#Great Eastern Complaints

[mariacallous]

On Oct. 29, 1920, the temperature in Detroit reached a high of 60 degrees, and the Detroit Free Press reported that “Northwestern High’s football eleven” was preparing to face Eastern High School the next day for a much anticipated Saturday matchup at the Joyce athletic field. 

Julia Esaw had not yet arrived in Detroit to enjoy the game and the pleasant weather, but the longtime member of People’s Community Church was born on that day — more than 100 years ago.

And this past Tuesday, on Oct. 29, the same Julia Esaw celebrated her 104th birthday in Detroit.

“If you could see my face now, you would see a great big smile,” Esaw announced by phone at 3:27 p.m. on her birthday, a day that was fittingly even warmer in Detroit than the day she was born.

Asking the exuberant centenarian to take a second call by FaceTime so that her beautiful smile could be seen was not an option. That’s because Esaw was in a rush to quickly take in the sun and 76-degree warmth that radiated at that moment near her Detroit home, not far from her beloved People’s Community Church — 8601 Woodward Ave. — before she was to be whisked away to a secret location for a family birthday celebration.

A 104th birthday is a rare occurrence. But Esaw says that from a very early time in her life she came to expect good experiences in Detroit.

“Detroit has had a lot to offer and I have no complaints,” said the 1939 Cass Tech graduate, who came to Detroit with her family when she was 2 years old from Columbia, Mississippi.

During the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 28, with vivid recollection, Esaw reeled off some of the early Detroit streets she lived on, including High Street, Division, Brewster, Hedge, Trowbridge and Taylor. However, it was a discussion about a destination that Esaw visited recently that brought out an excited tone a little more than eight hours before her birthday. That destination is 2978 West Grand Blvd., home to the Detroit Department of Elections, where Esaw dropped off her absentee ballot with a vote cast in the 2024 presidential election for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. And Esaw left no doubt that even with all of the history she has seen during her long lifetime, the opportunity to cast her vote for Harris — the first Black woman to head a major party’s presidential ticket — holds a special place in her heart. 

“I’m happy and it makes me feel great!” declared Esaw, who was born just 72 days after the ratification of the 19th Amendment which legally guaranteed women the right to vote.

Then Esaw went on to explain that her happiness this election season is tied to progress she has witnessed during her lifetime.  

“After high school, I wanted to study to be a dietitian. But as a young Black woman, there was no place here that I could go to get the training and my mother didn’t want me to go away,” lamented Esaw, who says she still owes a huge debt of gratitude to two “tough” teachers in Cass Tech’s home economics curriculum that prepared her well for life. “Blacks didn’t have the same kind of power we have today. But if we all get together now, we can put her (Harris) on the top seat.”

Although Esaw was unable to pursue a career in health care, her journey as a beautician actually began in close physical proximity to a prominent Detroit health institution. 

“I started as a beautician at the Streamline Beauty Shop on Forest and it was right across from Women’s Hospital (now Hutzel Women’s Hospital),” said Esaw, who was married to the late Tuskegee Airman Burkes Esaw Sr. “Because we were so close to the hospital, I had more white trade (clientele) than Black. It was the same thing for many years when I was running my own shop.” 

In the roles Esaw carried out as a beautician, block club president, wife and mother of four children who were taught at home to value education and healthy eating, she says race was not a barrier to success. But Esaw’s recollection of a revered Detroit landmark — the old downtown J. L. Hudson Department Store — may be a bit different from what is recorded in many history books. Esaw explained that there was a time when the shopping experience for Black customers at J.L. Hudson, which grew to be the tallest department store in the world during its heyday, was mostly relegated to the basement level due to a Northern version of Jim Crow.

Esaw’s earliest memories of Hudson’s were shared without a hint of bitterness in her voice and with a tiny chuckle thrown in because, as Esaw went on to explain, she has never accepted a “basement” view of life due to her faith. And because of her faith, Esaw says the fact that a Black woman (Harris also is of Southeast Asian descent on her mother's side) has a very legitimate chance to become the nation’s first woman president is not really a big surprise to her. 

“I was always taught that we (Black people) were God’s children too,” said Esaw, who noted that she starts each morning with a bowl of assorted raw fruit that she prepares for herself. “God made us and we’re somebody, too. And we can do anything that anyone else can, including being president.” 

And in an equally succinct manner, Esaw laid out what she would expect from Harris as president. 

“I want to see her reach out and touch everybody, because we’re all God’s children,” Esaw stated. “And then I would like to see us all work together as a team.” 

Next to Esaw as she spoke from home on consecutive afternoons beginning Oct. 28 was her only daughter and constant companion, 72-year-old Berneta Esaw, a retired Detroit Public Schools math teacher. Berneta Esaw was with her mother when she dropped off her election ballot, and she also was by her mom’s side on Oct. 12 at the Detroit Golf Club when Berneta Esaw’s 1969 Cass Tech graduating class held its 55th reunion, which Julia Esaw used as an opportunity to celebrate the 85th anniversary of her own graduation from Cass.

Berneta Esaw says she is holding out hope that there are other living people that will come forward who graduated from Cass Tech in or around 1939 to allow her mother to enjoy a reunion experience to the fullest. But in the meantime, Berneta Esaw is more than happy to share lessons for living a long, fulfilling life — which she has received with love directly from her mother. 

“Mother doesn’t look anywhere close to 90 — most people start at 70 when she asks them how old they think she is. But she has worked hard to look like that,” said Berneta Esaw, who has grown accustomed and accepting to people that want to hug and touch her mom when they become aware of Julia Esaw’s age. “Living with mother, you knew you were going to get your fruit in the morning, and salad with lunch and dinner, because mother knows that when you eat fresh, raw fruits and vegetables the body works better. 

“Mother is a blessing, and I feel blessed that I was born to two parents who were extremely knowledgeable and intelligent, and they gladly passed down their knowledge to my siblings and me, and others in our community.”  

[hcdragonwrites]

A Tiger on the Mountain (a @semisolidmind Fanfic)

Here it is ! Another one. I made up a creature specifically so I could play out a scenario in my head and lead into another fic after this one. This is not a two parter but it leaves it open for a follow up!

TW: Blood and Violence and allusions to torture at the end. (Not of Peaches SHES fine)

“Get out before you become a new rug for me to wipe my feet upon.” Sun Wukong snarled over the table, his staff in his hands. The Nine Tiger Demon took a step backward at the fury. The expedition to this kingdom of monkeys and flowers had been a fools mission. Zari, The Nine Tiger Demon- Lord of the Eastern Waste and Terror of the Snowy Steppes, dipped his head cordially.

“As you wish, my Lord.” The tiger smiled and stepped out of the council room, his great black cape swirling as he exited in a flourish. He had made a jab at the Monkey Kings pride by calling him Lord. He knew that his patience was wearing thin with him. Especially after he had eluded to the weakness of mortal Ally’s.

“It is necessary to procure some of the goods they produce.” Wukong had waved the complaint aside. As if waving a fly. Zari was a lord of a snowy country where resources were few and blood was spilt as common as the snowfall. His kind had been hunted by poachers for their pelts. For the magic quality in their stripped bodies. Bones, blood, tendons, fur, claws… Everything in a tigers body was hunted for medicine, magic and mayhem. To hear that the most feared creature west of his kingdom, the great demonic Monkey King who had challenged Heaven, had made treaties with humans…

Zari had licked his muzzle sensing weakness.

“Why treat when you can take?” The tiger lord had questioned. His attendants beside him fidgeted, their hands straying to the scimitars belted to their sides. A twitch of his tail tip called them off. A tiger was playing with a monkey to see what sort of prey it had between his claws.

“And cause further disharmony around me ? Mortal men are easily placated. It leaves me free to put my resources into more important things.” Here the monkey leaned forward, eyes glowing with the torchlight. “Like seeking new territories in the east.”

The threat was received but Zari didn’t rise to the bait. He was a patient creature. The scars on his stripped hands and body proved how many battles and hunters he had outwitted.

Of course Zari had only come to sieze up the competition in the West. He never had any intentions of swearing allegiance to the ape. To debase himself to an ape? Never. So it only took Wukong a few more verbal jousts to also know the game was at an end. He had dismissed the tiger with a threat. Zari kept his claws velveted. For now.

As he stepped out of the corridor he let the slightest bit of agitation show in his whiskered face. A twitch of a tail brought one of his attendants forward.

“Gather the lower Claw.” Zari whispered. “They need a good hunt.”

“Of course my King.” The lesser demon bowed and raced off, light as a feather in the wind. At least that would humble the foolish ape—

Zari came around the corner and bumped straight into something soft, and pliable. His claws caught it reflexively before the thing fell completely onto his black armor and ruined his perfect complexion. He hissed, about to snap at this new weaker underling of a foolish king when the scent hit the top of his mouth.

Human.

“I’m so sorry!” It was female. The women pulled from the tiger claws. Her eyes remained cast down. Simple peasant clothes. Hair tied up in a messy updo. Flushed cheeks, good proportions. The tigers eyes had been blown wide.

“Are you alright miss?” Zira smoothed the twitching of his whiskers, kept the lashing of his tail to a minimum. But his instincts roared and his mouth pooled. “I did not mean to bump into so harshly.”

A captured peasant girl? A pet of this monkey kings?

“Oh no it was my fault!” The women said. She finally looked up and the tiger demon got a good look at the curve of her throat. The hot pulse just inches from his fangs.

From further down the corridor someone called “PEACHES!” The girl stiffened a bit then smiled sheepishly.

Zira felt as if he was a wolf in the sheep pen.

“I should have been watching where I was going. Carry on!” She bowed and then quickly scuttled off.

“Well well well…”Zira smiled to himself as another monkey ran past and after the fleeing women. He felt his grin widen, the drool threatening to slip. “Look like I have some entertainment myself…”

For Zari, The Nine Tiger Demon- Lord of the Eastern Waste and Terror of the Snowy Steppes, was whispered and feared by mortals across his snowy slice of the world. Legends told of how he would slip in as silent as a ghost. How he would visit families and paint their walls in red crimson and spattered gore. For Zari was a man eater, a enjoyer of mortal flesh. And his favorite prey that he enjoyed devouring most was women.

This conquest just got a bit more interesting.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I Demand compensation.”

The threat would have come off more terrifying from the Monkey King if he had been dressed in his armor. However he was… not. Instead Wukong was at the present moment, begging on Peaches lap beneath a cherry tree. His face was a storm cloud as he lifted Peaches hands up to his head.

“I am afraid you won’t be getting any.” Peaches let her hand fall limply off. The stormy face broke into a beggars crocodile tears.

“PEACHESSSS!”

Macaque would have snickered at his sworn brother begging but he was also not getting any sort of touches from Peaches. He didn’t know why she had decided today of all days to deny both of them.

Why was she withholding scratches from her husbands? Well. For many reasons. For one, one of them startled her awake this morning by swooping her into his arms because he got a little too excited and woke her from her dreams. It also triggered a huge sort of panic because she has had enough of nightmares on being snatched away thank you.

Of course telling the one begging at her knees right now that his over exuberance this morning had been one of the reasons for no pats, would only lead to more exuberance.

A second reason she was including both and not just the one who scooped her ? Well because the day before Macaque thought it would be funny to pop one of his shadows beneath her while she was trying to brush her hair and in the fall the hairbrush - still tucked into her hair- wrenched. It had been painful and she had lost several bits of her own hair in it.

And thirdly? Because these two had, for all intensive purposes of the words, kidnapped her and forced her to live here upon the mountain. Yes she was still bitter about it. No she wouldn’t get over it. At least not today. Too many tricks were tugged and her personal space breached for her to simply let it go. A little bodily autonomy and boundary would be nice. Instead her two lovers would look at her as one would a family cat and go “awwwwwwww!” and scoop her up.

So two very peeved simians sat cross legged staring her down. Wukongs tail was lashing back and forth, his eyes narrowed like a cats. He reached forward and grabbed Peaches hand again. She had learned long ago that giving them the satisfaction of her resistance- how cute! They would say as she practically threw all manner of pellmell closet clutter at them- would only prolong their inevitable smothering of her.

Being impassive was her best weapon.

So she let her hand be limply lifted.

Just as limply it slid off the Monkey Kings head.

“Peaches! Come on!” Wukong groaned. He sounded like a kid begging for sweets. Peaches sniffed. The day was nice at least. She had made her way out of Water Curtain Cave and out onto the mountainside before her attendant could shove and stuff her into royal courtly attire. Not today! Peaches hadn’t wanted to attend court. She hadn’t wanted to be near that council room. Her accidental bump into that demon had been as close as she had gotten. A tiger demon? Now that was something she hadn’t seen yet.

Wukong laid himself over her lap, his face pouting up at her. He looked… adorable. It was almost enough for her to forget about his transgression this morning. It wasn’t enough. She turned her head away.

Only for Macaque to be there. He had somehow snuck up, as was his silent way, and pressed himself to her back. He slipped her into his lap, and Peaches felt a little spark of unease. Macaque was the slower of the two when it came to affection, sneaking it in or trying to tease it from her. Wukong was all action and joyful tugs and play. His was earnest and forward. Macaque was… sly. Teasing. A fox inside the chicken house.

“Sweet peach, come now.” His hands settled around her. His breath tickled the shell of her ear and Peaches fought the blush from rising in her face. Think of rocks and birds. What you will eat tonight. Anything but how his voice and how it feels rumbling against me.

“We just want to have a little comfort.” The dark furred monkey lifted her hand. He entwined his fingers in hers. They were so large. The practically swamped her own. The claws slide along the fingers as he lifted her hand and tugged it into his fur onto his cheek.

“Come on, little plumb.” His smile was as sweet as honey, as soft as downy feathers. If it had been any other day she would have mussed his fur and teased him back. However Macaque made a mistake of touching her hair with a free hand. Reminding Peaches that this little trickster had yanked some of her hair out.

She let her hand remain lax.

“No.”

“Then you leave both of us no choice.”

Macaque leaned back and with a woosh and gasp of air and black- they were back in their room. The pillow pit cushioned their fall, as did Macaque who lay beneath her. Peaches let out an indignant squeak as the demon monkey growled playfully in her ear.

“You have only a few moments before Wukong gets here. Do you want to tell me what’s up?”

“No.” Peaches sniffed. His hand was trailing along her skin, almost walking up her arm.

“Are you mad at him?” Macaque asked.

“Yes”

“Are You mad at me?”

“Yes.”

“Is it … a mad kind of day?”

She didn’t respond.

He tutted and tugged her hands free of where she had shoved them beneath her arms. He placed one against the side of his head, eyes gently closing. He kissed her palm, her wrist, her arm.

“Come on my sweet… just indulge us both..”

“No.”

“Little minx.” The purple eyes flashed along with that sharp toothed smile. Peaches felt her face flush. Macaque leaned in and over her now, his free hand twining in the hair on the back of her neck. The demon was angling her from being the one on top, to sliding her into the pillow pit with the dark haired monkey hovering above. He pulled her up and into him, and Peaches had the startling realization that she was so very very small and he was so very very large all of a sudden.

“What sins do I have to whisper into your ears ? What marks should I leave upon your skin to earn your affection again?” His eyes dipped to her lips. Peaches face felt like it was afire. “Should I sing your praises into your skin with my teeth?”

Oh dear.

And then the moment of tension was broken by a furious orange blur bursting into the room and tackling both of them. Peaches cried out while Macaques face looked deadpan at his sworn brother. The moment of tension, of turning Peaches pink as a lychee fruit, was over.

“MACAQUE! THATS NOT FAIR!” The monkey king was entangled with both of them as he grabbed the other hand and shoved it into his fur. Peaches only held onto them now as they jostled her. “HOW MANY HEADSCRATCHES DID YOU GET?”

“None…” His face was exasperated, his tail twitching at the tip.

“None?” Wukong echoed.

“None!” Macaque slammed his head closer to Wukong. Peaches was perfectly sandwiched between her husbands very bare and very exposed chests as the two brothers bristled at each other. She was loosing her own power of wills because … well. Peaches was only human. She could barely stay mad at one Monkey half dressed. Two half dressed and practically pressed cheek to pec against either side of your face ? It was a marvel her body didn’t burn up on the spot from how much she was blushing.

“Why you shouting at me then?!”

“You spoiled my sport before I could tease some out of her.”

“Oh?” Wukongs eyes shot downward. Peaches looked away, feeling like she got caught watching.

Oh no.

The two demons looked down on her. And Peaches felt like she was in danger. Not a you-will-die-and-be-disemboweled way. More of you-will-be-turned-into-a-second-sun-from-how-much-we-will-tease-you kind of way. They loomed over their mortal wife, ears perked forward and grins becoming sharp and feral.

Another burst through the door however saved Peaches from being turned into a puddle beneath the attentions of her husbands.

“Ugh what is it now?” Macaque sighed.

“My King! We are under attack!”

The two warlords changed from flirting devils to stiff and immovable stones as they stood. Macaques ears swished, forward and back, each set twitching as he confirmed it.

Wukong was across the room, his armor back on his body in a flash. His staff was plucked free from his ear, elongating in a flourish.

“Where?” The Sages voice was a silent rumble.

