#southern state

[l0nestarr3d]

ALRIGHT PEOPLES:

So, including being kinda into MLP and VERY into WTT/WTTSH, I'm also into Countryhumans/Statehumans.

With that... HERE'S MY TEXAS!

================================================================

(AMERICA RAHHHHH 🦅 🦅🦅 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 )

================================================================

[beastwhimsy]

more moonlit mane since you all seemed to really like her.... his friends call him wolf or wolfy and despite being absolutely obsessed with wolves she lives in Horse Aotearoa. which famously has No Large Carnivores Whatsoever. SAD!

EDIT: terfs are enjoying this post too much. he's bigender and I'd prefer that you don't interact with me thank you

[nevermind-i-forgot-whats-that]

Sometimes, as much as I love internet communities and spaces, I really think a lot of people have spent so much time in sanitized, morally pure echo chambers that they lose sight of realism and life outside the internet.

I live in Alabama. My fiancée and I cannot hold hands down the street without fear of homophobic assholes. We have an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. We are one of the poorest states in the US with some of the lowest scores on metrics related to quality of life, including maternal mortality, healthcare, education, and violence. It’s not a coincidence that we are also one of the most red, one of the most Republican states in the Union. In 2017 the UN said the conditions in Alabama are similar to those in a third-world country.

Trump gave a voice to the most violently racist, sexist, xenophobic groups of people who, unfortunately for most of us in the Southern U.S., run our states and have only grown more powerful since his rise to power. The Deep South powers MAGA, and we all suffer for it.

We have no protections if they don’t come from the federal government.

I know people are suffering internationally and my heart is with them. However, this election is not just about foreign policy - we have millions of Americans right here at home living in danger, living in areas where they have been completely abandoned by their local leaders. We need this win.

No candidate is perfect, but for the first time in my voting lifetime I’m excited to vote. I’m excited for the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz ticket because they are addressing the issues close to home. They’re advocating for education as the ticket to a better life, but without the crippling student debt. They’re advocating for the right to love who you love without fear and with pride. Kamala has always been pro-LGBT+ and so has Tim. Again, if you’re queer in the South, we don’t have support unless it comes from the federal government, and we absolutely will not have support if the Republicans regain the White House.

Kamala speaks in length about re-entry programs to reduce recidivism and help people who have been arrested and imprisoned regain their lives. Tim Walz supported restoring voting rights to felons. In the South, you know who comprise the majority of felons? Members of minorities. It’s one of the major tools of systemic racism and mass disenfranchisement, and arguably the modern face of slavery (there are some fantastic documentaries and books that explain the connection between the post-Reconstruction South and the disproportionate rates of imprisonment for BIPOC). Having candidates who recognize this and want to restore the freedom and rights to people who have come into contact with the criminal justice system? And keep them from having to go to prison in the first place? That’s refreshing. That’s exciting.

I would *love* to live in a country where women’s rights are respected, where LGBT+ rights and protections are a given, where we treat former criminals and individuals experiencing mental health crises with respect and dignity. I would *love* to live in a country where education is free of religious interference and each and every citizen is entitled to a fair start and equal opportunities.

But I don’t live in that country. Millions and millions of Americans find their rights and freedoms up for debate and on the ballot.

Project 2025 poses the largest threat to the future of our democracy as we know it. We are being called to fight for the future of our country.

We have to put on our oxygen masks first before we can help others.

You don’t have moral purity when you wash your hands of the millions of us who are still fighting for own freedoms right here.

The reality is that a presidential candidate is a best fit, and not a perfect fit. But comparatively speaking? Kamala is pretty damn close.

[stroebe2]

Louisiana by Arnaud Montagard

[ana-cantskywalker]

People who say the U.S. has no culture clearly have never had the experience of chasing your cousin around the yard with a sparkler at a cookout, lips stained from cherry kool-aid and your grandmothers strawberry shortcake as the sun turns the sky gold and the air smells of woodsmoke and grass, or sang take me out to the ballpark with thousands of strangers, ballcap on your head and an overpriced hotdog in your hand as you root for a team for no reason other than hometown pride, or felt sheer terror as the rickety ferris wheel shifts under you as you reach the top, already sick from eating something that definitely shouldn't have been deep fried, and then the thrill of seeing the entire fairgrounds from up there turned pink as the sun sets, or driven down a backroad with all the windows down as the leaves turn bright orange with George Strait on the radio, or felt the hum of excitement from the crowd as the air fills with red dirt and the announcer calls out the name of the next bull rider, or sat on a blanket on a dark hillside somewhere surrounded by a few dozen other families as the town shoots off fireworks for the 4th,

but maybe that's just me

[reasonsforhope]

"When Canada was fighting wildfires in Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia in 2023, blazes that would go on to eventually burn more than 45 million acres, more than 2,000 American firefighters helped extinguish the flames.

