#just like us charity

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey's interview with Gay Times (2023)

From his work in regency-era dramedy Bridgerton to groundbreaking period piece Fellow Travelers, as well as an upcoming role in the movie adaptation of classic musical Wicked, Jonathan Bailey is blazing a trail as one of the world’s most prominent out gay actors – and activists. This year’s GAY TIMES Honours sees the star succeed 2022’s recipient of the Changemaker Award, Tom Daley, as a result of his new partnership with the official LGBTQIA+ young people’s charity Just Like Us, a collaboration he describes as “critical and crucial”: “LGBTQIA+ issues don’t speak for themselves, and you need people to step forward. It’s important for me to be able to do that.”

Three days after his infectious, frenetic energy made its mark on the GAY TIMES set, a freshly bronzed Bailey is preparing for yet another shoot in Marrakech, Morocco. Speaking from Zoom, he laughs (slash glows): “I’ve been sent out early just to get a tan.” After reminiscing on his “spiritual” on-set discourse about zodiac signs with our fashion and creative director, the aforementioned frenetic energy is back on display as he immediately dives into his Just Like Us partnership. “I’ve worked with Albert Kennedy Trust before, and there’s so many different charities that I look forward to working with,” he says. “Just Like Us really hit something that I felt was important. One thing is, how can people describe what they’re feeling and experiencing if they don’t have the vocabulary and tools to do so?”

Since Just Like Us was founded in 2016, the charity has collaborated with primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across the UK to improve the lives of queer youth. Their annual, UK-wide celebration of LGBTQIA+ awareness, School Diversity Week, sees thousands of schools take part with student talks and assemblies led by their Ambassador Programme, which trains LGBTQIA+ people aged 18-25 to speak about allyship and their own personal experiences with sexuality and/or gender identity. Bailey tells us that the partnership comes after an “extraordinary shift of years of opportunities and possibilities” via his various projects, from Netflix’s smasher Bridgerton to Showtime’s new LGBTQIA+ series Fellow Travelers and his upcoming role as Fiyero in Wicked, which will also star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. “I now have a platform by which I can help guide people towards different narratives and causes.”

Laura Mackay, CEO of Just Like Us, praises the star’s activism in the following statement to GAY TIMES: “It speaks volumes about the calibre of our programmes that Jonathan Bailey has decided to join us as a patron. When we met with him to discuss the vital work we do, Jonathan spoke with vigour and sincerity of his unwavering commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ young people. I am so impressed with our Just Like Us team for creating this partnership and engaging such a wonderful role model. Jonathan oozes panache and gravitas, Just Like Us.”

First visiting the charity at their headquarters in July, Bailey was “blown away” by the team and their ambassadors. Praising their “assuredness, confidence and eloquence” in what they aim to achieve in schools, Bailey admits that he would “never have been able to speak” on LGBTQIA+ issues like that at their age. “There’s so much for me to learn,” he shares. “There’s just something that happens when people speak authentically about their identity in a way that is generous, because they want to connect and tell their story. I was there with my jaw slightly on the floor. I thought, ‘If I had met either of these two people when I was younger, I would’ve been so starstruck’ because they had such ownership of who they are. They had such charisma without shying away from the unsurprising vulnerabilities and obstacles they’ve had to overcome.”

Describing Just Like Us as a “supernova ball of energy” due to their united front in transforming the way in which schools across the UK discuss LGBTQIA+ matters, Bailey lauds the diverse and “enriching” stories that have been told via their ambassadors. Over the past four years, GAY TIMES has partnered with the charity on numerous occasions, with their ambassadors sharing their unique upbringings and experiences with oppression, resistance and hope. A selection of stories featured this year include: ‘As a Brown, Asian, Muslim LGBTQIA+ person, Middlesex Pride felt like home’; ‘Films taught me that LGBTQIA+ and faith identities couldn’t co-exist – but that wasn’t true’; and ‘How Loveless by Alice Oseman helped me discover my aromanticism’.

“I was particularly struck by the fact that there seems to be a knock-on effect of how many people linked to the ambassadors and their friends then jump on board because they see how beneficial it can be,” explains Bailey. “Not just for the people in the schools who are receiving those speeches and interactive sessions, but also for the ambassadors themselves.” Just Like Us is notable for their Pride Groups programme, where they help secondary schools set up and run lunchtime clubs for LGBTQIA+ pupils and their allies to learn, make friends and have a place in school that is free from homophobia and transphobia. Additionally, Just Like Us launched their landmark Positive Futures report earlier this year. Surveying 3,695 people aged 18 to 25 from across the UK, including 1,736 LGBTQIA+ young adults, the report identifies a link between lack of LGBTQIA+ support in childhood and poorer outcomes for mental health, wellbeing and career prospects in adulthood.