“Off the south slope- a band of panthers by the look of it.” The sentry’s tail was puffed in fear. Wukong nodded and was off in a flash of fur and fury.

Someone was attacking the mountain? They must be crazy. Insane. Or have a death wish.

Macaque set Peaches firmly in the Pillow pit, eyes somber.

“Love don’t move. Don’t leave this room. Understand ?” His face was pinched in worry bordering on fury. He was trying to maintain his composure for her, to hold back the anger that was threatening to bubble upward. Peaches may think of her boys a lot of way. They were selfish when they wanted her attention. They had taken her away reluctantly from her home. She had been forced to live her for the past decade or so. Her husbands were warlords, murderers and Demons.

They also cared for her a great deal, in a way that no mortal could compare. They clothed her in the finest garb but also gave her the option of comfort. They brought her to the Palace and laid laws down among the fellow demonic ally’s that she was to be respected and treated as an extension of Wukong and Macaques power. They brought her gifts from the outside world when they came back from expeditions, made her foods from the finest ingredients, told her stories of their travels. On nights when the past came back to rear it’s head she could find comfort in one or both of their arms.

And at times like this, she felt thankful that, of all the kidnapping creatures in the world, at least it had been these two.

That didn’t sound like a plus at all.

Macaque was waiting for her response. Peaches shook herself free of the cobwebs, of the past and back into the present. The mountain was under fire. Something was trying to earn the ire of the Monkey King and his People. As a very soft once mortal immortal now, Peaches had no sort of power to defend with or help. She was a liability, at least until she began her own cultivation, on the battlefield. So Peaches nodded.

“Yes.”

It was all Macaque needed. He pressed a kiss to her temple and whispered “Good girl.”

And he was gone, falling into shadow.

“Hellooooo?”

Peaches started awake at the voice. Disoriented she disentangled herself from the soft fur and pillows she had been wedged between. She must have fallen asleep some time in the day. The light coming from the windows was a burnished gold, sunset settling on the

“Someone help! Help me please…”

The voice was disjointed, the sound echoing from beyond the closed doors. It set her skin to crawling. Shouldn’t there be guards ? Shouldn’t there be someone outside the doors?

“HELP. SOMEONE HELP!”

The voice sounded like a baby! The shrill high note cut through the last hesitation Peaches had. She opened the door and rushing out into the corridor.

The echos of her footfalls bounced back to her from the stone walls. The cry came again, a baby monkey hooting in distress. It came from around corridors, downs passageways. Peaches raced forward until she had burst out of the cavern and into the dying light of the sun.

The grass swayed in the breeze. The shadows danced across the field, like stripes on a great tigers back.

She felt a shiver go up her spine. Something was terribly wrong. It felt off - the world felt off. The mountain was usually brimming with life and sound. Birds would be calling even at this late hour when day turns to night. The cicadas would be sonorously screaming their complaints to the night air. However…

Everything was still. Not a insect nor a bird called out. There were no generals or other monkeys present on the mountain. Usually sentries were littered about the fields and slopes. There was no one here at this moment.

That’s wrong. Completely wrong…

A faint gurgle, a dying cry of a baby monkey from somewhere just ahead.

“Where are You?” Peaches called. The child sounded in pain- and the sooner she got them inside the cave, the better. “You have to tell me where you are so I can help you.”

“Typical mortals.” The voice came from behind and peaches whipped around. A tiger demon, a creature of immense size and with terrifying teeth, toward behind her. Zira held the languid look of a cat with a full belly, tail swaying in the grass and claws meticulously being groomed. The blood from those long claws was the fresh scarlet of new blood.

“Your kind always come when lured by another— I was wondering if I should do a human baby or a mortal imitation but, seeing as you’ve been collared and tamed by monkeys, I thought that would be the easiest way to lure you out.” The tiger lord grinned. Peaches saw that he was fully armored. The black leather of his body was painted in dark splotches of red.

He’s … killed people. Who has he killed?? Where’s the baby ??

Peaches stepped cautiously back into the grass, heart racing. The tiger lords eyes grew round.

“Are you trying to run?” His voice was practically a pur as he stood straighter. “Please do. The chase will be good for me and clear this monstrous smell of ape blood.”

“What do you want?” Peaches needed to stall. To find a way to keep the beast talking. He liked to talk to full the silence. “Why are you here?”

“Those are boring questions dear morsel. Boring indeed. You mortals think all the same- but at least you taste better then your little brains think.” Zira stepped forward and into Peaches bubble- forcing her backward and further away from the cave. “Why am I Here ? Well to play. It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to play with another demons pet.”

Another slow pace forward. Another hasty retreat from Peaches.

“I can understand. I play rough. It’s hard when you all … scream at the slightest break of bone. At the sudden loss of limb…” the tiger lords body seemed to grow, a secondary face appearing from its left cheek. The new muzzle opened and in horror peaches heard people crying, of mortal women begging for their children. The voices of men pleaded for wives and sons and daughters. Anguished cries, cries of pain. Voices from the past.

Dead voices.

“They never last long.” The tiger smirked, that new face along his left side turning upward as well.

“So when I came to see this terrifying demon lord who has challenged heaven I expected him to have a show of strength. What I didn’t expect was a pet like you.” Those eyes flashed.

“Why? Wukong is the strongest Why—“

“Why did I not expect you?” Zira snorted. “Because demons forget themselves when they stop consuming lesser beasts and start befriending them.”

Peaches looked about her. She wouldn’t be able to make a dash back to the caves. This tiger was driving her further and further from safety. She had been a fool to try and help, a damned fool. The next best thing she could do was to try and stay alive long enough. Long enough for her to call out. Wukong or Macaque would hear her. She had no doubt on that. There was also the willow tree just ten feet behind her. If she could get to it and climb she may be able to stall out this demon.

“Now dear. How would you like to die?” The tiger was closer now as Peaches kept stepping back. She was almost back pedaling, trying to stay out of the range of those claws. Of those red teeth. “I could kill you by fang or claw. Or maybe a sword would be better. But then… where’s the fun in it for me if you die so quickly ?”

Peaches spun on her heel and ran.

“HELP!” Her lungs filled with more air, to shout to the Heavens above. The grasses bent beneath her flight. She had almost made it to the tree, almost got enough air to scream again when something slammed into her shoulder. Bright hot pain bloomed and she fell to the dirt. Her hands reached up and came away with sticky blood.

“Calling for help is useless.” Zira licked the fresh blood clean from his claws, enjoying the taste of terror on his tongue. “My men have them busy against the farthest side of the mountain.”

Peaches rolled, to get up to get away she did not know. Her movement was stopped by a booted heel to her shoulder. The new pain elicited a scream to peak from her lips. It rang eerily off the mountain that was so still. So awfully still.

“The pain will only be temporary.” Zira knelt. The tiger reached down with his clawed hands. He cupped her face as she fought him. He smiled and opened his jaws wide to close over her throat.

The suns last dying ray cast a shadow as black as night over the grassy floor. It pooled beneath the mortal women and then, with a slip and tug, Ziras prey was swallowed by the black. The tiger snarled claws raking the soil in a vain attempt to dig her back out.

“So it was you.”

Zira turned.

There, leaning against his staff was the Monkey King. His clawed hands and golden armor were covered in black blood. Zira felt a worm of unease creep into his calm and cocky smile. Those warriors had been the best of his Claw- the best in the Snowy Steppes. There was no way they had failed—

“Ah King Wukong!” The tiger Lord began. If he could stall him out, lead him into a false sense of security, then that would be better. It would buy him time to get closer, to steal into range and pounce. “So nice to see you agai—-“

The tiger lord didn’t even see the moment. On second the orange monkey was standing before him and the next he felt a blooming pain cut along his secondary face. He roared in confusion as the sight from those eyes was lost in a shower of blood. The tiger had no time to reorient himself however. The neck blow was to one of his hands. Sun Wukong clasped one in hand and with a terrible crunch, shattered all the bones within.

Panic came traipsing up the tigers spine. This was not good. The monkey was moving incredibly fast - too fast- for him to counter. He reached for his Scimitar- the blade of Nine Tigers- to end the fight. This blade could cut mountain in half- it could cleave souls from bodies and leave the flesh whole.

“You come to my mountain…”

The staff slammed into the side of his head, casting several of the tigers teeth from his jaws. He was unbalanced but determined. He just had to grab his sword —

“You attack my home…”

Another blow to his middle sent him slamming into the willow tree. The force of it snapped the bark and collapsed the Willow behind him. Zira felt stars float in his vision, tasted his own blood. He had a hand on his sword now though. He drew the blade, cutting it across the insolent ape that towered over him. Wukongs soul would be cleaved, his body left behind for the flies to lay eggs in. He would be dead. The blade sliced —

And snapped in half.

“You tried to devour my wife…” Fear is not something a tiger experienced often. It raced over his stripes, twitched his crushed whiskers, and made his eyes widen. That had been his wife ? That common little dustmote ? Zira had miscalculated. A pet was one thing. But a wife —

“You took… a mortal… as a wife? Pa—“ Zira tried for bravado, tried to spit into the monkey lords face. The tiger was desperately clinging to what remained of his pride. He had chased a rabbit into a ravine and found wolves.

Zira opened his jaws to cast his last disrespect. Only for the claws of Wukong to cut along his jaw and crush it closed before he could finish.

“I will break every bone in your body before I let you die. You will wish you were dead before I’m done with you.”

The shadows swallowed Peaches and arms wrapped around her but she was still flailing. She grabbed at fur and skin and battered her fists and nails against it.

“Ow - PEACHES - PEACHES ITS ME!” Macaque voice cut over the adrenaline that floated high and fast in her blood. She blinked at him. They were back in their room, back inside Water Curtain Cave. Peaches hand was still curled in a fist, still raised up to beat along her captors face. Only. This wasn’t the tiger anymore. It was Macaque.

“It’s just me.”

“I’m not dead am I?” What stupid words to say but it was the first thing her numb mind could think on.

“What? No.” Macaques face was a sea of worry lines as he gently turned her shoulder to him. The blood was sopping beneath the cloth of her shirt. He gave it a sniff and murmured in soothing tones. Mostly to himself. “But I’m concerned for your shoulder. Let’s get that looked at alright ?”

Peaches nodded. Macaque used his claws to rip free the ruined cloth of the shirt and gain better access to the claw marks.

“It’s an ugly scratch but nothing deep.” She felt his hands, paper soft press along the skin. She hissed at the fiery pain as damaged nerves and sore skin protested. “Peaches you will have to be brave for me and let me stich it closed ok?”

She nodded. Her mind was still processing the events just moments ago. Of tiger teeth flashing to bite her throat. Of claws cutting her skin. Macaque returned to her and tugged her into him. She didn’t protest. Didn’t stop as he pulled her hand up to his face. She twined her fingers into the fur, needing the grounding almost, if not more, then he did. Macaque made soothing chirps and soft noises as he worked, pulling needle through flesh and closing it up.

It was only after a time, when Peaches own fear began to fall away, that he asked her.

“Why did you leave the room Peaches ?”

“I heard … it sounded like one of the babies Mac.” One of the little monkey babies all alone and crying for help. The haunting sound echoing off the stone and always just out of reach. “One of the littles in pain and hurt. I didn’t think. I just … acted.”

“Mmm.” Another stich pressed into her skin and she flinched. “You know this means you will have to have a day guard now yes?”

“Are you putting more restrictions on me after I almost got devoured ?” It was a bad attempt at humor but Peaches tried anyway. Whenever something happened to her - if it was an imagined insult from a courtier, a threat to her life because she tried something new and it didn’t agree with her- the boys would set new limits, new conditions. Macaque scowled at her and she bit her tongue from adding to the humor.

“Precautions. If I hadn’t heard you—“ His voice chocked at the end. Peaches looked back. Macaques ears were all low, dropping like flower petals. For all their faults, for their transgressions in taking her choices from her, they loved her. Peaches could see that love in Macs eyes as he imagined the possible outcomes that could have happened. She twirled her fingers around s patch of his fur, soothing him and herself with the confirmation that this was the reality now and not those flashing teeth.

“We can’t loose you Love. I — we — we were so afraid.” When Macaque had heard the strangled help in the heat of battle he had stopped. He had felt his heart give a lurch and Wukong had been of like mind. That battle was practically won. Between the two sworn brothers, nothing much could stand in their fury. But hearing Peaches— Peaches who they left back safe in their room, in the palace, calling for help—

“I was too.”

“When I tell you to stay inside - stay inside. Understand?”Anger laced Macaques words as he pinned her with a look.

“Yes.” It wasn’t good enough though. Not for him. It wouldn’t be for Wukong. The next time the mountain was under attack—if there was a next time— Macaque would lock the doors and the windows. He would shudder the room in shadow if he had to. But. A yes for now was the best he would get from her.

“Good. That’s all the chewing out I’ll give you because when Wukong gets here he’s going to have some very harsh words with you.” Peaches shoulders flinched a little.

“He’s mad at me?” There was genuine hurt and dismay in her voice. Wukong and Peaches had the toughest days when it came to their relationship. Some days she could forget he had taken her without her consent from all she knew- had wiped her village clear off the map. Other days she only saw the blood soaked Warlord in all his fury. On those days arguments ensued and the kings mood was ever sour.

“Never mad at You.” Macaque reassured. Wukong never was genuinely upset at their peach. How could he be when he was enamored with her so? Macaque couldn’t even keep his own anger at her negligence of self after todays events. All she had to do was look at him with that puppy dog look and he was wanting to tease and soothe her into smiles and comfort. “Never. Afraid for your life ? Absolutely. He has half a mind to keep you indoors from now on.”

“He said that ?”

“As we were racing to come get you yes.” Macaque finished the stitches with a pull and tug. The cord came free in his claws. He set about binding cotton gauze around the area to protect the stitches. In the morning he would let them breathe.

“But I think if you let him coddle you for a few days and you agree to a guard, he won’t take your outside privileges away.” Macaque teased and gave advice. Wukong could get a bit … territorial when it came to their Peach. He understood how important it was to give some sort of semblance of freedom to her. Peaches was like a flower- she needed light and air to thrive. If Wukong took that away, he wouldn’t like how she would wilt. Even though Macaque himself had half a mind to keep her inside forever. Especially after today.

Peaches head brushed beneath his chin suddenly and the monkey was jarred from his thoughts. She was nodding off, fighting sleep. Macaque gathered her up easily and set her into the bed they shared. He took care to arrange the pillows, to settle her into her most favorite blankets and soft things. It was a distraction from the rage that now was bubbling upward. For though Macaque had the calmest demeanor- he was just as bloody and furious as his brotherly counterpart.

“Go to sleep.” He commanded. Peaches yawned, catching the trailing end of his tail.

“You won’t leave me … will you?”

“I will be right here till Wukong gets back.”

It was hours later when Macaque heard his brother step into their rooms. Wukong had bathed and cleaned himself elsewhere from the smell of the water and floral oils coming off of him. They both knew how Peaches had an aversion to the scent of blood. The monkey king was across the room and hovering over the pillow pit where she slept.

“How is she?” Wukong asked. All the rage had gone from him. Only worry remained. His tiny little wife… he could still see the Tiger hovering above her, his jaws parted wide over her throat to devour. It made Wukong wish to break his muzzle again.

“Worn out. The cuts are superficial at best. I stitched them up.” The sheen of white medical gauze and cotton took over one lovely shoulder of Peaches back. Wukong felt his teeth beginning to grit in a threatening smile.

“Why would she go outside?! Peaches isn’t a fool.”

“And she wasn’t one.” Macaque soothed. He was standing now that Wukong was here, making his way to the door slowly. “She went outside because she heard the bastard imitate a baby cry.”

“A baby?”

“She thought it was one of the babies.” Wukongs heart gave a shudder. Of course she would throw caution to the wind. His Peaches loved the children of the mountain almost as much as he himself did. “Peaches said she went out to look and that’s when he leapt at her.”

Wukong felt a bit of his anger ebb. He was never angry at Peaches. He could never be. But anger around how she acted ? … yes. That was a possibility. Hearing how she didn’t go out until she thought it was a baby- well. He couldn’t fault her for that.

“The sentries are dead.” Wukong had come across their bodies after restraining the tiger demon. Seeing his peoples cut throats and crumpled bodies had not soothed his anger. He hoped the tiger healed quickly enough so he could repay them for each of his peoples lives. “The tiger killed them. He thought he could kill me by swinging his fancy sword. Too bad it snapped on the first try.”

“Did you leave him alive?” Macaque was at the door now, his fists uncurled.

“He’s somewhere beneath us in a wet cave. I broke all the bones in his body. But … I Left the tail for you.”

“Good.” The door opened and his brother was gone.

Wukong stared at Peaches as she slept for a moment. He had almost lost her today. He half wanted to wake her up and shake her and the other half just wanted to keep her tucked away and safe inside the mountain. Wukong would pull promises and such from her tomorrow. In fact, he may have to teach her some basic self defense. She would never be able to stop a full demonic beast. It would ease his mind however - it would sooth him and settle the fur that kept rising along his back- if she at least had an understanding of what tricks and traits demons used to tempt food out of hiding.

