gimmewaves

Maybe it's naive of me, but whenever I see portraits like this, with just a father and daughter, it restores my faith in humanity a little. Because people seem to love this idea that fathers never loved their daughters in the past and only saw them as bargaining chips for marriage or whatever, but look at the guy in the first portrait on the left, he loves that little girl! And the dad trying to do his work while his daughter bothers him with an Old Timey Barbie. The man teaching his daughter geography, his expression is so soft! The way the man in the last portrait holds the little girl's hand! And none of these are incidental, these aren't photographs, someone (probably the father) paid good money and sat down for hours so that they could have a painting of themselves and their daughter. Probably because they loved their daughter.

oh I love those! People being people is one of my favourite kinds of paintings and an important reminder that people in past times were not all that different. There were dads who loved their daughters fiercely. There were fathers who happily looked after their babies too. The German reformer Philip Melanchton for example had a cradle in his office. His wife was busy organising a household for 20 people- she was out and about, he mostly worked in his office, it made sense for him to look after their babies too babies while she dropped by at snack time.

I raise you:

the next day after exerting myself too much because i felt good for once

The way I straight up cheered at the un-proposal. YES, Nancy doesn't need nor want a man at this point in her life. I love Jonathan, but they explained why they would struggle together so well in that scene. I also adore the clear love and mutual respect that was present during that discussion.

Scully in episode 1: I don't really agree with Mulder on anything, but he seems earnest and like a nice enough guy. I think he honestly just needs a friend.

“He says ‘I don’t get it, why are you still a virgin at 24?’ He says ‘I don’t believe you, I’ve seen you walk, virgins don’t walk like that’ He says, ‘That ain’t natural, people are supposed to fuck.’ He asks ‘Why though? No offence though.’ I ask ‘When was your first time?’ He says ‘I was 12’ He says ‘I know what you’re thinking, that’s too young.’ I look at his knuckles, he has two good hands. He says ‘She was older than me.’ I ask ‘How old?’ And he says ‘It’s better that the girl is older, that’s how I learnt all things I know’ He licks his lips. I ask again ‘How old?’ He says ‘I could use one finger to make you sob’ I think of my brother in prison and I can’t remember his face. I ask again ‘How old?’ He says ‘Boys become men in the laps of women, you know?’ I think of my mothers faced lined with her bad choices in men. He says ‘If you were mine you wouldn’t get away with this shit, I’d eat you for hours, I’d gut you like fruit.’ I think of my cousins circumcision, how she feels like a mermaid, not human from the waist down. He says ‘I’d look after you, you know?’ I laugh, I ask for the last time ‘How old?’ He says ‘34.’ He says ‘She was beautiful though and I know what you’re thinking but it’s not like that, I’m a man, I’m a man, I’m a man. No one could ever hurt me’.”

"kids these days don't loiter or act rebellious enough any more" kids just existing in public are more criminalized and surveilled than ever. almost every western country is running a panic about youth crime and how random teens standing awkwardly are a threat to civilization, and pushing for much more punitive laws. tons of states and powerful lobbies are pushing "parental right laws" that restrict the civil rights of minors even more. policing is first and foremost targeting youths, especially from low income and majority immigrant neighbourhoods. if a kid mildly steps out of line or says something awkward online or in a public space half a dozen people can whip up their phone and start mass harassment campaigns. and tech companies are now restricting access to the internet, the last way many teens can talk to each other freely and reach out to people outside family and school.