He wasn’t a gay stereotype TV always have.

The way he dresses isn't flamboyant like other TV show gays. He had the same fashion as the other phantoms. He just looked like a 90s grunge/punk teenage boy.

He didn't talk in that one accent almost all TV show gays share.

The only thing kinda stereotypical he did was the dancing.

And even his sassy remarks came off as more sarcastic and chill.

Then how we find out. The guys already know. There's not a big reveal or coming out scene. Just Alex is gay. The fact that it was even SAID. It wasn't just subtext, we didn't have to guess or assume. They say it outloud. "Gay" wasn't used as a bad word in a kids show. It was just a fact about him.

Even the "Alex is emotional" joke doesn't seem like a hurtful stereotype. The joke at first is Alex cries sure but then the very next scene it shows Luke & Reggie crying and he calls them emotional.

And everything with Willie. Its so relaxed and easy. There is no crisis. No I like a straight guy who turns out to hate me when I come out. No unnecessary homophobic scene. They are also both dead already so we don't even have to deal with that "all gay couples end in tragedy" thing either. It's clearly mutual.

Its so obvious they like each other too. I mean the museum date?

How Willie always grabs Alex's hand.

The "There's a lot to um... like here" while giving the 😍 eyes.

The "I'd do anything for you" departure before that HUG.

Even when Luke finds out he has a crush. Its just a best friend teasing not a making fun of a gay kid. The "I'm happy for you Alex."

I just really loved this gay representation & think we need more like it.

For the fanfic authors who don’t get art of their fics

For the fanfic authors who can’t get to 1000/500/100 hits

For the fanfic authors who don’t get comments/reviews

For the fanfic authors who write for small fandoms

For the fanfic authors who write rarepairs or gen fics

For the fanfic authors who get hate for the ships/characters/fandoms they write

For the fanfic authors who write in English despite it not being their first language

For the fanfic authors who don’t write in English

For the fanfic authors who don’t think anyone reads or likes their work

For the fanfic authors who aren’t big name fans

For the fanfic authors who don’t get requests in their inboxes

For the fanfic authors who can’t write stories that are more than a thousand words

For the fanfic authors who only write one ship

For the fanfic authors who are just starting

For the fanfic authors who have been writing fic for years

For the fanfic authors who use fanfic to practice writing

For the fanfic authors who write self-insert fics

For the fanfic authors who write about their OCs

For the fanfic authors who write to vent or cope

For the fanfic authors who are just waiting for their big break

For the fanfic authors that hate their own work

For the fanfic authors that don’t have ideas

For the fanfic authors who just stop because nobody’s reading

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. 

none of the foxes’ children qualify for the team, which is all that matters

they have been taught from a very early age that both uncle andrew and uncle neil have been hurt by bad people, and that means they don’t always like to be touched

the kids are usually really good with it because they understand in their very simple, youthful way, but sometimes they do slip up

it’s pretty widely accepted that andrew is better with kids than neil

one time amalia (kevin and thea’s daughter) gets so excited to see andrew after months apart she runs and jumps on him

kevin has a 2-second heart attack, but andrew obediently picks her up and listens as she rambles on about watching him play on TV and how he’s the best goalie ever and she thinks he should have a statue-

neil gets better with them as they get older, he’s just easily overwhelmed by their energy sometimes and has no idea how to track all the different conversations happening around him

but all his friends know he loves their kids fiercely and they’re perfectly happy to send them on short trips with him to the grocery store for ice cream and such

they usually come back with more than that because the kids figure out they just have to look at neil with big eyes and he’s like “ok yeah we can get a whole sheet cake, too”

