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sheathandshear · 3 years

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There’s this trend on the interwebs where people are moving from calling something “problematic” (which is now mostly a joke because of how widely it’s been misapplied) to declaring that something is “harmful”, or often, “directly harmful”, I guess because I’m the only person who thinks that playing Seven Moral Degrees of Kevin Bacon would be a fun party game.

The left has always excelled at circular logic, but navigating any fraught discussion, no matter how inane, has become a weird minefield of homogenizing, essentializing, and “boosting marginalized voices (that you personally agree with)”, and the language of harm is at the center of so much of it, because people have discovered that the more wishy-washy “problematic” invites arguments but “harm” demands condemnation.

Like, “[x group] has said that [y thing] is DIRECTLY HARMFUL to them, so stop saying/doing/using/enjoying it.” “…Every member of x group? You’ve asked people? In real life?” “That’s tone policing/gaslighting/emotional labor/talking over [x] voices!”

Or, “[x group] has said that [y thing] is DIRECTLY HARMFUL to them, so stop saying/doing/using/enjoying it.” “How is it harmful?” “It’s not marginalized people’s job to educate you! Google is free!”

…And so on and so forth, and there’s no room for argument or discussion or disagreement, because obviously anything that causes harm to someone is objectively bad, right?

Except... no. Pretty much everything can be misused in ways that can result in hurt for someone, but that does not mean that those things are intrinsically harmful, nor that others shouldn’t use, be, or engage with them.

To wit, a short list of neutral things that have been directly harmful to me because I, a variously marginalized person, have misused them, underused them, overused them, encountered them before I was ready, had bad counsel about them, bad luck, bad exposure, or lacked the context/knowledge/safe techniques to best engage with them:

- Bicycles - Scissors - Coke Zero - Prozac - One night stands - Licensed Social Workers - Monkey bars - Vegetarianism - Alcohol - MDMA - Romantic relationships - Big men with loud voices - The term “panic attack” - Those giant concrete planters in malls

All of these things directly resulted in significant, lasting negative effects on me — emotionally, physically, socially, financially — most for years afterwards, and some to this day. Much of these negative effects were a result of societal forces much larger than the things themselves — sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, fatphobia, trauma, abuse. I can point with precision to a direct chain of events that began with the mis/use of one of these things and say with complete accuracy and honesty, “This resulted in harm to me.”

Yet none of those things are bad by definition. In fact, almost all of them can be fun, useful, or both, and I think we can all recognize that attempting to block municipal funding for bike lanes by ranting about how “bike lanes condone and encourage the use of BICYCLES, which have been DIRECTLY HARMFUL to me” would be technically true and also completely absurd. The fact that I got a TBI because of unsafe use in dangerous surroundings with inadequate supervision doesn’t mean that it’s morally wrong for my neighbor to happily bike to work in their little reflective vest. The whole culture of people biking without safety equipment isn’t great, but that’s not a commentary on bikes themselves, and bike lanes and stylish helmets do a whole lot more for cycling safety than clutching pearls about how bicycles are HARMFUL (because sometimes their use causes harm).

Obviously, there are things that aren’t neutral — that really are just objectively bad. But when neutral things that can be misused in harmful ways and things that can only ever be harmful are all referred to with the same word and responded to with the same level of seriousness, the result is bizarre false equivalencies where systematic lead poisoning of poor mostly-POC residential areas and the self-ID term “bi lesbian” are treated as basically the same, and truly dangerous things get buried under a deluge of bad faith bullshit, often in the aforementioned form of “[x group] says that [y] is directly harmful to them” parroted by someone who isn’t a member of x group and in fact has never actually talked to an x group member in real life about y and has at best read a few twitter threads.

And when a member of x group does chime in with “this is directly harmful to me!” I s2g 95% of the time that when questioned what it really boils down to is “because of my own self-image, circumstances, history, and/or trauma, this makes me uncomfortable, upset, insecure, and/or triggered, and I externalize this emotional pain as harm inflicted upon me by an outside source (you, the person who said/wrote/did the thing that I reacted to)” which like, again. No?

To pluck another example from my own life: someone crying and asking for comfort in the aftermath of an argument is a huge trigger for me because of my trauma history. I shut down, immediately start looking for escape routes, and panic for hours if not days afterwards. Affectionate physical touch in that situation literally makes my skin crawl.

That doesn’t mean that the other person is harming me by needing a hug for reassurance any more than I’m harming them for being unable to genuinely provide it. It means that, through no fault of our own, our safety needs are in opposition, and this situation hurts.

It’s like — words matter, and universally escalating their severity (and absolutism) when talking about emotionally charged subjects is so goddamn counterproductive. It shuts down conversations that actually need to be conversations, not moral cage matches; completely ignores the awkward and ugly reality of competing access needs; and it obscures the difference between hurt and harm, essential nature and subjective use, between “treating Black boys as adult men is harmful (because it actively puts them in danger)” and “bicycles are harmful (when you’re 9 years old and riding with a broken helmet down a steep slick hill without adults or older kids to tell you ‘walk your bike down and then ride on the flat bit’)”.

If you mean hurtful, say hurtful. If you think this actually harms someone, take the time to explain what you mean and why, or move on and don’t engage. No one is obligated to disclose their trauma or educate everyone all the time, but neither is anyone obligated to pay attention to someone who tells them “so ackshually this thing is extremely bad and wrong but I won’t tell you why I think that or give you information to decide for yourself because that’s too much work for me”. And if someone does have the energy to wade into discussions but then pulls that out and waves it around as their primary rejoinder, that’s probably a pretty good indicator that their ‘proof’ for that argument is a house of cards and they’re engaging for petty personal reasons or to display their knowledge of a shibboleth or both.

#politics #activism #tumblr culture #tw: abuse #tw: trauma #faffing about with my thoughts #i guess my vibe these days is Old Man Yells at Cloud #but hoooooooly sh*t I am so tired of people using the excuse of abstract harm to personally hurt others

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roleplcyheaux · 3 years

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too scared to message you this with my url attached but truthfully i used to think you only got plots and connections because you're popular in the town rp community but i recently ran into you on a different side the rpc and you still seem to have a lot of plots and connections. what's your secret exactly? i get ignored in groups a lot and would really like to know what i can do to get more involved both on my dashboard and off of it.

first and foremost kill the ideology that anyone on tumblr.com is popular. especially in this community. we’re all just a bunch of like minded people who share a hobby and some of us have just been around long enough to become a somewhat familiar name in whatever weird subgroup of tumblr rp we’ve poured most of adolescence into it. popularity means nothing. literally, it means nothing! i’m definitely not popular. i promise my dms are drier than the sahara desert most of the time and i can count my super close friends in this community on my hands so!!!! please, popularity is a myth!!!!!!!!!! i really want to drive that point home!!! and tbh anyone who actually says the words “i’m popular” in this community unironically should be someone you avoid at all costs! now on to my “secret” to getting plots in groups, this is going to sound so condescending but i swear i’m not trying to be: i message people first and ask to plot! literally that’s it. that’s the big secret. you have to put yourself out there to get plots sometimes and i know it’s awkward and nerve wracking but that’s honestly my best advice. you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take right? so tbh, upon joining a group, i just go down the character/mun list and message everyone asking if they want to plot! i’m not saying everyone is going to respond or that all the plots you come up with at first are going to come to fruition but it increases the odds tremendously than just waiting for people to come to you! also sometimes going to someone and just being like “want to plot?” isn’t really....engaging or stimulating enough! so i always try to come with a funny intro or cute opener and just make the message come across enthusiastic rather than just sending like “plot?” ( which i deadass have gotten before and it just oiuhjnkjuhn please put a little more effort than that people!!!! ) i also try to come in with some ideas for my muse and the person i’m plotting with beforehand too to try and make the plotting process a little easier or at the very least give them a little synopsis on my muse in the plotting message so they don’t have to then go and search for my bio/intro to come up with connection ideas! another tip for getting more involved in a group? compliment your fellow members even if you don’t have a plot with them! if someone posts a pretty edit or an angsty self para or even reblogs a picture/gif set of their muse REPLY TO IT WITH SOMETHING ENCOURAGING!!! sometimes going to talk to someone 1x1 can be a little scary, i get that! but you can do things on the dash / ooc blog / discord server to make others in the group feel appreciated and noticed by you which then in turn will encourage them to maybe slid in your dms and offer you stuff if you’re too nervous to do it first! i know it’s scary to put yourself out there but please remember we’re all just a bunch of nerds on this website who like to write and be creative. i’ve rarely ever run across someone who got mad at me for making an effort to plot! also!!! once you’ve got a couple plots under your belt with certain muses, it makes it easier to plot with other ones in the group!!! so like say i plotted with a muse who has a sibling in the group? now i have a jumping off connection to plot with their sibling too! plotting in groups is really just multiple different variations of seven degrees of kevin bacon! sometimes you only need a few solid connections to open the door for a world of other ones! anyways, i hope this was helpful?! if not please just let me know and i’ll try my hand at a guide or something!

#&&. answered #rpt #rph #rpo #anonymous

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let-it-raines · 5 years

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Not Your (soul)Mate {2/?}

Killian Jones doesn’t like the idea of soulmates. He sees how happy his friends are with theirs, but he still doesn’t like the idea, not when he’s found love and lost it time and time again only to still not know his sign. He has no markings on his skin, no voices in his head, but then one day he meets Emma Swan and everything changes. Because, well, he may not have ink on his skin to tell him who to love, but the very first time that he hears Emma’s voice he knows that she’s the one for him. Then again, that could simply be his desire talking. After all, for every word she speaks, he becomes aroused.

It’s not the worst thing in the world to be incredibly attracted to a beautiful woman, but things aren’t that simple when she doesn’t have any interest in being his soulmate.

He’s screwed. And not in the good way.

Rating: Mature

A/N: I’m really blown away by how much you guys enjoyed chapter one! It’s always a little nerve-wracking posting a new story, so for you guys to enjoy it so much is amazing! I really appreciate it! I also appreciate @captainsjedi for my artwork and for being an awesome person 💛

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2

Tag list: @searchingwardrobes @spartanguard @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @dreameronarooftop15 @searchingwardrobes @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @artistic-writer @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81@xellewoods @thejollyroger-writer @cssns

-/-

Emma groans the moment that she’s in Ariel’s bathroom, slamming the door behind her and resting her head on the wooden frame while she tries to regulate her breathing and her heartbeat. It’s too hot, everything on her burning alive despite the chill that’s still dripping off of her dress from the water that was spilled on her, and she can feel the sweat that’s pooling at her temples. She doesn’t need to look in the mirror. She can feel it.

It's disgusting.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she mumbles, fumbling for the knob and locking the door behind her. She’s incredibly tempted to relieve the ache between her thighs in the half bathroom that’s full of white frills and nautically themed décor (which seems too on par for this family), but it’s wrong on so many levels and she can’t.

