IDK I'm Doing My Best @mes-the-third - Tumblr Blog

I passed a flower shop next to a tattoo shop and at first I laughed because I thought it was ironic and then i freaked because IMAGINE YOUR OTP IN A FLORIST/TATTOO ARTIST AU

stillalittlekid

OMG I COULD TOTALLY IMAGINE THEM LIKE THAT IT WOULD BE SO PERFECT

christ-with-a-why

#oh wow is this really where it began?#I do feel like I remember seeing this post back in the day #but wow I can't believe it resurfaced

dovesndecay

Quotes from the first 30% of The Will To Change by bell hooks that I've highlighted during my read:

"[...] we have to admit to the truth that we sometimes wish our own fathers, sons, brothers, lovers were not there. But, this truth exists alongside another truth: the truth that this wish causes us anguish."

"[...] many women simply felt that feminism gave them permission to be indifferent to men, to turn away from male needs."

"Feminist thinkers, like myself, who wanted to include men in the discussion were usually labeled male-identified and dismissed. We were "sleeping with the enemy."

"Many women cannot hear male pain about love because it sounds like an indictment of female failure. Since sexist norms have taught us that loving is our task whether in our role as mothers or lovers or friends, if men say they are not loved, then we are at fault; we are to blame."

"Even the women who are pissed off at men, women most of whom are not and maybe never will be feminist, use their anger to avoid being truly committed to helping create a world where males of all ages can know love."

"[...] no one talks about the role patriarchal notions of manhood play in teaching boys that it is their nature to kill, then teaching them that they can do nothing to change this nature -- nothing, that is, that will leave their masculinity intact."

"Men do oppress women. People are hurt by rigid sexist role patterns. These two realities co-exist. Male oppression of women cannot be excused by the recognition that there are ways men are hurt by rigid sexist roles."

"Patriarchy as a system has denied males access to full emotional well-being, which is not the same as feeling rewarded, successful, or powerful because of one's capacity to assert control over others."

"If patriarchy were truly rewarding to men, the violence and addiction in family life that is so all-pervasive would not exist. This violence was not created by feminism. If patriarchy were rewarding, the overwhelming dissatisfaction most men feel in their work lives -- a dissatisfaction extensively documented in the work of Studs Terkel and echoed in Faludi's treatise -- would not exist."

fox-bright

Swarovski can continue to fuck off.

In 2021, Swarovski (the company that makes the very sparkly crystals you see in certain jewelry, on figure-skaters' twinkliest outfits, on red carpet dresses), decided they didn't want the grubby fingers of small-time jewelers, clothing designers and costumers and crafters on their shiny beads and rhinestones anymore. They decided to limit their sales to "luxury" and couture creators, not girls who sell stuff on Etsy. The tenor of their press release on the subject was snide and insulting. Resellers (like your favorite bead shop) would no longer be allowed to carry their product; the average Jane on the street would not be able to purchase them. You could only get them if you had an authorized business agreement that bound you to very strict brand behavior. And those of us who still had good stock of the crystals would no longer be "permitted" to use the brand's name in our listings for sale.

Every bead shop and craft supply place and many, many small clothing makers--wedding shops, prom and dancing dress suppliers, the sort of salt of the Earth mom and pop time machines of shops that are the backbone of the field--scrambled to find something that could replace them. The last of the stock dwindled quickly, all of us grabbing what we could get while there was any chance of it, and then it was gone and we no longer had any access.

I was Big Pissed about it at the time. It was just so goddamn stuck-up, when wholesalers and indie jewelers had made them so much money, when some people I knew--when *I!*--had been brand-loyal for decades. But with no recourse, everyone pivoted fairly quickly, most of us to Preciosa Crystals. Those are Czech, quite sparkly, and considerably less expensive than Swarovski. The faceting method they use is different, but not worse; any differences are hardly noticeable when you're seeing them as a hundred pinpoints of light.

Well, out of nowhere, Swarovski just dropped this: https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update

"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovski’s Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."

