#call your representatives and do not stop

[iron-sparrow]

Associated Press / Jae C. Hong

🧊 has NOT stopped terrorizing Los Angeles and the rest of SoCal. LAist today released a pretty comprehensive list of organizations trying to aid those who may have been affected by the ongoing attacks on the community. I want to share them here for others and encourage everyone to look at other ways you can help, from anywhere and everywhere.

Please also consider, before you continue scrolling, donating to LAist to protect their work. LAist is an affiliate of NPR, another entity under threat by fascism.

Financial Aid

» The 805UndocuFund Emergency Assistance Fund is offering financial aid to those with detained family members in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The emergency fund can be used for rent, utility bills and transportation. (805) 870-8855.  » The L.A. Street Vendor Solidarity Fund was created to provide direct monetary support for street vendors facing economic loss. 

Education

» Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD) expanded its summer class options in response to widespread immigration raids. Here’s a guide by LAist on what the programs are like and how to sign up. 

Food

» The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles is offering to drop off groceries or other essential items. Several locations are also acting as collection sites where people can drop off food and other essentials. Contact socialimpact@ymcala.org or call (323) 244-9077. » No Us Without You LA is a public charity providing food assistance to the immigrant community. They are accepting donations to support their efforts.  » Raices con Voz is a mutual aid group supporting undocumented families by dropping off groceries and other essentials. They may be reached directly through Insta @raicesconvozph. » Aqui Para la Comunidad is also shopping and delivering groceries to people afraid to be out in public. Request assistance through the group’s form here. » The city of El Monte, in collaboration with the El Monte Business Alliance, launched a rapid response initiative, helping families with food distribution, legal aid and case intake. Residents can call (800) 622-4302.

Employment

» UndocuProfessionals is collecting a list of entry-level and remote opportunities for undocumented people who lost their jobs or cannot work due to the ICE raids. Here are the listings. 

Health

» L.A. Care patients can access healthcare remotely through virtual visits, on the phone and on video call appointments. Here is their website.  » For immediate mental health emergencies, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 , or visit the 988 website for online chat options.

Rapid response networks / legal aid

» Los Angeles Rapid Response Network: (888) 624-4752 » Long Beach ÓRALE: (562) 245-9575 » Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles: (323) 805-1049

The Orange County Rapid Response Network also offers multiple, downloadable guides, including what to plan for in case a family member is detained or arrested, finding someone through 🧊’s detainee locator system, and a list of free legal resources.

VietRISE has information and resources for Vietnamese community members facing deportation and those supporting them.

Immigrant Defenders Law Center is available to support community members detained by 🧊 and their families. Call (213) 833-8283, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Immigration Advocates Network offers a database to find legal services. The database includes nonprofits that offer free or low-cost legal services.

» Source: LAist

[jimxugle]

Careful counterpoint:

By all means, post on social media. Post your politics, post your lunch, post your dog, post whatever.

BUT.

Know your audience.

Your audience is normal people.

The people who are making decisions that can actually make effective change aren't reading your social media. They don't care if a hashtag got 1 million retweets or 100 million.

Your post isn't going to convince a world leader to stop bombing civilians, or to allow aid in, or anything else. They. Do. Not. Care.

What your post CAN do is get 10 people to repost it, 5 people to bring up the issue over the dinner table, 3 people to call their senators, and 2 people to show up to a protest.

Make your post. Bring it up over the dinner table. Call your senator. Call your representatives. Make a sign. Go and protest.

Then do something in your local community. Volunteer. Run for city council. Clean up a park.

If you find yourself sitting at home, curled up in a ball, watching horrors unfold on a screen, spending all of your energy worrying, and frying your nervous system with rage in online echo chambers ("why is nobody talking about this!!!")... You've succumbed to a psyop.

Chronically Tired, stressed, traumatized, frazzled people don't go out and change things.

Don't fall for it.

Make your post, then log off and actually do something.

BE MAD BE SAD BUT DONT U DARE GIVE UP

[lara635kookie]

My Personal Kpop Demon Hunters Song Ranking:

That was so hard because all the songs are SO GOOD, but I'll try, maybe my opinion will change with time.

7. TAKEDOWN:

Okay, don't throw stones as me. I love this song. But the other songs are just too SUPERB, that this one becomes... Less superb. Like Rumi, I think the song is... A little exaggerated at times. Something I like about this movie is that every part of the soundtrack is essential. It tells a story. At first, I thought this was going to be just a badass TWICE song, which I wouldn't have minded, but I'm glad they made it a part of the story, showing Rumi, ironically the one to ask for a diss track on the Saja Boys, can't sing it because it's too hateful on her demon side. It's a really great song overall, the other ones just stand out more.