She just can’t.

She also can’t explain why she feels this way. She can feel her blood running hotly through her veins, feel the pulse of her heart in her ears, and every inch of her skin is covered in gooseflesh. She’s more aroused than she has been in a long time, but she hasn’t been doing anything to cause that. Seriously. She’s a woman, and she doesn’t get this turned on by nothing. People go on and on about how women can have multiple orgasms but the work to get there isn’t exactly a walk in the park even if it is fun most of the time. And she’s definitely not been…walking in any parks today.

She’s at a spring cookout where she’s done nothing but talk to her friends and a few people she’s met a few times and –

Killian Jones.

Killian Jones who spilled a glass of ice water down her white dress and then absolutely refused to look at her afterward. Mostly. He was a bumbling idiot who apparently had a sense of propriety and chivalry, and she appreciates it. She appreciates it, but the man was hot with his blue eyes and defined scruff covered jaw and something weird has been happening to her ever since he started talking and a part of her wouldn’t have minded him looking at her while he did it. His voice echoes in her ears, and she knows that it’s not because his accent is deep and soothing, flowing off of his tongue easily. It’s because her ears focused on it without her permission, and she couldn’t get the deafening sound to drown out so that she could return to normal.

It’s always been the most annoying thing, her weird heightened hearing, but it’s never been quite like that. It’s never been where she can’t make everything go back to normal, where she can’t focus on anything but the tick of his jaw or the way that his tongue moves over his bottom lip. She knows that she is attracted to him, attracted to the fit build under nice clothes and to the blue eyes that contrast with the black hair, but she does not fawn over men after one meeting.

Especially a particularly bad first meeting.

If she’s in a bar and has had a few drinks, maybe. But not in Ariel’s kitchen. That’s not exactly a great place to pick up a guy for a one night stand.

Something is happening to her, and while she has an inkling most likely brought on by stories she’s heard for her twenty-seven years of life, she refuses to think about it, to accept it. That’s too much for her, like it always has been, and she refuses to let it get to her. She refuses to let Killian Jones get to her, so she focuses on regulating her breathing and calming herself down, focusing everything on the steady beat that her heart is returning to until all she can hear is the thrum, the familiar sound soothing her.

Whatever the hell was just happening to her is not going to happen anymore. She won’t let it. She moves from the door and to the sink, turning the water on and splashing her face even if it’ll mess her makeup up a bit. She needs to calm her skin down, to calm herself down, so she spends a few minutes straightening herself up, taking her hair down and running her hands through it before she starts braiding it so that it falls over her shoulder. She’s going to need to borrow a sweater from Ariel, maybe even a full dress, if she doesn’t want to give everyone a show, so after making sure that Killian is not around, she moves out of the bathroom and quickly heads down the hall and into Ariel’s bedroom, opening the door and –

“Nope, no, uh uh,” she chants, closing the door behind her and closing her eyes, only opening them because the darkness makes her replay what she just saw.

This day could not possibly get any weirder.

Or it could. She’s still got to work the night shift, and weird things happen after midnight.

Weird things happen at seven in the evening at a barbecue as well.

Weird things like Killian Jones relieving himself of the erection he was sporting earlier. She’s never going to be able to talk to him again. Or Will. He’s friends with Will, and she might have to never speak to him again – which means she’s going to have to move out of her apartment because of Belle. Of course, if she stays friends with Elsa she’ll occasionally be around Liam, and Killian is Liam’s brother, right?

She can’t escape him.

It’s like six degrees to Kevin Bacon.

Or one degree to Killian Jones.

At least one of them involves bacon.

Though the other could involve…sausage. No. Nope. She’s not going there either. That was a bad joke even in her head.

The door opens behind her, and she practically falls to the ground until she catches herself, using the muscles in her legs to keep her upright – or the hands that are under her armpits that are holding her up. One of those hands was just…

She would pay an indecent amount of money to not be here right now.

Maybe her salary for the next three months. That would probably get her out of here somehow.

“Are you okay, lass?”

Pleasure shoots through her skin again, all of the heat coming back, and she wonders if she can become hot enough to melt.

That would honestly be preferable to all of this.

And she wouldn’t lose all of that money.

“You have got to stop talking.”

“Bloody hell,” he groans, the strain in his voice one that she’s heard before, “you do too.”

Shit. That means that it’s happening to him too, which might mean – no. She’s not going there again. She needs to go anywhere but there. And maybe here. She needs to be away from here.

Where’s the melting thing going to come in? She’s been called a witch plenty of times. Now would be a time where she’d actually like to be one.

Not that she thinks witches exist. They might. She has no idea. She fully believes that Hogwarts doesn’t exist, but then again, if this damn soulmate thing exists, why can’t witches and wizards and ogres?

Maybe Shrek is based off of a true story too.

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me.

“So is it – ”

“Yep,” he curtly admits, lifting her up until she’s solidly on her feet. She doesn’t want to, but she has to, so she turns to look at him.

His face is just as red as hers is, sweat collecting at his forehead again and making some strands of his hair fall down across his forehead, and she’s not sure if it’s because he was just masturbating or because this weird arousal thing is happening to him too. To be fair, he was probably relieving himself because of whatever is happening…if it’s happening.

It’s definitely happening.

Her life has never been fair, but this seems really damn cruel.

“So do we…does it happen whenever I say anything? Like, anything at all?”

His jaw ticks, the defined line moving while he very obviously clenches his teeth, and his knuckles go white. She’s not sure if that’s attractive or if her body is still all out of whack. “Aye. What about you?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Now, love, I know that I’m not every woman’s cup of tea, but I would think being outrageously attracted to me wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip again before his lips curl up into a wicked smile while his brows move across his forehead. It’s unfairly attractive, especially with the way the chains on his neck fall against his visible chest hair, but she’s not going to let this happen. She’s not going to succumb to the universe’s sick way of messing with her, of predetermining her life.

And that’s the crux of the issue. She knows what this is. She somehow knows who’s standing in front of her, and she hates it. She doesn’t want this even if her body is telling her that she wants him. She doesn’t want him because the universe is playing some cruel trick on her. It sucks. There’s no other way for her to be more eloquent about it.

Having. A. Soulmate. Sucks.

It sucks, and if she could go live in some alternate universe where there wasn’t one person predestined for her, she’d do it in a heartbeat. She’d do it even if it meant changing her job or her hair or the country she was born in. She wants autonomy in her own life. She wants the ability to be able to live her life without constantly knowing that she’s in the wrong.

She wants someone to love her for her and not because someone told them to.

She wants.

And why is it that there are only soulmates in a romantic sort of way? Yeah, she gets that your husband or wife or partner or whatever can be your best friend. She really does understand that. She thinks it’s the way it should be. But if the universe is going to predetermine who you’re destined to be with, can’t whatever all-knowing creature that’s out there also do that with friends? With family? With careers?

With parents?

If she has someone out there, someone who may be Kil…if she has someone out there who is her perfect match, why couldn’t she have had parents who wanted her? Who kept her? Maybe they hadn’t been soulmates, and they’d been ashamed of their child who wasn’t born of true love or whatever crap that is. The thought still sends a shiver down her spine. What kind of shitty people give up a child with no explanation, with no name?

She didn’t even have a last name. One was chosen for her.

Swan.

But still, it’s not like they live in some kind of dystopian universe where having a child with someone other than your soulmate means that you’ll be punished to death. So what? Were her parents irresponsible teenagers? Adults with no money? People who just didn’t want a kid?

She doesn’t know. She’s tried to find out, tried to discover information from the article about the little girl who was left on the side of a road in Maine, but she’s never had any luck.

She may never know.

So how can the universe give her a soulmate but not give her parents?

It’s messed up.

And she hates it.

And she hates that she’s felt love, love that she thought was real and genuine and true, only to be left and betrayed and heartbroken in the darkest way. She hates that even after that hurt, she tried again, only to have him leave her for his actual soulmate. She hates that she gave love another chance, that she let her heart fill with hope, only for him to be a liar and a cheater, someone so similar to her first love that it was more jarring than anything she’d experienced in years.

Neal. Graham. Walsh.

Three strikes. You’re out.

She’s out.

She’s out and she’s scarred, metaphorical marks etching across her pale skin, some more red than others, some more jagged. Nevertheless, they’ve all changed her in a way, taken skin that was once unmarked and scarred it.

But then again, her parents likely did the same thing to her. Her skin has never been unmarked.

Except for a soulmate mark. She doesn’t have a tattoo, a birthmark, an oddly colored finger. She’s had nothing.

Until right now.

But she doesn’t want this. She doesn’t. If this is real and happening, she wants to change it. She’s no stranger to using her body as a way to show affection, as a way to get what she wants out of a man, but she still finds something fundamentally wrong about the fact that she and Kil…nope, she can’t even think it. She can’t think that the universe is literally asking her to fuck like bunnies to get to know this man who she might possibly be with forever. What are they supposed to do? Never talk?

She’s more than her body.

So much more.

And she refuses to accept this.

“Look,” she sighs, placing her hands on her hips and straightening her posture, gritting her teeth as she talks. Every word isn’t bad, but she feels like the longer they talk, the worse this thing gets. “I think we both have a vague idea of what’s happening, but I don’t really have any interest in it. Or in you.”

The smirk that was gracing his face disappears, his lips pressing together in a firm line while his hands dig into his pockets as he rocks back on his heels, nodding his head up and down. “I understand.”

“I don’t – ” she starts, realizing how rude she’s being. That’s not what she wants. She knows that she can be prickly, but this isn’t…he doesn’t deserve her rudeness when he seems to be a charming, nice guy. “I don’t mean to be rude. Truly. But I don’t want you to think that you have to, like, get to know me because of whatever is happening.”

The flat press of his lips form into a smile, even if it’s a small one that doesn’t reach his eyes, and she feels some of the guilt alleviate from her shoulders. It’s taking everything in her not to cross her legs to relieve the ache, not to let whatever is happening affect her. It’s not like she’s never experienced similar situations, but this is ridiculous.

At least she’s not a man.

That would be hard.

Literally.

Her eyes glance down to Killian’s crotch before looking back in his eyes. She’s already seen too much today. She doesn’t need more.

There’s definitely...more.

“No, I understand,” Killian nods. “I’m not particularly a fan of this for a hell of a lot of reasons, and for all that we know whatever is happening between us – ” He uncrosses his arms to motion between the two of them, the strain of having to listen to her talk obvious in his voice. “ – is something else entirely than what we think it is. As pleasurable as I’m sure it’d be, I’m not going to try to take advantage of you like that.”

