Bit of an odd rant to go into but a lot of dragon rider art freaks me out.
You are not on a horse five feet above the ground, you are going into the sky, and yet so many of the riders have nothing actually securing them to the dragon. Strap yourself in, and then add a few more straps for failsafes.
Why the hell are you sitting up? Have you never heard of aerodynamic drag? If the dragon is a quadraped, having a nice big human sticking out perpendicular from them is like sticking your arm out of a car window. You are gonna get flattened. Lie the fuck down before air resistance tears you straight off.
Why are none of you wearing parachutes? We started figuring out that shit in the Renaissance when all we had to fall from was tall buildings, you're telling me a society that rides large falling reptiles hasn't figured out anti-fall damage technology?
Seriously why does everyone seem to want to die in this society?
Hey someone suggested I use ChatGPT to figure out adulting today, and as I was going through the mental list of places I'd rather look, I realized "beloved strangers on Tumblr dot net" was on that list.
So if you have an aspect of adulting that you're really good at-taxes, budgeting, cooking, insurance, credit, time management, house upkeep, anything-please feel free to reblog with any tips.
That's us! Professional internet adults, specializing in financial stuff! We recommend starting with our Grand List of All Articles, or one of our Masterposts:
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need To Know About Taxes
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uh so theyre older here, maybe around 30, sorta inspired by @princington ’s ‘halmeoni celine’ drawings but there’s no baby yet
…
Mira groaned, the cool porcelain an unfortunate yet welcome relief on her heated cheek. She didn’t have the strength to be grossed out anymore, not when she’d spent each day this week hunched over the same bowl. She’d been spending so much time on the bathroom floor lately that Zoey had bought her a cushion and blanket to keep in there – carefully picked out in the ugliest patterns that money could buy, so neither would be mistaken for a blanket that didn’t spend its days in the germiest room of the house. Rumi washed them daily for her.
Derpy stared helpfully from his spot in the tub. The tiger had been spending far more time attached to her hip of late; it was cute in the same way it was a little off-putting, as if amongst the three thoughts and ideas that bounced around his head, their demon tiger now knew Mira now carried a precious part of his demon-hybrid owner and he was intent on protecting her for it. Or maybe he just didn’t want Mira to suffer alone, which was a cute thought and maybe more likely than option one.
Mira heard the muffled sound of the front door keypad and picked her head up. Rumi and Zoey weren’t due back for a couple hours, and Mira had made them promise not to cancel yet another interview last-minute. It was cute that they wanted to be by her side, but rumors would start to fly if all three members of Huntr/x were mysteriously absent from the public eye. And Mira, at this point, didn’t want to deal with rumors on top of everything else.
The front door clicked shut and an odd jolt of anxiety settled in her stomach as she didn’t hear Zoey’s clattering through the house or Rumi’s careful call of her name. She wanted to go investigate but before she could stand another wave of nausea washed over her. She glanced towards Derpy as a last resort; maybe he’d go see who the intruder was, protecting her in her moment of weakness, but only saw the top of his head as he sank into his portal with finality.
Thanks a lot, you stupid cat.
The knock at the bathroom door came at the exact moment Mira retched over the toilet again, choking in an almost violent manner.
“Oh, dear.” A soft voice met her ears.
Celine? Mira registered in confusion before gagging again. Something like embarrassment settled deep in her bones. Celine shouldn’t see me like this.
“Let it out, Mira,” Rough hands softly pushed back the hairs that had slipped from her ponytail. Rumi had tied it back before they left but that’d been a while ago. The touch was soothing in a way her brain couldn’t wrap around associating with Celine.
It was all very gentle, so of course once Mira had regained her composure she questioned the situation with a gentle, “What the fuck?”
Celine chuckled at that, and Mira did too.
“Rumi said it was bad today but you wouldn’t let them stay, so she called in the B-team.” The older woman explained as if she were apologizing. “She asked me to drop off some electrolyte drinks and juk from that health food place she likes.”
Mira’s stomach turned at the thought of the lumpy, vegetable-filled rice porridge Rumi basically forced down their throats whenever either of them were sick. She nearly gagged again.
“I didn’t bring the juk, don’t worry. You’re suffering enough.”
Mira laughed at that. “Thank god.”
Celine smiled. Mira could tell there was something more to say, but before she could ask a wave of nausea hit so strong she could only lean over the bowl and let nature take its course. Celine’s hands soothed up and down her back until it was over, and in the aftermath when Mira could only lean against the seat for a few minutes and regain her composure she felt the woman gently tug her ponytail free and begin working her hands through her hair.
Against her own wishes her eyes slid closed. She enjoyed the warmth. Her relationship with Celine had always toed the line between angry but caring mentor and aunt who means well but maybe wasnt super great with emotions. She maybe started to understand a little why Rumi would laugh and defend Celine when Mira would call her cold or emotionally repressed, and maybe started to believe Zoey a little bit that Celine ‘gives pretty good hugs, actually.’