6. How It's Done:

You realize how good the HUNTR/X's songs are when this MASTERPIECE is ranked so low. I love How It's Done, it's a song to introduce us to the girls and what they do, highlight their unique personality traits and show us how successful they are, both as k-pop stars and demon hunters. And it reaches its goal perfectly. You hear it and you already know a little about the girls and it makes you want to know more. It's a song that 100% excels at their purpose. However, the other songs on that list also excel on their purpose way too much (and also fit my personal tastes even better lol), sadly leaving How It's Done on this position.

5. Golden:

It almost feels like a crime putting Golden so low. But I just can't put it any higher because what's coming is EVEN BETTER. The song is a bop, and it just represents each of the girls so well. Their story, their struggles. As they said, it's a song about who they are, where they are, and where they are going next. The outfits are everything, the MV, the lines, and it all is just executed so perfectly. I have nothing but compliments to Golden, I tried to make it higher because I refused to accept it would end up so low, but there wasn't any other way. That's Golden's place on that list, for now, at least.

4. Soda Pop:

Don't judge me!!! Come on, it is CATCHY. The boys kill it!!! And just like How It's Done does with the girls, Soda Pop introduces us to the boys so well. I love it how, at first, it sounds like just a little innocent song about having a crush, but the deeper meaning behind it is demons saying they want to drink the fan's souls in a very sweet and sugarcoating way. It's something you have to listen a few times to catch on. It just truly fascinates me how a song called Soda freaking Pop, can have such a dark message in between the lines, like come on, look at those lines: "Don't want you, need you, Yeah, I need you to fill me up", "Every sip makes me want more, yeah", "Lookin like snacks 'cause you got it like that", "Take a big bite, want another bite", "'Cause I need you to need me", "I'm empty, you feed me so refreshing", "Come and fill me up, Just can't get enough", "You're my Soda Pop, gotta drink every drop". AND THAT CHORUS???

"You're all I can think of

Every drop I drink up

You're my soda pop

My little soda pop

Cool me down, you're so hot

Pour me up, I won't stop

You're my soda pop

My little soda pop"

Like, there's so much in this song that you need to hear it more than once (which is not a problem, you will because it's addictive). How do you even make a seemingly silly song about soda to be this filled with hidden meanings??? Whoever wrote Soda Pop, you're a genius, you're an icon, you're a legend, you're the moment, and I fear you own my life, I wish I had your brain. I just love this genre of Kpop where Idols use food/drinks to make an innuendo. Ice Cream by BLACKPINK feat. Selena Gomez, Cookie by New Jeans. Whatever that's called, I hope it becomes a trend. Give me more of this, K-pop idols. I need it. I need you to serve me colorful aesthetic with cute lyrics with a double meaning behind it(but please make sure you're all legal adults first okay?). Because somehow, a song about soda popping can have this much ways of interpretation. A cutesy one, a sexier one, and a darker one. It's just so mind-blowing what they did with this song. The fans will probably notice it's about sex with a cute aesthetic, like the songs I mentioned before, because it can also be interpreted like that to hide the actual meaning only the HUNTR/X catches on:They're demons trying to steal their fans souls. The intelligence level is just off the charts with this one. Whoever came up with this was allowed to COOK and cooked even harder that I thought it was possible. Before making this list, I was sure Soda Pop would make it to the podium, and it almost did, but the other ones are just too superior.

🥉 What It Sounds Like:

The perfect finale. This was so emotional in so many ways. Just talking about it makes me want to cry. It's so beautiful and so heart-wrenching at the same time. I don't think I have enough words to describe it. All the songs in the podium were almost in first place, because they are just THAT good, I love myself a grand ending with with a lot of magic, and color, and glitter, and the power of friendship (the girl obsessed with Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks within me will never die). The lyrics are so poetic, and they are just everything to me. It also kinda reminded me a little bit of some of The Greatest Show, This is Me and Come Alive from "The Greatest Showman", it was just THAT EPIC. The girls acknowledging they made mistakes, and they can't come back, but they can still make it through together and defeating Gwi-ma was just so POWERFUL. Cliche? Yes, very. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a trope that WORKS.

🥈Your Idol:

I'm sorry, but always that the movie has a villains vs heroes final musical showdown battle, the villains are defeated, but in terms of MUSIC, we all know who the real winners are. Like, I'm sorry, Saja Boys, who gave you permission to SLAY SO HARD??? I think it's obvious that by now, they're all WAY hotter in their demon forms. I'm sorry, but if they presented themselves as demons since the start, no plot would have made me believe the HUNTR/X would be able to defeat them. If they were demons since the beginning of their careers, the HUNTR/X would have been defeated. Way sooner, in fact. And all the boys shined EQUALLY. Like, I feel like the boys were more balanced than the girls in this aspect. Like, Rumi always starts and ends the song. Yes, Mira and Zoey have very memorable parts, but still Rumi always ends up standing out more. Which I think might be a reflection of external bias. Rumi's younger version is played by Maggie's Kang daughter(and she's the only one we know more about as a kid), Rumi was a character that was created a long time ago for a project her husband was part of and even the movie itselfs say "Celine built HUNTR/X around her" (Rumi). And with the Saja Boys, don't get me wrong, Jinu is the one that sings more and is on the center more, but he leaves more space to the other members than Rumi does. I'm gonna make it clear I don't think that's Rumi's fault and I don't hate her character for it, but the way Kpop Stans are, I just know in real life Rumi would get lots of hate for "stealing all the lines" like many other idols received before. And I don't think the Saja Boys would have that problem because specially here in Your Idol, Abby is the one that starts the song, than Mystery and Romance and just then Jinu. Rumi always comes earlier into the song. There were times I felt like Mira and Zoey's parts were too short just for her to come in. Which is not exactly a bad thing, it would explain why her losing her voice affects not just her but the others so much, because she's the very foundation of HUNTR/X. Which I get why, she's a nepo baby (a very talented one may I add). Her mom was a Sunlight Sister and her adoptive mom is another one of them. But still, the balance of the Saja Boys attracts me more. Because even though Jinu sings more, all the lines from all the members are equally iconic (well almost, some are a little bit more than others). Let's count:

Abby: "Keeping you in check, keeping you obsessed", "Anytime it hurts, play another verse", "I can be your sanctuary", the part of the first chorus he sings, "Don't let it show, keep it all inside", "The pain and the shame, keep it outta sight".

Mystery: "More than power, more than gold", "Yeah you gave me your heart now I'm here for your soul" (Love it how the camera focus on Zoey smiling when he sings)

Romance: "Know I'm the only one right now", "I'ma love you more when it all burns down", "Your obsession feeds our connection", "give me all your attention" he also sings a part of the second chorus.

Jinu: His whole entire pre-chorus and Chorus to be honest, his vocals at the end are pure and sheer PERFECTION, "I will make you free, when you're all a part of me", "Watch me set your world on fire", "No one is coming to save you" (love the foreshadowing), "You're down on your knees, I'm be your idol".

Baby Saja: His whole entire rap that mind you is the very best part and dare I say the very CORE of this song. He was owning this era for real and that's what I'm trying to say, I think it seems like Rumi owns every era, from what they showcased to us, so I like how the Saja Boys divide the spotlight between all the members better.

And I'm sorry but Your Idol's bridge ALONE is bigger than the HUNTR/X's entire carreer. I said what I said. It's genuinely one of the best bridges I've ever heard in a song, I'm not even kidding.

I understand why they only had two songs and then disappeared, if they had more, no other Kpop artist, group or soloist, in this universe would stand a fricking chance.

I genuinely love how just like Soda Pop, Your Idol has so many meanings. The situation with Rumi, the message to the fans, the control Gwi-ma has over all the demons including the Saja Boys themselves and it even gives a little more of depth to the other members of Saja Boys, just so we can say they are not completely shallow. And they do it in a way that makes you want to learn more about them. Apparently all demons of this species, were humans who sold their souls to Gwi-ma.

So it makes you wonder, what happened to them? Both Abby and Baby mention pain, Abby mentions shame. Mystery talks about power and gold so maybe he wanted those things when he gave his soul to Gwi-ma. Romance talks about obsession, connection, attention, being the only one, so what if he gave his soul to Gwi-ma for love?

I also just love the parallels of a song being named Your Idol, in a movie about Kpop Idols, which they sing in a big show after they just won basically everything in the Idol Awards. Brilliant!

Speaking of the Idol Awards, we needed to see the Saja Boys performing there. I know it was a part of the plan for them not to, but I feel like they did the transition from Human to Demon too quickly. It was good, but it would have been better if they first had Soda Pop, when they're in their human forms with a cute concept, then after that had their dark performance as humans but with their marks showing on their black outfits at the Idol Awards, something kinda like this post I made before the movie came out:

And then they would have their even darker performance at the end at the final show at Namsan Tower.

That being said, I loved the way Your Idol was executed. Nearly flawless in every single possible way. No aspect to criticize. I love How they shift to "Don't you know I'm here to save you?" from "No one is coming to save you". Jinu and Rumi proving they are made for each other because just like Rumi, Jinu's highnotes give me goosebumps, and that latin part at the start roughly translates to:"That day of wrath will dissolve you into ashes, the accursed master into eternal flames." Which is so cool, every detail in Your Idol is so thought out with the utmost care, nothing feels wrong or out of place, it's almost unreal.

One would think that it's my favorite song at first glance, since I yapped about it so much, and I admit, it was close to making it into first place, but the last song just had the final word.

🥇Free:

There is not a single individual in the world that loves this song more than I do. Do you think you love Free more than me??? You fucking don't!!!