Now, Canada has returned the favor. It is sending air tankers and dozens of its own battle-tested wildland firefighters to Los Angeles, its government said. Air tankers can deliver thousands of gallons of fire retardant or water to wildland firefighters on the ground.

More personnel and equipment from Ontario, Quebec and Alberta are ready to be mobilized, according to government officials. And a team of senior technical staff members from British Columbia will fill specialized roles, the government said.

“We both know that Canada and the United States are more than just neighbours,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X on Friday. “We’re friends — especially when times get tough. California’s always had our back when we battle wildfires up north. Now, Canada’s got yours.”

Mexico quickly followed, dispatching a crew of firefighters early Saturday to help the huge deployment already underway.

“We are a country of generosity and solidarity,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X. Ms. Sheinbaum said that the group was carrying “the courage and heart of Mexico.”

Before departing Mexico City for California, the Mexican firefighters held the flags of California, Mexico and the United States on the runway.

Mexico’s civil protection agency said that “cooperation has no borders” and that the mission reaffirmed “its solidarity with the people of California.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said that he was grateful for the support from both countries."

-via The New York Times, January 11, 2025

[moved-to-slayfk]

When President Joe Biden was asked if there’s any more resources that the federal government could be providing hurricane victims, he said:

“No. We’ve given them … a significant amount even though they didn’t — hadn’t — asked for it.”

This is fucking bullshit. People are homeless. People are dying. The government doesn’t care about Appalachia. It never has and never will unless we make enough noise. They gave Israel $8.7 billion while saying hurricane victims have enough money that we didn’t even ask for even though we’ve been BEGGING for help. They need to STOP funneling money into the Israeli death regime while their own countrymen fucking suffer and die under the boot of capitalism!!!!!! This country is fucked!!! They value Israel’s continued destruction of Palestine over their own people!!!!!!!!!!!! The lives of murders will always be more valuable to other murderers than innocent lives, no matter the country. Free Palestine, support Appalachia. Fuck the United States government.

[morganbritton132]

Eddie, posting to TikTok: Babe, repeat what you just said for me, please.

Steve, off-camera but audibly rolling his eyes: I said people have different life experiences. Not everybody was born in a ditch

Eddie: Like?

Steve: Like you???

Eddie: Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. I was not born a ditch. I was born in a valley in West Virginia

Steve: Wayne said you were born in a ditch

Eddie: Wayne lies

[tyzfol]

deltarune if it was good and took place in rural georgia

[missmisnomer]

Orange County SoCal Miku coming in hot!!

🛹🌴🌮🌅

[vine-violet]

[secondstar09]

'owner responsibility'

[iinryer]

gently, lovingly cradling the 9-1-1 fandom’s face in my hands… i love your work. however. i desperately need you to internalize the fact that el paso is a really big city. well over half of a million people live there. it may not be as big as la but it is Not small

[olivexing]

Olympe has a meltdown and size shifts.

He’s doing his best but, he’s so overwhelmed. I’m losing my mind and coping with doodles of my ocs.

How are y’all doing?

[beifong-brainrot]

Thoughts on TSR episode?

Oh wow this is just a hornet's nest waiting for me to hit it with a baseball bat type of question. But ok anon I'm gonna try to speak on this in a way that will get as little people mad at me as possible lol.

I enjoy it, but then, I think I enjoy it mostly because is centers around Katara and I can't say there has been a Katara centered episode that had floped in my eyes. And an episode of Katara and Zuko reconciling after what he put her through was a long time coming and it is very fun to watch them kick ass. I adore the themes of this episode, misinterpreted as they may be by the wider public. I do have some major critiques of the episode, and I will get to them, but I'll try to unload them as we go.

