nice and warm

Sasha, 20, russian. Feminist, bisexual, searching for inspiration.

[pentragons]

Howl’s Moving Castle + concept art brought to life

[hmcbook]

Sophie Hatter moodboard

[aivarizhtml]

Promise you, I’ll keep you safe

[goawfma]

[sylviaplathstypewriter-deactiva]

and not just romantic/sexual. familial too. lot of daughters trapped by economic dependency on abusive fathers

[pedanticbohemian-deactivated202]

I went from an upper-middle-class marriage to being in the “extremely low income” category through divorce. $15560 per year. That’s what I have to live on.

[hmsindecision]

Affordable housing is absolutely an issue of female autonomy

[queen-mayhem]

Literally, almost every victim of domestic abuse I’ve ever spoken to has said that (at least part of) the reason they haven’t left yet/didn’t leave sooner is because they couldn’t afford to live and support their children alone. Affordable housing, increased wages, and subsidized childcare are feminist issues.

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

so we've talked about southern gothic but what about northern gothic? is that a thing?

There wasn’t so we invented one!

Southern gothic is a conventional literary genre, but northern gothic fiction would just get encapsulated in the overall Gothic genre. BUT. Tumblr made a meme. Because of course we did. It’s here: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/regional-gothic.

So far I’ve found Midwest Gothic: here here and here

Southern California Gothic, which is  popular (because of fucking course): here here here here and fuckin here

Northern England Gothic: here and here and here

not to mention chucklefucking Alaskan Gothic: really? i mean really?? fuck you. fuck you alaska.

And fuck me there’s even Gothic subgenres for cities that shouldn’t exist in the first place. Kansas City. Minneapolis. Small town Michigan Gothic?? Toronto? Yeah fucking Toronto.

In fact, there’s assorted Canada Gothic? There’s  so much hell-forsaken Canada Gothic, too fuckin much. 

International Gothic? Fuck this. There’s So Much Australian Gothic. There’s Finland Gothic. There is so much more and I want nothing to do with it.

But the worse, the absolute worse of the whole satan-forsaken toxic hellpile: Ohio Gothic. I hate Ohio. I am. from. Ohio. I was born there. One day I will die there. I fear Ohio. Because in Ohio: “Holes in the sidewalk. Holes on the street. Holes on the freeway. Holes in your mind.” And Ohioans know: HELL IS REAL.

[slavicafire]

modern encounters with old slavic gods

Perun the mountains are tricky: it took a moment of carelessness and a bit too much pride and you’re lost after straying from the trail; one slip and hard rocks cut the skin on your knees, hands full of splinters after trying to hold onto a branch, no signal. “you lost, huh? should’ve stayed on the damn trail” you hear and see a tall, broad-shouldered man. he sighs, scratches his scruffy beard and takes off his mountain rescuer jacket “take it, you’re clearly cold” he looks at you and smiles, grumpy demeanor disappearing. he leads you back to the mountain hostel and buys a beer for both of you. you feel like you’ve known him all your life. you look at your hands and before you can thank him for saving your life, he’s disappeared. you finish the beer and feel the air fill with static, as the mountains tremble with the greatest storm you’ve ever seen.

Veles it’s the middle of the night and you’re driving aimlessly, face wet from crying. it was one of the worst fights you’ve ever had, and you feel both hurt and guilty. you didn’t pay attention and soon you ran out of gas, and you can’t believe your luck upon seeing a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. the lights buzz lowly and there’s a song playing in the background. you know it but can’t remember the name or the lyrics. a man sitting in the corner offers you coffee - he cracks a joke but you know he noticed you’ve been crying. you end up drinking coffee with him at 2am; he lit up a cigarette but put it out when he saw the face you made. the cashier doesn’t seem to notice or hear him. he tells you guilt is good only when it leads to change; if it’s just a remnant of past, let it go. you give him a lift and his stop is in the middle of forest, and you can swear the moment he reached the trees he stopped looking human.

