talking about 9/11 with white people who weren’t personally affected is literally one of the most frustrating things ever because they won’t stop talking about their experiences (even if their only connection is being in the same country during the event), but when i, a middle eastern person, try to contribute to the conversation, i can’t get a fucking word in.
like what the fuck, if nothing happened to you on that day – which, you know, thank goodness – why the fuck do you insist on dominating the conversation? my daily life is still being affected by this even now, over ten years later.
but you’re not interested in hearing about how my fifth grade health teacher never again called on me or the arab girl in my class. you’re not interested in how whenever my family travels, all fourteen of us (a number that used to include young children) get “randomly” searched. you’re not interested in the fact that when i was asked to buy a propane tank for a barbecue, i spent the rest of the day stressed out and worried that the attendants at all the stores visited to inquire were all going to think i was making explosives (all stores in the neighborhood mysteriously were out of propane tanks in the middle of summer). you’re not interested in the fact that whenever my cousin prepares to fly on his own, his mother calls him to make sure he’s clean shaven so he doesn’t look “like a terrorist.” you’re not interested in the fact that when i was you’re not interested in the fact that i once witnessed a whole family of white people bypass the x-ray scanner for the old fashioned metal detector, but when i asked for the same treatment, i was denied; when i pointed out the (many) signs claiming that i had the right to refuse going through that machine, the tsa agent who mere seconds earlier berated me for my request went conveniently deaf. you’re not interested in hearing about how my sister was told “sorry about your leader” when osama bin laden was killed.
i could reference personal anecdotes until i went blue in the face.
there are countless people who have stories like this, stories that are grotesque and demeaning and terrifying. these are everyday occurrences.
but you’re not interested in any of that. frankly, you’re not even that interested when middle eastern and muslim (and sometimes non-muslim desi) people are subjected to extreme violence or killed. you guys got over chapel hill pretty damn fast. if you noticed it at all.
you don’t give a fuck about us, or our ongoing 9/11 stories. you just want to tell me about how horrible it was, sitting in class and listening to other kids get their names called on the pa system.
Gryffindors don’t give a shit about rules. The most hardline of them don’t even care about people. They care about justice. Right or wrong, black or white, there are no shades of grey. If it’s just, it’s always just; if it’s unjust, it’s always wrong. Hermione’s ruthlessness makes her a Gryffindor. She is absolutely sure that she is on the side of justice in everything that she does, and it’s such a Gryffindor trait.
Because Slytherins are ruthless, but they care about rules. Their own rules, usually, but rules nonetheless. They will impose parameters and limitations on themselves just so they have a framework to operate within. If doing something means violating their own internal code, then they’re not gonna do it. Even fucking Voldemort is like that. He broke every single fucking rule the Wizarding World ever put in place, but damn if he’d break his own.
And Ravenclaws? They hate rules. Fucking things just get in the way. They prevent creativity and keep people from accomplishing their goals. Ravenclaws are probably some of the most dangerous people in the entirety of the book series, because they’re brilliant and creative and ambitious and prideful, and when they snap, they do not have inhibitions. They will wreck everything that ever had the nerve to get in their way, and they will never once feel bad about it.
And then there’s Hufflepuffs. They emphasize equality. If the playing field is equal, then all other good things will come from there. People hear that, and they think that Hufflepuffs are pushovers. They cast them as the shy ones, the fearful ones, the insecure ones. Really, they’re none of these things. They are nice, accepting, friendly, this is all true, but they are also entirely willing to fight anyone that steps up to the plate talking shit. Hufflepuffs will defend themselves and other people until they drop dead, and it’s infuriating to see that only ever attributed to Gryffindors. Because the big difference is that a Gryffindor believes in acceptable causalties, and a Hufflepuff will knock your teeth down your fucking throat for even suggesting such a disgusting idea. For Hufflepuffs, there are no acceptable casualties; any loss of life is utterly unacceptable.
There are a lot of people that talk about House stereotyping, and then turn around and perpetuate further stereotypes. Gryffindors are not necessarily knights in shining armor; Slytherins are not necessarily callous villains; Ravenclaws are much more than just intelligent, and Hufflepuff is not the motherfucking potato House.
