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so Paradise California is gone

i haven’t seen any noise about this on tumblr yet, but a fire has completely wiped out a small town in california.

they’re calling it the camp fire. over 20,000 residents have been evacuated so far, the last area estimates i heard were over an hour ago at 18,000 acres and its still zero percent contained.

this is the smoke from about 18 miles away from the fire three hours ago. if you know anyone near chico, paradise, oroville or durham california you might want to check they’re okay

THIS. This is how you support trans people.

Cal Poly Students Target Zionist Groups

A group of students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo issued a list of demands on April 13 in response to a racial incident;

So! Allow me tell you why I’m seething over this in two parts! 

Part I

First of all, let’s get specific about what this means: They explicitly want to exclude Hillel. To vaguely phrase it as “all Zionist-related groups” is just a dogwhistle for Hillel. And look, there are legitimate reasons to be opposed to Hillel as a national organisation, especially when it comes to their stance on Israel. I personally do not believe Hillel should have any stance on Israel at all, because it’s meant to be a home for all Jewish students, and that includes Jews of varying political and religious opinions. I would love to see Hillel abandon its present stance, and I know there are Jewish students all over the place working on making that more of reality as I sit here typing this. 

But here’s the thing: Regardless of Hillel’s bad policy on this issue, it’s still overwhelmingly the centre for Jewish life at nearly every college and university in the United States. It just is. So the message quickly becomes an ultimatum—from gentiles—that any Jew who wants to be considered progressive must completely divest themselves from the existing Jewish community and only engage with other approved Jewish individuals in order to be considered ideologically pure. It doesn’t matter if Hillel is your only option for getting Kosher food, attending services, being with other Jewish people, etc. It’s #bad and if you engage with it, then so are you. 

Now, would be bad enough just on the principal that gentiles shouldn’t dictate how Jews access Jewish life and Judaism, but in light of all the drama with the Women’s March Organisers, this whole thing becomes even more offensive and absurd. Because when Tamika Mallory (along with Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez) refused to denounce Louis Farrakhan’s comments about Jews and LGBTQ+ people, the following was said: “I don’t agree with everything that Minister Farrakhan said about Jews or women or gay people…[but I hope that Jewish and LGBTQ+ people] will also take the time to understand why I have partnered with the Nation of Islam and been in that space for almost 30 years.” Basically: “He has some bad ideas, but I think his group does enough good for my communities at large that I am willing to overlook it.” So then why aren’t Jewish groups afforded the same nuance? Why is it only Jews who are being held to a standard of unattainable perfection, while everyone else gets to be messy and flawed? 

They’re so quick to say “It’s not anti-Semitism because opposing Israel isn’t the same as being anti-Semitic!” and like…it’s not always the same as being anti-Semitic, but you have to fucking do it right, and my goyim, you ARE NOT. Gentiles holding Jews to different standards from everyone else, asking Jews to prove themselves from cutting ties with campus Jewish life, and generally just trying to define anti-Semitism as non-Jews? Like, it doesn’t even matter what your Israel stance actually is; your praxis is already inherently anti-Semitic all on its fucking own. 

Part II

The article notes that the statement calling for Hillel to be excluded said the following: 

“Black folks and other People of Color have a long-standing history of standing in solidarity with Palestinian folks,” the statement reads. “The quotidian experiences of Palestinians include a long history of dealing with violence, colonization (particularly through land dispossession), and oppression. We cannot in good conscience advocate for our own liberation without being mindful of the current and historical liberation struggles of others locally, nationally, and globally.”

Later on, the statement added that The Drylongso Collective was focused on “anti-Black and anti-Brown racism at Cal Poly.”

“To attempt to decenter Blackness from our discussion by focusing on an accusation of anti-Semitism based on a false equivalency of Zionism and Judaism is deeply disturbing and speaks of not only the lack for anti-Semitic acts committed by non-Black/Brown students but also of the coalition work that remains to be done,” the statement reads.

