I’m going to hold you accountable for your web weaves because they don’t leave me teary eyed every. Damn. Time. You have an incredible scope for all the emotions a human can feel, thank you for unknowingly introducing me to some of my best inspiration

@minecraftdog - Mandragora!!! You always leave the most delightful things in my notes and all around one of the kindest people here, I’m happy to know I have you in my corner

@bagelrites - resident skephaloer and maker of adorable art!! Your stories are always so cozy, thank you for making our corner of the fandom all the more lovely with your creations

This is the part where I’m brave and say wonderful things to people I’m not mutuals with but I still need them to know that I think they’re amazing

@anonysage - your art never fails to take my breath away. You always manage to capture so much intimacy in your work, weaving an adorable narrative into everything you create. Thank you for sharing what you do with this fandom

@wolflyndraws - your designs are utterly STUNNING! The colors you use are always so bright and your Dream design is perfect in every sense of the word. I love all the darling au’s you put Dnf in, I get so excited seeing your creations!!! (Also I am an AVID enjoyer of your mermaid au, the colors you have for the tails are MARVELOUS and bright and just so so fitting for the people they’ve been crafted for)

@jun-hug - your little blob doodles always put a smile on my face!! I have two younger siblings who also enjoy your art and we love ‘awww-ing’ over the adorable drawings you’ve made!!!

[twopoppies]

I don’t even know how to begin this, neither if it’s gonna make any sense at all. But I feel like I have to get it off my chest and scrolling through your blog made me feel like this is the right place to do so.

I never had any friends in the fandom. When I joined in 2017, barely in high school, they had already gone on hiatus. There were no more OT5 concerts to look forward it was all just videos and songs and memories of others that I got to enjoy and learned to cherish for myself.

Through the years since, there have been times where One Direction and all their solo work has pulled me up when I was down. Times when loneliness was overcome by watching hours of concerts videos and compilations on youtube - and they always made me smile. And also times where other things in life had more priority and I didn’t check into the fandom for months at times.

The first time I realised that what seemed to be the best time for us as fans was the absolute worst for them as artists, was when I watched that podcast interview of Liam a few years back. It was heartbreaking hearing it, and maybe that was also one moment where I realised I was no longer a naive teenage girl but on my way to adulthood.

I haven’t kept up with Liam or the other boys this year as much, but I always believed that whenever I really needed them, the boys will just always be there - maybe my mind immortalised them some way or other.

Seeing these news now, broke me on a level I didn’t expect and can’t even really explain. Hearing the accusations towards Liam and the man he seemingly became I don’t even know how to grieve.

How DO you grieve someone that brought you joy but at the same time acted in ways you just can’t condone with your values and beliefs?

Maybe what I am grieving the most is the lost chance of accountability and change. Mental illness is no joke and I know that a persons best version and worst version of themselves can be completely different. He should have gotten the chance to at least try again, to go to rehab and get better - to heal.

Before I went to bed tonight I tried to be brave and told my dad cause I just didn’t know how to handle it. I talked about Liams addiction and alcoholism and abuse, but I also talked about the music and the fact that I just feel like someone is missing and I don’t even know if I’m allowed to feel that way.

I’ll forever be grateful that all my dad did, was take me into his arms and comfort me. He didn’t laugh or called it a teenage obsession or said that it’s not right to grieve for someone who you didn’t even know personally.

All he said was that it’s okay to grieve cause it just showed that you cared. You can grieve for lost chances and for what a person once meant to you, even if they might not be quite that same person anymore (even if it seems a little selfish, grieving is always personal).

I hope he’s better now and doesn’t feel any of the pain he’s very obviously been holding in for however many years. My heart goes out to the people who really knew him - his family, his son, his friends and girlfriend, and the boys.

Sleep easy and rest in peace Liam 🕊️

Your dad sounds like a very sweet man. I'm glad he was there for you in the way that you needed him to be.

I don't know the answer to your questions, but I feel similarly that one of the things I'm most upset about is that he died before he had a chance to heal and make amends.

Everyone deserves a redemption arc, and I'm just angry that he wasn't allowed to have his.

[uniiiquehecrt]

I'm thinking in terms of actual real life experiences I've had when I say this, but I'd imagine part of what makes being a Thor enjoyer so frustrating in 2024/MCU's phase 4+ era is that... you're effectively not allowed to enjoy your favorite superhero.

I once had a conversation with a close friend of mine during a casual outing, and without going into very many details, this particular person is an enjoyer of Ragnarok, and enjoys Tailka's work overall. Now, I should say right off the bat: there is nothing wrong with these opinions. Everyone is entitled to like what they like and enjoy the work of creators just the same as other people are allowed to dislike them. For this particular post, I'm not here to get into fandom wars or "reasons why taika waititi is a terrible director" beef. I have other posts in line for that. But what I will say is that I already knew this about my friend, so it never surprised me when the topic of Thor came up that it would be a point of disagreement.

The issue I've found that continues to circle in the general space of "being a Thor fan" came when I expressed that I don't like Ragnarok, I do think Thor was funnier (and just better overall) before Ragnarok and therefore Taika's involvement, and quite frankly Taika had very little business taking on the mantle of director of a superhero franchise he has never liked or understood in his life just because he had mouths to feed. (There are other opportunities to fulfill that. And filmmakers know going into this industry that it's all gig-based and - if they're smart anyways - work around that.) I hadn't even gotten a chance to go through all of the reasons WHY I feel that way, of which I have had before compiled an organized list of about 16 talking points off the top of my head, so as far as that particular discussion goes... it didn't go anywhere. We were busy at the time.

But namely what I want to talk about is this:

The response I was given, in summary, was something along the lines of "well I think Thor was boring, and he wasn't my cup of tea, so I'm glad he changed."

But, you see, there's just ONE small issue with that: Thor isn't meant for everyone.

In fact, no character is meant for everyone. So why is it that Thor needs to change to be "for everyone" and be the MCU normies' "cup of tea" when no other character has to? Why does he need to lose his core identity (both as a character, as a franchise, you name it, it's been done) just because people like my friend don't understand him as well as Tony Stark or Spider-Man? And why should Thor fans have tow watch their favorite superhero get stripped down and turned into something completely divorced from the character, world and cast we were first involved with from the beginning?

Nobody at any point has been able to answer me that besides "well just because I didn't like Thor personally."

Iron Man won't appeal to everyone. Neither does Captain America, neither does Spider-Man, beloved as even Spidey is. They have their own quirks, their own villains, their own storylines... Every superhero has a core to them that their stories revolve around. He's from DC, but Superman, for instance, has the core of: love, justice and the American Way. Therefore, his stories revolve around challenging that core, and making Superman prove it. Steve Rogers/Captain America has a similar core. Justice, freedom and the American Way, is what I'd mostly boil his core down to. Thor's is "love" all around. I've written about that '(here)' in my post about his 2011 themes. Maybe it's different for other fans, but for me personally? I adore that about Thor. It's one of the many reasons I'm drawn to him over any other marvel Super besides Spider-Man. (not you tom holland ... yes you andrew garfield...)

So when I go to Thor for entertainment, I'm going to him above the other superheros because I want a story that revolves around HIS core and how Thor goes about reckoning with his challenges. I also go to MCU Thor specifically for his quiet, kind, regal nature. I come to him for his gravitas, his passion, his relationships with his cast of companions.

I go to him for high-sci-fi action/adventure, or for the "what if we took norse mythology and made it an alien superhero" route they took him in for the MCU. I go to Thor because he IS different from the rest of the Avengers... and that's the point.

So when someone says to me: "Well Thor wasn't for me so I'm glad he changed", or "Well I really liked Ragnarok because Thor kind of become more in line with the other Avengers"... they're fundamentally missing the point of why Thor has a fanbase at all.

[kogratorm]

Okay, listen.

We are all deeply saddened by the situation lurking over our cubitos, but let me explain why Q!Roier's reaction is understandable and genuine. Despite his hurt caused by Q!Cellbit, I don't believe he truly meant what he said.

From a realistic standpoint, it's completely natural and not at all unreasonable to feel angry if someone from your family (especially someone you're close to) is murdered. EVEN WORSE, BY YOUR GROOM. The situation itself is incredibly absurd and it's completely valid for Q!Roier to feel the way he does as a real person.

We all joked that Q!Roier would be his fiancé’s apologist, but it's valid and real that he didn't. However, when he said "Te odio" (I hate you) in that moment, he did mean it, but not in the way everyone is interpreting it.

He hates that Q!Cellbit initially lied, whether out of fear or not.

He hates the feeling of being betrayed by Q!Cellbit, someone he placed trust in, much like he did with his friends (Q!Spreen, Q!Missa, and even Q!Quackity), as well as Cucurucho.

He hates that the story is being retold.

He hates being the one who's traumatized every time; he has experienced it multiple times, so it's only natural for him to react defensively, saying things without thinking, to protect himself.

I would even dare to say that the presence of Q!Quackity might have triggered memories of the past situation with Q!Spreen, regardless of whether Q!Quackity was actually trying to help them this time.

Does he hate Q!Cellbit?

Perhaps. Right now, he definitely hates him. He told Richarlyson that if he were to send an elegant (vent) mail, he would only say hurtful things. Because he IS in fact hurt, and that IS valid.

However, the real "hate" here is directed towards the pain he is once again enduring.

Q!Roier is so traumatized that he's already accepting Q!Cellbit as just like the others, not wanting to hear anything he has to say. To be fair, it's difficult to listen to someone who has taken the life of someone you cared about.