“There,” Celine whispered, hands leaving her hair. Mira found herself missing the feeling.
She reached up and felt her head; Rumi’s signature dutch braid now traced down the middle of her head and neatly contained her flyaways. She almost laughed.
“One trick pony?” She teased.
“It’s the only hairstyle I know how to do.” Celine admitted with a chuckle. Her eyes softened. “Miyeong taught me how to do her braid when she was pregnant with Rumi. She was sick of my panicking about not being able to do anything to help her morning sickness. So she asked me to braid her hair, to get it out of the way. And I told her I didn’t know how, which made her roll her eyes harder than she did when I was panicking.”
Mira laughed, heart warm. “You know how to panic?”
“It was all I knew how to do then.” Celine smiled as if picturing a memory. “We were three women in our young twenties with a secret, half-demon baby on the way. Miyeong was the only one who handled it with any sort of grace.”
Mira understood. It’d taken a lot for her, at nearly thirty, to wrap her head around becoming a mother. If she was being honest she still wasn’t sure she’d fully grasped it being real. She couldn’t imagine handling it well at 22.
“Miyeong had bad morning sickness too?”
“Oh, terrible. She’d be in the bathroom for hours.” Celine glanced around, eyes settling on the cushions and blankets Mira had pushed aside in a hot flash. “Though I’m starting to believe it has a bit to do with the… demon thing.”
Mira felt a jolt of protectiveness. “Don’t ever say that in front of Rumi.” She said, harsher than intended.
“Of course. I know any mention of … I know she’d punish herself forever if she thought her demon was the reason you were suffering. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Mira didn’t respond. They both knew.
“How is she doing? Her and Zoey. I know it must be scary for you three.”
Mira swallowed. “It’s not.” She said, simply. “It doesn’t seem to be, for them, I mean. They don’t seem scared. Rumi’s worried, of course. Whenever I lift an arm she’s by my side asking if she can do it for me. And Zoey too. They’re treating me like I’m made of glass and… I thought it would get old but it’s just… I don’t know. It does, but I feel loved. I guess.” She mumbled the last bit, painfully aware that she’d never had any discussion with Celine even close to touching on her feelings. Celine squirmed too, just as uncomfortable. It would have been funny. “Zoey tells ocean facts to my stomach, now.” She added, because she thought it’d lighten the mood and distract from what she knew Celine’s next question would be.
“And how do you feel, Mira?”
There was silence for a second. She debated shrugging, telling her she was fine besides the inability to keep food in her stomach, and going about her day.
Instead, she opted for honesty. Blame it on the hormones.
“I’m… I’m the scared one. I don’t know… why I…” She took a second to get her thoughts together. “It’s scary to finally have something that means so much. With Zo and Rumi. I feel like I’ve just gotten used to it. And now… We get to have… literally the manifestation of love. I get.. more. We get to start a family. To have a family. I’ve always wanted… And I just… It’s scary for some reason. What if… What if it’s just a fever dream? And I… I don’t get to have this forever.”
Celine’s eyes shone. Mira realized she probably hit a little too close to home. What if I had everything I could ever love, and I wake up one day to my world shattering?
“Mira.” Celine said, with so much emotion that Mira found it hard to breathe. Celine put a hand on her cheek and searched for the right words. They were new to this, at least with each other; two kindred souls who couldn’t express themselves despite their best efforts. “I… I understand. I understand why it’s scary. But Zoey and Rumi love you and love this child with their entire hearts and souls. And so do I, whatever I am to you or whatever you want me to be to the kid. No matter what. None of us are going anywhere.”
Did Celine just tell me she loved me? Mira nearly laughed at the thought. It hit her in an old, scarred wound, buried under years and years of healing. Mira took a watery, shaky breath in. Celine leaned towards her until their foreheads touched.
“I understand, Mira. I’d be so scared, too. But I watched you grow up from being the loneliest, angriest teenager I have personally ever met,” Mira gave a wet laugh. “And I’m so proud of you for being brave enough to make all of this for yourself. You did it. Let yourself enjoy it. Don’t make my mistake and waste all of it worrying.”
And that did her in. Again, blame the hormones, but she found herself leaning into Celine’s enveloping hug and sobbing. Maybe it had been from years of staring up at Celine in quiet awe, maybe it had been the fact that they were two kindred emotionally avoidant, logic-leaning introverts with hellish tempers, or maybe it had just been from years of repressed mommy issues, as Zoey liked to put it, but hearing the reassurance from Celine had her shaking.
When she finally calmed down, Celine held her at arms length with a soft smile.
“Is your stomach a little better?”
Mira nodded, wiping away the last of her tears.
“I did bring electrolyte drinks. Rumi told me your favorite flavor.” Celine stood, dusting off her pants. She held out her arms and helped Mira up. “She warned me it had to be lemon-lime. I joked about getting you blue raspberry instead and the demon voice jumped out.”