“I promise you, Jones, I would be the one taking advantage of you.” He laughs at that, and she feels the right corner of her lips tick up into a smile. Barely. It’s like a smize or something. That’s what Tyra Banks calls them right? Hers might not be a smize. That seems more like what Killian does. Or his might be a smolder. She doesn’t know. It doesn’t even matter.

Smirk.

He smirks.

“Do you want to get back out to the party, love?” he asks. “And no offense to you, but I think we might want to steer clear of each other.”

“I like the way you think. I just need to um, borrow a dress from Ariel because this one isn’t going to dry.”

His eyes flicker down to her chest before they quickly move back up. “Right then. It was nice meeting you, Swan.”

“Nice meeting you too.” He takes a step away, but then she remembers something. “Don’t – please don’t tell anyone about this. We have a hell of a lot of mutual friends, and if they get one sniff of this – ”

“They’ll force us together until we are together.”

“Exactly. I love them, but they’re all ridiculously in love and feel like everyone else has to be too.”

“I get that. So it’ll be our little secret then?”

“Our little secret.”

“Good.” He reaches up to scratch behind his ear as he takes a few steps away, and she notices the scars on his left hand. “I’m sorry about earlier, about the…compromising position you saw me in.”

She waves him away, not wanting to talk about it. It’s a weird situation for them both. There’s no great way for her to say “Don’t worry about masturbating in front of me.” Of course, she could just say it. But she’d rather not.

“Please, it’s nothing I couldn’t handle.”

He raises a brow, and she focuses on it instead of the ever-growing ache at her core and the way her blood is coursing through her veins. This is getting painful. “I’m not entirely sure that’s true, lass.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Perhaps I would.”

She opens her mouth to say something else, to tell him that she’s ready to haul him into the bathroom and have her way with him against the doorframe even if that’s painful. Hot but painful.

Kind of like whatever is going on between the two of them.

But she can’t say anything like that. She can’t tease him. They’re not doing this even if they both want to jump each other’s bones.

“You should get back to the party.”

It’s a dismissal, and she hopes he knows it. If anything, he should be relieved to get away from her. She cannot imagine just how painful this must be for him. So when Killian nods his head, no words slipping past his lips, and walks down the hallway, she’s relieved.

In more ways than one.

And definitely not in the sexual way.

She doesn’t want that anyways. Not really.

Her entire body is practically on fire, but she focuses on the sound of the air conditioning, letting everything else drown out all the while she heads into Ariel’s bedroom and shifts through her closet to find another dress after scratching the top of Max’s head as he hides away from all of the people. She quickly pulls out a green maxi dress, and pulls it on after stripping out of her wet dress. She’s going to have to remember to come back and get it later.

And she doesn’t mean to snoop, not really, but she most definitely does not miss the stacks of baby clothes piled up in the corner. Either Eric and Ariel are into some weird things or Ariel’s having a baby.

She hasn’t been drinking, is wearing loose clothing, and they have people over. She’s definitely pregnant.

There are going to be so many baby showers, which is honestly a pretty misleading way to phrase that.

Personally, she thinks the mom should get some gifts for herself too. She’s doing all of that hard work and deserves a subscription to some chocolate or something.

When she leaves the bedroom, Killian is nowhere to be seen. She’s relieved by this, even if she knows that he’s going to be outside with all of the guests. Hopefully she can avoid him, though. He seems to be okay with that, to agree with her on the ridiculousness of it all, and she appreciates that. Maybe he has the same view on soulmates as her. Maybe he doesn’t want this just as much as her.

Maybe just maybe.

Maybe she’s also a little curious as to what makes Killian Jones her so-called perfect match.

“Why are you wearing my dress?” Ariel asks her the moment she gets back out onto the deck. She loves Ariel to death, but the woman has no sense of personal space. Then again, Emma did invade her room and steal some of her clothes. “Oh, you know what, it doesn’t even matter.” Ariel grabs her hand and drags her to the center of the deck where Eric is standing holding a glass of water. “Eric and I have a big announcement, and you can stand right next to me as we share it.”

“I feel like that’ll make it look like the three of us have a big announcement, and as much as I love you guys, that’s not really my thing.”

“Ruby would approve of what you just said, and Mary Margaret would literally burrow herself into the ground.”

“True,” she laughs, squeezing Ariel’s hand to try to ground herself as she realizes that there are about thirty people staring at her. Or maybe not her. Around her.

At Ariel and Eric.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Eric shouts, garnering everyone’s full attention while the roar of conversations dims to a subtle clamoring of sounds. She quickly looks out at the group of people, at the ones she recognizes and the ones she doesn’t, and her eyes fall on Killian. He’s sitting down at a table, his legs nowhere in sight, and even though the only other people at the table are Ariel’s parents, he doesn’t seem to want to get up. Smart man. Wouldn’t want to scar everyone. “Ariel and I love having you here all the time, but we’re particularly excited because today we’re announcing that we’re having a baby.”

The roar picks back up again, a mixture of cheers and clapped hands, a few gasps that she knows all come from Mary Margaret’s mouth, but even over all of it, she can hear a British accent quietly whispering “congratulations” to Ariel’s parents. Even with the distance, with the noise, her ears can only focus on that. And her skin prickles again, bumps rising on her arms while her cheeks flush.

And it’s at this moment, with this reaction hearing his voice even over all of this noise, that she realizes that she can’t do this. She can’t be around Killian Jones. She can’t be around someone who is going to impact her this way. He may be a nice guy, someone who she knows is witty and successful from the stories she’s heard, but she has absolutely no interest in being tempted by the universe into sleeping with him and then, like she knows will happen if she’s around him because of how the world works, falling in love with him.

Screw soulmates.

She doesn’t want to screw hers.

#Not Your (soul)Mate #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic #cssns

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dolce-elegy · 6 years

Text

Hartman: The Wannabe King of the “Seven Mountains”

[Better looking/better formatted version on Google Docs]

A couple of days ago while, sitting back, relaxing along with eating some popcorn while enjoying the unfolding Oaxis drama I came across this tweet that talked about how a network by the name of Daystar, that was associated with Butch Hartman, supports a “Christian” cult by the name of Bethel Church.

While that sentence alone of Hartman playing a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with a literal fucking cult would have been the ridiculous icing on the cake on this whole trainwreck, I ended up becoming curious and went down the rabbit hole so to speak. The horrible, horrible right-wing “Christian” rabbit hole. Thank God for private browsing let me tell you… Basically what I found out was while Hartman had no definitive ties to this Bethel Church (which let me tell you the stuff that I read about it was really…something. I suggest reading this Buzzfeed article about their actual real-life-i-am-not-joking school named Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, which is basically and again I am not fucking kidding the right-wing “prophecy” and “faith healing”-focused version of Hogwarts) and he and his family only did a short interview with Daystar, I did however find some interesting facts about the company that Hartman and his family keeps along with his ties to another evangelical ministry which…let’s be honest still sounds like a fucking cult.

Like let me tell you this post’s got everything: homophobic bullshit ministries tied to what is essentially considered to be an “evangelical mecca,” an unaccredited two year “bible college” where you gotta pay over $4,000 too much each school year for what is not a legitimate degree, Hartman’s NOOG Network being used to help fund said “bible college,” “faith healing,” and a fucked-up-when-you-think-about-it religious doctrine/end-game master plan of Evangelical/Charismatic churches that even the most over-the-top super villain would call cliche.

Anyways if you want the short version, Hartman’s whole indoctrination plan using Oaxis goes a lot deeper than that and is directly tied and influenced by an evangelical practice called “The Seven Mountain Mandate” where seven different facets of society need to be controlled and influenced by their version of “Christianity” in order to create a perfect and “Godly" world with one of those facets being that of “arts and entertainment…” I’m going to warn you right now this is going to be extremely long but hopefully worth it in the end.

So shall we begin? (Also RIP mobile users)

Before I get into the meat of the details, let me go more in depth as to what “The Seven Mountain Mandate” is. According to GotQuestions.org, an online “ministry” made up of people from various Christian sects, answering people’s questions about Christianity, this is what it is all about:

“The seven mountain mandate or the seven mountain prophecy is an anti-biblical and damaging movement that has gained a following in some Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. Those who follow the seven mountain mandate believe that, in order for Christ to return to earth, the church must take control of the seven major spheres of influence in society for the glory of Christ. Once the world has been made subject to the kingdom of God, Jesus will return and rule the world.

Here are the seven mountains, according to the seven mountain mandate:

1) Education

2) Religion

3) Family

4) Business

5) Government/Military

6) Arts/Entertainment

7) Media

These seven sectors of society are thought to mold the way everyone thinks and behaves. So, to tackle societal change, these seven “mountains” must be transformed. The mountains are also referred to as ‘pillars,’ ‘shapers,’ ‘molders,’ and ‘spheres.’ Those who follow the seven mountain mandate speak of ‘occupying’ the mountains, ‘invading’ the culture, and ‘transforming’ society.”

Yeah so holy fuck this is like some Illuminati bullshit right here. Well, some Sunday school Illuminati bullshit but still kind of troubling none-the-less.

The website also goes on to say,

“The seven mountain mandate has its roots in dominion theology, which started in the early 1970s with a goal of ‘taking dominion’ of the earth, twisting Genesis 1:28 to include a mandate for Christians to control civil affairs and all other aspects of society. The New Apostolic Reformation, with its self-appointed prophets and apostles, has also influenced the seven mountain movement, lending dreams and visions and other extra-biblical revelations to the mandate.

The seven mountain mandate says that it is the duty of all Christians to create a worldwide kingdom for the glory of Christ. Teachers in the movement use Isaiah 2:2, which mentions mountains, in an attempt to support their view: ‘In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.’ The principal goal of dominion theology and the seven mountain mandate is political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws—and subsequent punishments—of the Old Testament.”

So let’s go over the facts again about good ol’ Elmer’s Oaxis streaming service. The same day Hartman’s kickstarter was funded, a video of him talking at a Lance Wallnau’s conference in Lone Tree, Colorado, by the name of “Wealthbuilders” surfaced. Now you may be asking; who in the fresh hell is Lance Wallnau, well to know a little bit more about Wallnau here’s what he says about himself on his website:

“Dr. Wallnau is an internationally recognized speaker, business and political strategist. USA Today reports that he is one of only three evangelical leaders to have accurately predicted Donald Trump's Presidency. Dr. Wallnau's best selling book, ‘Gods Chaos Candidate’ is credited as being the catalyst that mobilized thousands of Christian's to vote for Donald Trump and contributed to Trumps unprecedented election victory.”

I also highly doubt that he has actual doctorate in theology but that’s just me.

This dude also of course,

loves Milo Yiannopoulos

and last year in March, according to Right Wing Watch he,

“…claimed Alt-Right troll Milo Yiannopoulos for Jesus Christ and prophesied that he will one day be leading revivals on college campuses.