I think Katara's portrayal in the episode is great. The storyline straddles the fine line of portraying her anger as equally valid and self destructive, and I like that she isn't villanised for it. Yes, Aang and Sokka try to talk her out of it, but it is out of concern for her, rather than a vehement contempt of her actions. Her grief is well presented, and even when she snaps the memorable and objectively awful "You didn't love her like I did" to Sokka, it feels more like a child trying to explain the intensity of her grief, but not knowing how to express it with the right words.

Let's remember that Katara not only was the sibling to see her mother's dead body, directly interact with her mother's murderer, but she also probably felt a lot of guilt for not only indirectly being the cause of the raid, but also not being fast enough in getting Hakoda, who may have helped. She's dealing not only with grief, but with a nasty case of survivor's guilt that Sokka thankfully doesn't seem to have. And it's very natural that, being a child, Katara would misinterpret Sokka having healed from the grief better as him not loving their mom as much as she did.

I've talked about the obvious parallel between Katara using bloodbending in the Southern Raiders and Hama forcing the art upon her. Bloodbending, in the case of Katara and Hama, symbolises righteous anger and hurt that has festered into something much more vindictive.

I think the bloodbending scene in TSR doesn't get discussed enough other than "it was cool to see Katara bloodbend again" or "haha this is how Zuko discovered bloodbending exists". Which, valid points, but I think the weight of this scene is often set aside. Even though it's the only instance of bloodbending in atla aside from "the Puppetmaster". And it directly parallels Hama, as Katara directs her rightful anger at a man who was innocent in this situation.

Like, yes this man was a Fire Nation officer, but he is not Yon Rha, and may, for all we know, not have even paricipated in the raids. Yet he was still subjected to the agonising and terrifying ordeal of being bloodbent, over a case of mistaken identity and misplaced vengance.

But Katara still has reason to hurt him. He's a fire nation soldier, a member of the organisation that hurt her and her people. Yet once she realises he is not Yon Rha, she immediately releases him, and is seemingly startled and exhaused by what she has done.

And of course, the situation takes a toll on Katara. I may be mistaken, but the ship scene seems to be the only instance of Katara tearing up in TSR, which feels like a deliberate choice. She has tears in her eyes when boarding the ship, probably as she knows she is planning on bloodbending, and again right after bloodbending the commander. It draws back to how devastated she was after bloodbending for the first time.

[Bloodbending has aggresive generational trauma symbolism, in both atla and tlok]

Bloodbending, for Katara, makes her go to a very dark place, and draw on a legacy of pain and anger that Hama had forced upon her. No wonder it is daunting to her. I find it hard to imagine Katara isn't aware of how much she is leaning into Hama's legacy in TSR, which may be why she is tearing up after bloodbending the commander.

She knows she's losing herself, and going down a path she previously could never see herself following. But I think she feels the need to do this, not only for herself, but for her mother.

Katara: Now that I know he's out there ... now that I know we can find him, I feel like I have no choice. Aang: Katara, you do have a choice: forgiveness. Zuko: That's the same as doing nothing! Aang: No, it's not. It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive. Katara : It's not just hard, it's impossible.

She feels like she has no choice, and the only way to do right by her mother is to get vengance on Yon Rha. We know that Kya's death has been a core wound for Katara. We see how she's tried to keep her mother's legacy alive, to the point of her trying to replace her in many ways, despite her being vocally uncomfortable with being percieved as motherly.

This probably ties in to Katara's survivor guilt, as she strongly tries to honour her mother, who died for/because of her. And killing Yon Rha feels like it's something that has to be done to avenge Kya, in Katara's eyes. But it is also taking a clear toll on Katara's own mental wellbeing.

I don't like the idea that TSR's Katara is "the true Katara" because it feels like taking a character who is going through some intense shit and isolating that as their "true self". Zuko during his banishment was not his true self, nor was Aang during the Desert. Rather than be defined by our lowest moments, we are a sum of our parts, and while how we act under duress is a factor of who we are, it is not a defining feature.

In the end, I think this is up to personal philosophy, but I find it so shallow and harsh to believe that someone reveals their true self when they're clearly in pain and distress. It feels very callous. Katara is acting out of pain and grief, and I don't think it's fair to define a 14 year old over these actions. Her friend and brother being concerned for her was warranted, because they see that Katara is doing something that she may regret. They know that Katara values life, that she isn't a killer, that she doesn't believe people are defined by their grief and pain.

I think Katara's own words in "the Avatar State" episode fit here rather poignantly.