The heavenly ethereal vocals that make you float to paradise and ascend high to the sky??? The aesthetics??? The lyrics??? The melody??? Free couldn't be more perfect even if it tried. Because it's already PEAK. There's nothing higher to reach than this. The standard is already set. Free sets an unreachable bar for every other song in this movie. Gotta admit that What It Sounds Like and especially Your Idol got pretty close, to the point I almost reconsidered my choice, but Free still rises above and wins at the end. Because no other song in this soundtrack can compare to the IMPACT of this one. The truth's gotta be said.

Why do I like Free so much, you ask? I could give you a whole PowerPoint presentation on that, but let's keep it simple, shall we?

I'm a sucker for romance. I don't know if you all have watched Julie and The Phantoms (also on Netflix, one of the many very good series they canceled) but Free just reminded me so much of "Perfect Harmony". Tell me those lines don't scream Rujinu (you can't because it's impossible):

"Life can be so mean, But when he goes, I know he doesn't leave"

"The truth is finally breaking through, Two worlds collide when I'm with you, Our voices rise and soar so high, We come to life when we're in perfect harmony"

"You set me free, You and me together is more than chemistry, Love me as I am, I'll hold your music here inside my hands"

"We say we're friends, we play pretend, You're more to me, we're everything"

"I never knew a love so real (so real), We're heaven on earth, Melody and words, When we're together we're in perfect harmony"

And Julie and Luke (the ones who sing this song) they're not even forbidden love like Rumi and Jinu, they're impossible love, because Julie is still alive and Luke is a ghost. I can see some similarities between the two pairings and I love them so much, so Free hit me right in the feels, giving me everything I like.

Every line just hits different and even better than the last one. It felt to me like the song that was sang with the most emotions, and the most intense ones too. EJAE and Andrew Choi made a PHENOMENAL SPECTACULAR SHOW-STOPPING GAME-CHANGER JOB.

But if it was just a romantic song, it wouldn't have made it to first place. But there's more to Free than what meets the eye on the surface.

There's more to Free than just romance.

It deepens and gives us a better understanding of Rumi and Jinu as individual characters as well, with Rumi having lines such as:

"I tried to hide but something broke

I tried to sing, couldn't hit the notes

The words kept catching in my throat

I tried to smile, I was suffocating though"

"All the secrets that keep me in chains and

All the damage that might make me dangerous"

And Jinu having lines like:

"Time goes by, and I lose perspective

Yeah, hope only hurts, so I just forget it"

"Between imposter and this monster

I been lost inside my head

Ain't no choice when all these voices

Keep me pointing towards no end"

And also Free talks about a lot of the themes of the movie, especially something that pretty much all the characters want:Freedom. From what's holding them back: The past. Like Mira and Zoey with their families. Jinu also wants to break free from Gwi-ma.

It also talks about stop hiding and fight what they're running from. Because they can't fix it if they never face it.

It also talks about Rumi wanting to change and believing she can change, but she won't change if Jinu is not by her side. And in the end she changes and that motivates Jinu to change for the better too. They both change for good.

And change is the key word in this movie:They wanted the Honmoon to change to gold, but instead it changes to a new one they still have to make gold.

Rumi learns how to accept herself, and Jinu redeems himself. Their bond goes deeper than just romantic love. It involves mutual understanding, acceptance without judgment, etc.

For most of the movie Celine (person who knew all her life about Rumi's marks) and Jinu (first outsider to find out about them) were the only ones that knew about Rumi's patterns. Celine feared it, thought it was a mistake that should be erased with the Honmoon turning gold. But Jinu sees it, and he likes what he sees. He falls in love with it. They were the first people who saw each other for who they truly were and fell in love with the good and bad parts.

They save each other. In all the ways a person can be saved. Jinu, a musician in his former human life (Ahn Hyo-seop crushed Jinu's Lament with his voice, Gwi-ma deserved the hit) helped Rumi to be able to sing without struggling again and Rumi helped Jinu see that is still hope for him, it wasn't too late and he gave his soul to her in order for her to win Gwi-ma's fire and then the final battle with the girls (he's coming back people, he's gonna leave that sword, I know it).

Oh I remember a lot of people before the movie came out and we had the confirmation there was a romance, going like:"I don't want romance, just badass ladies kicking butts (because apparently you can't kick butts and be with a man, you can only have one not both) and that a romance sub-plot would ruin the story, that Jinu was too plain, basic and generic-looking for Rumi (when he's the literal walking LIVING male beauty standards in Korea and guess what? Is a movie about South Korea!!! Shocking, isn't it? Guess the title "Kpop Demon Hunters" didn't make that clear enough) and that people wouldn't fall for straight propaganda on pride month (which is ironic because I think almost everyone in this movie is bisexual, including Rumi and Jinu)." And where are those people now??? Exactly. Gone. That's the power of Free. And a well written and well developed couple, of course. Rujinu is like Ferrari in F1. Everyone is a Ferrari/Rujinu fan. Even if they say they are not, they are Ferrari/Rujinu fans. Even if they root for another team/ship, they also root for Ferrari/Rujinu. It's inevitable.

