hey, gorgeous!

she/her, officially Too Old for This, super junior, fire emblem, sailor moon, and whatever else catches my fancy

[penny-anna]

anyway sound off. at what stage do ppl think Han figured out the Force was real. the boring answer is after seeing Obi-wan vanish but i think he could rationalise that away as his eyes playing tricks on him. what do we think.

[my-last-brain-cell-is-socrates]

Let me demonstrate my answer for you:

That's it. That's my answer. Endor.

Please just take a look at Han's face right after witnessing 3po float. The man just had his entire worldview blown to smithereens.

[whetstonefires]

that's so funny. that means he accepted Vader deflecting a blaster bolt with his hand as just something freaky government cyborgs can do, and stuck by Luke for multiple years as he tried to figure this Force stuff out, and just treated it like your friend getting really really into neopaganism to cope with a loss.

like yeah kid good job with the witching. i'm certain it will be more useful against your enemies than your sharpshooting. no i do not think your witchcraft is supplementing your aim but i'm not gonna argue about it.

[penny-anna]

yeah Luke was like 'I heard Ben Kenobi's voice in my head telling me how to blow up the Death Star :)' and Han was like 'kind of an unusual coping mechanism but I'm not gonna argue with him'

[davetheshady]

thanks to carbonite han not only misses learning about luke's training montage on dagobah, he's also half-blind during their whole escape on tatooine. luke's out there force-kicking henchmen with his gucci boots and doing flips and shit and han can't see a goddamn thing. now on endor luke's yeeting threepio with the power of his mind and han's just like 'the last time we hung out i had to stuff him in a tauntaun sleeping bag'.

[bogwitch-extraordinaire]

@softness-and-shattering I hate you I hate you I hate you

[mashpotatoe]

my very speical friend

[lenbryant]

Women in Shakespeare

[orangebitters]

Also like to point out that when her mother says “I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid,” (translation: I had you when I was your age) you have to remember her father’s words: “earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she,” (translation: all the other children died.)  The whole plot point of Juliet being an only child is explained by her mother being a Margaret Beaufort type who had her first child too young and it damaged her past the point of being able to bear more children.

[beatrice-otter]

Margaret Beaufort died in 1509. She was a major player in the Wars of the Roses, the swirling on-again-off-again civil wars that consumed England from 1455-1487. Romeo and Juliet was written and first performed in the early 1590s. Your average English person of Shakespeare’s day would probably have had at least a vague understanding of who she was and what happened to her, because she was a key figure in recent history and was still getting passed around as a cautionary tale.

There are two great problems with what happened to Margaret (and that her parents are trying to do to Juliet). One is easy for modern people to spot (but was also a common response back in her own day). And that’s the moral implications of what was done to her. She was too young to be married, and it was horrifying that she was forced into it so young. Every one of the adults around her either acted immorally or failed to protect her. They were wrong. This is what modern people see, and it’s important to remember that people back in her day mostly agreed with it. You’re supposed to think it’s fucked up! When girls were married that young (and it didn’t happen often!) it was a formality 99% of the time. It was for dynastic or financial reasons (the girl has lots of money and/or land and/or a title that her husband wants), but the “couple” don’t consummate their marriage for years. And it’s not just that they would have separate bedrooms. They might not even live in the same country until the girl was in her late teens and physically and mentally mature enough to bear and raise kids. Hell, a lot of times they didn’t even meet until the girl was older! They had this thing called “proxy marriage” where you would have two separate ceremonies, in two separate places, with each party saying their vows separately, one in one city and the other in a different one. So, yeah, sure, the girl was technically married at 12, but she didn’t actually meet her “husband” in person until she was 17 and they didn’t start sleeping together until she was 20. That was a thing they did.

The other problem, the one that modern people don’t notice, is dynastic. See, marriage wasn’t generally because you loved someone. It was because you had the resources to support a family, and you or your family wanted to pool those resources with someone. It’s about “our family has these resources, and we want that to continue.” It’s about continuity across generations. It’s about making sure that your children and grandchildren have the best possible resources to survive and thrive, whether those resources are land or a trade or a title or money or whatever. In order for this to work, you have to have kids! The family and the family’s resources depend on the married couple having children. If the couple doesn’t have children, the marriage is a failure. And that failure affects not only the couple, but both families. This is a really big problem. And you can’t have just one kid to pass on the family name, because half of all kids die in early childhood. If you want to be safe, you need several kids, to be sure at least one will survive to adulthood (when they can marry and pass on the family name and resources.