Unlike the others, Q!Cellbit told the truth and sincerely apologized right away when he found the courage to do so, despite being advised otherwise.

He was afraid, but he still spoke the truth.

He did it because he didn't want their marriage to be built on a lie, not when it was already heading in that direction.

If only Q!Roier knew how abnormal it is for Q!Cellbit to tell the truth and how much he would have preferred to lie his way out of it.

But he didn’t.

Q!Cellbit choose to not hold on that lie. He is fully aware that his actions were unforgivable. He doesn't expect forgiveness from Q!Roier.

bicrysis @ Twitter:

They love each other deeply, they are hurt by the mistakes they made and the damage it brought, but the love is still there. Just because Q!Roier isn't as much of a hopeless romantic as Q!Cellbit doesn't mean his feelings are any less valid. It doesn't mean that he didn't love him and doesn't continue to love him.

It is exactly because of this enduring love that the hurt runs so deep.

The depth of their love intensifies the impact of the current circumstances, making it all the more heart-wrenching. The realization that someone Q!Roier cared for, someone he entrusted with his heart after everything he went through, could commit such a grievous act... It cuts deeply into Q!Roier's soul.

But, the same love that hurts so much, might guide them through the turmoil, offering a chance for forgiveness, understanding, and ultimately, redemption.

In the midst of this tragedy, the strength of their love remains an anchor, a glimmer of hope that refuses to be extinguished. It is a testament to their resilience and the depth of their bond.

And that gives me hope. I can, indeed, see hope in that.

But only after everything that needs to be hurt is hurt.

And everything that needs to be healed, is healed.

[...] Love can be good, it can be bad, it can be hurtful, it can be joyful. Love is a compilation of every feeling a human is going to feel in their life.

[takkapakka]

Cassandra (Tangled) and queercoding

Interacting with the TTS fandom, everyone (including myself honestly) seems to agree that Cass is a lesbian. It’s not canon, because Disney sucks, but the coding is generally viewed to be pretty strong to the point that it’s taken to be canon in every way but on paper. Despite being such a popular view though there was absolutely nothing online that I could find (apart from a deleted tumblr post linked on reddit) that actually specified the exact coding that lead people to think this??? So, I decided that I would myself try to compile some of the reasons that might lead people to view her as a lesbian. This might be complete nonsense, but I am a huge fan of Cass and the show in general, and I just wanted to think a bit deeper about what it is, exactly, about her character that made so many lgbtq+ folks latch onto her as representation within the show. Also on top of already being extremely technologically illiterate this is my first ever post on here so excuse any issues on that part.

First off, just to preface this I think I want to outline my thoughts about coding in general. I think the line can often blur between stereotyping and queercoding, but I think queercoding is different to stereotyping because coding generally happens when someone creating an lgbtq+ character is physically not allowed or unable to say the character is queer. Obviously stereotyping is a pretty major problem within portrayal of marginalised groups in the media, but for gay characters (who are more often that not created by people who are lgbtq+ themselves) it can sometimes be the only way to actually express to your audience that you did intend for the character to be interpreted as gay without outright saying it because, as I said before, this may be something you are just unable to do. Tangled is a Disney property, which is known for being pretty homophobic and overall just majorly limiting gay characters in their media, which means that it must be hard for someone wishing to portray a queer character to do so. Having to lean into stereotypes to express a character as being queer sucks, but I personally think there’s a big difference between using stereotypes on a canonically queer character and one that you can’t actually say is queer. There’s still a loooot of progress to be made with queer representation in the media, but when you cant even outright say that a character is queer, coding is the next best thing because often queer people in the audience will pick up on this and interpret that character as lgbtq+ because they can recognise the intentions and want to believe the creators meant it because there’s so little queer media elsewhere compared to straight media. In addition to this, it can be comforting to think of your favourite character as similar to you in a way that you may have suffered for before.

Now to the actual purpose of writing this. One big thing I see people talking about is the fact that actual story board artists of the show have said they intended Cassandra to be interpreted as a lesbian. This is obviously huge because it leads on to all the other elements of her coding that I’ll discuss because this is coming from someone who actually worked to create the show. I’ve never been apart of a creative team so I don’t know how much actual control a story board artist has on the content of a show, but they still helped make it, so it has to count for something right?? I found a link to a tweet off Cass’ page on the lgbtq+ characters wiki (this is actually REALLY sparse for some reason and it basically just states her sexual orientation to be lesbian without very much evidence to back it up apart from the tweets, which even then seemed to only be one tweet, and her apparent feeling for Rapunzel (double bracket will get onto this later) so honestly this wasn’t as much help as I hoped it would be) which basically stated that Cass was fully intended to be interpreted as queer. Linked here: amboo 👻 on X: "@MegLegbird im glad the gays can recognize how gay cass is like, that's the only job we wanted to be successful" / X . The creator of the show, Chris Sonnenberg, actually joined a Right-Wing news company around  2022 and has been working for their children’s streaming platform which aims to “rival the output of “woke” media companies” which is incredibly sad and might be why the idea of Cass being a lesbian remained just within the artists, because it may be very likely that Sonnenberg himself is homophobic. He was also known to be incredibly salty towards the fan base for Tangled which I can’t comment on because I have zero solid explanation as to why this might be.

In the replies underneath the linked tweet there was some more discussion between the artist and another user. There’s discussions of the female artists agreeing to throw in “sapphic looks” because outright saying she’s gay was impossible, so it’s very clear that any coding was intentional and should be taken as valid. Some people may say that she has not been explicitly said to be a lesbian so saying she is one holds absolutely no validity, but I disagree with this because things in media do not have to be stated outright in the text for it to be taken as true. That’s what literacy analysis is for. Things carry denotations, its literal meaning, but there are also connotations, which is what the writer was trying to convey without explicitly stating it. So, by this reasoning, to say Cass isn’t a lesbian just because it was never stated in the show isn’t completely true, because the subtext is literally overflowing with hints, and subtext is a completely valid thing to talk about and to ignore would be failing in the role of a consumer. Text is meant to be interpreted in different ways, but when you are literally ignoring things the writers have put in on purpose in order to twist a piece of media’s meaning to what you want it to be, it just turns into ignorance. Interpretations of coding is heavily down to a person’s personal experiences and ideas, but it gets to a point where people can just blatantly ignore certain elements of media, and in this case I believe the coding is pretty strong because someone working on the show has actually confirmed that, in at least a portion of the show, Cassandra was fully intended to be understood as being a lesbian.

In terms of how she was actually coded within the show, one episode that springs to mind immediately in particular is the episode where Andrew (my biggest opp) is introduced. This episode is called “Under Raps” but I can’t tell you what episode number it is because I don’t have Disney plus anymore. If you don’t remember what happened basically Cass introduces mr ugly bugly himself to Rapunzel and Eugene as her boyfriend or whatever but it turns out he was trying to manipulate her to be able to steal this ancient book in order to overthrow Corona. In the end, it’s revealed Cass was only pretending to like him because she knew his plan all along and defended the book from him. They have a swordfight and its insane 10/10 no notes there. The reason I think of this as an example of queercoding is because it’s the only instance in the whole show where a male love interest is even referenced surrounding her (apart from Varian having a crush on her but I’m not even gonna mention this apart from now because of course she wouldn’t have any interest in him because he’s a literal child and she’s early to mid-twenties) and the fact that it’s shown she was just putting an act on the whole time makes me think this was intentional to show she would never have romantic relations with a man. Some of this might sound pretty speculative or far-fetched, but I think it’s valid to mention since I’ve already established that it was intentional from some of the creators to have her be interpreted as a lesbian in the first place. Any indication of her being interested in men ends after this episode, which I believe is significant because the concept was introduced for a short time until the reveal of her faking it when it is completely disregarded and never brought up again. I think this may be the creators indicating that attraction to men was never in the cards for her.

Another thing that may be taken (this is getting into the territory of being stereotypical which is why I mentioned it at the beginning) is lesbians in media are often depicted in such a way that they are cold, critical and even aggressive towards male characters. Think Santana Lopez from Glee, Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel, and Villanelle from Killing Eve. I believe this is shown in the way Cass interacts with Eugene, which is in sharp contrast to her much gentler demeanour with Rapunzel. She is extremely quick to bicker with and insult him, and will miss no opportunity to pick a fight with him. From the very first episode, this is shown in the way she repeatedly insists that Rapunzel cannot tell Eugene the true story behind her hair reappearing, due to the fact that Cass doesn’t trust him. She eventually tells him anyway, but Cass isn’t happy about it. Even off the top of my head, there are many, many, more examples of Cass instigating arguments between them, this is just an example of one very plot-relevant occasion of her appearing to dislike him. While it is of course not true in real life that lesbians dislike all men just because they are men, I believe this is used to code Cassandra because it is used directly to emphasise her softer, sweeter attitude towards Rapunzel, along with the fact that the “man hating lesbian” is already a common trope used to depict lesbians. Stereotypes are not a good thing, but they are often a device used by writers to indicate a character as possessing specific traits or mannerisms. In this case it’s used to convey a characters’ sexuality when you are unable to say it outright.

Furthering from Eugene being used to contrast Rapunzel in relation to Cassandra, another massive thing that signals Cass as a lesbian in my opinion is the way she interacts with Rapunzel. Some of the screenshots of Cass looking at her are extremely and undeniably fruity, and if I was more technologically competent I might be able to insert some of them here, but her expressions are often filled with longing and admiration. This can be directly attributed to the story boarders, which was mentioned prior in replies to the tweet. I know that Rapunzel had just eaten incredibly spicy fruit, but I refuse to believe that Cassandra flirtily tucking her hair behind her ear while Rapunzel was bright red and choking on her breath wasn’t intended to be at least a little bit gay.

