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alancummingreally I wore this suit to the Met gala centuries ago in protest at being told to shut up and keep out of politics during the Iraq war, but I think today its message is even more prescient and vital.
The quote is by the great Audre Lord and the suit was designed by Stephen Cirona.
Btw, this is how conservatives keep getting to claim that trans people are a new thing no one has ever heard, because our history and existences have continually been erased or obscured systematically through out history.
The most famous example was 92 years when the Nazis raided the library of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, the medical practice where the term transsexual was first coined and the first gender affirming surgery was performed in in 1931.
What did the Nazis do after raiding the library on May 6th, 1933? You may be familiar with these images
It is happening again.
now more than ever, it is imperative that you spend time with people you love and doing things that you love. be prepared but please please please don't dwell on things that have yet to happen. you have to have hope for a better future in order to build one. it's gonna be okay. we're gonna make it. i love you.
Frodo Laid a Geas (and other invisible magic)
This was so obvious when I realized it, but I think most people miss it, because we’re so desensitized by D&D-style magic with immediate, visibly, flashy effects, rather than more subtle and invisible forces of magic. When Gollum attacks Frodo on the slopes of Mount Doom, Frodo has the chance to kill him, but he doesn’t. Instead, he says:
Frodo: Go! And if you ever lay hands on me again, you yourself shall be cast into the Fire!
Frodo’s not just talking shit here. He is literally, magically laying a curse. He’s holding the One Ring in his hands as he says it; even Sam, with no magic powers of his own, can sense that some powerful mojo is being laid down. Frodo put a curse on Gollum: if you try to take the Ring again, you’ll be cast into the Fire.
Five pages later, Gollum tries to take the Ring again. And that’s exactly what happens. Frodo’s geas takes effect and Gollum eats lava.
On further reflection:
All the other people in the franchise who were offered the Ring declined to take it because they were wise enough to know that if they used its power – and the pressure to do so would be too great – they would be subject to its corruption.
Frodo uses the power of the Ring to lay a geas, and then five minutes later at the volcano’s edge, succumbs to its corruption. The Ring has gotten to him and he can no longer give it up. Because he used its power.
On further further reflection: I’d have to read the section again, but I recall that after throwing Gollum off and laying the geas, Sam observes that Frodo seems suddenly filled with energy again when previously he had been close to dead of fatigue. He hikes up the mountain so fast he leaves Sam behind – and doesn’t even seem to notice that he’s left him behind.
Could he have been drawing on the Ring’s power at this point in the story? At this point in the story we’re relying on Sam’s narration, and Sam doesn’t know what’s going on in Frodo’s head, so it’s hard to say for sure. Having used it once, after spending so long holding out against it, was that the breach in the dam?
Which means that the moment that Frodo succumbs to temptation is not the moment at the volcano – it was already too late by then. The moment he is taken by temptation was when he used the power of the Ring to repel Gollum.
If so, this ties in neatly with discussions I’ve seen about how Tolkien subscribes to a “not even once” view of good and evil – that in many other works it’s acceptable to do a small evil in service of a greater good, but in Lord of the Rings that always fails.
Re-reading Fellowship of the Rings, and I got to this passage in Lorien:
‘I would ask one thing before we go,’ said Frodo, ‘a thing which I often meant to ask Gandalf in Rivendell. I am permitted to wear the One Ring: why cannot I see all the others and know the thoughts of those that wear them?’
‘You have not tried,’ [Galadriel] said. ‘Only thrice have you set the Ring upon your finger since you knew what you possessed. Do not try! It would destroy you. Did not Gandalf tell you that the rings give power according to the measure of each possessor? Before you could use that power you would need to become stronger, and to train your will to the domination of others.’
In other words:
Frodo asks Galadriel, herself carrying a Ring of Power, “Could I, hypothetically, use the power of the One Ring to do something magical aside from turning invisible?” and Galadriel replies, “Yes, hypothetically, you totally could, assuming the magic you want to do involves laying compulsions on others, but I strongly recommend against it, because it would fuck up your brain.”
This was in the first book. At the end of the third book Frodo uses the Ring to fuck Gollum up, forcing him to throw himself into lava if he disobeys Frodo’s commands.
Talk about a chekov’s gun.
Got to this point in my re-read and uh. This was a lot less subtle than I remembered it.
‘Down, down!’ [Frodo] gasped, clutching his hand to his breast, so that beneath the cover of his leather shirt he clasped the Ring. ‘Down, you creeping thing, and out of my path! Your time is at an end. You cannot slay me or betray me now.’
Then suddenly, Sam saw these two rivals with other vision. A crouching shape, scarcely more than the shadow of a living thing, a creature now wholly ruined and defeated, yet filled with a hideous lust and rage; and before it stood stern, untouchable now by pity, a figure robed in white, but at its breast it held a wheel of fire. Out of the fire there spoke a commanding voice.
‘Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom.’
Then the vision passed and Sam saw Frodo standing, hand on breast, his breath coming in great gasps, and Gollum at his feet, resting on his knees with his wide-splayed hands upon the ground.
…
Yeah.
That’s a geas.
holy shit y’all should watch this one, what an admirable person
In an interview with TIME, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde discussed her sermon, which has drawn death threats and prompted Trump to demand an ap
I’m putting together *setlists* and I feel alive again.