Rumi, Jinu, Mira, Zoey. They all face what they have to face and their past starts to feel weightless, like Free says. Rumi is free from having to hide her true self. Jinu is also a free soul (who will come back to the sequel, don't tell me otherwise), all the remaining demons I suppose are still in the underworld are free from Gwi-ma, etc. And that is why Free is supreme.

[iamnmbr3]

What are your thoughts on NYC’s primaries?

It makes me really sad. This is what the options are? I think it's a disaster and shows you what a sorry state the Democratic party is in right now. All the options are gross. I don't know why Cuomo's even allowed to be running. But Mamdani has defended the phrase "globalize the intifada" (and also spread misinformation and appropriated Holocaust history to do it) and claimed it's about liberation rather than something used by terrorist organizations (organizations with also oppress Palestinian people in Gaza by the way) to advocate for the destruction of Israel and the mass slaughter of Jews around the world. He could've condemned it at any time but he doubled down.

It's just so normalized now that it's not the big deal that it should be because the same violent words are heard from so many people these days. (Remember when the main goal of most people who cared about the Israel-Palestine conflict used to be to advocate for a peaceful two state solution rather than for genocide?)

If someone with a swastika tattoo defended the phrase "final solution" or tried to say "well lots of people use the word solution in many contexts" everyone would see right through it. But because it's coming from the Left rather than the Right people act like it's a lesser evil. It's not.

Given that Cuomo is such a disaster candidate and that antisemitism is not taken seriously on the left and is increasingly popular among young people - and really among most demographics - and is also fueled by online misinformation I think there's a good chance he will win. And that will probably lead to the further normalization and mainstreaming of antisemitism, especially on the Left, and of toxic "activism" by Westerners who seek to inflame rather than actually solve Middle East crises so they can feel like the main character.

I just hope eventually enough people - especially Gen Z and Millenials - stand up to this. Jews are 0.2% of the world population and 2% of the U.S. population. In 1930s Germany people voted to put the Nazis in power because they liked what they had to say. If antisemitism continues to become normalized in the U.S. and continues it's trend of increasing virulence and violence (we've already progressed from violent words to numerous instances of attempted and actual murder of Jewish diaspora who have nothing to do with the conflict in Israel - and wouldn't deserve to be murdered even if they WERE Israeli) then such a small population simply doesn't have the voting power to stop people electing violent antisemites.

Hopefully nothing as bad as the Holocaust ever comes to pass in the U.S., but remember that Germany was pretty liberal right before the Holocaust. If we keep normalizing people calling for the death of Jews then it will become more and more acceptable and words could someday turn into actions. This is not to say that Mamdani is going to start building concentration camps the second he gets into office. Rather, the reaction to him is representative of a larger issue. I mean, if a person in power did start trying to round up Jews how many people would care or try to stop them? If they can't even speak up against antisemitism when it is still relatively unaccepted, what will happen in the future.

I will certainly keep advocating against antisemitism because I believe in human rights and dignity for all and I believe bigotry is wrong. I just hope enough people join me. The future is up to us.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷

500 for 🪷:

---

Not that his mother poses the same concern as that potentially stalkery girl. She obviously doesn’t. Chris is just desperate for a third person to be here. Denny is really charismatic and kind. He’s great at diffusing tension. That’s what Chris needs right now. MLM lady amounts of diffusers, actually. 

He orders tea for Mom. Shannon? Mom? What do you call someone who is your age and hasn’t parented you in sixteen years? There’s no etiquette guide for this situation. Whatever. He brings it to her, sits across from her, opens his phone, and stares as the little ping representing Denny slowly gets closer.

“Uh, Chris?��� She asks after accepting her tea.

He looks up from his screen at her. She’s got this sort of expectant look in her eye. Yeah, Chris gets it. He’s not really talking. Not about anything. The thing is, something’s going to happen. This is going to go away. He’s felt it before. That rush of hope. The thought that somehow, some way, she’s back. He trusted it, for the moment it lasted that time. He doesn’t want to surrender his wits entirely to it this time. 

Whatever this is, who knows how long it will last?

“Yeah?” He replies.

“Uh… I don’t know a lot about you,” she says. Her fingers clutch the hot cup of tea like it’s her only source of comfort. 

Chris thinks of the way he used to go talk to her gravestone. He told her a lot of things about himself, over the years. He stopped, though, after the whole Kim thing. Not visiting. He just stopped talking to her. Something about it felt tainted. He supposes he didn’t need to. She was never listening. She didn’t even know she was dead.

“What do you want to know?” Chris asks.

Her brows crease a little at that. She looks sad.

“Everything,” she says. “Anything?”

