#and thinks not being able to say the n word is discrimination against white people and it isn't freedom of speech

[its-pluto2]

A lot of people like to say radical feminists are white women and therefore white supremac*sts and whatnot. Have you not noticed that a lot of radical feminists aren't even white?

We're Mexican. We're Latin American. We're from India, from the Middle East, from Asia. We're from places where it is life and death to be a woman. Where we're targeted as criminals for protesting the injustice we live every day, where one late night might mean we won't return home, where our sex means a difference in how we're treated all our life in every aspect of it. Jobs, socializing, studies. Everything.

Take a look at Iran. At Mexico. At Korea. Do some research before you throw around words like white supremac*st and n*zi around like they mean nothing when you're talking about radical feminists, the women fighting and putting their lives on the line to stop all of this horrible, terrifying violence against us. Literally, google any of these countries next to the word "femicide" and open your eyes a little to the harsh truth (and I must warn you, if you do this, the results will be upsetting).

You guys like to tag radical feminism as this horrible trend that oppresses other movements when in reality, it's a handful of new, "progressive", "liberal" movements that are trying to demerit and oppress feminism and feminists, whether they're aware of it or not.

If your movement has to take away women's rights, you need to revise what it is you're fighting for and how you're doing it.

I am a radical feminist because I am tired of living in fear. I am tired of hearing in the news of another woman whose life was brutally ended simply because she was a woman.

We're not dying out here, we're being murdered. We're being discriminated, we're being denied safety and body autonomy and the right to choose over what happens to our bodies, we're unable to earn the same as a man for doing the same job, we're unable to express a strong character without being called manipulative or hysterical. We have so. much. bullshit to deal with simply because we are women.

And you still think our sole purpose is to target some random movement and some set of pronouns? No, honey, feminists, real feminists, have our priorities very clear.

What we don't like is that now, we have to be reduced to our organs and that we can't even freely call ourselves women because some people will be offended even by that. I cannot fathom how some people still don't realize the slap in the face that is calling women "uterus-havers" just to coddle other people. Use what pronouns you want, but don't take away women's right to call ourselves women - how absurd is that?! I can't call myself a women to not offend certain people!

Are you really telling me that, on top of having to deal with all of the risks that being a woman implies in my life, I have to not call myself a woman and instead use some odd, progressive term just so I don't offend you?

No. Enough is enough.

Women do not deserve to be silenced, on the verge of the year 2023, because other people with very specific needs and wants, want to be coddled by us. Fight for your rights, by all means, but don't try to take away ours just so you can feel better.

Get a grip on what feminism is, what it stands for, and understand that radical feminism only exists because movement after movement tries to crush everything we've fought for and everything we've achieved.

And, if you're a woman and claim to be libfem, or claim to hate feminism, or claim that feminism doesn't represent you, think again. You're only able to have access to a computer or a mobile platform to express your opinion, wear pants, and have access to basic education, among countless other privileges you take for granted, because of feminism.

I mean, come on. A woman wishing for another woman (e.g. "terfs") to be hurt and die? How awful do you have to be to wish that upon another woman? Who's the bad feminist in this scenario?

Women should support and help women before all else, because we're all each other has. You can coddle and favor men all you want, but heaven forbid, if you ever have to deal with sexual harassment, gender violence, anything related, those men you defend won't help you. They will blame you. The men who love women who hate feminism are the men who are most prone to causing harm to a woman for any reason, and you're coddling them by saying "Oh, feminism isn't about me! I believe in not all men! Death to radfems!!"

Think about that if you consider yourself "libfem" - it's a lie. It's a goddamn lie fabricated to coddle and submit to people who feel entitled to our social struggle, people who are so privileged already that they have to find problems and social causes and make up endless terms and pronouns and bullshit to justify it.

Nothing justifies you trying to silence feminism when, all over the world, no matter what country you look into, women are hunted and hurt simply because we are women.

Get that in your heads.

#radical feminism #feminism #radfem #libfems just dni ok #think about your own privilege #radblr #radfems are right #radfems please interact #radfem safe #libfems dni #social commentary

[dramionediscussion]

When will people stop with the comparisons? The term "mudblood" was never the wizarding equivalent of the n-word, because it isn't preceded by centuries of imperialism, slavery, and institutional bias. Dramione is not the equivalent of a white supremacist and a black woman getting together, because bloody purity isn't based on white supremacy.

Similarly, Draco and other Death Eaters are not Nazis or Nazis in training. Around six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and those were just reported deaths. A higher number were tortured in concentration camps and gassed, and were never reported. Thousands of women were r*ped by officers.

Voldemort required muggleborns to be registered. Let's keep in mind that when this law was passed, the Ministry was controlled by him and he had complete authority. All he did was pass a law that required them to be registered. Maybe that was a stepping stone in what could have ultimately lead to the wizarding World War 2, but that isn't canon. Nothing in canon has ever hinted at the parallel to Nazi Germany. Don't draw lines equalling Voldemort to Hitler, because it simply doesn't hold.

Blood purity isn't based on anti-semitism or Nazi Germany. Calling Draco a "Nazi" is blatantly disrespectful to surviving Jews. Voldemort was nowhere near the level of inhumanity Hitler was on.

Sorry for the rant! I've come across at least three posts today calling Draco a Nazi or a white supremacist and it makes me feel nauseous that people actually feel justified in calling a fictional character by a term that is a trigger to so many people out there today, when the character isn't the term, at all.

People just want to feel "woke" or smart when they draw these (completely wrong and disrespectful) conclusions.

I've seen two this morning as well!

JKR admitted to taking inspiration from Hitler for Voldemort, but never said that the whole campaign Voldy used was based on the Nazis.

The word mudblood and the hate against the muggleborns and blood traitors has to do with class not race! We equate it as race since the major thing people now discriminate against is race, class is still something looked down upon for but in most countries in the world it's not important anymore. But race still is for some reason. So I can see why people will draw parallels, but they need to remember it's not the same exactly. And it's not right to call out characters as Nazis and then harass and be vile to someone who likes those characters.

I think that is the big issue here. People don't understand that this world is not real, these characters don't exist. So you cannot judge someone for liking the character just because you don't like them. Just because you don't like how the original author wrote them. You cannot be mean and say horrible things about people for liking a fake character.

And the people who do this are hypocrites, wanting to hate on Draco for calling Hermione a bad name all the while telling us fans of Draco that we are mentally ill and need help.

- Lisa

This is going to get me tore up from the floor up, but I’m just gonna go ahead and disagree to a certain extent.

For one, I wish I had better canon context. It’s been a long time since I read the books. But there is some indication that blood purity is based in the wizarding system of society. For one, a lot of purebloods are rich. Economically, they have somehow profited by being in the elite. We see that translated in white society on a racial plane, and we saw it happen with Germans during the Holocaust. The Weasleys, in particular, are cast out of both society and the economic status that comes with it by being “blood traitors” and turning on what pureblood society has come to stand for.

Further, in the last book, and to a certain extent in the new Fantastic Beasts movies, we see that there was major prejudice incorporated in government and society. For one, Anon, you bring up the fact that Muggles had to register when Voldemort was in charge of the Ministry. That definitely still counts as an example of how society just blatantly went along with a prejudicial law. Like, that happens so regularly unfortunately, even today, with people making laws that might seem innocuous on the surface but actually hurt large portions of society based on their skin color or gender, etc.--we’ve seen it with voting laws and abortion laws this year (2021) alone. In Fantastic Beasts, we see that in the 1930s there was major prejudice against wizards similar to the rise of the KKK and anti-race/Semitic sentiments reflected from Germany during the same time. There’s no way that would not have created a huge backlash of secrecy and fear and hate from the American wizarding community.

All of this being said, I will agree that the word “Nazi” is thrown around poorly these days by people who don’t understand the concept, and doing that does devalue the experiences of Jewish people from the Holocaust. 100% true. But to assume that the blood purity allegory is NOT an allegory for real life experiences of bigotry is both ignorant and harmful. For me to understand how the word “mudblood” would have affected Hermione (at age 13), I had to change the word to “bitch” in my head so that I could feel something similar to what she would have felt. I understood at 13 that I had the privilege of not being able to fully grasp what the sentiment meant to her. Just like I now know I have white privilege, and American privilege, and middle-class privilege. I think that this allegory serves as a good primer to children (whom the literature is meant for) who need to learn that some people are just discriminated against because the  society they’re in tells people that’s okay to do. So to that end, I disagree with your original statement.

-Shirlyn

#dramione #Dramione fanfiction #hp fanfiction #canon #HP Fandom #Blood Purity

[tatestripedsweater]

Perfect Pair

Plot: After doing odd jobs around town to save up for a home, Jimmy finds out from a friend who caught you sneaking back into camp.

Domestic Male Reader x Jimmy?? Maybe saving up enough money and buying a little house and wanting to ask him to move in with them but being too nervous (until someone from the camp says something maybe n thats how jimmy finds out?) - Requested by @darlingkitt

Wordcount: 1,890

Warning: Discrimination (‘Freaks’), Mentions of Homophobia (Not much)

AHS Taglist: @tatesimper @mxlti-fand0m-imaginess @darlingkitt @mrs-march-ahs @kitwalker02 @satanscomplex @mossybank @cleanup-aisle5 - Let me know if you want to be added!

A/N: The plot is slightly different but I still hope you like it!

The mud under your fingernails was worth it, had to keep repeating the words ‘do it for Jimmy’ in your head. The money wasn’t great for these small little garden jobs, and people often gave you dirty looks due to you being associated with the Freak Show. But it had to be done, for Jimmy.

You knew how badly he wanted to leave the show, to have some sort of normality in his life. He worked so hard and for people to shit all over him, to treat him like crap annoyed you to high heaven.

“You nearly done?” The voice of the male homeowner could be heard from behind you, his stare burning into the back of your head. Taking a deep breath to compose yourself, you went to speak but soon got interrupted by the same man. “Look at me when you speak freak.”

Biting your tongue to stop yourself from saying something insulting, you stood up from the grass floor to look at him. Mud smudged on your jeans and white vest, sweat forming on your vest from being out in the sun most of the day.

“You know what, screw this.” You threw the garden tools and climbed over the wooden wall, ignoring the profanities and shouting coming from the ignorant male who had you working for him. Part of you felt bad since you knew you needed the money, but there was only so much a person could take.

The sign across the street caught your attention, it almost bringing you to tears. There was a picture of a family: A male and a female along with a small child. ‘Perfect Homes for Perfect Families’ was the slogan. The fact you and Jimmy could never have a family with one another broke your heart. Two males in a romantic and or sexual relationship was known as taboo, something to hide.

The two of you had met when your car had broken down in the middle of nowhere, he was sat on his bike when he found you kicking the wheels of your ride.

“Hey, don’t take it out on the car bud.” Jimmy chuckled as he walked over to you, your car wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon so by the looks of it neither were you. “Let’s have a look under the hood.”

The both of you coughed as soon as he opened the hood of your car, smoke engulfing you both. You along with Jimmy had to step away from the car, it was obvious you weren’t a car person or mechanic. Anyone would’ve noticed the smoke but not you.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on fire yet.” Once the coughing had subsided you looked over at Jimmy as he spoke. You took in his appearance and couldn’t help but feel yourself go bashful; he was beautiful.

“Guess I’m one of the lucky ones” Shrugging at his comment since that is all you could think of saying in the moment. Not many people knew about your sexuality, in fact the only person that knew was yourself. “I’m Y/N.” You noticed the hesitation as you held out your hands, your eyes soon meeting his gloved ones.

“Jimmy, Jimmy Darlin’.” He shook your hand and the leather against your skin forced you to bite your bottom lip, it was still warm. Probably from the engine of Jimmy’s motorcycle.

He had noticed your lip bite but decided against it on bringing it up, Jimmy could tell you were attracted to him, but he wasn’t going to shame you for it. He had been shamed enough for being different.

“Lovely to meet you.”

Walking back into camp, you tried to steer clear of anyone so they wouldn’t ask you any questions of your appearance. You often did these jobs at the dead of night or in the early morning as to not raise any suspicion, but that clearly did not work out for you.

‘’Jesus, what happened to you?’’ Of course, Eve was awake so early in the morning. There would be no way you’d be able to hide from her what you were doing, she was a very observant person. Raising her eyebrow as if to wait for a response, you sighed heavily before speaking.

‘’I’m saving up money, been doing these stupid jobs for assholes.’’ Your voice was quiet, but it was enough for her to hear, she knew how much both you and Jimmy wanted out of the show, so she wasn’t that surprised when you told her this. ‘’I found this house, it’s lovely but it's expensive’’.

‘’Have you told Jimmy?’’ The silence was enough of an answer for Eve. Of course, you have not. He would not like that you were doing jobs like this, especially for something he wanted. ‘’Well, he isn’t going to be happy, remember what happened last time you tried to do this?’’

‘’What do you mean?’’ Jimmy looked at you with a confused expression on his face, he wasn’t used to people doing things for him, so this came as a shock to him. He looked at your appearance, you were covered in mud and some car oil.

‘’I know how much you want to move away from this life. I thought if I did a few jobs around town and earn money it might help.’’ You were expecting him to be happy, so when the frown appeared on Jimmy’s face you felt your heart drop.

‘’No. Stop doing the jobs, you’re going to hurt yourself or end up getting into a fight.’’ He wasn’t wrong. The last time someone had insulted Jimmy, you had punched them square in the face. They deserved it. ‘’We can get through this just stop doing all these jobs, we will figure something out okay?’’

Nodding at Eve, you huffed heavily. You just wanted the best for him, Jimmy deserved all the happiness in the world, but he refused anyone that was willing to give that to him. You debated on if it would be a good idea to walk into the camper van you both shared dressed like this, he would surely figure it out.

“Go on by the lake for a wash, I’ll keep Jimmy busy.’’ Smiling softly, you made your way to the lake with the wet grass under your bare feet. The small campervan that both you and Jimmy shared had a small shower within it, so it was hell trying to wash yourself in there.

Eve had knocked onto the window that was shining through Jimmy’s bedroom as soon as you left, she knew you were doing it for his own good but he had a right to know where you were going and what you were doing. Groaning at the knock on the window, Jimmy tried to shut it out by putting the pillow over his head.