They want us back. A lot of the companies who could have kept a brand relationship with them also have swapped to Preciosa, over the last half-decade, in solidarity with indie creators and out of a sour awareness that it could be them, next. And it doesn't hurt that Preciosa was able to expand their line quite a bit now that everyone who wanted sparkle had no choice but to go to them.

And I'm not seeing nearly anyone who intends to return. The feeling is, "Y'all told us to fuck off! Off we fucked! And now, that's what you can do, too!" I'm seeing a lot of "How many of us did you stab in the back?" comments from the people whose money they're hoping to attract.

And personally I'm sitting over here all rubby hands, mean snickering, because they really thought they were going to be able to outclimb the people who actually provided all their profits, and now here they are, hat in hand.

glumshoe

someone fired a bullet through our bathroom wall the other day when we were gone, which is scary (but probably accidental), but the weirdest part is that we can’t actually find the place where it entered from outside... the wall inside is fucked up and you can see the hole where it came through, but there is no corresponding entrance hole on the exterior of the house. somehow the outer paneling was undamaged.

glumshoe

I think the exterior of the house is asbestos siding which apparently hides bullet holes really well.

There’s also a dent on the opposite wall where the bullet bounced off, and it looks like it had a really bizarre trajectory. Anyway, the neighbors say it was from a car chase where bullets went flying everywhere, so I’m not actually worried beyond “wow hope that doesn’t happen near me again”.

mythopoetry

This is the most American post I have ever seen

glumshoe

“someone fired a bullet through my asbestos from a car chase” yeah fair

sycamorality

op disabled reblogs but i really wanted this post on my blog again

queer-as-in-fuck-12

drug addicts deserve housing, food, water, and healthcare btw

brakingpoint

in hindsight i think max dodged a bullet getting out of there lap one

statisticalcats2

There are gonna be people who won't like hearing this but if you want to live in a world where mixed marriages, families, and adoptions (particularly POC adopting outside their "race") aren't maligned and discriminated against, then you have got to get more chill about seeing someone partaking in something cultural that you don't think fits the "race" you perceive them as.

statisticalcats2

It's a vague memory now, it was a vague memory even at the time I made this post, but I think what sparked this was remembering stupid comments I saw about a Chinese-American cookbook that were complaining about it being written by a white woman and then I looked the white woman up and the briefest research showed she was adopted as a child into a Chinese-American family and just....

*pinches nose*

Fellas, is it cultural appropriation to inherit your family's culture but you don't pass the blood quantum test?

All of you are literally just racist. You've come full-circle. You're working under the belief that people are supposed to "keep to their own kind" and that means the socially invented concept of "race", and "race mixing" of any sort is unnatural.

asteroidtroglodyte

What discussing Cultural Appropriation was supposed to be about: why does Cheryl get to wear Dreads to work but Tyrone doesn’t?

What it became: Segregation 2 electric boogaloo

goth-queen

momowho34

Does anyone remember Guardians of Ga’Hoole???? This movie/book series:

This movie FUCKED ME UP as a kid. It’s like “oh cute owl movie with cartoon owls and pretty animation” and then you watch it and it’s like “all of the main characters are child kidnapping victims of an evil cannibal nazi owl cult bent on racial supremacy known as The Pure Ones that regularly kidnaps and brainwashes child owls to work for them and/or holds other owls family’s hostage to enlist them in the evil cults plan to take over the owl world. The plot is for a few of these child kidnapping owlet’s to go find a big ole tree full of legendary owls that will go to war with the owl cult. Also the main emotional storyline is that the main owlet’s brother is successfully indoctrinated into the cult before he can escape and has to face off against his own brother who can’t turn him to the side of good so he’s forced to set him on fire instead” like WHAT THE FUCK?? WHAT THE FUCK!!!!

I cannot fucking stress how terrifying this movie was for me when I was a child. This is not a fucking kids movie, do not show it to your children for the love of god. Like these are the bad guys

Brb I’m gonna go scream into the void. To truly understand the visceral horror that was this fucking movie, I advise you to watch the moon blinking scene and then pretend you’re a seven year old seeing it for the first time. Kathryn Lasky you’re a genius and absolutely batshit fucking terrifying oh my god