Chris thinks. He doesn’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s married with children. But he has accomplished things, he supposes. 

“I work nearby,” Chris says. “At an engineering firm.”

Her mouth parts in surprise. “You’re an engineer?”

He nods. “Went to school in Pomona. Cal Poly. Got in other places but didn’t want Dad to have a stroke before he turned forty, so I stayed nearby.”

“Wow,” she smiles. “You’re brilliant. I mean, I always knew that. But… Wow.” 

Chris feels his cheeks heat a little. He shrugs. 

“I mean… I’m fine. It was hard. Not like I flew through it.”

“Even more impressive, then,” she says. 

What else can he even tell her? He has to be careful. How much of his life does he actually want to give away without encroaching onto the family territory. He spends a lot of time with Dad, Buck, and Josie. With his cousins.

[for-a-longlongtime]

It’s ALLLL true

Look at you spilling all the details, now everybody knows 😂

So for those cowardly anons telling queer writers to stop writing m/m fic with PPCU characters, first of all;

Secondly; do you seriously not get the difference between Pedro and a character he plays?

Thirdly, and most importantly: why are you reading our blogs? And our fics? If you truly hate it so much? Just so you can get yourself all worked up and then put your Keyboard Warrior Hat on to talk shit?

Baby doll, you should realize how dumb you’re sounding. I’m not even gonna tell you to go touch grass because that clearly wouldn’t cut it. I’m just gonna suggest that you think for a moment about who it is you are compuls-het-stanning; the guy who has always made it clear that he’s standing up for the underdog, who won’t shut his mouth about the things he believes in, and who is vocal about hating bullies. (That’s you, bub. Alllll you. Are you happy now that he’s “noticed” you in that sense?)

The funny thing is that by far the majority of people obsessing about P’s sexuality or dating life or ‘what he looks for in a partner’ or ‘what kind of person he is in intimate settings’ tend to be either extremely straight (women), or bi women with the most heteronormative opinions ever (come at me if you think that’s biphobic or bi-erasure, because I’m a bi/queer woman myself).

Queer fans, or queer writers, or writers who happen to write queer fics… we don’t really give a shit about his preferences or dating history.

What we care about is bringing queer stories, which have always been historically underrepresented and partly because of asshole homophobes, to our communities as well as just normalize these stories in general. You know, because they are HUMAN STORIES.

What queerphobic haters need to understand is that we don’t give a shit about your approval. We don’t. So while you’re working yourself up about us writing our little stories — we just don’t care. Honestly. You think we haven’t dealt with shitty attitudes or offensive slurs or people thinking ‘our lifestyle’ is wrong? Please. Get a hold of yourself.

“Then why do you need to make a post like this if—“ BECAUSE WE CAN. Okay? Because we can. And because it matters to show to allll the other queer (AND straight) fans to just brush it off if they get a whiny/asshole anon like you in their inbox. Receiving hate mail is not a sign that you’re doing something wrong; it just means that cowardly anons wanted to jerk off in a self congratulatory manner because it got them hard/wet to talk shit about you.

As always, I will keep repeating this for everybody (regardless of your gender or sexuality); if you’ve been thinking about writing mlm / queer fic, or P Boys together, but you’re worried about how it’ll be received? Write the thing. People want to hear / read your stories. Don’t let the concept of anons complaining bother you even one bit.

Imagine hating on us — and we’re just over here playing with PPCU characters and smushing them together to kiss. 😂 C’mon. Go find some real world problems to complain about. Spend that time calling your representatives or donating to civil rights organizations.

Well, since @for-a-longlongtime let the cat out of the bag, it’s time to come clean.

A select few of us are part of a top-secret, underground conspiracy to make Pedro Pascal seem more gay than he actually is. I’m sorry you had to find out this way. We are called the Pedro Pascal’s Gay Shadow Council. PPGSC.

With this news coming to light, we at PPGSC understand that full transparency is the only way to gain your trust going forward. That is why we are deciding to post external communications for positions that have opened up. This is a busy time of year for us with all the press he’ll be doing for Eddington and Fantastic 4, so we need to fill some desks ASAP!!

About Our Organization:

Here at PPGSC, we’re not just co-workers; we’re family. Over the years we have cultivated a corporate culture that we love to boast. Look forward to pizza parties, coupons to Tex-Mex restaurants, and free coozies!

Your Role:

PPGSC meetings happen every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - but the work never stops! You will need 40 hours a week to produce and present the following:

- Making Pedro look more gay in photoshoots

- Making Pedro act more camp and queer in press interviews

- How Pedro’s social media presence can be more queer

- How we can gaslight the Pedro Pascal fans into believing he has been taking queer roles since before some of them were even born (ie: Greg from MTV’s Undressed was our most successful gaslight yet. Nobody knows we just planted AI footage of Pedro as his younger self in a TV show that aired in the late 1900’s)

- How to produce and boost gay fanfictions of Pedro Pascal’s characters (some fans don’t know that his characters aren’t actually him- so this method has been our most successful!)