Griffindor Common Room - You’re sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room as the evening wind swirls against the windows. You’ve got a book to read and a cup of tea that you’ve charmed to stay warm and stir itself on occasion, and even though you have some homework left to do, you feel very much at ease > http://harry-potter-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/gryffindor-common-room
Slytherin Common Room - You are a 5th year at Hogwarts and you’re sitting in the Slytherin Common Room trying to stay awake and study but you’ve never been a very studious person so your eyelids are getting heavy and you find yourself falling asleep in a brown recliner while two other Slytherins are able to stay awake with the aid of coffee. There aren’t any windows for you to see outside, but since the common room is submerged under the lake you can faintly hear the sound of water just on the other side of the walls. > http://harry-potter-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/slytherin-common-room
Ravenclaw Common Room - It’s exam season, and you’re cramming for your NEWTs. The common room is full of Ravenclaws, wide-eyed and caffeinated. Pull up a chair, grab your charms homework and get studying! > http://harry-potter-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/ravenclaw-common-room
Hufflepuff Common Room - You’re sitting in one of the comfy chairs in front of the wooden fireplace carved with badgers, someone’s cat (You’ve named it fluffball) sitting beside you. The kitchens are in full force and in full raid by students. Occasionally you can hear someone’s footsteps by the windows, but you’re took focused on your charms homework. You’re a Hufflepuff and proud, and what would you be if not hardworking? > http://harry-potter-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/hufflepuff-commonroom
Game of Thrones
High garden Party - “At Highgarden we have many spiders amongst the flowers. So long as they keep to themselves we let themspin their little webs, but if they get underfoot we step on them.” > http://got.ambient-mixer.com/highgarden-party
Dinner in Winterfell -It’s been a long day of battle, you want warmth and the comfort of food, drink and conversation. The fire is roaring, fighting the chill of the cold castle walls. > http://got.ambient-mixer.com/late-dinner-in-winterfell
The Wall - "…It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.” > http://got.ambient-mixer.com/the-wall
Kings Landing - The busy capital of Westeros welcomes you. You walk amongst rich and poor alike, people selling their wares as they are bartered for them, knights try out their new swords whilst their squires tend to the horses. Someone somewhere a harp is played. > http://got.ambient-mixer.com/king-s-landing
Doctor Who
Inside the Tardis -The doctor has invited you to take a trip with him in the Tardis, the world’s most famous blue police box!Don’t be fooled by the sounds of the engine in the background, the Tardis is way more than “just a machine”! > http://dr-who.ambient-mixer.com/inside-the-tardis
Run from Weeping Angels - As long as you see them, they can’t hurt you. Don’t turn around! Don’t blink! Or they’ll get you! Where is the Doctor when you need him the most?>http://dr-who.ambient-mixer.com/weeping-angels
Mines of Moria - After the fall of Moria, nobody know, why its happen. But few dwarves talking about Bane of Durin. When Fellowship enter the mines, they still do not know, that they will meet Dane of Durin face to face.… > http://lotr-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/mines-of-moria
The Battle - Forth! Down fear of darkness! Arise! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day…! A red day…! And the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world’s ending! Death! Death! Death!!! > http://lotr-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/the-battle-of-pelennor-fields
Woodland Realm - Company enter the woods of Elvenking - Mirkwood. Many stories were tell about this forest - enchanted water, strange animals and tricks of wood elves are some of them. Elves are good and helpfull, but between dwarves from Lonely Mountain and Elvenking is hostility, which can destroy all hopes for Thorin, his friends and people from Laketown. > http://lotr-sounds.ambient-mixer.com/woodland-realm
Supernatural
Riding with the Winchesters - Dozing in the backseat of the Impala on the way to a little town in Indiana where a woman was found missing a heart on the night of the full moon, you hear the sound of the Winchester’s trying not to wake you during the long drive. Sam is diligently working the case file as Dean keeps his eyes on the road. Hang tight, it’ll be a while before they stop for a re-fuel. > http://supernatural-series.ambient-mixer.com/riding-with-the-winchesters
Hunting with the Winchesters - You made a deal 10 years ago and now the Winchesters are here to save you! They have saved you twice tonight but not you’ve lost them in the dark woods. You run for your life as you hear the hounds approaching > http://supernatural-series.ambient-mixer.com/hunting-with-the-boys
Cheap Motel Room - Eventually, you reach a one-stoplight town and settle in for the night. The AC is broken, so the window is opened. You can smell the wet gravel outside, and warm summer-night air bleeds into the room, carrying with it sounds of the highway. > http://supernatural-series.ambient-mixer.com/cheap-motel–room
Research with the Boys - Instead of thinking of that pesky history assignment as an essay, pretend you’re in a motel room with the Winchesters researching for a big case. Noises include keyboard typing and mouse clicks, writing on paper, random chair creaks, white noise, and the sound of a knife sharpening for good measure. (Because we all know Dean’s a little obsessed with keeping his weapons in top shape) > http://supernatural-series.ambient-mixer.com/research-with-the-winchesters
Sherlock
221b Baker Street - You’re welcome into the home of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. John is typing up.. whatever it is he types up whilst Sherlock is stood at the window playing his violin. > http://movies-other.ambient-mixer.com/sherlock-s-apartment
Other
Loki’s Chambers - Loki takes some time for himself in his chambers, disregarding the outside world for a while in favor of literature. He studies and relaxes with only the company of his books. For once he almost could feel at peace, at least until Thor barges in, but for now the lyrical silence of Asgard is the only sound he hears > http://superhero.ambient-mixer.com/loki-s-chambers
Stark and Banner Lab - Because in Avengers tower, Tony and Bruce’s lab is the quietest place around. You sit in your comfy armchair in the corner of the lab and relax with your book, occasionally hearing Bruce scribble something and Tony sigh because 2048 is tricky. http://superhero.ambient-mixer.com/the-stark—banner-lab
It’s actually a little scary sometimes to hear cis straight people talk about how ~hard~ or ~impossible~ LGBTQ+ characters would be to write into their stories.