In addition to all the fruity looks that Cass gives Rapunzel like I just mentioned, there is a whole episode where Rapunzel loses her memory, and guess who is in Eugene (her canon love interest)’s place? Cassandra! Whether this was intentional or just because Cass was the closest one there is, I suppose, up to you, but a great many scenes in that episode directly mirror those in the movie, including Cass gazing lovingly at Rapunzel while she uses her hair to swing around a tree for the first time. In my humble opinion, this is extremely gay. I don’t personally think this is a coincidence, but even if it was, it still contributes to my belief that Cass is a lesbian.

The actual ship of Cassandra x Rapunzel is something I don’t personally enjoy, mainly because I love Raps and Eugene too much to even consider thinking about them with anyone else, but I do believe that Cass was in love with Rapunzel, who just viewed her as a best friend. This is due to the aforementioned evidence of the abundance of examples of fondness she displays towards her, and also the fact that this is used in very obvious contrast to how she interacts with Eugene. I think this contrast was either on purpose or enhanced by people on the team who intended for Cassandra to be interpreted as a lesbian, because it is VERY obvious how different she is with Rapunzel and Eugene. She is also very close with Rapunzel in general, showing her to be the only person she accepts hugs from, and also spending a lot of time with her and clearly caring for her greatly. I know some people dislike this ship because they interpret their relationship as sisterly, but I don’t personally view it as such because Gothel was extremely abusive towards Rapunzel and was barely in Cass’ life at all so I don’t think they have relation on that front, as well as the fact that the way their relationship began doesn’t, in my opinion, lead naturally into a view of each other as being similar to siblings. The dynamic between them is more best friends I think.

I’m not an expert on coding in fiction by any means to it’s very possible I may have gotten things wrong within this, but from evidence from the show mentioned within I think it is fair to say that this is at least a little bit indicative of some of the reasons why so many people so strongly believe Cass to be a lesbian. As I mentioned before, it’s a very nice feeling to see elements of yourself that you may have suffered for before represented within characters you love, which is why I believe people are so enthusiastic about Cass’ sexuality, not to mention the fact that it has been confirmed to be intentional by actual creators within the show. Queer characters, especially in children’s media, are so few and far between that it can be really lovely to see even a little bit of yourself depicted in a character you really like in a show you really enjoy. All in all, I know characters’ sexualities can be a very heavily debated topic within fandom spaces, but the idea of Cass being a lesbian seems to be pretty unanimous so the purpose of writing this was just to put into words exactly why I think this is such a widely held belief. There are no rules around how you choose to interact with characters within fandoms, and everything is up to complete personal interpretation, so just have fun and remember to be respectful of others who may have different opinions to you!!

[yuu-kumeii]

"What do you think you'll get for White day, [Y/N]?"

"Oh, probably a box of chocolates or something heart themed"

You don't actually know and for good reason too. For as long as you've been married, you can never exactly pin down your husband's train of thought when it comes to his love language. Love language being the term that he uses to justify the ungodly amount of things he buys you on any available occasion. It's not wrong call it his love language but you think there would be a word to describe the sheer amount of excuses he has compiled in that mind of his for every gift he brings home for you.

Unfortunately, as much as you want to use the word spoil to describe it. No word can encapsulate the excuses ~and~ the frequency of these presents. They're like objects that suddenly appear in your house like they've been there this whole time, but you know they haven't. Everytime one appears, you ask your husband and get the confirmation that "Yes, they are for you and no I will not take no for answer" before the culprit skips off to work like he didn't just buy you completely cute but unnecessary.

So that's why you can earnestly say you don't actually know. Because White day day? You know, the holiday where it's customary to give something back to the one you love? The one holiday that reciprocates care for the bond you have with another, that White Day? Trying to guess would be like trying to guess how you die, other than the most obvious option, you can't just guess and know whether or not you're right. But now that you think about it, maybe this Valentine's day will be the one where you get a nice, regular sized box of chocolates and maybe even a bouquet of your favourite flowers. Though you hope that this time, he'll let the store clerk help him with arranging it. Whatever you're getting on this Valentine's day might be completely ordinary and similar to the ones your coworkers get from their significant others....

Oh who are you kidding? It's probably going to be extra.

But you have no time to think about that because it's right back to work after all the Valentine's talk around the office. Well at least you try to ignore it but with the obvious flower decor and suprise partners visiting to see their significant other hard at work, it's hard not to let your mind spiral once again to dwell on just what your unpredictable husband might get you. Yet you persist in your work and tune out everything around you for the time being. Hopefully until the end of your shift which may or may not be earlier than usual given the chipper yet intimidatingly efficient work ethic of your coworkers today. If only they were like this every other day.... Oh well, you'll take what you can get.

The workload vanished as fast as it came, everyone was ready to pack up and leave to celebrate what was left of Valentine's day with their partners. Some already left once they've finished their share while the rest opted to stay for a bit of chit chat, more discussion on what their partners would get them and all the more reason you feel lost in your answer to the various questions thrown your way. It's no secret to anyone that your husband would sell his kidney if it meant getting you something special, the thought came up so frequently that it became a running joke at your expense. Not that you really minded since the jokes were more than true to reality itself, you can't count the amount of times your husband burst in your office in a panic just because you accidentally left your lunch at home. He'd pout while telling you to be more careful as if he hasn't left his fair share of packed lunches, though you do think he might be doing it on purpose just to see and brag about you to his friends.

You've really been drifting in your thoughts the whole work day because the second you take in your surroundings, there were only a handful of people left. Gone were the endless conversations and the bright office light, replaced with a sunset glow signalling for your departure. Absentmindedly bidding the rest goodbye, you walk into the elevator and descend. Alone with your thoughts once more but not for long, as the doors open to reveal an empty reception desk. Man, you really have lost track of time. The sun starts to bid its farewell yet it doesn't stop the sound of people getting pulled into pastry shops for a last minute White day gift. Well it might not be last minute but it does look like it considering the greatly reduced amounts of people. You remember just how crowded the shopping mall was, partners and students alike rushing to find something for their significant other. How funny it reminded you of yourself in high school, who would've thought the amount of stress it took just to find the perfect Valentine's Day chocolates for your then school crush. The same crush who ended up spoiling you for White Day, telling you to wait for his graduation because White Day wasn't the only day he wanted to spoil you. Such a cheesy line, how did you ever see him as anything but a dork? You know the answer to that yet remembering it would be too embarrassing.

In the midst of all your reminiscing, you didn't realize you were already home until you almost tripped on the first step. But not to worry, you've done that at least 2 times eversince you both moved in so you're probably almost immune to the pain.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

With nothing else to stall with, you finally make your way inside the desolate house. The lights still off and nothing out of place, just how you left it this morning. To be honest, you feel like it looks a bit sad. But that's probably because it's White Day and your husband is probably just on his way home now, the empty house makes you feel like a single woman but not to worry because that will change at one point of the evening. In the meantime, you settled for a shower to get your mind off the White Day everything. Even though your house has nothing even relating to it, the anticipation of your husband showing up to finally answer the question that's been nagging at the back of your head is killing you. Once changed, you make your way to the kitchen to get yourself something to eat while waiting for—

Knock

Knock

Knock

Oh no.

He's here.... and doesn't choose to just walk inside? He wants you to open the door for him and what? See for yourself what he has planned? Does he want you to open the door to surprise you? To tackle you inside? What if he doesn't have a gift and he just gives you a hug? Nothing wrong with that but all that stress for a hug? Well, it might not be but what if—

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

Oh right he's still there, still waiting for you to open the door. Well, here goes nothing—

"Welcome ho— eh—"

This was not what you were expecting, this was far from it actually. You knew your husband wouldn't dare forget something like White Day but neither did you think his surprise would be this well surprising. Now you don't actually know what this is supposed to be but what you can say is that it's a lot, very overwhelming because if it weren't for the doorframe you're sure it would tower over you no matter what height you are. The thing that surprised you the most was the fluffy teddy bear face that greeted you instead of your husband, the teddy bear had a good enough face but you'd rather kiss the love of your life than the ominous blank face of a stuffed bear that clearly is one size too large for your door. Not only the bear, but there was an ocean of red, pink, and white around it. Bouquets themed after one color each and chocolates of different shapes and flavors with their boxes to match, there were boxes of what you assume are pastries from the shopping district coupled with enough cards to last till your 25th anniversary yet even all that probably doesn't scrape the surface of this White Day gift supreme package or whatever it is. But behind it all was the sheepish expression of your husband who politely asks to be let inside so none of what he's carrying would bury you, as someone who values their life you step aside to let him in. Though you should've seen it coming, nothing could prepare you for the look of absolute disarray once your husband found out he couldn't just waltz in and have the gifts phase through the wall. He looks so confused now that he has to actually think of how he's going to get him and the pile inside the house, you can see it behind his eyes. The desolate mind behind it too tired to find an answer, to the point he felt the need to look at you with a helpless face just begging you to help him.