Okay, so let me stop y’all right fucking there with this reminder: 

JEWS OF COLOUR EXIST JEWS OF COLOUR EXIST JEWS OF COLOUR EXIST 

Like, not only does this statement completely overlook the fact that over half of all Israelis are either Black or Brown, which demonstrates a total lack of understanding about who Israelis are, thus utterly disqualifying these students from really having any opinion on the state as an entity all, but FUCKING HELL, does it really go out of its way to way absolutely erase Black and Brown Jews existing in their own corner of the diaspora. They mention the ‘struggles of others locally, nationally, and globally’ in the same breath that they imply that Black and Brown people are a wholly separate entity from Jews, and then go on to preemptively accuse Jewish people of derailing the conversation to be about themselves, shifting the focus away from Black and Brown people, when again JEWS OF COLOUR EXIST. 

How much chutzpah does one have to possess to be able to simultaneously erase all Black and Brown Jews whilst also demanding that they stop engaging with Judaism unless it’s entirely on your uninformed gentile terms?

I am so sick of discourse that paints Judaism as whiteness, not only because it misses the point of how anti-Semitism has operated as a racial hatred for centuries, but also because it always ends of with Jews of Colour being attacked and harassed by people who claim to fight for, well, People of Colour. Just like how the CDM organisers revelled in the “white tears” of the Iranian Jew they ejected from their march, and the trans Indian Jewish reporter they got fired from her job, these organisers would have you believe that Jewishness, in and of itself (and unless otherwise proven on an individual basis through a series of loyalty tests), is whiteness, perhaps even whiteness in its very worst form. And I don’t know how much of that outlook is due to ignorance and how much of it is due to blatant hatred, but it’s anti-Semitic no matter which way you spin it, and I’m so fucking tired of watching people who think they’re progressive swallowing conspiracy theories from the pages of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as if it wasn’t already trite Jew-hating bullshit when it was first published in 1903. 

Interesting. Might work on this.

“Roman, use your powers for good, not evil!”

Who says this? What’s going on?

What are Roman’s powers?

Is he summoning cats and puppies, breaking into Logan’s space with weird arm stretching things, or is this a superhero AU where Roman is about to make either a very good decision, or a very bad one?

Is Patton screaming this dramatically as Roman cheats during a pillow fight?

Tag your prompt fill with #sanderssidespromptsummer so that we can see what, exactly, is going on here!

Daily Taglist: @notveryglittery @thought-u-said-dragon-queen @juni-raptor @camfangirl0615 (Self-Editing Taglist Here)

We work in a police force full of dudes. We have to have each other’s backs. 

Happy International Women’s Day!

pallas cats and tibetan foxes being enemies is so supremely excellent i cannot think of two better animals to face off theyre just perfect

Wolfstar Fanfic - Constellations in Your Soul.

///I started writing a Wolfstar fanfic, it’s my first fanfic that I’ve actually written with the intent to post. If you like it, let me know and I’ll post more on it. Also, plot suggestions are welcome. I’m not actually all that creative, most of the stuff I make is inspired by existing things. It would actually be really helpful if you’d leave comments and maybe be my beta readers? I’m not super great with editing. :) ///

    Remus strolled through the wall that led to Platform Nine and Three Quarters after he’d replayed it over and over in his mind, both of his canvas suitcases in tow behind him. As he paced towards the train awaiting him and other students he tried to keep his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him, hoping that he wouldn’t run into anyone on his way to the doors. The stairs to the train were shorter than he remembered them being, but that could be drawn up to his growth spurt this summer. The small smile that snuck onto his face once the cool air from the inside of the train hit him was unintentional, but when you smell home, there’s not much you can do but smile. The train had a tendency to carry many smells at once and it would often overwhelm Remus’ senses to the point that he would have to cover his nose until he got to whatever booth his friends were in, but this year he’d come early for the specific reason of being able to pick an ideal booth where everyone would comfortably fit rather than one barely big enough to fit the four of them, as had happened in all previous years of riding the train. 

