#I also don’t care about any western celebrities really

[merely-a-caricature]

I had to do an impromptu speech where I drew a topic and had to think about it for a minute or two; I got what celebrity would you marry

I talked about how I actually don’t want to get married and how marrying a celebrity would be a nightmare

[laineystein]

i personally don’t support war and find blindly serving any military awful. I don’t mean to be rude i just wonder why you think that defending israel is the only way to garuntee jewish safety? that feels like taking responsibility off of other countries and leaving diaspora jews vunerable. im really just anti military but this conflict has been awful and i hope for the safety of all jewish people israelis muslims and palestinians but no safety to a government of right wingers

I admire your bravery in reaching out when I don’t have anon turned on. Few would, so good on you.

First off, I’m not serving blindly. None of the soldiers I’m serving with are serving blindly. We all believe in what we’re doing and we’re going to keep doing it until the mission is done and all of our people are safe again. I could get into the nuances of conscription and reserves but I’m not going to. With confidence, succinctly, none of us are serving blindly. (I’m also employed by the IDF outside of reserves so I assure you that I, in particular, love my army and believe in what we stand for.)

I don’t *think* that defending Israel is the only way to guarantee Jewish safety. I know it is. We are a country surrounded by homicidal antisemites. Hamas has stated that they will continue doing what they did on October 7th until we cease to exist. There is no peace for the Israeli or Palestinian people with Hamas still in power. So we’re destroying their tunnels and we’re rooting them out and we’re here for our hostages. Let’s play devils advocate - if Israel didn’t exist do you all honestly think that Hamas and all other Iran proxies would just allow Jews and the Western world to live in peace? Because they wouldn’t. Y’all should be grateful that we’re here because if we weren’t, they’d be killing Jews elsewhere. Don’t let them fool you into believing this is about land. They. Hate. Jews. And Israel is the only place in the world where Jews can truly defend themselves. My grandfather survived the Holocaust BH and he always says that they didn’t have a way to defend themselves in the camps. They weren’t organized. They didn’t have weapons. They didn’t have the upper hand. Well now we’re organized and we’re armed and we’re trained. Never again will we be helpless - thanks to Israel.

“That feels like taking the responsibility off of other countries” - what responsibility? To protect Jews? To persecute Hamas? Feh! None of that will ever happen. Not once has any other country *saved* the Jewish people. And, actually, often times people are turning a blind eye to our persecution - like most of the world did on and after and ever since October 7th. Like they did during the Holocaust. Like they have every time Hamas and PIJ indiscriminately fire rockets at Israel. As I said, never again will our safety be in anyone else’s hands because the world has shown us time and time again that they do not care.

“Leaving diaspora Jews vulnerable” is an insane way to blame the victim. WE WERE ATTACKED. But do you think we needed to be attacked for people to hate Jews? No, this has just empowered them to do so out loud. There has always been a correlation between anti-Israel hate and violence against Jews in the diaspora. In May of 2021 when 4000+ rockets were fired into Israel, goyim in the diaspora took this as permission to act out their antisemitic fantasies. Again when WE WERE ATTACKED. Don’t forget - People were celebrating our massacre before Israel even set foot in Gaza. Don’t let the world fool you into thinking that Israel defending ourselves has created antisemitism in the diaspora, it’s only encouraged it.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you are not Jewish. I don’t know how to explain this conflict to you - a conflict I have lived my entire life (like my parents and grandparents before me). I don’t know how to share my pain and grief and the pain and grief of my tribe in a way that will make sense. But I’m done needing to justify my existence as a Jew. Israel is done justifying its existence as the homeland of the Jewish people. History has shown us that our survival is our responsibility and I/we won’t apologize for it. The same people that are too cowardly to stand up for us when our people are killed and raped can keep their mouths shut when we defend ourselves.

And it seems like maybe you didn’t read this post that I shared today which really would have answered a lot of this without me needing to go on a sleep deprived rant.

[dawninlatin]

Can I have a sketch with Manorian where Manon is pregnant and Dorian is taking care of her??😭 I love these vanilla

Hiii anon🌞

By sketch, I sincerely hope you mean drabble, bc I absolutely cannot draw🫣 I can write tho, so I hope you enjoy this teensy tinsy snippet since I’m currently on vacation in Copenhagen without my laptop😌 (yes i’m just typing on my phone so pls forgive all errors lmao)