And being the helpful lover you are, you laugh at his dismay before giving him an amused expression. It isn't until he starts pouting outside in the night breeze unwilling to step inside until the pile gets in first that you roll your eyes playfully before telling him to put the pile down so you both can take it in more manageable bundles. Your husband puts the pile down and watches as you take the top of his haul into your hands to place it on your kitchen counter, still watching as you go back to get more. It's ok though, because you can see the gears turning in his head for a second which finally prompts him to start mirroring your actions. Not long after, the mass is successfully moved inside. Now that you have a proper look at it, most of these things look like they've been kept in good condition. Not that you think the quality would be in shambles but you expected at least a little bit of wear and tear considering the time it took for these to get here, assuming he bought them during the prime time for White Day sales that is.

Oh how wrong you are, but you'll find that out soon. Right when your thoughts start to spiral, your husband walks downstairs clean and ready to explain himself. Well maybe you'll be the one to make him but that's besides the point.

"Ok... Care to explain why this pile of chocolates, flowers and cards is about three times your size?" The calm smoothness of your voice cannot mask the entirety of your awe but it's enough to have your husband stop in his place like a deer caught in headlights, you're not even looking at him at this point. Turned towards the pile of chocolate that definitely should be in the fridge by now and yet not making a move to do so. A moment of silence ensues before your husband answers.

"They said that if I got you all this it'll make you love me more..."

Huh.

"Wait, who are 'they'?"

"The people at the shopping district, I didn't have time to get you a gift in the morning so I went there on the way home and then the people there came up to me saying how they have 'the perfect White Day surprise for your partner' and about how you'd expect something big from me today.... So I bought everything they recommended...."

This guy. This pure, dumb, cute, whatever thing you can call him—! You can't believe he got ganged up like that! How dare those shopkeepers take advantage of your poor defenseless husband on White Day! You can imagine the smirks on those guys, probably proud of themselves about the last minute sale they managed to get. All because your husband was manipulated into thinking you'd love him any less if he came home empty handed, the audacity of some people! You'll give them a piece of your mind when you get the chance—

"Are you mad?"

You must've let it show on your face that you're planning to probably beat up some poor store clerk right after White Day, but it's fine because he will never know the thoughts behind the face. And honestly, you aren't mad. Far from it actually, you feel so loved. Because what kind of person would willingly follow the suggestions of multiple shopkeepers from different shops on gifts for their wife? Well, your husband unsurprisingly but it's in the name of love so everything should be fine. Though you will make sure to tell him that just one White Day package is enough of a surprise already, not to mention the fact that you might have to share the chocolates with friends and family if you don't want them to be wasted.

"No of course not, c'mere... "

With light footsteps you stop right in front of him, gazing into his eyes with a loving look. You smile and take his face into your hands, his breath hitches at the distance between you. Funny how you do this on almost every 'special occasion' and yet he still acts as if it's the first time you've done anything this intimate. Besides that, you continue to close the distance before giving him a kiss. One that prompts him to put his hands on your hips out of reflex to pull you closer, a light hue spread across his face making him look extra cute. But before he could reciprocate, you pull away causing him to chase your lips. A giggle was pulled from you at the sight of your big strong husband all pouty and flush, looking at you with eyes that screamed for you to continue kissing him. Unfortunately for him, it seems you have other plans because not only did you pull away from the kiss, you pulled yourself away from him entirely. Your husband looks so lost, even more so when you turn away from him to pick up a box of chocolates. Opening it and popping one into your mouth before looking back at him innocently.

"What? We have all this chocolate now, can't let it go to waste"

Your smile dropping into an amused grin as you kept eating the chocolates, leaving your husband to once again take a few seconds to process what you just said. Finally gathering his bearings, your husband huffs at you. Pout still present yet his demeanor now turned playful, you know what he's going to do.

"Why you—! Get over here and gimme that kiss!"

This was better than what you could ever expect.

ATSUMU <3333, BOKUTO <333, HINATA, Kita, Osamu, LEV <33, Kageyama, Oikawa (probably so proud of himself), Kuroo (Definitely proud too), Iwaizumi, All hq boys probably did this at some point let's be real

[hindahoney]

Hey, I hope you have a nice day :)

I am considering converting but I'll take some more time to overthink that. What do you think are some, or many, questions I should ask myself, before deciding?

I saw some people recommend to just go to a rabbi, even if you are not 100% sure, but since there are very little jewish people in my country, and only a handful of conversions a year, I assume it'll be something new for a rabbi too and I don't want to bother anyone.

So, I think this is a good time to address this. This is absolutely not because of this specific anon, but it's something that I get sent asks about on a daily basis.

I am no longer going to be answering questions about conversions. I will answer any other questions or concerns about Judaism, but I'm not giving advice about converting anymore. There's a few reasons for this. Namely because it's too close to proselytizing for me. Even though anons are coming to me to ask questions, I never want to come off like I am advocating for or influencing people to become Jewish.

I have answered the same questions multiple times, and still to this day get the same ones. I tag all of my stuff, so if someone really wanted to know something about conversions they should do the work to just search through my blog for what I have already said. It's not just me, either. Essentially any Jewish blogger has, at one point, had gentiles sending them questions about conversion unprompted. I strongly believe that if you really wanted to learn about Judaism, that if you were sincere and serious about converting, you should at least read up a little online before going to ask basic questions to random Jews online. Not every Jewish person is comfortable with this, not every Jewish person should be expected to be the spokesperson for the tribe.

Every question about conversion can be answered with "Ask your Rabbi." If you have too much anxiety or other obstacles in your way that prevent you from speaking to a Rabbi, you cannot convert, and that's your answer.

By no means does this mean that I don't like or appreciate converts. I've made a lot of posts in support and admiration for those who have completed the process. But at this point almost all of the asks I get are from people asking me basic questions about conversion that 1. I have answered multiple times, and 2. That would take a quick Google search to find the answer for. If you're not willing to put in the work for a Google search, or for a search through my or other bloggers tags about conversion, you do not have the drive to get through the conversion process. Which is fine, it isn't meant for everyone! But expecting a random Jew online to do the legwork for you isn't fair. I've taken many hours (weeks, if you include reading through all of them) compiling sources of books, podcasts, websites, etc all dedicated to learning about Judaism and have posted links to all of them. There are a million books out there for really any question you might have, even free articles from places like Chabad, Sefaria, or myjewishlearning.

If you have specific questions, other than just "advice about converting?" I will gladly answer those, but I will no longer be answering question about conversion resources, how to convert, should I convert, etc.

[moose-mousse]

So I made an app for PROTO. Written in Kotlin and runs on Android.

Next, I want to upgrade it with a controller mode. It should work so so I simply plug a wired xbox controller into my phone with a USB OTG adaptor… and bam, the phone does all the complex wireless communication and is a battery. Meaning that besides the controller, you only need the app and… any phone. Which anyone is rather likely to have Done.

Now THAT is convenient!

( Warning, the rest of the post turned into... a few rants. ) Why Android? Well I dislike Android less than IOS

So it is it better to be crawling in front of the alter of "We are making the apocalypse happen" Google than "5 Chinese child workers died while you read this" Apple?

Not much…

I really should which over to a better open source Linux distribution… But I do not have the willpower to research which one... So on Android I stay.

Kotlin is meant to be "Java, but better/more modern/More functional programming style" (Everyone realized a few years back that the 100% Object oriented programming paradigme is stupid as hell. And we already knew that about the functional programming paradigme. The best is a mix of everything, each used when it is the best option.) And for the most part, it succeeds. Java/Kotlin compiles its code down to "bytecode", which is essentially assembler but for the Java virtual machine. The virtual machine then runs the program. Like how javascript have the browser run it instead of compiling it to the specific machine your want it to run on… It makes them easy to port…

Except in the case of Kotlin on Android... there is not a snowflakes chance in hell that you can take your entire codebase and just run it on another linux distribution, Windows or IOS…

So... you do it for the performance right? The upside of compiling directly to the machine is that it does not waste power on middle management layers… This is why C and C++ are so fast!

Except… Android is… Clunky… It relies on design ideas that require EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM AND APP ON YOUR PHONE to behave nicely (Lots of "This system only works if every single app uses it sparingly and do not screw each-other over" paradigms .). And many distributions from Motorola like mine for example comes with software YOUR ARE NOT ALLOWED TO UNINSTALL... meaning that software on your phone is ALWAYS behaving badly. Because not a single person actually owns an Android phone. You own a brick of electronics that is worthless without its OS, and google does not sell that to you or even gift it to you. You are renting it for free, forever. Same with Motorola which added a few extra modifications onto Googles Android and then gave it to me.

That way, google does not have to give any rights to its costumers. So I cannot completely control what my phone does. Because it is not my phone. It is Googles phone.

That I am allowed to use. By the good graces of our corporate god emperors

"Moose stares blankly into space trying to stop being permanently angry at hoe everyone is choosing to run the world"

… Ok that turned dark… Anywho. TLDR There is a better option for 95% of apps (Which is "A GUI that interfaces with a database") "Just write a single HTML document with internal CSS and Javascript" Usually simpler, MUCH easier and smaller… And now your app works on any computer with a browser. Meaning all of them…

I made a GUI for my parents recently that works exactly like that. Soo this post:

It was frankly a mistake of me to learn Kotlin… Even more so since It is a… awful language… Clearly good ideas then ruined by marketing department people yelling "SUPPORT EVERYTHING! AND USE ALL THE BUZZWORD TECHNOLOGY! Like… If your language FORCES you to use exceptions for normal runtime behavior "Stares at CancellationException"... dear god that is horrible...

