#actually a couple of indigenous artists on here

[muirneach]

whatever i guess

[neechees]

I keep joking that Angrboda is a Disney Princess (she's OUR Princess uwu) but now I'm actually wondering if some of her & Atreus's story is actually references to Disney Princesses & their Princes? Because we have:

Angie is an artist who lives secluded in the Woods, painting murals, has gorgeous hair, makes her own paints, & is associated with the color gold & flowers (like Rapunzel)

The animal she chooses to ride doesn't like her love interest very much at first (like Flynn Rider & Maximus)

Animals like her (like Snow White & Aurora)

She & Atreus meet in the Woods (like Aurora & Philip)

Incidentally, Atreus, her "Prince", also fights dragons (again, like Philip)

They have a heart to heart while sitting on an actual carpet, & later he literally asks her if she wants to see the world with him (Aladdin & Jasmine)

Battle couple, of course (Mulan & Shang)

She saves her future husband from turning into an animal, & helps him turn back into a human (like Tiana & Naveen)

Her & her Prince are arguably both coded to be Indigenous, are from Norway, and help save their country from a perpetual winter that goes on for an extended period (Anna & Kristoff from Frozen)

I could just be full of shit & overthinking it here but shfvrg it does solidify Angie's Princess status in my mind

[jadevine]

Braiding Sweetgrass (and science)

So I said I'd finally start reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer this week and Friday still counts, lol.

Anyway I've gotten a couple of warnings about how this is not just a book about "PLANTS PLANTS PLANTS, THEY'RE SO GREAT," but also how Indigenous knowledge of plants relates to colonization, the environment, and Kimmerer's family/cultural history as a Native woman. I'm going to need some breaks between reading sessions, although it's not so much "upsetting" for me as "heavy." On the other hand, I find this book comforting as the contrast to Kimmerer's situation, a scientist trying to find the art/beauty in her field: I'm a non-white artist who has a habit of ending up in white science spaces because I need to research stuff, and the constant compartmentalization of "Art/lived-experiences(TM) versus "Science/Study-Of-Other-Experiences(TM)" just grates on me.

Disclaimer: I know this is being changed/resisted against in recent times, but art/artists still tend to be seen by scientists as "not knowledgeable (in the right manner)."

Against my better judgement, I saw a Reddit post asking "how do populations/ethnicities with dark hair and eyes tell each other apart?" and after I inwardly sighed and gave them a list of "different traits that people have," I mentioned that this question is a VERY common dog-whistle for racism, and since it has such an easy answer, I wasn't sure why it was in a SCIENCE forum (or why it was kept in a science forum, instead of just suggesting that the OP cross-post it and ask some non-white people about it).

I got at least one scientist irritated at how irritated I was, and I was told, "you're a writer/actor, so you probably shouldn't be posting so much in a post on a SCIENCE forum. Please let the actual scientists handle this question."

And I was like (obviously paraphrased--my actual response was longer), "Okay then, can you tell me why I have only ever seen people panicking about "How do random Asians/non-white-folks in a city/country tell each other apart on the street?" regarding LARGE populations, when that is not how most people experience daily life? Like, hearing this question is as weird as asking, 'how do people in Paris tell each other apart when most of you speak French?' Like... Manila residents do not keep detailed police profiles on every other resident, I promise."

While I wait for someone to either ignore me or answer my question that piggybacks on the main post, I'm channeling Princess Leia and thinking, "Help me, Non-White Anthropologist. You're my only hope." But given my luck, I might get "helped" by someone who's more Anthropologist than Asian, and they're ALSO going to tell me to be nicer to people who are just asking questions.

Maybe I should have scrolled past this question and let everyone else talk about 'how do Asians/non-white-people distinguish each other when they all have dark hair and eyes?' without my tired Filipino ass coming in with, "WE TELL PEOPLE APART BY LOOKING AT EACH OTHER, DUHHHHH. Here's 100 traits to distinguish your average human from another one, you'll find that hair-color and eye-color are only two."

[tepehkwi]

hey, i was wondering if you'd be willing to talk a bit about how you knew you were twospirit? i think i am but i have doubts about claiming the term for myself. did an elder claim you as 2S?

so my tribe has a twospirit concept that is so unacknowledged in literature about our history, even our own, that i only know of one source that mentions it, and in basically every other text it's just the umbrella term "berdashe" which is just the antiquated colonizer term for any native with a "weird" "gender" expression that you'll probably find in most textbooks that even bother to cover the topic. 😑

if you want some context, this is how colonizers described us, i-coo-coo-a, or twospirit meshkwahkihaki, and it should be noted that i-coo-coo-a is not listed anywhere in our own comprehensive language dictionaries to this day:

Later, in the 1830s, non-Native artist George Catlin traveled through western North America, where he witnessed and painted a “Dance to the Berdash.” In his travelogue, Catlin called the central figure “a man dressed in women’s clothes” although the Native term, i-coo-coo-a, loosely translates to “man-woman.” In Catlin’s opinion, the “berdash” performed “the most servile and degrading duties,” although he conceded that the i-coo-coo-a was considered sacred by the Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki) communities. “This is one of the most unaccountable and disgusting customs, that I have ever met in the Indian country,” Catlin fulminated, “where I should wish that it might be extinguished before it be more fully recorded.” Later, anthropologist Mary Owen estimated that the dance—and the traditional role fulfilled by the i-coo-coo-a—did indeed vanish around 1900. [source: from an nyhs blog/article on indigenous genders]

something you should know about my people is that we do not live on a reservation, we have our own sovereign nation within iowa. yes, it's a microscopic fraction of what our actual indigenous lands were, but we experience a level of privilege that rez natives don't. and this is just my own opinion but a lot of other meskwaki/meshkwahkihaki in tama are on the conservative side with both politics and religion, and i think that our comparative or relative lack of a struggle faced by the majority of other natives in this country has created an environment where we're unfortunately no more left-leaning and no less conservative than the rest of rural iowa. so, no, an elder didn't claim me as twospirit... excuse the slight hyperbole but i would be hard-pressed to find more than a couple of elders in my community that aren't literal republicans, let alone inclusive of our own culture's gender diversity.

like i'll be honest with you, i transitioned away from home and i don't really talk about my whole "gender journey" here, since i'm not as active on tumblr as much as i am on my private twitter, but it's been kind of depressing studying in other states and meeting ndns from other tribes who completely understand my identity only to come back home and find out that my uncle's voting for trump again. 😐 we're also in a caucus state and given how the last caucus went, it's just kinda disappointing to think about the fact that we’re essentially making decisions for other natives when a lot of us are literally so willfully out of touch with other tribes.

lol i know you didn't ask for my whole ass political commentary so, sorry for that... 😭

but idk i think it's important context, because twospirit is something that came from the pan-indigenous movement era (well sort of) and it's the closest thing i have as a widely-understood term to describe myself. but thanks for asking, i hope this clarifies some things or answers your question in some way. i don't think we necessarily need to consult with elders about it. many of us straightup can't. by all means, if you think it would be a good thing to seek out elder input about claiming twospirit, go ahead, but in my experience some of us just are. i relate to the insecurity completely... 😔

just know that elder input/approval isn't the end-all-be-all.

[mars-da-volcanic-elemental]

So ahhh…What’s up with Prehn?

I’ll tell ya! It’s a rather long thing just letting ya know.

I had to deactivate my tiktok account for a couple of weeks, because I was being targeted by the Tiktok report system, received account strikes unjustly, and many posts and comments were taken down without an explanation or an insufficient reason.

@NudioCreations advised me to deactivate for a couple weeks to keep my account from further unjustified reports to get me permanently banned. (Highly recommend giving them a follow, their resin-work is flipping wonderful.)

Okay so as far as the situation goes...I have a few theories on who may be targeting my tiktok account specifically. I've made things that may piss folks off.

Fair warning this is a long list, I'm a bit of an altruistic person so bear with me.

List below:

1) “it’s all men until it’s no men” & “it’s not all of you but it’s enough of you.”

(Both are the same which warrant "it's all men.")

2) The mistreatment and hell Romani folks suffer every day, and Anti-blackness being global. (Racism overall).

3) My support for Black and/or Indigenous and/or other multi-marginalized Women, Femmes, and Queer folks of many origins.