“neil what the fuck” “dan, he said it’s your birthday” “neil i know you know when my birthday is”

when they’re little, the best thing neil can do is play a very toned down version of exy with them in the backyard when they all get together

this is especially good with allison’s mansion because there’s so much space, and she always has a table of snacks and drinks waiting off to the side that nicky just stands by and continuously eats from

all the parents have photos of neil teaching their kids how to hold rackets or pointing at the goal and gesturing while their kids stare up at him adoringly

andrew always watches because the sight of neil josten, fastest player in the us major leagues, taking tiny steps so as to not outrun a six year old is probably the best thing in the world

when allison’s youngest comes out as trans, andrew switches to calling her ashleigh and using the right pronouns immediately and without a hitch

aaron and katelyn end up having kids a bit later than everyone else, but surprise surprise they’re twin girls

it is no secret they are andrew’s favorite and no one is mad about it

they have the same blonde hair and they’re so small and fragile and he would set the world on fire for them

it brings him and aaron closer together, too

the girls are good at telling them apart, but sometimes one of them will go “daddy?” and andrew replies “try again” without missing a beat

they pick it up! aaron will be tired after a long day of doctoring and mix them up and they’ll say “try again” 

andrew is amused

whenever renee’s son spends time in the hospital or is at home on bed rest, andrew will send him long, handwritten letters about anything and nothing at all

no one else knows about the letters, but they make renee cry

when the kids get older and start their Angsty Teenage Years, they turn to aunt allison and uncle andrew to be angry

andrew’s apathy helps, because sometimes you just need someone to listen and let you feel things

one time amalia randomly calls andrew in a rage about how “dad is so obnoxious sometimes, oh my god, i cannot stand him and i’m outside right now because i just need space and i know everyone says i have to be patient with him but-” 

“you’re absolutely right, he’s an asshole”

it makes her stop frustration crying to laugh, then she’s quiet for a while, and then she says she’s going to go back in and talk to her dad

a while later kevin is visiting and talking about a terrible screaming match and the heart-to-heart they had after and he thinks he said something that was meaningful and got through to make her apologize

he doesn’t get why neil finds it so funny, he is actually a very wise and thoughtful father thank you very much

neil takes putting up the kids’ drawings on the fridge very seriously and andrew has to assure him they will not be hurt if the corner of someone else’s paper is covering theirs

neil also always agonizes over gifts, he’s so afraid of buying things they don’t like

sometimes andrew finds him just standing in front of the calendar where all their birthdays are neatly marked, frowning like he’s analyzing another team’s stats

andrew usually ends up doing all of it because it makes neil way too stressed

one of aaron’s girls gets a boyfriend in her junior year of high school that actually ends up cheating on her

it’s sad but she says it’s not that big of a deal because she wasn’t in love with him and she’s always been very mature about these things

after a healthy cry with katelyn she gets up and jokes about calling uncle andrew because that’s what all her “cousins” do when they’re in crisis

yes all the kids call each other cousins because they’re that close

aaron, who’s cooking dinner, thinks “aw that’s cute”

but then he realizes

and he flings himself into her room shrieking “nO NO DO NOT DO NOT TELL UNCLE ANDREW”

andrew, from the phone: “don’t tell me what”

aaron retreats, accepting his role in a possible crime, but he hovers out in the hall to listen in

there seems to be too much laughter for murder, so aaron prays it’s fine

the next day the girls return from school full of glee because someone slashed her ex’s tires right before dismissal!! no one knows who!! everyone is buzzing about it!!

“andrew did you really drive several hours to ruin some teenager’s car” “you don’t have any proof, and it was neil”

With the holidays coming up I wanted to let you guys know something amazing that the app Ibotta is doing. Right now they are offering a free Thanksgiving meal. How it works: 1. Download the app here: Click Here

2. Look for the banner above that states “FREE Thanksgiving Dinner” & click it.

3. You can just enter the email you signed up with and they’ll load the offers into your account. You will then just “click” each coupon so they are ready to redeem. There are a lot of other offers also for free above also that are available to get for free that are not included in the Thanksgiving deal so make sure to clip them also.

4. What you do is go to Walmart (or do pickup) and buy all these items, make sure you get the exact items above. Buy them. Go back to the app and scan the receipt. It’ll put all the money into your account. You can cash out at $20 for instant Paypal money back. Adding all the food above - you hit the $20 automatically. So everything above is COMPLETELY FREE and you get your money back within minutes of scanning the receipt and cashing out.