Made EVEN WORSE by being a really complicated way to re-invent the GOTO expression… You know... The thing every programmer is taught will eat your feet if you ever think about using it because it is SO dangerous, and SO bad form to use it? Yeah. It is that, hidden is a COMPLEATLY WRONG WAY to use exceptions…

goodie… I swear to Christ, every page or two of my Kotlin notes have me ranting how I learned how something works, and that it is terrible... Blaaa. But anyway now that I know it, I try to keep it fresh in my mind and use it from time to time. Might as well. It IS possible to run certain things more effective than a web page, and you can work much more directly with the file system. It is... hard-ish to get a webpage to "load" a file automatically... But believe me, it is good that this is the case.

Anywho. How does the app work and what is the next version going to do?

PROTO is meant to be a platform I test OTHER systems on, so he is optimized for simplicity. So how you control him is sending a HTTP 1.1 message of type Text/Plain… (This is a VERY fancy sounding way of saying "A string" in network speak). The string is 6 comma separated numbers. Linear movement XYZ and angular movement XYZ.

The app is simply 5 buttons that each sends a HTTP PUT request with fixed values. Specifically 0.5/-0.5 meter/second linear (Drive back or forward) 0.2/-0.2 radians/second angular (Turn right or turn left) Or all 0 for stop

(Yes, I just formatted normal text as code to make it more readable... I think I might be more infected by programming so much than I thought...)

Aaaaaanywho. That must be enough ranting. Time to make the app

[ryemackerel]

HALLO i was wondering how you get out of art block?? your art is very expressive and i absolutely adore all your colour choices and designs. ive been having trouble with art block for a very long time now so i’m just trying to ask other artists how they get outta it <3 i hope u have a niceday yesyes

OUGHH HELLO!!! holy crap, art block is the WORST. everytime i encounter it, its always hard to beat it D: theres days where i feel like i WANT to draw something so badly but my brain just. cant function

i dont have a definitive solution for art block, but whenever i do, i have a few ways to cope with it. sometimes they work, sometimes they dont? but whenever the time comes and im just sitting at a brick wall, i got some survival tips

1. come up with random silly ideas,, it could be anything: random words, phrases, scenarios. they can be as nonsensical as you want them to be. during art blocks, my mind is completely dry with ideas, so i always try to compile a list of ideas from the past so i can come back to them later on. i try to come up with random duos or something as simple as “mcdonalds date”. i might not work on these now, but maybe some random lil word can spark that creativity in me

heres my art ideas list… i have some ideas that are like 8 months old in there BGAHSGA, but i save em there till i feel like working on them

2. STRUGGLE DOODLES!! i like to make a bunch of doodles of random scenes that i think about in my head. doodle practically anything. your favorite person, favorite animal, something you see outside your window, frogs?

heres a few of mine. most of the time, i NEVER get to finishing them. however, during art blocks sometimes i like to go back to really old, incomplete guidelines and add some new, random addition to it. sometimes i forget what my sketches were exactly meant to be? and i guess thats the fun about interpreting stuff and giving things a new spin to them. during art blocks, i HATE trying to come up with new drawings from a blank canvas (since i dont even have any ideas to begin with). but working on old wips, or completely revising them? sometimes these can be super fun :]

[and bonus tip!! and this is like, a golden tip that everyone loves: going back to super old drawings and redrawing them!! its my favorite. i absolutely love seeing the improvement ive made over the years. its also pretty easy to work with since you dont have to stress about coming up with completely new ideas from a blank slate! GAHH i should do that more often.]

3. search up your favorite fanart, go on pinterest, anything. i love this one.

search up some really cool photos of outfits, aesthetic backgrounds?? i find myself searching up a lot of fanart of fandoms im in, any word with “aesthetic” at the end, casino aesthetic, anything! pinterest has always been my go-to platform to find ideas. i go on the app and not even a second in, im blown with all of this cool art n character designs. i have a problem saving almost everything i find into my boards, but at least i saved a chock-full of ideas i can work with. :)

a thing about me: ive never been the type to try and force my art block out. whenever im facing a block, its extremely difficult for me to come up with things on my own. sometimes i let it wait for a while, but that tends to take a REALLY long time. D: if i dont feel like drawing, or doodling, or really doing anything? i always like scrolling through really pretty photos. that tends to spark a small idea in me i can work with, and sometimes i manage to get out of art block from there. it starts out small, then over time it gets even better.

these photos especially gave me WAY more motivation than i ever had to draw wilbur during an art block moment. i started off making small random doodles of him in a neon city and over time it kinda turned into a fixation for neon cities. i LOVE imagining characters in random photos i find on pinterest.

wishing you the bestest in your art journey!! this crap’s tough but i know you can break it yo. thank you so much for the ask!

feel free to reblog and add your own ideas below :] i was only able to come up with a few, but if youd like to add on, go right ahead! /noforce

[indigo-scarf]

🎀Pansy, My Beloved Mean Girl🎀

Although her goth-grunge haircut in the PoA film turned fanon!Pansy into an edgy badass, book!Pansy is a caricature of the girly mean girl.

Pansy bursts “[into] tears” over Draco's hippogriff injury, and later “simpers” at him; she wears “very frilly robes of pale pink” to the Yule Ball; she “shrieks” and “giggles” at cruel jokes; she spreads gossip about the Golden Trio's love life.

However, what sets Pansy Parkinson apart from the more celebrated mean girls is that Pansy is completely one-dimensional. While others — Kate Sanders, Sharpay Evans, Regina George, Blair Waldorf — are allowed to be charismatic, attractive, powerful, vulnerable, Pansy is only presented as annoying, “pug-faced” (i.e. an ugly bitch), and “thicker than a concussed troll”.

While other works examine the motives and the secret pains of the mean girl — distant families, insecurities, lack of true friends, pent-up rage — Pansy is simply mean, because she is. You’re not meant to see her as a human being at all; Pansy is an effigy to be burnt.

In the words of JKR herself:

I loathe Pansy Parkinson. [...] She's every girl who ever teased me at school. She's the Anti-Hermione. I loathe her.

So, if Pansy Parkinson is so unlikeable, why do I like her?

🎀 First, because she is girly.

The construction and treatment of Pansy’s character fits what’s termed “demonisation of hyperfemininity”: a trend in media to associate girly girls with villainy, spite, and everything not nice, often in opposition to a virtuous Not Like Other Girls girl (such as Hermione).

If this concept has been used (rightfully, imo) to discuss the mean girls I described above as multi-faceted, then Pansy’s lack of nuance hyperdemonises hyperfemininity. Even her name itself is an insult used to deprecate femininity.

Once you’re aware of this trope, though, it’s not difficult to separate the hyperfeminine wheat from the demonic chaff. There is no doubt that Pansy has condemnable traits, but must every trait of hers be condemned? Is it shameful to pursue your crush, giggle, and like pink frills? Of course not.

For years I thought it was, but now, in the era of bimbocore and barbiecore, I am finally overcoming that internalised prejudice and reviving the girly part of me I had repressed. Now, I really enjoy exploring the positive side of Pansy’s girliness: she’s affectionate, bubbly, interested in cute aesthetics (and in my mind she knows all about beauty products). 💋 Second, because she is mean.

At the same time, observing that a part of Pansy is unjustly maligned doesn’t warrant downplaying her flaws. Just as Sharpay is self-obsessed and manipulative, Pansy is a bigot and a bully. But I love that in a fictional character.

I admit her canon taunts are pretty insipid; you can’t make a “Pansy Parkinson being iconic” quote compilation. Nonetheless, I can only see her wanton meanness towards other girls as a sign of insecurity, which I find sympathetic and relatable — even if JKR refuses to give Pansy any humanity, I simply do not believe that she is the way she is for no reason.

I think Pansy has the need to put others down so much because she doesn’t know how else to feel good about herself — the insipidness of her bullying actually makes her seem even more like someone who lashes out out of desperation for assurance, even if she herself may be in denial about that.

Pansy was probably taught, both by our patriarchal society and by her own individual upbringing, that she had impossible standards to conform to and that other girls were her competitors. 

Indeed, many of Pansy’s insults focus on the appearance of her female peers — beauty standards being the most obvious tool of the system to make women hate themselves and each other.

On top of that, I imagine Pansy’s mother must be overly critical of her and of everyone else too, instilling in Pansy a lack of self-confidence and modelling viciousness as acceptable behaviour — things Mrs. Parkinson herself must have learnt from her own trajectory under patriarchy.

It’s the tragic old cycle of hurt women hurting women, which so many of us end up being part of in one way or another.

Plus, in general, I relate strongly to any character who is an insecure little bastard. I admit it: I have a fragile self-esteem and I’ve always struggled with envy and urges to seek validation in toxic ways. Although I've got a lot better at dealing with these feelings, I love to see a character who makes me feel less alone in my issues.

Lastly, Pansy’s meanness is just fun to write. I find it a fun exercise to come up with the most egregious things for someone to say or do in (fan)fiction. 🌸 Third, because JKR hates her too much.

There are many criticisms Pansy undeniably deserves, but JKR goes beyond those, which makes me feel compassion for the girl.

Exhibit A:

On her old website, JKR once made a post called “For Girls Only, Probably,” which discusses incidents that made her reflect on “being thin”, or “the issue of size and women”.

Besides the hypocrisy of her writing that without addressing the rampant fatphobia in the Harry Potter books, the post itself is full of misogynistic clichés and, once again, demonisation of hyperfemininity.

In the first paragraphs, after assuming (yikes) that a girl on a magazine has an eating disorder and body-shaming her (“her concave stomach, protruding ribs and stick-like arms”), JKR concludes:

This girl needs help, but, the world being what it is, they're sticking her on magazine covers instead.