    He shifted so his things were single file with him and slipped into an empty booth in the back corner that was slightly larger than the other aisle booths. Once his luggage was in the overhead, he sat close to the glass doors of the booth, in clear sight of the aisle so he could catch James or Sirius before they went into a different compartment and made him move. Peter was always late, last year he’d almost missed the train entirely. Remus smiled slightly at the memory of his friend falling over in the middle of the walkway as the train started to move, barely pulling his bag through closing doors. 

    I wonder whether James or Sirius will arrive first this year. If James managed to beat Sirius to the train, Sirius would be stuck with the middle seat, which was unfortunate as he enjoyed watching the scenery pass by. Remus could easily recall most of Sirius’ facial expressions, and he always seemed peaceful when watching the scenery pass by, even if it was moving too fast to distinctly make out. However, if Sirius got here first, James would spend the whole time getting up to go get snacks or to flirt with Lily Evans. Poor Lily, she has to put up with James being even more obnoxious than he is around me. He smiled slightly, becoming lost in thought about his friends, and about how the upcoming year would turn out. Surely they could have one year where no one almost died in a Quidditch match or deciding to explore the Forbidden Forest. Then again, he was friends with James Potter and Sirius Black. If anything did happen, he was sure he would be in the middle of it with them. Maybe I can try to reason them out of doing something lethally idiotic-

    His thoughts were interrupted by Sirius knocking on the glass of the compartment door before sliding in, flashing Remus one of those confident smiles he threw around. Remus stood, hugging him with a light clap on the back.

    “Hey Remus! Did you do anything fun this summer?” Sirius pulled out of the hug after a moment, though he seemed a little stiff, and heaved his things into the overhead before sitting down. Remus sat back down by the glass door, offering a shrug with his response.     “If by fun you mean idiotic and likely resulting in injury, no.” Sirius made a small offended noise, as if he didn’t know exactly what Remus was jabbing at. “However, I did acquire something you might want to use.” 

    Sirius noted the glint in Remus’ eye and grinned. Most people probably would have thought he was the innocent caretaker of the group, but the fact was, he was most often the main perpetrator in planning each prank and assault. Sirius made a hand motion that could be easily interpreted as, Hand it over. Remus handed Sirius a bottle of muggle hair dye. They both gave somewhat villainous smiles before quickly returning back to normal behavior as Remus barely caught sight of James before he burst into the compartment. Sirius shoved the bottle into his robes inner pocket.

    “Helloooooo Beauties! How are you guys! I hope you’re ready because I’ve been planning pranks and ‘creative activities’ all summer.” Sirius stood to give James a bone-crushing hug, back and shoulders stiffening when James squeezed back, before sitting back down. Remus frowned slightly at that, though started smiling again once in Sirius’ line of sight. James tossed his things carelessly into the overhead on Sirius’ side, all but falling into his seat as he launched into his plans for this year. Is he uncomfortable, maybe his muscles are stiff if he did something strenuous recently. Remus grimaced slightly at the not-so-faint scent of fabric softener, covering his nose while his thoughts were interrupted with a wave of nausea. James went on about letting loose a number of nifflers in the Great Hall, setting off fireworks over Gryffindor Tower, hiding tiny rubber ducks (a muggle toy) all over the prefects bathroom, and a number of other pranks that would likely require much revision by Remus to be feasible. It took him a couple minutes to realise Remus was looking nauseous. 

    “Remus, you look pale. What’s up?” James frowned slightly, worried about his friend. Remus couldn’t do much about it and simply summarized,

“Just the smell, James. Did your family begin using a new fabric softener in the wash?” He crossed his legs so his stomach didn’t feel so uneasy. “Sirius, would you open the window, please.” his voice came out a mutter through the sleeve of his robes. Sirius immediately pulled open the window, looking mildly concerned. Remus felt a surge of appreciation as fresh air flooded the compartment. 