“Go away..” It came out more like a grumble from his lips but it was enough for Eve to hear. With her knocking a lot harder on his window, Jimmy had no choice but to get up from his slumber. “Okay I’m coming, keep your socks on!”

The morning sun heated up Jimmy’s chest as he opened the door, he was only in a pair of boxers so he clearly didn’t care who was on the other side of the door. Eve wasn’t surprised at all with the sight. She had seen worse.

“It’s about Y/N.” The moment that left her lips Jimmy was wide awake. In fact he hasn’t actually seen you all morning, not that he would remember as he had been sound asleep. He was just used to waking up to your presence.

Jimmy had motioned Eve in as he went to go put some clothes on, she couldn’t help but look around the room with a soft smile. There were mundane items around that showed Jimmy didn’t live here alone: Two coffee/tea mugs already set out, your jacket still laying on the chair from the night before, not to mention underwear on the floor as well.

“What about him?” Jimmy asked with a puzzled expression on his face, with him now all dressed and smelling somewhat of the cheap musk cologne he usually wore.

“He’s done it again, doing odd jobs around town.” Jimmy wasn’t at all surprised when she told him, in fact he had a hunch that’s what you were up to again. Jimmy knew you meant well and that you wanted out just as much as him, but he didn’t want you doing all the work. He certainly couldn’t go back to what he used to do. “Y/N is down by the lake.. Take him some fresh clothes, idiot forgot to grab some.”

You were an idiot, but Jimmy’s idiot. Grabbing what you usually wore during hot days like this, he made his way to the lake where you were stood in. You let out a cry when Jimmy threw a bar of soap at you since you had forgotten that aspect as well.

“Ass.” You could only watch your boyfriend undress once you had called him that, he was certainly a god to look at. Even if he didn’t see it himself. “How did you know I was here?”

“Eve..” Of course, you should’ve known the answer already. Jimmy noticed the look on your face as he stepped into the river, his own clothes piled on top of your own. “I’m not mad, I’m not happy. But not mad.”

Before you could even speak, Jimmy kissed you. The both of you knew you’d be safe to show your affections to one another here, it wasn’t like anyone came to these parts anyway. The only people that knew were the members of the camp, they accepted you as their own.

“I need you to promise me when you start new jobs you’ll tell me, okay?” Jimmy needed reassurance that he knew where you were, the last time he didn’t you came home with a black eye and a broken nose. That was only due to a bunch of greasers.

“I promise, but I’m still going to save up until we find the perfect home.” You were stubborn, but of course Jimmy knew that. He wouldn’t have you any other way, just like you wouldn’t have Jimmy any different. “Deal Mr Darling?” You asked in a teasing tone since you knew what that name did to him, especially if you were both alone.

“Deal. Now kiss me before I loose control”

___

“So.. what’d you think?” Looking over at Jimmy, you couldn’t help but smile widely at the home that was now yours. “I mean it has a lovely view, and a spare room for y-our mum.” The both of you had decided to play the brother card, as no one would suspect why you two lived with one another if that’s what you told them.

“It’s perfect.” Jimmy smiled and was careful with what way he touched you, this was due to the man that was showing you around the property. Jimmy had his hands covered with his trademark leather gloves as he went to sign the form. It was really happening.

“It’s all yours!” The man looked at you both with a big smile, which Jimmy and you soon returned. This was the start of something special. You could feel it.

#american horror story #american horror story gifs #ahs #ahs gifs #ahs imagine #american horror story imagine #ahs imagines #jimmy darling

[enmy-writes]

My Rock Star

Request: Anon: hii can i request a zuko x reader fic where the reader is in a famous girl group (like blackpink for example) & the whole gaang is backstage while the reader is getting ready for a performance & its just super fluffy & cute? Thanks!!

Word Count: 2,646

Fandom: ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Pairing: Zuko x Fem!Reader

Genre: All fluff. It’s some nice fluff time

Rated: 18+

Content Warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse (not detailed though), suggested themes but nothing bad

****My first request!! Sorry, anon, if I didn’t capture everything you wanted, but I hope it is! I am a sucker for music and bands, and instead of a blackpink approach, I gave the band instruments because I simp for instruments lol I might do a part 2 if this turns out well so lmk! Also, I learned how to make the “keep reading” line show up so that’s exciting yay me. Enjoy :)****

_______________________________________________________________________

It was about two hours before the show was supposed to start and Y/N was doing her normal self-routine before she had to go to her ‘Band-Team-Gang’ (or BTG as her and the girls liked to call it) pre-show rituals. 

Y/N was a part of a famous girl group who had just recently started making it big in Ba Sing Se and were on their first huge tour. Normally, this would make any performer nervous of the attention and putting on a big show, but this was the environment that she thrived in. 

Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula, Yue, and herself all knew each other from an all-girl’s private school that they grew up in together and bonded immediately over their love for creating music. It was inevitable for them to become a group. 

They spent most of their high school days writing songs and joking around in Y/N’s backyard bungalow her parents had gotten her for her twelfth birthday. To this day, they still go back there and do hot (dumb) girl shit.

“Why would we stop? That’s our home, of course we’d still go back there!” Ty Lee answered the interviewer with her signature hair flip and giggle. 

Azula rolled her eyes at the girl, hiding a fond smile. “At this point, It’d be weird not to go back to that little corner of hell we made.” Yue smacked her arm quickly, “Azula! Don’t act like you haven’t written most of our top hits in the bean bag we definitely didn’t steal from the school lounge.” 

The rest of the girls laughed, remembering how they had to hop the gates and sneak past the night guards to be able to get the bean bag. The plan would’ve been a total waste of time and definitely would have gotten them all expelled if anyone had caught them, but thank Mai’s ability to pick locks (which no one knows where she learned to do but they do not question it). 

“Plus,” Suki chimed in. “Y/N’s dad makes the best snacks and meals for us. It’d be a federal crime to not take up that offer for as long as we can.”

Needless to say, the six girls were so comfortable with each other that every performance was just like every group practice with, like, thousands of extra guests of honor. They even have a couch lounge area as part of their stage set props. It just makes sense.

Even though those were her best friends ever, sisters even, Y/N had another friend group that she was super close with. Azula had introduced Y/N to her brother, Zuko, back when they were in their sophomore year of high school and the two instantly clicked. It had only taken a year of being friends and hiding crushes for them to get together, and the two were still going strong. Through him, Y/N met a gang of (crazy) people that he had spent his whole public schooling years.

Aang, an enthusiastic and bald, vegan kid who loved life and enjoyed everything around him; Katara, his pre-med and feminist girlfriend; Sokka, her hilarious and amazingly smart brother (though, sometimes his ideas are questionable); and Toph, a blind and tough girl who is on her way to ruin the top 1%. With Zuko, they were the tightest and happiest little family that automatically accepted Y/N when Zuko brought her over one night. 

She was there when he went through a pyromaniac phase, his varying hair styles, and when he tried to get his father’s love back.Ozai, their father, was the owner and CEO of a massive weapons corporation. He had burned Zuko’s face on a hot stove and kicked him out of the house for suggesting that he raise the wage of all his employees to a comfortable living wage because many of his employees struggled to provide for their families even though they worked their asses off. Thankfully, his kind Uncle Iroh instantly picked the boy up off of the streets, letting him live with him and run his successful tea shop called the Jasmine Dragon. 

Azula had been shoved away by her father mostly for sexist reasons. Ozai would never pass his company down to his daughter, no matter how smart and dedicated she was. He threw her in the private school where she lived year round. She had never told Y/N or any of the other girl’s any of this, Y/N had found out through Zuko.

Y/N’s mother was a successful lawyer and her father was a district attorney who were very very passionate about bringing justice to those of racial discrimination, domestic abuse, abuse in general, and orphan rights. Her mother was an orphan who was plain lucky to get adopted by a loving old couple who used their life savings to get her the education and life she deserved while her father was a victim of domestic abuse. 

So, after months of convincing Zuko, Y/N told her parents about the two siblings. Long story short, they got Ozai arrested for his abuse crimes, bribery history, employee mistreatment, and many more crimes. They also adopted Azula herself and gave full custody of Zuko to his uncle. 

Since then, the world has been peaceful for the group. Azula has started to recover from her trauma with the help of her friends, therapy, and love from two caring adults; and Zuko was glowing year round in the company of his uncle and friends. 

A smile forms on her face, thinking of her large family and all they’ve gone through to get here, when the door to her personal backstage room opened up. The loud voices from Aang and Sokka met her ears next. 

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU REMEMBERED THE HAM SANDWICHES WITH NO CRUST.” A kiss to her cheek and Sokka is instantly at her snack table.

“Y/N! How’d you know I was going to bring Appa and Momo?!” Aang walked his huge, white dog and lemur (don’t ask how he has it. It might be illegal, but no one can tell him no) to the pet bed corner she had put in. 

Not answering them, Y/N just smiles at her friends who barged in and turns back to her mirror where she’s trying to decide her earring combination for the day. Warm arms snake their way around her waist, a body sliding up against her back soon after. 

“What’s your ideas for tonight?” Zuko’s voice speaks quietly into her ear, causing her to hum and lean back against his chest slightly. 

“I’m not sure. We’re going for the edgy look tonight, but we all know Ty Lee is still going to wear pink. Man, our manager is going to kill her...again.” They both laugh. “Ugh, why did you let me pierce my ears, like, ten times. There’s too many combinations to choose from!”

“Me?! I did-- never mind. Just grab a handful, no one can see them from the stage anyways.” Despite his attempt to seem like he doesn’t care, one of his ring-clad fingers starts moving his favorite pieces over into a little pile by themselves. Y/N rolls her eyes and starts putting his choices in random holes in her ear, pushing him back lightly so she can bend over closer to the mirror to see better. 

“It’s the fit Zu… if the fit is a vibe, the confidence is there. If the confidence is there, nothing can stop my hot girl shit.” Her words cause him to let a huff of jealousy, flicking her arm playfully. 

Their eyes meet in the mirror, and he can clearly see the mischief in them. Calming down, he jokes back. “Yeah, well, you may do your ‘hot girl shit,’ but no one can steal you from me. We’ve been here too long.”

Toph cuts in from across the room with a loud laugh. “Please, fire brains, I could steal Y/N if I tried.” 

He whips around to face the short girl, “No you could not!!” 

“Actually, she makes a point.” Katara says, nodding along in hopes to pick fun at the boy. 

Sokka adds his two cents. “Honestly. Toph would just have to pick Y/N up and slam her against the wall or something and she’d tell her manager to send you a letter of resignation.” 

The whole group laughs, save for the angsty boy, and Y/N wraps her hand around his wrist. She pulls him towards her and reaches for a peck on the cheek. “While that may be true,” she gets a glare. “I’m too big of a simp for you… and Uncle Iroh’s dinner and game nights.”

While the rest of them laugh, Zuko’s eyes soften and he presses his lips to hers in a short, soft kiss. Uncle Iroh adores his girlfriend and everything she has done for Zuko and Azula where he had no power to do anything. The man calls her more than he does Zuko himself, and he’s pretty sure Y/N convinced him to download Words With Friends on his phone to play with her for when she can’t make it to the weekly game night dates. 

Y/N smiles up at him and pats his cheeks lovingly before moving to the wardrobe area of her room. She pulls out ‘Cards Against Humanity’ from a duffle bag on the floor before joining the rest of her friends around the lounge area, patting the seat beside her for Zuko to join them.

Everyone cheers at the sight of the black and white box with the many expansion packs that they have collected over the years. While Katara deals, everyone else makes bets on who is going to win this time. Y/N slides back into Zuko’s side as his arm comes to rest around her shoulders, playing with the ends of her H/L hair.

It’s about fifty minutes before the show is starting, and Y/N knows she has to start getting dressed and ready for the concert. Sighing, she slips from her boyfriend’s grasp (a small whine coming from him) and moves to her dressing corner. Suki, Ty Lee, Mai, Azula, and Yue had made their way to the room shortly after they started due to Sokka texting his girlfriend (Suki) to come over and join. 

The rest of the girls notice you get up and leave as well, much to everyone else’s dismay. You reassure them to keep playing a few more rounds, not wanting to ruin their fun with you putting clothes on. Y/N quickly shoves her outfit choice on which is very hot, black, and riddled with chains. To top it off, she had thick-heeled combat boots on with numerous buckles on them. Her hair, makeup, and accessories have already been done so she heads back to the group.

‘Cards Against Humanity’ has been packed up neatly and her friends are lounging around, getting last minute snacks and quality time before they go to their special seats right in front of the stage. Nothing but the best for her friends. Sokka and Katara are the first people to see her, and the former lets out his own wolf whistle in his own way to hype Y/N up. 

“DAMN, my best friend is HOT AS HELL. Zuko, you lucky ass man.” Katara hits him, but shoots her a wink as the rest of the gang look over. Y/N laughs giddily through their praises and hyped words (Toph in good spirit rather than actually seeing her outfit), as she makes her way back to her spot on the couch.

Zuko, who hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her yet, quickly grabs her bare waist and tugs her onto his lap to hold her tight. “So… this is what you meant by ‘hot girl shit.’” Letting out a loud laugh, Y/N turns her head and gives him a quick kiss. “I’m a rock star, baby, what can I say.” 

Aang cheers out of nowhere. “Yes! I’ve always wanted to be a groupie!” More laughter and jokes ring throughout the room, keeping the atmosphere as light as always, 

A knock at the door interrupts them. A man is standing there in all black with a headset on and a sleek, red (with little sparkles that only gleam in the light), electric guitar carefully caressed in his hands. While they are a girl group, their success has mainly come from being a girl group who also plays all their instruments. With Mai on the drums, Ty Lee on the keyboard, Azula and Y/N on electric guitars, Yue on the acoustic guitar, Suki on the bass; the band is truly a sight with all of them sharing the vocals and their enthusiastic (near crackhead) energy that give their crowd a good show. 

“Miss L/N? This is your five minute warning.” He tells them, not bothered by the usual group of people who are constantly in these rooms with her.

“Thanks Lee!” Y/N hops up to get her pride and joy (her child as Suki and Mai like to joke about). “I’ll be right out.”

Knowing these are the last pre-game minutes, everyone starts getting up to leave the room as well. Zuko lingers by Y/N who’s busy making sure her instrument is tuned perfectly for the numbers she’s about to perform. 