The big thing I want to stress is right now so many people are struggling. Even if you don’t need it, get it, redeem all the offers, and DONATE IT. If you have a friend struggling, give it to them. Donate it to your local food bank. Someone needs this. You get a ton of stuff for completely free and it can give you a simple Thanksgiving meal. As you see above you can even get a turkey. 2020 has been a terrible year for many families, many need the extra help, so please think about donating the food if anything.

If you have any questions please let me know I am here to help: https://cravefoodie.com/ask

Leaf-bladed swords are a very popular fantasy style and were real, though unlike modern hand-and-a-half longsword versions, the real things were mostly if not always shortswords.

Here are Celtic bronze swords…

…Ancient Greek Xiphoi…

… and a Roman “Mainz-pattern” gladius…

Saw or downright jagged edges, either full-length or as small sections (often where they serve no discernible purpose) are a frequent part of fantasy blades, especially at the more, er, imaginatively unrestrained end of the market.

Real swords also had saw edges, such as these two 19th century shortswords, but not to make them cool or interesting. They’re weapons if necessary…

…but since they were carried by Pioneer Corps who needed them for cutting branches and other construction-type tasks, their principal use was as brush cutters and saws.

This dussack (cutlass) in the Wallace Collection is also a fighting weapon, like the one beside it…

…but may also have had the secondary function of being a saw.

A couple of internet captions say it’s for “cutting ropes” which makes sense - heavy ropes and hawsers on board a ship were so soaked with tar that they were often more like lengths of wood, and a Hollywood-style slice from the Hero’s rapier (!!) wouldn’t be anything like enough to sever them. However swords like this are extremely rare, which suggests they didn’t work as well as intended for any purpose.

I photographed these in Basel, Switzerland, about 20 years ago. Look at the one on the bottom (I prefer the basket-hilt schiavona in the middle).

A lot of “flamberge” (wavy-edge) swords actually started out with conventional blades which then had the edges ground to shape - the dussack, that Basel broadsword and this Zweihander were all made that way.

The giveaway is the centreline: if it’s straight, the entire blade probably started out straight.

Increased use of water power for bellows, hammers and of course grinders made shaping blades easier than when it had to be done by hand. This flamberge Zweihander, however, was forged that way.

Again, the clue is the centre-line.

Incidentally those Parierhaken (parrying hooks - a secondary crossguard) are among the only real-life examples of another common fantasy feature - hooks and spikes sticking out from the blade.

Here are some rapiers and a couple of daggers showing the same difference between forged to shape and ground to shape. The top and bottom rapiers in the first picture started as straights, and only the middle rapier came from the forge with a flamberge blade.

There’s no doubt about this one either.

The reason - though that was a part of it - wasn’t just to look cool and show off what the owner could afford (any and all extra or unusual work added to the price) but may actually have had a function: a parry would have been juddery and unsettling for someone not used to it, and any advantage is worth having.

However, like the saw-edged dussack, flamberge blades are unusual - which suggests the advantage wasn’t that much of an advantage after all.

Here’s a Circassian kindjal, forged wiggly…

…and an Italian parrying dagger forged straight then ground wiggly…

There were also parrying daggers with another fantasy-blade feature, deep notches and serrations which in fantasy versions often resemble fangs or thorns.

These more practical historical versions are usually called “sword-breakers” but I prefer “sword-catcher”, since a steel blade isn’t that easy to break. Taking the opponent’s blade out of play for just long enough to nail him works fine.

NB - the curvature on the top one in this next image is AFAIK because of the book-page it was copied from, not the blade itself.

The missing tooth on that second dagger, and the crack halfway down this next one’s blade, shows what happens when design features cause weak spots.

So there you go: a quick overview of fantasy sword features in real life.

Here’s a real-life weapon that looks like it belongs in a fantasy story or film - and this doesn’t even have an odd-shaped blade…

Just a very flexible one…

If you want more odd blades, Moghul India is a good place to start…

“She deserves to be punished too.”

“I’m not saying I support rape, but-”

“Sorry to say - she deserved it.”