If you squint, there could be a salvageable point there about toxic beauty standards being pushed by the media, but by the end of the article that is lost in victim-blaming and derision:

[Pink’s] latest single, ‘Stupid Girls’, is the antidote-anthem for everything I had been thinking about women and thinness. ‘Stupid Girls’ satirises the talking toothpicks held up to girls as role models: those celebrities whose greatest achievement is un-chipped nail polish, whose only aspiration seems to be getting photographed in a different outfit nine times a day, whose only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs.

[...] I don't want [my daughters] to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.

Excessive preoccupation with weight is a ubiquitous feature of a fair few 2000s mean girls — Regina and Blair, of course — but the character JKR’s rhetoric most reminds me of is Shelby Cummings from A Cinderella Story. You know, the one who asks, “What can I get here that has no sugar, no carbs, and is fat free?”

That film puts a lot of emphasis on food as a marker of a woman's morality: while Hilary Duff's Sam is a good-natured, booksmart tomboy who loves greasy cheeseburgers, Shelby is portrayed as a vapid, spiteful girly girl obsessed with dieting.

Hyperfemininity, shallowness, cruelty, and weight concern are all framed as parts of the same contemptible character flaw. Liking beauty and fashion equals being dumb and bitchy; body image issues are an individual moral defect, not a response to hurtful social pressures.

That is exactly the same unfair treatment JKR’s post gives both Pansy and real life “Stupid Girls”, which drives me to side with Pansy. In fact, because of this blog post, I've started headcanoning Pansy as not only being insecure about her appearance, but also struggling specifically with her weight and with disordered eating/an eating disorder — one more element that increases her relatability.

Exhibit B:

The quote cited earlier is from an interview where JKR was asked who Draco had married, and if it had been Pansy. Her full answer:

No! God, it wasn't Pansy Parkinson. I loathe Pansy Parkinson. I don't love Draco but I really dislike her. She's every girl who ever teased me at school. She's the Anti-Hermione. I loathe her. Yeah, sorry! Sidetracked there by my latent bitterness. He married Astoria Greengrass.

Essentially, marrying Pansy is a punishment too harsh even for Draco, because while he is bad, she is worse — but how is Pansy worse than Draco?

As school bullies, they often act together, but Draco’s insults are arguably harsher: Pansy targets appearance and we never see her say “Mudblood”. Draco often mocks Harry’s orphan status and grief, plus uses the word “Mudblood” 15 times (I counted lol). They both abuse their power as prefects, both join the Inquisitorial Squad and try to take down the D.A.

In the war, Pansy clamours for Harry to be handed to Voldemort. Draco enthusiastically becomes a Death Eater, attempts murder twice (necklace, mead), lets Death Eaters and a feral werewolf into Hogwarts, and actually tries to capture Harry to hand him to Voldemort (right before the Fiendfyre).

Not to mention, Pansy is the one always treating Draco like a king and being used or led on — which she puts up with for years. He accepts her affection when it suits him and never reciprocates, yet she remains loyal to him.

If anything, Pansy is too good for Draco. If anything, instead of being sentenced to “not getting the guy”, Pansy should dump Draco.

(Though to me they are both problematic faves & I ship them fixing their relationship <3)

But no, the bad girly girl must remain irredeemable and be punished for it, while the more charismatic bad guy is allowed depth, self-improvement, and happiness.

JKR’s personal trauma with Pansy-like classmates might be a factor in her bias, but the way this bias affects her writing still results in choices that come across as illogical and sexist. 💗 Fourth, because she is a scorned woman.

That said, Pansy’s chasing an emotionally unavailable boy is relatable, and makes for a kind of story I’m interested in (and also contributes to why I believe she has self-esteem issues). However, I have mixed feelings about its canonical ending: on one hand, it’s infuriating; on the other, it’s an effectively moving tragedy.

I don’t like love triangles between a shining Refined Woman and an utterly contemptible Obnoxious Woman, and I tend to root for the latter. I don’t see myself in the glass slippers of the victor; I get horrified at the nightmare of being labelled a despicable failure and being replaced by some perfect, virtuous, better woman.

In Pansy’s specific case, it’s doubly frustrating, because there is some unrecognised good (or at least neutral) in her, and she is flawed in precisely the ways I connect with. Meanwhile, Astoria is much harder for me to like, since her main trait and sole reason to exist is “being better than Pansy” — as per the interview above, JKR was the first to define Drastoria by Pansy bashing.

Astoria is barely a character; she’s a mere tool in Pansy’s punishment and Draco’s redemption, which is doing Astoria dirty, too. Astoria and Pansy are both scenery in Draco's journey — and it’s a bit rich that Pansy is the Corruption-upon-Styx from which he must distance himself, given that his offences are greater than hers.

Another facet of Pansy’s punishment is that she couldn’t marry Draco because she shouldn’t be a mother.

Exaltation of motherhood is a huge theme in Harry Potter: the motherly love of Lily, Molly, and even Narcissa is a great force against evil. Plus, nearly all Light Side women either are (or become) mothers, or have a caretaking role as school teachers.

Being childfree, on the flipside, is stigmatised by its association with the worst female antagonists: Rita Skeeter and Umbridge, who are also hyperfeminine, and Bellatrix — the latter directly defeated by Molly's love for her daughter. The only exception is Petunia, yet another hyperfeminine antagonist, who represents a perversion of motherhood.

So, in this reactionary framework, of course Pansy was forbidden to have children. Childlessness is her burden for being an irredeemably bad woman, which in turn reinforces how bad a woman she is. Inversely, Astoria gets to be a mother because she is a good woman, and motherhood makes her even better (than Pansy).

Paradoxically, though, as much as I hate JKR’s approach to this whole thing, I’m glad my OTP Dransy isn’t canon endgame, because Pansy’s thoroughly whumped figure is even more compelling for it.

I can’t blame anyone if, even considering all this, Pansy is still not their cup of tea — after all, she was created to be as unpalatable as possible. But despite JKR’s efforts to convince me to hate the character, everything about Pansy Parkinson ends up making her very much my cup of pink strawberry hot chocolate.

[schraubd]

Is the Supreme Court Lying When It Purports To Place Limits on its Extreme Rulings? Third Circuit: Obviously, Yes

Today, the Third Circuit sitting en banc in Range v. Attorney General invalidated federal prohibitions on possession of firearms by convicted felons, at least in cases of non-violent offenders (Range had been convicted of food stamp fraud), but potentially in many other circumstances as well (via). This creates a circuit split with the Eighth Circuit's opinion last week in United States v. Jackson that I discussed here. 

The issue of felon disarmament under Bruen is interesting. At one level, it's always possible that any gun regulation might fall prey to Bruen's rigid history-or-bust methodology for determining constitutionality under the Second Amendment (though much here depends on necessarily subjective judgment regarding what counts as a proper historical analogy). But at another level, the felon prohibitions are distinct because Bruen (along with the other members of the Roberts trilogy on guns -- Heller and McDonald) were emphatic that these prohibitions should not be questioned under the Court's rulings. As Heller said: "The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons." This was reiterated in McDonald, and confirmed again in Justice Kavanaugh's Bruen concurrence.

How does the Third Circuit get around this seemingly very explicit language? By suggesting the Court cannot be trusted to mean what it says. 

The court in an opinion by Judge Hardiman analogized adhering to the Supreme Court's express declaration that these laws remained constitutional to how the Court talked about the application of means-end scrutiny in Heller. Heller suggested that the law in question in that case would be unconstitutional “[u]nder any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights.” Lower courts, Judge Hardiman continued, universally "overread that passing comment to require a two-step approach in Second Amendment cases, utilizing means-end scrutiny at the second step," an approach the Supreme Court ended up disavowing in Bruen. And so the Third Circuit says, in essence, it won't make the same mistake twice: it must be "careful not to overread" the language suggesting felon disarmament laws remain constitutional "as we and other circuits did with Heller’s statement that the District of Columbia firearm law would fail under any form of scrutiny."

In other words, the basic question is: can we trust the Supreme Court when it says, expressly, "our decisions should not be read to mean felon disarmament laws are unconstitutional"? Or was that a promise the Supreme Court never meant to keep? In fairness to the Third Circuit, given the choice between predicting (a) the Supreme Court will abide by its own expressly-stated doctrinal limits or (b) the Supreme Court will completely ignore its own promises the instant they seem to sanction gun control limits the Court dislikes, I'm hard-pressed to say that option b isn't the safer bet. But there is something discomforting about lower courts openly acknowledging that the best way to interpret the Supreme Court's Second Amendment jurisprudence is to assume that any limits the high court purported to place on Bruen's sweeping protections for guns everywhere-for-everyone-at-any-time are probably just lies.

As a sidenote, I'll also just say that I literally finished compiling my Con Law II course materials on the post-Bruen Second Amendment last night, and immediately had to revise them again to account for the Range decision. Again, spare a thought for the underappreciated constitutional law professor, the forgotten victims of the churn and chaos the Supreme Court has unleashed in our constitutional jurisprudence.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/JNaKwdE

[dearweirdme]

March 28th at 12:13AM KST: JM🌟: "I miss you 😊"

March 28th at 03:42AM KST: JK replied: "Me too"

As the whole fandom was debating whether his reply meant "I miss army too", or "I miss you (JM) too", JK goes live 11 minutes later at 03:53AM KST, live titled: "수취타 (SuChwita)" where he says he came to watch Jimin's SuChwita episode and then he watches SMF2 MV, SMF2 dance practice, a LC challenge video, and a compilation of BTS teasing Jimin. He says he watched Jimin's Pixid interview and mentions having already watched the "Jimin's Playlist" video of FACE on BangtanTV when it came on shuffle after the SuChwita episode. He listens to some music by other artists, gets inspired to work, and after 1 hour, 36 minutes and 46 seconds of him basically giving Jimin heart eyes, he leaves us to go work on music.