Wallnau said that he began listening to Yiannopoulos in the wake of the controversy regarding his comments condoning pederasty and found him to be a brave truth-teller who ‘is exposing the tyranny and fascist spirit behind the progressive left.’ Yiannopoulos is like 'a prophetic fencer just scoring point after point,’ Wallnau said, which is why the left is out to destroy him.”

That...is a loaded fucking statement right there if I’ve ever seen one...

“But the left will not destroy him, Wallnau predicted, because Yiannopoulos is going to undergo a radical religious conversion and lead an army of millennial prophets who will take on the left.

‘I’m claiming Milo in the name of Jesus for the Kingdom of God,’ Wallnau declared. ‘Just like [Donald] Trump was an unlikely candidate for us as a deliverer in the presidency … God hid himself in Trump, I think God is hiding himself in Milo and I’m calling him out in Jesus’ name to salvation.’”

So fucking yeah…there’s that…Ohhhhhh and it gets even better…so going back to Got Questions, guess who’s movement’s biggest influencer is and who basically started it all…That’s right it’s troll boy’s biggest fanboy,

“Lance P. Wallnau coined the term seven mountain mandate and is its most prominent teacher. Wallnau adapts the missionary mandate of Jesus to His disciples to ‘go and make disciples’ of all the nations into a mandate to effect social transformation. He reasons that, since churches already have a presence in every nation in the world, we need to now concentrate on influencing the systems (the ‘mountains’) within these nations. The problem, according to Wallnau, is that Christians are not currently influencing society outside the church. Christians have left the mountains susceptible to the ‘gates of hell,’ which are spiritual portals over the ‘kings’ (influence-shapers) of those mountains.

Wallnau’s teaching is loosely based on the Abrahamic Covenant, which promised Abraham a seed and a lasting inheritance. Also, Israel was promised in Deuteronomy 28:12–14 to be the ‘head and not the tail' among the nations. Proponents of the seven mountain mandate infer that the church, not Israel, is the entity to claim that promise. It is now up to believers to move in proximity to the ‘gates of hell’ and position themselves to exert the greatest amount of influence. The church then needs to be dissected into ‘micro components’ and infiltrate the mountains. Since every Christian can’t position himself at the top of every mountain, each individual is to find his particular smaller peak and be a leader in that realm.”

Yeah…

Anyways, Wallnau’s “Wealthbuillders” is a “business” conference that claims that it could help a person get out of debt, discover “God’s plan” for them, and how to “influence,” make a “difference” and how “..to know which of the Seven Mountains...” they’re “...meant to impact.”

This conference and the video of Butch laying out his “plan” also surprisingly enough happened back in February. And I just love how literally right off the bat, like 30 seconds in, he starts talking about the “Mountain of Arts and Entertainment” and how Lance Wallnau gave him and his wife the idea. Some other choice quotes are:

“We’re gonna save culture. We’re gonna save families. We are going to speak to them in parables…” Time stamp 12:37

“We’re gonna win freakin’ awards for our programming in order to make a dent …We’re gonna make a dent in this mountain of entertainment I promise you and the minute I put this up people will flock to this…” Time stamp 17:48

“We must win back our future, and like Lance says, ‘We are the stone that is gonna slay the giant.’” Time stamp 18:29

Also I haven’t seen other people talk about this but there were also two other Evangelical talk shows that both he and his family (particularly his wife who is heavily involved in the promotion of Oaxis) appeared on in early July. One was his and his family’s (including his two daughters) appearance promoting Oaxis on the aforementioned Daystar Network’s “Marcus and Joni” show on July 16th with the timestamp starting at 6:19 (and here’s a link to a youtube clip if you don’t want to give them the clicks), that I mentioned earlier. Daystar is one of America’s largest religious networks with close to 100 affiliates (specifically 94) all across the US. Also fun fact: Marcus and Joni are married and Marcus being the “good and moral Christian” that he is, had an extramarital affair a while back, had to pay blackmailers millions in dollar to keep quiet about until he was forced to admit said affair in order to stop them, which then culminated in Daystar getting sued by a former executive who stated that knowledge of the affair caused her “...great emotional pain.”

Moving on, in this video it you’ll see the same egotistical thing about how Hartman claims that “…God told me to start this new network…” and “God told us to launch this Kickstarter…”

His wife Julieann also states this interesting little tidbit,

“Yeah I feel that, you know, Christians have been pushed into a corner when it comes to entertainment. That we can’t watch this and we can’t watch this and it’s like why is that? So that’s why we’ve created this. It’s gonna be amazing. You know I’m a mom of two daughters and you know I was helicopter mom, and I still am even though they’re adults. But you know we’ve gotta watch because they sometimes, you know, they don’t realize what they’re watching and what they’re getting into. And so it’s really important that we have a streaming service like this to where you can put your kids in front of; your adult kids in front of; your teenage kids in front and say ‘you know what I’m safe at home right here at Oaxis…at Oaxis entertainment…’”

So wait, according to her even full-grown adults still have to stay under the thumb of their parents and you think that even though they’re adults they’re still not mature enough to sort through the kinds of media that they want?? Jesus Christ and here I thought my parents were overprotective.

Now the second interview that Hartman and his wife did (and which actually at an earlier date on July 2), was appearing on the “Truth and Liberty” Youtube live cast, by the name of “Animator Butch Hartman: Teen Suicide, Depression & Impacting Cultu [re]” (yeah they deadass ran out of room to write the title) [EDIT: VIDEO HAS BEEN DELETED] of yet another slimy self-proclaimed “Christian,” by the name of Andrew Wommack.

Now Wommack and Wallhau are terrible people BFFS along with being BFFs to the Hartman family due to his past history with Hartman’s wife that I will get into in a bit. He’s also of course a bit of an infamous homophobic evangelical preacher.

“If the radical LGBT community uses this as a platform to start further suppressing the religious liberties of Christians—which I’m sure is coming—then this could cause a backlash against their radical agenda by so many people that it could bring America back to her senses.

The true hate speech today is not from Christians against homosexuals; it is the other way around. The homosexual community are the ones who hate Christianity and any moral standards. They are the ones who are truly intolerant. Beneath all the rhetoric is a true hatred for Christianity, the Bible, and all the moral restraints they impose. This is the spirit of antichrist that is working in the whole earth (1 John 4:3).” - from “Andrew’s Response to the Supreme Court’s Decision, June 26, 2015” Andrew Wommack Ministries Blog

Oh and he has just as interesting views on suicide as Elmer does~

“This isn’t a disease for which we have no cure. This is totally preventable, but not by teaching people how to cope better, having more drugs for treatment of mental illness, or staging more interventions by friends and family. Those are just treating the symptoms. In order to treat the problem, we have to correctly diagnose the cause.

The root problem is that our society has unleashed pure evil into our culture through promoting immorality and sin through media, schools, and government while marginalizing Christianity and its godly influence. We’ve had a major departure from the moral standards that held evil in check for hundreds of years in this nation, and now we are paying the price.”

He is just as much as Wallnau is, all about the Seven Mountains let me tell you that. So much so that he owns an “entrepreneurial” company by the name of 7M Ventures, Inc. which falls under the umbrella of his main brand of Andrew Wommack Ministries (where he has congregations all over the US and the World) and his website by the name of TruthandLiberty.net. In 7M Ventures, Inc.’s main description on twitter, it talks about how it’s “…focused on influencing the world and providing income to fund ministry growth.”

And presented without comment

Anyways, going back to the Hartman interview, here’s some “choice” quotes and things that happened in this video.

Time stamp 00:00 INTRO: “We believe we have a mandate to bring Godly change to our nation and the world through the seven spheres or mountains of influence…”

Time stamp 02:05 “So tonight we are going to be about talking about the ‘arts and entertainment’ mountain because ‘truth and liberty’ is really about all the seven mountains.” -Karen Conrad, co-host

Time stamp 5:30 “…And I really think that looking at the entertainment mountain these days I think we really are in need of a lot more family entertainment…”

Hartman also goes more into detail about how Wallnau gave him the inspiration for Oaxis at 5:45:

“Lance Wallnau and I was up talking about the mountain of entertainment and how a lot of Christian people; and we’re Christian people, are kind of intimidated by Hollywood and things like that; they just want Hollywood to just go away. And we looked at each other and went ‘we gotta go…got to go in and at least bring an option into Hollywood that; not there’s no family friendly entertainment out there but it’s sort of treated like the kids table at Thanksgiving. Like it’s not taken very seriously, um, as much as I think it should be and a lot of other stuff is out there that I think, you know, maybe a lot of kids and families don’t really want to watch. And so we thought, you know, we should do we should a streaming service just for the family…”

Time stamp 7:33 Julieann talks about doing a “news program” for the Oaxis network where it will only talk about “positive” news stories

Time stamp 10:20 Hartman basically insinuates that the reason why teen suicides are up so much is because of phones.

Time stamp 11:55 Hartman basically insinuates that Oaxis will lower suicide rates by affecting the mountain of arts and entertainment.

Hartman in general just repeatedly mentions the mountains and affecting them.

Time stamp 20:19 “…And we know that we’re not gonna limit God. We’re not limiting Him at all.”

Time stamp 23:24 “…We love Jesus and but we want to put Jesus in our shows. I believe that you can reflect Jesus in your content without saying the word ‘Jesus.’”

Okay now Hartman’s just flat out admitting that he believes that his scam of a “network” will affect suicide statistics… “Then I believe that those suicide rates might go down…” at Time stamp 27:04

Time stamp 31:05 From his wife Julieann, “Could you imagine living with that? Of knowing that maybe someone killed themselves because they watched your show?”

Ohhhhhhhh, oh honey. Both of y’all just gonna ignore what happened last year now aren’t you?

Moving on...

Time stamp 34:40 “When I did shows at Nickelodeon, I did all my cartoons. And I couldn’t say the word ‘Jesus’ in them. I couldn’t say any of that because the network wouldn’t put it on. But I could put Jesus’ principles in there…”

Listen... people have already scraped the bottom of the barrel in regards to this for jokes but, you greenlit fairy m-preg. You, yourself helped to write said fairy m-preg. Never forget the fairy m-preg Butch. Because we sure as hell won’t let you.

Also nice to see that his wife shares his flip-flopping views on things At 36:40 when asked by one of the hosts who’s fielding a similar question from two different people about how different is Oaxis from other services such as “Pureflix” and “Faith and Family,” she answered, “Well number one we are not a Christian network. So it’s not going to be faith-based programming.”

She also goes on to say that they’re going to be challenging the writers to create something that’s just as compelling, but just without all the bad stuff. In other news, local woman does not know understand the reason why narrative conflict, along with the tragedy and drama genres have to exist when we can just be happy all day, everyday. More at 11.