Hi this is me again two days later, at home with my laptop:) As usual what started out as a drabble turned into a whole-ass fic, but I hope you still enjoy it:):) Also I've never been pregnant (and thank god for that) so I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies....

~~~

Manorian one shot, canonverse, 1,5k words

Manon slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the morning sun shining through the curtains. She wasn’t sure what had woken her up this time, but the sunlight meant she’d gotten a few hours of sleep, at least.

With a sigh, she tried to get comfortable, even if that was impossible these days. Next to her, a still-asleep Dorian shifted, throwing an arm over her middle and snuggling close. 

He mumbled something Manon couldn’t make sense of, but she just shoved at him, hissing «Don’t touch me.»

«I just wanna cuddle,» he murmured, his lips caressing her neck in a way that usually would have had Manon wanting and ready.

Instead, she let out a huff, and gave a weak attempt at swatting him away once more, when he didn't move. Manon was usually strong enough to just push him away from her, but right now she couldn't find the energy to bother.

«Just cuddling is what got us in this situation in the first place.» Manon looked at her round belly as she spoke, the thing so big she resembled a beached whale. She couldn’t fathom how she still had a month and a half left to get even bigger.

Safe to say, Manon wasn’t particularly enjoying pregnancy. In fact, she hated it, and couldn’t wait for it to be over so she could have their witchling and her body back. 

She was nothing like the insufferable ladies at court, though, who only spoke in hushed voices about avoiding strechmarks and staying tight down thereso that Dorian would still desire her.

Yes, she missed sleeping comfortably and moving freely, but in the end, the only thing that mattered was that their witchling was born alive and healthy. 

And her current state did nothing to quell Dorian’s desire, it seemed, given by the stiff cock pressing against her thigh at the moment.

That’s his problem to deal with, Manon thought grumpily as she once more pushed his shoulder.

There had been a few months in the middle of her pregnancy, after she’d stopped puking all day and night but before the constant fatigue and body aches, where she’d been insatiable, jumping Dorian at any opportunity, but sex these days required too much moving on her part, so their couplings were few and far between.

«Dorian, move. I’m too warm and clammy for cuddling.» It sounded more like a whine than she’d like, but whining seemed to be her default mode for communicating lately.

Manon also really had to pee, but she always really had to pee, so the heat was the most unbearable at the moment.

They had arrived in Rifthold three days ago for the King’s upcoming birthday celebration, but given that Dorian had been born in the middle of summer, it had been three days of bright sun, no wind and a much too high temperature.

Already, Manon longed to return to the Witch Kingdom. Yes, it may be summer there as well, but it’s location on the western coast of Erilea meant a constant, cooling wind blowing in from the vast ocean. She would give anything right now to feel that wind on her face.

The plan had been to stay for two weeks to attend the royal birthday celebration, and then return to the Witch Kingdom together, where they would remain until well after their witchling was born, but Manon’s hips and pelvis had been aching for days now, the pain only increasing, and she wasn’t sure she could make the trip back to the Wastes if it got much worse. The mere possibility filled her with anxiety. 

They had discussed this long ago, how important it was to Manon that their child was born in the Witch Kingdom. Both because she wanted the comfort of being surrounded by her own, but also because while the curse had been lifted, witches were still wary of giving birth on the previously barren land, fearing it would lead to a stillborn witchling, so if their heir was born on foreign soil, it would send the wrong kind of message.

Manon couldn’t lie still for a moment longer, so she gave the still-sleeping king one final shove, glad that he actually moved this time, then rolled out of bed and waddled her way to the bathing chamber, as she’d done so many times earlier that night.

-

After what seemed like an eternity, Manon returned to their bedchamber to find Dorian awake and out of bed, pulling on a shirt. It annoyed her to no end that he could look so good after just waking up.

How miserable she felt must have been written on her face, because the king gave her a look filled with sympathy. «How was your night?»

Stopping in the middle of the room, Manon sighed «Terrible.» The day had barely begun, but she could already feel tears trying to escape. That was another thing she hated with being pregnant. There were so many emotions. All. The. Time. In one moment, she could storm out of a room in anger simply because Dorian’s presence annoyed her so much, but then in the next she could come back crying, needing to be in his arms, sobbing that «she was sorry for being so mean».

It truly marveled her, how she’d gotten to this point. Standing in the bedchamber she shared with the King of Adarlan, her husband, whom she had married not for alliance or plotting, but love, wearing a loose linen dress, the only item of clothing comfortable enough and big enough to fit her enormous belly because she was so very pregnant, and trying not to burst into tears in front of said husband, which was no worry, really, since she did it all the time now, but she still tried to keep some of her dignity.

Sensing that she neared another breakdown, Dorian came over to her, standing behind her. Manon leaned against him, her back to his front, and his hands immediately went to her belly, caressing it. «How can I make it better?»

Manon didn’t answer him, only closed her eyes, savoring the comfort of his arms. How clingy she’d gotten had been one of the first signs of her pregnancy, as it was common for witches, along with the nausea.

Then Dorian did something incredible. He placed his hands underneath her belly and lifted it, taking  almost all the weight off of her hips and pelvis.

Feeling her whole body straighten, Manon let out a moan, her head falling backwards to rest against Dorian’s shoulder.

When in addition, an ice-kissed wind summoned by the king’s raw magic caressed her face, the relief was so great Manon did start to cry.

«What’s the matter, witchling?» Dorian asked as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. 

She merely leaned into him further.

Manon had spent 117 years of her immortal life locking every emotion, every fear, deep within herself, never showing any weakness or vulnerability, so getting to a point where she could be real and raw with Dorian had been hard, and she still struggled with communicating her needs at times.

Dorian pressed a light kiss to her jaw. «Talk to me, love.»

«I want to go home.» The words came out as a whisper, but Dorian heard them. He hummed, a phantom hand brushing her hair out of her face. The pure love in those simple gestures urged her to go on.

«I can’t take the heat here. I’m always uncomfortable now, but the heat makes it unbearable! It feels like I’m suffocating. And what if I can’t make it back to the Wastes in two weeks? What if I’ll have to give birth here?»

«Then we’ll go back now,» Dorian said, his calm voice grounding her, if only a little. «I need a few hours to arrange things, but if you need to go back, we’ll go back.»

Even if it was exactly what she wanted, Manon shook her head, feeling selfish for making him drop everything just for her. He was a king, after all, and while they had spent as much time together as possible throughout her pregnancy, he still had responsibilities here.

«We can’t just go back. You need to stay here for your birthday celebration, and I don’t want to go back alone.» She let out a sob at the thought. Witches going into labour early wasn’t uncommon, and the thought of giving birth to their witchling without Dorian there scared her more than anything.

«Fuck that. The people care more about the celebration in itself than what they’re celebrating.»

Manon was about to protest, but Dorian stopped her.

«What’s most important to me, is you, Manon, and our witchling,» a phantom hand stroked her belly at that, «and if traveling back to the Wastes is what’s best for you right now, that’s what we’ll do.»

Placing her hands over Dorian’s, Manon nodded once, feeling a little less scared, a little more ready for what was to come. «That’s what we’ll do.»

Taglist: @fireheartfaery @bookishwitchling @celestialams @darklingswhxore @onfma @ireallyshouldsleeprn@sayosdreams @rowaelinismyotp @rainbowcheetah512 @mirubyjane @zoyalovesbooks

[jyndor]

You’re so right about West Papua. Javanese colonizers are in the comments of the original tweet like “you don’t understand, these guys were arrested because they had weapons :( “ while celebrating the Palestinian right to armed resistance. You can’t say that you stand against genocide while ignoring or justifying the one that you happen to benefit from. The West Papuans should be able to resist Indonesian colonization in any way they see fit.

anon, this is one of the most bitter truths about all this, and I'm sorry I don't want to speak out of turn but I think perhaps for a lot of people in the west it can be odd to realize that for many people in the world Palestine is an issue that transcends ideology for the most part.

so even though we in the so-called west are used to solidarity with Palestinians being a leftist thing because ain't no centrist or conservative here giving a shit about them, that's not the norm globally.

obviously the Arab and Islamic worlds are largely in solidarity because they see Arabs and Muslims having been colonized by a western proxy, a settler colonial project that is also very hostile to most of them, even though of course Palestinians are not oppressed because they are Muslim (and Christian) but because they are Palestinians. and Palestine is very diverse - many people racialized in many ways. and as we see with the treatment of Sudanese people in Egypt and other largely non-Black Arab countries, people may hold onto solidarity with one group sincerely while failing another group going through similar brutality.