The fandom is in complete shambles but at least now we know who was JK’s "Me too" comment directed to.

At 10:20AM KST on the same day, Jimin replies to Jungkook's comment with "Let's see each other soon. Your live is cute"

At 7PM on the same day, Jimin went live after he had finished his last music show performance, and JK showed up in his live chat spamming comments like "You know I'm hyung's (your) fan.", Jimin teases him about watching a bunch of his videos on live then tells him to prepare him his ramen recipe (that he had posted a few days prior) when he comes to visit, to which JK eagerly replies "Of course, of course. I'll do it for you". The live ends with JK having left a total of 19 comments, an unprecedented feat for him.

Reading the facts of that day as they are, it's undeniable that JK was missing Jimin like crazy (no pun intended) and he never does this when he's missing the other members, such as Seokjin who was already enlisted at the time, neither did he do the same for Hobi (at least not yet) after he enlisted either, despite him mentioning missing them in passing when the topics are brought up.

Jimin is special to Jungkook, whatever their bond may be, it's special and JK makes sure that everyone knows that. JK is a man of grand gestures for the ones he loves and he makes sure to show that Jimin isn't just another one of the hyungs to him, he's more than that. Whether you think they're dating or not, you can't deny that Jimin gets special treatment from JK in a lot of things (like how he used to only buy birthday gifts for Jimin and no other member, or how he made a whole GCF for him to celebrate his birthday, also something he hasn't done for any other member). And if that live was indicator on how JK acts when he misses Jimin, how he tries getting his attention by doing over-the-top actions, then I think it's pretty safe to assume they meet regularly now since he hasn't pined over Jimin in a minute. If he ever feels like he misses Jimin again, he'll make sure everyone knows it.

Hi anon!

What you are describing here is exactly the sort of thing that makes me believe there is nothing nor has there ever been anything romantic between Jk and Jimin. Because why… why if they’re partners would Jk not go see Jimin if he’s missing him? Jimin was busy sure, but does he not have to sleep? Is Jk not able to go with him, like other members have done? Why was it possible for Yoongi and Hobi to go see Jimin, but not Jk… if he misses him so? I hate to compare like this, because it seems cruel… but Tae has obviously been very busy the last few weeks, and yet.. he went to see Jk at Inkigayo.

What you described in your ask, was close friends missing each other. I will never deny that Jk and Jimin are close and they love each other very much. But they do not love each other the way partners do, because if that was the case Jk would’ve been content to just go see Jimin whenever there was a chance to. I once had a partner who traveled two hours to have lunch with me for an hour. That is what people in love do. Friends however will suddenly go ‘damn, I haven’t seen him in a while… I miss him’ especially when prompted by something (a weverse comment). Friends will then go on a whole supporting watching whatever they can together with army binge. But even when Jk realized he missed Jimin they did not meet and they did not meet for ramen after that and they did not meet for a while. Jimin asked Jk to come watch him practice more and Jk didn’t want to. So sure.. Jk had a surge of missing Jimin… but when real partners miss each other they do not go on social media about it.. they go see each other.

The GCF was not for Jimin’s birthday, don’t know where you got that from, the Tokyo trip wasn’t even for Jimin’s birthday probably. Jimin himself complained about Jk not buying birthday gifts.

There’s still nothing to base them meeting regularly on, except your assumptions. They could, sure.. but there’s just as much chance that they aren’t. Jk has been super busy, they did meet in NY.. which was part work probably.. but I’m also sure they really enjoyed their time together.. because I do agree that Jimin and Jk have a special bond, just not a romantic one.

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Hi! Sorry, I really mean no harm and I don't want to start any discourse at all, but I saw your Platoria post from a few days ago, (wait, December 4th?! And it's December 11th now?! How time flies! *cry*) and saw that you said, it was one of the most underrated ships in the fandom. Sorry, but it seems like it's one of the most popular! I know it's the third most popular ship on ao3. So I was just wondering what you meant by that. It's a great ship tho!

hi hon!!!

honestly ty so much for asking this, and you're so polite about it, which means a lot lol

so i talked about it a lot here (which may or may not have been the post you're referring to!) but i really appreciate you asking me to elaborate, because yes, from glancing at the AO3, i absolutely can see why you would think it's one of the most popular!

and before i get into this post, i first want to say that i am in NO WAY bashing the ships that i am mentioning. i love all of these ships, i think they're wonderful, but i also think it's important to recognize this issue. so please do not come for me saying that i'm shitting on people's ships.

going into the Platoria tag on Ao3, however, the top stories aren't even Platoria-centric. It's either gen pairings listed first (like non-ship), or it's Tuggoffelees or another major pairing. Or the pairing is part of a larger work, like a bunch of one-shots compiled together!

(and i will be the FIRST to admit that i do that, where i list Platoria even if it's a secondary ship in my stories!)

and honestly, saying that Platoria is the third most popular ship on Ao3 really doesn't mean that they're one of the most popular ships.

the Platoria tag has 76 stories.

The Cats the Musical fandom has 1,361 stories (as of when i'm making this post).

That means that the Platoria tag takes up less than 6% of the Cats the Musical fandom page on Ao3.

and like i said, that tag has stories that aren't even Platoria-centric, they're either a background couple or have a few stories within a collection of one-shots that also have other pairings.

While Victoria is a very well-beloved character in this fandom, Plato is almost always forgotten about. He's surprisingly one of the most underrated characters, which is a bit understandable, given that we barely see him in the second act of the show due to the actor needing to be in Macavity makeup + costume for the majority of the act.

also there was a whole thing a few years ago within this fandom where i saw a few people basically making Plato out to be this terrible manipulative character, JUST BECAUSE HIS ACTOR ALSO PLAYED MACAVITY, so i think people just don't think of Plato that much, which is so unfortunate.

and i know i always mention her when it comes to discussing this, but PLEASE go check out @munku-collar's posts about biphobia and bi erasure within the Cats fandom. it's incredibly pertinent to when i say that Platoria is underrated (as well as other m/f ships like Demestrap and Casslonzo).

m/f ships are either completely disregarded, ignored, or added in as an afterthought. Bringing up Ao3 again, Tuggoffelees has a whopping 404 fics (taking up about 29.5% of the Cats Fandom page), whereas the next biggest ship only has 198. That ship is Demestrap, which takes up about 14.5% of the page. I love Tuggoffelees, everyone knows that, but Demestrap is literally as canon as Cats the Musical can get. Yes it's wonderful when actors confirm that they're playing Tugger and Misto as a romantic pairing, but that's not how they're played all the time. But Demestrap is pretty much ALWAYS played as having romantic undertones, so I think the fact that the CANON m/f ships (Demestrap and Platoria) have less fics combined than Tuggoffelees says quite a lot.

Demestrap, Casslonzo, Platoria, Tuggelurina, those are all ships that are often pushed aside in favor of ships like Alonzostrap, Victeazer, Tuggoffelees. and i've seen instances within this fandom of people getting asks claiming that they're being homophobic or other wild accusations the SECOND that they say they prefer an m/f ship over one of the more popular m/m or f/f ships.

so from the outside, yes, it looks like Platoria is one of the most popular ships. but when you really look at it, it isn't.

[malevolentmadnessmixup]

✨ FAQS! ✨

Do we have to join the Discord?

Y E S. We know, another server, but you don't have to stay in it after the event is over. We need a central location to share information, do check-ins, and answer questions. It'll be fun! It'll have cool bots. Join us. >:)

Why is this an 18+ event?

The Mad Mods are over 18, and we don't want to be legally responsible for anyone else. The Malevolent fandom is, in our opinion, not one for minors in the first place. This isn't a slight against the potential maturity of minors, but in our humble opinion if you can't see a Rated R movie, you don't need to be writing/drawing/voice acting/etc for KiY tentacle smut or Arthur's suicidal ideation. Sorry. :(

Why do you separate NSFW options if this is an 18+ event?

The fact is, not everyone is into NSFW! NSFW doesn't only include sexual content, but violent and potentially triggering content as well. We want everyone to have the option to engage with the event the way they want! If they don't want to possibly get paired with a NSFW topic, they have that right.

What are the final submission requirements for this event?

ALRIGHT. This is a relatively short event, like a BB-lite. We are also slotting carefully between several other Malevolent fandom events (looking at you BB, Yuletide, and Anniversary) so we want to keep it reasonable.

The minimum word count is 3k, the maximum is 20k. We aren't going to be rules lawyers if you're at 20,100 but like, keep it tight. Anything under 3k is not accepted, push yourself! This must be a fully realized work with a beginning, middle, and end, appropriately tagged, and reasonably error-checked. One-shot style only (if you turn it into a series later that's your business but your work should be able to stand alone.)

The minimum art submission is one complete piece, the maximum is three. We do not limit the kind of art you do except no podfics or bookbinding (you just won't have time if you're collabing the way you should). Physical art/cosplay is acceptable but be aware you have a short window and the writer is writing at the same time as you are making your art. You will have to take nice photos of your work as well. Know your limits.