Hartman and his wife also talk about how they learned that from Andrew Wommack and how Hartman and him met primarily through his (Hartman’s) wife. Which brings me to how exactly Julieann and Wommack exactly got connected. In the first minute or so Wommack talks about how Julieann, a woman who became a born-again Christian at age 27, was actually one of their “healing journeys” and she once dealt with fibromyalgia and “…many other things…” but through the power of “faith healing” she “successfully” overcame all of her problems after spending over thousands of dollars on different doctors and treatments.

“And Jesus just healed you” Andrew Wommack said to Julieann who immediately confirmed his statement.

Now what the other issues that she was dealing with that aren’t mentioned in this video are various mental issues primarily being anxiety.

“Julieann suffered with the mental anxieties she had always battled, but this time she had physical symptoms as well. Every day she struggled with chronic flulike symptoms, body aches and pains, random numbness and twitching. The Hartmans spent tens of thousands of dollars on medical and alternative treatments trying to help Julieann. Her life became consumed with visiting specialists and worse—diagnosing herself via the Internet.” from “Julieann Hartman: A Fearless Woman of Faith” Andrew Wommack Ministries Blog

Also I just love this quote from her about how she was before she got introduced to Wommack…

"The funny part of this was that even if a doctor would give me medication, I wouldn’t take it because I felt that I was not being in faith. It was crazy!”

…There…is a lot to unpack there, so I think I’ll leave it at that…moving on…

“During a trip to Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving in 2009, Julieann stumbled across Andrew's Gospel Truth program on TV. Within seconds she dismissed Andrew wondering aloud, ‘Who could listen to him? I would fall asleep.’ Six months later however, she came across Andrew again. This time, she heard Andrew say something that grabbed her attention and went straight to her heart. Andrew was sharing things Julieann had never heard before and she was captivated.

Julieann went to Andrew's website and began downloading his teachings and ordering materials. ‘I took two weeks, cleared my schedule, and I didn’t leave my house. I listened to Andrew, I watched Andrew, I prayed, I read and I spoke to my body! I was filled with so much peace and joy! I also enrolled in the Online Charis Bible College. I immersed myself in the Word! The Word came alive in me and my symptoms started to change,’ said Julieann.”

So yeah, there’s that. Also keep the Charis Bible College in the back of your mind…we’re gonna get to that soon because Hartman’s wife ain’t the only one involved with that.

“‘I don’t know what the teaching was, but it was him saying that there was a man who had Parkinson’s. And so Andrew says, ‘So, I say to him, ‘Just tell your hand to stop shaking’. . . . So [the man] said, ‘Hand, stop shaking.’ And it did!’ Julieann continues, ‘So, I’m watching this going . . . what? But there was something about it that . . . just caught me.’”

So basically from there she went on a Wommack bender and absorbed everything that he’s ever said and done, and the rest is history. She and her whole family became obsessed with him and his “teachings.” Even talking about how they watch his videos all the time. Also about how much she wanted her two daughters to go to Charis Bible College, and they later did.

“From that revelation, Julieann started claiming the healing that already belonged to her. ‘I walked through my hallways going, ‘In the name of Jesus, stop being numb. Numbness, you are dead. You get out of my body now in the name of Jesus! Get out of my body! Pain, back pain, get out of my body! I don’t care what’s been spoken over me or whatever anybody told me or said I have. In the name of Jesus, I rebuke all of that and, body, you come back to life now!’’

Although Julieann said all the right things, her healing did not come all at once. Undeterred, she continued to press into God’s Word until, little by little, all her symptoms melted away. ‘It was a progressive healing, but the only reason it was progressive is because I made it progressive.’ Julieann continues, ‘It wasn’t just the healing on the outside. It was teaching me about who I was in Christ, and that was the missing link.’”

There is still a lot of things to unpack here…

Time stamp 46:29. Wommack also talks about how both of Hartman’s daughters went to Charis Bible College.

[Instagram Post from Hartman’s youngest daughter’s (Sophia Hartman) graduation this past May. Pictured here: Julieann Hartman, Butch Hartman, Andrew Wommack, Jamie Wommack (his wife), Sophia Hartman, and Carly Hartman]

Hell, in the infamous “Wealthbuilders” video that brought him public outrage, Hartman also admitted that both of his daughters (at the time in February at Time stamp 1:29) were students there. Now what exactly is Charis Bible College? CBC, or Colorado Bible School as it was originally known as, is a 2-3 year “school” which is,

“Focused on educating the body of Christ about who God is and who He is in His saints. Charis Bible College is equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, training disciples to go out and share the Gospel with the rest of the world in the way God has uniquely called each individual to do it.”

It has over 16 locations in both the US and across the world, with the main campus being in Woodland Park, Colorado.

It’s also unaccredited.

Oh and their application fee is $100 (which of course is non-refundable and Jesus fuck is 2x more than I had to pay for my own application fee to apply to fucking graduate school) and the cost of an individual’s tuition paid in advance is at least $4,500, which for an uncredited, basically useless degree is still $4,500 too much.

But hey, “mountain of education."

Also going back to Hartman’s wife. In the video of her “healing journey” she states something rather interesting at times stamp 9:34...

“So we started the NOOG Network; it’s N-O-O-G Network and we call it a safe place for kids. What we wanna do is, the money that comes from the network is gong right into the dorms…” And she basically talks about whatever else too. “I am so on board with his vision.”

So...I don’t know exactly how to look up financials and donations for groups and such, and I’m surprised that the NOOG Network even fucking got off the ground, but the fucking implication...If any of y’all have downloaded the app... probably been forced to sit through ads which bring in revenue for the owner (aka Hartman)...and the app page says it has in-app purchases...I’m sorry you may have helped fund Charis Bible College dorms or whatever else Andrew Wommack desires, and as the Narrator of the video says at 10:00,

“The NOOG Network is just one of the many ways the Hartmans are advancing God’s Kingdom.”

If you don’t know, that video is actually from at least late 2015 since it was featured in a February 2016 speech given by Butch Hartman at CBC for its 3rd year “Media School.”

He says some more interesting things. Such at 34:24,

“If you have an iphone, the NOOG Network is a network on the iphone store and it’s absolutely free. It’s free so you have no excuse.” [The app store says that it currently costs 99 cents to download] “Um, I’d like you all to download this cause this is ‘God’s Network...’

At 34:58 “You know how you guys are invested in this ministry? This [the NOOG Network] is my ministry.”

I do also want to talk about one more thing. So on the original

Oaxis Kickstarter page’s “Community” tab

I noticed that the most backers in the US came from Colorado City, CO.

Suddenly I got a weird feeling and wondered if there was any correlation or strange connection...

Oh.

Well that explains a lot. It is rather interesting when you take into account that Andrew Wommack Ministries’ main US address is in Colorado Springs as well. Not to mention, his Charis Bible School. And even Wallnau’s “Wealthbuilders” conference took place at a Marriott in Lone Tree, CO. I guess all that promoting on his show and Daystar paid off after huh, Hartman?

Anyways I think that’s it for now. I kept finding more and more fucked up insidious stuff and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more. I just wanted people to know about this because they should. It seems that Hartman actually doesn’t want to just indoctrinate kids into these awful values, but everyone else too. And honestly, in retrospect their tagline for their Oaxis network, “Oaxis: Because we’re family” sounds cult-ish as hell... At the end of the Hartmans’ interview on Wommack show, Wommack started talking about getting people [i.e. their supporters] ready to vote [as in vote for the Christian Conservative candidates] in the Mid-term elections, and sorry if I’m going a little off-topic here but here’s your friendly, little reminder:

VOTE.

Don’t let these fake as hell “Christians” win and ruin this country even more for their 7-step-take-over-the-world plan. Hartman is just one small part of this BS.

Like I’m sorry if I’m sounding like a conspiracy nut but this “Seven Mountains Mandate” is a real fucking belief system that needs to be talked about. And it’s fucking disgusting that Hartman and his family were going to even attempt to worm their way into the minds of children and their families, filling their heads up with their “values,” which from the company that they keep, correlates more with hate than the love and acceptance that one is supposed to have when they’re a Christian. I doubt that Oaxis will become as popular and successful as Hartman kept claiming to his buddies; especially with the whole public fallout considering what happened with the kickstarter. Also only God knows if they’re even still gonna try and go through with it after the mainstream reaction that they got, but again, it’s fucked up that they even tried it in the first place.

To quote GotQuestions on the mandate again,

“The church then needs to be dissected into ‘micro components’ and infiltrate the mountains. Since every Christian can’t position himself at the top of every mountain, each individual is to find his particular smaller peak and be a leader in that realm.”

So in conclusion: don’t give them an inch. Be wary of any conservative evangelical that talks about “mountains,” “spheres,” or “pillars.” Hold them accountable and don’t let these manipulators even get close to the base of a “mountain” let alone, what they consider to be their “peak.”

Some other “fun” links:

Lance Wallnau’s Right Wing Watch tag

Andrew Wommack’s Right Wing Watch tag

2010 Box Turtle Bulletin Article “Andrew Wommack and His Ministries Are Trying to Kill You” in regards to the (currently unpassed at the time) proposed Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

#butch hartman #oaxis #danny phantom #fairly odd parents #noog network #signal boost #mAN...LISTEN #I'VE BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT THIS ENTIRE WEEK #THIS IS OVER 20 PAGES #JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS DONE I KEPT FINDING MORE AND MORE FUCKED UP SHIT #LIKE I KNOW THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED BUT HOLY FUCK #fucking sunday school illuminati man...#mass murder //#well it's only mentioned once in reference to what happened last year #suicide //#i got so many fucking screencaps of all of this shit and more

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girlsbtrs · 4 years

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Artist Interview - PORTES

PORTES is an artist with a story. Born in Guatemala and adopted at a young age, she was raised in Colorado. She has always loved the creative arts, being involved in dance, visual art, piano, and, of course, singing. Although she is new to the pop and electronic scenes, she has sung with church choirs and written with Grammy award-nominated artists. She currently plays local Denver venues, right after she tucks her son into bed.

PORTES is an amazing artist, but, just as importantly, an activist. Her latest single, “Human,” is an ethereal song with beautiful vocals and touching melodies. But this song is more than just something to listen to. A very important message can be derived as well, a call to action. It brings up the effects of climate change. Although perceived as a sad song, it is an encouragement to incite change in our lives and the world around us. We got to talk to PORTES about “Human” and more.

Could you explain the idea of your project PORTES? What does it mean to you?

The change from my previous stage name to PORTES was a methodical process. I wanted a name that encompassed who I am as a songwriter. I have written music in all genres, which I see as different personalities, or in this case, at least musically, as doors. I took the French word for doors (des Portes) and have incorporated that into my stage name. As I explore music and songwriting, I keep those doors open for whatever inspiration strikes me. I’ve moved from dream pop and ambient to R&B and to an edgier alternative rock and industrial rock sound.