Katara : Do you remember when we were at the air temple and you found Monk Gyatso's skeleton? It must have been so horrible and traumatic for you. I saw you get so upset that you weren't even you anymore. I'm not saying the Avatar State doesn't have incredible and helpful power ... but you have to understand ... for the people who love you, watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary.

And, of course, on a smaller scale, this rings true for Katara in TSR as well. Anger and grief are important for a healthy human to experience, but it is easy to lose oneself to them. And I think this is the thesis of TSR, which often gets misinterpreted.

The episode doesn't condemn Katara for wanting to track down Yon Rha, but it does clearly set up the warnings of what murdering him entails for Katara. Now, as much as Jet and Hama are complex in how they are presented as sympathetic antagonists, and there is a discussion to be had about villanising victims, they are both set up as parallels to Katara.

Katara empathises with them, and that is what allows them to manipulate her. We see both Jet and Hama late into their respective "moral declines", but it's not that hard to see how they got there. Jet was a freedom fighter, surely he's killed soldiers. And perhaps military couriers, perhaps medics, people affiliated with the FN army but not participating in the fight directly. And then there are citizens who may have cooperated with the army and supported it with rations, perhaps. All in the name of his righteous cause, up until he tried to blow up a town.

I have no doubt Hama began imprisoning people who "deserved it". Perhaps a FN army veteran who was proud of his first service, then perhaps a man who declared his disdain for the other nations, then, maybe a wife of a soldier who supported her husband's military career, maybe a teen who talked about joining the army once he was the right age.

Revenge is dangerous, because it doesn't always bring the closure we seek, and we are left to project those who harmed us onto people who have nothing to do with it.

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet. Katara: It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster.

But note that Jet was also fighting the "monsters" who harmed his village.

Jet: Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother. We can't let them do that to anyone else ever again. Katara : This isn't the answer!

Let's be honest, Yon Rha is literal scum and I don't think anyone would be sad for him if Katara turned him into an icicle pincushion. The episode never tries to humanise him, and portrays him as pathetic and vile, as he deserves. But it's not about him. Aang and Sokka's worries lay with Katara and how killing a man out of rage and pain would affect her personally.

I think Aang specifically gets misinterpreted in this episode. I understand why he rubs people the wrong way, because of course we believe Katara deserves to face Yon Rha, that she deserves the closure this encounter would offer her.

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice. Aang: I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge. Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves!

I actually adored this episode for Aang and Katara's relationship, because I adore how Aang straddles the line of supportive and rightfully concerned. What I think a lot of people forget is that Aang wasn't against Katara finding Yon Rha, but rather trying to gauge Katara's reasons for doing so and concerned about her motives.

Because "what do you think this will accomplish?" is a valid question to ask here. Aang knows firsthand that releasing one's anger is seldom the healing balm for the soul. Katara has helped him process the unbelievable pain and rage he went through as the last airbender, and he is returning the favour, while also trying to keep her needs in mind. He acknowledges that Katara needs to face Yon Rha, but he worries for her if she chooses vengance.

Katara: Don't try to stop us. Aang: I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man. [Katara situates herself on Appa's head.] But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.

I've seen the argument that this is just Aang "saving face" because Katara was going to go anyway, but I find that argument hollow. Like, yeah, I guess if you want to believe that. But Aang hasn't had problems disagreeing with Katara before, and I feel like Appa would take Aang's side if push came to shove.

I find it silly that some people can't comprehend the idea of Aang supporting Katara's need to confront Yon Rha, while not supporting the murderous urges. Because just because Katara didn't kill Yon Rha, doesn't mean the encounter didn't have value.

I think the biggest one is Katara demystifying Yon Rha, and, to an extent Fire Nation soldiers to herself.

Over the course of the episode, Katara frequently refers to Yon Rha as "the monster" rather than as a man. She's, unsurprisingly, built him up in her head as a manifestation of her helplessness to protect those she loves, the power and evil the Fire Nation army has over her.

Katara: That was him. That was the monster.

This has the side effect that when Zuko attacks her village, in the very first few episodes, she's probably going right back to that scared little girl. There are even some incredibly strong parallels between these two raids. Both looking for the last member of a demographic. Kya or Aang bargain themselves in exchange for the village's safety, while also comforting Katara. Hell, there's even some strong visual similarities between Zuko's scar and the unique helmets the Southern Raiders wear, further allowing Katara to tie Zuko to the monster of her childhood.