“Actually, yeah. I think my mum switched which one she uses. Is it bothering you?” James took off his Robe. “She washed my robe this morning, sorry. I didn’t think about the smell.” James stuffed the robe into this bag, hoping that would limit the scent for Remus. 

Remus shrugged. “It’s not your fault James, you don’t have to apologize. Thank you for putting it away.” He kept his sleeve up to cover his mouth and nose for a while before he felt his nose was safe enough to lower it. James continued on about where he thought they could get the nifflers, and about where to acquire the fireworks for Gryffindor Tower, though Remus didn’t miss the occasional glance to check on him. Peter didn’t get to their compartment until the train was starting to pull out of station, huffing for air while looking somewhat exhausted. 

“H-hi guys, I’m sorry I’m late… Again. I really didn’t- didn’t mean to, there was bad traffic and then I saw this cat at Kingscross Station and it was so cute, I couldn’t-” Sirius gave him a huge hug, similar to the ones he’d given Remus and James. Chamomile and mint seemed to be faintly emanating off of Peter.  

“No problem, Pete! At least you’re on the train. I almost thought you weren’t going to make it.” Sirius spoke as he sat down while Peter climbed on the seat to push his bags into the overhead on Remus’ side. Remus smiled slightly at Peter, still a little sick to his stomach, but feeling much better than earlier. 

“Nice to see you after summer break, Peter. Is your garden doing well?” Remus smiled slightly at the light that overtook Peter’s expression. 

“Oh, yes! My Lavender and Chamomile are maturing beautifully. I even brought some homemade tea-bags, I designed the mixture myself. I think you’ll like it. There’s mint in it too, and some other things, the odor shouldn’t be too strong, so you’ll be able to drink it even around full-moon.” Peter rushed the words out quickly, digging around in his pockets before pulling out a small cloth bag with the mixture inside. Remus smiled wider, letting Peter place it in his palm before his hands returned to his pockets and pulled out a small strip of woven embroidery thread, running his fingers over it and twisting it into different shapes. 

“Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate it.” Remus put the cloth bag in his robes inner pocket. 

The ride to Hogwarts seemed shorter than the actual 9 hour ride, but that was likely because they spent the whole time either talking or sleeping. Remus spent only the last 20 minutes dozing in his corner, abruptly woken by the train’s whistle, alerting everyone of their soon arrival. James was continually talking, frequently interrupted by Sirius interjecting another thought that was usually more stupid or more dangerous. They hustled out of the compartment and off of the train. Remus and Peter were mostly quiet while navigating through hundreds of students and dozens of teachers helping to guide the tide of children and adolescents. 

Remus kept a careful eye on Sirius and James so he didn’t lose them, while Peter was barely avoiding running into Remus with all the people trying to shove past and into them. I hate crowds. So many people. Too many smells. Remus grimaced at the clashing sounds and sights of the hoard around them. Relatively soon everyone halted, waiting for transportation up to the school grounds. 

The school kept transportation orderly, sending each group of 4 to 5 students up to the school grounds 5 or 6 groups at a time. It wasn’t much of a wait to be able to sit down in the Great Hall. Everyone was very loud, voices garbling and rumbling over each other before they got to Remus’ ears. He glanced over at James, then felt his eyes roll while James was unabashedly staring at a red-headed Lily Evans only six or seven seats down. Sirius frowned when he saw Remus’ reaction before seeing the cause and grinning evilly.

Sirius threw a roll at James’ head to snap him out of it. “Careful, James. Or you face might get stuck in a stupid look. Oh, sorry, I forgot it was already stuck like that.” 

James scoffed at that, throwing the roll back at Sirius. “Whatever, Drama Queen.” Remus smiled a bit, sighing. This is going to be a very long year, isn’t it? He glanced at Sirius, then felt his face flush a little. God damn he’s beautiful though. 