“I can feel you staring, Zu,” She smiles, still looking down at her strings. He huffs out a laugh, reaching out to push a piece of hair back to see her face.

“Good luck out there, my rock star. Don’t do too much hot girl shit.” 

“Oh, I’m doing all the hot girl shit.” A glare. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding… unless…?” She laughs at his fed up face. Reaching up, she presses one last, lingering kiss to his lips, enjoying the feeling of his fingers clutching her sides firmly and the feeling of his heart beat under her palm that’s resting on his chest. 

“Bye, love. I’ll see you after the show.” She whispers, sealing the promise with a kiss before moving back. “Alright kids! Get the hell out of my dressing room.” Y/N shouts at her friends and they all leave together, laughing away. 

The rest of them wish her luck before moving away, Sokka sprinting to find Suki one last time. Zuko holds onto her free hand, watching her laugh at ‘Simp Sokka’ with his small smile on his face. He kisses her hand, pulling her attention back to him. 

“Bye, rock star. I’ll see you after the show. Break a leg, yeah?” His cliche words make her laugh more, pulling away from him and towards the rest of her band who are chanting “BTG! BTG!”. 

“Zu… I don’t break legs. I break hearts.” And with one last mischievous look, she mouths ‘hot girl shit’ and struts away in that way that makes Zuko want to make her cancel the show completely. 

His phone buzzes a few minutes after he caught up with his friends in their special closed off section on the floor. He opens the notification and it sends him to Instagram where Y/N had tagged him in a post. The smile grows on his face with every second he takes in the post. 

Katara must’ve taken the picture. The angle, lighting, and quality could only be done by her. Y/N was on his lap, dressed to go on stage. Zuko’s mouth was almost touching her ear, definitely when he was whispering to her, and her face was wide in a smirk. They looked good, perfect even. The caption is what made him laugh, warmth and pride that she is his spreading through his chest. 

“Y/N_L/N: for him? I’m always on my hot girl shit”

#zuko #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #avatar zuko #atla x reader #atla #fanfic #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla fanfic #alta x reader #atla x you #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #x reader #enmy-writes atla

[marthastella]

My au(Day & Night Au)

Every evening, a boy wearing a wreath of roses attracting butterflies with a lamp-shaped tail at the beginning of the road would lie down on the white chrysanthemum garden and watch the light orange sky of the afternoon. He looked at the sky with a relaxed face. “This is still the best place to de-stress,” he thought to himself. The glittering chalk dust emanating from him made the scene more beautiful and poetic. He sat up and plucked a white chrysanthemum that was about to bloom next to him. He picked up the flower and it bloomed - it was quite a fun game for him. He can watch the flower grow in just 5 minutes, this may be the reason why he is so knowledgeable about flowers, especially the white chrysanthemum. He smiled slightly at the flower and put it down and the flower automatically resumed where it had bloomed in the first place. He didn't expect that all of his actions were being watched by someone very carefully. He is the only son of the night god. At first, he did not care about the child of the god of the day, but when he was passing through the chrysanthemum garden in the afternoon, he saw his smiling face illuminated by the morning sun, making him fall in love. your. So every day in the afternoon, he always stood by the corner of some tree just to watch him. Gradually it became a habit. I had to leave early today because I was quite tired, I was a little sorry that I couldn't watch him for a long time. He was just about to return when he stepped on a tree branch and made a sound. “What a bad day today!” He think. Suddenly a voice called out: "What are you doing here?”

Dream turned behind to see George standing up looking at him with innocent eyes. Dream replied, "I walked past here." Geoge giggled looking at Dream and said: "Do you want to make friend?" Dream was surprised after George's words, he never thought anyone would want to be friends with someone like him. His only friend is Sapnap, his servant, but this time it's the child of the day god, which surprises him. “Am I worthy to be friends with a god like you? I am your enemy- god of the future day” Dream replied. “So what? Does anyone forbid it?" George replied. "Then let's do it!" Dream froze for a few seconds, then held George's hand "okay"

Since then, the two have seen each other every day. The two kept telling each other stories about their lives and scenes from time to time. They just realized that their worlds are very similar. Every time Dream talked about the night when the moon shone down on the white chrysanthemum garden, it looked so beautiful and melodious, this made George have a wish to be able to see the moon at night but he knew it was an impossible thing to do. Because the god of the day can only walk freely everywhere in the morning, but if the god of the day goes at night, he will die, and the god of the night will do the same.

Gradually, the two people developed feelings for each other but did not tell the other because they were afraid that after they knew, they would alienate and discriminate against them. So the two of them could only hold each other in their hearts.

On a beautiful afternoon, George went to the chrysanthemum garden as usual, but today Dream did not come. George comforted himself, "He's probably just busy, that's okay."

It's been 5 days since Dream didn't come, making George very worried. He was afraid what would happen to Dream but still tried to comfort himself that Dream was fine.

On the sixth day, George still came to the white chrysanthemum garden. He prayed that this time Dream would come. Just as he wanted, Dream came but his face didn't look good. "What's wrong, Dream?" George asked. Dream was silent for a long time and then replied “I have… a fiancee…” Dream replied

The words struck like lightning across George's ears. The person you love now has a fiancee, how do you get over this shock!? “Two days to our wedding day, will you come?” Dream asked in a mood no better than George.

George didn't answer but just ran away, tears rolling down his cheeks. You cry because the person you love will marry someone else, cry because you will have to watch two people get married. He tried not to cry but couldn't. His heart ached like it was about to burst.

2 days later, Dream and fiancee's wedding ceremony begins Everyone happily congratulated the two of them. Only George was upset. Dream is not much different from George, he tried to protest but couldn't. He was sad because the person he married was not George, he was sad because he could not express his feelings for him. The wedding begins The bride walks to Dream

While the pastor was reading vows in the church, then everybody clammed up. To track pastor asked, "one protest this marriage does not?" Then a voice said: "yes!" Everyone was surprised to hear those words, they turned and looked back to see who was opposed. It was George, he quickly ran to the spot and pulled out Dream before the surprise of everyone. He pulled the Dream come to the garden chrysanthemums which two people often meet each other here. George let go Dream on. Dream questions: "Why do you oppose in your wedding? He was not afraid of being my soldiers chased what? "

The silence lasted… “George! What do you say!? Answer my question, George!" "Because I love you! OK!?" The statement surprised Dream, he couldn't believe this was real. “I can't see you marrying someone else in front of your eyes, you don't like her either? Are you planning to stay with someone you don't like for the rest of your life!?” George shouted. Silent Dream

"So do you agree to be my boyfriend?" George held out his hand in front of Dream. Dream is still silent “I see…” George pulled his hand away and ran away, but Dream jumped to hug him from behind, surprising George. "I agree!" Dream replied. Then the two exchanged a kiss.

They sat next to the chrysanthemum garden and talked about their feelings, about their fear if they didn't agree, but now it's so happy that both of them can't believe this is true. But then the happy time did not last long, the soldiers of Dream caught up to bring Dream back to hold the wedding. The two of them ran away together. But while running, George was hit in the leg by a soldier throwing a knife, making walking very difficult. It started to get dark, Dream saw that and tried to pull George to run quickly to avoid the night. But because of the serious injury, George could not run anymore. When he was able to cut off the soldiers, Dream said to George:

“You run away! It's getting dark! Run away so I can stop the soldiers!” “N-no-no n-time, I…will not…make it…so why run now? I…know that I'm…not going to make it, so I'll stay here with you…” George managed to say. It seems that he already knew his end, so he didn't run anymore. "Are not!" Dream said: "It's still time! Hurry up!” George tried to smile and then said: "I know I won't make it, so I'll be here with you, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Dream quietly watched George's face turn pale. He already knew what was going to happen in a few minutes, but he still tried to reassure him that George would be fine. “Dream, I still just wanted to say I love you, do you love me?” George said as he raised his hand to stroke Dream's cheek. Dream hugged George tightly and said: “I love you too!” After that sentence, George stopped breathing. Dream looked at him in horror as he was lying on top of her. He cry….

It has been 3 years since George died, Dream has become insensitive to everyone, now he is a night god but still takes time to go to the white chrysanthemum garden - where he met him. Every day, he would go out and put a chrysanthemum flower down and cry. Today, too, he still brought a chrysanthemum flower and put it down. "This is where I met you, where you said goodbye to the world" Dream said chokingly and tears rolled down her cheeks. He cried because he missed him so much. A voice called out: "Long time no see, why are you so wet, Dream?" Dream heard a familiar voice and turned to look behind. It's George…it's really George… "Am I dreaming again, George?" Dream asked as he stood up, shaking hands and walking towards George. "It's not a dream, you idiot!" George said Dream jumps in and hugs George “You really are back!” Dream said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Right!" George replied, holding a crying Dream.

this is my first time writing fanfic so it's very bad and logical, hope everyone understands (bad english)

[blakelywintersfield]

As a victim of gun violence myself, I will be keeping my guns, thanks. Fear mongering? Maybe a little bit the fact is politicians absolutely “hell yes I want to take your AR15, your AK47”. They’ve said it often and loudly that they would like you to be disarmed. If you feel no one in your home is mentally stable enough for a gun, great, but you have zero right to tell others they should do the same.

1. If you're a victim of gun violence then the NRA gives absolutely NO fucks about you. You're not a victim of gun violence in their eyes, you're a victim of a criminal who happened to have a gun. Calling it "gun violence" is liberal propaganda to blame the gun, instead of the person. The gun didn't create the violence, the person did. That's their shitbrained logic and that's how they would respond to you if you told them (without disclosing if you're a gun owner or not) "I was a victim of gun violence." Because just like your dumb ass, they're not responsible gun owners, they're reactionary gun owners, and if you're reactionary as opposed to rational, you shouldn't have dangerous weapons, and your "you can't tell me what to do" 5-year-old attitude towards that would not hold up in a myriad of other scenarios. By your logic, suspending the driver's license of an elderly individual with dementia is unconstitutional. Not allowing someone with chronic seizures to drive is unconstitutional. Not allowing people to sell food without meeting safety and sanitation standards is unconstitutional. "You can't tell me what to do 'cause muh freedumb" isn't a fucking part of the constitution, you're just a chronic nationalist boot deep-throater whose mommy told him that the world owed him everything.

2. Where did I say guns should be taken away from you, or anyone else in my tags. Where? Here, I'll post the fucking screenshot of it and you can highlight it:

Please show me where I said "people should have their guns taken away" you reactionary cowardly fuck. I'll wait.

3. Politicians stating "no one needs a stockpile of AK47s" is not synonymous with "we want to take your guns". Gun buy-back programs that are VOLUNTARY are not the same as threatening to "take your guns". What benefit would you, as one person, gain from owning 5 semi-automatic weapons in the argument of "self-defense"? Are you going to wield one in each hand, one with each foot, and one with the mouth you can't seem to fucking shut? Do you think any of these weapons would protect you against government militia (which is what the second amendment is FOR, for one, and which the NRA does NOT condone if it's conservative sanctioned militia takeover) breaking into your property with a force of 10 people in bulletproof gear and military-grade weapons that could probably blow your fucking empty head off your body in one shot? Or do you like owning all of these shiny scary-looking toys for intimidation, thinking it'll protect you from future violence, like a fucking Halloween house made to scare away children? If that's your reasoning, then you definitely need therapy because that's textbook maladaptive coping with trauma -- I'd know because I have my own array of self-defense weapons that I got in response to my traumatic event, including a knife that could fatally gut an adult man with one stab. That's not a reasonable response to trauma!! But at least I can admit it! Your pisswad ass on the other hand can't, and views anyone saying "the NRA is a shit organization that doesn't support responsible gun ownership or the responsibility of gun owners and their actions, and is essentially a domestic terrorist grooming organization" as an attack on you as an individual, because you can't stomach the idea that maybe, just fucking maybe, you may be on that list of people who shouldn't have a gun because you're too mentally fucked up to be trusted with something like that, like people who are chronically suicidal (in other words, the MAJORITY OF GUN RELATED DEATHS), people with psychotic tendencies that can lead to hurting themselves or others (not because people with psychosis are "scary evil people", but because those moments of psychosis literally keep a person from making rational observations and decisions, and these individuals are already advised to have possible harmful tools locked up or just not in the house for their own safety), people like incels that believe if their entitlement is denied that they have the right to murder, etc. Honestly, you do sound like someone who shouldn't have guns, because your unstable ass probably read up to the second tag and skimmed the rest in a blind rage before sending an ask two days after I made that post, and seemed to conveniently miss the end:

What's your reasoning for the NRA keeping silent about responsible black gun owners being gunned down by police because the cops know they're legally registered gun owners (Jason Washington, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, whom the NRA defended being murdered by police while pulled over for a traffic violation, in his car with his wife and CHILD, and verbally informed the cop like a responsible gun owner that he had a conceal and carry permit, and was reaching for his wallet in plain view of his family and the fucking pig)? What's your reasoning behind them callously dismissing police violence against black people who are unarmed or have a history of supporting gun control (Botham Jean, Clementa Pinckney, fucking JAMES SHAW JR., WHO STOPPED A MASS SHOOTING WHILE UNARMED HIMSELF), as though that makes it their fault they were murdered, injured, or otherwise victimized? What's your reasoning behind them only piping up about "muh guns" whenever politicians say "there's a gun problem" after the 29th public shooting that month, but not tackling the issue of gun control disproportionately impacting people of color while letting crazy little white kids run loose with a multitude of firearms? What's your reasoning behind them siding with idiot fascist Trump's temper tantrum over the NFL's protests on police violence -- something they, once again, consistently respond to with "they should've been armed" if the black person wasn't, and give complete fucking radio static to if the black person was armed (even if legally armed)? They're so against gun control, but never seem to care when it affects black and brown people -- only when Jack Incelson, age 16, who posts on 4chan about how he wants to cut women's heads off and fuck their dead bodies, is at risk of not being allowed to keep his AR15. If people of color are killed while armed, it's justified because "they had a gun"; if people of color are killed while unarmed, it's their fault because "they should've had a gun" -- this is something the NRA is notorious for, because they don't give a flying fuck about people who should have the right to arm themselves.