I think conversations like this are best left to communities to have because they have a better understanding of their communities and these issues than I ever could, but also if we are going to ally ourselves with anti-colonial struggles for self-determination and liberation, that means ALL of them. all peoples, all cultures, no matter what what the governments occupying their homes and oppressing them are doing for Palestine or any other oppressed people.

I am so happy that so many countries are standing up for Palestinians but let's not be fooled into thinking they're just doing it because they care about liberation period - if they do at all, it is because of internal pressure from their peoples. I appreciate South Africa's work on this matter and the decades of solidarity they have had with Palestinians - but South Africa abstained from a vote condemning Russia for its annexation and invasion of Ukraine, which notably puts indigenous Crimean Tatars at significant risk. this is about geopolitics of course, not just morality... and people need to understand that.

a lot of the global south has been... not terribly great on this issue, and I mean I get it because Ukraine hasn't exactly fostered great solidarity with the global south but tbh if people are going to care about liberation, anti-imperialism and indigenous rights it really should not matter if for once the US is actually on the right side of that issue, which is really what it comes down to lbr. Ukraine is a western, white-racialized country that has benefited from white European supremacy (never gonna forget that English reporter going ~bUt ThIs iS EuRoPe~~~ lol) and that is not something that can or should be overlooked by supporters of Ukrainian self-determination as it often is. and then there's the overwhelming support for Israel from Ukraine, which is abhorrent and I know there is also support for Palestine there too. But it's very telling that when push comes to show, that solidarity is lacking.

when it comes to Indonesia and West Papuans, there is no room for ambiguity - it is genocide, it is colonialism, it is occupation. one thing I have learned through this is that cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.

people BELIEVE there is a real substantive difference between whatever resistance movement they support and whatever groups that their own governments are oppressing, or that are not geopolitically "aligned" with their politics. as if their politics shouldn't be informed by liberation PERIOD.

every time there is a big post about multiple genocides/atrocities in general, there's always people in the comments going "Well actualllyyyyy x is not being genocided because y" and it's like... how do you know that? how do you know that the uyghur cultural genocide* is not happening???? we literally say all the time that genocide doesn't always mean the complete murder of every single person in a group, why are we being like this??? cultural genocide is genocide, and it can easily escalate into mass murder. how is this up for fucking debate.

anyway, I have to go to work but yeah anon I get it. people need to unlearn nationalism and learn how to critically engage with their governments' histories. all of us. sorry it's coming from a us american but I think I know a little something about that.

*I understand the US is full of shit on this and has pushed some propaganda but that does not mean I do not have solidarity with the Uyghurs.

[olreid]

[ID 1, 2: But that actually only gets us so far when it comes to young people and actually, a lot of the problems that trans youth face, although they would be greatly improved if we could deal with some of that anti-trans hatred at the core of the world we live in, it actually wouldn’t be fully resolved. Because a lot of the problems trans youth face have to do with being children, and their transness sort of accelerates the way that adults are used to mistreating, disliking, and even abusing and manipulating them in the name of taking care of them and loving them. This is how modern American, really Anglo-American culture invented childhood in the late 19th century as this protectable, idealized, innocent space that therefore it is ignorant and incapable and inferior to adults. And we like—we can just slow this down for a second to think about how bizarre the West is about some things, okay? It’s like this is truly—okay. Everyone in theory is a child, right? So it’s like, this social status that we’re all supposed to come through, but that we’re like, “Everyone is a child, but children are absolutely less valuable than adults.” So everyone is supposed to go through this debased period in their life.

ID 3: And then if you survive it, you get to be an adult. And kind of the most amazing trick Western culture ever came up with is like, “Then you will have childhood amnesia and you’ll actually never remember what it was like to be a child,” right? Like we can’t actually remember truly how fucked up it was to be treated like we didn’t know shit about ourselves, to be thrown into a world where we didn’t have a hand in writing any of the rules, where adults lied to our faces and are hypocrites all the time and are constantly mistreating us and we’re like, “Wait.” And also our point of view does not matter whatsoever. We’re constantly being told, “You don’t know anything. You are ignorant. You are innocent. I have to protect you.” And where adults are like, “Anyways, so I’m gonna protect you by hurting you.” Right? And then you’re supposed to roll over and be like, “Thank you so much. Oh my god.”

ID 4: And I think that I tend to be pretty polemic about this when I talk about this because I am, you know, a historian of childhood. It’s like, you have to do a little bit of deprogramming, right? We have actually all been taught since before we could consent, to accept being mistreated, to accept being harmed in the name of being cared. We are told that it’s okay to infantilize and make people vulnerable and put them in situations where they’re at the whim of institutional adult power because it’s good for them. It’s literally all victim blaming! Right? And so when that situation is rigged, and every single one of us has been put through a kind of brainwashing, right, because we’re all raised in that culture, right. And then we’re asked to perpetuate it. I mean, it’s just staggering, right? I mean, it’s really, it’s intense, right.

ID 5: But I think one of the lessons that I thought a lot about, right, is like if we could just cut through the fake moral panics around trans people, then we’d get to the real heavy lifting, which is why do we dehumanize and mistreat children on such a widespread scale that we actually have to actively lie to ourselves and mislead ourselves as a culture every second of every day? end ID]

the text above is from jules gill-peterson's gender reveal podcast episode but one of the other things i can't stop thinking about re: paper girls is how it functions as a critique of the way that childhood is lived for adulthood. childhood comes with so much abuse, as described above, and the way that it's justified is in large part by encouraging kids to have huge dreams for their futures -- president, ceo, celebrity -- that will make the years of hardship worth it and turn it all into the first chapter in a story of rags to riches that they'll be proud to tell; the more broad, bootstrappy idea that you have to go through something hard to get to something great operates in the context of childhood in a powerful way. but what happens when the child shows up to confront the adult and finds that their future is not exceptional after all? how is the child supposed to justify their suffering-filled present if not with the mirage of the perfect future where suffering has been transformed into hard-earned success? the kids in paper girls judge their future selves so harshly, and their adult selves have no answers for them as to why they have not become what they dreamed of as children. it is an extremely powerful thing to watch a child ask their grown-up self, why did i suffer this way? and come to understand that there was no justification at all, that the adults who told them it was necessary in service of who they would later become were selling them a lie.

[norcalbruja]

The Ocean Crew just coming up and freaking me out again

Around Thanksgiving / Colonizer-Celebration day, I had a dream where I was in the sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Then me and Tenoch Huerta found out after a party that our shit-for-brains friends took both our cars to ferry the drunk folks home without asking first, so that means two POC got stranded at midnight in the suburbs, trying to walk an hour back to my place. (It wouldn’t be overtly dangerous, but my town DOES have a Ku Klux Klan history and only really tolerates the “good/respectable” minorities, so a Brown Mexican AND a Brown Asian may not have been able to flag down anyone for help.)

I didn't think much about it because I'm a writer who has REALLY coherent dreams, in which Dream-Me also can't seem to get her shit together (seriously, she gets into some escapades!). I laughed about it and I just thought it was me being bitter about my new day-job until Namor/Kukulkan showed up in one of my meditations going, "Hello, love. Did you like the dream?"

And I was like "uhhhhhhhhhhhh yes??? Hello sir—I mean Your Majesty! Or are you actually some form of Tenoch Huerta?"

As noted with the pop-culture spirits when Eric Draven came around on Undas, I never know whether these guys are the CHARACTERS or the ACTORS. I've actually encountered Marvel-Namor a couple of times, but he is extremely high-minded and insistent on getting his way, so while he’s usually pretty civil, he’s still exhausting for my introvert commoner self to deal with.

Long story short, he is not the Feathered Serpent, but he is Mexican/Mayan and is A FUCKING BIG SNAKE (like 40-foot Titanoboa levels of Big Snake!!!). Like most of the other colonized water-spirits, Kukulkan seems to know MY Water-Spirit/Giant-Squid from... you know, Spanish colonization.

Also I’ve noticed a small but distinct pattern where indigenous reptile spirits (Ulupong the spitting cobra, Lola Buwaya the crocodile, and now Namor/Kukulkan the goddamn Titanoboa) just don’t have any fucking chill. For species that are seen as cold-blooded/uncaring and often cowardly by Westerners, the difference is really surprising.