“It’s interesting hearing about Positive Futures and the difference between queer youth either being surrounded or in a nourished environment where people freely talk about identity and labels, versus kids that don’t,” he says. “The opportunities it gives them in young adulthood, as well as the increase and decrease in anxiety and panic attacks and depression; purely on the basis of their identities being acknowledged at a younger age. It’s huge. The correlation between conversation and the vocabulary that comes with that leading to a happier life is just… It’s undeniable.”

Clear communication about LGBTQIA+ issues was scarce – rather, non-existent – when Bailey was at school. The partnership forced him to reflect on his “own upbringing, what has changed and, more crucially, what hasn’t changed. One of those things for me was about education, schools, and growing up and my own youth.” For a recent Fellow Travelers campaign, Bailey returned to his home village in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, a place where anyone who was “other” was “deemed not acceptable”. “That’s how I felt growing up, purely on the basis that I wasn’t aware of any gay people around me,” he says, criticising mainstream media’s archaic portrayal of LGBTQIA+ people at the time. “The media spun stories that were so negative towards the plight of the gay experience, so I didn’t really have access to anything that made me feel welcome or like I was going to be okay, and I was someone who was very aware of who I was. I talked about it from the age of eleven. I wonder what my life would’ve been like, had there been the vocabulary and ambassadors coming into my school. It would’ve definitely helped me feel more secure and to blossom quicker. For me, that sort of confidence in myself has come later on in life because of not having that.”

Immediately after Bailey completed his A-Levels in 2006 – the day of, actually – he moved to London to replace Andrew Garfield in a stage adaptation of the cult queer rom-com Beautiful Thing. As an 18-year-old from a rural village, the multicultural hub of London allowed him to “accrue information and experiences” that weren’t previously accessible to him. “It was meeting amazing people. I wasn’t anywhere near the point where I was going to come out to people I didn’t know, but I already had conversations with my friends,” he remembers. “So, moving to London was sort of a patient and nerdy acquisition of facts and experiences, which emboldened me to the point where I could finally talk to my family [about my sexuality], particularly my parents.” Assimilating to the inclusiveness of London made Bailey project his own growth onto his school, assuming that it would have been transformed into a “multicultural hub with clear access to education or information to anyone who wasn’t a white straight kid”. However, as he discovered: “It wasn’t, actually. What was true is that the same tree of Christianity and faith, with the same laminate piece of paper from when I was there, is still on the wall. Of course, I’ve got no judgement on any of that, other than it’s a reminder of the work that needs to be done for those who are trying to survive. How do you inspire people to understand things outside of their own experience, if they don’t need to or it doesn’t suit them or challenge them?”

Fellow Travelers ties in with his Just Like Us partnership, he says, as it has allowed Bailey to look at the “underside of the queer experience”. Airing on Paramount Plus in the UK, the series is based on Thomas Mallon’s acclaimed novel of the same name and follows the toxic romance between Bailey’s character Tim Laughlin and Matt Bomer’s Hawkins Fuller in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Created by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner, Fellow Travelers chronicles their romance over the course of four decades whilst exploring the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the “drug-fueled disco hedonism” of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. His first major LGBTQIA+ project, Bailey says “you can’t get more queer than Fellow Travelers” and adds that “it’s the gayest show I could find.”

Quite correct; the first episode introduces the sub-dom dynamic between Tim and Hawk with a now-infamous foot-fetish sequence which, unsurprisingly, spawned a plethora of horny headlines (yes, we’re guilty of this) and went viral on social media. The remainder of the season continues to depict gay sex with authenticity which is, sadly, still a surprise in 2023. When we spoke with Nyswaner, he told GAY TIMES that it was important for him to “embrace” sex in the show as a result of his own personal experiences. “When I came out in the 1970s, those were the celebratory days of the gay experience. It was pre-AIDS and we were released. Sex is the way that we expressed our community,” he explained. “That connection that I got to have with other gay men, whether it was one night or a little bit longer, was very powerful to me and gave me joy.”

Bailey says Fellow Travelers came “at the right time”. “Someone asked me after Bridgerton, ‘What do you want to do next?’ and that is an amazing position to be in, having worked for so long to suddenly have real choice in what you do. I knew that I wanted to do a sweeping gay love story because I hadn’t seen it, especially one that’s detailed over eight hours.” While Bailey admits he doesn’t respond to fans on Instagram – with over three million followers, we’ll let him off – he’s read “extraordinary” messages from people who have connected to Fellow Travelers’ story. “People have messaged saying, ‘I’m closeted but watching this is helping me in a way that you might not understand.’ Someone else said it made them come out, and these are people in their 40s and 50s. There’s these lost generations that Fellow Travelers is highlighting, people who are more scared than ever to feel invalidated if they were to finally come out and speak their truth. I’m mindful of the fact that there are people of every age who are striving to live authentically.”