4. On that point: I fully support the Socialist Rifle Association, even as someone who does not want to own guns -- because, as stated in the post you're shitting your diaper over -- I support organizations that vouch for responsible gun owners. The SRA holds irresponsible gun owners accountable. They actually support people's right to bear arms to defend themselves against tyrannical government forces. They are active in disaster aid, in environmental defense, in protecting people of color. I do not like guns but I 100% support the SRA, because they fight for people who do need to arm themselves to have that right, and I support that sentiment. I believe people of color should be able to arm themselves. I believe queer people should be able to arm themselves. I believe poor people should be able to arm themselves. But the NRA doesn't actively fight for any of those groups' rights -- the SRA does.

But you know what the SRA doesn't do? Send out unsolicited letters begging lower-middle-class white people for money so they can "fight the gun-hating liberals" from "taking away our guns n freedumb" and offering "i <3 guns" bumper stickers and shit in return. They don't view any political party as their friend because they know that Republicans and Democrats alike do not actually want you to be able to defend yourself against the government. They don't send fear-mongering letters full of hyperbolic bullshit to scare people into thinking that Biden or Obama or whatever Democrat is in the office is going to break into your house with police, beat your wife and children, and steal your guns while cackling maniacally over you as you sob "why mister president? why would you do this to your loyal and patriotic citizens?" The SRA opposes gun control laws that unfairly target demographics that are at the highest risk of police violence. The NRA does not, and, in fact, has a very heavily documented history of siding with conservatism, including making statements about things that don't even involve guns -- stating that American men are being turned into "second-rate women", outcried banning anti-queer discrimination and compared the ban to slavery, made a call to imprison people protesting against Trump's Cabinet picks, called the Women's March anti-American. These are all recent you shithead, so you must be purposely ignoring all of this to feel justified in defending this domestic terrorist organization, or you're probably a self-victimizing white man who can't handle being told no. Or maybe both. I don't know and I don't fucking care.

Don't fucking message me again. Unfollow me if you were previously following me and haven't already. Get some fucking therapy instead of crawling through strangers' blogs trying to find a reason to justify your irrational anger at them. And while you're at it, do me a huge favor, you cowardly fucking cunt: go to your nearest sex shop, buy 5 gallons of lube, pour them over your guns, and shove each and every one of them, fully loaded, up your ass. That way you can keep a close eye on them since your head is obviously already lodged up there.

Alternatively, you can eat shit and die.

#welcome to the bpd space my empathy is at 0 for you and i would experience a heavenly degree of schadenfreude from watching you suffer #where did you think this was gonna go you dumb cunt? what did you think you'd accomplish? #what about my blog says ''i'm a friendly space for neo-conservative sacks of shit''? #the last tl;dr point of my byf literally says don't follow if you're republican/conservative #and you can pretend you're not all you want but if you see people condemning the nra while stating they support gun organizations that #stand for responsible gun ownership and your reaction is to send an angry ''fuk u deez er MUH GUNS U CANT TAKEEM FRUM ME'' you are reacting #the same way conservatives do. supporting people's rights to arm themselves does not mean you can't condemn shitty organizations like the #nra and in fact refusing to makes you an irresponsible gun owner in itself because you refuse to acknowledge organizations that mow down #people who need to arm themselves so that YOU can. #you don't care about people's rights you just don't want to be told no. like a fucking toddler. #anyways gonna tag some stuff for possible blacklists #violence against women #police brutality #racism #graphic descriptions of violence #long post #can't think of anything else y'all can lmk if there was something i missed

[thetaylorfan]

I am writing this post in regards to the systemic racism in this fandom. It is my job as an African American woman to use my voice to stand up for myself, and all people of color. I’m so sick of seeing some of you bully and send disgusting, racist anons to my friends, as well as myself. Let’s get one thing straight. Reverse racism does not exist. White privilege does exist. I am not going to explain how or why, because it’s quite honestly common sense. Just because you can’t relate to something, does not give you an excuse to be silent and not use your voice. Now, I am posting this from personal experience; things that you can’t relate to unless you are African American, or honestly any person of color. Let’s get another thing straight. You have NO IDEA what it’s like. You have no idea how it feels to be discriminated against because of your race. You have no idea what it’s like to be terrified for your safety, solely because you are African American. You have no idea what’s it’s like for people to grab their kids or clutch their belongings harder because you’re African American and just happen to walk by. You have no idea what it’s like to be worried about being pulled over and being scared to open your window all the way because of your race. You have no idea what it’s like to be a minority in school and get called names or get bullied for because you’re “different.” You have no idea what it’s like for teachers and other students to bully you or treat you differently because of how you look (I am NOT saying you don’t know what it is liked to get bullied, because a lot of people have been bullied. I am saying you do not know what it is like to be bullied because of your race.) You have no idea what it’s like to worry you didn’t get an interview, or the job because you put “African American” or ANY POC on your job application. I could go on and on, but that’s enough.

You have no idea you have no fucking idea. If you are not part of a minority, you have no idea how they feel. This goes for ALL minorities; whether that be your ethnicity, sexuality, etc.

The most you can do is LISTEN and try to understand but you’ll never truly know how it feels to be marginalized. All we ask is that you LISTEN. For example, the n word, which some of you say even though you aren’t African American (let me point out that this is not directed at anyone in particular) I’m not even going to explain why non-black people can NOT say it, because once again, it’s common sense. But some of y’all love sending racist anon hate; some of you love using that word. It’s not that hard. If you aren’t black, don’t fucking say “nigga” it’s not that hard!!!!!! I can’t even possibly think of a reason why anyone would think for a second that that is okay. Just don’t say it. Seeing how much racism there is in the fandom hurts me and so many others so much. Myself and so many of my friends have gotten racist anons and it’s upsetting and exhausting. I don’t get it. We are all human. As POC, we experience things different from white people. You do not get to decide how we feel and tell us how we feel is invalid. Just listen to us. That is literally ALL we ask. Do not try to invalidate our feelings.

One last thing I would like to talk about are our selfie nights. If you don’t know already, POC selfie night is the 13thof every month. This is something that has been going on for awhile, and it has personally helped me make so many friends. All we are asking for is one night; not even a full night. Honestly just a few hours (starting at 8pm EST) where we can see all the beautiful faces of people of color. It isn’t that hard. One night where we can be heard and visible. We are not saying to stay offline, but it would mean a lot if you could reblog us or call out racism that you see (not just on POC selfie night, but in general.) And please…and I cannot stress this enough…do NOT post in our tag (swiftpocselfies) if you are not a person of color. This should not even be something I need to say, but I do. There are also other selfie nights for the LGBTQ community (18th of each month) and disabled selfie night (5th of each month.) On these nights, focus on these people. It is not too much to ask.

I just want to end this three-page essay by saying this: To those of you who are not part of a minority group who have used your voice to speak on these issues, thank you. We love you. To those of you who are a part of a minority group and have used your voice, thank you. We love you. I need to say that this post is not directed at everyone. I see a lot of people stand up for POC and other minorities, and that means the absolute world to us. Those of you who read this and continue to be racist and send disgusting asks or just simply ignore the fact that racism is still an issue in the world today, well…fuck you.

I have been writing this post for months and although the main topic of this post is racism, I just want to add that if you are racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or discriminate ANY group of people, unfollow me because I do not want you near me or my blog. Thanks.

If you are a part of a minority and would like to add to this with your experiences, please do. Especially if I was not able to write about things you have experienced because I am not a part of the community. We need our voices to be heard. It’s 2019.

[rockandrollfool]

Stay Beautiful

When one considers representation and inclusion within the arts then it seems there is a huge omission in relation to people with a learning disability. Goddard (2014) argues that people have very little or indeed no say in the in the development of the inclusion agenda when considering the professional arts from a UK perspective. The lack of any real and meaningful engagement with the arts would undermine any notion of being taken seriously as a starting point. The field is highly competitive and success is often based on existing relationships. Menger (2006) asserts that any work or opportunity is generally 'piecemeal' this then links to reputation or standing within the immediate community or group. Accordingly this then serves to magnify the power of differences in talent and work opportunity to increase inequality.

When considering people with a learning disability as a "professional artist" then one could argue that identity and the ability to grow and understand self are the prerequisite within "creative learning" but if as Menger offers the field is limited then how are people going to access the chance to perform on their own terms and equally develop a sense of self value as an artist? Fundamentally if access is the issue then where are the spaces where people can access the arts and contribute on equitable terms? 

I was introduced to the “Nice n Sleazy” festival four years ago and it has been overwhelming watch it grow and develop. The festival is named after The Stranglers hit song from 1978 and has been part of the live music scene for fifteen years. I initially I thought it was a 'punk' festival though defining that term is virtually impossible. Tait Coles (2014) refers to punk as a state of mind" and attitudinal. Danny Baker writing in 1977 in the D.I.Y magazine 'Sniffing Glue' argued it is "something new" and furthermore that confusion is all part of the underlying philosophy of the movement and therefore "f*ck it, you go and figure it out" Baker (2104)

With this in mind then what has been created by the organisers is a music festival. The difference here however is that it is evident that the team have adopted an approach to support equality, diversity and inclusion through their own understanding and definition of punk. If ‘actions speak louder than words’ then one can see the huge push to creating a space that is safe for all. It equally provides opportunities for employment and performance and then sets the scene for four days of music and entertainment.

In 2019 the festival was awarded ‘Disability Confident’ status. The tangible reality of this is that people with learning disabilities both perform and work on site For the full duration of the event. The Disability Confident scheme claims to support employers "to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace" (on-line 2020) Moreover the scheme is seen as a way of addressing how employers engage with people with a disability.

According to the web-site there are 8.1 million people in the UK that have some form of disability. Defining disability can be problematic however Shakespeare and Watson (2001) perceive the term as complex and assert that one cannot reduce a definition to just biological circumstances. Equally important are psychological and socio-political factors”. This seems to capture the idea that a disability could be a social construct, Hiranandani (2005) and here in is the overriding philosophy of the Festival. 

When viewed through this prism 'disability confident' argues that by adopting more inclusive strategies for support then an organisation can change behaviour and cultures within "businesses, networks and communities “on line (2020) The reach is measured way beyond the immediate employer. By embracing inclusivity and by people having a visible and valued presence the potency of the message is magnified. 

Running parallel with this is the notion that whilst exploring and having access to arts people with learning disability have a very real chance to "express themselves through different creative opportunities and media.  According to idonline.org (2020), people can "gain confidence" in terms of self-development. More importantly though is the idea of the person being seen and valued as an artist or performer in their own right. Creating our own selves through the arts reflects Stuart Hall’s concept of identity being understood as identification, that is an evolving process rather than a fixed identity that is often ascribed to us by society and particularly for people with a learning disability (Hall, 1990).

Whilst trying to steer clear of labels, Becker (1963) and being mindful of respecting how people may want to self-define it is noticeable that "Sleazy" has given a platform and equal standing to the following bands 

The Ec-Tix  https://en-gb.facebook.com/ECTIX/

The Positives  https://en-gb.facebook.com/pg/ThePositives3/about/

 The Dead Rejects  https://www.facebook.com/deadrejects/

Clan Of Anarchy  https://en-gb.facebook.com/officialclanofanarchy

It is easy to see why the bands sit well within the festival due to their own punk ethos. Aligned with this therefore one could argue that "Sleazy" is a world away from how other festivals organise and promote what they do. There is no fuss and no huge banner proclaiming and asserting inclusivity.This reflects Beresford and Croft’s ‘democratic / citizenship’ approach to inclusion that emphasises people’s rights as citizens (as artists) to create and set their own agenda and identities, rather than as ‘consumers’ or ‘service users’ to be consulted in an often reactive manner to ‘tick the box of inclusivity’ (Beresford & Croft, 2003).

This philosophy is captured perfectly by Pauline Murray lead singer of Penetration who when asked what is it like being a woman in rock offered she never considered her gender an issue. Murray explains "I just thought I was part of the band" in retrospect however "it seems quite revolutionary, the way women were behaving. Females in bands were breaking down stereotypes" PR Intern (2017) Could the same be said of the bands appearing at Sleazy?

If pushed it is doubtful the bands above would describe themselves as having a learning disability. The idea that a group of musicians would want to be categorised in this way seems wholly at odds with my understanding of the rock persona. Joe Strummer of The Clash in defining 'self-awareness suggested it has something to do with 'an ability to trust your own judgement' and more importantly "an ability think for yourself" as cited in Coles (2014)  The chances are the respective bands just want to be musicians, performers and artists and consequently this is how they see themselves.. Doubtless that is exactly how the promoters at "Sleazy" make sense of it all. One is left to ask therefore, is there any other way to see it? 

I wanted to do a piece here about inclusivity within the arts and I have focused on this festival as the yard stick by which others could measure their impact. In considering Sleazy I haven’t spoken about the broad range of opportunities it presents for people (with a learning disability) to work as sound engineers, stage managers, lighting technicians, stage runners and the wealth of talent it embraces to do this. 

I haven’t discussed how the festival supports and promotes the White Ribbon Campaign which was founded in 2005 and is "part of a global movement concerned with ending male violence against women. “Much of the work we do is concerned with engaging men and boys regarding attitudes and behaviours, raising awareness, influencing change and providing resources to make change happen in relation to domestic violence and abuse of women and girls" White Ribbon.org.uk (2020) 

I also would have wanted to raise the work that Sleazy have been doing since 2016 in promoting The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. As part of their developing agenda regarding equality and diversity the organisers have been instrumental in challenging ‘hate crime’. This has allowed a further opportunity to increase and raise awareness and address discrimination and prejudice on an individual basis. Sophie Lancaster was a young woman that was murdered and her death was treated as a Hate Crime by Judge Russell who sentenced the murderers accordingly. Under the current UK Hate Crime Legislation (Section 146), as the motivation behind the murder was hateful, he was able to use his discretion to class it as a "Hate Crime". The work the foundation does focuses on creating respect for and understanding of subcultures in our communities. Where better to do that than at a punk festival?

It is probably worth mentioning that the team also support Morecambe food bank. There is a donation point in the foyer at the festival where food can be left and once the weekend is over the donations are then transported to the charity. Again this evidences how “Nice n Sleazy” has an alternative perspective when considering how to promote and host a music festival.