Insert “reptile spirits with metaphorical snake-tongues” jokes here.

--

So Kukulkan refused to leave and demanded of the Water-Spirit, "What have you been doing all this time?! Are you just her attack dog and a bedwarmer?! You act like a mortal now! As if you know nothing of our kinsmen! The only thing left of you is your eyes!"

The Water-Spirit kind of flinched like they’ve talked about it before, and he told Kukulkan, “I couldn’t grant wishes even at my peak. I don’t know how much you expect me to do now.”

Kukulkan just seethed and went, “You can do more than grant wishes. You do yourself and your wife evil to think otherwise. You act like the Spanish won, but she clings to the scraps of you like a starving creature. Perhaps she should be the water-spirit. And you the young man who knows nothing of your people.”

Dionysus came over and said, “Sir, trash-talking a traumatized guy about how he acts like a squishy human might not be that motivating. Maybe tone it down a little?”

Kukulkan then snapped at him, “GODLING, LEAVE THE WATER-SPIRITS TO OUR OWN MATTERS! Your power is from your father! My power is from myself!”

So Dionysus clearly got pissed and just... left entirely. This is the second time an Extremely Old nature-spirit brushed him off as a "godling," and I think the added jab of 'you only got a job at Mount Olympus because your daddy runs the place' was another issue.

This is why Kukulkan is exhausting for me. He essentially acts like Marvel's Kukulkan--he's very capable and cares deeply about people, but he also has unnecessary shit to say if he doesn't consider YOU capable. Active/feudalistic nobility: Fun to watch/read in stories, not fun to deal with in real life, especially with my commoner ass. :/

Anyway, he took a while to stop demanding that the Water-Spirit just Get Better Already, but this morning he finally came up and admitted, "I am no idiot. I know the Spanish broke your husband's spirit. He is not the first or the last of our kin to become so."

And I'm like, "Okay, sir. Thank you for chilling out. I wish you did that a LITTLE bit earlier."

And as for their relationship dynamics, this is another instance of "these marginalized spirits are clearly Not Straight." Kukulkan and the Water-Spirit are this weird blend of "friends who lost touch" and "ex-boyfriends who had a falling out," because Kukulkan is polite to me but WAY more intense with the Water-Spirit, who also gets distinctly hurt when Kukulkan goes on his "I remember you used to be on fucking beast-mode all the time" rants.

Also, "Otherworldly Terror that doesn't fit anywhere else" note: You know how the Water-Spirit can turn into water-shaped-like-a-man, a wave, or a waterspout? I can't remember if I posted this here, but he can use his water-form to "sprint" long distances or to dissipate through various non-waterproof things.

He doesn't do it a lot because it wears him out and it also tends to freak me out as a solid-bodied human, but Kukulkan does it ALL THE TIME. He just disintegrates into a stream of water that is much bigger than an Average Human Body could hold, and then he fucking flies/teleports(???) wherever he needs to go.

[bookscandlesnbts]

Not the same anon that before but I just wanted to react to the discourse. Scratch that ask if you don’t want to talk about it any further.

"Kpop idols pretty much only announce marriages (of course straight ones duh since Korea is super homophobic) and that doesn’t even go over well."

Here lies the whole problem imo. We don’t have to know about idols relationships, who they date etc, but the extreme secrecy around it is part of what drives the backlash once they announce their marriage or whatever. They shouldn’t have to go public about it, but just live their lives without having to live under complete secrecy. It’s probably a matter of cultural differences, ever since I’ve been into kpop it’s one aspect of idols life that I never understood. I live in Western Europe and here no one cares about celebrities dating, it’s totally normal. Sure, some hardcore fans might cry about it but honestly it’s pretty much a non issue. As long as idols continue to accept that life of secrecy, then unfortunately they’ll have to deal with those crazy bs reactions. That’s why personally I think Tae and Jennie have been really brave, they acted like a normal couple having a date night in Paris like any normal couple would have and they didn’t two fucks about it. It still sucks that people took pictures - it’s beyond me how people have the guts to take pics of ppl without their consent and drop it on the internet…- but I think that was an encouraging first time to show that they’re just regular human beings with regular love lives.

Hi anon. Don’t worry, I can definitely tell that you aren’t the same anon. I also think TaeJennie were brave. Idk why people skipped past the Paris thing or act like it didn’t mean anything because it was a huge step and definitely a choice. When Jennie’s phone got hacked and her private photos were leaked, they could have easily swept it under the rug and ignored it, but months later to hold hands and then she admits in a magazine interview that they are together? That’s huge.

I too am from the western world (the US not Europe) and I have a theory about why the idol culture is the way that it is there. And one of the factors I’ve always thought of is the size of the country. The US is huge. I don’t live anywhere near LA (a common place for celebs to live) and our transportation here is terrible so it’s not easy for me to get there. I know I would probably never see a celebrity. I feel so much more removed from them if that makes sense. But Korea is tiny in comparison. It only takes 4 hours by train to get between the two biggest cities on opposite ends of the country. I can’t even drive 4 hours and make it to a different state. I can see how the delulu there would be a lot stronger if you were in closer proximity to the idols. Even in rural parts of the country, distance wise you aren’t separated by much and one could theoretically move to Seoul easier than I could move to LA. It’s much easier to sell the y/n fantasy when you have a higher chance of being near an idol or a celeb in Korea. Just look at how many foreigners go visit Korea thinking they will run into idols (and some of them do). That’s crazy to me to want to do that but that’s not the point. I don’t know what it would take to shift their culture, but I suspect geography is a bigger part of the equation than people realize.

[mrs-monaghan]

Thanks for sharing and confirming that my instincts were right. I always tend to trust my gut feelings about people but sometimes I wonder if I should. Well, once again, it seems that I, indeed, should. Now I have to be honest, I never gave much credit to wsj, I ended up unfollowing cause I wasn’t interested in her posts anymore at some point, I really don’t trust people claiming they know stuff about celebrities and posting it on the internet, everybody can pretend to be xyz, unless there’s some solid proof I chose to remain skeptical (I did see a few stuff, tough nothing groundbreaking, from the k-side that I trust though, so maybe she was right). That being said, it’s Tumblr, it’s more private that Twitter, we’re a smaller community, so I don’t see any harm in people sharing what they want to share on their own blog. Just move on and ignore if you don’t like. The campaign against her and other bloggers was disgusting. Let ppl speak on their own tiny corner ffs, if don’t agree you can expose your arguments, have a discussion or unfollow and block. As long as they don’t cross a line I don’t see the problem. I’m seriously done with the holier than thou woke bs attitude. It’s all about virtue signaling these days, showing how you’re so much better and morally pure, and you know everything better than the rest of the plague… give me a break. Also the discussion around jealousy and constant dismissing of k-army and korean dating culture was quite something… because as someone who comes from a country where the dating culture differs a lot with the American/western perspective, where a drop of jealousy and possessivity is considered as a normal display of affection - I’m not talking about excessive and toxic behavior obviously!! - the blatant ignorance and constant undermining of korean dating culture that is quite similar to mine in that regard really annoyed. me. so. freaking. much. It’s deemed as a big no-no in your culture, okay, I get it, but you’re not better than us who thinks that in many cases it’s not that big of deal and, in Jikook case, was quite revealing in the past. Sorry I’m going all over the place, I’ll shut up now!

Ha ha haaa... no, dont even worry about it. Its fine. Thing is though, the Jeonlous/Jimlous thing IS indeed quite exergerrated. Most of the compilations are rubbish. And I can see why most people hate it. Including Regina George. I get that. But it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Especially in the case of other people who are not members. My mind immediately goes to the Sean Mendez interaction. 🤭🤭🤭

(TT is accurate has not been manipulated in any way)

JK almost bulldozed RM and downright ignored him in his rush to get to Jimin. It's actually hilarious 😂😂 Now this can be classified as jealousy. But when it comes to members I don't think that's what that is at all. Annoyance, Irritation, maybe? because he can't do to Jimin what others can. But definitely not jealousy. Either way whatever it is, it happens and denying it is stupid.

As for WSJ I don't see why the notion that an Army personally knows BTS is so hard to believe. Normal people know celebrities all the time. That being said, my issue with everyone who went after her was the hypocrisy. WSJ was very careful not to tell us anything incriminating. And everything else she ever said were things we already knew.

-Jikook is real

-Jikook live together

-Vminkook have issues

Etcetera, Etcetera. These are things we already know. She was just confirming. And she wasn't even worse than us Jikookers. And i said as much to Stormie when she made that shady post. We are the ones talking about Jikook 18+ moments and posting about them. So anyone thinking they have a leg to stand on are being hypocrites. 🖕🏽