You know what happens when a girl has her first pregnancy too young? She is very likely to either die in childbirth, or have complications that destroy her future fertility. Just like Margaret Beaufort. Just like Juliet’s mother. In other words, the marriage is a failure, not just for her, but also for her family, and her husband (who can’t divorce her, it’s not allowed except in extremely rare circumstances), and her husband’s family. So even the people who didn’t have a moral problem with adult men having sex with pubescent girls had a practical problem with girls married too young because you are very likely to destroy the entire purpose of the marriage by doing it. As Shakespeare reminds us in the play through Juliet’s mother having been married too young and only having one child.

Shakespeare is telling us “yeah, this is fucked up. but even if you’re the kind of awful person who doesn’t think girls marrying too young is morally wrong, it’s also a problem for practical and dynastic reasons, don’t forget that by doing this wrong thing you are very likely to destroy what you most want out of it.”

[stalker-among-the-stars]

Interesting

[i-fear-neither-death-nor-pain]

It bears repeating:

don’t forget that by doing this wrong thing you are very likely to destroy what you most want out of it.”

[sarahthecoat]

yes, excellent discussion!

another thing i noticed, the year my local community shakespeare theater did r&j, and i made the costumes so i got to watch the show every night: part of why capulet is telling paris, take your time, get to know each other, no rush, is that he still has his nephew tybalt as his heir. as long as tybalt is in the picture, there is no pressure on juliet to go further with paris, than get acquainted. once tybalt is killed, then suddenly capulet needs an heir, he needs a husband for juliet, now, this week. (the role of capulet is best given to the actor in the company that can do over the top apoplexy, you need to believe his urgency comes at least in part by how clearly he could drop dead any moment from giving himself a stroke)

i feel like this play is often taught in middle schools as if it was somehow relevant to, or about, teen hormone storms. really it's got more to do with the social structures around family and inheritance. leaving that context out makes it confusing, why is capulet suddenly flipping from nice dad to evil dad?

art history matters.

[rowanhorserider]

I've been thinking about this play a lot lately. I really wanna highlight that Lord Capulet asks Paris to wait and get to know her, and to woo her, while Tybalt lives. While Tybalt is alive, Juliet has something of a reprieve, and her wellbeing as his only child matters more to Capulet. But once Tybalt has died, the gloves come off. Lord Capulet was worried about his daughter's wellbeing when he felt he had the space to care, but as soon as his dynasty is at stake, as soon as this becomes larger than Juliet's happiness, his consideration for her health and mental wellbeing get thrown away. Which also is due in part to the fact that Capulet's family is implicated in a brawl that has left several dead after the Prince's family EXPLICITLY told the Capulets and Montagues to stop fighting or face dire consequences, AND Capulet is trying to align himself with the Prince's family by marrying Juliet off to County Paris, a relative of the Prince. So to Lord Capulet, it is now less important that Juliet is happy, and more important than he reminds the Prince of his loyalty via this marriage and aligns his family with the Prince's before it's too late. And he believes this must be done, at any cost...until Juliet kills herself. And that's when he realises the devastating cost of treating his family as chess pieces. He realises his wrongdoing far too late.

Seriously Romeo and Juliet is HEAVY on the dynastic politics, and I think you can't fully understand the play without understanding how that all works, especially because the impact of dynastic marriages on women and girls is like. THE POINT of the play

[bigwidogastenergy]

It's pretty clear Shakespeare would have known who Margaret Beaufort was based on two facts:

1. Margaret Beaufort was Elizabeth I's great-grandmother. The one son she had became Henry VII, whose son was Henry VIII. She was the mother of the Tudor dynasty. Margaret even had some influence in how Henry VIII was raised.

2. Margaret isn't in the plays she should be in, which were being written around the same time: the Wars of the Roses plays. She SHOULD be in at least Richard III. Her son is, because Henry dethroned Richard! But despite the huge role she played in making that happen (including providing a claim to the throne to her son), she's absent.

Shakespeare wasn't dumb. He didn't write a play about Elizabeth's parents until after she was dead (probably).