Your song Human is very calming, but the lyrics themselves are unsettling. What is the message of the song, what do you want listeners to get from it?

It is calming, but it should make the listener uneasy. We’re living in a critical age of extinction, global warming, and climate change. I have actually heard scientists calling it the “Plasticene Epoch.” The message of the song is to look all around us at the changes in our environment and culture. Life is hard for humans and animals, but I offer hope in the song. I’m not a nihilistic person. We all can do better and make the necessary changes one-by-one to ameliorate our life on this planet.

What are some of the rewards and hardships of being a mother and a musician?

I fostered my son for two years before adopting him in December 2018. It is tough being a single parent and dealing with the foster care system and the bureaucracy. It was a complicated and difficult situation for my son (and siblings). I have no regrets though. He’s a joy and despite him not being my biological child, he looks like me. Everyone says so and I think that’s so sweet. Honestly, he’s really pretty easy considering his trauma. He’s a sweet, thoughtful, loving, kind little boy. I absolutely love him. I’m lucky to have my mom who helps me out and watches him too. I can plan shows and if they are early enough in the day, he can attend or I’ll do a late show and know that my mom is taking good care of him. But the best thing about being a single mom and musician is that he loves to sing and dance too. He wants to start his own band and he has inspired me to write songs off the cuff. I love that he sang on this track too. “Human” is very dear to my heart.

What was the transition from church choir to solo artist like?

It’s really about the content. Now that I’m back in a church choir, there’s a lot more sight reading of notes so I’m brushing up on it again and getting better. However, I still prefer to sing my own songs. I have offered to write songs for church and there’s a “door” for that too. I have written worship music before for church.

How is the Colorado music scene? Do you think your location has an impact on your music or your performances?

I think the Colorado music scene is close. We tend to hover in the same circles and it’s like seven degrees of Kevin Bacon in the Denver area. I like that. I have lots of creative friends and now that I’m doing more music and doing things like photoshoots and working on a music video, I’m meeting more people. I live in the metro area, but there’s not a lot of venues near me to perform. I think I’ll plan on bigger festivals where it’s easier to network.

What are your plans for 2020?

My plan is to perform more in 2020. I’ve had some respiratory infections and hoarseness that I’m trying to control and with a host of medical providers helping me, I’m on the road to recovery. I’m in the process of working on a new album called “National Anthems.” I’m really excited about this one. It’s a protest album with controversial topics and it’s going to garner attention.

- interview by Elise O’Leary

#artist interview #featured artist #elise o'leary

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radredrecluse · 7 years

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@mlpfirewind replied to your post“what the heck is your problem, that person on twitter and you are...”

you know what fair enough, but conversely can you not agree that being seen as unattractive simply because of what you are is very damaging, and whether or not being seen as attractive is a root is someones validation or not you can't argue it would help, and I feel trans women are on a certain level also victim to the pressure of physical beauty set by society, like if she passes but doesn't meet the set standard, would she not be victim to the same hurtful criticism.

yes but wouldn’t it then be harmful for the radfems who are called ugly on the daily by transactivists who disagree with them? (that’s the tamest of the insults lbr.) it’s subscribing to the social construct of beauty instead of dismantling it, weaponizing it just like “cishet” men do. i’m not saying transwomen and transmen aren’t victims of it, it’s just that gnc women and men are just as dehumanized and women in general are conditioned to self-objectify. there’s no “cis” privilege for women.

@mlpfirewind replied to your post“what the heck is your problem, that person on twitter and you are...”

And on the other issue honestly both of you are wrong, because I think on a certain level not being attracted to someone because there trans isn't trasphobic but sometimes it is, like it's a known fact that a subspecies of human male called "The Frat Douche" will see trans women as people trying to device them and get angry with them because they made them be attracted to a "man" and the idea that something to that effect doesn't happen in lesbians is a bit silly,

i never said this doesn’t happen to lesbians. however everyone has the right to refuse sex at any time during the encounter and for any reason, that’s indisputable. i feel like we can agree that “frat douches” should just keep to themselves and stop acting like the world is their person catalogue of potential fucks tho

@mlpfirewind replied to your post“what the heck is your problem, that person on twitter and you are...”

and no not being attracted to certain genitals is not wrong, but honestly being bisexual this whole issue is a bit beyond me. and you know what I think conflating the complex issue of the potential trasphobia behind certain peoples actions, and the blatant racism behind all lives matter in response to black lives matter is a bit fucked.

no disagreement here

@mlpfirewind replied to your post“what the heck is your problem, that person on twitter and you are...”

also please tell me how anything in those tweets promoted rape culture, without having to play seven degrees of Kevin Bacon with it.

basically there are more than enough examples of lesbians being vilified for their sexuality online (and being sent rape/violence threats) that riley is conveniently unaware of. she says demanding to be fucked has never been the argument, neglecting the cotton ceiling theory. additionally she says,

“‘it’s not transphobic to have a preference for one kind of genitals over the other’ is true in the same way ‘all lives matter’ is true”

“all lives matter” is a silencing device used by white supremacists. having a “preference” for one kind of genitals is literally just a sexual orientation. suggesting it’s anything else would kinda be promoting conversion therapy and coercion/breach of consent, but stop me if you think i’m reaching.

#radfem #radical feminism #gender critical #gender abolition #anti femininity #riley dennis #lesbophobia #homophobia #gnc

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winesympathy-blog · 4 years

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Wine & Sympathy - Episode 3: Back At It Again [Transcript]

Show Notes:

We sit down with actress and make-up artist, Jennifer Holt, who discusses getting back into the acting game after taking some time off. We talk about what it's like to raise a child actor, being back in the audition seat, and how the corona virus has been affecting her daily life.

Co-host: Asabi Goodman

Co-host: Vanessa "Ness" Bristow

Guest: Jennifer Holt

Social Media & Website Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/winesympathy

Instagram: www.instagram.com/winesympathy

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sympathywine

Website: www.winesympathy.page

Guest Links

Website: www.facebook.com/jennifer.jbholt

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennifer_holt

[START]

And hello!

Hi everybody, this is Vanessa.

And this is Asabi and together we are...

BOTH

Wine and Sympathy!

Well today we actually have one of our famous special guests that we keep talking about.

Yes, such a treat, such a treat and I'm excited to get to know this person.

I know.

Yes.

Okay, I'll do a little bit of an intro. So today our special guest via phone, due to COVID-19, is Miss Jennifer Holt.

Woohoo!

Jennifer is known for her roles in Flipper, Pacific Drive, Beverly Hills Family Robinson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and is currently in pre-production for the new indie production, The Witches Knight, which is so cool.

It looks cool.

I like witches!

Yes, and it's not like NIGHT, it's KNIGHT like a Knight.

Knight!

Yes. As in swashbuckling. Ha ha ha!

She's also...a little bit of history about Jen...she was in the running to be Miss Saigon for Andrew Lloyd Webber when he first brought Miss Saigon to Australia. Now that's kind of how we know each other from our musical theatre history. She's also a working hair & makeup artist in many productions, and is the mother of the fabulous teen actor, PJ Holt. So, recent changes, Jen, you've decided to jump back in front of the camera. Can you tell us why?

Why? Well, actually my son has been pushing me to go back in front of the camera. He actually found old videos of my musical theatre time. You know, the old VHS?

BOTH

YES!?

I am currently doing that, VHS to DVDs lately.

She has some shocking stuff.

Well, he found a couple of them when he was younger, and he's been asking me why don't I do it since he does it? And my old agent, Peter Glover, who is a producer now. His daughter is actually one of the producers of "Tidelands" and what was the other one? Oh my gosh.

The Witches Knight?

Oh, no, no. She's a producer for ABC. Oh, sure. Harrow. Yes, she is part of Hoodlum.

Harrow? I've been on that show. Yes, Hoodlum. I know them very well

And they just convinced you to jump back in front...

Yes. Yeah. So she and Peter are father and daughter, and they used to be my agents.

Okay.

And Peter Glover actually used to say, "get your butt into gear, Jen, and get back in front of the camera."

That’s fantastic!

That's good, too, because you are a woman of the same age as us.

Yes.

And that's one of the things about this podcast that we're talking about. What it is like to be a woman in her 40s.

Prime! Just say it, a woman in her 40s.

BOTH

[Laughter] The new 20s!

Okay so double 20s! What's it like to be in the performing arts? As you? How do you feel going back into it now?

Okay, it's been a while since... Well, it hasn’t been a while. But to start going back there and putting myself out and auditioning. It's kind of daunting. Yeah?

BOTH

Yeah.

Because the fact that I think to myself, “Oh my god, I'm old.”

You're not old, but we know how you feel.

You're experienced, NOT old!

Yeah but do you know what I mean? Yeah. What can I...What roles can I play? And sometimes I don't get to play the role that I like to play anymore. Does that make sense?

Yeah, definitely. Definitely.

Yeah. And then sometimes, though, there is one that I would like to play, ones that I'd like to play a certain age, our age group, and then sometimes they say, "No. You don't look old enough to play that part.” But I am that old.

Yeah, that's right. We get that.

Because we don't look our age. It’s super weird.

Well, I mean, I think it's that the "powers that be" have this idea of what a woman in their 40s looks like. And you know, when women in their actual 40s rock up. They're like "Oh, you're not exactly what we had in mind. We need somebody who looks a little bit... "

BOTH

Older!

Well, they should open it and make it women in their 50s instead of women in their 40s.

Exactly.

I think it's marketing's fault or advertising.

Who knows? I think people just see someone on television and they go, “Oh, that person must be in their 40s,” because...Let's be honest, when you were in your 20s what did you think a 40 year old looked like?

Old.

Yeah, exactly. [Laugh]

And wrinkly. Hey, Jennifer. Tell me about The Witches Knight.

Oh, at the moment I can't really say anything.

NDA [Non Disclosure Agreement].

Well that was a little bit of a "boom boom"....

Now Jennifer, this is Asabi here, and I know we haven't met, but you know I did a little bit of IMDb stalking on you. And it turns out that we worked on the same project together - Project One Shot - back in the day. Remember that? I played one of the Real Housewives of Sanctuary Cove.

Oh yes, you guys would have been at that table in the restaurant. Yes. The really stuck up housewives!

Yes, that's right. And they gave us free food and free champagne. It was really nice.

It sounds like a great gig!

You guys got the best spot, just so you know; no one else got to eat, in the whole production!

They put tonnes of food in front of us all day long. And it was just like little finger foods. But still, it was nice. And they were like "Eat, eat it. We made it just for you!" So it was really good.

Well then we would've met then, for sure.

Yeah, definitely.

I was actually in that section.

Oh, okay. Then, yes. So we would have met each other.