The tangible reality of this is not only do people with learning disabilities perform and work on site during the weekend, there is a massive emphasis on inclusion, diversity and equality.  This is a world away from how other festivals organise and promote what they do, so in conclusion one could say “Nice and Sleazy does it every time” The Stranglers (1978)

The Rock And Roll Fool

#rocknroll #festivals #indy #punk #equality #rights

[stardust-and-snickerdoodles]

Inferno

fandom: X-Men

pairing: Charles Xavier & child!reader

summary: requested by anon: Hi!! I loved your Charles Xavier x Child!Reader story and I was wondering if I could request one where he has to comfort reader, his adopted daughter, when she has a nightmare right after her parents abandon her?

warnings: nightmares, fire

word count: 1525

a/n: bruh it’s been so long since i’ve written anything. forgot how cathartic it can be

also i wrote this so Charles isn’t in the wheelchair. hope that’s okay. not sure how old reader is, but i was picturing early teens maybe.

It’s far past your normal bedtime and yet you can’t sleep. You’ve been awake for hours, hands trembling under the covers of your bed. Everything is new and strange and you’ve never been able to sleep in unfamiliar places. Your eyes are wide with fear and trepidation, and yet you don’t cry out.

You know very little about the rest of the inhabitants of the mansion; the only person you’ve actually had any meaningful interaction with is Charles, who immediately took you under his wing. And yet, it’s only your first day at the school. Surely Charles has better things to do than comfort the new orphan mutant at three in the morning.

You try to convince yourself that you’re old enough to handle this by yourself and roll yourself onto your side, shutting your eyes firmly. Go to sleep. Eventually, you fall into a fitful slumber, but dark images plague you.

First, it’s the discovery of your powers. Lashing out against the bullies at school and taking it too far, eventually setting the ground around you ablaze.

Then it’s sitting in the principal’s office. The quiet of the room closing in around you, suffocating. The white walls seem to scream at you in their perfection, saying, you are flawed. You are broken.

And then your parents coming in. They are concerned. They hug you and hold you tight, and for a minute, everything it going to be okay. They don’t know why they’ve been called to the school.

You watch them as they listen to the principal. It’s their faces that haunt you the most. Their pain, their loss. Disbelief that they could have birthed you. This thing, this monster.

Their fear. Fear of you, their own child.

You find yourself an innocent bystander, watching from above as they drive you home in silence. Watching as they argue in the kitchen, right in front of you. Watching as they pack your things and shuffle you onto a train.

Where are you going?

Why are you leaving me?

Don’t go.

Don’t leave me.

It’s the sound of the fire alarm that jolts you awake. Hazy smoke fills your lungs and you choke desperately for air. You squint your eyes, trying to find the source of the smoke. Outside your room, there are shuffling footsteps and sleepy mumbles, the sounds of tired students awoken from their sleep.

You continue to look around and eventually find that your small suitcase has become a blazing inferno.

For a brief moment, fear grips your heart and you’re paralyzed. Until you notice that the fire isn’t spreading. It’s an odd controlled blaze, but the smoke is still filling your room. You throw off the covers and scamper out of bed, throwing the door open. Some students look at you with bleary eyes but most just continue to shuffle down the stairs toward the exit.

You wait until most of the other kids have passed your room, then peek around the doorframe and scan the hall. To your surprise, no one is charging toward you angrily or shouting at you to get out. From farther down the hall and around the corner, you hear murmuring and you duck your head back into your room. Maybe they won’t find you? Maybe you’ll be able to put out the fire on your own before anyone even knows it was you…

The voices are growing closer, and now you can hear footsteps. Frantically, you shut the door again and lean your back against it. You rest a hand over your chest and take a deep breath, closing your eyes and trying to remain as quiet as possible. The fire alarm turns off and silence pierces the air, except the voices. They are louder now, perhaps only a few steps from your room.

“Maybe we should wait to have her in the mansion until she can control her powers. Charles, it’s a risk to the other students if-”

“No, Hank. I’m not going to leave her to the streets. She’s been through enough.”

“I’m not saying we should throw her out, just find somewhere safer for her to stay.”

The voices are just outside your door now, but they seem to have stopped moving. By now, you’ve identified Charles and Hank, and you struggle to control the trembling that comes from holding back tears.

“Her parents already left her once. I won’t put her through that again.”

A knock sounds and you stumble away, whirling to face the closed door. You look back at the still burning suitcase, trying desperately to think of something you can do in the next five seconds to quench the flame.

Go out, go out, go out, you shout with all your strength in your mind. Nothing happens. Figures. I can light things on fire but not put them out.

Another knock. “Y/N? Are you alright?” Charles voice is calm and soothing. There’s not a hint of anger, unlike your parents in your nightmare. You relax minutely, and take a step toward the door again, reaching toward the handle. You turn it, hesitate, then completely open the door.

Charles and Hank greet you with equally concerned expressions, Hank’s eyes immediately going to the fire behind you and Charles remaining on your face. The pity and worry on the professor’s face are enough to break the dam that had been holding back your tears.

Charles pulls you close to himself, rubbing soothing circles along your back as you sob into his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you gasp. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Shh, it’s alright, dear,” Charles reassures you. “Hank will take care of it.”

You allow yourself to cry, saying nothing else. The sound of a fire extinguisher being used is the only noise for a few minutes. Then a window being opened and the smell of smoke starts to dissipate. Hank’s footsteps leave the room.

At some point, Charles takes you out of your room to one of the spare rooms. The air is clearer here, the smell of smoke not apparent. He leads you over to the bed and sits down on the edge with you. Your tears have subsided some, but a few still roll down your cheeks every now and then.

When Charles senses that you’ve calmed down, he pulls back from the embrace he had around you and looks you in the eyes. “Will you tell me what happened, Y/N?”

You sniffle and look away, ashamed. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” you murmur, voice hoarse from the smoke.

“Of course not, my dear.”

“I… I had a nightmare. About my parents. I was so scared,” you say softly.

Charles pulls you back into his side. “You’re safe now.”

“I felt so alone. Like… like I was powerless. Like I was a monster.”

“You’re not a monster, Y/N.”

“But my parents… they sent me away. They left me. Because of my powers.”

“They don’t understand. Maybe someday they will. But you’re safe now.” Charles’ words are gentle, setting your mind more at ease.

You look back at the professor, finding peace in his fatherly gaze. For a moment, everything seems okay and you allow a smile to grace your expression.

The smile slips off your face, though, as you think about the conversation you overheard. You look down at your hands, playing with them anxiously. “Are you going to send me away too?” you ask quietly.

Charles shakes his head firmly. “Of course not. This school is a place for people who don’t belong to feel safe. Sending you away would be completely contradictory to that mission.”

The words reassure you, but they feel like a rehearsed response. However, Charles isn’t finished.

“I would never let any of my students be made to feel unwelcome. I know many of them come from lives of tragedy and sorrow. Many faced danger and discrimination at every turn. Many of them felt unsafe in their own homes and so came here to find a new start. Many were turned away by their own families.” Those words strike you and you finally look up, meeting Charles’ gaze. It is intense, but not frightening. Just passionate. “I would never wish a life of uncertainty and pain to anyone. This school is a sanctuary. This is the one place where students, like you, can be free to express themselves and use their powers without judgement or fear. And I personally make it my duty to ensure that everyone finds their home here. Including you.”

You nod, feeling reassured… for now. Who knows what the next day will bring?

“For now, my dear, get some rest,” Charles smiles gently at you. “In the morning, I’ll have Hank take a look at your lungs to ensure the smoke didn’t affect you.”

“Goodnight, professor,” you reply. “And… thank you.”

Charles stands and walks to the door. “Goodnight, Y/N. Sleep well.” He flicks off the light and leaves the room.

Perhaps it is exhaustion from stress, or maybe it’s the calm that your conversation with Charles instilled in you, but you fall asleep without a second thought, and sleep peacefully until the morning.

#xmen #charles xavier #professor x #charles x reader #charlex xavier x reader #imagine #imagines #oneshot #oneshots #x reader #reader #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #fiction #marvel #one shot #mcu

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

You will be mine - Chapter 1. Something in him [Park Jimin x Reader]

Title: You will be mine - Chapter 1. Something in him ➔ Chapter 2. Here! Pairing: Park Jimin x Female!Reader Published: 25 June, 2020 Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

You will be mine Masterlist | Masterlists 

Being a teenager in Seoul, South Korea is hard. You are constantly studying to a point where you even dream with your textbooks or your rather annoying teachers. Then there is the discrimination. If you don't look pretty enough for their liking, or you lack a certain sense of style, which is of course decided by those kids whose parents have more money than you could imagine, you don't even have to worry, they will surely make you realise their dislike towards you. Addition to it, if you are a foreigner in a Korean high school, they will try to force you to be the school's play toy. Although, it only happens if you let them.

Of course as a foreign citizen living and studying in Korea I have had my fair share of problems, but I've never been the kind of girl who runs to the corner to cry, feeling sorry for herself. I've always stood up for myself and never let their insults get to me. It is a hard task. When people treat you bad, it will certainly have an impact on you. However it does take inner power to get you to stand up against them, which I am lucky enough to be able to do.

While living in Seoul, I didn't just experience the negative treats of the city. I was fortunate enough to make some good, loyal friends, who stood by my side. It's only been six months since I have moved to this completely new country, but I've already experienced bullying, have been sent to the principal's office and got suspended for a week.

There is a certain amount of harassment a person can take and I happened to get fed up on that particular day. Everyone has a limit and you physically are unable to stop yourself from reaching it. It's like when you pour water into a glass, the glass will not be able to stop you, but you can only pour until the top or it will end up streaming down the side.

On that day I felt the same. I couldn't control myself anymore, my mind went blank, my whole body was shaking out of anger. My fists were so tight, my knuckles turned white from the force. I felt my nails painfully ripping into the skin of my palm while letting some of the droplets of my blood escape. I could even hear the drops landing on the floor, if I really wanted to, while my bully was still venting her frustration on me. I didn't care that she was attacking me, I didn't care when she made up stories about me. I was already immune to their constant attention. At some point I even joked about that they must have had a crush on me for always trying to get my attention.

But the last straw was when one of their filthy mouth mentioned my friends in a rather disgusting gossip of theirs. I lost control. Just like that. I didn't plan it, I didn't expect it. I was watching myself as if I was a bystander. I have never hit anyone before, but my fist went on its own until it painfully met her face. A strong, sharp feeling shot through my fist, rushing up to my wrist, sending a numb sensation to my arm. Oh but it was worth it, alright.

The girl was lying on the grey tiled floor, dramatically screaming in pain, tears running down her doll-like face, ruining her carefully created make up. She acted as if I had hit her numerous times. I did get carried away, I would have never disputed that, but there was certainly no blood anywhere and I didn't even consider my little swing a powerful one. But she just kept screaming bloody murder, until the principal appeared with a horrified expression across his old, wrinkled face. He dragged me by my upper arm, straight to his office and suspended me for assault without even trying to listen to my side of the story. If I wasn't fuming enough already, that certainly helped me to reach my limits, but I kept in control this time.

I have lived through worse and although it did leave a sour taste in my mouth, I tried to get past these memories.

After my suspension, when I finally returned to school, I just wanted to get back to the normal cycle. Everyone would want that. Just study, have fun with friends and ignore those who try to destroy your carefully protected cycle.

But it came crumbling down right in front of me, as if they pulled the rug out from under me when I first saw him, running his fingers through his already messy hair as he passed me on the corridor. His presence radiated strength and confidence, capturing not just my eyes, but also my mind. My brain felt simply numb and I was incapable of thinking of anything but that certain person. Even trying to mutter an incoherent sentence felt like a lost attempt and that was not hard to do so.

I walked through the school's entrance door with my friend on the side, and would have minded my own business, just as I originally planed to do so. But boy, was I wrong to expect an uneventful day. My eardrums fought hard against a group of girls, each trying to scream louder than the other. I was uncertain of what caused such a behaviour, but I was certainly interested to see it for myself. I walked closer to the circle trying to look over the girls, tilting my head to have a clearer view in between the constantly moving heads, jumping bodies and impatiently stomping feet.

Then it hit me. He had such a powerful aura, I felt my breath involuntarily hitch at the sight of him. He walked through the corridor as if he owned the place and I was certain that he was not the only one thinking that way. I heaved a sigh as he turned to walk out of the building and he passed me, almost bumping into me followed by his friends. His dark eyes met mine and I felt as if he was capable of seeing through me. A shiver decided to run down my spine, as my concentration shifted to his parted lips, which were dominated by a slightly pink colour. The colour, I felt my cheeks turning into.

He was wearing his school uniform, which was supposed to look baggy and undesirable on each and every student, but his muscles were clearly visible through the thin, white material, showing it off to the curious eyes. I was incapable of taking my eyes off him and I was still following his path with my gaze when he has already exited the building, leaving me craving for more.

"Y/N?" My friend was poking my shoulder impatiently, but I somehow wasn't interested in what she had planned to say to me. My mind was still wandering over the presence of the boy. Although I didn't know him just yet, I was certain that I was about to. "Seriously, Y/N?" My friend tried again, this time successfully capturing my attention. I looked at her big brown eyes, which seemed rather unhappy with my ignorant behaviour.

"Who was he?" I asked nodding my head towards the direction the mystery boy left.

"Wait, are you being serious?" She frowned in confusion, making me feel less confident for some reason as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She heaved a sigh as if she was about to tell me something I was supposed to already know. Even her sigh sounded rather annoyed. "He is Park Jimin. You must have heard about the group of boys who seemed to cause trouble for a while. Well, he is one of the members. They are quite popular amongst the female students. Even some of the male pupils, if you ask me." She grinned.

"He seems interesting." I blurted it out. Even I was surprised at my own words.

"You've never even spoken to him. You've just met him for the first time." She looked at me in disbelief.

"You are right, Yojin. I know that. And believe me, I feel like a bloody idiot. But there is something... just something in him." I looked at her with determination in my gaze. I knew she thought I was insane and that was probably the kindest adjective she has used internally.

"I'm assuming there is something you want to do... about this." She spoke, knowing me too well.

"Well, I am certainly interested in him, so logically speaking, I should get to know him." I shrugged with a tiny smile appearing in the corner of my lips.

"Let me make this clear. These boys have a very bad reputation. Which I do not say we have to believe, they could certainly be just rumours, but maybe... just maybe, they could be true and in that case you should rather just sit tight and do nothing." She tried to convince me, but I just chuckled at her weak attempt. I knew first hand what it was to be the centre of a story, I didn't even know existed.