With this in mind, Bailey continues: “It’s funny, people look at the 1950s setting for Fellow Travelers and say, ‘God, how awful must it have been back then?’ We’re incredibly privileged in the west. Fifties America is pretty much everywhere else in the world, and still can be. There’s so many places where people are experiencing that level of oppression and so I’m really proud of Ron’s work because it presents 40 years of an incredible celebration of progression.” In October, Bailey attended the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023 dinner, where he presented Bomer with the Impact Award, which recognises members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are dedicated to championing and advocating queer issues. Bailey’s Bridgerton co-star Golda Rosheuvel also introduced Shonda Rhimes, the recipient of the National Equality Award. His first political gala, Bailey describes the event – a room of over three thousands queer icons, allies and activists – as “enthralling, energised and inspiring” and was another pivotal moment of self-reflection for him. “I was like, ‘Blimey, if you think about the 12-year-old boy who knew something about himself, knew 100 per cent that he was not like other people, to then be in a room where he feels completely galvanised and inspired…’ That sort of joy, ferocity and forward-thinking is so intoxicating and important for people to feel because there’s also so much residue. The vitriol and hate is always bubbling under, so you need organisations like Just Like Us who are going to be going into schools to culture students at a young age and make them think outside of their own narratives they get given at home by their parents or films and stories that aren’t helpful. It’s a better landscape for us all, really.”

With the “cobwebs of old archaic belief systems about what a gay man can and can’t do as an actor,” Bailey is proud to be accepting the Changemaker Award, describing it as a “fully realised vocation to make change”. He’s humble, of course, as he takes the time to acknowledge the internal, grassroots operation at Just Like Us and their objective to revolutionise the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth. “Once you’ve done the work as an actor in this way, all you have to do it turn up and be there,” he says. “The real work comes from the people who are working at Just Like Us, the charities and support groups who have to constantly chug away to get the funds and be noticed. There’s a glimmer in me that knows the work is done elsewhere. But my God, I’m thrilled that I can use my platform to raise the volume on so many other people’s brilliant policies.” Bailey credits his role as straight lead Anthony in Bridgerton with his power to incite change within the LGBTQIA+ community. "As one of the world’s most streamed and acclaimed dramas, Bridgerton’s impact is undeniable. You get a fanbase and it’s almost like a conga line, where you can then lead those people to other stories which feel really important to you. To be able to go from that to Fellow Travelers and Just Like Us is something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life.”

Source

[houseswife]

parallels that deal me +10 psychic damage for every second I spend pondering them

[danny-chase]

not to shit on Bruce Wayne but the fact that Leslie's free clinic appears understaffed and overworked when it's on his foundation's bankroll is kinda ummmmmm aren't you a billionaire dude can't you afford a couple more doctors/pay them better?

[jokeroutsubs]

Bojan on the cover of Astro Suzy, special summer edition of Suzy Magazine, focusing on astrology and spirituality. Scans and ENG Translation by: @kurooscoffee Cover Title:

Bojan Cvjetičanin: "We have a duty to change things for the better"

Article title:

We are driven by our love of life

WITH JOKER OUT, WE HAVE WITNESSED A MENTAL LEAP AND A SOCIAL PHENOMENON THAT WE HAVE LONGED FOR. THE BOYS GIVE HOPE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CONNECTING INTO A STRONG COMMUNITY THAT CARES ABOUT THE FUTURE, EVEN THOUGH PREVIOUS GENERATIONS HAVE LEFT THEM IN RUINS. IN A FLOOD OF STARLETS AND ARTIFICIALLY CREATED ONLINE INFLUENCERS, WE GOT ROLE MODELS WHO DON'T OFFER DISCOUNT CODES, BUT IMPORTANT MUSICAL MESSAGES ABOUT VALUES. IN THE MIDDLE OF A SLOVENIAN AND EUROPEAN TOUR, THE LEAD SINGER AND VISUAL OF THE BAND SHARED WITH US WHAT HE'S THINKING ABOUT, WHAT CAUSES HE'S STANDING BEHIND, AND WHY IT'S BENEFICIAL TO DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. What are you thinking about as representatives of the new wave, the new generation? What is your attitude towards the dynamics in society, climate change, pervasive social networks, in short, everything that weighs on modern man? On the one hand, we ourselves are involved in all the processes that actively and continuously prolong the problems you are talking about. On the other hand, we are deeply aware of them and we are afraid of what is coming. It seems to me that in our generation the desire for change is very strong. There is a universal language of youth that has come together on the basis of feeling obliged and able to change things for the better. The song New Wave is about just that. We are ready to celebrate this common strength because we are encouraged by the idea that we are not alone. At the same time, we know that we are compelled to do something because someone before us has seriously 'fucked up'.

In your hit song 'Novi Val' (New Wave), already the very first verse has you wonder where to go from here. Do you know the answer?

If we want to do anything other than burn the horizon, the only way is towards community, away from egocentrism, with an onlook towards common good.