That's what's so crazy about Brisbane, or Queensland, but Brisbane specifically. We all kind of know each other. It's like, you know, the 12 degrees or seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. The seven degrees of BrisVegas.

Yeah, that's right. We should make that a game.

We should make that a thing?

We Should.

Well, we’ll figure it out, and we'll get back to you.

With each guest, we’re like, “so how are we connected?”

Now, Jennifer, tell me as a female artist, how do you do everything that you do? You're a mom, you obviously have a job. You're obviously pushing your career and doing everything that we do to survive. How do you do it? How do you cope?

How do I cope? Good question. Do you want me to lie a little bit? I'm kidding. Seriously? Um, it's a really good question. I just do, I focus on well, most of my focus is helping my son cause he gets more auditions than I do, due to his age, and his look, he is better looking than me.

Never.

We do have the same agent.

Oh, well see...

That’s cute.

So... but he is...but coping with everything, it's... Ohhh, it's a lot of reorganizing beforehand. Does that make sense? I have to think of everything that needs to be done at least a day, a week ahead.

It's all about time planning, isn't it?

Does that make sense? It's, it's, and it’s not fun.

No, I can only imagine your calendar must be crazy. Just completely chock full of appointments here and there for you and your son.

Yes, it's basically getting up in the morning. Okay, remind myself what's on my agenda. So I have to prepare everything. If something like, well, my son’s gotta go to school, so I got to take him to school and do everything else. I mean, he's only 13, he should go to, you know, make his own lunch. However, I'm a bit pedantic about what he eats. So, I wake up early in the morning and I make and cook his breakfast. I cook all his lunches so he goes to school with proper food, and then I come back home after dropping him off and I go into the computer and I'm on the phone.

And you are doing stuff like our podcast! In your history of everything that you've done, which everyone knows about and we can also check you out you've got a Facebook page don't you? What’s...what's your link to that?

Oh it's my name is Jennifer Holt, oh my gosh what is my Facebook page?

That's okay we don't promote ourselves well either. That's all good. We will we will definitely put a link to your Facebook and your socials.

[Laughter] What's your best experience in your career to date? What would, in your mind, is like, the first thing that comes to your mind as being like the best experience so far?

Best experience? Ah, just one?

Okay, give us a couple.

Give us your top ten!

I mean, to me, working with amazing other talents is, I think...I can't really say I liked working on Dr Jekyll & Hyde over, over Flipper or anything like that. I just...I don't know. I just love just working with creative people. Yeah, you know what I mean? Yeah, definitely. It's like my son the other day he received a trophy from Texas for his little film that he wrote. I was more excited than he was. And I said, “Oh My God, honey you won!” And he goes "Oh, thanks Mom". So I said “okay great, don't jump out of your skin” stop...

I think he realizes that it's from Texas. [Laughter] Not to degrade any of our Texas listeners, if we have any but...I'm from Oklahoma. So you know... [Laughter]

You know, I said to him, aren't you happy? He says, "But Mummy, I don't actually do it for the trophy. I like the trophy, but I do it because I really love what I do." That's the same thing; I think that's the feeling that I have as well. I enjoy being on set. It's my happy place. It's my son's happy place. We actually get on really well when we're both on set. Funnily enough.

Have you ever done anything together?

Oh, there was a Commonwealth Games commercial. I was...They wanted me to drive him...pretending I'm driving him to his swimming training. That was one. Oh! He's actually in The Witches Knight, as well.

Oh, fantastic. The one that we can't talk about. Yeah.

Yeah, well, he got cast before I did.

And see there is already a picture for it up on IMDb.

Oh. Did you see the picture?

I did, yeah.

Which one? Of me looking really glamorous?

Let me see. I’ll have to look at it again.

Oh the actual or the mock up poster?

Yeah, I think it’s the mock poster, which is very cool. Very, very cool.

It is cool. Now obviously being part of this crazy BrisVegas community that we're in, how do you find it for casting? You said before that your son got more auditions than you did.

Okay, with PJ he doesn't get a lot of Australian auditions. He gets some more of American, because he has an agent in Australia, as well as LA, and all his auditions are all American/Canadian based auditions.

And why do you think that is?

Because he doesn't have an Aussie accent.

Right. See? And I think that's a very important insight for Australia. Because I suffer from the same thing. I don't have an Australian accent either.

Yeah. He has your accent.

Yeah, yeah. And I get a lot of auditions for American based shows that are filming here, but rarely do I get auditions for the Australian shows that are here. Or I just get cast as an extra. And I love...I love being on set as you said, you know, there's just something about being around creative people...

But, you’re more than just an extra.

Exactly. And what sucks is that they see me and they're like, "Oh! Let's put the camera on her." So then I get seen...

And then you open your mouth!

That's right! I get seen in that one little thing and then I can't get cast as anything else because, you know, I've played plain-clothes detective on Harrow for the last three seasons, and I'm like, “Give me one line. I can say no. I can say no. I can say it like an Australian. I could say NO [in Australian accent].” And there you go.

That was so "Aussie."

That was a bit Aussie. It was a bit scary!

You have a bit of an accent too, Jennifer.

Accents. I do. I can have her accent as well.

A little bit. Yeah, not bad. Not bad at all.

Now with a Southern accent anybody can do a Southern accent...

I agree with that girl, anybody can do a Southern accent. It's so simple.

We will leave that one over there...

But yeah, so with auditions and stuff even with myself because Australia - we're talking 20 years ago, yeah. More than 20 years ago - it wasn't as multicultural or multi-ethnic when it comes to television or film. Vanessa, you would agree to this, unless it was musical theatre because no one really sees you up close.

Yeah, that's right and they could put paint on your face to make you look white.

But for Films & TV, as you may have seen on my IMDb, all my stuff is all American as well, because I played Mexican.

Oh, a hot mess. A hot Mexican mess. So, what do you feel the state of Australian Film & TV productions are now? Do you feel that they are becoming more diverse?

Yes, I think so. They're getting there. They are getting there but it's extremely slow. It took over 20 years.

Yeah. And I think it's you know, I get...this might make me sound racist, I don't know. But sometimes I get turned off when all I see is just white people on a show and I'm like, “Oh, another one. Another one,” because I look around Australia and Australia is a very diverse place. You know, you've got people from all over the world here in Australia. And it's amazing and gorgeous and beautiful and the relationships that we all have because of the diversity and then you go on to television and you just see this really...

Whitewash

I'm not gonna say whitewash...

But I can ‘cause I am white, its one dimensional bullshit.

Yeah. It's just kind of like the same stories over and over, and, you know, there's no diverse perspective that you're getting from Australian Film & TV. I'm saddened that your son doesn't get more rolls because they're over 10,000 Americans that live here. I don't know how many Canadians live here. But you know, our accents aren't that far apart from each other.

They're very similar until they start saying "going out."

Yeah, that's right. There are places in America if you get along the border, that American/ Canadian border where they all have the same accent. America is just as diverse in accents as the UK. Well, maybe not as much as the UK. The UK is crazy. But America is just as diverse in its accents. And just because, you know, we don't all sound exactly the same coming from America. And I think there's a tonne of us here. There's a tonne of diversity here in Australia, and I feel that it needs to be reflected in our Film & TV.

I agree. Hey, Jennifer, what's your favourite wine?

Church Block.

Church Block? Nice. Red or white?

Red. I'm actually on my alcohol fasting. I do it every year.

Oh! Tell us about that.

Every year, I don't touch alcohol for six months.

Six months?

Well, we're not hanging out until you are done.

That's not...no...wait a minute. Okay. Wait, wait, wait. So, you spend half a year fasting? That's half a year.

That's a long time [general mumbles and laughter]. Why do you do that?

Just to get my body back and rejuvenate.

Okay, how much do you drink in the other six months?

[Laughter] That's a different podcast.

[Laughter] Well this is Wine & Sympathy.

I'm sympathizing with you. What are you three months in? What, do you start on New Year's and then just go through to June or July?

Well actually, no. I was supposed to start after New Year's, but at the time I was still overseas stuck in a hotel. So what else can you do in a hotel room?

MINIBAR!

And then you get to the sky lounge. I started, actually...I came home in January. So once I finished my bottle of gin that I brought back, I thought okay, that's it. Six months it is. So I've got until July.

Oh, that's a long time.

So, I'll come over in July and we'll have...you can make your favourite dish...

Or we’ll have you over to do another podcast.

She is a really good cook.

Yeah. While drunk!

I will drink while you cook for me, that sounds like a plan.

I love how Ness just invites herself over, “And you will do the cooking. Thank you.” [Laughter]

I love to cook, she knows that.

That's awesome. Well, our podcast equipment is mobile so it can go anywhere.

So you just invited yourself? [Laughter]

BOTH

[Laughter] I sure did. Oh, well, I invited Jen to do another podcast.

End of July, hopefully we'll be allowed to have gatherings then.

Gosh, how are you coping during this crazy COVID-19 time?

I'm okay, um, it gives me time. I've cleaned the house several times over. Every morning, I don't know why, I just, every morning, I disinfect every door handle. (mumbles of agreement) I catch myself and what are you doing? There's no one else here, you haven’t left the house.

Oh but it's good. You never know, germs can just, you know, it's like osmosis or something...

We've been...we've been okay. We've been okay. We’ve just been laying low. PJ is...I'm helping PJ write his script. A script idea that he has, because he wants to film it. So I said, “Okay, well let's just...we've got plenty of time to write it.”

Got any roles for two 40 year old women? One called Asabi. One called Ness.

Hey? [Laughter] Write us in. Write us in as 30 somethings. [Laughter]

Ha ha - early 30s, thank you, and all the 40s women come. So, anyway, we've been doing that and I’ve been gardening. I've been cooking a lot. Honestly, if I was drinking and cooking the way I've been, I need a liposuction at the end of this covid!

Oh my god! What’s your favourite...What’s your favourite thing to cook?

Japanese.

Japanese food. I love Japanese food. Chawanmushi is probably my favourite Japanese dish. Do you know that dish?

No.

It’s like an egg custard and it has a little bit of vegetables in it.

It’s a dessert?

No. It’s not a dessert.

It’s weird.

What?

You said egg custard.

Yeah. It's delicious. It's actually very savoury. It's very savoury. And it has a little roasted chestnut in the middle. It's kind of like hidden in the middle. Yeah, it's my favourite, favourite Japanese dish. And yeah, it's great. You can't get it outside of Japan.

We can't have any nuts in the house.

Nut allergies?

Oh no, that's sad.

Full on nut allergies.

Yeah, that's hectic. Do you have an epi pen, because I love hitting people with needles. That's another podcast.

That is a very different podcast. [Laughter]

Yeah. We have an epi pen in every room, so we're good. We've got that covered.

Oh that’s good. Nice, nice. Alright, so we're gonna finish up here. But I'm going to have a beautiful photo of you on our Facebook page.