Why didn't you use my (insert fandom/trope/AU) submission in the event list?

Here's the tough love: We are under no obligation to use your suggestions. We love them. We long for your delicious ideas. But sometimes they don't work for what we're trying to do, and we already have something of a list compiled. Here's a short, non exhaustive number of reasons of why we might have left it on the cutting room floor:

Too common, too overdone in our fandom, too niche, too much explaining, too close to canon, too subtle, too NSFW (impressive), too triggering.

We also do NOT do crossover AUs or tropes specific to fandoms (we can do a high fantasy AU, but not a Witcher AU, feel me? We can have a comedy relief punching bag but not a Red Shirt.).

We will probably never have an amnesia trope because, surprise, that features in the canon quite heavily, AND it's been done a lot by fanfic already. This event is for pushing boundaries!

If you have that absolutely wild, perfect, worldbuilt, detailed, weird as fuck AU that you REALLY wanna see?? Do it! MAKE THE ART YOU WANNA SEE!! Just don't expect to get it in this event. (Been there. Sorry.)

Why don't you have a beta tag?

Cane is all the beta we need.

We don't offer betas because this is meant to be a more relaxed event, even if it is a more CRAZY one! The writing submissions are fairly small and don't require any standard of polish or 'skill'. It's too much work for the mods to keep track, frankly, and we don't think ya need the hand holding! If you would like to use a beta, we will have a channel for #beta-requests on the Discord where you can put the call out for one!

What if I get a trope/AU I don't like?

First, we ask you to really think about this assignment, an be sure you can't transform it into something more interesting for you! But if so, everyone gets one (1) courtesy reroll, no questions asked. We don't want anyone to feel really stuck or uncomfortable. Subsequent rerolls are on a case-by-case basis (mostly if we messed up and gave you something you shouldn't have gotten for xyz reasons).

What happens if I have to drop out?

Firstly, we hope everything is okay in your life! We hope you would only drop out from an unavoidable extenuating circumstance, our of respect for your partner who you have been working with. If this must be, we wish you the best, and we have pinch hitters standing by to step in with their crazy ideas to fill the gap! You will be expected to release your trope/AU assignment to the pinch hitter, no matter how far along you were with it, our of respect to your partner who will not be reassigned. You are welcome to continue your unfinished work to post privately outside of the event!

What if my partner drops out!?

DON'T PANIC!

This is part of why this event is so limited in scope. This is a big challenge, to collab and follow two trope restrictions is a lot to recover if one person leaves. If your partner has to drop out we WILL assign you a pinch hitter, even possibly one of the mods (though we are reserved for extremely last minute cases). No matter what, you WILL have a finished product, even if it posts late. No whacko left behind!

I'm having (x) issue!

Okay! If you aren't having fun, that's a problem. The entire point of this event is to have a good time. Is this a challenging art format? Potentially! Is this supposed to be a difficult or stressful event? HELL NO! Please contact a mod with your issue after checking that it hasn't been answered or fixed here, in asks (tagged #mmm faq), or on the #questions-and-solutions discord channel. But before all that: take a breath. Repeat to yourself that you are an independent, powerful, brilliant creator and a valued part of this fandom. Release the breath. You've got it. Maybe problems can be solved with a bit of confidence and a fresh outlook. We'll help you fix whatever else.

[nonegenderleftpain]

I have never found any compelling historical bisexual lesbians. I have been genuinely trying to research and understand because I want to be accepting and open minded but my lesbianism is because I'm NOT attracted to men, and the experience of not being attracted to men is isolating! And I want a word to communicate that and I don't see any reason why bisexual can't be a whole and complete identity on its own! So please god share some research that I am NOT finding and change my mind because I am willing to listen! But the arguments are always just "you're exclusionary scum kys" and the source is always "bro trust me" and I'm sick of it!!

So I never like linking carrds or shit when people ask this question, but this page has a nice neat list of sources that have been compiled that are gonna save me some spoons I just don't have at the moment. I'll also try to find and re-pin my own post explaining why I personally identify the way I do, so check for that. Sources aside, your best source is always, always going to be talking to genderqueer lesbians in real life. Our voices are constantly silenced as sapphics - you know that, you are one. So listening to the stories of other people is a primary source. When bisexual lesbians tell you that this is what we are, that's a primary source that won't MAKE IT into the academic sources you're asking for. My sources are the 70yo transsexual crossdresser at the local club, telling me about his relationship with womanhood and his lesbian relationship with his fellow transsexuals that didn't know what the phrase "cis man" meant and didn't care to know. And butches like Bear Bergman, who have been educating on lesbian identities for decades and went on to happily marry cis men (please GD read hir book Butch Is A Noun and break down this mentality that isolation is what defines us rather than connection). There are other sources below.

https://bi-lesbian.carrd.co/#sources

I know what you mean about the experience being isolating! I do. My experience is also isolating. Being a transmasc lesbian, a subset of a subset, in an area where lesbianism of any sort is treated with violence is scary. We are not at odds here. We're siblings in this. As my old explanation shares (and I will pin it again), my gender identity is fucking complicated, as is my manhood, and my cis male partner I've been with for nine years, through transition from a pansexual little girl to a lesbian man, is not going to leave me. You wanna talk about isolating! But that isolation isn't what defines me. Someone else using lesbian as a term isn't taking it from you. Identity labels are descriptive, not prescriptive. I am a lesbian. I am also panromantic. I'm bisexual, and my fellow male butches deserve to be acknowledged and respected when I take them into my arms and into my bed. People are messy! People are confusing! People are not just pieces of compelling evidence used to approve or disprove our lived experiences. With all due respect, you do not get to decide if a lesbian is really a lesbian based on how compelling you find hir life story. Just as I don't get to decide you're not one.

Lesbian is a word that works just fine. Most everyone is going to know what you mean. If someone assumes that you love men, correct them. And if they assume it because someone else is living their authentic life, correct them viciously. Put the blame on the people trying to force you to be someone you're not, not on the people entitled men and cis lesbians tm are using as a scapegoat. I am sorry your experience has been isolating. You are not alone. Reach across that gap instead of withdrawing from other lesbians living their lives differently from yours, and clasp hands. That's how we build a less isolating community, that allows for more room to breathe and less people trying to decide if your isolation is *compelling* enough to belong.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT SCHOOL

If I'd had to wait a year for the next release, I would have shelved most of these merchants got, but we thought very carefully before we released software onto those servers. Till about 2002 you could safely misinterpret it as promising that clock speeds would double every 18 months. It would be very convenient if you could get to the point where everything could be done by bots, because then you'd have made the sufficiently smart compiler, but inside has people, using highly developed optimization tools to find and eliminate bottlenecks in users' programs.1 Intellectually, it is likely to be one-directional: support people who hear about bugs fill out some form that eventually gets passed on possibly via QA to programmers, who put it on their list of things to do.2 Overloading, for example.3 The least ambitious way of approaching the problem is to start from scratch; and the problem is before you can solve it. When my IBM Thinkpad's hard disk died soon after, it became my only laptop. And when my friend Trevor showed up at my house recently, he was kicked out of school for a year. In fact I think you ought to design for the best programmers have limitations. For PhD programs, the professors do. These turn out to be really useful.

I'm describing here is the future. If a server got wedged, we jumped; just thinking about it gives me a jolt of adrenaline, years later.4 This is not too high a price for big companies too. And not just because they'd be a lot of startups here. This will come as a surprise to many people is that we so rarely see analyses of this type. More can be stolen by things that seem completely unrelated, like social networking apps. We'll see.5

But this meant a Google was now setting Microsoft's agenda, and b Microsoft's agenda consisted of stuff they weren't good at.6 A cash cow can be a damned heavy monkey on your back.7 That's orders of magnitude better than desktop software. And so designing Web-based applications, these two kinds of stress get combined. In fact, what I like about this idea is all the more reason for startups to write Web-based applications, these two kinds of stress get combined.8 Fortunately, it can be written in unusual languages. We tried rewriting the software to work over the Web, became popular first within CS departments and research labs, and gradually spread to the rest of the world. They were designed to be a large tumor. Web as closely as anyone, and I can't see them facing that. Software is particularly suitable for price discrimination, which means charging each customer as much as possible. I already have a lot of work.

Notes

It doesn't end every semester like classes do. They overshot the available RAM somewhat, causing much inconvenient disk swapping, but suburbs are so different from technology companies. But which of them.

Everyone's taught about it. Steve in the beginning. Simpler just to load a problem so far the only way to pressure them to get the bugs out of their due diligence for an investor they already know; but it is still possible, to a degree in design is any better than Jessica.

339-351. Corollary: Avoid starting a startup or going to work not just something the telephone, the group of people starting normal companies too. Indeed, that's the situation you find known boring ideas intolerable.

A scientist isn't committed to believing anything in particular. But that being so, why is New York. 65 million. We may never do that.

The hard part of creating an agreement from scratch today would say that I'm clueless or even 1000x an average programmer's salary. Quoted in: Life seemed so much the better, and would probably only improve filtering rates early on when you see people breaking off to both left and right. Could you endure studying literary theory, or liars.

See, we love big juicy lumbar disc herniations, but historical abuses are easier for us! And yet there are few who can say I need to offer especially large rewards to get good grades in them.

High school isn't evil; it's roughly correct for startups to be their personal IT consultants, building anything they could attribute to the code you write has a power law dropoff, but also seem to have them soon. Travel has the same way a bibilical literalist is committed to is following the evidence wherever it leads. But it's a bad idea the way up.

If you want to change.