"Anything else?" I grinned at her as I threw my arm around her shoulder and gently started pushing her towards the class room.

"Y/N, you don't get it. Even if they are not as bad as the rumours say, the girls gawking over them are cruel people, who will find the most disgusting ways to get rid of you, if you even decide to take a step toward one of their boys." She spoke, looking up at me as a deep frown sat across her brows. I didn't dispute that the girls definitely seemed a bit off, a bit maybe over the top, but girls are just girls. What could be the worst to happen...

"I love you, Yojin, but let's be honest. You know me. I am not one to back down just because of some minor obstacles. I completely understand your worry, but there is just something in him. I would like to get to know him." A reassuring smile spread across my face. "So will you be helping me, or will I be doing it on my own?" I asked with a cheeky smile, knowing she always loved my playful side. She let out a deep sigh before opening her mouth to answer.

"Fine... But if anything goes wrong, you leave them alone, am I clear?" She asked in such a motherly tone, I just laughed softly and nodded in agreement.

Notes: If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to like the chapter. Thank you :)

#jimin #Park jimin #Jimin x reader #park jimin x reader #jhope #hoseok #suga #yoongi #namjoon #rm #rap monster #jin #taehyung #v #jungkook #bts #bts fanfiction #bts x reader #romance #fanfiction #kpop #korea #jimin fanfiction

[agatapacho]

70 strategies that white people in the UK can adopt to fight racial injustice

“Washing one’s hands off the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” — Paulo Freire  

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker

To help to turn ideas of equality, justice and safety for all into practice, I’ve listed 70 strategies that white people can adopt in their lives to take a stance. Anti-racism is a verb. "I'm not a racist" disclaimer has never saved lives or contributed to greater equality in the workplace. We need direct action, online & offline. We need continuous efforts.

Fight for racial justice is an international and intersectional struggle. The strategies can be adapted or linked to others, which are more appropriate for different contexts.

**Note that this article is continually updated on agatapacho.wordpress.com

Action against police brutality & violence against immigrants

1. Follow and support The United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC), a coalition of those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody, supports others in similar situations. Participate in marches and demonstrations they organise, donate, spread the word.

2. Go to protests and demonstrations. When faced with the police, go to the front - you are less likely to be arrested and more likely to be treated with dignity.

3. When media outlets arrive to interview protesters, let POC speak. Don’t try to be the voice of the movement, be the ally.

4. Use your phone to record police arrests, racist attacks and racist behaviour. It will be easier to make a complaint afterwards. Make sure that the victim is ok with you sharing the recording with others.

5. Follow and support the work of organisations that monitor police, defend the right to protest and campaign for justice for those affected by police violence. You can find a list of organisations here.

6. Join Movement for Justice By Any Means Necessary, set up in 1995, following the murder of Stephen Lawrence, to tackle racism in institutional and established forms. Join demonstrations, which they organise against detention centres and deportations.

7. Support No Borders UK, a network of groups and individuals who fight against borders and immigration controls.

8. Download the Y-Stop app on your phone. The app is a tool for you to monitor how police stop and search is conducted. It helps you film and collect your own evidence and share it with Y-Stop, no longer having to rely on police records. It makes it easier for making a complaint about what happened and, for the victim, to access support and advice. Y-Stop is a project run by Release in partnership with StopWatch.

9. Attend trails to show support to POC. Remember that discrimination and white supremacy are institutionalised in the legal system and legal institutions.

10. Learn about the Windrush scandal and donate to The Windrush Justice Fund.

Out & about and AWARE

11. Don’t be shy to talk about white supremacy online and offline. Start with your friends, family and colleagues. Tell them that you care about racial justice and explain why it’s important to you. Invite them to the discussion, share articles and tweets that challenge problematic views.

12. Never be silent about that racist joke or remark. Calling people out gets more comfortable with time.

13. Challenge all forms of racism, from the use of N-word to those seemingly more innocent ones, for example, claims to colour-blindness.

14. Prepare yourself to tackle the usual racist arguments, such as ‘black on black crime’. See how others are doing it, learn about the origins of the racist remarks to be able to unpack them skilfully until the person understands the wrongness of them.

15. Support Black women. Promote their work and support their businesses. Challenge colourism (discrimination faced by darker-skinned black people) and jokes or negative comments about natural hair.

16. Attend active bystander training. Learn how to intervene when you witness a racist attack. Putting yourself at risk is not going to be useful. It’s safer to call out behaviour if you’re in a group. If this is not an option, report it to others who can act. Focus on the victim, ask if they need your help and what kind of help. When intervening, remember the four Ds: direct, distract, delegate, delay. Do not aggravate the situation - stick exactly to what has just happened. Distract by interrupting and starting a conversation with the perpetrator - this will help the victim to escape the situation. Delegate: find someone who can help and make sure that the help is offered to the victim. Delay: if it is too dangerous to challenge the attacker, help the victim to get them away to safety. You can report the situation later - this will be easier if you or someone else record the situation.

17. If you notice that you are being served first at a bar even though a POC was there before you, challenge the bar staff. Make a complaint and say that you won’t be visiting them again.

18. Blackface is never ok. It can always be avoided. That includes using Snapchat and Instagram filters to make your skin darker and using non-white emojis.

Online activism

19. Do not dismiss symbolic action. Use hashtags (#blm #blacklivesmatter #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #nojusticenopeace), add frames to your FB profile picture. Gary Younge, professor of sociology at Manchester University, writes: “No one can claim a causal connection between #MeToo and the historic number of women that were elected to the US Congress a year later. But the contextual relationship between the two is hard to dismiss.”

20. Every time you witness, hear or read on social media about an instance of racism, complain. Contact the organisation, company, or an institution involved to express your disappointment. Share the story with others together with the contact details to encourage wider protests. The company might have initiated the event or failed to protect a POC from harm done by a third party. They need to hear from us. If you are dealing with a company that relies on customers, say that you will not spend money there. And stick to it!

21. Be vocal on social media about the misrepresentations and racist agenda in media. Do not accept them as a status quo.

22. Also, be critical of tokenism (Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or sexual equality within a workforce).

Decolonize your mind & your ways

23. Be a part of the decolonisation movement. If you are a student, demand that your curriculum includes a diverse list of writers of colour and their voices are considered not exclusively on topics of race and racism. If you are an educator, make sure that you introduce works written by POC. Encourage your colleagues to do the same. Encourage your students to let the school/university know diverse curriculum is important to them.

24. Find out how history is being taught at your child’s school and advocate that it is taught correctly when it comes to the topics of the British Empire, slavery and immigration. Naznin Rahman, Teacher of Sociology and Religious Studies, says that even younger non-white pupils may be aware that the statistics tend to portray them as under-achievers and, as a result, feel disempowered. At the same time, the way in which the curriculum is  delivered has an impact on how they see themselves. Decolonised curriculum may be a tool of empowerment.

25. Scrutinise popular heroes and role models. Remain critical towards those cherished by the establishment. This article on Gandhi should do as a warning.

26. If you attend a cultural event that lacks diversity, challenge the organisers on that during a Q&A, or by contacting them afterwards. Share your disappointment on social media. Bad publicity may inspire change.

27. Visit institutions and attend events that promote artists of colour. Subscribe, purchase a membership and spread the word. If you are based London, check these out: Iniva, Black Cultural Archives, Autograph, Rich Mix, Royal African Society, 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning.

28. Join a group/society that engages with art produced by POC. If you can’t find one near you, start one.

29. Buy books and choose films and tv shows written and directed by non-white artists. Consider that when buying gifts for family and friends.

30. Decolonise your bookshelf. Make sure that, if you enjoy literature, you read authors of colour.

31. Avoid cultural appropriation. gal-dem explains: “At a basic level, cultural appropriation is the process of adopting certain elements of another culture, such as practices, ideas, or symbols, and removing them from their original cultural context. It is considered inappropriate for many reasons, such as the profiting off the intellectual property of other cultures, disrespecting spiritual or religious figures and practices, and the double-standards involved when a dominant culture adopts aspect of a culture they have historically oppressed.”

32. Do not buy from brands that appropriate non-western traditional attires profit with no recognition of the heritage behind them. This article explains the harm of cultural appropriation.

33. Always be critical of the media you consume and the information you encounter. Investigate who funds particular platforms, who are the intended audiences and who profits from certain representations of racial groups and events. It has been documented that stereotypes, myths and racist ideologies promoted in media have led to violence against POC. Claudia Rankine writes: “because white men can’t police their imagination, black men are dying”.

34. Watch films and tv series that have POC playing lead characters and that show full humanity of those characters.

35. There has been a reported renewal of interest in eugenics with London Conference on Intelligence meetings on eugenics secretly held at University College London. If you happen to hear about similar events, report them to the authorities and the University and College Union.

36. Be mindful of the pornography you consume and avoid racist content. The porn industry is affected by racism like any other industry.

Learn

37. Know British history. Learn about non-European history. Check out the work of David Olusoga who is one of the UK's foremost historians and an expert on the history of the British Empire.

38. Campaign to increase the visibility of soldiers of colour who fought for Britain. Share their histories on social media on Remembrance Day.

39. Explore BFI’s collection Black Britain on Film and the National Theatre’s Black Plays Archive.

40. Follow accounts that provide commentary on current events and issues: Gary Younge, Emma Dabiri, Akala, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Nikesh Shukla, Handsworth Revolution, Cyndi Handson Ellesse.

41. Follow Black Lives Matter UK, gal-dem, Media Diversified, S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project, Blacxellence.

42. Read ‘The Good Immigrant’ and follow authors who contributed to the collection.

43. If you are an educator, read bell hooks’ ‘Teaching to Transgress’ and ‘Teaching Community’ to learn about diverse strategies and work towards anti-racist education.

44. Educate yourself about the history of activism of POC in the UK.

45. Educate yourself about the long history of contributions made by academics of colour to how we understand the world today.

At work

46. Campaign to hire more POC at your workplace, especially in managerial positions.

47. Whenever you can, speak against the Prevent Strategy.

48. Challenge your workplace if they exclusively make allowances for Christian festivals. Check if there is an accessible multi-faith prayer room. If there isn’t one already, campaign for setting it up.

Economic impact

49. Support business owned by POC. This website offers a list of independent Black British businesses. Choosing where you spend money is one of your most powerful weapons. Take away £££ from racist businesses and support POC.

50. Don’t support businesses that use prison labour. This article explains why prison labour is problematic.

51. Be aware of where your favourite brands choose to advertise - do they fund white supremacist media?

52. Always credit artists whose work you use to make your social media accounts interesting and pretty. Also, never claim credit for work you have not done. If you steal from a POC, the offence is even bigger.

53. Support artists of colour by investing in and purchasing their work. Don’t stream illegally.

54. Understand how the area where you live is affected by gentrification. Think about the impact of those changes on POC living there. Join local efforts against gentrification and support business that are at risk.

55. Buy makeup from brands that cater to everyone. Boycott those that don’t offer enough shades and inform them on social media about your decision.

Hold your MPs accountable

56. Vote for those who are committed to racial justice. Put pressure on your local MPs to specify how they are planning on tackling racism. Continue writing to them.

57. Keep yourself updated on changes to legislation. Write to your local MPs if you are concerned that new amendments can affect the lives of POC negatively. Start a petition and share your worry on social media. Let them know they are being watched.

58. Support the legalisation of the recreational use of cannabis. This is not because POC use it more frequently but because they are arrested for possessions more often.

Know how to be a part of the debate

59. Know that POC do not have the responsibility to share their experiences with you, educate you about racial inequality or even discuss it. That also refers to the conversations you have with those who are your friends or partners.

60. At the same time, appreciate when they do share their knowledge and experiences and advise you on how you can help.

61. When attending events organised by POC, focus on listening and learning. Don’t question speakers’ experiences of racial discrimination, do not compare their experiences to yours, do not assume that you know already. Appreciate that you’re allowed into that space and remain respectful.

62. When told about someone’s experiences of racism, never ask for evidence or challenge them. Don’t suggest waiting out - you are asking them to continue to suffer.

63. Do not rush to share videos of police brutality with your friends/colleagues/partners who are POC. Accept that they are affected to a far greater extent than you are. Also, do not tell them how to grieve or how to cope with the trauma. Be there to listen and care.

64. It’s ok if you’re not welcomed to all spaces. Respect the right of POC to exclude you from the conversation. Reni Eddo-Lodge cites her friend who advocates the need for creating spaces exclusively for black women. That’s how she describes participating in mixed feminist groups: “Even if you’re really confident and really vocal, there is still a holding back that you have to do. Because as a normal human being, you kind of don’t really like confrontation. And there’s an element of just speaking the truth of what it means to be a black woman in the UK that it would be ridiculous, as a white person, to not read that as implication you.”

65. When a POC complaints about racism to you, don’t take it personally. Unless they are specifically referring to your actions, it is not about you. They talk about the systematic racism, which you have the responsibility to fight. Listen to the complaints and learn from them how you can do better.

66. Don’t whitesplain. Ever. No, you do not know better. Ever.

67. Don’t play devil’s advocate in debates about racism. You’re only restating and reinforcing the status quo, disrespecting others’ critical thinking skills and positioning your thought process as superior and more valuable than someone’s lived experience. As a consequence, you are more likely to shut down the conversation rather than add to it or learn from it.

68. Make sure that you know the difference between well-meaning and consequences. Having good intentions isn’t enough. Always consider the potential consequences of your actions on the lives and well-being of POC.

Final thoughts

69. Do not feel demotivated if your efforts are not recognised. Keep doing the work when no one is watching. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie famously said, “'Racism should never have happened and so you don't get a cookie for reducing it.”

70. Support other allies who put themselves in dangerous situations to fight for racial justice. The Stansted 15, a group of non-violent human rights activists who took action to stop a deportation flight leaving from Stansted Airport were spared jail after campaigns in their defence.

This post has been inspired by Corinne Shutack’s article.

#blacklivesmatter #blm #blacklivesmatteruk #blmuk #nojusticenopeace #woke #antiracism #racism #resist

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

We’ll Carry On - Chapter Sixty Two

We’ll Carry On Tag

General Content Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Substance Abuse, Abandonment, Minor Character Death, Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociation, Bullying, Homophobia

April 1st, 2019

“Haven’t you heard of April Fool’s, Dee?” Logan asked.