[absolutebl]

Hello! Just wanted to say I love your blog and all the analysis you do. Generally I don't go really deep into the technicalities of any shows I watch, but your way of writing makes it's so interesting to read it. Thanks for all the analysis posts you do.

I also come with a question, not sure if you have answered it before as I have started following only recently. I generally don't know anything about the actors/celebrities much and I am not interested also. But I have read some actors related posts on your blog, which were quite insightful and entertaining. Quite a few times you and few other blogs have mentioned something like "xyz actor says he will not do any more BLs" or "he doesn't need to do BLs" or "we are lucky he is even doing BLs". I don't remember the actors names now, but if my memory is correct they were mostly about Thai actors.

I also noticed in "War of y" they showed that generally directors who do big projects look down at BLs as not serious work or treat BL directors badly.

So my questions are 1. Does doing a BL, in anyway looked down on in the Thai entertainment industry? 2. Is it because of the fan service they have to do? 3. Generally actors should be open to all kind of roles, I find it wierd that few actors say such things like I will not do anymore BLs. Then why did they do it in the first place. 4. Does it happen in Western industry too?

Sorry for the long ask, just was curious about this part of the BL industry.

Have a good day.

Thank you for saying such nice things! 

1. Does doing a BL, in anyway looked down on in the Thai entertainment industry? 

Seems like. 

2. Is it because of the fan service they have to do? 

Probably. 

3. Generally actors should be open to all kind of roles, I find it weird that few actors say such things like I will not do anymore BLs. Then why did they do it in the first place. 

Work is work. 

4. Does it happen in Western industry too?

Oh yes. 

I have an actor friend (who shall remain nameless) who is pretty darn open about the fact that he takes the junk work (the stuff that doesn’t interest him but pays super well like, oh I don’t know, tent pole comic book movie de jour) so that he can do the indie stuff he’s really enjoys. There are authors who write in their bigger more popular universe, but really enjoy the obscure side passion project more. Bands who play the hits because they have to, not because they actually still enjoy them. 

Entertainment is the same as any other kind of work, shitty at least some of the time. 

Some actors don’t care if they are pigeonholed, others really chafe against it. It’s usually some kind of ego thing. It’s usually appearance related. They boys are also real young and often stupid in not guarding their tongues. Never say never in the ET industry. 

Here’s: 

Meta Post - All My Stuff on the BL Industry 

[broomsticks]

me, seeing if i can bait anyone into diving into BL fandom drama with me 😈

transcript (pdf) here

v interesting episode bringing together some really different perspectives! podcast hosts are australia-based academics who usually focus on china politics—i haven’t listened to any other episodes but they’re definitely on my to-do.

they also brought on an american(?) scholar of chinese history/ art history lecturer at HKU, who reads fanfiction and is interested in chinese tv dramas from the state censorship/regulation pov — and a(n asian?) BL (+ thorki, johnlock, etc) fanfic author 幻想症患者 (love the nick. means smth like ‘suffers from delusions’)

it’s no easy feat to be the lone fanfic writer in this discussion, to have to fairly represent the many aspects to these really complex issues, and there were a couple of rather - honestly not even fandom 101, more like fandom 100-level type questions you’d only get from people with no fandom experience.

on the whole though the hosting was good, you can tell the hosts did a lot of prep on the untamed show and the controversies re. the actor and his fans/his real-life fans fandom

though, on that note, i thought the discussion was a bit muddled between these different groups of ‘fan/fandom’. i have no doubt that everybody in the discussion was clear that these were separate things and which they were talking about at any point in time, just maybe didn’t have the language to signpost/ organize it more clearly, but i could’ve used more structure imo.

• • •

i especially appreciated huanxiang’s point about how (very grossly paraphrased) there is safety and protection and freedom in nicheness and obscurity and (less grossly paraphrased) drama draws unnecessary attention from outsiders who don’t understand fandom - particularly this bit:

I would be very, very careful to link [fandom trends and phenomena to anything (LGBTQ issues etc) in real life], not that it cannot be done. But please don't do that before like, before you have finished like 100, 200 BL novels or something like that with like a full understanding of the space

understanding before judgment! please! yes!

but also — while n=1 is just that, n=1, but i’d be lying if i said i didn’t giggle a little at the undertone of the cultural value(?) that attention, standing out, is a negative thing and viewed with this like default-aversion/suspicion. idk

that said, my main thought re. this hesitation wrt people who don't belong to this community and understand the norms of this community wasn’t so much kinks and fantasies and premier zhou/chairman mao RPF, but rather not showing celebrities rpf of themselves / creators fic of their characters. neither type of wank is great, obviously, and the two types do often go hand in hand, but i’d almost rather wank be brought into the community than leak out of it

• • •

another point alluded to (not really discussed) on the pod that might be new to western media fandomgoers/ my usual mutual circle is that the untamed netflix tv show originated as original fiction published on a site that hosts both OF and FF both pay- and free-to-read. there were fan translations and all, that were taken down after official translation rights were sold (there is a lot of wank & drama on this issue. a lot.)

a 2019 censorship crackdown on the site, unrelated to (predating) the untamed/xiao zhan controversy discussed on the pod

anyway, point being - the coexistence of the two camps — intended-for-commercialization amateur fiction, presumably sanitized and lowest-common-denominator and all that, and niche not intended for wider popularity-type writing — is fascinating. good to know that they can stably coexist in some form, given how much concern there often is re. commercialization of fanworks that the former will outcompete the latter!

• • •

BY FAR THE BEST TAKE - MY FAVE part of the podcast - was dr angie baecker’s response to the question is BL (response is also applicable to slash fic) subversive?

BL is and can be an extremely subversive space. But I also think BL can replicate a lot of structures that are not subversive. I also want to draw attention to the fact that many people in the LGBTQ community, some enjoy BL, some read it, some don't, some hate it.

when you have largely straight women writing romances about gay couples without having much access to knowledge about what those relationships are like, I think that there is [huge potential] for misunderstandings about queer identities and the LGBT community

It can be really freeing to see [to see the range of different types of M/M relationships], to explore not just homosexuality, but also homosociality

But at the same time, when you have such an emphasis on the male relationships, like everyone in the Untamed is a gay man or in an M/M relationship, that often comes at the cost of erasing a lot of female characters. And so you have this drama that may have started in some ways from the lack of agency given to female characters, but then it replicates a lot of the erasure of women as centres of agency within stories, too. So, I think it can be subversive, yes. And it could be very unsubversive, actually.

definitely some food for thought there. obligatory (and i do mean it!!) preface that fandom is not meaningful activism, does not have to be, you are not a bad person for not engaging with it — but i do wonder… in my view, there’s an element of - ‘with how oppressive the power structures of mainstream media, wider society, etc can be… why not take the opportunity to push back against them a little, here in this space where we can?’

• • •

also had a laugh at dr baecker’s unfortunately prescient prediction, their hesitation, that while I feel like right now we're really on the cusp of a rising trend in terms of seeing BL represented in pop culture - we're only going to see more and more of it -

I am a little worried that there might be some kind of like a foreclosing of this space because there's always this kind of Icarus phenomenon of when something gets too popular, right, it gets clipped back a little bit. So, I do worry about that.

😬 hahaha. that aged well.

• • •

misc pieces of fun fandom drama:

whether character name tags should include diacritics/tone marks! on the side of no: convenience - up until recently, tone marks wouldn’t autocomplete correctly. and for all the incorrectness, it’s not (any more) ambiguous. on the yes side: tone marks are objectively (more) correct. does their omission amount to racism?

it seems like (some sections of?) chinese webnovel fandom apparently have the fandom culture of not messing with the creator’s stated preferences — not just canon ships, but sexual preferences (topping and bottoming). fascinating!! fandom etiquette 👀

[boydepartment]

HOT TEA WITH HONEY WAS SO CUTE AND SWEET

you literally never disappoint

i love the way you write riki sm. i feel like you write him realistically?? ik it's impossible to know riki 100% unless you know him personally which as fans we don't but idk i feel like you really capture an authentic riki or at least a riki that matches well with the riki i see him as

thank you for taking your time out of your busy life to write my request 💕 im glad it helped you recoup after writing that crazy paper

i used to write but i don't really anymore and honestly it's so crazy to me how much you're able to write while juggling school work 😵‍💫😵‍💫 i couldn't do that...youre amazing jayjay!!