Like, the topic of LGBTQ+ representation comes up and you get responses like this:
“How could I ever write this character without them coming off as incredibly phony? I spent all the research and effort I could just to write for lesbians and I already had to make conceits for them not working the same way in my particular book-world; as a cis white guy, if I have to go further than that then I’m just pulling it out of thin air! Nobody’s going to respect it, least of all me.”
And “You ask a cis, heterosexual white female to write something she probably had no clue about” … “you have to try understand that not everyone knows how to write trans and gay people.”
(And yes, these are real, actual, word for word quotes)
and I’m just like…
We aren’t aliens? We’re people? Like normal, regular people?
Like, why is acknowledging the fact that we exist some difficult, herculean chore for cis straight people? Where does this bizarre lack of empathy and inability to see us as human come from?
Like, I’m bi. But amazingly, I’m able to write CIS STRAIGHT characters just fine. It’s not a problem for me? I don’t find cis straight people to be some unreadable otherworldly enigma whose inner machinations are unknowable.
So why? Why is it so unrealistic for us to expect cis straight people to be capable and willing to portray US in fiction and to portray us WELL?
Why is that scary? Its someone literally saying that they have difficulty accurately portraying LGTBQ characters in their stories.
If that scares you then you need to grow up
Listen, I’m straight and i don’t write about LGBT characters because im not a lesbian or bi so i cannot write about LGBT people because im not one of them. You think its easy but when you have no idea what they think or experience its hard. And if you are complaining about how other people write THEIR stories, you need to get off the internet or go write your own version of it with gay or bisexual characters.
Ok, but I’m a bi woman, and I’m able to write stories that have straight men in them.
How is that possible? How is it POSSIBLE that I know how straight men think or experience the world when I’m not one of them?
Because I HAVE written a book, and it’s not filled with white, cis, bisexual women from central texas who are oldest children and literally nothing else. I am capable of creating characters who are both similar and different than I am.
It is a skill that human beings are capable of.
yes but you are BISEXUAL so you are attracted to both sexes, plus you know how many writers get ripped on for adding gay characters in their story because they are either stereotypical or the author is not gay/bi themselves? You can write the mind of a straight man because you are attracted to girls AND boys and if you wrote a straight character you can still relate to them! Write your own fucking story and quit crying about representation when that SHOULD NOT BE THE POINT OF THE BOOK! If you write about bi or gay characters good for you! Don’t be telling other writers what to do with their talent! I’m a straight woman, i do not see anything attractive about other women so i DO NOT know what a lesbian or boy thinks about a girl in a sexual way, go write your stories but stay the fuck away from others if you can’t handle people not writing it for YOU! You can write all you want about them, but im not going to write about gay or bisexual characters and act like i know what they think and experience.
Are you seriously telling me that you are incapable of writing a straight male character? Because you don’t know what is attractive about women.
Because this is a hell of a ride.
actually im saying that you can’t know what a gay or bi person thinks or goes through everyday if you aren’t one. And yes its possible to write ABOUT them, but its difficult when you aren’t one yourself. I put them in my stories for representation, but i do not write ABOUT them because im not one of them. Some writers can do that, i cant its a weakness and if people think thats a tragedy, get over it every writer has a weakness and ive tried to overcome it but can’t. I will also quote the person whos response was the best because she is a writer as well and knows how difficult it is to write about someone who is different from you ‘
When a female writer write a male perspective, you have to get into the male mindset. If you are white and you want to write a non-white character you have to get into a different mindset. If you want to write a character that was abused but you yourself were not abused, its a different mindset. Writing a character that you don’t identify with is a challenge and almost all writers have done it at least once. So I would think other writers would be more understanding of that.
‘ So there. I never said don’t put them in your story, i just said its difficult to write about someone that is different from you. Once again, if you don’t agree, find another story to read or write one yourself.
So wait.
You’re saying that YOU, as a straight person, CAN’T know how a bi person thinks or goes through everyday, because your mindset is fundamentally different.
But I, as a bi person, “can still relate” to straight men because I am attracted to women like they are?
Do you not see the disconnect there?
And, as I TOLD YOU, I have written stories. I’m working on my second book.
dear bisexual / pansexual women and political lesbians,
you need to immediately disclose to any woman you plan on dating if you are, in fact, a lesbian, or if you are something else. some lesbians are open to dating bi / pan / PL ladies. some are not. withholding this information is harmful, deceitful behavior that can make lesbians feel unsafe and devalued.
picture it: you’re a lesbian, looking to start a relationship. you meet a woman who claims that she, too, is a lesbian. this signifies that you have, at the very least, a shared sexuality, and you can bond about your experience as a woman who is attracted exclusively to women, which is outside of the patriarchal, heterocentric structure of the vast majority of societies.
now, imagine that you, a lesbian who is incapable of being attracted to men, get a confession from your girlfriend: she discloses to you that, yeah, actually, she could possibly be with a man and feel emotionally and sexually fulfilled. she, as a bi- or pansexual, is capable of thinking about having sex with a man and not feeling revulsion. your initial feeling of intimacy and security related to the sharing of a sexuality - one of the most basic aspects of your being, which is essential to you - is gone.
wouldn’t that hurt? wouldn’t that make you feel insecure? wouldn’t you get angry, if you were put into that position?