Wukong slid into the nest, settling himself so he didn’t jostle her awake. Tomorrow he could sit her down and tell her the new precautions he would have to merit out. A new guard, lessons in defense, maybe even a copy of him nearby or in the shape of some common item… Wukong could gift her a hairpin each morning and do her hair with a copy of himself. A magical copy that would have ears out for any mischief she may wind up falling into.

It would give her the illusion of freedom without telling her I put a spy on her person. That made Wukong feel better. For the next few days however, she wasn’t leaving his side. He didn’t care if she cried out or pouted or started to throw things. They had almost lost her.

Peaches half woke with a start as Wukong adjusted the blankets about her. Her face came upward, staring and trying to see all about.

“Wukong?”

“It’s just me… you can go back to sleep.”

To his astonishment Peaches shifted, settling herself into his chest. Wukong welcomed her tangle, twining has hands into her hair as she tugged on his fur. Her cheek was pressed to his chest where his heart must be hammering beneath. The Monkey king made soothing chirps and soft calls to her, a reassurance of safety and care. Soon enough her fingers relaxed again as she fell into sleep.

He kissed her temple and nose, twirling his fingers through her hair. It was just as soothing for him as it probably was for her.

Wukong was glad the tiger had been able to survive him. He couldn’t wait to gift his pelt to her when he was finished with him.

If Macaque didn’t kill him after all.

[linkspooky]

Okay, so I received an ask in response to an MHA critical post I received last night that I originally responded to, but then decided to delete the ask and the original post because I didn't want to get into an argument.

However, I feel like I should address one of their complaints about a post I made last night. That I was being too dismissive on the cultural reasons for some of the writing choices Horikoshi made because I am obviously not a part of the culture that Horikoshi grew up in and is commenting on in his piece of work.

I tried not to dismiss the cultural reasons entirely in the post though, I just said I don't think you can entirely blame Hori's writing choices on them. My cited example was there are other shonen jump mangas that don't go out of their way to gruesomely kill their villains (which is what I'm taking fault with.) I understand that the death penalty is a common response to murder in japan, but within the realm of fiction of shonen manga doesn't have a trend of killing all their villains.

But yeah, that might have been a shallow argument.

So there are different lenses of fiction you can criticize Horikoshi's writing on, because every piece of fiction is in fact influenced by the culture it's in, as well as obviously the author's personal life and unconscious biases but that's not all. There's also genre to consider, and influences / inspiration the author might have taken from other works.

For example, there is also genre in particular MHA is written as a response / commentary to both western comics and classic shonen jump manga. Horikoshi said in an interview:

“Probably have to be Goku and Spiderman. To me, when mentioning heroes, these two are the ones that I think of. In Goku’s case, it’s the reassurance that everything is going to be fine he brings when arriving.” 

There are multiple critical analysis lenses that you can analyze a story from. If you're talking about MHA from a feminist lens then you're likely to stick to topics relevant to that, like say japanese feminist movements. If you're talking from the sociopolitical angle then it's relevant to discuss collectivism, and especially how it inspired the Todoroki Family. However, my intent wasn't to dismiss sociopolitical reasons as why Horikoshi chose to write the story this way, but to say it's not the only reason that informs Hori's storytelling choices. MHA isn't just one thing it's multiple thing, me deliberately choosing to talk about MHA as a response to both eastern shonen manga and western comics is a valid critical lens to apply to the manga. You can talk about both obviously, but that was a pretty short post. Perhaps I didn't word my post the best but please try to be understanding that I can't make a post covering all of my bases on leaks night.

For a manga where Horikoshi cited his concept of heroism comes from Goku and Spiderman, they both don't kill their villains, Goku specifically let Vegeta live so if those are his inspirations the choice to kill every villain is weird to say the least.

I can make the argument that MHA fails as any kind of meaningful commentary on comics in general because it doesn't seem to understand the comics it is taking inspiration from. The X-Men are the underdogs in their story, not members of the privileged class they are the outcasts. Batman doesn't kill people because he believes that most of his mentally ill victims turned villains deserve a second chance and he can't dictate who deserves recovery and who doesn't.

If anyone reading this post is curious, here are posts by @siflshonen that discuss both the manga influences and comic infleunces easter and western infleunces on MHA, and also the cultural ones. They are also really long posts because those topics require a great length to discuss critically. This one is about MHA's manga DNA in regards to Bakugo's character, and specifically references Yu-Gi-Oh and Kaiba's character as well as Jonouchi as response for Bakugo's development arc from bully to best friend. This one discusses more about the nuances of collectivism. This one is in reference to the Todoroki family, it discusses both collectivism / japanese family roles / honnae and tatamae concepts that the Todofam is critiqueig, and also how Enji is inspired by eastern ideas of heroes while All Might is inspired by western ones. (Therefore it's not a wrong critical lens to compare MHA to other shonen manga and western comics because that is literally what the manga is taking inspiration from and commenting on).

Here's a powerpoint presentation by @sans-san that discussed Hegemonic Masculinity in Tokyo Ghoul in terms of work culture and how the CCG is inspired by that, which I think also applies to Enji's character as well.

This post by @bnhaobservation spoke about how the Todorokis decision for not disavowing or abandoning Toya after he was sentenced to life in prison would still be a progressive ending to the TODOFAM arc, and while I still wouldn't have been satisfied by that ending I'd at least be able to accept it. That is however, not what we got, we got Toya dying a slow agonizing death while hooked up to life support. So we could have still gotten a slightly softer ending where Toya's at least allowed to live that would have still been in line with the values of the culture that produced MHA.

This post by @bnhaobservation also talks about how the Todofam plotline can still be seen as progressive in some ways in regards to his criticism of Enji's parenting, because of certain outdated attitudes of parenting that still exist about Enji pushing Shoto to his absolute limits.

However, I don't want to debate the person who sent the ask, I just wanted to clarify I'm not trying to make a reductive statement that sociopolitical circumstances have nothing to do with Hori's writing choices, but that you can also analyze it from a lens of genre, commentary on comics and shonen manga, and also the predecessors he's taking inspiration from. All of these things have an inspiration on Hori's storytelling choices.

Since I'd rather not debate, now that I've gotten clarifying things out of the way I'm actually going to use this post as a book reccommendation.

Here's Shigaraki with Underground, one of my favorite books. It is a non-fiction work from famed fiction author Haruki Murakami about the Saren Gas attacks.

On a clear spring day in 1995 five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas in the Tokyo Subway system. In an attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakami talks to the people who lived through the catasrophe and lays bare the Japanese Psyche.

For those who are unaware the Saren Gas attacks were a terrorist attack where members of the Aum Shirikyo cult released saren gas in the public subway system. It is the biggest japanese terrorist attack in modern japanese history and at the time and even the modern day it was a great shock to them as a whole.

The book consists of several interviews with the victims of the attack, and they are incredibly harrowing to read I remember crying while reading this book multiple times. However, at the end of the book after giving considerable time to let the victims share their stories Haruki Murakami also devotes space in the book to interviewing former members of the Aum Shirikyo cult.

Haruki clarifies his intent in his decision to include testimonial from the cult in the afterword of the novel. "As I worked on this book I attended several of the trials of the defendants of the Tokyo Gas attack. I wanted to see and hear those people with my own eyes ad ears, in order to come to some understanding of who they were. I also wanted to know what they were thinking now. What I found there was a dismal, gloomy, hopeless scene. The court was like a room with no exit. There must have been a way out in the beginning, but now it had become a nightmarish chamber from which there was no escape. [...] To all of them I posed the same question, that is, whether they regretted having joined Aum. Almost everyone answered: "No, I have no regrets. I don't think those years are wasted" Why is that? THe answer is simple - because in Aum they found a purity of purpose theycould not find in ordinary society. Even if in the end it became something monstrous, the radiant, warm memory of the peace they originally found remains inside them and nothing else can replace it. [...] However, as I went through the process of interviewing these Aum members and former members, one thing I felt quite strongly was that it was't spite of being part of the elite that they went in that direction, but because they were a part of the elite. [...] However, we need tor ealize that most of the people who join cults are not abnormal; they're not disadvantaged; they're not eccentrics. They are people who live average lives (and nmaybe from the outside, more than average lives), who live in my neighborhood and yours.

Haruki interviews members of Aum Shirikiyo because he wants to make the point that the people in these cult aren't from a dangerous fringe element of japanese society, but rather they are normal people, some of them even highly educated. The capacity to commit those crimes exists in normal people, and also the capacity to fall victim to a cult.

The Ikuhara anime Mawaru Penguindrum is heavily inspired by both the Saren Gas attacks and the questions that Haruki Murakami asked in the Underground. Fully covered here in this article: Exploring Mawaru Penguindrum 2011 from a historical, cultural and literary perspective here.

Underground was Murakami’s attempt to interview survivors of the Sarin Subway Attack. Apart from learning the perspectives of ordinary citizens involved in that shocking incident, he also managed to interview several members of Aum Shinrikyo and tried to get their point of view on the matter. (In the Japanese edition of the book, the interview with the cult members were published in a separate book, titled The Place that was Promised.) It was an important piece of journalistic work that criticized the public’s attitude of questioning what happened, instead of asking the proper question of why it had happened. In the anime, viewers knew that an event took place in 1995 that affected all the characters, but what exactly was the event about? Why did the people do that? What social factors attributed to the occurrence of such event? These are the questions that Mawaru Penguindrum asked, and one that we were left to ponder on.

Ikuhara and Murakami both exist in the same culture as Horikoshi, Haruki is an incredibly prolific japanese author and he was born in 1945 but both of them are able to ask more meaningful questions about the society they live in then Horikoshi accomplishes with the league of villains and the todoroki family. Haruki Murakami emphasizes the humanity of the aum shirikyo members and that they are not lunatic fringe members, and Mawaru Penguindrum is about the extreme social pressures that people especially children can be a victim of.

Literature is influenced by the culture it takes place in, but it's also a response to that influence and the piece of art that Horikoshi wrote just isn't as thoughtful of a response than what was written by both Ikuhara and Murakami.

More book recommendations if you're interested. The Setting Sun, by Osamu Dazai. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. How do you Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino. In the Miso Soup by Ryo Murakami. People who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Perry. Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa (I'd argue this is an example of good collectivism). The Memory Police by Yuko Ogawa. Out by Natsuo Kirino. There was a couple more I wanted to include but they had cannibalism in them so I thought it better not to reccommend them.

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend: Li Jing, Nezha, & Family

Finally thought I would do this with the debut of Li Jing and Nezha's more frequent appearances. These two needed their page.Li JIng I could not find much so I made it a family page.

Legend:

Li Jing is renowned throughout the Shang dynasty as a high-ranking commander officer of the Old Pond Pass. Throughout his past, Li Jing studied under Mount Kunlun and soon became a master of exceedingly fast underground travel. His wife is Lady Yin, and he has three sons.

His Wife:

Lady Yin: She played a prominent role in the nurture of Nezha. According to legend, she is said to be the incarnation of the second daughter of the Jade Emperor. Her full name is Yin Wuming in the Fengshen Yanyi, and it is called Lady Yin in the Ming dynasty religious book The Collection of Gods in Three Religions

His Sons:

Jinzha: A disciple of the superiorman Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun. Originally, Jinzha was one of the Five Great Wisdom Kings in Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Kuṇḍali or sometimes as the Ganlu Mingwang (甘露王), who was responsible for longevity, healing, purification, and exorcism. However, due to potential influences from folk literature, the name "軍吒" (Junzha or Junzhalili) was changed to "金吒" (Jinzha) to align with the character "木吒" (Muzha). In folk temple festivals, Jinzha is often referred to as the "Great Crown Prince of Tuotuo Tianwang" and is worshipped in temples along the southern coastal regions.

Muzha: He is a disciple of the Bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Guanyin. Muzha is worshipped as a deity in Chinese folk religion, known as Muzha Tianzun.

Nezha: He is a protection deity in Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (中壇元帥). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" (蓮花三太子) after he became a deity.

Story:

Nezha's mother, Lady Yin, gave birth to a ball of flesh after gestating for three years and six months. Li Jing thought his wife had given birth to a demon and attacked the ball with his sword.

Li Jing and Nezha's relationship began as rocky because Nezha is disobedient and short-tempered. Nezha would cause untold chaos and trouble in the future, such as that with the Eastern Sea Dragon King Ao Guang. Nezha kills the Dragon King's son and gains his wrath.

When Nezha was seven years old, he became sick of the summer heat, and decided to take a bath in the nearby Jiuwan Stream, using his Red Armillary Sash (混天绫) as a towel. It sent tremors through the water, shaking the East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang's undersea palace.

A Yaksha, Li Gen, was sent to investigate the disturbance. Nezha insulted him, causing him to attack Nezha and being killed by his Universal Ring (乾坤圈). The Dragon King's soldiers reported Li Gen's death to him, and Ao Bing, his third son, volunteered to deal with Nezha. Nezha slew him in combat, then pulled out his tendons to make a belt for Li Jing.

When Ao Guang learned of his son's death, he transformed into a human scholar and went to Li Jing's residence to protest. Nezha admitted to killing Ao Bing and returned his tendons to Ao Guang, who told Li Jing he would file a complaint to the Jade Emperor.

Facing his parents' wrath, Nezha went to Taiyi Zhenren for help. He drew an invisibility talisman on Nezha and told him to ambush Ao Guang under the Heavenly Gate.

Nezha beat the Dragon King forcing him to turn into a small snake and returned to Chentang Pass with him.

Upon arrival, Ao Guang transformed back into his human form, proclaiming he would gather the other Dragon Kings of the Four Seas and report the Li family to the Jade Emperor.

Lady Yin then sent Nezha into the back garden. He climbed up the barbican, where he came across the Universal Bow (乾坤弓) and Sky Shaking Arrows (震天箭) of the Yellow Emperor, sitting on a weapon rack. Eager for some archery practice, he lifted the bow and shot an arrow into the air, which flew all the way to White Bone Cave and killed the Verdant Cloud Boy (碧云童子), an acolyte of Lady Shiji (石矶娘娘). Because Li Jing had carved his name onto the arrow, Shiji went to Chentang Pass, seized him, and took him back to her abode.

Li Jing explained to her that no one had been strong enough to lift the Yellow Emperor's bow since it was placed in Chentang Pass, and she allowed him to return to the pass to find the real culprit. When he learned that Nezha was responsible, he took his son back to the White Bone Cave to answer to Shiji. Nezha attacked her other acolyte and tried to fight Shiji, but had both of his weapons taken away, forcing him to flee to his master's abode. Taiyi Zhenren killed Shiji with the flames of the Nine Dragon Divine Bell Cover (九龙神火罩), reducing her to her true form: a rock.

Nezha was then informed that the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, with the permission of the Jade Emperor, had come for his parents. Due to Nezha causing trouble in the Eastern Sea Dragon's Kingdom, Li Jing was required to give his life to Ao Guang if he did not sacrifice Nezha. But Nezha sacrificed himself, handing over his flesh to his parents.

Nezha then appeared in his mother's dream. In the dream, he asked her to build a temple for him, so that his soul would have a place to rest. His mother then secretly built a temple for Nezha, and this temple later flourished. This temple became well-known and grew vastly because Nezha granted miracle cures to the sick and the crippled.

Following the bitter luck attained with his third son, Li Jing burned the sacrificial temple, Lady Yin would be scolded by Li Jing profusely following this point.

However, due to the temple burning, this made Nezha wish to kill his father.

After Nezha was reincarnated, his body remade by his master Taiyi Zhenren, his father saw him and said, "You vermin! When you were my child, you caused untold calamities. Why do you reincarnate and disturb the peace?" Thus, a major conflict between Li Jing and Nezha began to unfold.

After battling Nezha, Li Jing soon realized that his mortal body did not match 1 to 100 compared to that of Nezha's. Thus, he ran as fast as he could underground in a state of incredible fear for his life.

Luckily, Li Jing happened to run into his second son, Muzha. Following Muzha's defeat by Nezha's hands, Li Jing tried to commit suicide. Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun ( a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun and one of the Three Great Immortals, holding the fifth position among the Twelve Golden Immortals.) saved Li Jing's life and containing Nezha. Nezha was then forced to submit to his father after being restrained by another superiorman by the name of Randeng Daoren (renowned as the Superiorman of Mount Condor, Intuition Cave.)

[In popular culture, Nezha's killing of Li Gen and Ao Bing is often seen as a result of Ao Guang demanding young boys and girls from Chentang Pass as sacrifices. When the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas threatened to flood Chentang Pass in retaliation, Nezha committed suicide to save his family and the people. That plot is only found in the 1979 Shanghai Animation Film Studio movie, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, and not in the Fengshen Yanyi novel or Qing dynasty opera adaptations.]

JTTW:

In Journey to the West, Nezha was a general under his father, "Pagoda-wielding Heavenly King" Li Jing. He fought the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, when the latter rebelled against the Jade Emperor.

They later became friends. Nezha made some appearances in the novel to help the four protagonists defeat powerful demons including his adoptive sister, Lady Earth Flow.