i will always wait patiently for you to write my requests. life can get crazy and writing takes a lot of effort and time!! please don't feel pressured to write my requests in any certain time frame okay!!

~~🧈~~

IM SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT :3 i really loved writing it and i wish i had more energy to make it longer ‼️‼️ i love writing relationships where it’s like healthy teasing (i’ve never had that, every “teasing” i got was like bullying and being actually threatened)

IM ALSO SO GLAD THAT THE WAY I WRITE RIKI IS OKAY! i’ve been reading fanfiction in general since i was 11 SO I REALLY TRY MY BEST! i also never want to like make him shitty bc he already deals w ppl making him an asshole all the time. which is another pet peeve of mine. IDK IF IVE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE (i might’ve have i have bad memory tho) but even when i wasn’t super into enhypen. like to the point where i didn’t necessarily like riki (antis are extremely damaging when the situation is taken out of context) i still worried abt him partially. it’s hard enough being a celebrity in western culture i cannot IMAGINE how difficult it is in the kpop world at his age. especially the age where he started training and was shoved into the public eye. so even when i didn’t even like him i was worried. maybe i’m just too empathetic bc i don’t even know the guy. ANYWAYS- before i ramble more.

OF COURSE BUTTER MY LOVE! i will always write your requests :3 they really do help take my mind off stuff and im proud to be able to be good enough that you keep coming back to my account! it really does mean a lot 🫶

you should do try writing things again!!!! even if it’s little things!!!! i used to be big on wattpad and took a break for a couple years and now i’m here! so you never know!!! life is unpredictable :3

your requests are always a breath of fresh air!!!! so don’t worry about the last part :) plus you ask super respectfully and that means A LOT to me 🫶

i hope you have an amazing day butter butter 🧈 i can’t wait to hear from you again soon!!! ❤️ please stay healthy and take care of yourself

[papirouge]

Honestly people’s hatred need to be directed to the rich “muslims” sitting in their mansions in western countries or in places like Saudi and Qatar and Iran that FUND Hamas. Muslims like them couldn’t care any less for the lives in palestine. They don’t care for it and couldn’t care if everyone in palestine is wiped out. I bet you anything that they’re laughing at the videos and celebrating. This is a false religion that promises reward for raping, enslaving and murdering. It directly goes against God’d word.

I refuse the have any "hate" for anyone because as a Christian, satan is the actual Enemy, but tbh, any single person calling for an escalation of this conflict (either defending the Hamas or "IsrAel hAs tHe rIghT tO dEfEnd tHemsElveD 🤪" folks) are as much reckless and ultimately damage the safety of Palestinians. At least rich Muslims stay quiet and aren't calling for the murder of anyone.

Westerners warmongering from their cozy homes that's not under the threat of being nuked overnight are despicable.

It's pretty obvious the Hamas expected a disproportionate response of Israel to amplify the martyrdom (human sacrifice) of Palestinians and leverage a support from the Muslim world.

Another thing that's despicable is how people are somehow trying to "rank" war crimes to act like either side was better/less worse.

Pro Palestine/hamas acting like because Palestianians suffering made acceptable to kill & abduct israelis

and

Pro israel acting like they had a moral ground because they didn't "decapitated babies" (this sensational rumor has yet to be proven true btw)

exhibit :

People will literally say :"I don't see a problem [cutting water & food supply to CIVILIANS]"...and still think they have moral superiority.... That's how dehumanization works : you find "good reasons" to strip people from their basic human rights. Also I always wanna to ask those people where they even draw the line to start dehumanizing people : when babies are killed? women raped? do they realize those are inherent to wars, and therefore them supporting a war makes them accomplice to those crimes??

But the thing is : there's no good answer. Killing or brutalizing ANYONE of ANY AGE/RACE/GENDER is already a moral failure.

Everytime I see people being like "oh look the Hamas raped and dragged a naked woman behind a car" I'm like: "would it be better if it was man? or if she wasn't naked?" Again : WHERE do they draw the line to start clutching their pearls at a specific murder? do these people think war is just a vibe? that because this stuff isn't shown on a camera, it doesn't happen? (yeah bc like in the screenshot, ppl genuinely think that Tsahal didn't do the same thing/war crimes somehow because it wasn't caught on tape...). Maybe they should think about it because supporting war and murder. There's no justified murder for God - a lot of so called "Christians" should understand that.

That's why I'm so SICK of radfem inserting themselves in the discourse to make it about themselves (again). There's a post floating around with a whitefem stating that Palestinians or Isralis women talking about their struggle is not White feminism, and while I totally agree with her statement, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the usual gaslighting lf "it's WHITE MEN who accuse white women of white feminism!!!" when they don't lol. Many WOC addressed white women gaslighting and aggression and tried to explain that it wasn't misogyny but out of a legit frustration against White women racism, but White women NEVER took them into account and kept focusing on whatever crap WHITE MEN did (look how MAD White women were at the Karen meme, and how they obsessively tried to paint it as a (white) male psy-op when MANY woc entertained this meme). Which is very interesting considering how divested radfem pretend belng from male approval... It's extremely telling how White women will ultimately value White men opinions/perspective more than those WOC. I like how they really be telling on themselves while thinking they're sooo much smarter than anyone else lol

I'll NEVER forget when whitefem call Middle eastern/Arabs radfem calling out the mistreatment of Palestianians women at the border "salafists". It got so bad that one of them slid into my DM-me, a Christian lol- to thank me for defending them because those White women couldn't help but belittle them for being Muslims... But yeah, according to that whitefem it's the fault lf white men WOC have a distrust for their activism 🙃

[immersivepaganryblog]

Hello everyone!

Every year I see a lot of people get upset about Ēostre. I understand that. It’s frustrating when people claim something is ancient or well-documented when it is neither! It’s important to note, however, that Neo-Paganism itself is a far cry from the traditions of ancient Pagans. There is a balancing act at work here. While everyone is entitled to their own spiritual path, we must also be careful of spreading misinformation.

Ēostre’s only attestations are two authors; the highly disputed monk Bede and the famous folklorist Jacob Grimm. Neither provided concrete evidence for her, and Grimm’s only real contribution was calling Bede’s claims plausible. According to Bede, the Anglo-Saxons named the month of April Ēosturmonath, in recognition of a nearly forgotten Goddess called Ēostre.

For context, the Anglo-Saxons were members of Germanic tribes that settled in England between the 5th century and the Norman Conquest. While the word "Germanic" is just an umbrella term for the numerous cultures of Germanic-speaking peoples spread all over Northern, Central, and Western Europe.

In Anglo-Saxon Paganism, Ēostre is often associated with the light of dawn, new beginnings, growth, and youthfulness. In Neo-Paganism, her symbols are spring flowers, birds, eggs, and rabbits or hares (white ones especially). It’s important to note that neither Bede nor Grimm ever associated the Goddess Ēostre with eggs, rabbits/hares, or flowers! These modern-day attributions were born from our own attitudes toward the Spring season. As I’ve said in previous posts, I take no issue with UPG (Unverified Personal Gnosis) as long as we’re clear about what’s what!

Before we really dig in, I need to emphasize that we don’t know much of anything for certain about Pagans. These peoples had oral traditions, whether you’re talking about Celtic or Germanic traditions. They passed down their beliefs, history, mythology, and religion through orated poems, stories, and songs. Our written accounts are from conquering nations, political enemies, and Christian monks who lived long after these traditions were said to have died out. Bede, as I mentioned, is the sole source for Ēostre, and his work is met with criticism for many reasons. Nevertheless, Ēostre has still become synonymous with the Spring Equinox in Neo-Paganism.

THE LUNISOLAR CALENDAR

TACITUS’ GERMANIA

According to Tacitus, Germanic Pagans didn’t follow a Solar calendar like the impression the Wheel of the Year might give. In his book, Germania, he explains, ”They assemble, unless upon some sudden emergency, on stated days, either at the new or full moon, which they account the most auspicious season for beginning any enterprise. Nor do they, in their computation of time, reckon, like us, by the number of days, but of nights. In this way they arrange their business; in this way they fix their appointments; so that, with them, the night seems to lead the day.”

NORDBERG’S CALENDAR

Many Reconstructionists and Neo-Pagans are adopting a calendar outlined in a paper by Stockholm University Professor Andreas Nordberg. He writes, “The pre-Christian Yule feast occurs at the first full moon after the first new moon following the winter solstice…” Meaning that solar events are celebrated one lunar cycle after their occurrence. But it’s important to point out that even Nordberg’s calendar is hardly uniform. He continues to say, "...while the Disting took place at the third full moon according to the same method of calculation.”

If you were to apply Nordberg’s first technique to Ôstara, it would look like this:

March 20th 2023 ~ Spring Equinox

March 21st 2023~ New Moon

April 6th 2023~ Full Moon/Ôstara

A Germanic Lunisolar calendar would explain why Bede associated Ēostre with April rather than the Equinox in March. And that, collectively, is why I have started observing Ôstara roughly one lunar cycle after the Spring Equinox.