Jarilo you breathe in fresh air: it smells like flowers, and sun, and this sour candy you used to buy at your school when you were eight. you see a great crowd of people, full of colour and laughter and music. a young man leads them: bright eyes, harmonious voice, crocuses and lilacs in his hair, rainbow flag in hand. you think he’s beautiful. he smiles at you and your head starts spinning. months later you see him again: he leads again, this time the crowd angry at injustice listens to his every word. his eyebrows are furrowed, he speaks about unity, empathy, and the need to drive the fascists out of our cities. he has never been more beautiful.

Mokosh the train is loud and crowded and you still have hours until your destination. you’re tired and your bags are heavy and it feels like the weight of the world rests on your shoulders alone. you found an empty compartment but before you could feel any relief, a mother with a small child came in as well. the child is crying and screaming and no songs or sweets can calm him down. you’re mad, but you know that she’s probably ten times more tired than you are. then a lady walks in and you’re sure you must’ve seen her when you were a child. her voice is warm and sweet, and as soon as she starts talking, the baby stops crying. she offers you and the mother some apples and doughnuts with rose jam, and you feel like you can tell her everything and she’ll understand. when you get out at your stop you immediately call your mother to say things you should have said a long time ago.

Morana it’s New Years Eve and everyone is excited; loud conversations and loud music, tunes that are a must have every year. the champagne glass feels cold and fragile in your hands like it’s made of ice. they all count, the fireworks go off and rain down on you with ash and sparks. you feel empty when you have no one to kiss this year. and soon everyone goes back inside and you’re alone, the night is dark and silent. it starts snowing and the snowflakes look like petals of white chrysanthemums. then you notice her standing in the wind: she’s wearing a thin long dress but she’s not cold at all. she doesn’t talk to you, but her eyes find yours. you don’t feel alone. something broke in you tonight, something ended. but it’s all for good. this is a new beginning. she nods and slowly walks away and after a moment the only thing you can see is snow dancing in the night.

[ericscissorhands]

Quintessential Halloween Movies and chill anyone? It’s about that time of the year. Les get spooky.

Part 2: Even more Quintessential Halloween movies n stuff.

[gingerbreadwytch-deactivated202]

Hufflepuff in autumn

[87352257]

“i’m fluid” - you’re bi

“i’m pansexual” - you’re bi

“my sexuality fluctuates” - you’re bi

“i like the label queer because it’s unlimited” - you’re bi

“idk I just like people regardless of their gender” - you’re bi

[justsomewiccanstuff]

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

Roald Dahl

[flowerspells]

[sosuperawesome]

Amanda Herzman on Tumblr and Instagram

Follow So Super Awesome on Instagram

[amandaherzman]

a wonderful little feature of my work - thanks sosuperawesome!

[lediableaquatre-deactivated2015]

[pyrrhiccomedy]

The famous La Marseillaise scene from Casablanca.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

You know, this scene is so powerful to me that sometimes I forget that not everyone who watches it will understand its significance, or will have seen Casablanca. So, because this scene means so much to me, I hope it’s okay if I take a minute to explain what’s going on here for anyone who’s feeling left out.

Casablanca takes place in, well, Casablanca, the largest city in (neutral) Morocco in 1941, at Rick’s American Cafe (Rick is Humphrey Bogart’s character you see there). In 1941, America was also still neutral, and Rick’s establishment is open to everyone: Nazi German officials, officials from Vichy (occupied) France, and refugees from all across Europe desperate to escape the German war engine. A neutral cafe in a netural country is probably the only place you’d have seen a cross-section like this in 1941, only six months after the fall of France.

So, the scene opens with Rick arguing with Laszlo, who is a Czech Resistance fighter fleeing from the Nazis (if you’re wondering what they’re arguing about: Rick has illegal transit papers which would allow Laszlo and his wife, Ilsa, to escape to America, so he could continue raising support against the Germans. Rick refuses to sell because he’s in love with Laszlo’s wife). They’re interrupted by that cadre of German officers singing Die Wacht am Rhein: a German patriotic hymn which was adopted with great verve by the Nazi regime, and which is particularly steeped in anti-French history. This depresses the hell out of everybody at the club, and infuriates Laszlo, who storms downstairs and orders the house band to play La Marseillaise: the national anthem of France.