His origin story is different from the other legends. After he caused havoc in the Eastern Ocean, the Heavenly King had been so worried about the disastrous consequences that he decided to kill Nezha. Thus Nezha returned his flesh and blood to his mother and bones to his father. Then Nezha's soul went to the Buddha, who resurrected him. After, he used his vast powers to subdue 96 caves of demons through dharma. After this Nezha wanted to kill his father because he had to remove every piece of flesh and every stain of blood to return his bones to his father. The heavenly king had no choice but to seek help from the Buddha. The Buddha gave him an intricately made golden pagoda, in each story of which were Buddhas radiant with splendor. The Buddha told Nezha to regard these Buddhas as his father, thus ending the hatred between the father and the son and Li Jing earned the title of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

In the JTTW Li Jing and Nezha gain another family member Lady Earth Flow.

Lady Earth Flow (地涌夫人) is a yaoguai who is actually a Golden-Nosed Albino Rat Spirit (金鼻白毛老鼠精) who obtained her powers after practising Taoist arts for 300 years and secretly consuming sacred candles at Vulture Peak. After she was captured by Li Jing and Nezha, she was supposed to be executed but the Buddha told them to spare her life. She was so grateful that she acknowledged Li Jing as her godfather and Nezha as her godbrother. Later, she moved to the Bottomless Pit (無底洞) at Flaming Air Mountain (焰空山) and armed herself with a pair of swords. When the protagonists pass by Black Pines Forest (黑松林), she disguises herself as a damsel in distress to attract Tang Sanzang's attention. Tang Sanzang takes pity on her and lets her accompany them to a nearby temple, but Sun Wukong sees through her guise. She eats six monks in the temple and captures Tang Sanzang when Sun Wukong and the others are distracted. Sun Wukong finds out her true identity later and brings Li Jing and Nezha to subdue her and take her back

[According to The Journey to the West, Nezha was born with the word Ne written on the palm of his left hand and zha on his right, hence his name.]

[In Journey to the West, Muzha became a disciple of Guanyin in the heavenly court, with the legal name Hui An. When he was ordered to conquer the sand demon, and later Sun Wukong lost to the Red Boy, Hui An borrowed 36 Tian Gang swords from his father Li Jing to help the Guanyin Bodhisattva conquer the Red Boy, making him a good boy under the Guanyin.]

LMK:

Ji Ling:

After the Brotherhood, Li Jing was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the Celestial Realm with the Jade Emperor gone. The universe was teetering on the brink of destruction due to the damage caused to the Pillar of Heaven by the Jade Emperor's demise.

Li Jing harbored concerns that Monkey King's actions could exacerbate the impending destruction of the universe.Monkey King challenged Li Jing, asserting that he couldn't be stopped, not even by the Celestial Pagoda. While Li Jing acknowledged the truth in Monkey King's claim, he swiftly subdued him by placing a circlet on his head. Ne Zha tried to intervene on their behalf, but Li Jing swiftly silenced him, putting an end to any further discussion.

After breaking out of prison, MK, Monkey King, and Macaque returned Megapolis where Li Jing caught up to them. Li Jing swiftly closed in on Monkey King, tightening the circlet around his head. Macaque intervened by teleporting both MK and Monkey King to safety inside the Team Power Truck. As they made their escape, Macaque was eventually overpowered by Li Jing, who imprisoned him in the Celestial Pagoda.

In Harbinger; Li Jing and Ne Zha met up with the Monkie Kids and Monkey King, where Li Jing believed that the Pillar of Heaven was now irreparable, leading them all to confront the reality of the universe's impending destruction as the Great Cycle approached its end. As Li Jing looked at Ne Zha, he felt a mix of pride and regret for not having more time to share with him.

When the World was saved; After some time, Li Jing saw Ne Zha leading the Celestial Warriors in the rebuilding of the Celestial Realm, and made him smile in approval.

Nezha:

Ne Zha is a heavenly deity from the Celestial Realm, serving as both a member of the Celestial Court and a guardian. A stern and responsible celestial. He is occasionally short-tempered, mostly in regards to the Monkey King, though is shown to be understanding and kind to MK. He is often seen being understandably exasperated and annoyed.

During the Monkey Kings attempt to reforge the Samadhi Fire to defeat Lady Bone Demon,Ne Zha tried to stop him too late due to Macaque's interference. Ne Zha discovered that Mei held one of the four fragments of the Samadhi Fire and teamed up with MK to prevent Monkey King from reaching Lady Bone Demon, but Monkey King was corrupted by her and defeated Ne Zha by encasing him in crystal. Ne Zha was eventually freed during the final battle with Lady Bone Demon and aided the Monkie Kids in destroying her.

Later, Red Son warned Ne Zha about the Brotherhood's plan to attack the Celestial Realm. Despite his best efforts, Ne Zha was overpowered and injured by the Brotherhood, seeking refuge on Flower Fruit Mountain with the Monkie Kids. After the final standoff with the Brotherhood, Ne Zha safeguarded the Power of the Jade Emperor in a seal and vowed to protect it.

During Season 5, he was a silent character till the end when he stopped his father from interfering with the Monkie Kids Crew.

Images :

Overley Sarcastic Productions.

https://www.viewofchina.com/nezha/

LMK Screen Shots

[bow-wow-wark-wark]

Toshiro defense post

Hi everyone! So, I know this topic has been discussed a bunch of times before xd, but I keep seeing people say nonsense about Toshiro so… strap in cause this is another Toshiro explanation post!!

IMPORTANT: I do want to clarify that it’s fine if you dislike Toshiro. After all, everyone has the right to dislike characters so I’m not going to stop you, I know it’s not that serious. But then I’d like to ask you to stop spreading misinformation about him, use him for angst stuff that mischaracterizes him or any of that xd. Like, dislike him in peace xd but stop using him as a villain. Also, before any of you say “I understand his complexities but…”  let me stop you bc most of the time you don’t xd. Like you acknowledge the microaggressions and other things but use other poor excuses for hating him or invalidate that, so please read this post and keep an open mind!! Finaly, this post is going to touch on and disprove the following topics: 1. Toshiro hates Laois (together with stuff like how he is ableist and an asshole) 2. Toshiro is a huge hypocrite for liking Fallin (together with how he doesn’t really love her) and 3. Toshiro was racist towards itsutzumi (without getting too into complex race politics). I will also back up my arguments by content in the anime and some of the extras from the manga, despite that I will not delve on spoiler related content so, let’s get to it!

1. Toshiro hates Laios.

Something that people use to hate on Toshiro is his famous fighting scene with Laois, saying things like “Toshiro was ableist towards Laois” “Toshiro is a hypocrite because he complains about poor communication, but why didn’t he say anything himself?” “Toshiro hates Laois” but before we tackle this let’s recap:

In this scene they fight over the fact that Laois has poor social skills and doesn’t understand the ways Toshiro expresses his annoyance at him and his desire to have some space, he also accuses Laois of being unserious about saving Fallin and even says that he has always hated Laois. This scene resonated with MANY people that have experienced this exact same conversation with “friends” who would get mad at them for showing neurodivergent traits, I am one of those people as well so I can totally understand.  So, them seeing themselves in Laois and their acquaintance in Toshiro people accuse him of being ableist, but this:

Is not that. First of all, it’s important to note that Toshiro’s complaints come from his cultural background as an easterner, where he is used to subtle communication, and by his upbringing as an heir of his island (something that is explained by this thread in great detail!! But to summarize it basically says that he has become more reserved due to his retainer’s overbearing nature and do to being compared to his father constantly and by being surrounded by rumors of his family, so he chooses to not speak out as to cause more trouble for himself). Second of all he doesn’t really do anything ableist… many people say that they hate him “because he was a huge dick to Laois” but apart from expressing his frustration by yelling and fighting, something rude of course, what ableist or horrid thing did he do?  He didn’t call him names or anything, and even acknowledges the fact that Laois is someone who acts in good fate and doesn’t mean any harm to him, but he still dislikes his actions (not a bad thing at all). It’s also important to note that Toshiro is TIRED in this scene, he hasn’t eaten or slept in 3 whole days and suddenly he bumps into a bunch of problems and the girl he loves turned into a monster by this guy who seems WAY to relaxed about it and who he already has gripes against, my question is: Who wouldn’t lash out? Additionally, this scene is important for him too!! As he finally stands up for himself and expresses his feelings, something that drives his character development into being a better guy.

On top of all that, it’s also important to note that Toshiro himself shows signs of being neurodivergent just that in a different way than Laois. For example, his hyperfocus on saving Fallin making him ignore his needs, his overreliance on social cues to understand others, his stand offish an awkward nature that doesn’t let him connect with the people around him and his difficulty to express his needs. These are things many neurodivergent people can relate to, and dare I say, things Laois shares with him!! They both suck socially which is literally what causes this, so what makes him so different? So hard to forgive? What makes it hard to understand him but not Laois? And let’s all not forget the fact that Laois has been pulling a microaggression on him by calling him a butchered version of his name this entire time! It doesn’t make him evil! But it shows how they have a complex relationship where both sides where right. (Also, I know this is a complicated topic and I know there are poc people who hate him BUT, to me the issue is that he 1. Has a meltdown and 2. He’s not white. Like it is very known and said that poc cannot express themselves in such freeing ways as our white counterparts, so it’s harder to be nd and poc than white and nd, which is somehow the case for Toshiro as well xd. Many people say that he shows how people only like nd traits when they’re palatable, but this argument goes back to you, you might find nd traits better when it’s on a white guy you can baby and not on the Asian guy who should know better. None of them should have to, characters are allowed to do bad things and fix those errors).

 Lastly, Toshiro mends his mistake immediately!!  He doesn’t hate Laois, if anything he holds complicated feelings towards him for a while, which most of the cast do (more on this later). Some people seriously act like this didn’t happen, but at the end of the fight he admits that he doesn’t hate Laois (media literacy check but not everything a character says while angry is true!!) but envies his free spirited and straight forward nature. And if this doesn’t seem enough to mend his mistake, he gives Laois the calling bell, which will immediately send someone to help him and fetch him to the east. Would you have a guy that you HATE as a refugee in your country? Plus, he’s serious about the bell too! This scene wasn’t added in the anime, but there’s a point where Toshiro and Kabru are leaving and they keep hearing the bell, which they point out as annoying, despite that Toshiro always keeps it with him and says that if the noise stops, he will know to fetch Laios. If he really hated him, why would he keep a loud object around him just to make sure he is safe? (There’s literally a scene where it goes off after Laois throws it and he just acts embarrassed that it’s interrupting a conversation, but he doesn’t leave it or anything).

2. Toshiro is a huge hypocrite for liking Fallin.

With that point out of the way, lets get to the 2nd problem: Toshiro’s crush on Fallin. Let me preface once more by saying I LOVE Farcille and think they’re a very cute ship, but using Toshiro as your angst bait is not cool and super ooc (clarification: I don’t mean like a respectful joke about him getting rejected or exploring marcille’s thoughts on his proposal, I mean bashing on him hard or saying that he would intervene or disapprove of a farcille relationship).

Ok so in this case, many people say that Toshiro is a HUGE hypocrite because of 2 things: 1. He likes Fallin but dislikes Laois even though they’re almost identical, and 2. Because he claims to love Fallin while abandoning her and condemning black magic.

So, let’s get into why this is not true:

We have already discussed how Toshiro does not dislike Laois, but pushing that out of the way, the one thing he “dislikes” about Laois is the one thing he does not share with Fallin, which is their social awareness. Fallin is significantly more socially aware and tends to do things as to avoid burdening others, putting her needs aside, she’s someone who is very thoughtful and mindful of the people around her, unlike Laois who, while also thoughtful and kind, is not as receptive (Also crazy to note that her and Toshiro share this “not fully sharing my feelings as to not burden others” thing). Besides that, he likes that Fallin likes bugs/nature (the same thread from before has a nice possible explanation if you want to check it out) something that could be related to Laois’s love for monsters which, fun fact, he doesn’t hate at all!! Something that, funnily enough, others seem to give Laois flack over but not Fallin (crazy how there aren’t as many people shitting on Marcille or chilchuck for this?? specially since Fallin also likes monsters but Marcille never says anything about it and centers her annoyance on Laois? Wow… (I don’t hate Marcille for this either btw, I’m being sarcastic). And on the topic of this double standard, I’ve seen many people ask how he thinks he can marry into the Toudens while hating Laois (bad), while at the same time seeing so many “omg marcille thinks the only downside to marrying Fallin is Laois” (funny), crazy how its bad when Toshiro does it, huh? (Even crazier is the fact it’s only half true for both of them xd, they like Laois he is their friend)

So, once more he dislikes that Laois doesn’t give him space but likes Fallin because she does, especially because they aren’t very close at all. Toshiro has a hard time getting close to others and it’s stated that he tends to put barriers around himself with people who are “close” to him like maizaru and Hien. But since Fallin is an acquaintance at best it’s easy to like her from afar and the traits she seems to show outwardly.

Which leads me to the next point: Toshiro mani pixie dream girlifies Fallin. It is true that Toshiro has idealized her and doesn’t know her too well because they don’t talk but... is that a crime? There are many characters who hold biased opinions on others (like kabru with Laois or senshi with marcille or marcille with the orcs, etc.) and that doesn’t really get critiqued either. I don’t think it’s the sign of a horrid man for him to like Fallin without knowing her to well xd, it’s pretty normal for a crush and also if you consider his nature. Besides, this is once more influenced by his background: in one scene chilchuck mentions how the proposal thing is common in the east + he is an heir xd, so it’s only logical to be thinking about marriage, specially since his dad has high expectations for him (something that I know has not yet been shown in the anime, but it is present on extra manga content). It’s important to note also, that he doesn’t claim that he knows her best, puts words on her mouth or push his feelings towards her either. He proposes, she says that she will think about it and as far as the anime is concerned, he waits patiently for her answer. He doesn’t say “curse you woman you are coming with me!” or anything like that, and even if he expresses that he wants to leave with her to the east, that is ONLY if she says yes and agrees to that, so its illogical to say any of these things without proof.

Now onto the 2nd main point of this section: He abandoned Fallin and hates black magic. 1st of all, he didn’t abandon Fallin, he left to gather his retainers to search for her in a way he thought more efficient and once we see him again, he HASN’T EATEN OR SLEPT IN 3 DAYS OUT OF DEDICATION ALONE!! (If you use the argument that he abandoned Laois, that can also be explained by this). Now, him hating dark magic and claiming to turn in Marcille to the elves. This is not the best, since it poses conflict for our protagonists but 1. He doesn’t even end up doing that and helps them out after all is explained and 2. Put yourself in his shoes, what would you do if your crush turned into a monster that killed all your party? “Toshiro didn’t love Fallin enough to accept her as a monster unlike Marcille” Are you guys listening to yourselves? What he sees is a Fallin that has been desecrated and turned into a monster, something that will harm her and others + he’s not a magic specialist so how would he know or believe that they could turn her back to normal? He condemns Marcille but not out of lack of love, but I would say because of it, as far as he knows this could only turn worse for her anyways. Also, Kabru points out his illogical line of thought, claiming that it would be better for Fallin to die then, and Toshiro realizes how stupid he sounded a moment ago xd; Kabru points out how he also would have done anything to save her, and he backs down in agreement.

Once more, maybe annoying but not bad guy material. What’s more, this one is a really pressing matter as I have seen SO many Farcille fan artists and editors using him as an easy villain that hates Marcille (he is canonically scared of her) or as a cuck that doesn’t get Fallin. Somone pointed out once how he gets treated like a female character that gets in the way of an mlm ship and I agree. But while sometimes funny, it gets absurd at times and tends to border on making him someone he is not. I’ve even seen people say he’s homophobic (XD) or make him the token straight guy (something that in most fandoms means being an annoying incel character). In addition, many people say that Fallin would hate him for being “mean” to Laois but 1. She is very kind and would probably understand him. 2. If she realizes Laois has forgiven him, I don’t think she would meddle in to fix her brother’s problems because he wouldn’t want that and that’s just not her personality.

2.5 Small section.

Before we move into the last section, I’d like to add a small section called: you guys don’t understand Toshiro’s personality. Let’s be clear Toshiro is a shy, quiet, reserved, sentimental, rigid and half-hearted guy. It’s not common for him to start things, he tends to leave problem solving to authorities, he isn’t too confident in himself, and he is also an outcast in his homeland. Yet so many people describe him as being arrogant of self-absorbed and I really don’t know where that is coming from. Like, I’ve seen a bunch of people say, “oh how can he think he’s good enough for Fallin?” or variations of the sort but... I don’t think he thinks that he just decides to shoot his shot anyways. I’ve also seen some people describe him as some “pretentious rich asshole”, but this is also never showed or implied in text. Toshiro does not flaunt his wealth; he doesn’t act like he is better than ANYONE in the party, he just has money by being an heir (something not fun for him) and that’s it, but he doesn’t even use his status to get anything from anyone either., so… where is this coming from? (Racism? a need for a bad guy? who knows?) Plus, many people seem to dislike him because he is an aristocrat but… the system is not the same as being like a prince, his family just has influence in the east. Besides, characters like Laois or Mithun were also well off and from influential families and don’t get that type of flack. There’re also characters like Laois and Kabru, who express the desire to join this “aristocratic/monarchy” system by becoming king and lord of the dungeon. Who, then again, don’t get that flack.  