The Tudors on the whole were pretty thin-skinned. I think it's safe to conclude that Margaret was left out of Richard III for a reason. However, Shakespeare managed to comment on the circumstances that shaped her life in another context entirely - R&J.

(And the circumstances did shape her life enough that once she was My Lady the King's Mother, she also got her son to name her a femme sole [giving her legal rights most women didn't have], and she even took a vow of chastity while still married. Margaret was denied control of her life and body when she was young, and she did her damnedest to take that control back and codify it when she was in a position to do so.)

In Lady Capulet's case, Shakespeare is confirming that Margaret Beaufort is the exception, not the rule, to what happened to girls who were forced into adulthood too young. Only by literally helping dethrone a king did she get the opportunity to control her life on her terms. Juliet, similarly, gets to only control her life in extraordinary circumstances.

On a related note, I could make a case that Romeo and Juliet's fast romance leading to destruction is a commentary on the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, who also got married fast, and Edward marrying her + following consequences pissed a lot of people off, including the Earl of Warwick (who was really not a dude you wanted to piss off, he reignited the hot war). Edward IV's sudden death in 1483 (more than a decade after killing Warwick) is also how we got the Princes in the Tower and Richard III, which brought the hot war back AGAIN after things had been quiet for a while.

Because this is dynastic politics, Elizabeth I was ALSO descended from these two through her grandmother Elizabeth of York, who was Henry VII's wife and Edward IV's daughter.

This admittedly precedes Shakespeare's birth, but the scars of the Wars of the Roses were very fresh (including with how Henry VII reigned) and certainly well within living memory. Juliet, Lady Capulet, and the absence of Margaret Beaufort are all deliberate choices to comment on very recent history and the circumstances that led to 30 years of on and off war WITHOUT running afoul of the person (Elizabeth I) who watched his plays and could make his life very difficult if she wanted.

[bitchesgetriches]

Beloved Bitches,

The "Grocery Shop like a Boss" post is making rounds again, and one of the bitchlings commented that they are moving out on their own for the first time so they were collecting ideas/recipes.

Which got me to wondering; do we have a "How to Preserve Your More Precious than Gold Grocery Haul" post floating around? And if not, should we start one?

We do not! And I agree--we should start one!!!

I'll start:

Tomatoes, carrots, and peppers can all be frozen without any preparation whatsoever. Just bag 'em and toss 'em in the freezer. So if you're worried you won't get to those vegetables before they go bad, freeze them for later recipes. They can then be used in a stirfry, curry, soup, chili, sauce, salsa, smoothie, whatever. And it's much easier, cheaper, and faster than canning.

WHO'S NEXT, BABIES? How are we preserving our grocery hauls?? This WILL become an official Bitches Get Riches World Heritage Post.

Cosmic Truths of Cheap Grocery Shopping: 12 Universal Rules to Save Money on Food, No Matter What You Buy or Where You Shop

Did we just help you out? Say thanks by joining our Patreon!

[featharii]

A lot of canned and frozen fruit and veg is just as nutritious as fresh (if not more so) and lasts so much longer. I swear by frozen spinach and berries for all sorts of things and they never go to waste. Canned tomatoes and tomato puree are fantastic as the base for pasta sauce.

[mari-lwyd]

U just learned this one! Put a paper towel in your salads to make them last longer. Easier in a clamshell, but doable in a bag. Switch out as it gets wet. Suddenly, salad lasts WEEKS!

[still-hunting-for-turtles]

We can only get lemons and limes in 3lb bags at our Aldi, so when we need a fresh lemon (e.g, for lemon zest) we get a bag, and then juice the unused ones and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. We also do this with ginger--peel and grate a big quantity (wear gloves!!) and freeze in ice cube trays. My mom keeps fresh herbs chopped and frozen like this too. Once thawed they're weird if you want them as a garnish but great as a fresh herb to be used in soups, casseroles, etc.

[the-big-mood]

At Toba aquarium in Japan, after closing time, some clever little otter pups help their grandpa tidy up their toys. As a reward, he gives them ice cubes

[chryza]

literally in tears at this video....such good helpers......

[noname-human-being]

I suggest getting angrier about misogyny.

[noname-human-being]

"at least be nice about-" no. Girl. Kill him over it. We're done. It's been centuries of this bullshit since time immemorial and he hasn't learned. Obliterate him.