4) Transphobes mad about my existence (specifically me being femme-presenting despite being an agender stud with they/them pronouns)

5) Me posting billionaire content to my Tiktok Story, specifically how they’re thought to be reacting vs how they’re actually reacting to climate change (that one upset Tiktok so much, they’re a corporation).

6) Me having to reach out for financial aid to eat and otherwise. Or boosting others in need of financial aid or help of any sorts.

7) Dueting and posting valid concerns about the September 1, 2023 strike. That one pissed off so many folks and I received so much hatred for that.

8) Popping off at a person who said HEINOUS Anti-Artist shit to a Black Artist for hating the Christian-ized version of “Hello Christ I just sinned again,” (just—let Black women and Black queers have shit, damn?) or me blocking after making one pop-off comment at folks in the comments who defend rapists and predators. (Specifically during a circumstance where I agreed to 🌶️🍆 predators being recruited for animal testing. Keep in mind I am a survivor of multiple traumas including of that variety. But human rights was brought up despite folks being bad. Specifically a commenter’s teacher said:

“It’s human rights to be protected. Even though they did something horrible.” -Commenter’s Teacher

And while that’s important, it’s also important to point out and remember the following:

“Human Rights are to be protected. There is truth to what the teacher said, however the system and folks that’s supposed to be protecting its people from predators, isn’t doing right by multimarginalized folks, marginalized folks, SA Survivors, Trauma Survivors, and Disabled folks, and even Children; heck they violate human rights against us all day every day, but the violators get away with it all the 99% of the time.”

That’s just from my experience in United States of America.

9) A huge Black Blerd Tiktok Account who was very like "Give us men our props we love y'all it's not all men!" After the Black young adult (deemed Megamind) making a specific video about women/femmes who reject nice guys like him deserve to be [unfortunate choice of words] (using a cherry tomato but I digress) was caught and arrested, and I blocked him and his many accounts that are for hating Black Women. His followers, who I also blocked who went after me or commented at me, have been going after folks left and right on the platform.

I have more about specifically TikTok's inaction and the things I suffered in my last relationship here:

Apparently, it's reason enough so target me and those closest to me.

Which is unfortunate because…I used my tiktok as it was the only platform left that ensured I was able to get financial assistance with food.

At this rate any help is appreciated. I’d just rather folks not go to twitter when it involves me or mention of me, because of what I suffered there. More here:

“I’d really appreciate any cash you’re able to send over my way so I can eat, and such. I think it’s just the AT&T bill and one IbisPaint X thing I have to pay left for this month. And I have a few needs I need help with on my wishlist. I knew not of any other options—so I’m…reaching out.”

https://wise.com - lyrica.anya@gmail.com

Zelle https://www.zellepay.com/ - lyrica.anya@gmail.com

Gift to ABLE account (Ignore Deadname Pls and Thank you)

https://www.sumday.com/gift/maryland-able/ZGcDaNBoKEe4B3LPATC1JQ

Wishlist

Website:

Help me help others:

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 2: ATLA S1E5-8

Date: January 2, 2025

Day: 2

Content Watched: Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Book 1, Episodes 5-8

Year: 2005-2008

Rating: TV-Y7-FV

Run Time: 92 minutes

Before I get into the review, I think now would be a good time to talk about controversies. Simply put, you'll probably not agree with everything I pick. In the case of ATLA, it's gotten a lot of attention for its "Asian and Indigeous representation," which basically wasn't seen in similar media. But even though it's gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding representation, there are plenty of people who feel that it's appropriative, rather than appreciative. Others say they liked seeing characters who looked more like themselves, but simultaneously find elements of the show probelmatic. And it doesn't help that the number of Asian and Indigenous artists working on the show was relatively small.

Author Xiran Jay Zhao makes the point that Avatar is not representative because the characters in it are not from actual Asian or Indigenous cultures—they are from the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation, etc, and while these cultures are inspired by real world cultures, they are not intended to be equated with them. If you want to know more, they have at least three videos about the cultural inspirations behind Avatar, which offer praise, criticism, and a lot of interesting information that you may not know.

From what I've seen and heard, ATLA depicted Asian and Indigenous-coded characters at a time that many other shows did not. A lot of young people identified with these characters and had positive connections with seeing protgonists that looked like themselves. This is a good thing. But this is not and by no means should be the end-all-be-all of Asian or Indigeous representation. I said yesterday that it's important for girls to see multiple representations of girlhood because we are not all the same. The same is true for ethnic and cultural representaiton. But I also think that a great place for a piece of literature to be a few decades after it's written is to have people saying that they find value in it, but it could be better. I hope, as I do with much of my favorite literature, that creators today will build from the place that ATLA brought us and create new and even better works.

Obviously, I think the story and the animation has enough value to not only watch it, but to start off my year of animation with it. And from here one out, I'm going to focus on these aspects, and I won't talk much more about cultural reprsentation, if at all. This is not because I don't believe the conversation is important, but because I don't think I should be the one leading it. I would much prefer to give shout-outs to actual Asian and Indigenous voices, like Zhao's. So if you know someone (or are someone!) who is part of this discussion, let me know, and I will give that a shout-out as well.

So… pretty much the same things I had to say yesterday. These episodes really feel like they're "shot" the same way you might shoot a live-action show. I think of the part where it cuts to Aang's fake mustache. But more specifically, we see the dust on the gates of Omashu as they open and close, there's a creek flowing in the background of the opening scene of "Imprisoned," Katara and Haru's hair is being blown by an intermittent wind as they speak outside, which all feels very realistic, and all of which could have been left out to save time and money. I do feel that as a whole, these episodes feel more static than the last four, but that's not to say that they wouldn't be that way if this was live-action. My favorite bit of animation in these four episodes is probably where Iroh stands up out of the water, and they block his nudity with Zuko's hand.

And, as I said yesterday, the winter solstice happens here, and seeing as that just passed a couple of weeks ago, this felt like a good show to start with. I think "The Winter Solstice, Part 2" was my favorite episode here because—and I know I'm going to start some fights here—it felt like it had more substance? The other episodes feel more filler-y. They do each have plot relevent details, but they're pretty small, like Katara losing her necklace. But in "Winter Solstice Part 2," the whole episode felt like it was part of the larger storyline. But, overall, I think they're all pretty evenly ranked.

The episode I want to focus on, though, is "Imprisoned," which I actually would have liked to see done differently. I am glad that the gaang was able to help the Earth-benders free themselves from the fire navy ship, but I also think it's important for us to realize that not all forms of resistance are major rebellions. In fact, often they are very small, like a teacher calling a student by their preferred pronouns, even if it's against school policy, or a nurse at a religious school who gives teenagers condoms, or the girl who tries out for the football team, and have you figured out that I'm a teacher yet?

My point is that resistance happens all the time. And if you're thinking that this is different because they're, well, imprisoned, then you should consider Jews in concentration camps who found ways to celebrate Passover and Shabbas and other important holidays. Or enslaved African-Americans who dared to raise families and pass down stories and songs. There are lots of ways to fight back, not just...

So when Katara asks Tyro what their plan is, and he tells her it's to survive, I don't think that should come across as his spirit being beaten down. These are horrible conditions they're living in—poor food, not enough blankets, coughing can have you put in solitary for a week, the fire nation soldiers are constantly berating them, and they refer their culture to "brutish savagery." So what if, when Katara asks about escape, the idea of survival was presented as a form of resistance. What if Tyro told her that the lack of an escape plan was strategic. Maybe they choose not to escape, not because their spirits are broken and they don't think it's possible, but because they are choosing not to risk the lives necessary to carry out a rebellion. But in lieu of this, they are finding other ways to carry on their cultural traditions and to not have their spirits broken. Then when Sokka and Aang arrive, she can present her plan to Tyro, and they together, they can decide if this is a better form of resistance for the moment.

Finally, I do want to bring up The Winter Solstice Part 1 for just a moment because I do love the Iroh-kidnapped poltline, and I like seeing Zuko and Iroh fighting back to back. But the best part of this episode is that Zuko tells Iroh that if he's not back on the ship in half and hour, it will leave without him, but he shows up again, clearly more than half and hour later, looking for Iroh. Because we all know this is an empty threat.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a break from Avatar to meet a villain sidekick that is better dressed than Zuko and Sokka combined.

[ryttu3k]

End of the year meme! Previous years include 2023 and 2022; other year in reviews for 2024 include Tumblr posts (mine), Tumblr posts (others), music, art, books, fic, and memes.