You know what would hurt me?
If I was in a relationship with a lesbian and her finding out I am bi was some sort of horrific secret that must be confessed like some shameful pox.
The fact that bisexual women are seen as being dirty or alien because we have or feel the capacity to be in intimate relationships with men is HARMFUL. It is biphobic and it is disgusting.
The entire notion that bi women are less valuable and less desirable as partners because we have and/or have the capacity to be intimate with men is so blatantly biphobic and bigoted that I can’t believe I even have to explain it.
How about THIS: Biphobic lesbians who would feel betrayed and insecure because of a bi partners identity have an OBLIGATION to disclose that they are biphobic assholes when they enter into a relationship, in case any bi woman they are interested in was unaware of what an asshole they are.
7000 days = about 19.4 years. According to the comics, Joe gives his wives three chances to give him a male heir with no deformities. Let’s say that Furiosa got tossed in 3 years, and it took her 3-6 years to climb the ranks.
That still leaves a group of maybe 13 year old and younger War Pups who’d only ever known of Furiosa as Imperator.
Nux spoke of Joe like he’d barely ever seen him, or only from a distance, maybe through binoculars. There were two other Imperators near Joe.
What if these other Imperators were as distant and aloof? Are they also black thumbs, or do they simply delegate, or only come out for war?
We know Furiosa probably modified her War Rig herself (see: kill switches and hidden weaponry), which means she HAS to have been in the shop and garages. We know from the film that the War Pups are in the background everywhere. We know there’s no way Furiosa could have been cruel to these children given the systematic way we’re shown her empathy; we also know that there’s a systemic pattern of cruelty, deprivation, and put-downs in the general War Boy culture (’mediocre’, being un-witnessed, witheld water and general human needs, the quick way that Nux blooms under the least bit of kindness).
So think about this generation of War Boys who knows in their hindbrains that the safest place to be (both physically and emotionally) is around their Imperator. Their’s because it’s the Imperator that they see the most, in the shop. The Imperator that Joe trusts on his most dangerous runs. The Imperator that is spoken of by older War Boys like Slit with fear and awe.
Is it any wonder the way they say her name?
furiosa: den mother of the apocalypse
you know, considering that, her takeover isn’t so much a coup as a natural succession. she’s the highest ranked warrior with loyal followers.
And it didn’t even occur to her. She didn’t even want it. Didn’t realize that if she went back to the Citadel that her face would be enough.
And even more: Max realized. Went out first so that everyone else were safe, and somehow knew that they needed to see her. (Though maybe it was one of the others? Or at least, he agreed enough to implement it.)
This post has been going around again and I feel the need to give a caveat that I tried writing the language in the original post very carefully. In no way do I think that Furiosa was actively nurturing or performing traditional motherly roles, there’d be no room and no safe space for it in the toxic environment of the Citadel.
However, I do think she was probably the least bad thing in a very bad situation, and that she’d be fair if you give her fairness. The War pups would be in no position to harm her; and if they deal with her honestly, I don’t see her giving them any less credit and responsibility and fairness and thanks than she did for Max.
The way that she got Max to stand down and to help her out willingly, even gladly? Other meta have pointed out that its a skill, and like most skills have been honed. (She treated him like he had trauma, and gave him things to do to be useful, and responsible.) And I wouldn’t be surprised if she used these same skills on the War pups as well as she did her own crew.
The comment continues in typical mansplaining manner but I want to address this first bit specifically. Because the assumption that the women are framed that way because it’s an action shot is wrong from a technical standpoint.
There is a difference between Wanda gesturing with her hands almost having no space for her head in a composition that highlighted her breasts …
…and the way Tony is given ‘headroom’ while gesturing with his hands (see: any Iron Man Trailer). He still has his face prominent at the sweet spot of the Golden Ratio (for more discussion on what/where this is scroll down to the diagrams), his hands are on the other sweet spot, and it’s a very dynamic pose with great use of diagonals both foreground and background.
There is also a difference between Natasha almost having to bend her head so that her face stays on the screen while her chest and hips land in the sweet spots…
And the headspace that is given Thor. Thor’s face lands on upper Third (Rule of Thirds). They are both holding/threatening with weapons.
But wait! you say, what if we want to emphasize the weapons?
Yeah there’s a way to do that too, without sexualizing your character and smashing their head almost off the frame…
I enjoyed Age of Ultron, but these are some very excellent points. Also, am I wrong in thinking that in Iron Man 2, when Natasha is going down that hallway, beating the crap out of the guys in it, that a lot of the focus is more on her face? Not entirely, but more than it is here? Oh…
oh.
I just looked it up (thanks Tumblr for the the new gif feature!)
….my eye goes to her face but also her boobs. It’s hard for me to analyze in a moving gif though why hat is, other than the top with a great big triangle of flesh screaming LOOK DOWN. (the coloring may or may not be altered in this gif, too, like an upped contrast that is aiding that, idk)
She’s also more off-center than I realized in this shot. It’s like this technique is so common I can’t even see it unless I’m looking for it o_O
The term you’re looking for here is diagonal composition. Where are the diagonals pointing?