Let's stick to the anthem of the generation of love, as you named your peers and loyal supporters. The phrase 'We were born yesterday and everything is already our fault' is powerful and worrying. You have been given a pitiful lagecy by your ancestors. How do you defend yourself from taking a role of a victim and instead get actively involved in creating a brighter future?

Great question! It would be hard to change anything for the better if we put on the victim's cloak. The fact that in recent years it has become clear that there is a rebellion by people who have had enough is already a cause for optimism. When you put yourself in the role of the one who carries a scepter as a synonym of the leader of change, you move away from being a victim. And each one of us in this community carries it. In reality, we are taking the position that society is currently a victim and it is our task to defend it.

How?

We all contribute in our own way. The role of musicians is to connect people with positive messages. So by constantly reminding people about friendship, love and other social components that can be tapped into through music. In Slovenia, we have a lot of organisations that are trying to change the situation for the better in many different ways. It does not require much to at least educate oneself about what these organisations are doing. I have the feeling that many people would like to get involved and help. At the end of grammar school and at college, we were encouraged to find out about collective organisations. It was clear to them that many people would want to join of their own initiative once they knew what they stood for. I know many former classmates who are very active members and supporters of various movements. Even if we minimise our own negative energy on social networks, it is a big step towards a good state of society, and of mind.

(picture 1: Family Cvjetićanin knows how to stick together)

You seem to care about a world that is increasingly drowning in chaos. You have become idols, not only of young people, but also of their parents. Is this a burden of responsibility or does it encourage you do even more activism?

It's a great feeling when the little ones take you for an idol. As a teenager, it was also inspiring to be surrounded by the music of Big Foot Mama and Siddharta. It gave me a message in a language that I could not compare with anything else. But our creativity does not depend on what people think of us or how they perceive us. But it is a great honour to know that you are one of those who encourage someone. Many people are listening, but not hearing. Joker Out is made up of five individuals who, in real life, when the cameras and the spotlights are off, are just normal guys. We went through all the processes of growing up on the streets, socialising and playing. We went through the process of going to school, and we were not problematic adolescents. Even today, our most extreme departure from an ideal is what 99% of young people do. To party sometimes. We are not outlaws by nature.

Your work is a beacon of light, a source of hope and strength. Many have done it before you, especially the Beatles. A lot has changed since their era, much of it unfortunately for the worse. How do you keep optimistic? Why is it worth the effort?

Every musician in history who has sung about ending war and living for love has failed miserably. I believe that at least those people who follow the messenger are convinced of peace and love. If every musician encourages someone to to do so, it's a hefty amount of opponents of hate. We are driven forward by love for life.

Writing texts is a responsible job, and you are baring your soul at the same time. Where is the line, to what lengths are you willing to go to protect the most vulnerable part of yourself?

I have never consciously inhibited the process of looking inside myself. But I feel that with age and experience I understand more and more what can lead me to a deeper state of mind. In the beginning I didn't dare to dig into myself. Today I have no problem in fully exposing my feelings, because they are, after all, states that happen of their own accord - and it is impossible to force them

(picture 2: The boys of Joker Out became even closer)

No Slovenian artist has enjoyed such a fierce international success as Joker Out. Concerts in iconic European clubs are literally sold out in hours, even minutes. How do you accept fame? Is it a blessing or is there also a bit of fear?

There are certainly Slovenian musicians with international experience. Maybe not at our age, but that doesn't take away from their importance. We have achieved a very nice success here in terms of listeners, we have honed our skills and we have grown with the band as a collective. We have grasped who and what we are as a whole. We are a group of people who make music purely because we really enjoy it. Whatever feelings our music-making evokes, it all comes from us in the most sincere way, Fortunately, our music is liked by a larger crowd and we have managed to transmit our unforced joy, happiness, joy across national borders. There is no better catalyst for such a breakthrough than Eurovision, we chose the moment to participate wisely. It paid off as a successful project, because for a good band it doesn't matter which part of the world it comes from. It's important to be heard - and we were heard by a lot of people. The only thing that has changed so far is that the bonds between us have strengthened. Suddenly we have been forced to talk about emotions and experiences that we did not have before. There has been a lot of filtering of unfamiliar feelings. The desire to create increased a thousandfold for all five of us.

Are you aware of the role that the public attributes to you, to act as a beacon of light in a crowd of frustrated, bitter people?

No. I would hardly say that I can understand that. Every time I hear something like that, it strikes me that it is saying too much. I really cannot think of myself in such a strong context.

You are giving yourself away. You are constantly on the road, interviews, concerts, promotional tours. It's exhausting. How do you recover? What calms you down, fills you with grace?

It's true that we give a lot of ourselves. But we get so much more in return. Nothing calms me more than coming home and being close to my family. And of course the company of Kris, Jan, Jure and Nace. The people we were with friends before this euphoria, have stayed with us, this team surround us with a lot of love.