We are aiming to perform at our local ren faire this year and while I feel like I need to really build up my endurance, I am so excited 🖤
Due to budget cuts, we are eliminating the benefit of the doubt. If it looks like a fascist dog whistle, then it just fucking is. We regret the delusions of normalcy that this may have removed for you, but believe this will lead to a stronger country.
Not perfect and not always right but basically:
Is it a screen shot?
Is there a link?
Did you click/read the link?
Was it a real source (AP wire, local news, the original online post - not Fox, not the Sun, not NY Post, etc)?
Did you find any confirmation?
Did it strongly confirm a bias or suspicion?
Did it make you feel angry, smug, disgusted, superior, and/or helpless?
Is it important enough to you that you think it needs to be shared?
Do you have the energy, time, ability to research, confirm, and provide sources, links, and some additional clarifying details?
Generally I have this in mind, not necessarily always and not always observed, and I forget and blah blah. But it's a pretty simple guide to remember, and honestly items 1 and 9 cover me most of the time.
I am not immune to not checking hearsay either
Upholding Luigi Mangione as a class hero isn't actually helping anything; not because killing the ceo was wrong (it wasn't) but because the man still maintains his innocence. You're doing no better than the cops and fraction of the public against the shooter's actions by treating Mangione as if he's unequivocally guilty.
Redirect your energy to fighting the police's bullshit prosecution and blatant public defamation of his image. Stop supporting him on the grounds of heroic actions. Support him on the grounds of there's still literally no proof he actually fucking did anything.
[Plain text: "there's still literally no proof he actually fucking did anything."]
Album Project “The Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance by KLHR (Kevin Lau), part 2
What to do now? A guide for uncertain times:
Right now: do something other than social media or reading the news. Play a game, pick up a hobby, go for a walk, try a new recipe, ground yourself in something. Let your brain process everything by putting it on the back burner, let it percolate. Remember that you do have a voice, that the worst thing you can do is check out, that the most radical thing you can do is be kind.
Next few weeks: Keep working on the things that bring you joy. Make plans for the future. Assess where you are and where you want to be — physically, mentally, personally, geographically. Schedule doctor’s appointments. Delete your Twitter. Make new friends, connect with old ones, talk to your neighbors, join a community group. If you have a supportive family, talk to them too. Donate to the ACLU. By propping up others, teaching others, reassuring others, you help yourself too. Find a mutual aid group. Keep your head up. Love yourself and don’t wallow in despair. Remember that you do have a voice, that the worst thing you can do is check out, that the most radical thing you can do is be kind.
Next few months: execute on the plans for the future. Keep going with those hobbies. Keep loving yourself. Read reliable, fact-based news. Delete your Twitter (for real this time). Bake bread for your neighbor. Celebrate the holidays. Buy concert tickets as far out as you can, give yourself things to look forward to. Volunteer at a community center. Take a class. Teach others about how us queers and faggots are just people too. Remember that you do have a voice, that the worst thing you can do is check out, that the most radical thing you can do is be kind.
Next 6 months: Keep executing your plans. Write your representatives. Plant a little garden. Learn an instrument. Go to a zoo. Keep reading fact-based news (AP, Reuters, ProPublica, NPR even though it’s a bit biased to the left). Donate to the ACLU. When the sun comes out, get some bread, cheese, apples, and grapes, put them in a basket, go for a gay little picnic. Don’t make another Twitter account. Stock up on meds. Learn a new TTRPG. Pick up a fibrecraft. Remember that you do have a voice, that the worst thing you can do is check out, that the most radical thing you can do is be kind.
Next 4 years: make little baby steps to move towards your plans. Keep building relationships. Vote in local elections. Donate to the ACLU. Volunteer for state or national elections. Recognize that you live in a stupendously large country with assloads of diversity. Love yourself. Lift up other people. Remember that you do have a voice, that the worst thing you can do is check out, that the most radical thing you can do is be kind.
Shit is going to be really really rough for many many people. But if you’re reading this, you can’t give up, you can’t give in, you have to keep going. If you’re trans, if you’re queer, if you’re a freak and a faggot, you have to live.
Full disclaimer that I live in western Washington state, I’m white, I have a tremendous amount of privilege. I do my damndest to help people and use my own privilege to help others. I’m not perfect nor infallible, but reach out if you need something.
And if you’re still reading this, I love you.
I think the one thing we should learn from rednote is the value of person-to-person connection. The american government censors tiktok out of sinophobia, the chinese government censors lgbt content out of homophobia, and the one thing I can think of is let's all bond over how shitty governments are.
Time to quote Persepolis again.
Reblog daily for health and prosperity
Hey. Your brain needs to de-frag. Literally it needs you to sit there and space out.
If you want your memory or executive function to improve, stare out a window at the skyline or sidewalk or trees or birds on the electrical wires for like 20+ minutes per day. (With no other stimulation like a podcast or TV if you can manage but hey baby steps innit). If you're fortunate enough to have safe outside with any bits of nature, go stare closely at a 1 meter square of grass and trip out on the bugs and shapes of grasses and stuff.
Literally this will make you smarter. Our brains HAVE TO HAVE this zone out time to do important stuff behind the scenes. This does not happen during sleep, it's something else.
That weird pressurized feeling you get sometimes might be your brain on no defrag.
Give your brain a Daily Dose Of De-Frag.
“tumblr ceo sucks too” oh mood my bad I honestly forget we even have a ceo I kind of just view this website as a self governed purgatory that runs on sulfur and spite alone
No thanks.