- Come up with new, innovative ways to make Pedro Pascal look gay!!!

Your Experience:

- Major or Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies is preferred but not required

- MUST have seen every episode of Queer as Folk (UK and US)

- Can recite at least three Lady Gaga songs from start to finish

- Proficient in Google Sheets

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement:

Here at PPGSC we accept everyone as they are. Even if you’re not queer, still apply! Straight people’s opinions matter SO much to us. You are not alone.

[eastgaysian]

like truly what did he mean by this. let's dig into it

[stephofromcabin12]

Born to play Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar forced to live in Denmark with no way to break into the acting industry :((

[becameundone]

You'd think that, for someone who'd spent so long in the public eye and had attracted more than a couple of scandals to his name, Tomo would have learned to think twice about running his mouth to anybody who encountered him but, instead, he took a strange and somewhat unwarranted pride in being the overconfident kind of loudmouth who'd just say whatever he liked. Or, at the very least, that was the image he liked to project. As it turned out, people tended to read chattiness as a sign of someone lacking filter. That lack of filter would, in turn, be read as honesty. The easiest way to keep secrets was to act as though you didn't have any, as if you weren't even capable of having any. (Whether or not this had ever been a calculated move from the start or if it was just a convenient side effect to Tomo's natural personality, that much was not clear even to him. He didn't always remember why he chose to behave the way he did.)

"You get dragged to enough of these joints against your will, all in the name of saving face, and you get used to how they play out," said Tomo, with a lazy shrug. "Get bored half to death by enough of 'em and you start to look for the fun details in the background. S'pretty weak entertainment but sometimes, you just gotta make do." This was flourished with a knowing grin. Is that what it was? Or, was that just another part of the act? That was, after all, the calling of an actor. Keep 'em guessing. (Are you really that bored, Tomo? That you have to start fucking around for no reason?)

Her next question, however, did give him pause for thought. Hanging his head back and frowning, lips pursed, he stopped to mull it over before shaking his head and straightening up once more. "Beats me!" he beamed. "I don't pay any attention to all that boring bureaucratical shit!" It was not likely anybody else would have described the business of deciding who should represent the family in a game that way but… oh well. "Maybe there was a vote or something? I don't remember, probably just passed me by. Sorry, if that's a boring answer but I don't really take much of an interest in allathat."

Alice couldn't help but smirk as the young man laid out all the different things that could possibly go wrong at this posh party and he was probably right. Now, don't get it twisted, Alice was no gossip rag-mag reporter--far from it, she liked to believe. However, those gossip rag-mag journalists got a bad name for doing exactly what she was best at--observing people in their natural environments. Even if you didn't write about it, noticing the little things was key to telling a compelling story. The devil truly was in the details. "Oh, yeah? It sounds like you have quite a lot of experience with these sorts of events." Was it bad that she sort of wanted these things to happen? Maybe.

However, when he mentioned not being picked to play for his family, her eyebrows raised a bit. He was unfamiliar to her though, judging from his statement, he was either a Weiss or Vitelli. "Do you think you'd win if you'd been asked to play? If you don't mind me asking, how did you all even...decide who was going to play? How exactly does that work?" She tried to tread lightly and phrase her questions as someone who innocently curious. And she was curious. It just wasn't very innocent.

[pilonciillo]

lol didn’t think someone giving money would give me anxiety

[querida]

now that it's pride month, friendly reminder that as hypocritical or cringey as rainbow capitalism is, it's still a blessing and a good thing to at the very least be treated as a marketable demographic rather than hidden in the shadows and ignored. being advertised to by hypocritical capitalists is closer to equality than silence is. remember that before you start bashing on companies for changing social media icons to rainbows.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

going hey now what in the at this compressed playlist thumbnail like i Have seen this waitress promo image & the krampus is there fr

[wild-at-mind]

'There are other ways to strike other than striking' is such a WEIRD message, I cannot get past this.

[justamanlookingforham]

Protest.

Boycott.

Call.

tips for calling your government officials:

call after hours if you're afraid of having to talk to someone on the phone. it'll go to voicemail.

there are usually call scripts available for various issues, but you can always write your own script beforehand as well. just write down what you want to say, read it a few times, and then call and read it.

you don't have to give a big argument. just "this is wrong and i don't want you to support this" is fine. chances are, the gov't official isn't even gonna hear it, a staffer will. they're just gonna know you disagreed.

they ask that you leave your name and phone number in voicemails, but if you call a lot, they may blacklist you. as far as i know, it's perfectly okay to just not tell them any of that.

it's okay if you mess up. in my opinion, it's better if people who aren't articulate or stumble over their words a ton call in. that shows that regular, everyday people (who likely hate phone calls) are disagreeing with them.