ANGLO-SAXON CALENDAR

The Venerable Bede was a Christian monk and scholar who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries. In his book, he begins his section on the English months by explaining that the English from the olden times, “calculated their months according to the course of the moon. Hence, after the manner of the Greeks and Romans, [the months] take their name from the Moon, for the Moon is called mona and the month monath.”

He goes on to describe these months and their names, “The first month which the Latins call January, is Guili; February is called Solmonath; March is Hrethmonath; April, Ēosturmonath; May, Thrimilchi; June, Litha; July, also Litha; August, Weodmonath; September, Halegmonath; October, Winterfylleth; November, Blodmonath; December, Guili, the same name by which January is called.”

Later, he finally describes his account of Ēostre, “Ēosturmonath has a name which is now translated ‘Paschal month,’ and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, called the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance.”

These quotes are the foundation upon which we’ve built up this mysterious figure Ēostre. I’m not saying that the Anglo-Saxons or other Germanic Pagans didn’t have spiritual traditions centered around Spring. Nature worship is the main criterion for Paganism, ancient or new. It is well-known that many Gods, Goddesses, and other spirits are personifications of different aspects of life or nature. Ancient Pagans saw magic everywhere, as we do now. No, the details and specifics Bede wrote are what is in question. As with any text, his work bears to be scrutinized and re-examined again and again.

GRIMM'S ÔSTARA THEORIES

The most commonly cited source after Bede is from the folklorist Jacob Grimm. In his book, Deutsche Mythologie, Grimm reflects on Bede's work, "...the Anglo-Saxon historian tells us the names of two beings, whom he expressly calls ancient goddesses of his people, but of whose existence not a trace is left amongst other Germans. A clear proof, that here as well as there, heathenism was crowded with divinities of various shape and varying name, but who in their characteristics and cultus corresponded to one another."

Later in the text, Grimm expands on his opinion of the Goddesses named by Bede, "It would be uncritical to saddle this father of the church, who everywhere keeps heathenism at a distance, and tells us less of it than he knows, with the invention of these goddesses. There is nothing improbable in them, nay the first of them is justified by clear traces in the vocabularies of other German tribes."

It would seem that Jacob Grimm’s opinion mirrors that of most Neo-Pagans today. Why would Bede, a Christian monk, invent a Goddess? Especially when a person considers the strange and ill-fitting combination of German Springtime traditions and the story of the Resurrection of Jesus. But Grimm offers no hard evidence to support Bede outside of a few etymological connections.

I can understand the critiques of Bede’s claims. Have you ever heard someone make up a fact to sound more intelligent, interesting, or worldly? I have. Ultimately, however, I believe that there is no harm done so long as we promote full disclosure regarding the origins of our Neo-Pagan traditions.

If you’re one of my longtime readers, you know that I respect the complexity of reconstructing Pagan faiths. Whether you look forward to Ôstara every year or think the whole thing’s bullshit, I respect your beliefs. For me, what’s important is that we recognize the history (or lack thereof) and the cultural impact of the holidays we celebrate.

U.S. EASTER TRADITIONS

Before I go, I’d like to give you some background regarding our Easter traditions in the United States. Where did they come from? When did they get here?

Well, historical records start with a German scientist named Johannes Richier. In 1682 his dissertation was published, which mentions the Easter Hare. He explains that in Germany, on Easter, colored eggs are hidden by a fictional being called “Osterhase” or the “Easter Hare.” These eggs are then found and quickly devoured–causing stomach aches, according to Richier’s report.

While I couldn’t find any specifics, it seems unanimously agreed that this German Easter custom came to the U.S. through the immigration of Pennsylvanian Dutch communities in the 1700s. It’s believed that sometime after that the Easter Hare was rebranded as the Easter Bunny we know today.

In the future, I’d like to cover the folk origin stories of this egg-laying hare. Let me know what you think in the comments~

Check out this article from Smithsonian Magazine for more Easter Bunny History:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ancient-origins-of-the-easter-bunny-180979915/

CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR AN AUTHENTIC GERMAN EASTER RECIPE!

REFERENCES

Venerable Bede, The Reckoning of Time, trans. Faith Wallis (Liverpool University Press, 1999), pages 53-54

Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology vol. 1, trans. James Steven Stallybrass (London: George Bell and Sons, 1882), pages 289, 291.

Cornelius Tacitus, Tacitus on Germany, trans. Thomas Gordon (Project Gutenberg eBooks) https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2995/pg2995-images.html#link2H_4_0002

Nordberg, Andreas. “Yule, Disting and Pre-Christian Time Reckoning”, Royal Gustav Adolf's Academy for Swedish Folk Culture, Uppsala, Sweden. https://www.academia.edu/1366945/Jul_disting_och_f%C3%B6rkyrklig_tider%C3%A4kning

“Where Did the Easter Bunny Come From? Ask This Dead German Scientist,” Live Science, March 30th, 2018, https://www.livescience.com/62184-easter-bunny-osterhase-origins-eggs.html

[notabled-noodle]

hi!! i was wondering if you have any thoughts on the whole taylor swift pollution thing? not trying to be an asshole about your special interest, i’ve just been very focused on her for a while now (she’s basically the only musician i listen to on a routinely basis) and i guess i’ve been… processing that fact? i understand that there is a line between fandom and cult, but at the same time i can’t shake the feeling that this is all a bit surreal soo. yeah. hope you have a nice day!!

hi! yeah I don’t really want to talk about it or think about it that much.

what I will say is… obviously I think celebrity culture is fucked up, I think that those with power need to be doing more, and that there are systemic issues at play here. I’m a socialist at heart, so I think that this problem only has one solution (socialism).

but I also think that demonising one woman from the US plays into the Western desire to individualise a global problem. even one woman who has contributed as much to the CO2 as she has… it’s not like attacking her will solve the climate crisis. we need to stop thinking individually about this, and start thinking collectively

everyone also loves to find an excuse to hate women, and while Taylor deserves some amount of criticism, we also need to be careful that we’re not being misogynistic about it. don’t bring up her sex life or her outfit choices or whatever when you talk about her emissions

anyway. I know this is a bigger deal than the Kanye saga, but I lived through everything from 2016, and it was a little traumatic not gonna lie.

[seaseren]

sjfbiwehuer you know what, I'll post it

notes: Alan is one of my wols. He's a year older than the twins and is a midlander adopted at a young age by an Ishgardian noble family. When his family was convicted of heresy he was tried as an accomplice and exiled and his little sister, who was a bit of a prodigy, was adopted by another house. Azriel is his partner, and also Aggi is technically there too for flavor. Also, I don't know what the fuck is going on with Ishgardian noble titles so I went with Viscount because it's a step down from Count. Also this is post Endwalker jic

After near half a year in Ilsabard, Alisaie found Ishgard positively balmy. It was a clear day with a weak but persistent sun, yet the evidence of recent snow was everywhere in Foundation. Fresh banks were piled on the sides of lanes, and a gaggle of children, wrapped tightly in their warmest, were playing in them, jumping up and down in the soft, new powder. When they saw Alphinaud appear in the Aetheryte Plaza they shrieked with joy and began to pelt him with snowballs, and Alisaie was quite relieved for her earlier decision to wear a hat and hood. If she had received such a welcome instead of her twin there would have been a reckoning. But Alphinaud just laughed it off, greeting each child by name and sitting down to play with them or perhaps talk at them, looking little different from a child himself.  Alisaie could not help but snort at him as she tapped her foot and waited for the third member of their party to finish the journey. 

It was not that she was opposed to taking some time off, in theory. It was just that it never seemed like the right time. There was always more work to be done, always something that seemed so urgent, and if she abandoned the cause now- well, what would that say about her? She had hoped, privately, that Jullus did not know enough about western holidays to know one was coming up, and if Alphinaud had different thoughts on the matter he had never voiced them. In the end, though, even if Jullus didn’t know much of Eorzea there was no shortage of Garleans who did, and eventually one of them brought up Starlight in front of him, in the context of the Ilsabard Contingent’s schedule. 

“We’re Sharlayan,” Alisaie had reminded him. In retrospect, it had perhaps been a bit overzealous to mention that as soon as the concept of a holiday- or a “patriday”, in Garlean fashion, given their opinions on holy things in general- came up. “We don’t really do such celebrations. Our holidays happen on a strict, once every 48 days schedule, and half the island works through them anyways.”

Jullus’s cool eyes seized on her and- well, Alisaie knows how it feels to be sized up. “But you’ve lived in Eorzea since you were 16, right?” he said, tone dangerously conversational. “That’s around five years. Surely you’ve become used to such celebrations, right?”