Dee shook his head, brows knitting together in confusion. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s a day where people commonly play harmless pranks on each other, like short-sheeting someone’s bed, or swapping sugar for salt by the coffee. I never really got to play a lot of pranks, because my old parents...were not the biggest fans of that sort of thing, but it’s generally pretty fun, so long as no one gets hurt when you play those pranks,” Logan explained.

Dee nodded to show he was listening, but he wasn’t sure he understood. Patton and Virgil swapping clothes and pretending to be each other was kind of weird, especially considering that they weren’t identical twins. But he supposed it was whatever. Maybe he’d better understand next year, and could play a few pranks of his own.

April 1st, 2021

Dee dashed around the house, snickering like mad. It was April Fool’s day, and he had woken up before dawn and was unable to go back to sleep, so he decided to play some pranks on the rest of the family. Nothing mean-spirited, of course, and nothing that would get them hurt. Just little things like hiding Dad’s toothbrush in the medicine cabinet, or swapping Ami’s white shirt with a pink one on the same hanger that he always got the white one from. He found it hilarious, but he was trying to be quiet so no one else would wake up in the middle of his plans.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to be tired enough that no one heard his laughter. He was downstairs, making himself breakfast in the form of grabbing a pair of Pop-Tarts and sat on the kitchen stool, swinging his legs a little and humming the song he had been learning in Music for the past couple weeks. Occupied by this, he only barely registered Ami behind him when he was three feet away. Ami didn’t stop behind him, though, just went to the refrigerator. “You’re up early, Dee.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Dee signed when Ami turned to look at him.

“Bad dreams?” Ami asked. “Because you can always come to me and Dad, no matter how old you are.”

Dee shook his head. “No bad dreams. I just woke up and couldn’t sleep again.”

“You could still come to me and Dad,” Ami said.

Oh. Dee hadn’t realized that. Still, he wasn’t sure there was much they could have done, so he just shrugged in response.

“Oh, and by the way, I know my white shirt didn’t get thrown into the wash with any red socks, so the pink shirt you put on my hangers? Is definitely not mine,” Ami said.

“It was in your dresser,” Dee signed.

Ami frowned, fingers darting side to side as he thought. “Huh. Well what do you know? I do own a single pink shirt.”

“Are you gonna wear it today?” Dee asked.

Ami leaned against the counter and hummed. “You know what? Why not? It could be a fun prank on my employees. I’m pretty sure they’re convinced I only own one pair of clothes.”

Dee snickered more and glanced at the clock in the kitchen. Any minute now, Logan’s alarm was bound to go off...

“Dee, what else did you do for pranks?” Ami asked.

Dee just blinked, putting on his best innocent face. “I don’t know what you mean,” he signed.

“Oh, come on, Dee, you get a huge kick out of April Fool’s videos on YouTube. What else did you do?” Ami pressed.

Dee sat on the kitchen stool, munching on his Pop-Tart innocently while Ami stared him down. Upstairs, there was the sound of an alarm, and hurried footsteps, before a very loud thud reverberated through the house, followed by a very annoyed, "Deagan Timothy Picani!"

It was impossible not to crack up as Logan stormed down the stairs, only to trip at the threshold of the kitchen because of the shrink wrap still stuck to his feet. Logan glared at Dee, who only continued to giggle as Logan wrestled with the shrink wrap on his feet. “Not funny,” he ground out. “I could have broken my wrists!”

“In my defense, I didn’t think you would try to run out of your room,” Dee signed, laughter finally dying down.

“He generally isn’t up this early, Logan, you know he’s telling the truth,” Ami said. “He doesn’t know your morning routine.”

Logan rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m still annoyed,” he snapped. “And you probably woke up the whole house by causing me to trip that hard.”

“You’re the one who yelled,” Dee retorted.

“Because of your poor excuse of a prank,” Logan growled.

“Hey, boys, play nice,” Ami warned. “Dee, Logan’s right. You could have seriously hurt him. In the future, you can’t set it up for him to trip, all right?”

Dee sighed but nodded. He didn’t like it, but he knew that Ami had a point.

“Logan, there’s no need to snarl at Dee. He’s seven, do you honestly expect him to know everything about everyone’s morning routines to ensure that his pranks are safe? He made an attempt to be safe, he just assumed that you would walk rather than run out of your room,” Ami said. “And while he was incorrect in that assumption, he didn’t hurt anyone in a serious manner.”

Logan grumbled but went to the refrigerator to grab the things he needed for breakfast. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m not quite in a place where I feel like apologizing.”

“That’s fine,” Ami said. “So long as you and Dee can come to an understanding in the future.”

Hurried footsteps entered the kitchen behind Dee and he turned to find Roman looking around frantically. “Where’s Vanellope? She was with me last night when we all went to sleep and now she’s not there!”

There was a bark from the den and Vanellope bounded over to Roman, wagging her tail. “Oh,” Roman sighed. “I was worried someone might have taken her away as an April Fool’s joke.”

Logan looked Roman over. “I think there’s a quite different April Fool’s joke at play, here,” he said, fighting back a grin.

“What? What is it?” Roman asked.

Dee was giggling again, as the morning light filtered in and made Roman’s hair sparkle. Roman scratched at his head, only to have some glitter fall on his fingers. He stared at them in shock, rubbing his fingers together. Then he sighed. “Dee, we’ve been over this! Glitter is a prank for bad people!”

“Glitter is a prank for people you want to annoy for weeks,” Dee corrected. “And I wanted to remind you that I can and will annoy you for weeks if I want.”

Roman sighed and turned to Ami. “Now do you believe me when I say we have to lock up the messy stuff so the young ones don’t get their hands on it without supervision?”

“I think you may have a point, yes,” Ami said. “While the prank is relatively harmless, it’s certainly not ideal to be covered in glitter for two weeks.”

“Understatement,” Roman complained, “I’ll have to go to school like this! I don’t have time to shower!”

Logan actually laughed at that. “That should not be as funny as it is,” he said.

Roman huffed. “Okay, sure, go ahead, pick on the fourteen year old, see if I care!”

“Dee doesn’t discriminate with pranks,” Logan said. “I just appreciate what he did to you more than what he did to me.”

“You would,” Roman grumbled.

Dee finished his Pop-Tarts and got off the kitchen stool, throwing the package away. “Do I get to try and sleep again, or should I stay up longer?” he asked Ami.

“Stay up a little longer to observe the fruits of your labor,” Ami said. “Plus, it’ll be easier to talk with you about what pranks you pull if you’re actually alert when we have the conversation.”

Dee groaned at that. “But I didn’t hurt anyone!” he protested.

“You could have,” Ami said. “And the potential for being severely hurt outweighs the fact that you got lucky this time. Because you might not get lucky next time.”

Dee sighed.

Dad walked into the kitchen, scratching his head. “Who moved around virtually everything that I use in my morning routine? I spent a good five minutes trying to find my toothbrush, and it was in the medicine cabinet?”

Everyone pointed at Dee. He waved.

Dad waved back with a sigh. “Well, I can’t really say that I’m not surprised. I do wish that it had waited until I was more functional, instead of first thing in the morning.”

“At least your only got your stuff moved,” Logan said. “I tripped over shrink wrap at the bottom of my door.”

“And I’m doomed to look like a Twilight vampire for the next couple days at least,” Roman griped.

Dad looked around, seeming to assess the damage before sighing. “Clearly, we need to specify what April Fool’s pranks are okay and which ones aren’t,” he said. “Because simply ‘not hurting anyone’ is a bit of a subjective rule.”

“Yeah,” Ami said. “No one’s hurt, but everyone’s a little crabby, now.”

Dad shook his head. “Dee, how long have you been awake?”

“Since, like...three thirty?” Dee signed back. “I haven’t been able to sleep for a while.”

“Okay. Impaired judgement might also have played a part in it,” Dad said. “Dee, you should really try to get some sleep instead of pranking everyone, April Fool’s or not.”

“I did try! I tried for a whole hour!” Dee signed, scowling. “My stupid brain wouldn’t stop thinking long enough for me to fall asleep!”

Dad sighed. “Okay, okay. Probably a poor word choice. Rem, are you okay putting off the prank talk while I try and get Dee to fall asleep?”

“Sure,” Ami sighed. “I was suggesting he should watch to see the consequences of his actions, but he does look a little dead inside already.”

“Yeah, I think he should take some time to sleep if he can. He’s definitely not going to be able to function by the afternoon at school. Do we call him in as sick?” Dad asked.

“Probably a good idea. We all know what happens when he pushes himself too hard,” Ami agreed.

Dad waved for Dee to come over. “Come on, Dee, we’ll see if we can get you some more sleep before three this afternoon.”

Dee frowned, but followed Dad out of the kitchen. “I can get off school because I can’t sleep?” he asked softly, using his voice over his hands.

“Not always, but if you’ve been up for three hours and it isn’t seven in the morning, yet, I qualify that as reason enough to stay home,” Dad said. “Do we need to have a conversation about pranks and how they can hurt people?”

Dee shook his head. “Not yet,” he said. “I think I get it for the most part. I just need to dial it back a little more, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Dad agreed. “And you’ll be helping me get the glitter out of Roman’s bed when he manages to get it mostly out of his hair, so you can understand why glitter isn’t a good prank, ever. Even if someone is annoying, it just makes a deeper grudge.”

Dee sighed. “I screwed up, didn’t I?” he asked.

“Hey, it’s only your second April Fool’s, I expected you to cross a line you weren’t aware of. No big deal, so long as you learn from your mistakes,” Dad reassured.

“Thanks for being understanding,” Dee mumbled. “I still don’t know if I can sleep, though.”

Dad shrugged. “Well, we can find out,” he hummed.

Dee went into his bedroom and crawled under his sheets, pulling both them and his weighted blanket up to his chin. Dad passed him Fangs and said, “Now, I don’t know if this will help or not, but I can always lead you through a guided meditation and see if that relaxes you enough to fall asleep.”

“Sure,” Dee said. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose from it.

“Okay,” Dad said with an encouraging smile. “I’m going to need you to close your eyes, and let your breathing even out. In for four seconds, hold for seven, and out for eight. Can you do that?”

Dee nodded, closing his eyes and following the breathing pattern. Dad barely had to get through half of the scene he was setting before Dee couldn’t even open his eyes if he wanted to. He nuzzled into Fangs’ fur, feeling content enough to actually sleep for another hour or two at least. Sure, he might be in a bit of trouble when he got up, but he wouldn’t have to worry about a punishment. Dad and Ami would be fair, they would never hurt him or ask him to do the impossible.

Dad ruffled Dee’s hair and murmured that he would see Dee in a few hours when he woke up, and Dee was left alone to rest for as long as he needed.

#we'll carry on #sanders sides fanfiction #deceit sanders #remy sanders #emile picani #roman sanders #logan sanders #our creations #danger gays

[kae-karo]

being half black is weird where i'm at lmao. i'm in texas,but i live in a tiny town and go to a school with very few black/half black people. if i had a buck for every time someone imitated being black by tying shorts around their head as a 'do-rag' or sagging or calling people the n word. people ask why i hate getting my hair wet and i have to explain that it fluffs up and i become self conscious seeing as folks will judge me...ik it's random but ur a really open minded person so idk...

hi dear! okay so let me first say, i am 1000% white as all hell so anything i say needs to be taken with a grain of salt - i will never know how you feel exactly bc i have never felt out of place or like i was being discriminated against or judged based on the color of my skin

that all being said, ugh 😠 texas of all places is like,,,,,certainly one of the worst (as is much of the south) and small towns in texas,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ugh (speaking as a texan lmao) anyway, i’m so so sorry you’re surrounded by people that treat the ‘stereotypes’ of black culture as a joke. you don’t deserve that, and i hope there’s a community of people (no matter how small) that you can stick with who won’t judge you, who will defend and support you. i know screaming ‘this is injustice!’ at the ceiling isn’t going to change anything, but it is so unbelievably unfair that something as simple as you hair is enough to make people feel entitled to judge you. i wish i had words that would help, but this whole thing is so systemic - you see children getting braids cut out of their hair by teachers, kids whose natural hair is ‘banned’ by white authority figures in schools, etc, and it’s just fucking unfair. it makes me so angry and i know i can’t change it by being angry but i wish with all my heart you didn’t have to go through any kind of discrimination and judgment based on something you should be able to take pride in

i hope that you’re able to find the good people in the world - i know they exist, sometimes they’re hard to find or sometimes you haven’t met them yet - and i hope that you’re able to avoid those groups that think your hair, culture, etc are a joke. you deserve better, you deserve to feel safe, and you deserve to feel comfortable in your environment where the focus should be learning, not whether or not someone will bother you about your hair

#advice #anon #ask #kt

[whiteanti]

sry if that's gonna turn out long but i really want your onion on it. in relations to that anon who asked you abt white passing people - what do you think about "west asians" loool. like caucasians, not white europeans but people from the caucasus like armenians georgians azeris etc. personally i could never consider them poc lmao first of all demographic region such as west asia doesnt exist, most countries from that region are middle eastern and the ones who are not are BETWEEN europe and asia

and not to bring that up but armenians have been legally classified as white like 100 years ago, ntm how they never looked racialized in the first place its just that white americans considered anything that’s not white american as impure. like even white southern and eastern europeans. and cool you could say they’re white passing poc but there are not Any specific racialized features that make you go oh thats a poc.. its not fucking 2012 anymore we cant still push that race is social bullshit

(i think tumblr ate the 3rd or 2nd ask so im rewriting it) even if it was its still made to not only benefit them but put them on top. with tht circassian beauty shit that was spread among both europe and the global south w circassian women and their “big beautiful hair” as the beauty standard while black women were and still to this day are abused degraded etc for their hair then you have white ass circassians and other caucasians using as an argument about not being white that white russians call thm bl*ckies or the white version of the n word lmaooo can you believe… and like ok your ppl faced genocide and ethnic cleansing from white russians but how does that contribute to you being racialized ESP in the modern day world. 

not only that but so many of them have pale skin, blue eyes, blonde hair like straight up cracker and they still insist on being poc just cuz they’re not Straight from mother europe. its just a caucasian online thing to claim the racialized experience for white ppl jokes access and extra oppression points. 

if you ask the average middle aged lets say armenian person what race they are they’re gonna tell you white. and with the amount of anti asian sentiment in their communities how tf do they expect to be accepted as asian like they’re truly playing with us. 

also wht bugs me is how they cant tell the difference btwn racism and xenophobia/ethnophobia sjhgahsj how do you insist on facing racism without being racialized? they face as much discrimination in white countries as any average white foreigner would but go explain that shit to them that if you’re not racialized you cant use the terms racism and xenophobia interchargeably. 

to me the only asians are east, southeast, south, central and north, also anything mixed inbetween. all these crackers lite from the caucasus mountains can go fuck themselves and shove their forced victimization up their asses cuz at this point i’m so tired of their white asses trying to prove me they’re on the same level as us whn it comes to discrimination. 

like yes s and se asians are way more discriminated than the rest of us but we (east central north) do face racial discrimination unlike caucasians lmao. and sure they face intergenerational trauma from the genocides of their countries but so do we, in way bigger amounts. thats why im so sceptical abt terms like visible poc cuz you either are a poc or not… they have so many tactics as a gotcha to racialized asians to make us seem as if we’re bigots who invalidate their genocides and talk so aimlessly abt it when all we want is for them to acknowledge their whiteness, white privilege, white guilt and self victimization against us. but anyways im so sry for making it this long but i needed to get if off my chest and you’re like the only person i know who can understand it and give a well thought out opinion. i rlly wish you all the best and good luck on all your exams 💓💓💓

btw for the previous asks i only said “mixed inbetween” bc i talked about monoracial asians specifically not that someone isnt asian if they’re mixed w black or anything else, also idk much abt indigenous ppl from oceania or how they identify so that’s why i left it out

ok so I reformatted some of the asks to make them easier to read (as in I changed where paragraph breaks were bc wow there r so many) but my answer is below the cut! 