    Sirius shifted how he was sitting throughout the meal, leaning forward, or slouching a bit, or propping a leg up on his knee. It wasn’t uncomfortable shifts, but they made him look more ordinary than the rest of his family. His sibling, cousins, his whole family sat with stiff backs and airy postures. No doubt that’s his intent though. Remus noted how much more down to earth and grounded Sirius had always been. Stomach laughs and crooked smiles and mischief. None of his family’s superiority bullshit. Remus risked a glance at Sirius, trying to pinpoint why his movements were off. He seemed fine moving around, but every so often he’d start moving one way and abruptly stop, like something was blocking him. What on earth? 

    Remus kept a careful eye on Sirius the rest of dinner, even while the first years were being sorted into their houses. Sirius wasn’t entirely oblivious to Remus’ attention and looks of concern, but he didn’t seem to mind or care. Near the end of dinner, Remus mouthed, ‘Are you okay?’ Sirius only gave a stupid smile and nodded, like ‘Duh, why wouldn’t I be.’ Remus frowned as Sirius turned away from their brief interaction to talk to James and Peter. He’s definitely not okay… 

    As dinner came to a close, everyone started trickling out of the Great Hall, tired and full of food. Peter was the first to turn in. 

    “I’ll see you guys in the dorm room, I’m kind of tired though, so I might be asleep. See you tomorrow.” He gave a wave before quickly walking off to the dorm rooms. Peter tended to walk quickly, avoiding attention where he could.

“He had a good idea there.” James shrugged, standing only a few minutes after Peter left. “I’ve got to get my beauty sleep if I want Evans to fall for me, and most of the people should already be in bed. I’ll see you boys later in the dormitories.” He gave a quick smile and walked off slowly, winking at Lily on his way out. She only rolled her eyes at him and continued on with her current conversation. 

    Remus was quiet for a few minutes before looking Sirius in the eyes, a controlled expression on his face. “Sirius, what’s wrong.” Sirius’ face was blank for a moment before smiling widely, though his eyes looked caught. 

    “What do you mean? You shouldn’t be all cryptic Remus, someone might mistake your sock-folding arse for a mysterious type.” he pointed at Remus. “You do know girls go for the mysterious quiet type, don’t you?” 

    “Stop deflecting. I know something is wrong. You don’t have a full range of movement and you keep flinching when you try to move your shoulder back. I can’t figure out if you got injured or if you’re just feeling weird today. I mean it’s not like-” Remus paused, eyes widening. -like somebody beat you. He was about to say. Poor choice of words Remus. You know how his family treats him. “Oh. This morning?” Remus frowned, studying Sirius’ face. Sirius frowned, nodding in small motions. “You haven’t had somebody look at it yet, have you.” Sirius shook his head, lips pulled tight. Oh I am going to murder them. Just as soon as I get the chance their heads are going t- 

    “Remus, you’re getting angry again.” Sirius spoke quietly, calmly, gently taking Remus’ attention. 

    “I thought you said they were going to control themselves over the summer. They said they’d minimize damage.” Remus couldn’t help the slight growl that crept into his voice. He’s my friend. It should be me instead. He doesn’t deserve this, I do. Why does he have the shitty family? Remus knew his thought process was illogical. Neither of them had control over their families or who was in them, but he still felt that Sirius deserved none of the lot given to him. 

    “They did. This was the first time in two weeks, Remus. Calm down a bit. I was going to ask you to help me out a bit once the others were in bed.” Sirius gave a small comforting smile. Sirius is in pain and he’s comforting me? 

    “Yeah…okay. Abandoned bathroom?” Remus looked to Sirius for his response, wanting to help. Sirius gave a quick nod and they both stood up, walking out of the Great Hall. At least he’ll be safe here at school. I’m glad we get to go to Hogwarts.