Mira laughed, allowing Celine to guide her out of the bathroom and to the kitchen. She sat at the counter and let Celine pour her a glass before she settled in at the stool next to her.
They glanced at each other. Celine smiled and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, Mira. It’s what family is for. ”
Mira smiled, leaning her head on the older woman’s shoulder.
“You’re going to be a great halmeoni.”
She felt Celine stiffen for just a second, surprised. The older woman took a shaky breath, wrapping an arm around her.
i know most leftists agree that everybody should have a right to food, water, shelter, and healthcare but i think a vitally important fifth pillar is privacy. people should not be compelled to be tracked, monitored, or to share personal space with others to access their other essential rights
Good post, OP, and if you ever decide to do another may I please suggest “NOT IN HEBREW IT DOESN’T” as a punchline? So much of the Old Testament is HORRIFICALLY translated from the Tanakh, it drives me batty.
Okay, so, strictly speaking, the infamous Leviticus 18:22 does say “forbidden.” Here’s the thing:
1) The word translated as “forbidden” is “toevah.” While that translation isn’t … wrong, it’s sort of like saying “McMansion” means “really big house.” There are a lot of connotations in that word. The specific issue with toevah is that we … sort of … don’t know anymore exactly what it meant. Based on context, it seems likely that the word referred to something ritually forbidden. This part of Torah was written not only as a guide for future generations, but also to say “so, look around, see your neighbors? DON’T DO THAT.“ Thus, if we interpret “toevah” to mean something that’s forbidden to do as a ritual before G-d, then the verse says nothing whatsoever about Adam and Steve and their two kids and their dog–it’s saying you shouldn’t have sex with another man in the Temple as a sacrifice.
2) Following the same “this is ritually forbidden” logic of toevah, this verse may also be interpreted as “don’t do sex magic,” which was a thing in. Like. A lot of fucking cultures at the time.
3) Hebrew is a highly gendered language, and the grammatical gender in this verse is really really weird. One of the “men” in this verse is given female grammar. Why? Who fucking knows, man, this isn’t the only grammatical oddity in Torah. (There are also places where G-d is referred to as plural, and also as female.) One suggestion is that this is a way of creating a diminutive–that is, that the verse should be read as “a man should not lie with a boy.” Now, it’s worth noting that modern secular scholarship has concluded the written Torah was written down around the 6th century BCE, and most non-Orthodox Jewish scholars are like “yeah, all things considered, that sounds pretty legit.”
Do you know what else was happening around the 6th century BCE? What laypeople tend to mean when they say “ancient Greece” was happening.
Do you know what happened a lot in that time period in Greece? Dudes forming relationships with younger boys, like ages 10-15, and using them for sex in exchange for financial gifts, mentorship, etc. While we don’t know just how young some of these younger boys may have been, we do know some were prepubescent. In light of this, and also something I mentioned under the first point–”see your neighbors? DON’T DO THAT,” if this verse is interpreted to say “a man should not lie with a boy,” then it’s pretty clearly “my dudes, my fellows, my lads, don’t be fucking pedophiles.”
4) Because of the grammar I mentioned in #3, it’s also possible that “should not lie with a man as with a woman” is actually referring to a place, not an abstract personhood: a man shouldn’t have sex with another man in a woman’s bed. In the time period, a woman’s bed was sort of like–that was her place, her safe sanctuary. It was also a ritually holy place where babies were made. By having sex in her bed, you’re violating her safe space (and also introducing a man who may not be a male relative, thus forcing her into breaking the laws of modesty). If this verse is read this way, then it should be taken to mean “don’t sexually violate a woman’s safety and modesty.”
5) And as an offshoot of #4, this may be a second verse relating to infidelity. Which woman’s bed is any random dude in 600 BCE most likely to have access to? His wife’s. But laws were administered differently based on whether the person they pertained to was slave or free, male or female, and so on–thus, a man committing adultery with a woman would be treated differently than man committing adultery with a man (especially because the latter would carry no chance of an illegitimate pregnancy).
So you’ll note, there are a lot of ways to read this verse, and only a one-to-one translation with no cultural awareness produces “being gay is wrong, all of the time”.
(You’ll also notice the word “abomination” is nowhere to be found. That’s like … a straight-up fiction created for who only knows what reason.)
Apparently tumblr mobile doesn’t want to show @prismatic-bell ’s long and in-depth essay, so here’s the screenshots, because it still shows up on mobile browsers:
Many thanks, @pulmonary-poultry. This isn’t the only Jewish post of mine that’s mysteriously stopped showing up in searches and/or vanished from my blog entirely, but it is the one I get the most requests to repost, so this saves me from having to rewrite the whole damned essay. @the-invisible-self, thanks for bringing it to my attention that someone was able to preserve the post!