3. Toshiro was racist towards itsutzumi.

With that out of the way, we have reached the final point: Toshiro owns people (making him racist ig). Ok so let’s preface by saying 2 things: 1. Dungeon meshi is not a racist story, but a story with racism and many complicated race relations that get treated respectfully for the most part. With this is included, the complex treatment of beast skins and other races seen as less human like kobolds or ogres like Tade.  2. The retainers are not slaves; they are servants for Toshiro’s family.

Ok, so it is true that Toshiro’s father bought itsutzumi from people who were abusing her (and Tade as well but people don’t bring her up when talking about this xd) and later put her to work as a retainer, so therefore he owns her right? Yeah, but not as a slave. Slaves do forced labor and are kept in inhumane conditions, which she is not, as she is given a home, education and the most labor she does is chores (which she usually avoids anyways) and probably some fighting of the sort. In fact, you could even say that she was enslaved prior to being bought by Toshiro’s father (not that this is an excuse for buying her necessarily, but once more this relates to complicated race things). It is also important to acknowledge that as a beast skin itsutzumi (a non-human) is seen as less valuable and gets treated unfairly by maizuru. And while it can border on othering behavior, like being tied up for misbehaving, this is once more pushed by maizuru and not any of the other retainers or Toshiro himself.  With this argument usually comes the mention of the cursed collar that was kept on her, which is definitely a bad thing, but once more it is made by maizuru without Toshiro having ANY knowledge about it. I don’t judge any anime only for not knowing this, but in one extra it is revealed that Maizuru actually used the collar on Toshiro himself as a child, so that he would not leave too far from her side, so she explains that she made a similar one for itsutzumi; in this extra he looks surprised and remembers the traumatizing experience so... yeah, he didn’t know.

Additionally, many people compare the argument that he doesn’t own them, but his father does with the sixpence drama from a long time ago. Saying that this doesn’t excuse the behavior and that he should have done something, but that can also be explained. 1. Toshiro actually doesn’t meaningfully associate with any of the retainers prior to leaving to the island, (as explained by the adventurer’s bible and other extras) except for Hien as they are childhood friends and Maizuru. Besides that, he holds no relation to any of them, so he could not have known about itsutzumi’s situation, and it’s even shown that he doesn’t know how he should treat her at all. Despite that Toshiro does show consciousness towards their situation, saying that he would like to talk to Tade about being so adoring of him and his father, but he isn’t sure how to approach the issue. With that, we could assume the same could be said about his feelings towards itsutzumi. 2. “He left her to die”, technically no. They know she’s a capable fighter, so they probably didn’t see any problems with leaving her and also, itsutzumi scapes his party. Meaning that they know she doesn’t like them so why would they go back and search for her? If anything, Toshiro might have thought of it as an easy way to give her freedom, once more, why would you force someone back when you know they don’t want to be there?

“Why didn’t he let her go sooner?” This is explained by the first bit that he didn’t really know her and by asecond thing: contrary to popular belief, Toshiro doesn’t have such a big control of the retainers as it may seem, and it is ultimately maizurus or his father’s choice as to what to do with them. Like he didn’t want them to come with him to the island, but they don’t heed to that and come anyways. So, what makes anyone think that he could just change his fathers wishes? So yeah, he doesn’t own people they work for his family and that’s it.

So, this is the end of the post, if you read all of this, I greatly thank you and I hope I could make at least one of you change your mind. If not, oh well. Once more is valid to dislike characters, you can keep doing that but stop seriously stop with the angst bait or misinformation spread. That is all I want to say, so thank you again and see you later.

[rainbowchewynuggets]

TMA Encore - Epilogue

Georgie: The Wilkinson House–also known as the Floating House or Trespasser House–was built in 1896 in Rodell, Kentucky, USA. Two brothers, Joseph and Mathias Wilkinson, inherited their late father’s coveted plot of land. Unwilling to reach an agreement over the use of the land, the brothers descended into an increasingly ugly feud. Joseph built a house “overnight” to stake his claim, using materials bought at short-sale auctions in a nearby town. Said town was suffering from air and water pollution from newly built factories surrounding the steps of the Appalachian Mountains where it lay. The town as it was slowly dismantled and moved out, and the area has since been named Smog, Kentucky. Fun fact: three of these factories belonged to Wilkinson Sr. It is unclear whether they were included in the will.

Georgie: Joseph contracted tetanus while finishing the house and died soon after. Mathias tried to have the house torn down, but apparently had a change of heart and moved it to the same lot as his own home. His body was found with a broken neck in the attic by a neighbor a few days later.

Georgie: The house was made into a tourist attraction the following year, on account of the shocking tale behind it as well as its eerie creeks and slamming doors–most likely due to the rushed craftsmanship. The story went that Joseph’s ghost had possessed his brother and made him move the house, then killed him in revenge. The attraction was moderately popular up until the Great Depression. It never officially closed, despite additional unexplained deaths on the property and a growing negative reputation. The body count only drew in a steady stream of onlookers, according to tour records.

Georgie: It wasn’t until the spring of 2017 that things began to change. On April 18th, the house was observed to have disappeared from the lot without a trace.

Georgie: Five months later, a house of identical description allegedly appeared on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. A retired entrepreneur reported to local police that it had been placed illegally, as she had bought the island privately several weeks before. Police were ready to dismiss the complaint when they arrived and found nothing. She was adamant that the intrusion had occurred and went on record with a vivid argument she had had with one of the two occupants, who she says had been reading a book written in Spanish on the porch. The other was repairing part of the railing and shot her dirty looks. The complaint was sustained after fresh scratches and paint chips were found in the soil, but the case was otherwise shelved.

Georgie: Surprisingly, the pair of men don’t appear to be the Wilkinsons. The brothers were both Kentucky-born and -bred, white, average height, muscular, and almost hairless. The house’s new occupants were “British-sounding”. One was very thin and short and appeared to be of Indian or Middle-Eastern descent, with silver hair. The other was tall, heavy-set, and white with brown hair.

Georgie: Similar reports would crop up in North, Central, and South America over the next few years and get passed around on Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit. The house would almost always appear in secluded areas that were off-limits to the public and disappear itself shortly after being found. It was always inhabited by the same two men, with the added consensus that they were married.

Georgie: They were rarely spotted in nearby towns and never spoke with anyone enough for their names to become known. When they were interacted with, they were generally polite--if a little tired or distracted. Otherwise, they were found to be wandering the area around their house together, mending the exterior, reading, or reciting aloud. Even the most invasive person couldn’t attempt to film or approach the house without suffering a migraine or severe paranoia before losing consciousness. The house would be gone when they woke up, and their recording device rendered unusable. But written descriptions match a file photo of the original Wilkinson house. Debate sprung up over whether the two were ghosts, aliens, witches, a made up meme that keeps coming into fashion, or two eccentric recluses who happened to be living in a haunted house and deserved to be left alone.

Georgie: Sightings became more sparse toward 2023. When the couple were encountered, they never responded when spoken to. A reddit user in Mongolia supposedly used their home telescope to take photos through the house’s windows where it sat in a glen behind their apartment. The two men sat still or paced in separate rooms for a few hours. They stopped and came together to talk once. The redditor recorded the conversation through lip reading and concluded that they were arguing in English about “where it was going” or “what we are being”. Their accuracy is disputed. The occupants then began pulling books and papers off of the shelves in every room. The user stepped away for a few minutes and came back to find that all the windows were greyed out. They were unsure if they were covered in smoke or paper. The house stayed for a week in that state before disappearing. This account used to be widely discredited, as it didn’t fit the behavior profile at the time and the photos taken are unreadable. More radical accounts are believed to exist going backward, but have suffered from link decay and regional internet suppression.

Georgie: On May 8th of 2024, an elderly woman living next to a military base in New Mexico told her connected family that there had been a security threat that morning, complete with sirens and troops rushing out with rifles and buggies. Her husband–who works as a janitor there–only alluded to “some kind of prank with an old empty house”. Their grandchildren relayed the story to their mutuals on tumblr, stirring attention in the States again.

Georgie: Following reports of the Floating House usually included some description of a visit by a pair of American “secret service” agents or men in military garb with weapons. The usual couple either answer the door or refuse to come out, and the house is gone within minutes. Similar accounts were made by users in China, Chile, Australia, and Turkiye, but were discounted as the agents were always said to be American. The circumstances of each encounter continued to escalate until it was claimed by a cyclist in Mayak, Russia that there was some kind of standoff between the two sides, followed by a “nuclear” explosion that left nothing behind but the house. The area appeared untouched the next day, but had apparently become irradiated due to previously unaccounted-for material in the soil that had been agitated by construction efforts. A few people were found dead in the area. The cyclist himself had to be treated for burns.

Georgie: From here, it gets a little muddy. Despite a renewed surge in popularity for the Floating House, agreed-upon sightings are very rare for the next two years. It only appears in very sparsely populated areas along the north and south poles and is even faster to disappear. A researcher in Antarctica thought she saw the outline of a roof on the horizon as the sun rose after six months of night, but it was gone a few seconds later. She managed to get a quick drawing of the shape, which will be included in the image links in the description. There are often claims of similar encounters to the American secret agent incident. Sometimes it’s cultists. Sometimes it’s businessmen. Or “werewolves”. Sometimes it’s members of a particular subgroup that also follows the sightings. It all ends the same, with the house as the only thing standing when the dust has cleared. The house’s legend has become so routine, that many accounts are ignored out of hand and highly disputed. Though, it is notable that the inhabitants haven’t been a visible part of the story in several months.

Georgie: Phew. Now, to wrap up our deep-dive on the Floating House, we’re going to hear a first-hand account from just last year.

Napâttuk: Okay. Um, hello. My name is Napâttuk Waska. I saw the house in the woods near my hometown–south of Salluit, Quebec, basically. Almost at the tip. I’m not sure exactly how long it had been there by the time I found it. I practically lived in those woods from birth, but I’d been away at university in Montreal with my partner, Tootega.

Napâttuk: I kind of have to tell you about all that for this to make sense. She had some friends there who were willing to let us stay with them. And it was… it was really bad. Not the friends. I’d just never lived in a big city before, and I wasn’t expecting all the trash and noise and giant ugly buildings. And then, there was a really big forest fire nearby a little while after we got there. We didn’t end up having to evacuate, but smoke came in on the wind for two weeks. I was covered in ash and my eyes hurt by the time I got to class every day. The way the sun came through the smoke made everything look orange and menacing. I tried my best to stick it out because Tega was handling it alright. But I just found myself sitting inside all the time, watching people talk on the news about the new giant ugly buildings they were going to put in the place where the trees were burning down. I had to make myself not freak out every time there was a little change in how the air smelled for the rest of the semester.

Napâttuk: Anyway. By the time we finally went back home after finals, I was desperate to feel normal again. This was December, and it hadn’t really snowed yet–which is very odd. But the weather said snow was coming, so I tried not to let it bother me. I decided to go hiking in a spot I knew about ten miles from town. It’s a bowl surrounded by hills, so it’s hard to get lost. I didn’t make Tega go with me. She hates hiking. But it was fine. It was just like I remembered. I felt great.

Napâttuk: And that’s when I saw it. Just–this house sitting in the middle of the forest. First of all, this is the Low Arctic. We don’t even have a ton of forests. It could have been put anywhere else. Second, this is my forest. I mean, it’s not. But. It was like someone had just dumped the house there and knocked over a bunch of trees, and then left. There were skid marks on the ground, like it had been dragged. It even looked like trash. It’s exactly the same as the picture you showed me, but the windows and roof had been covered up with metal. Most of the wood I could see had bullet holes in it. The paint was almost gone, and the slats were discolored and caked in brown and yellow stuff. Like some kind of glue. The weirdest thing was that it looked… bloated. Have you ever seen wood that’s been left in the water too long, and it gets swollen and bent? It was like that, but something had been pushing at it from the inside at the same time. I could hear it creaking and groaning under its own weight. The whole thing was slanted away from the ruts in the ground, which was also strange. I was too mad to really think about that at the time.

Napâttuk: It reminded me of some of the scary neighborhoods around the university, so I was nervous about getting the attention of anyone inside. But I made myself get over it and marched up to the door. I heard rustling when I knocked, so I knew someone was in there. I–I don’t know what was wrong with me. I tried opening the door. It barely moved, like there was something heavy barricading the other side. I kept pushing on it, and it suddenly swung inward.

Napâttuk: …

Napâttuk: The… the inside was so dark, I didn’t see anything. But I knew that I was staring down into a chasm. I swear. The vertigo almost made me collapse. I jerked backward to avoid losing my balance and took a tumble down the steps of the porch. I was okay, but I still felt myself slipping. I had to cling to the ground to keep from falling into the house. There was nothing to grab onto, and I kept sliding back on the pine needles and loose soil. I slowly crawled my way back into the trees until I could stand. Then, I ran until I was back at my car.

Napâttuk: I told Tega about it, and she said it sounded like the Floating House stuff she’d read about. I had no idea. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. She’s much more online than I am. She really likes SCP and things like that. I’m not sure she fully believed me about the falling part, but she and some friends agreed to go back with me. I didn’t want to go too near it again. I just wanted it… reported, I guess.

Napâttuk: The thing is, we couldn’t even find the place where it was. It’s not a huge area. It made Tega more excited, but our friends were pretty annoyed to be dragged into the freezing woods for nothing. I was mortified. I knew where it was, we must have just been circling around it. I cut through another way, and when I turned around, Tega and the others were gone. I kept looking, until I saw that the sun was going down. They weren’t picking up their phones, they didn’t hear me calling them. I decided to just leave and see if they were waiting for me by the car. But then, I couldn’t find the treeline. The trees just went on and on and on. It got hot. I was hot even after I took off my parka. And then, I smelled smoke. It hung in the air all around me and got thicker until I couldn’t see. Ash came off of me in sheets as I waded through it like gritty snow. I couldn’t tell which way the bowl went anymore. I eventually felt something through the ash, but it was hard and flat like concrete. It hurt to walk on. I don’t know, it sounds crazy. I was tired and deprived of oxygen. I don’t remember getting to the road, but I woke up in the medical center in town. One of my neighbors had found me on their way home.

Napâttuk: Tega and the others had gone home without me, apparently? I asked them about what happened, but they wouldn’t talk about it. They keep saying they didn’t find the house, but I think they’re lying. They did say they saw the fire–there really was one. Nobody knows why. Heavy snowfall put it out before it did any real damage. It wasn’t where the house was, and there hasn’t been any word about people finding it. Nothing’s really happened since then, but I had to move to Alberta to get away from the smell of smoke.

Georgie: I see. Do Tega and your friends still live there?

Napâttuk: I’m not sure. They’re mostly her friends, and she and I don’t really talk anymore. The last couple times that we did, she was really agitated about something. I got the sense that we were losing touch because she was busy trying to deal with it. A few months ago, my mom told me she had gotten in trouble for stalking this guy who lived out by the water and had his lights off all the time. Only came out at night. Never had a flashlight. Walked with a cane. I just assumed he was a little blind and sunburned easily. He was always super friendly and chill. But I asked Tega about it, and she said he’d been accused of kidnapping when he lived in Sweden?? Like, kidnapped a whole lot of people??? What????? It’s messed up if it’s true, but then Tega got arrested trying to break into his house with an axe. I just–I can’t believe any of this is happening.

Napâttuk: A while ago, I dove into the Floating House forums to try to make sense of it. I made a bunch of posts about what happened, and people asked all kinds of questions. I was so relieved. I felt like I could actually talk to someone about it. I even put up the coordinates of where I’d seen the house. But lately, my mom says there’s been a lot more tourism at home, and I can’t help wondering if that has something to do with me. I don’t think you can even get to the bowl anymore. The road was closed after some kind of accident. She says people still park up there, though. I… I haven’t thought about going back there before, but… do you think I should?

Georgie: Wh–I–why do you ask?

Napâttuk: You’re the professional. I’m the one who opened it, so maybe I should close it.

Georgie: … I don’t know.

Napâttuk: That’s okay. Sorry… For all I know, it’s not even there anymore. Did you have any other questions?

Georgie: I did see that you took down the locations you’d posted.

Napâttuk: Yeah, it just. It made me nervous. But somebody else probably has them saved and put up somewhere.

Georgie: Hmm. You know, This kind of thing happens all the time. It blows over when something else interesting comes along. And honestly, a lot of these “sightings” are on pretty shaky ground. I wouldn’t worry.

Napâttuk: Right. You’re right.

Georgie: Okay, well, I think that’s about it. Thank you very much for coming on.

Napâttuk: Uh, yeah. No problem. Bye.

————

Prev

First

Whoa. Wow. I can’t believe it. That’s it. That’s the end.

I’ve had this fic slowly taking up more and more space in my head since 2020. And now, it’s fully out there! Spiraling off into the internet like the big crazy snake that it is.

I know the process was rocky, but I’m really glad I stuck it out all the way. I learned a whole lot, and I actually feel more sure that making comics is what I want to do than ever (while working out a more sustainable way to do it, of course).

And I’m really grateful to you, if you’ve read the entire thing or just a page. All the comments and reblogs and kind words have been really nice to hear and helped me keep going. Seriously, thank you.

Maybe have a look at my other stuff, if you’re so inclined.

Hoo... anyway.