“She put herself in harm’s way”

“But if she was fingered, then that’s not rape.”

“She ruined their lives.”

“Yea, but did you see what she was wearing?”

“Boys will be boys!”

“She should know better than to drink at a party…”

  “He should’ve enjoyed it.”

“She must’ve lead him on.”

“But she orgasmed. That means she liked it - “

“Women can’t rape because…”

“Be grateful it wasn’t a man!”

“I’m sorry she hurt you but don’t call what happened to you rape, it’s an insult to the REAL victims…”

“You weren’t raped, you’re just lesbophobic.”

“She’s his wife, it’s her job to please him.”

“Oral isn’t rape.”

“Well he wasn’t armed, she could have walked away.”

“Guys can’t be raped, they love sex!”

“She didn’t fight back; it wasn’t rape.”

I’m sorry, what was that about Joe not being liberal enough for y’all?

Because me and my six figures worth of student loan debt would like a word.

Source

From joebiden.com/beyondhs/#

More than halve payments on undergraduate federal student loans by simplifying and increasing the generosity of today’s income-based repayment program. Under the Biden plan, individuals making $25,000 or less per year will not owe any payments on their undergraduate federal student loans and also won’t accrue any interest on those loans. Everyone else will pay 5% of their discretionary income (income minus taxes and essential spending like housing and food) over $25,000 toward their loans. This plan will save millions of Americans thousands of dollars a year. After 20 years, the remainder of the loans for people who have responsibly made payments through the program will be 100% forgiven. Individuals with new and existing loans will all be automatically enrolled in the income-based repayment program, with the opportunity to opt out if they wish. In addition to relieving some of the burden of student debt, this will enable graduates to pursue careers in public service and other fields without high levels of compensation. Biden will also change the tax code so that debt forgiven through the income-based repayment plan won’t be taxed. Americans shouldn’t have to take out a loan to pay their taxes when they finally are free from their student loans.

That is much better than what the current set up does. Minus taxes and essential spending will be a fight over what that means depending where you live, but its a really good thing.

He also wants to help with job training so we don’t all get these degrees that don’t help us get dang jobs. And he wants to go after private for-profit universities. And he wants to better fun grant programs. and, and, and.

Lets say you’re a single human person, working a good job, 60k a year; after tax, you have around 45k. Under Biden’s plan, they start by taking 25k of that, putting it to the side and removing it from the calculus. Then. they take an amount off for essential spending. Don’t know what that math works out to yet, so lets assume someone awful gets to decide it, and its 12.7k a year (the poverty line for a single human) Then, they only can bill you for 5% of the remainder. So.

60k - taxes = ~45k

45k - threshold = 20k

20k - essential spending = 7.3k

$7300 x 5% = $365 a year -or- $30 a month

Sure, Strife, that’s a pipe dream, you say, what happens if the ‘essential spending’ part dies in congress? Fair point, Congress is a sinkhole of evil. But lets see:

60k - taxes = ~45k

45k - threshold = 20k

20k x 5% = $1000 a year  -or- $83 a month

Yeah, you say, but I’m a curmudgeon and I want to assume the worst because I hate politicians, what if they lose the threshold, and only get the 5% through and everything else stays exactly the same?

In that case, it will straight up cut everyone’s payments in half. Minimum. Whatever you’re paying now? Half that. In the case of the example above, that means

60k - taxes = ~45k

45k x 5% = $2250 a year  -or- $187 a month

So this guy is out here going after free college for the younger parts of GenZ and all of our kids. AND he’s going to make the loans we have into a much more bearable burden. PLUS. If you didn’t see up there? That he’d kill the taxes paid on forgiven loans? Yeah, that’s a thing right now. If you pay for 20 years, and end with 60k in loans to be forgiven, you pay taxes on the 60k all at once. Which means you owe the government around 15k. Which. Ironically. Usually means you have to take out another loan.

And this would apply to everyone, you can opt out if you wanna clear yours sooner, but you don’t have to do the jump through hoops and beg routine like you do now.

YES.

That’s.

A.

Woman.