Yes.

...and some links to your Insta and your Facebook. And we're going to check in again in a couple of months’ time, actually in six months when you're cooking for us, because I wanna know, I mean, you're only just stepping back into the spotlight, so to speak. I want to know how you go. This is really fascinating for me, and obviously, I love you. And I just think it's really important that, as females, that we stay connected, and we lift each other up and support one another. And I do support you 100%.

Yeah. Thank you so much for having a chat with us. Yeah, and we definitely look forward to seeing all that you have coming up.

Thank you. Thanks for having me, guys. That was fun.

It was improv!

But we are actors, that's right. Improv. Yeah. [Laughter]

What happened to method acting?

Oh, well, you know. [Laughter] I think we're always method acting.

Yeah, I think that went away when we had a glass of wine!

I think we become method actors.

Alright. Thanks very much to our wine sponsors this evening. Me.

ALL

[Laugh]

Thanks a lot to Jennifer Holt for being part of Wine & Sympathy.

Thanks, Jennifer.

Bye bye!

[END]

Listen to us on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, or your pod catcher of choice!

#wine #sympathy #40-somethings #Brisbane #Australia #America #New Zealand #arts #love #life #relationships #music #movies #makeup #Witches Knight #film #auditions #children

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char27martin · 6 years

Text

6 Lessons Learned from a Year of 101 Rejections

By Natalie D-Napoleon

Earlier this year I came across an article by Kim Liao in which she explained “Why You Should Aim For 100 Rejections A Year.” As soon as I finished reading the piece I went to the folder in my email marked “Writing Submissions 2017” and for the first time in my life, I began to count my rejections rather than counting my acceptances. I had effortlessly amassed 53 rejections. I punched my fist in the air and whooped out loud. It was June and I was already halfway to 100 rejections for the year.

Writer’s Market 2018: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published

I am the sensitive type (of course, I’m a writer): I weep openly when listening to sad love songs or during Claire and Jamie’s various reunifications on Outlander, and I have cried in the past on my friend’s and husband’s shoulder when my writing has been rejected. However, before Kim Liao’s article, another woman had sent me on the journey of beginning to accept that rejection was less about failure and more about getting closer to your goals. In 2015, I attended the first BinderCon conference in L.A. BinderCon began as a “secret” Facebook group of women writers sharing contacts and information and grew into a movement and conference which supports women and gender variant writers.

At BinderCon 2015, Katie Orenstein, founder of The OpEd Project, spoke about the lack of representation of women in the media and the reasons why. As a former journalist and foreign correspondent, she had a perspective on being rejected that I could not fathom at the time. Orenstein opened my eyes to one impressive fact—that women submit their work less than men. She had the statistics to prove it and the acceptances and consequent higher representation of men in the media. In one generalized conclusion: When women and people of color get rejected, we take it personally. When white men’s work is rejected, they don’t take it as a measure of the worth of their work—they decide it simply needs to find the right home elsewhere.

Orenstein says that the dearth of women’s voices in the media, “has affected the quality of our nation’s conversation, the way research is conducted, how stories are reported, and how history plays out—and indeed, what we think history is. As it turns out, the most crucial factor in determining history is more often not the distinction between what is fact and what is fiction, but who tells the story.”

Orenstein’s talk put a fire in my belly. I had an aim now that was both personal and political, to start by not taking writing rejections personally, and to submit more often because that’s what had worked, most likely for centuries of successful male writers. I didn’t aim for 100 rejections in that year; however, I had begun a master’s degree in writing, and the idea was placed in my back pocket for when I had produced the work that needed to be put out into the world. The formula seemed so simple: Submit, submit, submit, submit, and don’t take rejection personally.

Checking that “Writing Submissions 2017” folder again as I neared the end of December 2017, I counted 100 rejections—and one written rejection in a pile of papers on my desk from The Sun—took me to 101! While walking the path that Kim Liao and Katie Orenstein put me on, I have learnt a few lessons:

1. Have a body of work to submit.

In the past when I had submitted work. I didn’t have a body of work behind me to make submitting worth my while—just a handful of poems, a new short story every year. From 2014 to 2016 I completed my degree online. With a four-year-old and a part-time job as a writing tutor, I didn’t have much time to do anything other than produce creative writing. I was ferocious and voracious; I wrote and wrote and re-wrote and didn’t stop to think for a moment about what I would do with the work. I simply enjoyed the process of creating after taking a break for several years to be a mom and pursue the life of a singer-songwriter. What this time gave me was a significant body of work to begin dipping in to in order to begin submitting when the time was right. By the time I completed my degree, I had a complete poetry collection and several creative nonfiction essays ready to submit.

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2. Pitch your submissions like a freelance journalist pitches stories.

My husband is a freelance journalist, so when I began submitting and expressing my frustration when I was rejected, his first question to me was Why don’t you try submitting like journalists do? “Research the publication, the editors, the judges, and pitch the work you think will resonate specifically with that publication or judge,” he advised.

I had read the worn “read our publication before you submit,” but I figured that advice was for everyone else, not me. Despite my reservations, I started to heed his and journal editors’ advice, I began to read publications and pitch my work accordingly. This meant researching editors, then finding examples of their work online and reading them. I can say that a good portion of my acceptances—and positive rejections—were the result of taking the time to research and read before I submitted work. The added bonus: I discovered new writers, poetry and creative nonfiction writing that I both enjoyed and could learn from in order to improve my own work.

As a part of this process, I subscribed to each journal’s mailing list. I now regularly go to my email inbox and read these mailings, which often leads to submitting work when themes are called for, or reminds me of reading periods and submission deadlines.

3. Rewrite to meet the word count, and learn to edit your work.

Continuing to think like a freelancer, when I found competitions I wanted to enter, I rewrote work to meet the word count or cut stanzas out of poems to meet the line count. Through this process I became a better editor of my own work. I removed a whole stanza from one poem that placed me second in a competition, and I now prefer the edited version.

I came to discover what author Katherine Paterson says: “I love revisions. … We can’t go back and revise our lives, but being allowed to go back and revise what we have written comes closest.”

Part of this process also meant finding good, trustworthy readers of my work who would give me feedback on what was working and what was not in my writing. In the past I took little time to reflect on my own work, or to find readers. Often, knowing that I had a reader about to peruse my work with a critical eye made me edit more ruthlessly before forwarding my work to them. I learned to ask my readers for specific feedback—e.g., “What do you think of the dialogue on page two of the story?” This helped me identify the weak areas in my own work, especially when readers confirmed my own judgement.

The rejection process also allows you to get to know your stronger and weaker work through the self-reflective process of editing, getting reader feedback, and occasional editorial feedback. As Paul Martin writes in Writer’s Little Instruction Book – Getting Published, “Every rejection … adds to your knowledge about the right market for your work.”

4. IRL connections matter.

No art is created in a vacuum, and no art exists without community. Often writers find community online; however, very few of my online connections have been made without some seven-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon real life connection. When I began my master’s degree I joined two different local in-person writing groups, began attending local poetry readings and book launches, and through this process I met local writers and publishers.

Eventually these relationships—and I’d like to think the quality of my work—led to getting a poem published in an ekphrastic poetry collection by a local publisher. A friend suggested I submit a memoir piece to a local reading series, and although I had a cold and hacking cough at the time, I thought about my 100 rejections, soldiered on and made a recording. I was accepted to the series, got to read to a full room of attentive listeners, and was coached by a drama teacher on how to read my work aloud—another valuable lesson—all the while connecting with a local writing community I could lean on in the process.

5. Celebrate encouraging feedback.

As an editor told Liao in (according to her article), “The thrill of an acceptance eventually wears off, but the quiet solidarity of an encouraging rejection lasts forever.” The few personal notes I received in 2017 added fuel to the fire, which kept me submitting. When a prominent journal in Australia rejected two poems they wrote, “We enjoyed the intense, vertiginous imagery in these poems,” and then urged me to submit more work in the future. Encouraging rejections let you know your writing is on track (and apparently gives some people vertigo), and that someone out there is carefully considering and paying attention to your work.

The added bonus is that once you know the editors like your work, if you continue to submit to that journal they should: a) remember your name, and b) eventually accept a piece. Getting to know the body of work of an emerging writer is what often gives editors an “in” to understanding your unique point of view. After I had a poem accepted for publication in Australian Poetry Journal, I realized I recognized the editor’s name, and when I reviewed my submissions I found out that I’d sent samples of my work to other journals she edited. Maybe she recognized my name, or maybe once she read the work one more time it “clicked.”

6. Set aside regular time to submit, review and rewrite your work.

Because I was inspired by Liao’s article to continue submitting, I began to set aside time each week to submit. However, this didn’t mean I began submitting blindly. I would carefully study the newsletters of journals, do Google searches, read the Submittable weekly mailer and search the site, the Poets and Writers newsletter, and save competitions that arose on Facebook. Then I would take the time to read the journal I wanted to submit to and decide if my work was appropriate or needed to be rewritten, or if I needed to review my own body of work to find something that may fit a theme call-out. By doing this for an hour or two, two or three days a week, I built up to 101 rejections.

I also learnt during the process that I had underestimated some of my own work. My experimental erasure poetry was being published extensively, and I found that what Orenstein had suggested was true: more rejection builds resilience and an ability to brush it off. Most of all, I realized the truth of what Zora Sanders, the former editor of Australian journal Meanjin Quarterly, said: For women to bring our work to the attention of editors we need “to take more risks.”

This led me to the greatest lesson of all: How to use rejection to review my work and improve my writing.

And the result of my year of 101 rejections? I won second place for my poem “First Blood” and had another poem commended in a poetry competition judged by the international editor of the Kenyon Review; I made two competition shortlists with a creative nonfiction memoir piece, “Crossing,” and then the same story was accepted by a major Australia literary journal for publication; I had four erasure poems published online and another accepted in Australian Poetry Journal; I read a memoir piece at a local reading series to a sold-out room, and finally, an ekphrastic poem was published in a collection by Gunpowder Press. That’s 11 acceptances for 101 rejections, if anyone is counting.

This year, I’m prepared to aim for 102 rejections with glee, while I quietly place a few more cracks in the literary glass ceiling.

Natalie D-Napoleon is a writer, singer-songwriter and educator from Fremantle, Australia who now lives in California. She has an MA in Writing from Swinburne University and currently works as a Coordinator at a Writing Center in a California city college. Her work has appeared in Entropy, The Found Poetry Review, LA Yoga Magazine and the Santa Barbara News-Press. Recently, her story “Crossing” made the finalists’ list for the Penelope Niven Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and her poem “First Blood” placed second in the 2017 KSP Poetry Awards judged by John Kinsella.

Twitter and Instagram: @nataliednapo Blog: http://nataliednapoleonwordplay.blogspot.com/

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