I need a nap.

Bye. <3

Index

[adobe-outdesign]

Magikarp/gyarados review? 🐟🎏🐉

Magikarp is everyone's favorite useless fish, and it does a pretty damn good job at being a Useless Fish. I think the eyes really get this across well—this is a creature that absolutely only has a single brain cell bouncing around in there like a game of Pong, all right.

Visually, the design is pretty simple, but it does what it needs to. Like I said, the expression is spot-on, and the open mouth also adds something to it. The whiskers are nice, both carp-like but also reminiscent of eastern dragons, and the body has a distinctive bony shape that'll become even more prominent when it evolves into Gyarados.

The only thing that bugs me about it is the pink mouth; it looks disturbingly fleshy and adds another color that isn't needed. White or yellow would've worked much better. Also, I don't really think the lines under the bottom of the head were needed, but that's a very minor thing.

(Also, side note: this isn't needed in any capacity, but Magikarp was given some pretty neat patterns in the Magikarp Jump game. Some of them are completely different colors and look a bit too much like shinies, but the more koi-like ones are really cool and I wouldn't mind seeing them in an official game.)

The whole concept of a fundamentally weak and useless Pokemon evolving into something badass and powerful is a great concept, and Gyarados pulls it off very well. It's also a nod to the Chinese legends about how carp that managed to jump over waterfalls would become dragons, so that adds another layer to it. It's also probably based in part off of windsocks, hence the water/flying typing (keep in mind that in Gen 1, the dragon type was still considered to be rare and mythical).

Visually, I think Gyarados does a good job looking more powerful without being completely disassociated from it's pre-evo. Similar to the Dratini line, people seem to think the two stages have nothing in common, which isn't true at all. They both have:

"Lips" and wide open mouths

Whiskers

Three-pronged fin structures on the back

The fins near the head having an edge at the top and the tail having two edges

Segmenting of the body

A bony, rigid body structure

Gyarados changes color and gains a more serpentine body, but the visual elements and overall design remain shockingly similar so you can stop trying to say Gyarados and Dragonite were flipped just because Gyarados is long and blue, seriously if I see that "theory" one more time I am going to go apeshit on someone

Visually, you can definitely tell that this is a powerful Pokemon, and I love the shapes and detailing around the head. The repetition of the body segments helps to create a pattern, simplifying what would otherwise be a complex design.

The only nitpick I have is that it's strange that the whiskers are positioned under the head instead of by the mouth, which isn't a big deal but is hard to unsee once you see it. Also, the three prongs on the head would've worked better in cream or white. Otherwise, I have no complaints.

Gyarados also has a mega for no real reason, though at least with this one you can't argue it would've been better as a regular evo, as that would've defeated the point of the Entire Everything.

I don't think it adds much to the line, but the design itself isn't terrible. I do actually really like the massive back fins, which pop nicely and instantly gives a focus point to the design. Other than that, most of the design is just exaggerating things already on base Gyarados—longer whiskers, longer head ornament, long head fins, extra body fins, etc., which works to make it look more powerful.

However, I do have a few issues with it. Adding two colors to a previously two-color design feels like a bit much, and all three colors are too low contrast. I think the black was added to try to haphazardly justify the dark typing, but all the black areas could easily be cream/red without losing anything. Alternatively, making the red areas cream would've helped with the contrast; I'm not sure why they're there anyway, other than a tenuous connection to Magikarp. Here's a quick edit to show what I mean (original on left):

Also, it actually has two giant back fins. When I first saw it I thought it had one, and frankly I think that would look just as good but would've cut down on the clutter a bit. It doesn't look too bad from a side angle, but it's a bit much from the front:

I'm also not big on the two extra tail fins, as the bottom set interrupts the flow a bit (they're also more rounded than the main fins; some consistency would've been nice), and the spike under the chin feels random. Everything else, however, works well enough for what they were going for, and it's at least an interesting albeit pointless take on the original design.

Anyway, overall: the concept of a weak Pokemon suddenly getting super strong upon evolution is a good one, and this line handles it well. Magikarp is endearingly useless, and Gyarados has good contrast with it while still looking like they belong together. The mega isn't quite as good, but it's still a solid enough design as a whole minus some clutter and odd color choices.

[tomorrowusa]

Putin's invading troops in Ukraine's east are suffering from an unpleasant and debilitating disease called mouse fever (мышиная лихорадка). The Russian military is providing little to no medical assistance and often dismisses complaints from soldiers about the malady as excuses to get away from combat.

Vladimir Putin’s soldiers in eastern Ukraine’s Kupiansk are reportedly falling sick because of a “mouse fever” outbreak – a viral disease that has left the invading Russian troops severely unwell. The outbreak of the so-called “mouse fever” has been recorded in many units of the Russian forces in the Kupiansk direction, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence’s main directorate of intelligence said on its official Telegram channel. “The disease is viral in nature and is transmitted to humans from rodents through direct contact with a causative agent as a result of inhaling dust from mouse excrement or getting it into food products consumed by humans,” it said. Symptoms of this fever “mowing down” Russian soldiers include vomiting, severe headache, fever up to 40 degrees celsius (104 degrees fahrenheit), rashes, redness, plummeting blood pressure, haemorrhages in the eyes and nausea. Ukraine’s intelligence wing said dissatisfaction was growing among Russian soldiers who are facing abandonment on medical assistance and provision of winter items, and the recent fever outbreak was an example of Russia’s inability to look after its troops fighting in Ukraine. The disease is also affecting the kidneys, as the infected Russian troops were facing intense pain in their lower back and have severe difficulty in urinating, officials said. “Complaints about fever from personnel of the Russian army, who are involved in the war against Ukraine, were ignored by the command, regarding them as another manifestation of evasion from participating in combat operations. In addition, at the first stage of the course, "mouse fever" resembles an ordinary flu,” the statement added.

Ukrainian intelligence should try to spread the rumor among Russians that vodka is a great home remedy for mouse fever. 🙂

Ukrainian forces have also been affected by the rodent problem but they have several advantages. Being on their home turf, they're able to bring cats to the front. They also have far better access to competent medical personnel. Plus the Ukrainians are just plain better at basic housekeeping.

The way the Kremlin has reacted to the mouse fever problem among its troops is yet another way it regards them as disposable.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia loses estimated 320,000 troops in Ukraine

The Ukrainian military's own estimate is 352,390 Russian fatalities (as of December 23rd). That Ukrainian figure is almost the same as the population of Honolulu. Indeed, 39 of the 50 US states have capitals whose populations are below the number of Russian fatalities in Ukraine. Putin doesn't care how many RUSSIANS he has to kill to get his way in Ukraine.

Russians need to either get rid of Putin or leave the country in order to save themselves.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

(Different anon, hello!) I think it’s interesting that u bring up Tong from MSI because I thought that was more of a case of Joe having been an orphan for a long time in his prev life, so family is obvi a sensitive spot for him in particular, not just about cultural values about family.

With that said, as a kinda aside and not really as a direct reply to everything you said to the other anon, (because I did see that u said it’s fine to have critiques towards how it’s handled), I get disappointed when shows don’t handle this nuanced topic about family unambiguously doing you wrong combined with this strong ingrained sense of loyalty and “but they’re still family”/filial piety.

Like there are ways to write forgiving family that is still not a clean open and shut “this character did something bad and got punished/suffers” but you still understand that they did something wrong and the character forgives them anyway. (Blueming)

Sorry I’m not sure where I’m going w this? But yeah idk, more complicated depictions of family dynamics 👍🏻 would love more of those

Hi Anon! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

And yes, totally fair! There are definitely some limitations on what can be explored as a side plot, and I understand if people wish there was more depth. Family is immensely complicated, and we have seen Eastern shows break out of the mold before (Uea in Bed Friend for example), so there are varying perspectives even within the same culture, and I think that's great to explore.

I also think it's kind of interesting how a lot of us can watch the same scene and interpret it a little differently. I've seen some people seeing Yak's dad as making excuses and not taking any accountability, whereas I interpreted his apology and declaration of how proud he was of Yei as saying "I super fucked up and Yei is the only reason you two are ok now".

I also tend to be hyperaware that we are getting a translation of what is being said. GMMTV subs tend to be decent, but we know there is a lot of nuance being lost. And I do wonder if sometimes our complaints about lack of nuance are not about the actual writing of the show but more about the words we are given to understand it...

Anyway, loved reading your thoughts! And yes, I agree with MSI, I think Joe also has big feelings around the idea of orphan children! I was thinking more of if the narrative of the show doesn't punish Tong as severely as some of us want, I would not be surprised.

[angelofverdum]

The diplomat

I try to avoid these types of shows like the plague. American politics, foreign affairs, and Middle Eastern conflict are definitely not my thing. But Keri Russell tho.

I don't like political shows because I can't understand half of what they saying but this show is somehow exciting.

It feels fresh. The chemistry between the actors is great, especially Kate and her husband specifically when they are at each other's throats.

I started the show because of Keri Russell, I finished The Americans not too long ago and I needed more. This show got incredibly good reviews so I said "Let me try"

Kerry Rusell is so good at what she does. I like this character more than her character in "The Americans"

After I finished the show I confirmed my favorite genres are shows written by women. There is a delicate balance between drama and comedy that I love so much, and women do it so well.

I love a female character that is flawed and feels real. But I'm also going to admit the fact that her hair looks like that annoys me so much, it's crazy. I can understand a ponytail because she doesn't have time to get her hair done but that mess she has on her head is something else.

I get it she is supposed to look dirty, like she hasn't taken a shower in days so her hair looks greasy but it's killing me.

I'm happy I started the show. I'm excited for season 2.

Complaints

- No queer women

- No Latino characters, but at least they have Asian and black characters.

[coochiequeens]

The PDGA is not financially or logistically in a position to take the lead in multi-state litigation on this topic,” wrote the organization in their statement. “For the first time in recent memory, the PDGA will end the year with a net operating loss, and it is not in the best interest of our members to continue to allocate resources to further litigation.”

There it is. Instead of using funds to create a third category open to anyone who identifies differently than their bio sex TRAs just wore down an organization to let men bully their way into women's sports.

By Reduxx Team December 23, 2023

The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) has been forced to drop their new regulations on men who want to participate in women’s competitions after being sued by a trans-identified male player. The lawsuit was launched earlier this year by Natalie Ryan, who had been dominating women’s competitions prior to the PDGA attempting to rein in male competitors.

Ryan first filed a suit against the PDGA in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California this past February. In his complaint, he argued that a recently-adopted PDGA policy prohibiting trans-identified males from competing with women if they had undergone a “male puberty” violated his civil rights and California laws against discrimination.

“The policy adopted by the PDGA and [Disc Golf Pro Tour] is arbitrary and capricious and in violation of Plaintiff’s right to be free from discrimination based on her gender,” the suit said, arguing that policies restricting widespread male participation in women’s sport “denied [Ryan] and other transgender women, who in the eyes of California law are women, full and equal access to the accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, and/or services of [PDGA] organizations.”

Yesterday, a settlement between Ryan and PDGA was announced. While the full terms are not available for public consumption, part of the agreement included PDGA dropping the policy which banned males from competing with women unless they had begun transitioning prior to puberty. This change means that all males who had undergone at least two years of hormone therapy are able to compete with women once again.

In a statement, PDGA revealed that a lack of funds was part of the reason why they were unable to fight against Ryan’s litigation onslaught, with Ryan having filed suits against them in two separate states.

“The PDGA is not financially or logistically in a position to take the lead in multi-state litigation on this topic,” wrote the organization in their statement. “For the first time in recent memory, the PDGA will end the year with a net operating loss, and it is not in the best interest of our members to continue to allocate resources to further litigation.”

The rule revision is set to go into effect on January 1, 2024, and will be in place through at least the end of the 2025 season.

Following the settlement agreement, Ryan boasted of his victory on Instagram.

“All trans women will be equals at the elite level again. This is my victory. I had to be ruthless to get them to listen. I’m glad I can put that side of myself away,” he said.

Ryan has already signed up for a 2024 Tour Card and intends to play at most Disc Golf Pro Tour and Major events. 

The now-quashed PDGA policy is widely believed to have been proposed in response to Ryan’s performance in the female category, with the male athlete rapidly rising through the ranks and beating out elite female competitors.

In September of 2022 at the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan easily defeated the world’s number 1 ranked female competitor, Kristin Tattar, taking home $9,000 in prize money. Months prior, at the Great Lakes Open in Milford, Michigan, Ryan walked away with $6,000 for a first-place performance, beating out the world’s current number 2 ranked female player.

Despite having only participated in women’s Disc Golf for a short few years, Ryan is currently ranked amongst the best “female” players in the world. Last year, after topping the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan ranked into the top 5. Despite not participating in some major events this year due to his lawsuit, Ryan still ranks in the top 15.

Last year, two anonymous female disc golf players spoke with Quillette‘s Jon Kay and stated that Ryan’s biological sex was undoubtedly bolstering his success in the sport.

“I would say that one of the biggest advantages of the [male-bodied] players is their ability to scramble in tight situations when a disc goes off the fairway, to just stand there and blast a shot through the woods,” one of the women said. “I’ve seen both [trans player] Chloe [Alice] and Natalie [Ryan] do this. They’re just standing still and throw the kind of [forehand shot] that I’ve never seen a female throw even under perfect conditions.”

The other female player added: “What makes it worse is that Ryan’s form isn’t even that good. If it were, [he’d] be out-throwing us by even more. So while the rest of us spend years refining our form, trying to keep up and get more distance, [he’s] been in the sport only—what?—three years or something.”

Another female disc golf player, Jennifer Castro, revealed that she was aware of female athletes refusing to join tournaments where transgender players were enrolled due to the stark performance advantage.

“I personally know of women who refuse to sign up for events if a transgender is playing, not because we hate them but because we feel we have zero chance, so what is the point of wasting our money on registration fees?”

Speaking to Reduxx, Marshi Smith of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) condemned the PDGA and DGPT for buckling under pressure.

“Rest assured the DGPT has not seen their last courtroom. We will fight back on this. Men like Ryan cannot threaten sports bodies with financial ruin so they capitulate to misogynistic entitled demands tossing women aside,” Smith said.

ICONS had previously thrown their support behind protecting women’s disc golf, and the organization had held an emergency press conference following the initial news of Ryan’s lawsuits last year.

A number of female disc golfers participated in the Save Female Disc Golf campaign, slamming a Minnesota court judge who ordered PDGA to allow Ryan to participate in a tournament he had been barred from.

“Organizations must have a backbone and stand on fairness and integrity for their athletes – women included,” Smith added, revealing that ICONS has now launched a fund with the intention of supporting female athletes who wish to challenge male-inclusive policies in court.

“Men like Ryan have the backing of activist pro bono lawyers but we are building our own war chest for female athletes now. We refuse to surrender the hard-earned achievements of women and are prepared to stand firm.”

[hasdrubal-gisco]

day 1 impression that isn't a stupid short joke post: lviv itself really feels like it was built by two great powers, the habsburgs and the soviets (did not feel very polish though undoubtedly some of the older churches date back to that time period) but nobody has since picked up the mantle of statecraft required to maintain it. some part of it reminds me of tunis, in that the city was created by a foreign more advanced civilization and its inheritors simply cannot maintain it properly. i'd say in general people seem to be doing pretty well individually but there's a lack of investment in shared wealth - people are put together, most cars on the streets are new, many of the cafes/restaurants in the center are nicer than in prague, but the trams and busses have not been switched out since maybe late 80s.

a great deal of advertising is either recruitment posters for individual units of the military, or organizations trying to help people with narcotic abuse. talked with airbnb owner for a while, as well as having a few shorter conversations with strangers in the center (skewing young), people seem very much out of the war - in the sense that they just don't think about it, nor does it impact them other than cost of goods and currency devaluation, occasional power outage. large internal rifts between people who could/have left and those who couldn't.

the youngins (eyeball like 20f, 22m) said they expect ukraine to win - that russia will collapse internally which will allow the ukrainian army to re-capture occupied territory. kinda surprising to hear, was under the impression the only people who could believe this would be european commission slugs and US politicians. airbnb owner said (30-ish) said it'd be the same as in 2014 with crimea, and that the active conflict will probably end by the end of this year. everyone felt like the eu/us owed them more in terms of contributions to defense.

the city is packed with people, and all local/moved in from eastern ukraine to replace population that left for western pastures. didn't seem like a lot of tourists around, though there were signs of international elements - foreign military advisors, alphabet soup organizations etc.

talked healthcare because of course i did - quality of doctors on average has gone up apparently, whether from a sense of duty or from training by foreigners, but hospitals don't have capacity, pressed by staff shortages. interesting to hear, most of what i heard up to this point was from ukrainians who had come from (typically rural) ukraine to europe to make use of unconditional healthcare being provided at the outset of the war - their complaints were of an expensive two-tier system divided between public and private, seems like that gap has been slowly closing since. decreased willingness to take advantage of people ? or more public money going around ? hard to say.

other than that, it's a relatively normal globohomo city with empty barber shops, vape stores, and microbrewery novelty beer stores. they just like us, they just like us.

for the race scholars in the chat, young population is much more phenotypically homogenous (almost all neo-danubians), but you get noticeably more sudetic and whatever proto-poles are called faces in the 40+ population. not many turkic features anywhere - the many many kebab shops don't even have turks in them; consequence of war ?

