Into The Ironwood

Sometimes he comes in force

Greatness radiating from him

Reminding me how he broke every bond,

Every chain put upon him

But one, that he will still someday shatter

Telling me that I too, can be strong,

Fearless, and my own

And other times, he comes softly

Like still-warm ash and feathertips

Words soft and knowing

A brief respite in a cold, vicious world

He who was dubbed too monstrous to remain unfettered

Is the one who sits with me as I weep,

Y'all are some of the most disingenuous motherfuckers. I am exhausted. And I am really done with this trauma argument.

A confession: I have been harassed and verbally abused with it/its pronouns before.

I don’t fully understand why some trans people choose to use it pronouns for themselves, and I don’t follow anyone who does anymore because seeing someone referred to as “it” upsets me.

However, I do not shame or belittle trans folks who use it/its pronouns in a reclaiming fashion because it’s none of my business and I am not a piece of obnoxious shit.

If you have trauma associated with the word queer, then you need to respect me and yourself enough to not interact with my blog.

This blog literally has QUEER in its url, name, and description. Every other post on this blog contains the word QUEER. This blog is about QUEER people, for QUEER people, by a QUEER person.

No one is forcing you to interact with this blog. No one is forcing you to interact with the QUEER community. No one is forcing you to apply the word QUEER to your own identity.

Block blogs that have queer in their url. Add the word QUEER to your Tumblr tag blacklist. Download one of the many different apps and browser extensions that exist and use it to hide posts with the word QUEER in them.

Try taking at least some responsibility for your own mental health.

You aren’t queer? You don’t like the word? That’s fine. Your feelings and your trauma are valid.

But hear this: y'all need to leave QUEER people the FUCK alone.

Stop adding “queer is a slur” to our posts.

Stop inviting yourselves onto our posts to whine about the phrase “queer community”.

Don’t reblog our posts if you’re going to tag them with “#q slur”.

Stop making discourse of our genders and sexualities.

Stop trying to create rules over who is allowed to call themselves queer when you yourself are not queer.

Stop sending us invasive messages demanding to know “how” we’re queer or if we’re “really lgbt”.

Stop trying to make the queer community responsible for your personal baggage, as if we aren’t surviving with our own.

(gets violently shoved aside)

Rebecca Sugar and the crewniverse risked the entire show getting flat-out cancelled in order to show that wedding, only for people to say it "wasn't progressive enough" and was "giving in to stereotypes" to put Ruby in a wedding dress. Never mind that Ruby kept getting dubbed over as a guy in localization, Sapphire was unmistakably feminine in every version, and putting Ruby in the dress was a flagrant way to say, "fuck you, you can't pretend this is a straight couple; this is a queer couple and a queer wedding."

Dana Terrace has said that The Owl House only exists with its intended queerness because of what Rebecca Sugar and her team accomplished with Steven Universe. Hell, there are multiple members of the Steven Universe team who went on to work on the other shows mentioned in the OP--Steven Sugar, for example, who is Rebecca Sugar's brother and inspiration for SU in the first place (as well a background artist on the show), is currently an artist on The Owl House. There are people who got their start on Steven Universe who now only have the opportunity to tell more queer stories because of Steven Universe's success.

I'm not even 30 years old yet and I'm still old enough to remember when being gay was fully illegal in the United States. Not gay marriage, but literally just BEING GAY. It wasn't that long ago, and the fact that today in 2021 I can turn on the TV and watch gay cartoons intended for children? I never thought I'd see it. Fucking ever.

 I would like to preface this by saying that this is not a positivity post or encouraging reality shifters. I refuse to be associated with feeding a mass delusion that is actively targeting the mentally unwell. So lets get this post underway!  (Read tags for possible triggers throughout this post)

Eyes red

The son of Loki

Fathered by Tyr

Fenris is his name

A wolf to be feared

He's the primal urge

Anger

Malice

Greed

He eats anything that comes in his reach

He's Fenris

The largest wolf you've ever seen

In the end darkness will rein

The sun and moon slain by his kin

Bound is He now

He may soon release

To bring the world to it's knees

In the cold of Three Winters

He's Fenris

The son of Loki

Brother to Hel

Jormungand

For courtly formality and politics

Danger wearing friendly faces

And daggers well-hidden beneath cloaks.

I am She of the Ironwood.

I descend from the Ancient Forest,

I weave magic with my fingertips,

And I fight with the ferocity of a wolf.

I am the mother of the Wild Ones.

I extend my arms to outcasts,

The ones rejected by polite society,

Those feared for being feral.

I am first wife to the Trickster,

The Wild Flame with a wolf's grin

The Clever Deceiver of the Aesir

Who brought the very world to it's knees.

I call to you.

Will you answer me?

In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said.

Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?”

Chief’s thesis was that a child who has been abused by an adult can benefit psychologically from the presence of even more intimidating adults that they know are on their side. “When we tell a child they don’t have to be afraid, they believe us,” Arizona biker Pipes told azcentral.com. “When we tell them we will be there for them, they believe us.” ( Article)

They go on runs to protect the child if they feel even the slightest threatened no matter where. If the child needs them to go on vacation with them, they do. Bikers come from across the nation to watch over and take shifts for these kids. And the best part is once you’re adopted into this family as a BACA kid, you’re always one. Even when you’re 40 and the perp gets released from jail, they’ll come meet with you and find your best options for avoiding the person and maintaining the life you’ve built for yourself. Once a BACA child, always a BACA child. In Florida, there’s 100% rate for identifying the perp based on the child’s testimony. Why? Because BACA stands with the child and supports the child so they feel comfortable enough to point out their attacker.