[EDIT] since a few ppl r asking me abt this no I don't fully agree w this anon. I don't think arabs are white. I don't think Iranians are white. I don’t know if Armenians or other ethnicities from the Caucasus region are white I think thats an ongoing discussion w in their communities, but as far as I knew I thought people saw Armenians as white. again I could be wrong but that is what I think the general consensus is. if you want to have in in-depth discussion abt this topic pls ask someone from within those communities or at the very least has researched it in-depth.

ok so just from what I know a lot of ppl from the caucus region classified themselves as white during segregation, etc in order to escape racial discrimination. Armenians as far as ik r generally classified as white? the Kardashians are Armenian and I don’t think anyone has ever said they’re poc. geographically Armenia is in west Asia so technically they’re asian but does that mean they’re poc? but if u say Armenians r white then r arabs white? Armenians do face discrimination and they have faced a genocide which is denied by the Turkish govt. but most ashkenazi jewish ppl r also white so….. idk.

as for in Europe they would definitely be seen as poc or at the very least not white. basically anywhere east of turkey (ofc excluding Russia) is seen as Big Scary Middle East full of ppl who want to invade Europe. but again in America I’m not too sure bc race relations r definitely different there.

I think its a rlly complex question w a complex answer and tbh I don’t know enough abt any of this to b able to give a cohesive opinion. what I will say is that I think this is a different discussion completely from whether mixed white poc r poc or not. this is a discussion is to whether a whole ethnicities of ppl who look ‘white’ are poc or not. its complicated bc race isn't ‘real’ as in theres not way to divide humans into 5 groups. ppl like from the caucasus region don’t fit neatly into white or asian and if u look historically the region is closely tied w Greece, Iran and the Mughals in India so again… theres no definite answer. but as far as ik they definitely have a large degree of white passing privilege but I would still say to a lesser extent than full white europeans. they’re also mostly racialised in europe or at least demonised to a certain extent. more than Eastern Europeans and less than poc but like idk lol. I hope this is an ok answer bc to b honest my brain is so fried rn

#asks #anon

[keeloves]

Super Heroes that are people of color & can represent people of color.

As the title implies not all the heroes on the list will be people of color but they could be people of color and some of these people on the list will be people of color. I hope that makes sense and this will be in no particular order anyways enjoy.

Roy Harper (Could/Should be a person of Color as in a Native American Indian)

From what I have heard he was raised by Native American Indians and we get a small taste of that culture but it wouldn’t be even cooler to make him a full on Native American? That group has little representation in the hero verse . They race bent several other characters so I think Roy Harper can be another race bent character. 

Aquaman/Arthur Curry.

Aquaman has been the but of the jokes for decades, he was just another generic looking hot white dude with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was made to be the silly hero and really had no depth. Well Jason Momoa changed all that. He is the first Polynesian super hero and he brought something more to Arthur that we probably wouldn’t have gotten had it been another handsome blond hair blue eyed white guy. Aquaman is part of both land and sea. Arthur is bridge the gap between land and sea kind of like how Melody in Little Mermaid two where she brought two clashing worlds together in harmony. With Jason Momoa being biracial man I feel like this role suits him. Aquaman is no longer the guy that people will say “Oh haha he talks to fish” He is able to make peace with both worlds. As a biracial woman myself I could relate to this. 

Koriand’r/Starfire

Fun fact Starfire was originally designed as a black woman. She face discrimination because she is of a different race/species entirely. Black Women especially dark skin black women have to face a lot of racism and colorism and just lots of discrimination in general. I find it fitting that a gorgeous dark skin black woman like Anna Diop to be playing Starfire just because of a lot of discrimination that Starfire goes through and I believe Anna can relate to that on a more personal level. They both have to rise above the hate they get and they do. (Also look HOW COMIC BOOK ACCURATE THIS IS) Here is a clip of from the orginal Teen Titans show from the early 2000s of Star fire and Cyborg talking. In this clip Starfire has been called a slur liken to the N word and also how fitting is it that she is having this conversation with Cyborg a disabled black super hero. 

Superman/Clark Kent

I used Henry Cavil’s Superman/Clark Kent because he is my absolute favorite iteration of Clark Kent/Superman. This Superman embodies what people need and want. He is a metaphor for an immigrant and he he is also good representation for adopted children. People think that Superman is overpowered and is just good for punching things but he is so much more than that. In BvS and Man of Steel we are shown how prejudice people can be and in real life we would not treat Superman like the Boy Scout he is we would most likely be scared or at least skeptical of him. I mean he is from another planet entirely, he has the ability to shoot laser beams out of his eyes, he has the the ability to pick up a freight  train over his head and do so much more. With those abilities who wouldn’t want to study him or be curious of what he else he can do. Henry Cavil despite being a white guy has been the most relatable Superman to other minorities. I have seen so many brown people, Muslims and immigrants write about how much impact that the MOS superman has had on them. I absolutely adore this Superman. 

J’onn J’onnz/John Jones Martian Manhunter 

This character is normally portrayed by a black man. Martian Man Hunter like Superman and Supergirl is representative of an immigrant and many more cultures or can be. All though unlike Superman and Kara he has green skin like a lizard so he would be seen as a freak and people would not be so accepting of him because of how his appearance. Luckily for him he has the ability to shape shift and blend in any crowd he is in. With this ability to shape shift he can empathize with just about everyone and see what discrimination they face. Martian Man Hunter deserves more recognition and is probably one of the most sympathetic/empathetic superheros. 

Kara Zor El/Supergirl

Now despite being portrayed as a blonde hair blue white girl Supergirl could be any race other than white. Like her famous cousin Superman she would face a lot of discrimination as well because she has the exact same powers as Superman and most people would be afraid of that. Plus she would probably be discriminated against more because she is a woman. Imagine being a woman of color and being a Kryptonain on top of that she would face all kinds of discrimination and would have to over come all of that. 

M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian 

M’gann is orignally a white martian but took on the form of a green martian because of the terrible history between the two White Martians. White Martians once declared war on the Green martians she shape shifted int a green martian because she didn’t want to be discriminated against. She was portrayed by a black woman on Super-girl which makes sense because of the amount of discrimination black women face. With M’ggan being a black woman she will have to deal with discrimination from all sorts of people but luckily she can shape shift like Martian Man Hunter and can piratically empathize/sympathize  with all sorts of people. With her being a green Martian she would face discrimination from humans in general and as a white martian she would face discrimination from Green Martians, and humans so it is only fitting that a black woman be cast in this role.

Dick Grayson/Night Wing

Dick Grayson  is actually part Romani and we don’t often see Romani superheros because most of the time they get white washed. How cool would it be to see a full out Romani superhero and learn about that culture. Dick Grayson would still have the same back story but he would have some Romani culture incorporated in his story. This would be a great way to see more people of color and to give representation to a group of people who otherwise wouldn’t be represented. Yes Representation does matter.

Maximoff Twins

Another white washed duo another pair of Romanian Jewish superheros. We have another missed opportunity to represent an under represented. I love learning about other cultures and seeing good representation my tv. I hope one day the Maximoff twins are portrayed by real Romanian people. 

So if you have more heros to add to this list please let me know. I would love to know your thoughts and feelings on this. Also keep the comments respectful and no racism or hate on this page allowed.

#superheros #people of color #brown people #representation matters #mainly dc #marvel comic #dc comics

[carolineguzewiczcrim]

Slavery Era

Slavery Era Rebellion does not always have to be crying from the rooftops, it can be sneaky and silent and quite literally, underground. If anything, having to be sneaky makes you smarter. It forces you to think outside of the box because thinking inside the box just like everyone else will get you caught. The Underground Railroad, a secret slave society lead by saviors of an otherwise abhorrent time, is a perfect example of this subliminal resistance to what most people thought was right; at least, the people who were in charge ‘above’ ground. The thing about quilts is that the stories they tell are passed down traditionally by oral story-telling. “The idea of quilts being used in the Underground Railroad for purposes other than bedding was not mentioned either in the written documents of the period or in the interviews given years later. That is not to say they could not have been used in a form not discussed. However, care must be taken not to romanticize this possibility” (Underground Railroad Quilt Code). Every stitch is a symbol and every pattern tells a story. For a population that was restricted from learning how to read and write and communicate in the commonly ‘conventional’ white-way of speaking, visual art such as quilt-making allowed for slaves who couldn’t interpret words to be able to interpret patterns in a way that their white counterparts wouldn’t think twice about. While all of this is still up for questioning, I find it very plausible and commendable if it is indeed true. Either way, quilt-making is still very pertinent to the culture of the Underground Railroad. The fact that it is underground raises a lot of important points for me. 1. The way in which we govern our society is so rigid and unaccepting of difference. There are more ways than one to learn or communicate or just simply to live just there are more manifestations of the human race than just white or black. The fact that we are color-blind now isn’t helping us, it’s just ignoring that fact 2. Your voice is wildly important. Whether it be through spoken word or written on a page or shown through color and imagery, what you have to say is literally all you have to offer. The way you say it, although it can still be governed by the same rigid policies as aforementioned, is understood depending on your audience. Giving former slaves the chance to share their stories through written narratives is something vital to our understanding today. The Slave Narrative Project, which allowed for a wide variety of people to share and have their experiences published are a perfect example of this, and something that should be shared and made more available to the general public in order to make this kind of first-hand information for available to all since they usually are silenced the most. Although education of reading and writing was restricted, some slaves still managed to pick up some skills during their enslavement as well as after being freed from captivity. They write how they speak, which is not ‘perfect’ English but it is still English. Most of the accounts in The Federal Writer’s Project, however, are transcribed from interviews between the head of the project and those who agreed to be interviewed. Quinn-Tuttle from Texarkana, Arkansas, when asked if he wanted to take part in the project, “readily agreed to answer all my questions as best he could”. When recounting his experience after the war in The Federal Writers' Project, he says: “Not long after de negroes wuz freed, I took 86 ob dem to de votin’ place at Homan and voted ‘em all straight Democratic. On my way back home dat evenin’ five negroes jumped frum de bushes and stopped me. Dey ‘splained dat I wuz too ‘fluential wid de negroes and proceeded to string me up by de neck. I hollers as loud as I could, and Roy Nash and Hugh Burton, de election officers, just happen to be comin’ down de road and hear me yell. Dey ran off de n*gg*rs and put me down, but by dat time I had passed out”. I chose this specific narrative because I found the name interesting: “Quinn-Tuttle”, and as I rad the above statement I thought it was interesting for a couple of different reasons. 1. The fact he was able to convince that many people to vote and be able to have them do so, considering the fact that voting was so barred from many African Americans. Also the fact that he had them all vote Democrat. I’m not exactly sure when the switch between what Democratic was during the slavery era to what it is today, but it might explain the second question it raised for me if it hadn’t switched yet which is in regards to: 2. The fact that it was other African Americans who retaliated against him and the election officials (who more than likely were white although it is not explicitly stated) were the ones who saved him. Either way, it’s still very interesting the way in which his responses are recorded, paying careful attention to the grammar (or lack there of) and the spelling of the words in which he was saying coming out differently than what they are supposed to on paper. I wonder if maybe even the interviewer took the liberty of purposefully making some words more off the mark than others when it comes down to the spelling, since they had the autonomy in recording his spoken answers onto paper and he might not know the difference either way. I’m also curious to know if he had any type of access to the recorded information after it was taken down at all or if he was just trusting that the interviewer would do him justice in the end. To be restricted to right to learn but then discriminated against for being illiterate is the pinnacle of hypocrisy and a common theme that has seemed to reiterate itself through our history. We criminalize certain people by placing them into social-constructs that force them into these made-up definitions of what we think they should be and then we criticize them for it. Very similar to how we still do this day criticize slang used by African Americans and their dialect in general, even though it’s the same as any other diverse way of speaking, it’s just the people who are doing it that we seem to have a problem with. If you have any thoughts, opinions, stories to add or questions this posed for you, leave them in the comment section of this post with the hashtag #FreedomANDspeech if your post is in regards to slave narratives and language barriers/issues or #SecretUnderground if your post has to do with the Underground Railroad and the secret language of rebellion. If you’re interested in doing any further research, below are some links which I used that tell more about what I covered briefly above and also feel free to leave any links you find that may be pertinnent as well! Additional Resources: For more information of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code: http://www.quilthistory.com/ugrrquilts.htm For access to more Slave Narratives click here: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narrativesfrom-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/

#FreedomANDspeech SecretUnderground