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Fuzzy Fidelity and Practical Christians

"In the scholarly literature on secularization and on popular or working-class religion, there has been much debate about people like these miners – the great mass of individuals who occupy a continuum somewhere between unreserved atheism and ardent belief in the religious teachings of a denomination. Historian S.C. Williams has studied the working class of Southwark, in turn-of-the-century London, and suggests that those who professed some type of Christian belief and had a nostalgic fondness for the hymns and prayers of their childhood, but who rarely attended church other than for major life cycle events, nonetheless followed a legitimate form of popular religion. Hugh McLeod, who has studied secularization among the working classes of London and other major cities during the same period, sees such practices as reflecting the “half-secular” approach of many working-class individuals. For McLeod, these practices were a phase in a gradual progression toward complete secularization. Discussing the way in which Americans take up and transform various elements of official religion, making them their own, Robert Orsi argues that this equates to “lived religion” and is not necessarily an indication of secularization. Sociologists of religion have also explored this complex phenomenon. They label individuals who lack strong religious belief and practice but who also lack a clearly secular identity as having “fuzzy fidelity.” This may entail belonging to a church without accepting its teachings, believing in God without joining a church, and a host of other options. Most of these scholars see fuzzy fidelity as a way station on the path toward greater secularity.

Turn-of-the-century British Columbia certainly exhibited a range of practices and beliefs that can be identified with fuzzy fidelity, if we see it as occupying the middle ground on the continuum between steadfast atheism and wholehearted espousal of Christianity. Of course, the key question here, one that is much debated, is where to draw the line – where does fuzziness shade into secularity, and where does it become pious religious practice? Orsi would see variations of lived religion as encompassing all but the most avowed atheist, whereas the sociological scholars of fuzzy fidelity are more interested in variations on the continuum, allowing for shades of grey among the more secular.

The term “practical Christian,” which had considerable resonance in British Columbia during this period, and also considerable elasticity, illustrates the complexities of this continuum. Practical Christians could be socialist atheists who believed that their concern for their fellow workers made them better, more moral people than churchgoers, whom they saw as hypocrites. Practical Christians could also reject Christianity and the churches but respect Christ for his moral teachings and example. Or they may have had some level of Christian faith but may also have believed that leading a moral life did not necessitate church attendance.

Robert Lowery identified practical Christians simply as those who cared for their fellows, regardless of any religious belief. In response to an easterner’s comments on the supposed immorality of the Slocan, Lowery stated that many Slocan men were “practical Christians. They do not spend much time in church howling their complaints to Jesus, but if you are hungry, sick or broke touch some of the boys and see how quick they will respond to your appeal.” Lowery attacked a minister for speaking negatively at the death of a “practical Christian” named Allan, who had been very much part of local rough culture. Lowery admiringly declared that “Allan’s heart was white with the memory of many a kind deed ... Allan practiced the religion of self-forgetfulness. His toil, his money his grub and cabin were ever ready to assist the needy.” The use of “white” here is very much a race-based compliment, reminding us that in this world, a true white man did not need to be a churchgoer. For Lowery and other Euro-Canadian participants in rough culture, whiteness was not necessarily linked to Christianity, as it was for members of the dominant classes who condemned the morals of “bad whites.”

The use of “practical Christian” merits further unpacking. What Lowery meant was unselfishness and concern for one’s fellow men. Today, we might speak approvingly of following the Golden Rule, though most would not link it to Christianity. Lowery respected the moral teachings of Jesus, and though he had little time for the churches, or even Christianity as a religion, he nonetheless used “Christian” as a term of approbation in describing care for one’s fellows. Clearly, “Christian” retained some positive connotations, which demonstrates at least a residual power of Christian culture even among BC unbelievers. “God-fearing” seems to have been used similarly as a positive term, regardless of whether it had anything to do with belief. During an interview, Nanaimo miner Herschel Biggs stated that “as to the hereafter, I’m doubtful whether there is any.” Even so, in describing his fellow miners, he said, “They didn’t go much on religion, but I think most of the miners were God-fearing. They worked hard and they drank beer and they swore and they did things any miner would do, but they were basically a good, hardworking, clean-minded people.

Dave McDonald of Nanaimo was explicit about his lack of belief, but he seems to have fit Lowery’s definition of a practical Christian. As he recalled, “I was supposed to go to church when I was young, but when I got old enough I said, ‘To Hell with it.’ I got fed up with it. I believed in enjoying myself. Mind you, nobody will say anything against me because if I could help someone I always helped ’em. That’s my religion.” Again, caring for others is defined positively as a religion, even though the practice of Christianity is rejected. The Synod of the Diocese of Kootenay seemed to recognize this stance, suggesting that though many workers rejected the churches as being allied with employers, most remained “Christian in sentiment and ethics.” Similar patterns occurred among Catholic working-class men. Priests in Kootenay mining towns frequently complained to their bishop about the lack of church involvement among men. In one instance, a woman came to the local priest because she had been married by a Protestant minister and wanted to make things right with the Catholic Church. But her Catholic husband considered it all nonsense and stated that his only religion was to be an honest man.

Others who called themselves practical Christians felt that caring for one’s fellows was important, but they also retained a faith in God and possibly other basic Christian tenets, such as a belief in the afterlife. Even so, they felt no need to attend church. For example, Thomas Greene, an Anglican minister in the mining town of Fairview, wrote that though many of its miners had “no particular religious leanings,” their creed was that “if I live a pretty straight, honest life and don’t cheat my mates, I shall have a pretty good show at the last.” This seems to indicate that the miners believed they would go to heaven if they lived a moral life, defined to include honesty and straight dealing, but definitely not entailing avoidance of strong drink, gambling, and other activities that an orthodox evangelical Christian would see as paving the path to hell.

...the socialist MLA James Hawthornthwaite may have been concerned about alienating at least some working-class Nanaimo voters with hardline anti-religious rhetoric, but oral history sources suggest that the majority of male Nanaimo workers were not regular churchgoers, although many may have believed in the basic doctrines of Christianity. Albert Tickle of Nanaimo remembered that many of his fellow miners were believers though not churchgoers:

It usually is most common in most miners, most of them were you know Christian believers, but they weren’t what you would call someone that went to church every Sunday. I mean they believed and that was good enough for them.

Tom Johnston, who was raised in a devout Nanaimo household, said that though “a fair percentage” of Nanaimo residents went to church, “the great majority of the population ... were not regular attendants, but they at least supported what the church taught and stood for.” This pattern was very similar to that which S.C. Williams identified in working-class Southwark during the same period. As she argues, people generally felt that if they believed in God, went to church for certain key events, and followed basic Christian precepts, particularly kindness and care for their neighbours, they could define themselves as good Christians. Hugh McLeod also notes that good neighbourliness was identified with practical Christianity in working-class London during this period, regardless of whether those who exhibited it were churchgoers.

Williams suggests that these neighbourly working-class Londoners saw themselves as better Christians than churchgoers who oppressed their employees, displayed unneighbourliness, or were guilty of other faults, and who were branded as hypocrites because they failed to live up to Christian teachings. Similar sentiments were frequently expressed in British Columbia. Alice Barrett Parke of Vernon, a committed churchgoer, noted in her diary that

I have learned since I came west, that religion and church going are sometimes two widely different things. I think many men do not enter the churches, not because they disbelieve in God, or despise His worship, but because they find so little of him in the churches and His professed followers. The Christlike lives are not always lived by those who know most of modern theology. I often think of those words “to do justice, & to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” and they seem a deep reproach to many of us Christians, where the spirit of intolerance, of harshness and spiritual pride reigns.

This theme of churchgoer hypocrisy was very common. Lowery enjoyed skewering the pretense of wealthy churchgoers who oppressed their employees. Thomas Green wrote about debating religion with a miner who held Christian people “up to ridicule for unfaithfulness and inconsistency.” Workers who told the Fernie Free Press why they did not attend church voiced similar comments. One man stayed away “not because I am not in sympathy with the work that the church purports to do, but because I cannot attend a service without feeling that I have been witness of or participated in a lot of sham and hypocrisy.” Another stated that he would attend services “when the parsons and church members can show me that they are living any better than many of us who do not go to church. When I satisfy myself that I would be a better man for attending church services I’ll be there.” Another declined to attend simply because “I won’t associate myself with a bunch of hypocrites.”

- Lynne Marks, Infidels and the Damn Churches: Irreligion and Religion in Settler British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2017. p. 83-87.

[rt2417]

[Hymn of Serata on the Requiem Night] Chapter 1

Bradley: Even at a feast, yer still a damn miserable son of a bitch.

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Location: Forest

Lennox: Kenja-sama's handkerchief, it's quite to hard to find, isn't it.

Akira: Yes. I thought I dropped it while I was walking around this area earlier, but…

I feel a little sorry for having you keep me company for so long.

Lennox: Please do not worry about it. After all, everyone loses things sometimes.

Together with Lennox, who encouraged me, we advance further into the gloomy forest.

As the chilly night wind passes us by, Lennox suddenly lifts his head.

Akira: What’s the matter, Lennox; did you perhaps find something?

Lennox: No, I thought I heard a sound. Like the sound of a bell…

Akira: It’s true! It’s coming from deep in the thicket over there, don’t you think?

Lennox: Someone may possibly be out here. Still, it’s already quite late…

Akira: You’re right… Why don’t we take a little look around?

Mixed in with our footsteps as we tread on the grass, the sound of the bell is long and thin, and continues to echo on as if trying to lure someone in.

After a bit of walking, a sweet aroma suddenly tickles my nose.

Akira: (Smells nice…)

As if enticed by the aroma, I look ahead past Lennox’s broad back.

In a clearing with few trees, a bonfire's flames flicker. Standing quietly in front of it, is a figure cloaked in black.

Faust: ……

Lennox: Faust-sama?

Faust: Kenja and Lennox… As expected, there was a hint of your presence.

In a place like this, what is it that you want?

Akira: No…

Faust speaks quietly, as he always does, but I suddenly find myself at a loss for words.

The flickering flames contrast against the moonlight; his beautiful profile looks pale and somewhat otherworldly amidst it all.

Lennox: …Faust-sama. In addition to you, was there anyone else here?

There’s empty liquor bottles, almost as if someone was having a banquet.

Akira: Ah, it’s true. The bonfire is surrounded by plenty of alcohol and fruit. There’s also corolla flowers lined up…

Faust: No… I’ve been alone the entire time.

The moon is clearly visible tonight. I thought I’d have a drink by myself while gazing up at it.

Akira: Eh…?

It feels a bit unexpected to hear those words come from Faust.

Even as Faust speaks with a light casual tone, a hint of self-deprecation flickers on his face, as he slowly looks upward.

Up in the night sky, the enormous Great Calamity looms above, threatening to engulf us.

Faust: Looking up at the moon… makes me feel uncomfortable, like I have an ache in the depths of my heart.

That’s why, with this as a side dish, I thought I’d direct a complaint or two toward the Calamity.

That’s it, there’s no more to it.

Lennox: ……

Bradley: Hmph. If that’s what yer havin’ as a side dish, it’ll only make the booze taste like shit.

Even at a feast, yer still a damn miserable son of a bitch.

Akira: ……!

I turn around at the sound of the familiar voice coming from behind us. Faust also gazes deep into the forest, where it originates from.

Lennox: Bradley… Could it be, you were blown away by a sneeze again?

Bradley: Well, that’s about the gist of it. ’M not very happy ’bout it.

Bradley says this nonchalantly, as he steps out of the woods with ease.

Bradley: Y’all got a depressing look on yer faces. I can get why you feel such resentment, though.

I was hurt too, but the eastern curse worker was almost killed by that damn moon.

Faust: That’s right. However, ultimately I didn’t end up dying.

Faust mumbles as he casts his eyes downward, then he abruptly fumbles with his sleeve to retrieve something.

Faust: Come to think of it, I picked this up earlier. Is it yours?

Akira: Oh, my handkerchief…! Thank you so much, I was searching for this.

Lennox: I’m glad you were able to successfully find it.

Akira: Yes! Lennox you too, thanks so much for keeping me company while searching for it.

Faust: In that case, if you’ve finished with your business you shouldn’t linger for long. Please head back to the Wizard Manor as soon as possible…

Bradley: Huh, there’s some good booze ‘ere.

Interrupting Faust, Bradley steps forward before the bonfire. He quickly crouches down to judge the bottles of alcohol lined up.

Faust: Oi, don’t go rummaging. There’s no liquor here for thieves.

Bradley: It’s good, ain’t it? If ya went to the extent to pull all this out, it’ll be hard to bring it back. I’ll lend a helpin’ hand.

Akira: Ah… Well, I’ll help you tidy up too. I think we’re all about finished for the day.

While saying this, I reach for the items scattered around me. Then, Faust’s sharp voice rings out.

Faust: Stop, don’t touch that!

Akira: Ah, I’m sorry…!

In response to the unexpected menacing look, my shoulders jumped. Faust looks taken aback, his words muddled.

Faust: Apologies… I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just that you shouldn’t carelessly touch a wizard’s tools like that.

Particularly when it comes to things that a curse worker like me handles.

Lennox: …Here, let me help.

The night wind is getting colder, so please head back first, Kenja-sama and Bradley. We’ll return soon.

As he speaks, a strong cold wind blows between the two of us. Bradley scratches the tip of his nose and grumbles.

Bradley: Shit, that was close. Hell, I don’t wanna be sent flyin’ again.

C’mon, Kenja. The bar at the Wizard Manor is a way better place to drink booze in than this shithole. Come ‘n get a drink with me.

Akira: O-Of course. Well then, I’ll take your word for it… Faust, Lennox. Good night, I’ll see you tomorrow.

Faust: Ah. Good night.

Lennox: Have a good night.

As we exchange salutations, Bradley, with one hand in his pocket, magically pulls out his broom.

He yanks me on by the scruff of my neck, and once I settle behind him with my legs crossed, we’re immediately lifted off the ground.

As the wind blows, I can faintly hear the sound of the bell from somewhere beneath us.

Location: Manor

And so, a few days later we’re presented with an unexpected request.

Arthur: Pure white hands creeping through the sky?

Cock Robin: Yes… It seems to be an anomaly happening in a village on the outskirts of the Central Country.

Once night falls, I was told that multiple hands emerge and creep all throughout the area.

Riquet: Are you saying that there’s no face or body, that it’s just hands?

Akira: That’s rather unsettling. It’s almost like a different sort of scary than ghosts and the like.

Rustica: When it comes to only having hands, we need to think over how to communicate with them. Rather than idle chit chat, perhaps we should use music.

Rutile: Hm, that sounds lovely! Even if you only have fingers, you can still play the piano and pluck strings.

Cain: It would surely help if they like music, wouldn’t it. Actually, what’s the situation like in the village itself?

The people gathered around to listen to the request are Rutile, Rustica, Cock Robin-san, and myself. The Central Wizards are also among us.

Cock Robin-san was originally looking for the Central Wizards and me, however, seeing Rutile and Rustica in the dining hall, he also asked them to help.

Cock Robin: It seems that the residents are so frightened by the strange sight that they’ve withdrawn into their homes.

Furthermore, some residents have even left the village after rumors spread that it was a curse of sorts…

Oz: So, the hands are just wandering about then. What’s the actual harm?

Cock Robin: Um, well… According to reports sometimes they just merely float about, but other times they draw near private homes and livestock pens.

I heard that some villagers and livestock were grabbed by the shoulders and were nearly dragged straight into darkness, and such…

Cain: That’s a rather vague report.

Cock Robin: Sorry, the contents of the report were a bit ambiguous in certain places…

Arthur: Judging from his penmanship, he may have been in a state of distraught. He must’ve been frightened, but still somehow managed to send us a letter.

Rutile: In addition, it seems that the time when the anomalies began to occur was… It says that it was after the Great Calamity came.

Riquet: I see. In that case, it’s our turn.

Cain: Yeah, we should go check it out in person. It’s most likely an after effect of the Calamity. Is that alright with you, Kenja-sama?

Akira: Yes, of course. Please, allow me to accompany you all in this investigation.

Arthur: If that’s the case, we should promptly discuss a date as soon as possible.

Since this is a Central Country affair, the participants will be Cain, Riquet… and myself. I’ll keep my identity concealed though.

Rustica: Then let me also accompany you. The wandering hands may possibly be looking for a potential dance partner.

Even for me, it’s not every day that I get the chance to have someone other than myself take my hand.

Rutile: I’m coming too! Since we just had the pleasure of talking together, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

Arthur: Thank you. It'll be reassuring having the both of you. Oz-sama, what about you?

Akira: (Ah, right… Arthur is worried about Oz’s wounds from the Calamity, since the anomaly occurs at night.)

Oz gives a slight nod toward Arthur’s concerned look. Then slowly, he looks me in the eyes.

Oz: …There are others who are more qualified for this than I am.

Oz: When it comes to curses, there’s someone whose specialty lies in them.

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[whypolar]

Gundam Unicorn OVA 1: Day of the Unicorn

I enjoyed this quite a lot.