[blackjame]

[rubysapphrald]

i feel so defensive and protective of people with ARFID like if i had a disorder that made my brain register 90% of food as poison for no reason and i had a bazillion people on the internet constantly calling me a manchild who needs to just grow up and stop being a picky eater i would start killing people

[rubysapphrald]

people with ARFID and people with very few autism safe foods and people with contamination OCD and people in ED recovery and everyone else with a complicated relationship with food that no one takes seriously GET BEHIND ME!!!!!!!

[amrv-5]

Does anyone know what to do about the temperature and also the prices

[nightonblogmountain]

[kyoshi-lesbians]

my controversial opinion is I don’t think Zuko was confused by “my first girlfriend turned into the moon”

[kyoshi-lesbians]

he was there during siege of the North. he infiltrated the spirit oasis. he has an uncle who studies spirits and the spirit world. he watched the sky go dark then the moon suddenly reappear like everyone else in the entire world did. and most importantly he watched zhao get eaten by a giant godzilla fish spirit.

[kyoshi-lesbians]

his entire life since he saw that beam of blue-white light in the south pole has been ‘this day has already been so goddamn weird’

[edgar-allan-possum]

The only really new information was that that was Sokka’s girlfriend

[library-graffiti]

Important opinion in the tags that I need to have be part of the post:

[clearascountryair]

Also, Iroh was there? He literally watched Sokka make out with the moon spirit. And you want to tell me that a romantic sap like him would not have immediately told Zuko about this romantic tragedy? Please, Zuko has known about this for ages, he just knows that this is not an acceptable situation in which to say “yeah, I know.”

[terriwriting]

Sokka: “My girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko: “I know.” “Yes.” “She sure did.” “Uh huh.” “Tell me something new.” “Are we still talking about that?” “That’s rough, buddy.”

[alexseanchai]

[image: tags by samwisethebold: #it’s not that he doesn’t get what sokka means #it’s that how on earth do you respond to that]

[uberguber89]

When you put it like that, this is actually a legendary display of tact on Zuko’s part

[smallpotatoes-dandelions]

I don't know how to articulate this well, but I really fucking hate the way a lot of thin writers write fat characters. Like how men write women "breasting boobily" there is something so dehumanizing about how fat characters are often written. "He waddled", "he lumbered", the writer of the book I'm reading always mentions this characters "fleshy hand" when he does something with his hand. Like, we already know that he's fat. There is no need to describe everything he does as "doing it fatly".

[sulkybender-retired04042026]

*fishes this absolute treasure from the tags*

[assiraphales]

its always the tiny gay cowboy and his tiny gay roman boyfriend, never the bi cowboy and his bi cowboy/martial artist boyfriend. owen wilson didn’t play a fruity western boy TWICE to be disrespected like that 

[assiraphales]

no bc I’m being serious! we’ve been way too quiet about them for way too long!!!!!!

[assiraphales]

pls watch these (shanghai noon and shanghai knights) and give these romantic besties ur love! it’s literally a western romcom

[assiraphales]

valid valid valid valid

[anxietyproblem]

[saywhat-politics]

[onethirdofimpossible]

Okay, I was just going to reblog this without commentary, but I can't keep this to myself. I'm a PhD student in environmental science and this is my fucking highway.

The first published study about climate change (that I am aware of-- feel free to point out if there's an older one) is an 1896 paper by Svante Arrhenius. He pointed out the link between the greenhouse effect and changes in atmospheric CO2.

Plate tectonics, which the geoscience community now recognizes as near indisputable, was a fringe theory until about the 1960s.

Just in case anyone thought that climate change was a "recent fad" in research.

[nostalgic-teddyy]

Imagine the level of whimsy I could reach if I just had $5M in my bank account rn

[mini-wrants]

Outdoor in sun perfec t place for president to do speech! Outdoor very warm very soft put old man on green lawn under sun. Put old man in warm sun. no problem ever in warm sun because good view and audience can see long speech. Nice podium outdoor sunny perfect place for old president can trust warm sun to give nice view to President good luck to President. friend sun.

[dissociatingdumbass]

[bi-polarbear]

[latedawnsandearlysunsets]

three of them

[olmec-colossal-head]

Courage, Anxiety, and Despair Watching the Battle by James Sant (ca. 1850) anyone?