Look again at the background spaces behind Thor and Tony, the arches are pointing at Thor’s face and the architecture is pointing at the repulsor. Now go look at what the edges of the building is doing for Wanda and Natasha.
Im on mobile and on a break, but Google “diagonal composition in photography” if you want to look into the effects of diagonals more. It’s a bit more advanced than golden rule framing but not by much. (Though I would hesitate to do composition analysis on that shot off a cropped gif, you still can’t get away from the diagonals.)
Ooh thank you! That actually makes total sense to me, because I’ve worked in picture framing before, and a lot of that is about: “are you bringing the eye in, or out? What are you drawing the eye towards, if you are drawing it in or out?” (because you don’t want to draw the eye towards the frame, usually – you want to draw it towards the picture or objects, or a specific part or aspect of the picture or objects). Though in the case of picture framing it’s usually more simple, in that it’s more on an actual outline or series of asymmetrical outlines it still serves the same function: to point the eye towards what’s in the “center”. So now that you’ve pointed that out, I can see it at work. :)
This also makes me suddenly realize that the reason they make so many female characters’ tops zip down is…even MORE male gazey than I thought >_> “hey look, my clothing is not only showing actual boobflesh, it’s also pointing towards my waist and hips and crotch!”
Getting off my ass and finally posting these because I’d finally gotten a free picture editor that did what I wanted it to. All AOU caps come from the main trailer, The IM2 screencap comes from one of the trailers.
(the rest of the discussion including how some of the most potentially objectifying moments in Fury Road is subverted by composition/blocking/lighting)
but seriously though i’m sick and tired of those masterposts that are like “here! A reference site on Greek mythology for all your needs! Look it has all fifteen Greek gods on it!” And I’m like. tHERE WERE LIKE HUNDREDS OF FIGURES IN MYTHOLOGY YOUR CRAPPY HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL BIBLIOGRAPHY SITE MEANS NOTHING TO ME
if you want a basic outline of Greek mythology okay sure fine??? but like. if you want an extensive fucking reference site you are looking in the wrong goddamn places
as a self-declared greek mythology snob my reference site is fucking alwaysthis fucker right here. almost every single figure ever mentioned in a Greek text is on it, it has the most obscure gods, spirits, nymphs— it’s GREAT. You really wanna extend your mythological knowledge past the basic 12 and like four others? USE THEOI. plus plus PLUS everything is cited so you can actually read the source material written about whoever it is you’re looking at.
fucking signal boost this. i’m so sick and tired of writer’s helpers blogs referring people to sites with as much information you would get from opening a third grade mythology book jesus chriiiiiist
can we just talk about the time that Lupin was recovering from a full moon and Snape taught the DADA class and made all the students write essays on how to kill werewolves for Lupin to read when he got back I hate Snape so much it’s not funny
Lupin gets back and he feels like crap and suddenly his best friend’s son is writing an essay about how to kill him like that is so fucked up
Bear in mind that an ex-Death Eater does this tosomeone who was in the Order, risked his life fighting against said Death Eaters and lost his best friends to the Death Eater’s genocidal leader, for the sole purpose of screwing him over, and as far as we know he experiences no consequences whatsoever for doing so.
And if that wasn’t enough, he made them write those essays hoping some of them would realize Lupin’s a werewolf. And one did, but Hermione is a fucking DECENT HUMAN BEING and said nothing. Apparently the ‘insufferable know-it-all' can keep her mouth closed, when it’s for something important. Just like Snape didn’t do at the end of the book.
I’m getting mad, so here’s something I’ve realized while reading The Order of the Phoenix again. (Please keep in mind that my books are in Italian and some concepts might be hard to explain, I apologize for my English mistakes)
In chapter 14, when The Trio talked with Sirius, he said that two years before Dolores Umbridge had written a law against werewolves that made it almost impossible for Lupin to find a job.
Now ask yourself this question. Why two years?
What had happened two years before? During Harry’s third year? Oh, right. The Magical World had discovered that one of Hogwarts’ teachers (someone who was in constant conctat with their children) was a werewolf. Does that ring any bell?
But that’s not all! If we take a look at chapter 15, in the Daily Prophet article we can see a familiar name: Remus Lupin.
In a newspaper. Where everyone can read it. “The werewolf Remus Lupin”. No wonder he couldn’t find a job! And it’s not the first time the Daily Prophet has written about him, as it’s stated in the article itself. There must have been a huge scandal when it had all come out.
So basically, when Snape decided he couldn’t bear not having what he wanted (for example, SIRIUS BLACK GETTING KISSED BY A DEMENTOR) and spilled the secret, he didn’t only tell the whole school. He didn’t only tell the kids’ parents. The told the whole Magical World.
He told the whole Magical World that a man who had kept his condition secret all his life was a werewolf.
And the Magical World responded with a law against werewolves.