They’re in Canada as well and probably other countries. I met and talked with a native guy who runs the place near me. His name is Shaman. I got in, and I’m considered a BACA child now. Despite being 17, turning 18 when I talked to them. They spent time with me when my abuser was over, they gave me therapy resources. They give you something called a ‘level 1′ where they go to your house with as many bikers as they can, i shit you not a solid 20-40 bikers came from even out of province, and met me. I got to choose my biker name and I got a vest with patches on it and my name on it. They all hugged a Teddybear before giving it to me, and told me if I ever felt the BACA bear was running out of love, to give them a call and they’d refill it for me, and then I got a ride on one of their bikes. Just a day or so ago I went to an annual party with them and they we ate food one of them cooked and had a lot of laughs. 

I’ve never felt as loved as I did being a part of the BACA family. They also gave me dog tags with the names, and phone numbers of my 2 workers.  So I can call them whenever I feel scared. 

BACA is an absolutely wonderful group that will do everything in it’s power to help any child whos been abused. 

And it doesn’t end when you’re 18 either. As long as you get in contact/get your level 1 before you’re 18? you’re ALWAYS a BACA kid. I’m 18 now and they still invite me to parties, ask me if I’m okay, and are there for me. They’re still trying to find me resources for therapy. 

BACA has changed my fucking life. 

The Soul and Self in Norse Mythology

It is a Norse belief that the soul and self are made up of multiple parts.

Lyke - the actual physical body, brought to life by the gods.

Hamr - the energetic or astral body, the shape or skin you wear that is perceived by others.

Fylgja - the accompanying guardian, the external (and typically animal) extension of yourself that represents your true character. Can generally only be seen by those with second sight or in dreams. Seeing your fylgja bloodied is an omen of your impending death.

Hamingja - the personified and inherent luck and fortune from your familial line, the extension of yourself that is your personal power. This part of your soul could be lent to others to assist in times of great peril. Certain individuals (hamrammr) can also perform hamfarir, or a shapejourney, where you shift your hamingja into an animal and can roam the world. If your hamingja was harmed, then so was your human body.

Sinne - the mind, made up of two parts: hugr (the conscious mind) and munr (the unconscious mind). This is personified in Odin’s two ravens, Hugin and Munin.

Önd - the spirit or life breath that distinguishes the living from the dead.

Goði/Gyðja - the higher or divine self, the voice behind intuition that remains forever loyal and true to your best interests.

If you’re thinking about Heathenry, be it Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Slavic, Frankish, or even Celtic, a good starting point is The Longship. It covers all the general basics about getting started, hearth culture, the gift giving cycle, and so on. They also have an FAQ section that covers misconceptions about the faith and explains different concepts in a simple way that isn’t super academic.

Once you’re there, you can figure out how you want to approach things, be it from a reconstructionist standpoint, a revivalist one, or eclectic, even if it’s just to get a feel for what you think might work for you.

Ocean Keltoi has a great video on this:

There’s other great people on YouTube as well that might be of interest if the Norse is what you’re interested in learning more about, like Wolf the Red, Freyia Norling, and Dr. Jackson Crawford. However, there’s a lot of shady people out there too that you should avoid, like Raven Kaldera, the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) and Wisdom of Odin (WoO).

Speaking of which, be careful and aware of dogwhistles within the community so you know who to avoid. There’s a couple masterpost lists on the issues, but the primary one is folkish / folkism; which in essence is the belief that only people who are white Scandinavians can venerate the gods. These people also tend to be extremely homophobic and transphobic as well.

If you’re on reddit, /r/heathenry is great and the Discord server is always active, engaging, and supportive with getting advice, finding resources, and asking questions. /r/pagan is also a chill place as well and is a general hub for all kinds of paganism; like Celtic, Hellenic, Mesopotamian, Kemeticism, and so on (and links to their primary subs as well).

For other blogs to check out, here’s some I’d recommend who are good eggs, but there’s many more too. So, I apologize if I missed your name.

@valkyriesquad (check them out for other safe blogs as well)

@thorraborinn

@north-of-annwn

@systlin

@skaldish

@fjorn-the-skald

@gotheathenry

@theceanothuswitch

@drekisdottir

this is a basic and powerful banishment spell to keep a toxic, malicious person from influencing you, affecting your world, and attempting to hurt you. best done during a waning moon. you will need:

> black pepper (banishment, protection from evil)

> cloves (banishing hostile and negative forces)

> vinegar (banishing, binding, and averting evil)

> black and white candle

> paper and pen with black ink

> a jar with a lid

1. as you light your candles, recognize that the flame creates an aura of fire, will and strength. the black candle burns and summons protection from evil; the white candle burns and brings you cleansing and purifying. meditate on the flames and allow their warm auras to surround you.

2. write the person’s full name (if it’s known) on a small piece of paper. hold the paper in your hands and let yourself feel angry, hurt, sad, or whatever this person makes you feel. charge the paper with the pain this person has caused you, until you feel done. then, take your pen and scribble out the person’s name until it’s completely blacked out and opaque.

3. fold the paper up as many times as you can, and throw it in the jar. sprinkle the pepper and cloves over the paper, then fill the jar with vinegar. this mixture banishes their evil from you and drowns out their will and power to harm you. close the jar tightly. if you wish, use some black wax from your candle to drip onto the lid and seal the jar shut.