(picture 3: He's noticing, that young people are connecting into a strong community that cares about the future)

As a front-man and lyricist, you are even more exposed. You've crossed the magical 200 thousand followers on Instagram, which is a mega number, but also a mega stressful situation. Most young people who find themselves in such a situation turn to intoxicating substances. Can you consciously stop and say that you need time for yourself?

The only thing that made me a bit anxious was the sudden exposure to such a large audience'on social media. This brings with it unimaginable dimensions of human imagination, including malice. Imaginary stories emerge in which people literally compete to see who can come up with something more bizarre. This stress got to me at the beginning, because I felt that I had to defend myself in front of the public. In the end, I realised that I didn't need to convince anyone and that it was enough to know the truth. With the help of colleagues who have similar experiences, I have calmed down. As for the substances, I have a natural protection against those, because I am an incorrigible hypochonder. I dare not take an aspirin unless it is really urgent. Above all, I know when to stop.

You come from a close-knit, loving family. That is certainly a solid foundation on which to build your personality. What is their view of everything that happens to you?

They are very proud! Of all my achievements and of me for being able to pull off a music career combined with the academic milestone of graduating. My parents and my grandmother are definitely my biggest supporters. They accompany me on my journey with warnings, but they are more about eating regularly, to not get a stomach ache, to consume enough water and to get enough sleep. I have been chronically lacking the latter in the last few weeks.

What is your relationship to astrology, esotericism, in short, something that is intangible but can be felt?

Superstition is the one I use the most. For Eurovision I had a special pair of underpants and I was haunted by the feeling that if I didn't wear them, everything would go to hell. Jan's mum gave me a lace clover, which I didn't dare leave in Ljubljana. I asked the stylist to sew it on my outfit as a precaution. I got a clay horseshoe from a little girl, and it went with me to Liverpool. It will seem strange to some, but I believe in energies and ghosts.

How do you strengthen your spiritual side?

Not very well. I wish I had managed to acquire more spiritual knowledge in the last year. For example, basic meditation techniques and the laws of yoga, because I am definitely not physically active enough. The feeling of being 90 years old eats up most of my spirit. My back hurts all the time. The best thing I do for inner growth is to read books. Not enough, but I'm going to get better. A little less phone scrolling and more self-reflection, that'll do the job! Author: Tomaž Mihelič, PHOTO: VITA OREHEK

Scans and translation by: @kurooscoffee (jokeroutsubs) DO NOT REPOST!

[astraltrickster]

Given that my post about why you are not obligated to blog about Current Events (whatever they are at any given time) is going around again, I'd like to say the same thing from a slightly different angle and state what you ARE obligated to do.

You are still not obligated to blog about ANY specific subject, no matter how serious, no matter how urgent, no matter how grave. You never will be. The impact of social media on real world atrocities has the potential to be great, but it is cumulative. No one is going to die in a ditch somewhere, barely uttering the tragic final words, "if only...if only...tumblr users wormhentaiafficionado and mothmanbutthole...posted about how sad they are...then maybe things would be different..." - nor are policymakers going to change their minds because some tweet has 749,845 cumulative likes and retweets instead of 750,000. Make no mistake, if you have the energy to be sharing these kinds of things, it can be good to do! We live in a society, it's always good to help where you can, even if all you can do is show public support for people who are hurting - but if you can't do that, for any reason, you're not obligated to. Period. End of.

What are you obligated to do?

1. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Social media accounts are not most people's entire lives. Just because someone isn't blogging about whatever tragedy is occurring does not mean they don't care. Sometimes it does mean that, sure, and that sucks - but not only are you not going to change that by yelling at them, sometimes it means they care too much. Sometimes it means they're closer to it than you assumed and need a moment to think about something else, anything else. Sometimes it means it's not safe for them to be blogging about it, be it due to abusive family potentially finding out, being at risk of getting fired and quite possibly dying of poverty sooner rather than later, or even taking very illegal direct action that they do not want to be linked to on record in even the vaguest possible way. Sometimes it means dealing with it is their day job and they're on the internet after a long and exhausting day of trying to make things better. You don't know. You'll never know unless they decide to tell you. No one owes you that explanation. You are obligated to make peace with that fact.

2. Slow the fuck down.

Listen. When bad things happen, from natural disasters, to manmade horrors beyond our comprehension, it's only normal to get scared and desperate to do something, anything about it. That heightened emotional state is very vulnerable, and because of that, there will always be people out there looking to take advantage of the chaos for ulterior motives - and no matter how good your intentions, and in fact no matter how right you are in your values and at the core of your strategy, you will never be immune to garbage-in-garbage-out. Misinformation can be deadly, even in the hands of someone who means well. You need to pause long enough to sort out the garbage. You need to learn to fight the impulse to trust every single post that tells you that your share/comment/etc. is URGENT and WILL mean the difference between life and death for someone, somewhere. Do your fact checks. Scan for dogwhistles before you end up passing around a post that implies [insert group that is marginalized in most of the English-speaking world but has hegemonic power in some other part of the world and is committing some atrocity there] is coming after you next if you stay silent. Vet charity and advice links before you accidentally send scared, desperate, and vulnerable people to a scammer - or worse, hand them over to a honeypot operation or give them a recipe for poisonous "medicine".