Wait, but when I say “it’s the national anthem of France,” I don’t want you to think of your national anthem, okay? Wherever you’re from. Because France’s anthem isn’t talking about some glorious long-ago battle, or France’s beautiful hills and countrysides. La Marseillaise is FUCKING BRUTAL. Here’s a translation of what they’re singing:

Arise, children of the Fatherland! The day of glory has arrived! Against us, tyranny raises its bloody banner. Do you hear, in the countryside, the roar of those ferocious soldiers? They’re coming to your land to cut the throats of your women and children!

To arms, citizens! Form your battalions! Let’s march, let’s march! Let their impure blood water our fields!

BRUTAL, like I said. DEFIANT, in these circumstances. And the entire cafe stands up and sings it passionately, drowning out the Germans. The Germans who are, in 1941, still terrifyingly ascendant, and seemingly invincible.

“Vive la France! Vive la France!” the crowd cries when it’s over. France has already been defeated, the German war machine roars on, and the people still refuse to give up hope.

But here’s the real kicker, for me: Casablanca came out in 1942. None of this was ‘history’ to the people who first saw it. Real refugees from the Nazis, afraid for their lives, watched this movie and took heart. These were current events when this aired. Victory over Germany was still far from certain. The hope it gave to people then was as desperately needed as it has been at any time in history.

God I love this scene.

[freekicks]

not only did refugees see this movie, real refugees made this movie. most of the european cast members wound up in hollywood after fleeing the nazis and wound up. 

paul heinreid, who played laszlo the resistance leader, was a famous austrian actor; he was so anti-hitler that he was named an enemy of the reich. ugarte, the petty thief who stole the illegal transit papers laszlo and victor are arguing about? was played by peter lorre, a jewish refugee. carl, the head waiter? played by s.z. sakall, a hungarian-jew whose three sisters died in the holocaust. 

even the main nazi character was played by a german refugee: conrad veidt, who starred in one of the first sympathetic films about gay men and who fled the nazis with his jewish wife. 

there’s one person in this scene that deserves special mention. did you notice the woman at the bar, on the verge of tears as she belts out la marseillaise? she’s yvonne, rick’s ex-girlfriend in the film. in real life, the actress’s name is madeleine lebeau and she basically lived the plot of this film: she and her jewish husband fled paris ahead of the germans in 1940. her husband, macel dalio, is also in the film, playing the guy working the roulette table. after they occupied paris, the nazis used his face on posters to represent a “typical jew.” madeleine and  marcel managed to get to lisbon (the goal of all the characters in casablanca), and boarded a ship to the americas… but then they were stranded for two months when it turned out their visa papers were forgeries. they eventually entered the US after securing temporary canadian visas. marcel dalio’s entire family died in concentration camps. 

go back and rewatch the clip. watch madeleine lebeau’s face.

casablanca is a classic, full of classic acting performances. but in this moment, madeleine lebeau isn’t acting. this isn’t yvonne the jilted lover onscreen. this is madeleine lebeau, singing “la marseillaise” after she and her husband fled france for their lives. this is a real-life refugee, her real agony and loss and hope and resilience, preserved in the midst of one of the greatest films of all time. 

[suzie-guru]

I remember when I first saw Casablanca, and being struck by this scene, and that was without knowing the history behind it or all that Madeleine Lebeau - and so many more refugees- had suffered. 

Do yourself a solid and watch this film. Watch this scene. And most of all, remember refugees, the ones who lived then and especially the ones who live now.  

[howfamiliarthedanger]

🌞Summer Solstice/Litha Candle 🌞 -Red candle: fire element•power•sexuality•vibrancy• -Orange peel: love•good fortune• -Rosemary: purification•protection• -Lavender: attract good spirits•cleansing• -Calendula: clairvoyance•physic powers• Set is a window to soak up and charge in the suns energy and magic.

[witchcraft-kid]

A small and simple post about Mabon. Please don’t repost it. I hope you’re having an amazing Mabon!! *autumn vibes here*

[alienwlw]

so please say you’ll meet me meet me halfway

[russian-to-survive]

Also as someone with a Russian babushka- conversations can get very off topic very quickly, even in Russian. I have never had a short conversation with one lol

Words of wisdomGet ready for pirozhki