So, basically, Snape didn’t only ruin Remus Lupin’s life. He ruined the life of every single werewolf in the UK.
if you identify as cis but haven’t actually taken time to sit down and examine and analyze your gender identity, it’s probably time to do that otherwise you’ve just given in to society forcing a significant part of your identity upon you.
if someones comfortable with their gender identity to the point that its not even on their mind then theres no need for them to analyse it
as someone who basically identifies as cis i think it’s very much important to examine your gender identity. it might lead to small things: e.g. after i did that i stopped shaving because i realized that i wasn’t doing it for myself. further, i’ve stopped seeing my own face as a gendered thing and this makes it easier for me to be respectful of the identities of others, and easier to be happy with the meatsack i live in. i think that it’s very important for cis people to consider what aspects of gendered existence we hold sacred. peeing in a segregated space? if so, why? i mean this is exactly the kind of question trans communities have been trying to get us to deal with forever and i think that answering it on a cultural level will come with exactly the type of introspection that OP is asking for.
some of the best advice i’ve got in college so far is “make strange what is comfortable” and hey, after you take it apart, you can put it right back together again if that’s what makes you happy but it’s still important to evaluate why you perform your gender the way you do and what rituals are essential to that? why are they essential? are they worth perpetuating? the answer might not always be yes EVEN for people comfortable with the label of their gender assigned at birth
HELP I ACCIDENTALLY STARTED A PRESIDENTIAL CONSPIRACY
I MADE THIS WEBSITE LIKE 6 YEARS AGO ITS FAKE
EVERYTHING ON IT IS FAKE
I MADE IT ALL UP
AND NOW???????
I DID THIS????? THIS VERIFIED FB WOMAN WANTED TO BELIEVE JAMES BUCHANAN THE 15TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES REALLY RAISED PYGMY GOATS IN THE WHITE HOUSE ROSE GARDEN??????
AND NOW??????????
SOMEONE HAS PUBLISHED IT?????????????????????? IT COSTS REAL MONEY???????????? NONE OF THE FACTS ARE REAL SOMEONE HELP ME
someone made a prezi
someone informed a classroom that James Buchanan was first choice over Sacagawea
I know it’s so bad like how did this happen I just cannot believe
All I can say is that I couldn’t ask for a better representation of the American education system tbh
Okay but like…Gail Collins is not just a “verified Facebook woman”. She’s a columnist for the New York Times.
Since it’s been a while, I decided to take some fresh pics the other day and relive the magic to show off how far I’ve come!
See this scruffy person here?
Boring, boring, boring. Nice sweater, though.
But there is a secret.
The secret is FUCKING SORCERY
BAM.PRESTIDIGIFOUNDATION!
WITH JUST A LITTLE EFFORT, YOU TOO CAN PRESENT AS ANY GENDER YOU NEED TO BE.
DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND THEY CAN SUCK A DUCK.
Remember how I said it had been a few years since I made the older post? Back then I wasn’t out in public, just to my closest friends and family. When that post exploded, I was afraid of backlash. But aside from a few shitheads, the response was overwhelmingly positive. It eventually gave me the strength to come out as trans publicly, and the support from people I care about was amazing. It’s not for everyone, but it was definitely the best thing I’ve done recently for my mental health.
Seriously though, all of you deserve to be happy, and part of being happy is the freedom to be who you are. So if you’re in the closet about your identity, or If you ever feel like no one is in your corner, remember I’m rooting for you. I want you to be happy.
I love you all, you little cuties. Each and every one of you. So go out there and kick the world’s ass~
If you have the time could you please reblog this? I hate asking for reblogs, but I want this to reach those who need it. I know there are people out there that feel invisible, and I want to show them that they aren’t, and that you don’t age out of being nonbinary.
Me, internally:
everyone has forgotten, but I haven't. I haven't forgotten uptown funk. I can't hear those words without getting an unexplainable urge to say 'hot damn.' Maybe nobody forgot. Maybe we all think this. I feel like we need to talk about the influence this song had on all of us.
I’ve noticed this revisionist Greek myth is common wherein Persephone loves Hades and eats the pomegranate seeds in order to evade her overbearing mother, and that’s all well and good. You know, sometimes I’m in the mood for it and sometimes I’m not. But hear this: as long as we’re doing this, why is no one wondering whether Aphrodite might really love Hephaestus?
Think about it. All the gods in their immortal splendor are lining up to marry her, doing everything in their power to impress her, the goddess of love and beauty, and she choses…that guy. A god in technical terms only, a social reject who’s ugly and malformed and um, no fun. Always slaving away in his workshop when everyone else is quaffing nectar and having their eternal beach party up on Mount Olympus. They can’t believe she’d give up all of them for that.
So, because the gods do not take rejection well (looking at you Apollo), eventually they start to say to each other, well, we all know Zeus made her do it anyway. He’s gotta feel guilty for throwing Hephaestus off Mount Olympus that one time. And it quickly becomes thatpoorgirl, stuck in that workshop full of sweat and dirt and cyclopses when she could have had one of us. Because of course they’ve got love all figured out; it’s entirely technical and dependent on who’s the most charming and good-looking and not at all variable and strange and notoriously unpredictable, right?