1. Song of the year?

I. Somehow managed to hyperfixate on Long Face. I haven't even seen the show yet. Runners-up to Rhythm of Life, You've Got The Love, RATATATA, Too Sweet, and a last-minute addition with YM32.

2. Album of the year?

GY!BE released a new album under my nose!

3. Favourite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Like, consistently? None come to mind, alas.

4. Movie of the year?

MONONOKE HOLY SHIT?? I saw the series fourteen years ago and suddenly here comes a movie and major lore drop???

5. TV show of the year?

Doctor Who had a really fun new season! Welcome aboard, Fifteen! Also, as always, Gardening Australia my (dorky, dirt-smeared) beloved.

6. Episode of TV or webisode that defined the year for you?

None actually stand out individually.

7. Favourite actor of the year?

Can I name the entire cast of BG3? Okay, just Neil Newbon, then. Ncuti Gatwa is also extremely high up there.

8. Game of the year?

Yeah it's still BG3, haha.

9. Best month for you this year?

October, I think! PAX was the goddamn best <3

10. Something that made you cry this year?

I'm a complete sook and cry at the drop of a hat, so let's say Karlach's post-Gortash scene. Twice.

11. Something you want to do again next year?

Go to PAX AUS! I had a goddamn blast and I think I'm going to be a regular :D

12. Talk about a new friend you made this year

You're all cool <3

13. How was your birthday this year?

Fab! The day itself was nice and chill, but two days later we went down to Sydney to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Capitol, which was amazing!

14. Favourite book you read this year?

Toss-up between Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki and Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle.

15. What's a bad habit you picked up this year?

Don't think I picked up any in particular. I did manage to cut down on finger-chewing, though!

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

21st January, one last visit to the Powerhouse before they irreversibly fuck it up.

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

13th December, the giant old stringybark in the Huon Valley.

18. A memorable meal this year?

Down at PAX, went to a really cool restaurant called Big Esso, which had a lot of fantastic Indigenous foods!

19. What're you excited about for next year?

Got some really fun things to look forward to! Probably the biggest ones will be PAX in October, and then in late November-December, we're going to Singapore, then cruising back! I'll be in Darwin on my birthday :D

20. What's something you learned this year?

Lots of writing craft things, especially for game writing at PAX!

21. What's something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

We finished the bathroom renovation (much needed, it hadn't been touched since the house was built nearly 40 years ago and was starting to leak) and I moved back upstairs, and we rearranged the living room.

22. Favourite place you visited this year?

Two very very different locations - PAX in Melbourne (like, with PAX specifically being the place, not Melbourne), and the absolutely gorgeous Huon Pine Walk in Tasmania a couple weeks ago (see 17!). Beautiful place <3

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Safta will be able to meet nibling before she passes. She won't know a huge deal about what's going on, but she'll be able to meet her first great-grandchild nonetheless, and it'll be comforting.

24. Did you keep any New Year's Resolutions?

Didn't make any!

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

Reworked Tae into a standalone character, does that count? I'm gonna count it.

Happy new year <3

[arendweller]

Cryokinetic Sámi Lesbian power couple vs. 1950s homophobia: who would win? (Who would get buried under layers of snow?)

Reference and inspiration from this :

I wanted to give credits to the artist as I usually do, however unfortunately this is a pretty popular artpost from a long while back, and so has circulated around the internet uncredited quite a bit. I did try a reverse image search but it didn't yield any favorable results. If anyone knowns please feel free to DM me and I'd be sure to give credit where it's due.

Now, explaining some artistic choices:

I wanted to draw an elsamaren version of this piece because the girls in it reminded me of elsamaren look-wise.

Elsa's style is kind of based on her concept art back when they were experimenting with her looks pertaining to her role and character in the movie, when it was still undecided. I headcanon her and Honeymaren as one of those revolutionary queer and indigenous activists from back in the day who weren't afraid to throw hands (and sharper-than-normal icicles) for the sake of their causes.

There was no real reason to draw Hans here; he's just the in-canon recognizable antagonist who's pursuing someone close to Elsa she'd rather he didn't. He just fit the box here, that's all.

+ Cryokinetic here refers to ice manipulation and not the actual real-world, non- fictional term please don't come for me I just wanted a cute description and its like 4 AM as is usual for me.

[pbjplatypus]

Hi I'm just reading this review of Avatar: The Way of Water and I'm honestly having a blast??

Here's the full review, but I'm gonna be posting highlights:

All told, there's probably a good hour or so of Way of Water that looks and feels like something you'd want to write home about, which wouldn't be a bad ratio if the movie didn't clock in at a whopping three hours and ten minutes long.

To make matters worse, that hour of truly stunning visuals is mostly owed to a series of long, scenery-chewing montages that carry very little weight in terms of the story or the plot. The movie is at its best when it's pretending to be the prettiest screensaver you've ever seen in your life, and then crumples spectacularly the second it tries to make any of its lovingly rendered blue aliens tell anything that resembles a compelling story.

I love this, this is incredible to me. EXTREMELY expensive movie to make, and it still only looks phenomenal for a third of its runtime. Probably because of overworked vfx artists, which sucks, but there's a petty victory in seeing something so expensive fail at being the best

The problem is that Jake Sully is about as engaging and likable as a piece of driftwood, and he and Saldana's chemistry as the central couple is about as charming as a carton of spoiled milk.

This was literally true in the first movie too!! Jake Scully is such a boring protagonist, he's not likeable!

Meanwhile, the kids are all written to be overwhelmingly (and honestly, obnoxiously) human. The only Na'vi trait they have at all is their penchant to bear their teeth when they're cornered--otherwise, they spend their time calling each other "bro" and generally acting like a pack of rowdy high schoolers you'd want to avoid at the mall.

I deeply appreciate that that the movie about how colonization is bad (except for Jake Scully, the trans-specist, formerly white protagonist) goes on to slowly but surely colonize the indigenous population through the very white savior it champions

Way of Water really gives the impression that what James Cameron is actually interested in with Pandora is the sort of thing you'd find in a National Geographic documentary rather than a blockbuster movie.

THAT IS WHAT I WANT JAMES, JUST GIVE ME THAT, PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU

Here's the thing. I LOVED the first movie. I knew it didn't have a strong plot, but that didn't matter to me - I was deeply engrossed in the world of Pandora. The way the world worked, the descriptions of alien life and the unique ways it formed on the planet... It was fantastic, and seeing it in 3D IMAX (proper, 6-story-tall IMAX!) was like BEING there. I didn't give a shit about the plot! It was an art film!!

So I'm not at all surprised that the plot of the sequel sucks. It was bound to! Especially because Jake is still the main character. But I'm not in it for that - I'm in it for the visuals, the exposition about the world, the minutia of how things work! And honestly I think that's probably what James Cameron is more interested in as well.

I would LOVE a documentary series set on Pandora. Give me a season of ten hour-long specials, each focusing on certain aspects of the world and its biology! Make it beautiful, make it feel real! Pandora has so much potential as a fantastic work of speculative science fiction, in the same vein as Expedition/Alien Planet, but with a BUDGET. Just do that!!

[yicruz48]

WHY YOU SHOULD READ TOM TAYLOR’S SUICIDE SQUAD

If you have been following me, you might already taken note how much I go on and on about Suicide Squad. And here’s why: 

1. They are currently one of the most diverse teams in DC. I’ll elaborate later. 

2. They are different from your classic Suicide Squad team. They are WAY more empathetic, heroic and definitely not self-centered.

3. The motivations as to why these characters do what they do is not weak. Even though they are categorized as anti-heroes, it’s difficult not see them as heroic and valid in their reasonings. You will question yourself multiple times if what they did was really wrong and justified. And most likely end up at my conclusion; “It wasn’t the best course of action, but it is definitely justified.” 

4. Not only is Tom Taylor’s Suicide Squad filled with action, but you’ll find yourself laughing every few panels. And you certainly need a laugh after a roller-coaster of emotions Tom Taylor throws your way. 

5. Your fav’s aren’t saved. Tom Taylor said no character was off limits. So get ready for some good angst if your favorite character dies. 

6. I mean your probably already noticed, but the art, colors and letters are AMAZING. You have Bruno Redondo as the artist, Adriano Lucas for colors and Wes Abbott on letters. 

7. As I said before, this Suicide Squad is probably one of the most diverse groups out there, lets start with The Aerie. Who is non-binary. Tom Taylor’s Suicide Squad team made sure they got the character’s design well and didn’t offend anybody. They also consulted other people for advice. 

8. The Aerie and Wink are a queer couple. And let me tell you, there interactions ARE SO CUTE. Anytime I see them together my heart explodes into a million pieces. 

9. Thylacine. Just Thylacine, wow, where to start. Let me just leave these quotes here; 

“Sebbens, an actress, writer, and director of Indigenous descent (who had a small role in Thor: Ragnarok), acted as a consultant on the character alongside Ryan Griffen, creator of dystopian TV show Cleverman.”

“Thylacine, named for the extinct Tasmanian Tiger which lived well into the 20th century, is the first character of Indigenous background in the three decades of the team’s history.” 

10. Fortunately, there is more characters of color where they come from that I didn’t have enough space to give them their own spotlight. You already know about the Aerie, Wink and Thylacine so let me tell you about the others. Osita is Puerto Rican, Jog is French, the Deadly Six is Somalian, T.N.Teen is Argentine and Chaos Kitten is Chinese. 

Here on tumblr we are extremely passionate about representation in comics. We talk about how comics have failed to represent certain characters like Damian, Cass, Duke, Wallace, Emiko, Talia, Lady Shiva, Shado and many, many other characters fairly. 

It’s our job as readers to support comics that do not only try to represent POC fairly but have incredible writing and art. And when I say ‘showing support’, I do not only mean reading and spreading the word about this comic but also buying the issues. 

By using our voice and money and spending it where it deserves to be spent we are demonstrating to DC that THIS is the type of content we wanna see moving forward. Not just diversity done for diversities sake, but done with the intention to make comics more inclusive and diverse.  

We need to support this comic so that DC learns that this should be the standard for every comic. Not only a standard, but a jumping point to do even greater in the future. To make sure character’s of color are colored as they should be, treated carefully so that we don’t have situations where they feed into harmful stereotypes or things like with Bendis where he referred to Damian (one of the most visibly-enthic robins) to a baby Hitler. 

So please take this as an opportunity to start reading and supporting a comic that actually makes the effort to research and design their character’s of color carefully. 

Please take a moment to reblog so we can spread the word about this comic. This comic needs more readers. 

Okay, now I will step down from my soap box and let you guys read the comic.   

[thefederalistfreestyle]

*taps the mic* Hey... this thing still on…?

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Hamil-weekend! 

Once upon a time, I'd thought that I'd return here if a big event happened. Something like, say, the release of a movie.

I never imagined that said big event would be entirely overshadowed by a pandemic incapacitating the country, which had in turn allowed for a long-overdue reckoning with the U.S.'s foundational racism to burst forth, and, individually, being just a week out from being surrounded by the police who, it turns out, would attack the queer liberation march literally on the day of Pride while I was taking a breather on the steps of the Public Theater, which was just one more incident in an ever-growing litany of bald-faced police overstep beyond the usual racial inequity, to the point of snatching a well-known musical theater composer from her own front stoop for having the audacity to cheer in support of protesters.

There are still parts of Hamilton that are amazing.

It's also amazing and wonderful that so much of Hamilton is NOT revolutionary. The cultural conversation is on the move. And the arts play such a huge role in that movement.

On Friday the 13th of March of this year, the NYC theater industry closed for the foreseeable future.  Theaters elsewhere in the country have followed.  On a human level, almost everyone involved in the industry is unemployed: actors, dancers, singers, musicians, stage managers, backstage crew, electricians, carpenters, stitchers, props artisans, designers, writers, directors, choreographers, box office staff, ushers, janitors, security, marketing, scenery building shops, and more. Adjacent businesses, whose clients are theatre workers and theater audiences, are affected as well: restaurants, bars, the bodegas with the cute cats, materials suppliers, and more. On a cultural level, even if there were enough "other jobs" for everyone to go to, what will be left when performance is able to resume? I fear that the "unpaid internship" will become writ even larger than normal: the people who will have the means to stay in the industry will be reduced down to an even more exclusive class than they are currently.

This has not been the case globally. In some countries, the pandemic is sufficiently under control for even professional productions in big cities to continue with safety measures in place (e.g., The Phantom of the Opera in Seoul). In some countries, the government is giving robust financial support to the arts (e.g., Britain announcing a nearly $2 billion stimulus for the industry).

The Arts in the U.S. need your support. If you can donate, then donate. But perhaps even more important: contact your senators and other officials to encourage them to support measures that will keep artists and the arts going. And be the change within your own families and communities to help fight the view that the arts are disposable. If someone has read a book or listened to music or Netflix-and-chilled or watched a Marvel movie, then they are benefiting from the arts – not just the material that they are directly consuming, but the community theater or PBS broadcast that led that movie star to start acting in the first place. (To say nothing of: remember all of the tweets of people saying that the Watchmen series was how they learned about the Tulsa Massacre?)

& I’m sure that A.Ham would appreciate the fact that the Arts & Entertainment industry accounts for $877.8 BILLION in value and 4.5% of U.S. GDP.

ExtendPUA.org/entertainment is a good place to start. You can find information on more ways to be an #ArtsHero here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tJFHBXZYZfHG86l4jr2dFFS-KBtUkdcfewHDl9iVUyI/edit (And remember, try to personalize the subject line and at least a couple sentences of any auto-generated emails so that they don't get flagged as spam!)

Check out See Lighting Foundation to support immigrant theatre artists, who are particularly vulnerable right now. Between their specific risks/futility in applying for government benefits, the increasingly onerous visa processes, & the simple fact that theatres in other countries are not facing the shitshow faced by theatres here, many immigrant theatre artists are looking at leaving the U.S.. It will be, truly, our loss.  

There is a lot of work happening within the industry right now that isn't a product for immediate public purchase. Grassroots groups organizing for more equitable labor practices. Forums hosted to root out and start healing the racism within the industry. (The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, of which Hamilton alum Amber Iman is a co-founder, has been doing great work.) Works in the early stages of creation that hopefully have actual stages ready for them when the time comes. Be proud to support all of this.

Also: if you are a young BIPOC stage manager (or even just stage management curious!), please feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to chat about the profession, including grad school and NYC specifics.

Black lives matter. This land is stolen from Indigenous people who are still here. Stonewall was a riot. Wear a fucking mask.

[kirbyspits]

A lot of Makorra shippers only moved on because they’re afraid of being called homophobic for not shipping korrasami. I LITERALLY saw someone on Instagram yesterday call a makorra shipper homophobic just for saying korrasami came out of nowhere. Also, Korrasami shippers LOVE to bring up the "popping bottles" backlash to make fun of makorra shippers. I left the tlok fandom in 2014 bc it was so toxic as a teenager, but now i’m 23. I’m no longer afraid of shipping something i always loved.

Ah, yes, I realized I didn’t address the fandom's toxicity in the last ask, but I’ve spoken about it before. I don't talk too much about the past because I was at the edge of the fandom back in 2014/2015. I was aware of fights, but the discussions I saw were moreso on bi-erasure. I saw one post saying it was wrong to ship Makorra. I remember being really confused about why Makorra was actually problematic, but I didn’t appreciate being told who I can ship the only dark-skinned woman protagonist on a major television network with. Why are you forcing me to ignore Mako and Korra’s relationship? Book 1 is practically about Mako and Korra, all other characters be damned. Me preferring the story of one pairing and a popular romance trope, second chances, is not wrong, and no one would know how I view the LGBT+ community based on who I ship in one show.

I ended up leaving the community because I was disappointed with season 4 in general. When Korra was released on Netflix, I figured it was time to rewatch the series again (plus, I’ve been binging all my favorite romance anime). So imagine my shock when I created a new Tumblr and Twitter account to rant and rave about TLOK, and I saw nothing but hate and name-calling in the Makorra tags. I saw people casually throwing around the word “homophobic,” and one person said people who don’t like Korrasami are just misogynistic. 

I just wanted pretty pictures, and people are out here psychoanalyzing shippers! So, I dug through some blogs and to feel more grounded with this fandom I didn’t recognize. After reading through their commentaries and experiences, I actually became more upset at Bryke than the teenagers/children who comment on Makorra posts saying how much better Korrasami is or accuse Makorra shippers of being homophobic. 

Yes, I truly believe these comments are mostly coming from people in their late teens and younger, at least in 2020. I can��t speak on 2014/2015, but since we were younger, the early 20s/late teens, I wonder if our age group was also the loudest. Don’t get me wrong, adults can be horrible people and can get really nasty. However, every time I look up the rudest commenters' profiles, they were teens. When one Korrasami shipper wrote “screw Makorra” on my AMV, I figured I’d have some fun trolling them until I clicked on their profile and saw a child. Needless to say, I ignored them and reflected on how parents are allowing their babies on TikTok while my parents freaked out at the idea of showing my picture on FB growing up. 

*I’m not still mad about that*

Also, while it doesn’t give anyone an excuse to make such a strong accusation, part of me, as a straight person, feels like I can’t get too upset because I also become very aware of my privilege. The space I’m in is a majority of young LGBT+ fans (at least on Twitter where I’ve seen the most toxicity). Some people see TLOK as their safe space and imply why should there be Makorra shippers when they have all these other cis/het shows they can engage with. It doesn’t work like that, of course. TLOK doesn’t only feature Bi characters. They’re POC/Indigenous, women, and Korra has dark skin. That’s a lot of marginalized communities. Makorra/TLOK is my comfort show, not because she’s with a man, but because of the reasons I just listed. Also shipping Korra with Mako doesn’t mean she’s no longer bi. She’d still be attracted to women.

Here’s who I am upset with tho, Bryke. Mostly Bryan. While Makorra shippers called out Korrasami shippers for cyberbullying, the focus seemed to be on Bryan for making it seem like there was something wrong with them for not finding Korrasami’s narrative satisfying. It was especially sad to read bloggers who identified as being part of the LGTB+ community saying Bryan’s hetero-lens dismissed their experience and then having to defend/proving themselves to anonymous messengers. 

Fans saw it as a betrayal. They saw it as the go-head for the rude Korrasami shippers to harass Makorra artists because they “didn’t watch the show correctly.” When the creator, the person you admire, also puts the blame on you, that kind of pain is on another level.

Korrasami shippers played a huge role in kicking Makorra shippers out of the fandom, but we can’t underestimate how much Bryan’s statement is a slap in the face. He used his characters and social justice as a shield for reasonable criticism. Just because we say a story is bad and Asami is grossly underwritten doesn’t mean that we’re against the idea of Korra and Asami being a couple. 

Of course, I’ve seen some very problematic statements from Makorra shippers. After all, homophobia is real. However, aside from the actual bigots, people have no issue with Korrasami. They just wanted a stronger connection between the girls. Many people seem to think Makorra shippers were looking for more romance, but we know we couldn't expect that. We can expect more screentime, musical cues, and more emotional support, which most people can see as platonic, but be romantic if you really want to. Mako’s interactions in book 4 can be seen as platonic, but all of us Makorra shippers saw it to be romantic.

Popping bottles! I completely missed that joke in 2014 and I discovered it this year. I agree it’s pretty annoying, but I become a troll and say I’m popping bottles for my Makorra moments. I don’t get any engagement, but I don’t seem to lose followers for it. Maybe popping bottles represents “straight-baiting?” I don’t get it why it’s so funny after all this time, but we’re Makorra shippers. We’re the joke 🙄

Anyways, to wrap up, lately, there seems to be a bit of a shift on Twitter. When I first created an account. I stayed in my little corner live-tweeting about TLOK and Makorra. I had to stop looking at the Makorra tag because it was so negative. Now, I’m seeing people admit they’re cute, and then saying they’re platonic soulmates. I’ll take it, although, as one commenter said, “that’s boring!” 

Someone led a Makorra Week back in October, and it was really nice! I have feeling people speaking up on the name-calling and reminding people that we’re talking about 2D characters helped. We just want to be left alone and enjoy the scenes we have in the show, art, and fanfiction. 

Keep shipping who you want! Don’t let any stranger shame you for your shipping preferences, especially in fiction! I’m so happy you feel more comfortable shipping these two dorks! You’re not alone! I’ve been a Makorra shipper since 2012, and while I find Korrasami cute (I love Korra, and I love Asami), Makorra is my OTP. I really like them, and I think they were meant for each other.

[tepkunset]

@avatarfandompolice​​​ is a blog that likes to misuse progressive language in attempt to make ignorant, racist posts sound more intelligent than they are. While most of their blog consists of arguing about ‘zutara,’ (which I recently learned is a ship name for Zuko and Katara from an anon), there is also a large number of posts and reblogs under the premise of being “hot takes” on how unfair it is to address racism in fandom and in media.

Avatarfandompolice is very sensitive about people pointing out that Avatar: The Last Airbender is not, in fact, flawless. That a show made by two white men featuring Asian and Indigenous characters and influences is fully capable of getting things wrong. That their western colonial views are influences all on their own, and it shows. Rather than listen to fans of colour point out things like these posts for example: [Link] [Link] [Link], avatarfandompolice has decided that such things must simply be fake, and has made multiple posts complaining it. This is not just regular ignorance, this is wilful ignorance. The dismissal of critique simply because they cannot fathom not everyone being able to handle the amount of issues they are freely educating others on, or people holding the ability to like something overall while also pointing out where it could be better.

It is my firm belief that you should never absorb media with an uncritical eye. If this was the case, if people just accepted everything given to them, then we would never see any progress. We need to be able to look back at something and say here’s what we did right, and here’s what we need to do better with.

The argument that A:TLA was made in 2012 and therefore should not be analyzed with a modern understanding of the world is downright hilarious, too. As if we aren’t taught to write literature analysis on books and plays that are centuries old in school. In particular regards to the whole cop thing... if anyone reading this seriously thinks that hate and fear of the police is just a 2020 trend, you can meet me in the pit. I was four years old when I learned how terrifying cops are. If your experiences differ, let me tell you that does not make them universal. And as for all the 20-somethings talking about it today, well, gentle reminder that as said by avatarfandompolice right here, the show aired in 2012. Little 10-year-old kids don’t have social media, (at least I hope they don’t,) and unless they grew up experiencing first-hand police terror, probably were not aware of it at that age. I do not know why avatarfandompolice insults people's ability to grow and learn. I can only guess it’s jealously from their lack of ability to do so.

Now let’s address their defences of whitewashing, which is easily the most backwards reaching I’ve seen on this issue in a while. Primarily their defence relies on four repetitive “points” —

Fake minuscule percentages to downplay the high prevalence and extremity of whitewashing in the fandom

Deflecting the addressing of whitewashing with rapid-fire fake scenarios and claims of “reverse racism” / “blackwashing”

Claiming whitewashing isn’t real because people only care about it with Katara

Claiming that calling out whitewashing in fandom is wrong because it hurts artists

I have only so much as dipped my toes into the A:TLA fandom, and even I have seen a lot of whitewashed fan art. If you do an image search for fan art, I guarantee within the first couple rows of results, there will be in the absolute least, a few examples. The idea of these artworks not substantially lightening skin is also just plain inaccurate. Just from a quick Google search, this is literally the first result for ‘Avatar The Last Airbender Katara fan art’:

Avatarfandompolice is also hyper-focused on the lightening of skin, and seems to be under the impression that this is the only component of whitewashing. I come to this conclusion because when someone pointed out the equal prevalence of depicting these characters of colour with Western European features instead of their actual eyes, noses, etc., they rip a giant turd out of their ass and scrawl the words “but stereotyping” over it. No, not all Asian peoples and Indigenous peoples look the same. The original poster made no such claim of this at all. Avatarfandompolice jumped to this conclusion all on their own... (which really says a lot in itself). It is entirely unrelated to the point. The point being the erasure of how these characters look, in favour of giving them whiter features. And guess what? This does hurt. But I’ll get to that below.

The lack of understanding of whitewashing is on full display when avatarfandompolice talks about “blackwashing”; the idea that colouring characters with darker skin is just like whitewashing. Firstly, there is no such thing as “blackwashing.” “Blackwashing,” “brownwashing,” etc. does not exist because it is a false equivalency to whitewashing. It is a false equivalency to whitewashing because white people are not even in the slightest loosing representation when a white character is re-imagined as a racial minority, whereas when racial minorities are re-imagined as white people, they are taking away from what is already very little representation for us. If we lived in a world where the statistics of representation were not so drastically disproportionate, then there would be something to talk about. But if you are really wanting to support equality, you should focus on equitably supporting those who actually need it, not white people. As for specifically depicting characters like Sokka and Katara with darker skin than what they have in the show, the same applies, (so long as it’s not racebending them as we really shouldn’t be taking representation away from each other, and the artist avatarfandompolice ridicules above has done no such thing,) because colourism also exists within nonwhite communities as well.

As for the fake questions about cosplaying, the answer is really simple: Cosplay however you want, but don’t make pretending to be a different race part of your cosplay. If you want to cosplay Katara, you can do it without painting your skin darker, aka brownface. If you want to cosplay Zuko, you can do it without editing yourself to look East Asian, aka digital yellowface. The racist history behind this is an internet search away, but I suppose that is too difficult for avatarfandompolice to do.

Avatarfandompolice has made multiple claims that people must not really care about whitewashing if they only call it out for Katara. It is laughable at best, and sad at worst, that this is the conclusion they come to, and not the fact that unfortunately Katara just happens to be subjected to more whitewashing than other characters. I assume this is from a mix of her popularity as well as being a WOC and not MOC. This is not to say that whitewashing does not exist with male characters—not in the slightest. Half the images on this “10 fan art pictures of Sokka that are just the best” list from CBR are whitewashed. Only that across fandoms, whitewashing is more prevalent in female characters, by my observations at least.

Finally—and this one pisses me off the most—avatarfandompolice claims that whitewashing is no big deal, but calling out whitewashing is too harmful to justify. How fucking dare you put the feelings of artists who can’t handle critique of their work (that they publicly share) over fans of colour, who are constantly subjected to seeing our identities and looks not being worth respecting. As if it doesn’t imprint on your mind from a very young age how only villains ever have your facial features, because they’re ugly and I guess that means you’re ugly. As if there is something wrong with you. As if respecting you is regarded as extra effort, and not just common courtesy.

Whitewashing is a form of colourism, which is a form of racism. It is the favouritism, unconscious or not, of white features and the erasure of visible characters of colour. It is not fandom drama. It is not being too lazy to focus on “real issues” because it is part of a real issue. It is yet another part of why fandom spaces are so uninviting to POC. We live in a society that favours lighter skin. Corporations make fortunes from selling products to bleach your skin, products to contour your features away or go as far as surgery, all to meet beauty standards set by and influenced by white colonizers. That does not exist in A:TLA, and that’s called refreshing escapism. But it’s hard to escape that when the fandom constantly reminds you otherwise. It is a perfect example of how the classic “just let people enjoy things” complaint is nothing but disguised racism, because it’s only ever said regarding white fans’ enjoyment, at the expense of fans of colour.

None of the characters in A:TLA are white. Redesigning them and recolouring them as if they are, be it out of accident or intent is wrong. If you get called out for it, apologize, learn from the experience and do better going forward. You’ll also improve your art this way.

Beyond excusing whitewashing, avatarfandompolice has overt racist posts as well. A Black fan said they like to headcanon Katara as being partially Black; “I swear Katara was a sister. Im convinced there ain't no way she didn't have some black in her.” Avatarfandompolice jumps in saying “She's literally an Inuit but ok” as if being an Inuk person means Katara can’t possibly also be Black. The OP never claimed Katara was not Indigenous, simply that they also saw her as Black. Black Indigenous peoples exist. Black Inuk peoples exist. It is overtly anti-Black to say otherwise. But what even is the point of talking to avatarfandompolice about that? You know, you would think in trying to put such a front up of caring about the Inuit, they would do the most basic learning of the proper grammatical use of Inuit and Inuk. (As is the case with a great many Indigenous Nations, Inuit is both the Nation and plural. Inuk is singular. “An Inuit” / “Inuits” as avatarfandompolice has used just makes their dressed-up racism all the more pathetic. It’s similar to as if you said “Chinas” instead of “Chinese”.)

But all this is nothing, nothing compared to the worst post I had the displeasure of seeing. In a single post, avatarfandompolice manages to squeeze in insult against low income people, Mexican people, Jewish people, and Black people in a mockery of financial help posts. Absolutely disgusting, childish behaviour from a place of privilege. As someone who has had no option but to make such a post before, more than once, let me fucking tell you that the embarrassment and desperation when in that situation is unparalleled. It is not done lightly. It is done when you are at the last resort of having nothing but hope that the combined generosity of others will be enough to save you and your family. And what adds a whole other level to the odiousness of avatarfandompolice’s post is that they specifically targeting low income minorities to boot. Because we’re all poor beggars, right?

All in all, for someone who prides themselves in calling others ignorant, avatarfandompolice has to be one of the most obtuse fandom blogs I have ever scrolled through. They are as vile as they are pathetic, and my sincere sympathy for anyone who has been unfortunate enough to interact with them. It has been a while since I so strongly recommend blocking someone.

[elleleh]

You know, I was actually surprised to find out you didn't ship Zutara. Not saying that to be rude, I just thought it gave off the same energy as other pairings you shipped. I also seem to follow a lot of other artists who have Zutara as their OTP. No hate though, I do ship it as well, I'm just more of a Zataang shipper (And I agree with you on how they should of handled them better towards the end of the series)

Okay so... here are my thoughts & feelings on ATLA ships, specifically Zutara and Maiko. Zutara fans will wanna skip this:

My personal view of ATLA concerning Zuko and Katara is that they are, at best of times, ok friends. There is very little canon chemistry between them save for at least one moment each season where they spend some alone time together and each time it’s not super compelling for me as Zuko attacks our hero’s at the end of each, excluding book 3.

I also don’t like the implication of the colonizer getting the prize of the indigenous woman whose people his own destroyed/killed. I didn’t like it as a kid when this show first came out and I don’t like it now.

For those reasons, I can’t support Zutara as an individual. Doesn’t mean AU’s can’t be compelling or the rewrites can’t be good, but for me the narrative is a bit icky that his redemption for some people must also include the girl who his people, and he himself, tormented for years. Him pulling a 180 and being a good person in the end doesn’t exactly erase or make up for the trauma for me.

—————

I ship Maiko more than I do Kataang, and the reason being is that they are genuinely good together. They learn to be more open and caring towards one another, willing to sacrifice for the other. Zuko doesn’t want to make Mai look like an enemy of the nation and Mai would rather be locked away in prison than see Zuko get captured.

For me, their love is one out of two in this show that is sincere and unapologetic. They’re childhood friends who clearly cared about one another at an early age and don’t even hesitate their romantic relationship when Zuko initially “redeems” himself.

Lots of people want to call Mai abusive, but I think they forget how young and dumb they are as a couple and that they were raised in abusive homes. Mai herself admits that she has trouble showing her true emotions because she was shut down a lot as a kid and had to grow up with high expectations from her political parents. Their relationship isn’t without flaws or needing improvement, but neither of them are “abusive”, especially her. They’re both edgy and sarcastic but clearly love one another more than anything.

Maiko hits a tender sweet spot for me of two troubled goth kids who found love and acceptance with one another where they otherwise had none.

Tldr; Zutara is fine but just really not for me due to the implications it sets in the show. Maiko is where my heart lies and is my all time OTP.

[soundsof71]

So, considering you are a passionate fan of music released in 1971, I feel justifiably obligated to ask you what you think of Buffy Sainte-Marie's 'She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina' album. 😂 (Also, it would make me beyond happy if you could post more about Buffy, my friend! Thank you! ❣)

Buffy Sainte-Marie + Crazy Horse - what’s not to love? LOL I confess that it was the Crazy Horse connection that caught my attention first. I had a general idea who Buffy was, had seen her on TV a few times, but I was a big Crazy Horse fan. News that they were her backing band for this album was easily enough for me to scoop it up.

They weren’t doing anything much with Neil Young in 1971 (other than this album, on which Neil also appeared!), but they had released a tasty solo album in February 71, produced by Jack Nitzsche (who also produced this, and would later marry Buffy), and featuring Ry Cooder (also featured here, although did not marry Buffy). 

(btw, the first place that Buffy, Ry, and Jack worked together was on the Nic Roeg film Performance, starring Mick Jagger. People obviously remember Mick in that, but musically, Buffy was the best part!) 

She Used To Wanna... also features Jesse Ed Davis, a Native American guitarist and singer who was a frequent “usual suspect” at these sort of “sure, invite everyone!” jam albums of the era, and played a prominent role at 1971′s biggest concert (at least in the US), The Concert for Bangladesh on August 1.

(I know you know  RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World, the documentary about indigenous music’s influence on rock and roll, which has chapters on both Buffy and Jesse Ed. I just watched it again recently, and love it! A reminder of Buffy’s pivotal role in classic rock history. Not mentioned in the film: she relentlessly championed the work of her fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, helping them get their first record deals.)

I haven’t listened to She Used To Wanna Be A Ballerina for a while, so I definitely need to do that, along with posting more pictures of Buffy.  (I can’t believe I’ve only posted two!) 

But I’ll tell you what still stands out to me about that record years later. “Smack Water Jack” is an underrated track from Carole King’s Tapestry that got a ton of airplay at the time. Quincy Jones did an instrumental cover as the title track for his terrific 1971 album, too, but it has somehow faded to obscurity since then. Buffy takes a playful trifle, and turns it into a powerful fable of men of color who explode into violence in response to the violence visited upon them, and self-satisfaction of whites in authority who answer their demands for better living conditions by killing them on the spot. 

No need for a trial when you can murder them in the streets, right? “You can't talk to a man when he don't wanna understand / And he don't wanna understand” hits different when Buffy sings it, and in 2020 for that matter. 

It’s also just a terrific performance whose combination of soul and rock and roll and driving piano in a sort of Old West-sounding context would have made this sound right at home on a record like Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection  or something by The Band. I’m limited to five video embeds per post so I can’t embed it here, so I'm linking instead: anyone who hasn’t heard this definitely needs to.

Her cover of Neil’s CSNY track “Helpless” has things I like even better than Neil’s original, including Merry Clayton standing in for CSN. Buffy’s version is more muscular (thanks again to Crazy Horse), and taps even more deeply into the isolation of the song that the star power of CSNY somewhat obscured. 

Buffy’s version also made a brief but memorable appearance in the 2018 film Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster. A weird little movie that I loved maybe more than it deserved LOL but I recommend nonetheless:

I know that this album gets attention because of the unusual number of covers, including one by Leonard Cohen, and a cover of a cover that Leonard had made famous on top of that, called "Song of the French Partisan” (hers is the far superior version imo, a song of French resistance to Nazi occupation from the perspective of a woman hiding a resister), but there are a couple of standout originals too. 

I love the title of this record, and the title track is a delightful little stomper that playfully cautions against equating the intentions of grown women with the childhood fantasies they’ve grown out of. More Merry Clayton goodness here on backing vocals too. 

“Soldier Blue” is a powerful song first written for the 1970 film of the same name, billed at the time as “The most savage film in history” -- and maybe it was. It used the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre as a metaphor for Vietnam, and it's still shockingly brutal. It was the third-highest grossing movie in the UK in 1971, though, and the single became a top-10 hit for Buffy there. 

It didn’t do as well here, either the song or the movie. Perhaps not shockingly in retrospect, Soldier Blue was pulled from American theaters after a few days, the Vietnam metaphor not at all lost on the Nixon administration. 

As horrifying as it was, this is about when I was reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (first published in 1970), and Soldier Blue resonated with me in a whole lot of ways. Here’s the song in the opening credits of the movie.

I was also really struck by “Moratorium”, which is the story of “Universal Soldier” (from her 1963 debut, but a bigger hit for Donovan in 1965), coming from the opposite direction. In the earlier song, she blamed war on the soldiers who think that fighting is honorable, but here, she has empathizes with the young men, boys really in many cases, who’ve been lied to by their countries, their parents, and even their friends. They’re not vainglorious. They’ve been duped by people they trusted. 

(I don't think she takes enough into account how many men sign up to fight because they want to embrace and celebrate their worst, most violent impulses, which was of course an undercurrent of “Universal Soldier”, but I appreciate her empathy here. More than one thing is true at a time.)

Buffy goes even farther, though, calling on soldiers to support and validate demands for peace as explicitly supporting them, summed up in the unforgettable cry, "Fuck the war and bring our brothers home!" 

1971 was the peak of antiwar demonstrations in the US, with the biggest crowds ever seen in this country until the 2017 Women’s March. The May 1971 demonstrations pretty much shut down Washington, culminating with Vietnam Veterans Against The War throwing back their medals on the steps of the US Capitol, incredibly powerful stuff to see on TV in my formative years, and Buffy was right there in it. Anti-war songs were a cottage industry for sure, but nobody was writing with the nuance and empathy that Buffy was.

Here’s a 1972 performance of “Moratorium”, Buffy and a piano, and more emotionally bare than that:

There’s obviously lots more to say about Buffy, far outside the realm of protest music that was actually just a small part of her musical palette -- her pioneering experiments with electronic music, her educational philanthropy starting in her 20s, Sesame Street, you name it. Her commercial peak was still in front of her, and while I can’t say that this is my favorite of her records, it does have some of my favorite songs of hers, and 1971 and She Used to Wanna Be A Ballerina is definitely where I went from knowing who Buffy Sainte-Marie was to being a fan. 

I'll also note as I do now and again that while this blog started as an offshoot of a book on 1971 that I’d started but abandoned, I mostly listen to music released now. That’s always been my policy, including in 1971. When 1972 rolled up, I was mostly listening to music from 1972, music from ‘80 in ‘80, ‘91 in ‘91, 2018 in 2018, etc., to name just a few other favorites. (Plus The Beatles, okay? LOL I still listen to The Beatles every day. No apologies.) Honestly? It took me until 2011, in my fifties, when a whole bunch of 40th anniversary editions of 1971 albums got released all at once that made me think, “Wait a minute, this was maybe THE pivotal year in classic rock history!” 

So yeah, the historian in me dug into 1971, but even though I happened to be alive and enthralled by music in that year, what I’m doing here has nothing to do with nostalgia, or any idea that that was the *best* year in music, even if for the narrow slice of music that is classic rock, yeah, it absolutely is. For soul/R&B too, and for the explosion of women artists outside the even narrower confines of pop as well. This is not subject to debate. No year like it, before or since. It's just that classic rock is a such a narrow slice, and I like my slices wide. LOL Which is also why my blog has less and less 1971 content as I go along. 

While my general policy is that my favorite year for music is THIS year, this particular year hasn’t left me as much energy as usual for listening to music. Some of it is These Trying Times™, some of it is my bipolarity and schizophrenia getting the better of me in waves, as is the way with these, uhm, things. (Keep taking those meds, kids!) I listen to music and post about the people making it as a creative act, not a passive or reflexive one, and I just haven’t felt as creative as usual.

(This is also has everything to do with why so many Asks have been piling up unanswered. I apologize if you’re one of the many kind and indulgent souls who’s gotten in touch, but I swear I’m gonna get to ‘em all!)

To get an idea of what I’m ACTUALLY passionate about right now, my “to be edited later” running list of 2020 favorites randomly added to a playlist as I encounter them, to be properly curated later, is at Spotify, cleverly entitled “2020″ -- 94% women, which is about right. LOL 

But since I do in fact listen to old stuff (by which I mean 2019 LOL), I made a list of mostly 2020 bangers from women rockers with some tasty treats from 2019 that I haven’t been able to let go of just yet, inspired by a post I saw at tumblr saying that punk music by women is just plain better (also beyond debate), called “Women Bangers: A Tumblr New Classics Jam”. I’ll be posting an essay with a YouTube playlist soon, because god forbid that I only talk briefly about anything LOL and most of these women need to be heard AND seen.

Like Buffy Sainte-Marie, whom you'll both see and hear more often on my blog soon. Thanks for the reminder! Always a pleasure to hear from you and be challenged by you. :-)

Peace, Tim 

[magicofthepen]

For the character thingy, romana and leela?? ❤

ROMANA - I’m going to answer for Romana I, since I already did Romana II!

favorite thing about them: so I fell in love with Romana I instantly when I watched The Ribos Operation. I was like “wait no one told me that Romana’s basically a recent graduate who always thrived in school but has now suddenly been thrust into the Real World and is a bit of a mess” and oh my god why is she so relatable, also I love that about her. I love that she doesn’t quite know what she’s doing, and her academic brilliance doesn’t necessarily help in the situations she’s finding herself in, but she keeps trying and learning, so by the end of season 16 she’s much more confident and capable on her own than she was when she started. I just absolutely adore the premise of her character and how she develops during the key to time quest. also her banter skills are so excellent. (….this wasn’t one thing whoops. 😄)

least favorite thing about them: I feel like it’s something about how she’s portrayed in the Gallifrey audios, but I can’t quite articulate what? but I feel like somehow, some of the things I really liked about her on TV (her witty fun banter, her determination even when she’s out of her depth) aren’t represented as much when we get glimpses of Actual Romana I (not Pandora or an alternate universe version). idk if this is even fully true, it’s just….she doesn’t quite have the same vibe as the character I remember from the TV show (but this is also tricky because the Lies scene, the Matrix projection in Lies (which *isn’t* really her technically) and the remains of her consciousness in the body that Pandora’s using are the only times we get Actual Romana I - which isn’t that much time to express all the nuances of her character.)

(continuing to skip the favorite line question because it’s too hard)

brOTP: her and the Doctor!! (like I said in the Romana II ask, I used to ship them more, but lately I’ve been more into a platonic interpretation.) I just as instantly fell for their dynamic in the Ribos Operation - two people with very different personalities who don’t get along but are forced to work together and gradually become friends?? this is exactly the kind of relationship arc that I adore. Their banter and snark is So Good (I was so entertained by their interactions in Ribos Operation that my brain refused to pay attention to anything but their scenes, and I ended up having issues following the plot later oops). And I love their growing respect and care for each other - how they go from being mutually dismissive of each other to valuing each other and being a solid Team and just really genuinely liking each other! their friendship is just Very Good (…..and now I really want to rewatch season 16….I’ve only seen it like one and a half times but I loved it very much….)

OTP: I don’t think I have any ships with Romana I that I would consider an ‘otp’? (the closest would be her and the Doctor since I have sometimes shipped them and I adore their relationship in general)

nOTP: Brax/Romana again….and tbh with Romana I it’s more of an actual nOTP (rather than ‘kinda nOTP, kinda ‘it’s complicated’’) because this is the time frame when she’s actually his student and so my discomfort with student/teacher relationships really rears its head (although there’s still one fic out there that I just think is so well-written.....but it does show the relationship as very unhealthy). 

random headcanon: .....so sorry to continue Sartia posting, but oops the first thing that popped into my head is my new maybe-unrealistic headcanon that Sartia was Romana’s first kiss. in a teenage “I’m curious and want to try this thing and you’re the only person I hang out with, but it doesn’t mean anything....or does it??” way. (.....this is so self-indulgent in such a terrible way rip.)

unpopular opinion: Armageddon Factor is my favorite Key to Time story! (I gather this is an unpopular opinion in Doctor Who Fandom At Large, it doesn’t seem to be liked as much as some of the earlier stories in the season.) technically I’ve only seen it once and it was a couple years ago, but I remember loving it as a Romana story, there were a lot of really interesting character bits for her!

song i associate with them: hmm I don’t really have one? my Romana playlist is specifically for Romana II in Big Finish so....yeah.

favorite picture of them: anything with her Ribos Operation outfit (with the full cloak), it’s iconic and beautiful! on a similar note, I love this Romana I art by @volucris-liga, it’s the first Romana fanart I ever reblogged and it’s so pretty!

more under the cut!

LEELA

favorite thing about them: her resilience and her kindness. Leela goes through so much grief and pain, she has her world upended again and again, she never really finds a place where she belongs. and yet she still keeps choosing to love, choosing to keep fighting for what she believes in, choosing to rebuild again and again. and sometimes it’s really hard and she doesn’t want to go on….but she does, and she finds moments of happiness again. and that strength is really powerful. and no matter how cruel the universe (and other people) are to her, she is still relentlessly kind - she listens, she protects, she wants to help, she cares. 

least favorite thing about them: I mean, the “savage” stereotype that her character references is a racist/anti-indigenous trope (especially the whole dynamic of the Doctor trying to “civilize” her ugh). and I hate that characters keep calling her “savage” (even when they’re the Bad Guys, it’s still bringing up this trope again and again, and it’s even worse when it’s the Good Guys). why are they still doing this.

brOTP: see all characters listed under otp, every relationship that I ship is also an incredibly important friendship in Leela’s life and I love all of them <33 as far as relationships that I see as entirely non-romantic….I really love the version of Leela and Ace’s relationship that exists in my head (and in fandom) - they didn’t get to interact enough in the audios, but I absolutely think they were really close, because of their shared experiences and the ways their personalities mesh. (I feel like I should also say the Doctor here, but tbh I don’t remember her TV stories that well, so I don’t really have a solid memory of what their relationship was like.) and of course, Leela’s parental relationship with Rayo is very important to me!

OTP: once again, ot3 my beloved <33 and Leela/Romana first and foremost (I already rambled about them here, so I’m just going to second everything I said earlier). 

and I also ship Leela/Narvin, although I’m not quite as invested in that pairing? (due to a combination of ‘Romana is my favorite character and so I’m just more interested in her relationships with other characters,’ ‘I joined the fandom when things were pretty much all Leela/Narvin all the time (I say with great respect and affection for the artists and writers putting out amazing content for that ship) so I was motivated to write fic primarily for R/L and N/R to balance out the ot3 content,’ ‘apparently I have a contrary streak with Gallifrey and the more the writers push a romantic interpretation of a relationship, the less interested I am in actually shipping it,’ and ‘I’m not really into Leela/Narvin as a pairing on its own - although I do love a lot of fic that portrays them that way bc it’s just very well-written.’) But just. how they form a grudging alliance for Romana’s sake and then develop genuine respect for each other and then build this really solid foundation of teamwork and fondness and care and really relax and feel comfortable around each other….the way they become ride-or-die for each other and just trust and love each other so much….it’s Very Good!! (And I did love writing scenes with the two of them in Call It Home - I might not focus on them, but I do genuinely love their relationship.) 

And of course Leela/Veega <33….I debated if they even interacted enough in the actual audios for me to consider it an otp, but I love the idea of their relationship and the story of them in my head so much?? going to link to this post because it really captures my feelings about them - they’ve both been through so much grief and pain by the time they meet, they’ve both lost people they love before, so the idea of them choosing to love each other and build something together against the odds is just. very powerful. plus I have a whole playlist for the family they’ve built together, which is a strong indication that I really love this ship. 😊

nOTP: Leela/Andred. last time I answered an ask meme about Leela, I had this complicated response about how I hated Leela/Andred when I watched Invasion of Time (bc it’s so abrupt and arbitrary), and then Louise Jameson’s voice acting Convinced Me To Care because oh she really did love him....alas i am a Leela/Andred detractor at heart, and I have been nudged back to my default state by re-listening….I simply hate how he treats Leela in Gallifrey.

random headcanon: I really like the idea of Leela being more politically involved in her own right after they all return from the Axis. She’s just spent a lot of time leading a group of people who don’t have a voice in the government, fighting for their rights against the established injustices of Gallifreyan society. I don’t think she’d easily slip back into only being Romana’s bodyguard after experiencing more political autonomy on the other Gallifrey. What exactly this looks like in practice I’m not sure about - in my one fic ‘verse, I wrote about her being more directly involved with the Academy as a political liaison and guest tutor, and also advocating to Romana for policies that would benefit those who live outside the city on their home Gallifrey. but there’s probably a lot of options to explore here!

unpopular opinion: hmm I don’t think this is necessarily unpopular but idk and I want to talk about it: even though Leela identifies so strongly as a warrior, a “happy ending” for her would, I think, need to involve getting away from fighting. too often she throws herself into a fight to try to avoid thinking about how much she’s hurting, and it doesn’t work, it doesn’t stop the pain. and in the Time War, she’s tied her identity so strongly to war (it’s inevitable, inescapable, and she will Fight and Defend because that’s all she has left). there’s a difference between “I am a warrior” and “all I am is a warrior,” and Leela’s slid too far into the second one, and she needs to untangle her own identity from war to heal. 

song i associate with them: Freedom by Karmina (it’s a song about going on defiantly in the face of heartbreak -  “Tearing my room apart, I’m starting over” / “Take my pride I can still survive I’ve got my freedom” / “Hunt me down you’ll never find me now that I’ve got my freedom”)

favorite picture of them: the first one that came to mind is this gorgeous art by @laurelhach (which I didn’t realize was based on a picture until I stumbled across the original picture and was like oh my god!! it looks exactly like the art!!)