Or, to put it another way, you are obligated to make an attempt to stay informed enough to avoid making things materially worse. You are not obligated to doomblog. In fact, doomblogging can be antithetical to your obligation to not make things worse. Choosing neutrality in times of great tragedy and injustice is bad, yes, but you should immediately be wary of anyone who says that simply not blogging about a subject - let alone not sharing a specific post - is inherently "choosing neutrality".

So remember: breathe. Be careful out there. Mourn for the people that whatever atrocity has this or my other post circulating has taken from us or will take from us, and do your best to be kind to the people who are still alive - and remember that kindness includes using social media responsibly.

[irl-magicalgirl]

🇵🇸 DRAWFEE CHARITY STREAM FOR PALESTINE ON FEB 24TH! 🇵🇸

Saturday, February 24th from 3PM - 6PM ET on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/drawfeeshow

[bookshelfdreams]

.

[yakourinka]

[enpr-ss]

I wonder if Etho was any of the anonymous bidders at the Hermitcraft charity auction

If so, Tango should have auctioned off a Decked Out 2 deskmat just so that Etho can be the second highest bidder and lose out on getting one for the second time

[randomnameless]

The idea that SS says the Church needs to be rehabilitated in Rhea's ending is entirely on the translation. The Japanese text says that "Meanwhile, Rhea, who survived, returned to her duties as archbishop after she recovered her strength, and she aligned herself with the unified kingdom, working to rebuild the church and help people suffering from war damage." And while I've mentioned Claude's endings with Flayn before regarding Wind, the endings mention that the new order/society of Fodlan is built by the heroes who saved Fodlan which would include the CoS.

Pat really hated Rhea it seems if he does that to her ending. Her rebuilding the CoS? That's not good, she needs to make them atone. But then again, he also tried to make it so that Edelgard had similar ideals to Claude when the game ultimately says otherwise.

Oh I know, I've read your posts about this lol

TBH, while Pat is to blame for the Pat'd script, the Church, as in Rhea's church, is always depicted as needing/being reformed : it wasn't in SS's ending proper, but in Rhea's own S Support where she blames herself for, well, everything that happened but also confesses she used her position as the Archbishop for her personal plan to see her mother again...

And yet, if we look at her actions - and the ones that can be tied to her "rez Sothis plan", bar maybe making Sitri a priest/nun, what did she meant by the "took advantage of my position of the Archbishop"/"used my position as the Archbishop" to see her mother again?

In this S-support, Rhea herself considers her CoS/her lead of the CoS might be to blame for Supreme Leader's war and gives "empty" criticisms to her actions : emtpy as in, well, the game doesn't bother telling/showing what were those "occasions" where Rhea explicitely used her position as the Archbishop to make her wish come true.

Maybe if we pull our hair a bit, we can say the "Billy sitting on the chair" ceremony? That was made to "bring back" Sothis and she asked Billy to do that as their boss and the Archbishop of the CoS?

In a nutshell, it's less "the church needs to be reformed" in SS, but more "Rhea acknowledges she did BaD things (which are?) and used the CoS through her position as the Archbishop to do so (receipt not found?)" so with Billy and in the epilogue, obviously she doesn't do those "BaD" things anymore and their work is miraculous.

As for Claude, while he does "fall in love" with Flayn who is working in the Church with her Father - and this ending obviously cannot be triggered if Claude ends with Billy - Claude's very own words in his Billy S-support, imo, cannot be ignored, while Billy will take Rhea's role as the one people will rely on, he wants Billy to create a Fodlan with "new values" that won't exclude people for being different... implying Fodlan had such values before the War, CoS included - when we know, even in FE16, that this is bullshit!

So while Claude can end up with Flayn despite her being a member of the Church, she's a member of the post-VW Church that is "reformed/different" from the old church, because in VW, the Church has "new values that don't exclude people for being different".

So back to the original post

Compare with Houses, who always removes Nabateans/Rhea of the picture (except in SS’s S support) and brings “reforms” to the CoS - because it needed some, even if we will never know what they are or why those reforms were needed.

SS's reforms are less "reforms" and more "Rhea reckons she did BaD things so will stop doing them now".

The icing on the cake takes the form of Seteth'n'Flayn's paired ending, let it be in the lolcalised or even in the OG (Googled though!) script :

While Flayn disappeared soon after the war, Seteth stayed at the monastery and worked to restore the authority of the Church of Seiros. Doing away with his old strictness, he adopted a tolerant stance toward all, and encouraged his followers to do the same. When he was satisfied that the message was received, he vanished from the monastery.