Confronting Yon Rha allowed her to truly look at "the monster" and realise that he is just a pathetic man.

Katara : [Sorrowfully.] I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing, but now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty.

She is no longer helpless against him, and those like him.

Katara : Oh, don't you worry about my strength. I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came.

This also allows her to untangle Zuko from Yon Rha, and see that Zuko is trying and has grown as a person.

Zuko in TSR is interesting to me. I think people tend to brush of his own internal goings on in the episode. Zuko is acting very much like Zuko here, which is equally annoying and endearing. I have no doubt he was genuine in his attempts to smooth things over with Katara, and that he truly thought he was helping by egging her on to kill Yon Rha. On the surface, it is a vaguely questionable move to try and dig up a girl's trauma behind her back. But I do believe Zuko was genuinely not aware of how manipulative these actions could come off.

Zuko still has a lot of toxic and dangerous mindsets from his Fire Nation upbringing to unlearn. And it manifests in percieving violence and vengance as the only correct way, as well as mocking Aang's more pacifistic advice. Like genuinely it's not surprising he has a little bit of lingering disdain for air nomad values but it is also incredibly jarring to hear these words from him lol.

If I can present one of my silliest pet peeves of the episode, its when Zuko rescues Katara from those falling rocks and then lays on top of her for just a bit too long. Like thanks for the assist sir now stop laying on top of the lass. And then he goes "ok I'll take that as a thank you ☝️🤓" when she tells him to get off. Also waiting in front of her tent all night like sir please

There are some similarities between Katara's confrontation with Yon Rha and Zuko's confrontation with Ozai, and I believe they were intentional. As both these characters confront men who have cast a shadow over their childhoods, and have, directly or indirectly caused them to lose their mothers. And they both no longer fear them now it's Ozai and Yon Rha's turn to listen to them.

Zuko: That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore. Ozai : [Angrily.] You will obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last! Zuko: [Pulls out his swords.] Think again. I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen.

Of course, there are some even more direct parallels in Katara and Yon Rha compared to the Aang and Ozai fight but Im focusing on Katara and Zuko here.

I think it would also be foolish to set aside the idea that Zuko is very much affected by Ozai taunting him about his own mother's dissapearance during the Day of Black Sun. Zuko was unable to get closure for his mother's dissapearance, so he is extra invested in Katara's mother's death, and finding her killer.

It is very fun to see Zuko and Katara working together. They're a deadly duo and they bounce off each other really well. It always warms my heart to see them reconcile at the end, as it was a long time coming. I treat it as a landmark on both their budding friendship, and their respective personal healing journeys.

I think my biggest criticism of the episode is how much Sokka had been sidelined in it. On one hand, I understand it. He isn't suffering from the survivors guilt Katara is dealing with and therefore has no need to confront Yon Rha.

On the other hand having Zuko use him as essentially an exposition dump and then for the narrative to cut him out right after he relived his trauma hurts my soul. At the very least, I think it would've been nice to see his concern for Katara more focused on.

I am, however, impressed that seemingly moments after he told Zuko about one of the worst days of his life, he was hooking up with his gf like I don't think I'd even be able to preform after that and yet Sokka did apparently. Which tbh is very 16 year old boy of him.

TSR is one of those episodes that has been slightly soured in my mind by the way the fandom tends to treat it. It has become the centre of some very nasty shipping discourse, when that was never the focus of the episode. But I do love the focus on Katara and the way she handles her grief and trauma.

I know it's easy to say TSR simply regurgitates the tried and true killing=bad a lot of kid shows have, but I think it does so with some very interesting nuance. Instead of using objective morality, it focuses more on how killing someone, even with a good reason, could affect you personally. And I commend it for that, even if it isn't always graceful abouf it.

I don't think I've touched on every subject of TSR, because i originally meant this reply to be a quick overview which spiraled vastly out of control. This post is already getting way too long, so I'll end it now, because I think I touched on at least most of what I wanted to.

That post was pretty heavy, so here's a picture of my fat son Zorro under a blanket that kinda makes him look like Goku when he turns blond or smth idk I've never watched DB

[jonny-versace]

That one episode delivered about 50 years worth of gifsets, brought incredibly talented gifpeople out of retirement, made the gifpeople who never stopped reach new heights, changed the mind of (some) antis, and brought accounts we haven't seen since Churchill back from the dead. Which is to say, thanks to everybody on here whose made these past few days special