“Used to Tataru’s parties, perhaps,” Alphinaud cut in, “But that’s not really an option this year! Besides, the focus of the holiday is on doing good work.” Alisaie admired his quick thinking- she would have said charity automatically, and there were more than a few Garleans who wouldn’t have cared for the idea that they were the twins’ charity case.

“It’s mostly for children, too,” she said instead. “I mean, anyone can celebrate it, but it’s really mostly a big deal for kids and Ishgardians.”

“But you’re both children yourse-” began the other man, who Alisaie was already quite vexed with for mentioning Starlight in the first place and was not winning himself any further points. Jullus put a hand up to stop him- thankfully, because Alisaie knew she was dangerously close to causing a scene- but Jullus’ eyes had narrowed. A second later, Alisaie realized her mistake.

“Alan is Ishgardian, right?” he said carefully, and it took all her self control to keep from groaning aloud. “I’m sure he’d like to spend the day with you.”     “Alan- Alan is spending the day with his sister, I believe,” Alphinaud quickly said. “I’m sure they’re perfectly happy having a family reunion without us interfering.”

Jullus sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and gave up the ghost of subtly. “Look. You two have been here for six months, straight, and you have barely taken a day off. You worked through your own nameday, and I only hear about that after the fact. I appreciate you both- I truly do- but you need time off.”     “You haven’t taken much time off!” Alisaie retorted.

��We had our patriday last month- and you two were the ones who did the bulk of the organizing of the feast, if you recall. And we’ll probably have another next month, for our new year. We can spare you both for a few days. Spend some time resting. If you don’t contact Alan, I’ll find a way to do it for you. I’m serious.”

And that had been that- neither twin could find a way to wiggle out of his terms without making themselves a nuisance. 

It helped that Alan had seemed genuinely pleased by their presence. Azriel was spending the holiday with Ryne and the Crystarium- the Exarch, with a strike of brilliance Alisaie didn’t oft expect of him, had imported the Eorzean holiday calendar instead of the drab Sharlayan one, or even worse some reconstruction of festivities from ancient Allag- and Aganaran, as usual, had got herself tied up in being Saint Nymeia’s assistant. When they had asked him if there were two seats left at the table, he had nearly cried, in his own Alan way. So Alisaie couldn’t begrudge the break, even if it grated at her. 

“Thanks for waiting,” came a soft voice from behind, and she turned to see Alan absolutely loaded down with boxes, packages, and gift bags. “Had to get this all arranged so it would teleport properly. You know how it is.”

“If this is the level of presents we were expected to bring, you may find yourself disappointed,” Alisaie said, moving to relieve a bit of his burden- sure, he was about twice her size in every possible direction, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t help. Alan shook his head and nodded, vaguely, in the direction of Saint Valeroyant’s Forum. 

“I’m Tataru’s pack mule, again,” he said, with no indication of anger or even annoyance. “She organized this all for Ser Amyeric. He has this whole thing-” Alan waved his hand, nearly forgetting the five bags he was holding in it, and Alisaie had to backstep to avoid their trajectory- “And I’m helping get all the supplies over to them. Um, you guys can- no, you don’t know where the manor is, right. Then, mind helping me get this over to the Firmament, and then I’ll lead you to- to Jeannie’s place?”

Jeannie’s place, Alisaie noted, instead of our place. The house Alan grew up in, and still part of him was scared to claim it as his own. “Of course not,” she said aloud, then raised her voice. ‘Alphinaud! Are you done over there, or should we take off without you?”

By the time they had made it down to the Firmament, tracked down the craftsmen and organizers all those supplies were meant to go to, and then made their way back up, Alisaie had to admit she was getting a bit tired of all these stairs. Even Sharlayan, built on a volcanic island and no stranger to inclines, had nothing on the sheer degree of verticality displayed in the city on the mount. Alan had been animated (for Alan) as they traversed the Firmament, but as they ascended once more he grew quiet, staring at the horizon as they walked, where the sun gleamed off the Coerthan snow like a sea set aflame by sunset. Alisaie had only ever been apart from Alphinaud for a year, at most, and that had been entirely her own doing. She tried to imagine being separated from him for nearly six years. 

Alphinaud coughed, never one to let a silence stand for long. “Tis good news that her name has been restored,” he said, voice chipper. “With the way House Mauviche had been acting…”     Alan startled and, after a moment to process, nodded. “With House Gagnon’s name cleared, there really wasn’t much they could do once she came of age. We could have made sure it happened sooner- House Fortemps and House Haillenarte both offered to, ah, convince Viscount Mauviche to allow her emancipation- but she declined- she spent most of her time in training, after all, away from the family entirely, and apparently legal emancipation would have been a whole headache she didn’t want to deal with and-” his voice broke, just the tiniest bit, and Alisaie tried hard not to let her own plucked heartstrings show on her face- “And I wasn’t there to. To help. So.”

There was quiet for a moment. “You’re here now,” Alphinaud said gently, and Alan nodded. 

“Hopefully that’s enough.”

The manor was in the Pillars, of course, in the western area past the markets there (for the life of her Alisaie could not remember their name). It was smaller than Fortemps Manor, of course, and far smaller than the Leveilleur Estate, but still a stately enough building, and someone- almost certainly Jeannie- had decorated the exterior with lights and garlands and flowers. It was no grand display, but every windowsill, arch, and awning was adorned. Alisaie figured that it was far easier to decorate the roof with years of dragoon training, although privately she questioned the wisdom of jumping about this close to the western wall. 

As he approached, Alan faltered for just a second- but the courage of the Warrior of Light did not turn tail so easily as that. With firm, decisive steps he approached the door, took a deep breath, and knocked three times. From within the heard a flurry of movement- what might have been a leap down the stairs- and then the entryway was bathed in the light from the hearth, and Alan was scooped up by his sister- his younger, three years junior to even the twins- sister. His beaming, fully grown, tall sister.

[teddy-bear-d]

Some art to celebrate the occasion

And a rant below the cut bc peoples responses has me thinking \/

I don’t really get why this is such a big thing, I myself couldn’t care less if Dream decided he never wanted to face reveal. But I can’t help but be astonished at how far this reached.

Last night some of my non-mcyt enthusiast friends texted me freaking out about his face reveal, saying things like how they had never expected him to actually do it. And this surprised me bc they call me a Dream Stan, to contextualize this I have never watched a single one of his his streams and only a couple of his manhunts. I stick more to Bench trio and the old school mcyt’s.

This morning a TikTok-er, that I have been a fan of and very inspired by for around 4 years, posted a video saying they “wouldn’t say anything about his looks but would like comments.” And they liked comments making fun of Dream, talking about how he was just average and a white guy. Some of these comments were funny and tasteful but I found a lot to just be bordering on rude. Now this shocked me bc this TikTok-er always preaches against western beauty standards and not judging people for much past character (that being not their looks or interests). It also shocked me bc this TikTok-er had previously stated that they would never interact with the mcyt community bc 1 they had no interest in the content and 2 they were “racist and homophobic.” I understand where that reputation comes from and I know that if you stick to the outward sections of the community (like twitter) it can be very hostile so I never felt like those remarks were anything for me to think about. But now I’m stuck, why would someone who claims to want nothing to do with our community decide they had the right to make jokes against a big event in out community.

Certainly, I understand least why Dream has to be this perfect person. He makes Minecraft content for goodness sake. Yet people act like he must be top of his game 100% of the time and have some sort of god like beauty to him or else he’s worthless and he and his fans deserve death. Like what? Why can’t he be a normal guy??? And I get it, there are far too many plain white guys getting success just because of white male privilege. But I would argue that’s not why Dream is popular and successful. Sure it plays a factor, obviously, but he is as popular as he is bc people like the content he puts out. People act like he just sits there and looks pretty for views despite the fact that he hadn’t face revealed until yesterday. Like what? Honestly it feels like misogyny and I don’t know how to explain it. I’m sure given the time and energy I could write a whole essay on that. But basically he’s hated on bc he isn’t perfect, bc he isn’t a super model, he is undermined at every turn, and people discredit his accomplishments. As an AFAB feminine presenting person I can say that that is what misogyny feels and looks like a good portion of the time. So why is a white man getting this flavour of hate??? I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t tell you why he gets hate in the first place. But that’s my observation after being in the DSMP community for almost 3 years.

Idk if any of that was coherent or even had a point, but those are my thoughts and I felt I had to share them. (Honestly the Dream hate feels like misogyny thing has been brewing in my mind for at least a year now, or at least since that time he was forced to tell, was her name Kasey I don’t remember, if he was gay or straight. Which is a whole other world of gdhsjajsn that I could rant about)