if you're a jew and calling for them to stop the genocide in gaza, leverage that. i sure as hell am

if you're a christian and calling for them to stop the genocide in gaza, leverage that. especially in conservative states. pull out some bible verses. this might be hard if you didn't grow up in the south (specifically around passive aggressive people), but subtly(ish) imply that your gov't official is going to hell. for example, "almost 30,000 people dead... I can't imagine G-d turning a blind eye to anyone who is responsible for that many deaths, even if just in a small way."

if calling for KOSA, the key thing you want to point out is that the line between "protection" and "censorship" is thin. idk what you would say for a liberal/center-left gov't official (never had one of those before in my life), but for a conservative candidate, you're gonna want to say that 1) it can prevent free speech, 2) the liberals (maybe throw out joe biden's name) will definitely use this to skew discussions about the second amendment, abortion, the border, and other hot topics. i hate, hate using the the term "woke" outside of its original meaning within AAVE, but depending on your official that may be the move. and then 3) if someone more liberal than biden gets into office, we're screwed, 4) you don't want to be tracked and think that infringes on your rights to privacy, and/or 5) you don't trust "i won't let that happen"/"we can prevent that" because your official hasn't even solved [insert issue they campaigned on/often discussed but didn't absolve] or [insert smaller things, like getting enough fundings to fix roads].

call as much as you can. it helps more than you think. don't let the bystander effect kick in.

feel free to add your own

[superdorks2015]

Really tired of everyone I know looking around at each other and just repeating:

“yea it would be nice if we could do something about it but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we can’t really do anything about it.”

Or worse:

“it’s never really gonna happen, we’ll never be able to unite in that way.”

If we continue to think we don’t have power, nothing is ever going to change.

WE. HAVE. POWER.

We just have to wake up and realize it.

[scientia-rex]

When I was in ninth grade I wanted to challenge what I saw as a very stupid dress code policy (not being allowed to wear spikes regardless of the size or sharpness of the spikes). My dad said to me, “What is your objective?”

He said it over and over. I contemplated that. I wanted to change an unfair dress code. What did I stand to gain? What did I stand to lose? If what I really wanted was to change the dress code, what would be my most effective potential approach? (He also gave me Discourses on the Fall of Rome by Titus Livius, Machiavelli’s magnum opus. Of course he’d already given me The Prince, Five Rings, and The Art of War.)

I ultimately printed out that phrase, coated it in Mod Podge, and clipped it to my bathroom mirror so I would look at it and think about it every day.

What is your objective?

Forget about how you feel. Ask yourself, what do you want to see happen? And then ask, how can you make it happen? Who needs to agree with you? Who has the power to implement this change? What are the points where you have leverage over them? If you use that leverage now, will you impair your ability to use it in the future? Getting what you want is about effectiveness. It is not about being an alpha or a sigma or whatever other bullshit the men’s right whiners are on about now. You won’t find any MRA talking points in Musashi, because they are not relevant.

I had no clear leverage on the dress code issue. My parents were not on the PTA; neither were any of my friend’s parents who liked me. The teachers did not care about this. Ultimately I just wore what I wanted, my patent leather collar from Hot Topic with large but flattened spikes, and I had guessed correctly—the teachers also did not care enough to discipline me.

I often see people on tumblr, mostly the very young, flail around in discourse. They don’t have an objective. They don’t know what they want to achieve, and they have never thought about strategizing and interpersonal effectiveness. No one can get everything they want by being an asshole. You must be able to work with other people, and that includes smiling when you hate them.

Read Machiavelli. Start with The Prince, but then move on to Discourses. Read Musashi’s Five Rings. Read The Art of War. They’re classics for a reason. They can’t cover all situations, but they can do more for how you think about strategizing than anything you’re getting in middle school and high school curricula.

Don’t vote third party unless you can tell me not only what your objective is but also why this action stands a meaningful chance of accomplishing it. Otherwise, back up and approach your strategy from a new angle. I don’t care how angry you are with Biden right now. He knows about it, and he is both trying to do something and not doing enough. I care about what will happen to millions of people if we have another Trump presidency. Look up Ross Perot, and learn from our past. Find your objective. If it is to stop the genocide in Palestine now, call your elected representatives now. They don’t care about emails; they care about phone calls, because they live in the past. I know this because I shadowed a lobbyist, because knowing how power works is critical to using it.

How do you think I have gotten two clinics to start including gender care in their planning?

Start small. Chip away. Keep working. Find your leverage; figure out how and when to effectively use it. Choose your battles, so that you can concentrate on the battle at hand instead of wasting your resources in many directions. Learn from the accumulated wisdom of people who spent their lives learning by doing, by making mistakes, by watching the mistakes of their enemies.

Don’t be a dickhead. Be smarter than I was at 14. Ask yourself: what is your objective?