Meanwhile Ares, only the most arrogant and brainless of the crew, can’t take a hint and is still showing up wherever Aphrodite goes trying to hit on her, so eventually she and Hephaestus decide to rig up an elaborate mechanical trap for him, using her as bait. When all the gods have laughed at him for getting caught he huffily attempts to regain his dignity by telling them, whatever, guys, you want to know the truth, I was meeting her for an assignation. And they all kind of know he’s full of it but they just accept it as the unvarnished truth from thereon in, because they’d love to believe she’d cheat on Hephaestus with Ares. They’d love it. Come on, Aphrodite, get off your high horse and admit you’re just as shallow as the rest of us.
So they talk, but Aphrodite doesn’t really care about their collective jealousy because she dotes on her misshapen genius of a husband with his sooty hands and his sweaty brow who always takes her seriously and is always so hard at work inventing astonishing new things to make her happy, and she loves the volcano they live in with its internal pressures so conducive to the formation of precious stones and its passages lit with glowing lava that so gorgeously offsets her cheekbones, and all the cyclopses worship her because even with one eye apiece they’ve still got more depth perception than most men do where she’s concerned. True it is that as a couple the two develop a reputation for not getting out much, because all those Olympian parties bore them to death and they’d rather spend time with each other (poor Aphrodite, she’s such a vivacious young thing and her husband is so grasping and insecure that he won’t let her go out and have fun), but they do all right.
THIS IS THE KIND OF CONTENT I’M LOOKING FOR
love <3
Ok, ok, wait, but it doesn’t end there. Because Aphrodite features pretty heavily in the story of Eros and Psyche. She’s painted as the villain, her jealousy causing her to send her son to curse the girl, but that’s just not true. She knows what it’s like to be clamored over for your beauty, knows the lies that are spread, the way it sets you up as a target and discredits your mind. Aphrodite hears the mortals whisper that this human girl rivals her in beauty, and one day she gets around to seeing what the fuss is about.
She finds Psyche’s home all but besieged by suitors, but she notices the girl isn’t falling for their flattery, that she is still kind, no matter who she’s dealing with. She sees a bit of herself in this girl who aches to be spoken to, not at, and who wants most of all to be heard.
When she sends her son to the girl, she is less than truthful about her motivations. She knows if she tells him she hopes he will fall for this mortal girl it will make things awkward for him, that true love must be discovered on its own and cannot be forced. When he comes away from the encounter with her name on his lips, searching for excuses to talk to her again, Aphrodite whispers into the soothsayer’s ear to tell Psyche’s father that she is loved by a god. Frees her from the hoards of shallow admirers and gives her son the opportunity he needs to see her again.
When a year of late-night conversations fails to convince her son that it’s time to reveal himself to his beloved, she puts a bug in Psysche’s ear to ask for her sisters to visit, whispers in their ears to convince Psyche to take matters into her own hands, ensures the two can finally meet face to face. She is saddened when Eros flees, believing Psyche had betrayed him.
The four tasks Psyche must overcome to be reunited with her son aren’t laid forth out of spite, but rather to help the girl find herself. Aphrodite knows this girl hasn’t had a choice in the path her life has taken up until this point. Knows that everything was in the hands of her father, and of Aphrodite herself. She wants to make sure Psyche means it, wants Psyche to know what she’s getting into when dealing with the Olympians. Wants, most of all, for Psyche to question her own motivations, fully evaluate the situation, and then make her own choice.
Her frustration at the Olympians aiding the girl isn’t because she hates being tricked. No, she wants Psyche to break out of her shell, wants her to have the option to decide this isn’t worth it and walk away.
When the final task ends in Psyche laying unconscious on the roadway, Aphrodite searches the girl’s heart and knows her intentions are true. Knows she is ready to join the family. She kicks Eros out of the house to ensure he would find Psyche, to ensure he would come to his senses and forgive her, realize that he had been unfair to her and to ask her forgiveness in turn.
They say Aphrodite was sour about the whole ordeal until her granddaughter was born, but the truth was she hadn’t stopped smiling from the moment her son had first come home, whispering the girls name in reverence.
With Windows 10, Microsoft has made their family account settings more visible and easier to access than ever before. These settings have been available since Vista (requiring separate downloads in Vista and 7, natively available in 8), but somewhat more obscure and not as feature-rich as they are now, and, for the most part? These are really smart, fantastic tools for parents, including things like screen time limitations, web and application filters, and prepaid balances for a child’s Xbox/Microsoft account to allow them to make purchases without having unfettered access to their parent’s credit or debit card.
Unfortunately, the family settings also include (and, again, have always included) activity/web reporting, and there is a very justified concern that this kind of reporting could lead to the careless (and dangerous) outing of LGBTQIA kids to bigoted parents.
To be honest, the way this information was presented made it sound somewhat Orwellian in scope, so I decided that I would investigate by setting up an old throwaway Live account I made to share pictures of my daughter with family as a child account.
Most of the administration is done through the web interface at account.live.com, under the family tab. Once you click through to the child’s account, this is the first screen you see, exactly as it appears on a new child account:
As you can see, both Activity Reporting and emailed reports are enabled by default. Parents have to intentionally turn these features off if they are using a child account.
Somewhat more surprising, web filtering (under the web browsing tab) is NOT turned on by default. I went ahead and enabled it for my tests to see what was allowed and blocked by default (whitelisting and blacklisting sites is very easy).
For some strange reason, my child account would not allow me to take screenshots, but I captured screens with my phone.