Banagher is a responsible father. Stick a "baby on board" decal on the back of his work mech.

I think it's probably pretty rare for fans who don't know Japanese to read the Unicorn novels before watching the anime. They weren't even fully translated until well after the anime finished airing. Even nowadays, when we have the full fan TL available, I doubt many people decide "Yes, I will read an edited machine translation of ten light novels, even though I know the series has been adapted into seven anime episodes of movie length and quality and I have never watched them". It was novel-only character information that first caught my interest, though, so I get to do it the unusual way.

Will this make a difference in my perception of the anime? Who knows. I don't actually know much about what fan reception was like back in 2010-2014, in either the west or Japan.

Thoughts below.

I'll start with complaints first, since I have only one:

👎 Removed all textual and visual indication of Banagher being multiracial / Syam being Middle Eastern.

Why did they do this. I was genuinely surprised and disappointed to see this from Gundam, since the franchise has a history of diverse casts all the way back to 1979. Gundam 00 would have finished airing just a year before this came out, and that had two brown-skinned Middle Eastern protagonists. Did they hit a quota or something?

Things I really liked:

👍 Everything is beautiful.

It's so pretty. The way characters and expressions are drawn is pretty. The mechs are pretty. The death lasers and the resulting explosions are pretty.

The backgrounds! Ship interiors, industrial sites, the signs and posters in the city. It's all gorgeous.

👍 Robot Status: Wow, Cool

I looove the design of the cockpits and UI. I'd already seen the same setup used in Hathaway's Flash, but it’s not any less impressive here. It's so cool. It's SO cool. I love watching the little markers for the funnels pop up.

The mixing of 3D and 2D for complex scenes is pretty seamless, except for the bit at the very end where the Unicorn transforms. My suspension of disbelief can easily survive a few seconds of recognizable CGI.

God, the robots are cool. I love seeing the Kshatriya in motion.

👍Great use of one of my favourite little Gundam things: characters moving around in zero / reduced gravity.

There are some real weird shots in this one.

I love specialized architecture and infrastructure for low gravity environments! I love characters who are accustomed to living in space being strangely indifferent to the concept of up and down! I love deliberately confusing or unsettling camera angles! Raaaaah!!!

👍👍👍👍👍 MUSIC

It's good music.

The part of the score where the violins start going sour while Cardeas threatens Banagher, until it's just an ugly atonal mess? Love that.

I like that spooky echo sound they use sometimes-- I'm genuinely not sure whether it's built into the music tracks or an added sound effect? I interpreted it at first as an indication of Newtype Shenanigans, but it also seemed to show up in other moments that were dramatic or had a lot of deaths. Though I suppose a lot of people dying is something newtypes would pick up, so maybe it still is meant to represent that. I don't know. The sound is cool.

Some miscellaneous commentary, mostly but not exclusively about comparisons the novels:

Things move more quickly in the OVA than the novels, and the audience knows less about the characters. This is an inherent difference of medium and format. We spend less time inside the characters' heads, and this can give a very different first impression-- particularly of Banagher as the protagonist.

My impression of OVA Banagher is that he's a daydreamer, longing for something he can't place. Novel Banagher can also be described this way, but at least to me he felt more worn down and resigned in his detachment. The anime version has more of a wistful, almost romantic vibe. Maybe it's just those big ol' eyes.

Once he's seen the Unicorn, OVA Banagher has some kind of switch flip in his brain. From that point on, as soon as he gets an impulse, he is GOING. We aren't privy to any of his internal deliberation, just the snap decisions as they happen. He seems a lot more confident without his internal thoughts narrating everything, but also less socially aware.

Here's an actual change for you: in the OVA, Banagher actively volunteers to help Audrey get to the colony builder when she starts to leave. In the novel, she directly asks for his help-- and he says no!

He felt a pull to help when he saw she was in danger, but after they crashed he could hear police sirens. He didn't want to get in any more trouble after his little stunt, so she called him spineless and ran off. He has a whole little arc where he tries to just go back to school like nothing happened until Marida shows up and literally twists his arm. The guilt of ratting Audrey out is the push that makes him change his mind and go after her.

Some of the scenes this change skips were cute, but getting more of Banagher hanging out with Mineva when they aren't being actively chased is nice. It's also just a smartly economical use of time. I do think the change makes Banagher feel meaningfully different, though.

I was fond of him being a little more conflicted and moody, but there's also something really funny about a guy who so single-mindedly barrels into situations. He really does seem supernaturally compelled.

Just a laser guided missile of a boy. Hyperfocus: maximum.

Knowing a bit less about characters like Audrey and Marida works very well. We know about as much as Banagher.

Audrey is obviously someone important, but they don't even say the word "princess" until the VERY end-- like four minutes left on the runtime. They never drop her real name. We get all that through narration long before this in the novels (as well as a lot more direct discussion of the Sleeves and Zeon in general).

We get ZERO interiority or backstory for Riddhe in this first one. His first introduction is saving Audrey and Banagher's friends. They pointedly show you his little airplane charm with a special sound effect for like, two seconds maybe, so quickly you can barely process what it is. Very interesting.

We also know less about Banagher's mom… not necessarily a LOT less, but enough to feel like she's being kept a mystery.

Trust the process, Banagher.

This whole scene-- especially the face journey Banagher goes through-- is lovely.

Marida's civilian disguise is better in this version. Like, in-universe, I mean. She's serious and imposing at a glance in this coat look, which is important when we don't get to see her terrorize and physically overpower Banagher. Probably the right choice to redesign the look, but I did like the novel's gag of her being dressed like sharp-dressed secretary except conspicuously wearing sports shoes so she can still run and fight.

Very fun framing here of Cardeas' dramatic lore dump about newtypes, where it's being told over cool mech combat for the audience, but then they cut back to Zinnerman, who is already sick to bastard death of this guy. Stop expositing, old man, I'm here for a business transaction.

I always love when characters see a Gundam and just say "Gundam". It's good every time.

Gundam.

[omegaremix]

Academy Annex, 2022.

I had a moment thinking about keeping my music-collecting quotient up, specifically in the areas of noise rock, noise, post-punk / d.i.y., cassettes, and other diamond finds I played on Omega WUSB. One example: Wharf Cat Records stands as one of my all-time favorite labels and it helps that they’re from Brooklyn, New York City. For some reason they have this inexplicable aesthetic to them. You know where it’s from but what and how, exactly? From what I’ve seen, it feels like it’s part of the upper-echelon of obscure music and style like where Ascetic House sits right now. There was something about Boulders’ Rock N Roll Will Never Die that stuck in the back of my mind; their sound, vision, artwork, their origins and what surrounds it. Tommy Conte and Cameron Worden’s world is far and away from what’s out there and it’s what I look for in all things Omega.

So I was curious to see what the going price for the album went for on Discogs: less than $3.00. Why can’t I have it for that price? Academy Annex was selling it, so I also checked out what else they had. David Vassalotti’s Broken Rope and Water From Your Eyes’ Structure, also Wharf Cat releases, were sold for less than $6.00 each. Then something else caught my eye: two Chondritic Sound cassettes from JS Aurelius and Believer/Law (if you know Uniform-related matters). Throw in some hip-hop singles and a couple of jazz / fusion records and that’s $45.00 well spent including shipping and New York State bloodsucker tax. Academy Annex also had another separate Discogs account where I found York Factory Complaint’s Lost In The Spectacle (more Uniform-related matters) and other releases from Nick Klein, Vagra, and Sleaford Mods. That’s another $31.00 and the second of two shipments Academy sent to me. Only Brooklyn record stores had been carrying the good stuff that my other island record stores wouldn’t even imagine carrying. “That’s it” I said. A visit to their physical store was in order.

It’s the final day of February. Since the beginning of the month I had hoped to visit Academy Annex in Greenpoint. I had this urge for years to take the train on a wintry Sunday because I had those great feelings only a few years ago. Anxiety does get in the way and then you stay local but productive. In the right now those feelings still linger on because those recent Winters provided some sentimental soundtracks, and I always wanted to get that specific Brooklyn experience out of my system. It had something to do with former follower and interest of mine who lived there, and it stands forever a ‘what-if’ every time I walk through Greenpoint because she’s no longer in the picture. It was finally time to go.

Academy Annex touted itself as Brooklyn’s largest independent record store. You walk in and you won’t believe it. Compared to my island record stores, Academy was pretty small. Remember, this is Greenpoint, a hipster fantasy land. Tenants and store owners are being hit up for twice as much and get half in return of what everyone else has. I take a few seconds to slow down to see that this place is a mess. There’s an upstairs balcony full of junk and beams that yell ‘under renovation’ where co-workers sort out new stock and is off limits to their customers. Stacks of boxes are plentiful and all over the place. Behind the counter are tattered walls, newspaper clippings, various old merchandise and ornaments hung up on the wall. To the right are other columns of half-empty bins. In front of it is a near-empty old glass display occupied by a hand puppet and a pair of old boots. How much are they paying per month to live inside that case? On the brighter side, vinyl occupies 99% of the store and they have their hand in everything. Soul, blues, and jazz? Check. Metal, new wave, and hip-hop singles? It’s there. African, Eastern Brazil, Latin, reggae, New York / New Jersey house and techno? Got it. Look even harder and you’ll find a very distinct category of their own: ‘horoscope’. How sweet.

Right as I enter, the cassette bins are to my right. I immediately grabbed tapes from Keith Murray, Grand Puba, Boogie Down Productions, The Ultramagnetic MC’s, Terminator X, and Apache. After my tape grab, I look up and find a crate-diggers dream: Wee’s You Can Fly On My Aeroplane. Numero Group re-issued it on white vinyl. Never would I imagine finding anything like that in relation to what surrounds my single-digit Brooklyn youth. Wee is a gold example of what I look for in terms of crate-digging and vinyl treasures and those can be found on Omega WUSB’s bonus broadcasts. I’m not even five minutes in the store and already I’m at $50.00. Let’s see how much faster the total goes up.

Right below the cassette shelves are the CD bins. Five each or three for ten. They would be the least expensive finds Academy offered to thin the bill. The hip-hop still continued with 3rd Bass and a still-sealed Dead Prez RBG. Other wild cards included Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Tom Tom Club, Rollins Band, and The Men’s Drift; one of two Sacred Bones records I’d nab. Most importantly, I got my hands on Depeche Mode’s Some Great Reward. One of my most valuable allies / followers here have re-introduced me to them. I told her that if I found any in my travels, I’d take it home. No questions asked. (At this moment of writing, we’re discussing it.)

I’m not one for 7″ records or 45′s unless it’s punk or hardcore. They had one box dedicated to them amongst a section of at least 25 boxes of cheap pop, soul, R&B, and other stuff. Hello, Brandy’s “Clown Pain” 7″. We meet again. This time for $9.00 as opposed to Rough Trade’s asking price of $15.00. This is the d.i.y. stuff I dream about having in my hands. Grabbed some Antiseen on translucent magenta vinyl, Poison Girls, Spizzenergi’s “Soldier Soldier” (a fun one we played one summer on Omega WUSB), Asshole Parade, and Jayne County & The Electric Chairs in solidarity with Long Island punk luminary Jimi LaLumia. I also got Martin Atkin’s Brian Brain project, Love Child Plays Moondog, and Ingstangd which looked like some pretty serious shit. On the subject of Swedish punk bands, no Totalitar. Fuck!

Now the LP’s. Academy is considered a collector store. They buy collections for top dollar, grade each record, fit them in plastic sleeves and put them out. Plenty of arrivals can be found for less than ten dollars. It’s the new releases, re-pressings, and new old stock that could potentially hurt your wallet. Add the fact that it’s a city store and Brooklyn’s rent prices are well-documented, and you can’t help to think that their prices are tough but fair on their end - sometimes. I thumbed through their hip-hop / rap singles section and couldn’t justify paying more than three dollars for something I can buy for a dollar from my island stores. Some of those singles apexed at $40.00. No. Thank. You. There were plenty of punk records from The Plasmatics, Subhumans UK, The Fall, and other acts but at $20.00 or more I had to pass. But it was some of the later vinyl grabs that made for some astonishing moments.

It was when I thumbed through their experimental section that there was no passing up two Throbbing Gristle records, Greatest Hits and Heathen Earth, a title I gave up once when Centereach’s None Of The Above was in existence. I finally have it and on blue vinyl. Those two Throbbing Gristle albums were a must-grab as I almost never see their titles anywhere. At $28.00 each, it was worth it. On that note, I wasn’t expecting finding a re-press of Robert Rental’s Paralysis e.p. Not exactly Thomas Leer & Rental’s The Bridge, but I’ll take anything. Micro-Phonies was the only Cabaret Voltaire album the store carried and that came with a $20.00 hit. After letting The Crackdown slip a few years ago, I took no chances. It still stings me to this day.

To my surprise, I found Sweeping Promise’s Hunger For A Way Out for $21.00. That’s now off my diamond list. It was that moment in which I re-considered Pure Hell for $24.00 because I asked if I really needed it, but thankfully I changed my mind. They had several copies of Shocked Minds and grabbed the least expensive one and on clear orange vinyl for five. Yves/Son/Ace was the only 12″ wild card I took home; purchased it on sight based on the attractive album cover and not knowing who they were. And I don’t know how this always happens, but I always find Excepter albums on vinyl for less than five dollars. This one? Self Destruction.  

I could not not pass up the jazz / fusion and soul section, or anything sample-related any time I’m in a store. Digging through those shelves gave me the biggest shock of the night: Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes’ Astral Traveling. That record has some songs on it that literally changed my life one turn-of-the-millennium summer overnight listening to WUSB, and it was one of the last Smith titles I needed.

But not all vinyl sections bled me dry. They have alphabetized columns and then eight shelves of new arrivals out in front of the store. The other Sacred bones record, Marissa Nadler’s For My Crimes was acquired for $12.00 and she’s only one of very few vocalists I’m into. No Parade’s Ceaseless Fire and George Benson’s Livin’ Inside Your Love were also had for five each.

That’s it. I’m done. Thirty minutes to closing and I’m spent. Time to cash out. I place my entire stack on the counter with the skinny timid young lady awaits. Of course, her name is Sarah. She tallied up the vinyl records as normal until she saw the Brandy 7″. She gave it to me for four instead of nine because the store had plenty of copies and wanted to get rid of them. She also gave me the stack of CDs for free because she saw I was buying a lot. I never ask for any discounts and felt bad that she did. I told her she didn’t have to do it because I want these independent record stores stay in business, but she kept on insisting. I sighed and gave up, but I’ll admit it was nice of her to do that even though she didn’t have to.

Total cost: $311.00, about $100.00 less than what I spent last Spring at (formerly Williamsburg’s) Rough Trade. Why does every Brooklyn record store excursion have to fucking run my pockets? I already answered that question here. Then again, Academy Annex wasn’t like Plainview’s Vinyl Bay 777 where everything was graded and priced so high that I felt hopeless walking out. Not really the case here. WUSB’sJ-Ro advised me that as a customer I would be playing their grading game because they knew their stuff and how much their stock was worth. But I just had two tax refunds hit my savings and I had the money, but you still want to be cost conscious.

The trip to Academy and the train ride back to Central Islip was the only way I’d end the Winter proper. It seems like I always make a visit to Brooklyn near or on the February / March border, and it only takes a second time to make it a regular thing. Lord only knows what city store I’ll hit up next year around this time, but I’m more focused on what will unfold in the next few months. You’ll know sooner than later.

Brandy: “Clown Pain” 7″

Spizzenergi: “Soldier Soldier” 7″

Asshole Parade: Asshole Parade 7″

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: “Fuck Off” b/w “On The Crest” 7″

Brian Brain: “Jive 7″

Poison Girls: “One Good Reason” 7″

Antiseen: “We Got This Far (Without You)” b/w “(We Will Not) Remember You” 7″

Instangd: Mitt Svar Pa Ingenting 7″

Love Child: Love Child Plays Moondog 7″

Throbbing Gristle: Greatest Hits 12″

Wee: You Can Fly On My Airplane white vinyl 12″

Yves/Son/Ace: “Parade Of Thoughts” b/w “Can’t Sleep” 12″

Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes: Astral Travelling 12″

Sweeping Promises: Hunger For A Way Out 12″

Throbbing Gristle: Heathen Earth blue vinyl 12″

Robert Rental: Paralysis e.p. 12″

Shocked Minds: self-titled translucent orange 12″

Excepter: Self Destruction 12″

Pure Hell: Noise Addiction 12″

George Benson: Livin’ Inside Your Love 12″

Merissa Nadler: For My Crimes 12″

Cabaret Voltaire: Micro-Phonies 12″

No Parade: Ceaseless Fire 12″

Boogie Down Productions: By All Means Necessary CS

Apache: self-titled CS

Grand Puba: Reel To Reel CS

Keith Murray: The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World CS

Terminator X: & The Valley Of The Jeep Beats CS

Ultramagnetic M.C.’s, The: Fruits Of Nature CS

Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward CD

Tom Tom Club: self-titled CD

Rollins Band: The End Of Silence CD

3rd Bass: Derelicts Of Dialect CD

Dead Prez: RBG CD

Men, The: Drift CD

John Spencer Blues Explosion, The: Acme CD