In the lolcalised version, Seteth adopts a tolerant stance toward all (which he didn't have before?? Source?) and asked his followers to do the same (which he never did before either???) and apparently, when he was satisfied because his message not to be, uh, asshats was received, he finally left the monastery.

Because obviously, under the old CoS, when he was leading investigations against the Western Church and called names by those same people because his creed and followers are "too tolerant", he, uh, wasn't "adopting a tolerant stance toward all and encouraging his followers to do the same".

In the JP version :

フレンは戦後まもなく姿を消したが、セテス はその後も大司教補佐として大修道院に留ま り、教団の権威回復に努めた。かつての厳格 さは鳴りを潜め、何事においても寛大な措置 を取るよう運営方針を転換。時代に即した教 義の改革を妥協なく推し進め、信徒に混乱の ないことを見届けてから大修道院を去った

Google'd it gives some :

Flayn disappeared shortly after the war, but Seteth remained at the abbey as an assistant archbishop and worked to restore the authority of the order. His former strictness has subsided, and he has changed his management policy to take more lenient measures in all matters. He uncompromisingly promoted doctrinal reform in line with the times, and after seeing that there was no confusion among the faithful, he left the abbey.

So, sure, there's no fuckery about "a tolerant stance" because the JP script is more coherent with, well, the general script, it's more like Seteth finally stopped being so strict and became a tidbit more lenient.

And yet...

What are those "doctrinal reforms in line with the times"???

How did he change the CoS' doctrine, sure, it was to be "in line with the times", but what was changed?

This ending basically tells us - something Seteth also says in Nopes' expedition lines or in his Tea time lines? - that he doesn't agree with the doctrine (whatever it is he doesn't agree with) and since Seteth is a playable character who can be supported, his PoV is obviously biased as in, for the player, Seteth is the kind guy so if he says the CoS' doctrine needs reformation, he won't reform it to put some "might makes right" rule, but obviously reform it for the better.

What is that "better doctrine"?

This ending can be obtained in all routes where Nabateans aren't hunted to make a world "for humanity", even in SS where Rhea'n'Billy work together to make Fodlan prosperous and miraculous so... in all routes, the Church is reformed.

Houses wise : the Church is always reformed/needs reformation/did BaD things we never saw -> which serves to make it more "shady" and pretend to have "earl grey", because if the Church always needs reformation, then Supreme Leader targeting it isn't completely unjustified and nonsensical, right?

But when Nopes drops FE16's framing a little bit and we see, maybe for 15 seconds, the CoS do stuff... well, even if Seteth mentions "not agreeing with all tenets", from what we see and hear about the CoS, his doubts don't have the same weight since, hey, we witness the "help other if they need it" tenets, "don't impose the CoS' values on people who aren't from Fodlan" tenet, "we will repay our debts" tenet, etc etc.

Is this the part of the doctrine Seteth disagrees with? This doctrine needs reformation?

Tl;Dr : Church BaD which is why Supreme Leader's war isn't completely nonsensical and why the self insert of this opus can rightfully become God and run the show better than anyone who was there before, but we will never show us what this "BaD" entail, we just are told about it.

In turn, this creates Earl Grey and the "morally grey masterpiece uwu" reputation this game has - Agarthans have no place in this Earl Grey masterpiece, that's why some people try to come up with reasons or justifications to explain why they aren't that worse than the faction the game uses a piñata despite showing us all the "not BaD" things they do.

[pagib1g]

none of my business whether yall self ship with hazbin hotel characters or whatever, but since im seeing an influx of it (likely because of the new show) i'd like to remind yall to please boycott it (and pirate it if you must). it is being hosted on amazon, one of the BDS's pressure targets in the strike for palestine's cause– while it is acknowledged that you realistically cannot fully boycott targets like amazon (because of their monopoly over shipping), it will still be helpful to drop things sponsored by it that you ultimately do not need.

the self ship community has presented itself as an open and diverse community for years– prove it by being willing to stop giving profit to media that has a stake in hurting others.

support palestinian self shippers.

[jbaileyfansite]

Just Like Us officially making Jonathan Bailey one of the patreon for their charity [x]

[adhdapp]

YOOO I’m excited! I wanna respect your time and whatnot, but I’m curious about the app called forrest basically you grow trees by focusing for set amounts of time. never tried it but the app store keeps recommending it to me. from a cursory look at the reviews, some people said it helps with phone overuse (hooray??) it is four dollars, not sure that you want to start with that. anyways thanks for your consideration, hope this blog goes super well :DD

This is actually an app I paid for the premium version of years ago, by chance! So I can give it a pretty complete shake. Here's the review.

Forest: Phone usage control

Overall rating: Certified, with stipulations. Here's the tl;dr

App includes a disincentive for failure (tree death), so if you're sensitive to even mildly feeling like you've fucked up, this might not be your bag

Low on novelty, so if you need a variety of goals to pursue quickly, this might not be your bag (other plant unlocks take a lot of time, forest grows one 25 minute increment at a time)

Achievements and events are a big plus, with several relatively easy achievements to keep you going.

No Dark Mode

supports a charity so that's pretty cool

Diamonds shop even after a 1 time purchase: go no further if you are susceptible to impulse purchases, I respect them keeping the lights on with optional bonus content, but it can be easy to chase the Purchase Dopamine and we need to say No Thank You

Red Flags: None, this app has been going steady for a few years and for seemingly pretty good reason. I didn't find any red flags with the charity it supports either. It's not on a subscription model, and nothing in it seems to be ridiculously priced.

Dopamine hits: Okay so the main drive for using this app is growing the big old garden of trees, collecting different trees, and seeing the physical space of that garden grow. With this said I have One Major Concern I'd like to get out of the way.

Are you the kind of person that's going to feel like shit if you let a plant die? Will you accidentally tab out, kill a tree, and be miserable out it? Do not use this app.

It DOES let you clear the dead trees out of your garden (see above) but personally I don't find disincentives like that as compelling as positive reinforcement. The app is encouraging about it (as you can see) but personally I'm wary of things where I can receive what feels like a punishment because I was only productive for five minutes and not the allotted ten I needed in order to keep the tree alive. the stopwatch mode reduces this, somewhat, but again, you need over 10 minutes. Make sure you allow texts or calls in allowed apps in settings so if something comes up you don't have to feel bad about killing a tree.

Features: Forest provides you one or two different tree types you can grow as you focus, and a nice little plot of land. I'll be honest, I don't think the free version gives you very much to work with, but the premium version gives you different kinds of trees you can grow, events, social connections, tracking, custom tagging system so you can track what you're spending your time off your phone doing, and best of all, achievements. Forest also comes with both a count-down and a stopwatch mode so that if you'd like to just study or work as long as you can you don't have to just do it in increments, which is nifty, and a change from some other pomodoro counters/timers. If using the app to just do poms/increments, there's a switch to keep the app on while you work.

Price: This app is a freemium (on android), but honestly, if phone restriction usage apps are useful for you, just buy the thing right out of the gate. It's 3.99 (also the price of the entire app on the apple store) and what you get for that price is like 99% of the functionality of the app imo. 3.99$ for a one-time unlock is ridiculously cheap for what you're getting. However. The other trees do take a hot minute to unlock. So if you need that cheap and easy serotonin and you have an intense need for novelty this might not be the move.

I will add a stipulation here: Make sure that phone restriction apps are actually what you Need if this is what you're using. if you're the kind of person who can respond to messages and still be productive, this may not be your bag. If you're on a computer and you're going to end up scrolling through tumblr on your laptop instead of your phone, this may not be your bag. Phone restriction apps are useful mainly if what you need to do is get off tech and go do something physical, like read a book or do chores. I do Not recommend this if what you're trying to do is write an essay on your laptop. It is just as easy to procrastinate on pc as it is on your phone. However, For What It Is, this app is extremely functional.

This app DOES have a diamond store and in app purchases to make extra cash but frankly I don't actually begrudge them this. With a one-time purchase that cheap and regular events that seem to allow you to unlock other plants, they seem to have a good content balance and hey, whatever they have to do to keep the app running. I just launched it again and it reminded me I have the pro version even through I bought that like eight years ago.

Polish + Customization: I'm grouping these together because I really have the same quibble for both, there isn't a darkmode on the settings screen, which is an annoyingly bright white compared to the rest of the app. News is Also bright white, so is the store, generally a lot of the things off the main page are bright white with no option to change them. I do not love that. But everything is easy to find and adjust, and though the load times can be a little slow (which is annoying) I generally can't complain too much.

Roadmap: News tab indicates that the app is still being updated and having new plants added, despite the developers seemingly have a couple other projects going- they've got a to-do list app I'm going to have to check out and one to prevent you using your phone while sleeping.

So there u go: Proceed with caution and respect for your specific needs, but it's top of the line in its category, imo. You just need to make sure that category is what you're looking for.

[p4nishers]

can we actually take a moment and remember swan upon leda? can we actually shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and think about our lord and savior swan upon leda because i'm tired of doing it alone every single day guys

[doccywhomst]

i wonder how fast we could clear the scammers and con-men out of religious organizations if we taxed them/made tax loopholes unprofitable

[merkerlerspeaks]

on a scale of 1-10 how silly would it be to ask folks to pray that I find a piece of jewelery I lost. It's not particularly valuable monetarily but its very precious to me and Im afraid I lost it outside of the house. I cant find it anywhere it should be. It could be in the pocket of the either the pajama pants or outside pants I wore the last day I saw it (the 19th) or it could be buried under something in my old bedroom, or it could be at my friend's moms house or somewhere between here and there. Trying not to stress over it but its just become precious too me.