This notification greets child accounts EVERY TIME THEY LOG IN, which immediately made me feel better about what MS is doing (more editorializing in a bit). Any time a child logs in to their account, they know if they are being watched, which is a big deal.
Next, I decided to do some testing of blocked and reported content. The parent account had already installed Chrome and Firefox, so I loaded up all three browsers and tried visiting various webpages.
Major news sites largely loaded with no issue, and visits to most of the common gaming sites were no trouble. Strangely enough, Kotaku must have been flagged as having potentially objectionable content, because I got this screen when I tried to visit:
Other sites that were more likely to be outright blocked, such as Reddit, did not return any error at all - they simply did not load. Google.com also did not load (I presume this is because because Microsoft can’t force Google to load only “safe search” results), though Google accounts loaded just fine, as did Google ad services.
Because I wanted to get a good idea of what the parental controls were and were not capable of, I tried to go into InPrivate/Incognito mode in all three browsers. The keyboard shortcuts were disabled, and any options to open new windows in these private modes were simply missing. I didn’t expect so simple a workaround as using a different browser to work, but it’s always worth checking for the basic vulnerabilities in a system first.
Next, I tried to download and install the IPVanish VPN client. I did not actually try to visit any websites with it active, because installation AND program use both require admin privileges, which the child account does not have, so a child wanting to use a VPN would have to either know their parent’s password (in which case these family settings could be bypassed anyway) or have their parents supply the password every time they logged in. Even if the VPN hides their activity, the necessity for parental involvement makes it worthless as a tool to avoid parental invasions of privacy.
Finally, I tried a few web-based proxies (specifically: hide.me and proxfree). Bing will happily search up free proxies for restricted accounts, and using the proxies, I sailed right through to previously inaccessible sites with ease. Kotaku and reddit both loaded right up.
PARENTAL RESULTS
With a nice browsing history worked up, I logged back in to my parental account to see what my snooping eyes could see and found out something interesting: parental accounts do NOT get real-time web reports. All night long, my parental account had a blank screen for web history. The next morning, it had populated the previous day’s activity. This means that parents can’t just sit and monitor a child in real time, so no “catching them in the act.”
The following morning, the parental account had a full history
You’ll notice that it shows attempts to visit questionable websites that require permission, but it does NOT show attempts to visit sites that it simply refused to load, like reddit. You’ll also notice that in the right-hand bar, there are “block” and “allow” buttons that enable instant white and blacklisting.
Here, you see that the hide.me visits are reported. The good news is that, since this reports shows EVERYTHING, including EVERY SINGLE AD AFFILIATE, a parent who doesn’t know what they’re looking for could very easily miss this proxy in the noise. Parents who DO know what they’re looking for, though? Chances are good they’ll see the proxy visits if they take the time to actually sift through the entire report.
Each root site listed can be expanded into a more detailed view. Fortunately, hide.me was as good as its word. Here is the detailed view from those 4 visits:
Parents can block proxies as a child uses them, but there are a LOT of proxies out there, so that is a Sisyphean task, at best.
Another important thing to note is that, while unique URLs visited are reported, a child’s search history on Bing is kept private.
Past the web history, these are the other stats collected on a child account:
There is no explicit data given to parents here (no screencaps or DVRed activity), but parents can easily block apps their children should not be using, and the screen time limit is a very good tool for younger children.
Tim’s Theory:
Once I saw that Microsoft warns child accounts at every single login that they are being watched, I started developing a theory:
Microsoft understands the privacy concern of spying on kids, and they’re trying to get in front of it and give kids the power to protect themselves where they might not otherwise have it.
There have been tools to allow parents to spy on their kids for as long as there has been internet access for parents to spy on. A lot of these tools are just prettied up versions of spyware that you would never, ever want on your computer, but a parent who is determined to spy on their kid usually doesn’t care.
By integrating parental controls that include spying by default, Microsoft can give parents a “safe” monitor while also warning kids that they are being watched. This means the computer and its users are safer (no keylogging, screencapturing, or camera hijacking for third parties to gain back-door access to), a child’s privacy is safer (passwords, even for logging in to the computer, are not revealed to a parent).
By not turning on web filtering by default, MS may be trying to subtly suggest that, rather than blocking your kids, you should be talking to them.
By not blocking even well-known proxy servers when web filtering is turned on, MS is giving kids an escape route from watchful eyes.
I would be far more comfortable if the spying were not turned on by default, but I feel like MS turns it on by default (and makes it sit right at the top of the page in the family controls) to make parents think about what they’re doing to their child’s privacy.
Everyone has to learn how to protect their privacy online, and, unfortunately, that includes kids. There are ways to be smart about “forbidden” websites. Kids at risk of having secrets exposed to their parents need to be made aware of how to be safe.
The biggest and best advice to keep yourself safe when being watched? Do a LOT of “not secret” browsing. Flood that report with “normal” websites, and keep your proxy visits to a minimum. Make it look like noise in the report. When you are on the proxy for something, make sure you go to a non-proxy tab every so often and click through to a new thing.
Also, don’t use just one proxy. Make yourself a list of proxies. Here are a few to start with:
